USS Booth (DE-170)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet ij-packet.md (7 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: USS Booth DE-170 → VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-booth-de170-pkt-ij-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Booth (DE-170) (builder, dates, service narrative, transfer, striking, loss; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed editor's notes

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: named for Ens. Robert Sinclair Booth, Jr. (born Hickory, N.C. 1915-01-25; killed in action aboard USS Arizona BB-39 at Pearl Harbor 1941-12-07). Launched 1943-06-21 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J., sponsored by Mrs. R. S. Booth; commissioned 1943-09-19 (Lt. Comdr. D. W. Todd). Experiments for the Naval Research Laboratory, Anacostia, D.C., 1943-12-01/17; eight trans-Atlantic convoy crossings to the Mediterranean 1944-01-01 to 1945-05-07. To the Pacific 1945-05-28; Pearl Harbor 1945-07-02; Saipan 1945-07-26; one Iwo Jima convoy run; two Ulithi-Okinawa convoy escort runs 1945-08-12 to 1945-09-08; surrender of western-Carolines islands and evacuation of Japanese from Puluwat and Momoi (Lt. Col. L. D. Spurlock party, Truk); Guam 1945-11-07; to the east coast via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Panama. Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. - DANFS text reads 1946-03-04 with a bracketed editor's note that the C.O. reports early June; removed from the sale list May 1951 and remained in reserve at Green Cove Springs. Bracketed note: transferred to the Philippine Navy as Datu Kalantiaw 1967-12-15; struck from the Navy list 1978-07-15; Datu Kalantiaw sunk in a typhoon in 1981.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1981

   Population

   Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 186 per DANFS)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, and service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. No laid-down date is given (secondary compilations read 1943-01-30 - carried in gaps). Decommissioning date is internally conflicted (text 1946-03-04 vs. bracketed C.O. note early June; expanded-entry/secondary 1946-06-14) - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-01

3. [3]UPI Archives dispatches from Manila, 1981-09-21, 1981-09-22, and 1981-09-24 (Typhoon Clara wreck of the Datu Kalantiaw) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   UPI Archives: 1981-09-21 'Typhoon Clara with winds of more than 100 mph'; 1981-09-22 'Typhoon Clara wrecks destroyer, sinks cargo ship'; 1981-09-24 'Welders cut through sealed compartments' (titles as archived)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Contemporaneous reporting documents the end of this hull: on Sunday 1981-09-21 Typhoon Clara drove the Philippine Navy destroyer Datu Kalantiaw (the former USS Booth, acquired from the U.S. Navy in 1967) aground on a shoal/reef off Calayan Island, 330 miles north of Manila - 'a total wreck' lying on its port side after its moorings snapped while seeking shelter at Camiguin Island. Casualty accounting evolved over the reporting window: 1981-09-21 reads 19 rescued of 85 officers and men; 1981-09-22 reads 81 people plucked by rescuers aboard USS Mount Hood and four U.S. helicopters with ~20 missing (ship carrying ~101); the 1981-09-24 dispatch records 52 bodies recovered, 27 missing and feared trapped, 18 rescued, of 97 crewmen - figures consistent with the settled 79-of-97 toll. Philippine Navy chief Rear Adm. Simeon Alejandro described waves 'as high as 100 feet' sweeping men preparing to abandon ship; two Philippine destroyers and an LST continued the search; USS Mount Hood ended two days of assistance 1981-09-23.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1981-09-21 to 1981-09-24 (reporting window)

   Population

   Philippine Navy crew of BRP Datu Kalantiaw (97 aboard; 79 dead); U.S. and Philippine rescue personnel

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous wire reporting with evolving casualty figures - the record carries the 52 recovered/27 missing/18 rescued (of 97) accounting from the 1981-09-24 dispatch and the 79-of-97 toll; early dispatches' differing totals are noted, not reconciled. Documents the loss event and wreck state, not materials or asbestos content; no salvage or abatement outcome is reported.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-02

4. [4]U.S. Defense Imagery photograph, NARA holdings, NAID 6365749 (aerial view of the capsized BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) on Calayan Island, 1981-09-22; photo by SMSgt. R. Bagwell); companion USN photo DN-ST-83-00819 documents USS Mount Hood salvage-support presence [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA holdings NAID 6365749 (via Wikimedia Commons file page carrying the catalog description); NavSource captions for DN-ST-83-00819

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA-cataloged official U.S. military imagery of this hull's wreck: an aerial view of the capsized Philippine frigate BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) on Calayan Island dated 1981-09-22, catalog description recording that she was driven aground during Typhoon Clara on 1981-09-21 on the rocky northern shore of Calayan Island and that 79 of the crew of 97 died, and that the ship had originally been commissioned as USS Booth (DE-170) in 1943.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1981-09-22

   Population

   Philippine Navy crew (post-loss); rescue/salvage personnel

   Limitations

   Photograph and catalog caption document the wreck event and identity continuity - not materials or asbestos content. The NARA catalog web UI is JS-rendered; the record is cited via its verbatim catalog description as carried on the Commons file page for NAID 6365749.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-03

