Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]research packet ig-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with MIRROR caveat on source; identity facts agree across DANFS-derived text and the Edsall-class table at https
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (with MIRROR caveat on source; identity facts agree across DANFS-derived text and the Edsall-class table at https
- Evidence ID
- uss-blair-de147-pkt-ig-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Blair (DE-147), NHHC entry by Robert J. Cressman, dated 7 February 2006 (live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture 2021-09-23) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Blair (DE-147)', specifications block and full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS record for this hull: laid down 19 January 1943 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 6 April 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Vestie Foster); commissioned at Orange 13 September 1943, Lt. Alden J. Laborde, USNR; shakedown Bermuda; SA radar removed and DAQ HFDF installed at Charleston 7 November 1943; convoy escort UGS-25/GUS-24 Casablanca Dec 1943-Jan 1944; hunter-killer TG 21.14 Jan-Feb 1944; ten round-trip convoy voyages to UK ports (Londonderry, Liverpool, Cherbourg) through UC-70A May-June 1945; San Diego via Panama Canal 31 July 1945; Pearl Harbor 10 August 1945; yard availability at Charleston through most of October 1945 for deactivation; decommissioned in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 28 June 1946; reactivated 20 August 1951, recommissioned Mayport 5 October 1951 (Lcdr. John L. Holmes); CortRon 10 at Newport with Fleet Sonar School Key West ASW duty 1951-1956; decommissioned November 1956 and converted at Boston Naval Shipyard to a radar picket ship; recommissioned Boston 2 December 1957 (Lcdr. Richard L. Warren), reclassified DER-147; CortRon 7 at Pearl Harbor, mid-Pacific 'barrier patrols' 1958-1960; decommissioned for the last time at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 15 June 1960; struck from the Navy list 1 December 1972; sold for scrapping to West Waterway Lumber Co., Seattle, 26 September 1974. Specs block: Edsall class, 1,200 t., 306 ft., 21.2 kt., complement 216.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; ship's company across 1943-1946, 1951-1956, 1957-1960 commissionings (design complement 216)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS dates the sale 26 September 1974 while NavSource records a 13 August 1974 bid/sale event - conflict carried in gaps. DANFS narrative ties the DER-147 redesignation to the 2 December 1957 recommissioning while NavSource records it effective 1 November 1956 - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blair-de147-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Blair (DE 147) page - building and operational data chronology and specifications block [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/147.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' chronology and 'Specifications' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational chronology for this hull corroborates and extends the DANFS record: keel laid 19 January 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; decommissioned 28 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs after 2 years 8-1/2 months; recommissioned 5 October 1951 at Mayport, Fla., assigned CortRon 10 at Newport, R.I.; reclassified DER-147 effective 1 November 1956; decommissioned 13 November 1956 at Boston Naval Shipyard for DER conversion; recommissioned 2 December 1957 at Boston, assigned CortRon 7 at Pearl Harbor; decommissioned 15 June 1960 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, custody to CO Bremerton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 December 1972 with 10 years 4 months total service; sold 13 August 1974 to West Waterway Lumber Co., Seattle (bid $232,896 covering DER-147, DER-333, and LFR-1); removed from U.S. Navy custody 10 October 1974. Specifications: Edsall class, FMR type - 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kts; complement 8 officers/201 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1960; Boston Naval Shipyard conversion workforce 1956-57; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inactivation workforce 1960; West Waterway Lumber scrapping workforce 1974
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official records (NVR-style dates, DANFS, photo captions) - secondary compilation, not a primary record; date divergences with DANFS (reclassification effective date, sale date) are carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information. The 4 diesel-generator line item notwithstanding, FMR gearing (not diesel-electric drive) distinguishes the Edsall plant from DET-type escorts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blair-de147-02
-
[4]NavSource DE-147 specifications block (Edsall class, FMR geared-diesel plant - no boilers or steam system) + Atlas shipyard dataset query (no Consolidated Steel entry); NARA RG 19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-147 specifications block; shipyards.json (37 yard_ids - 'consolidated-steel' absent); DANFS conversion narrative; NARA RG 19 lead unretrieved
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class destroyer escort built in 1943 with a Fairbanks-Morse geared-diesel plant would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel ship - exhaust/muffler insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck coverings - but no boilers or steam-line lagging (the FMR design has no steam plant). Builder Consolidated Steel Corp. (Orange, Tex.) is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry, so no yard-level asbestos record can be cross-linked; NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs. The 1956-57 DER conversion at Boston Naval Shipyard (tier-listed asbestos-era yard) is a documented yard event whose asbestos scope is undocumented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; Boston Naval Shipyard conversion trades 1956-57; crew across three commissionings
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No ship-specific asbestos record was located for this hull (see ev-uss-blair-de147-04). Does not quantify material, does not establish any individual's exposure, and does not establish present-day presence (hull scrapped 1974). NARA GIB retrieval not performed; Boston NSY DER-conversion work packages not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blair-de147-03
-
[5]Batch-4057 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 exact-name queries "USS Blair" (opinion index, docket index) and hull-number queries "DE-147"/"DER-147"; NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NVR; Atlas shipyards.json; web sweep for hull-specific asbestos records [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blair-de147-03 through sl-uss-blair-de147-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-147/DER-147: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no museum hazmat disclosure (ship scrapped 1974 - no custodian), and no qualifying asbestos litigation names the hull. CourtListener: "USS Blair" returned 0 opinion hits and 0 docket hits; "DE-147" returned 41 opinion hits and 789 docket hits, all identifier collisions (sampled hits are PACER docket-entry references - 'see image at DE 147' - in unrelated civil litigation); the asbestos-filtered opinion query "DE-147" asbestos returned 0; "DER-147" returned 0 opinion hits. Web sweep returns only law-firm marketing pages and asbestos-aggregator sites making era-inference claims - excluded per source rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era materials were standard in 1943 construction and the DER conversion added a documented yard-disturbance window; it establishes only that no public ship-specific record was found in the sources searched. Pleading-stage or unindexed litigation could exist outside the CourtListener index. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blair-de147-04