5. [5]Navypedia DET-type (Cannon-class) member table (Booth, yard no. 286, Federal Newark, laid 1.1943, launched 21.6.1943, commissioned 9/1943, to Philippines 12.1967) + DANFS specifications block + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Kearny record (tier 2; 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial health survey) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navypedia us_de_det.htm member row DE-170; DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: a Cannon-class DET-design destroyer escort built 1943 at Federal Shipbuilding carried no propulsion boilers or steam plant, so the heavy steam-ship asbestos categories (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply to the propulsion plant; the period-standard asbestos set aboard a 1943 diesel-electric DE is exhaust-system insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck coverings. Builder context: the Atlas dataset's federal-shipbuilding-kearny record (tier 2) carries a verified yard-level document - an Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, conducted 1944-08-30 to 1944-09-02 (the wartime peak immediately following this hull's January-September 1943 construction) - documenting insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces, with dust counts during cutting and fitting.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1981

   Population

   Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; USN crew 1943-46; Philippine Navy crew 1967-81

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates Booth's build by roughly a year and documents yard practice, not material installed in this hull; no hull-level material schedule or insulation specification was located. Does not establish what was installed, what remained at loss, or any individual exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-04

6. [6]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Index, USS Booth (DE-170) building/operational data and commanding-officer roster (secondary compilation of the expanded NHHC DANFS entry and ship's war-history material; live expanded DANFS page booth-i.html serves 404) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/06/170.htm building/operational data block + CO roster; NHHC expanded DANFS booth-i.html (404 at access time)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Secondary chronology consistent with the expanded NHHC DANFS entry records exposure-relevant yard events and details the print DANFS omits: keel laid 1943-01-30 at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp., Port Newark, N.J. (yard no. 286); towed by ocean tug Sagamore (AT-20) via the Cape Cod Canal to Norfolk 1943-06-24/26 and completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard; commissioned at Norfolk Naval Shipyard 1943-09-18 (roster: comm. CO Lcdr. Donald Whiley Todd); post-shakedown availability at the Norfolk navy yard (November 1943); decommissioned at Green Cove Springs 1946-06-14 (roster: decomm. CO Lt.(jg) Harold D. Sherwood, term ending 14 June); reconditioned at Brewer Drydock Co., Staten Island, N.Y., before the 1967-12-15 loan (commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard as RPS Datu Kalantiaw PS-76); re-designated FF-170 1975-06-30; disposed by Foreign Military Sale and struck from the NVR (NavSource reads 1978-06-15 vs. DANFS 1978-07-15 - gap); loss 1981-09-21, 79 of 97 dead.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1981

   Population

   Norfolk Navy Yard completion/availability workforce 1943; Brewer Drydock reconditioning workforce 1967; Philadelphia Navy Yard transfer ceremony

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a citable authority - carried as an archival lead because its underlying text is the expanded NHHC DANFS entry (booth-i.html), which currently serves 404 and could not be re-verified; the CO roster dates corroborate the expanded entry. Date conflicts vs. print DANFS are carried in gaps rather than resolved. Brewer Drydock Co. is not in the Atlas shipyard dataset. Confirmation path: expanded DANFS, ship-submitted war history (NavSource-referenced, unretrieved), NARA deck logs.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-05

7. [7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - this hull's entire U.S. Navy construction and service career (1943-1946) and its foreign-service period (1967-1981) fall inside the documented asbestos-use era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers (program level)

   Limitations

   Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - standing defect); content via product-page description. Establishes era, not materials aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-06

8. [8]Philippine Marine Corps official history (marinecorps.mil.ph), 1974 Oplan Walis entry [other_primary]

   Locator

   marinecorps.mil.ph/history, 1974 'Oplan Walis' section; maritimereview.ph 'The Datu Kalantiaw Class Frigates' (2021-05-24)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Philippine armed-forces official history records RPS Datu Kalantiaw supporting Marine Battalion Landing Team 2 during the August 1974 Oplan Walis amphibious operation at Sacol Island, Zamboanga ('For 13 days, the MBLT-2 guarded Sacol Island supported by RPS Datu Kalantiaw and three Philippine Craft Fast (PCF)') - confirming this hull in active front-line Philippine Navy service seven years before its loss. Philippine maritime-industry coverage (Maritime Review, Datu Kalantiaw-class frigates profile) records her as the Philippine Navy's designated flagship and flagship of the Spratlys task force 1969-70, with naval gunfire support service during the counter-insurgency period.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1967-1981

   Population

   Philippine Navy crew 1967-1981; embarked task-force staff

   Limitations

   Confirms active Philippine service and operational tempo - not materials or asbestos content; Philippine-custody refit/maintenance history is undocumented in public sources. Maritime Review is a secondary trade publication cited for context only (its 'decommissioned 10 December 1945' figure conflicts with all DANFS readings and is excluded).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-07

9. [9]Batch-4083 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; HyperWar transcription); NavSource/expanded-DANFS secondary chronology; navypedia member table; NARA NAID 6365749 imagery; UPI 1981 dispatches; Philippine Marine Corps official history; GAO product page; NVR (pre-1987 disposals not indexed); CourtListener opinion and RECAP indexes; Atlas shipyards.json [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-booth-de170-01 through sl-uss-booth-de170-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Booth, DE-170, or Datu Kalantiaw was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener 'USS Booth' returned zero opinion and zero RECAP-docket results; 'Datu Kalantiaw' returned zero on both indexes; 'DE-170' returned 40 opinion hits and 630 RECAP-docket hits, all reviewed pages collision noise - docket-entry '(DE 170)' citations, star-pagination, and Spanish-language 'de' matches - with no hull reference found.

   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 - the hull was wrecked offshore under foreign custody in 1981, so no U.S. disposal, museum, or scrapping pathway that would generate hazmat documentation exists. CourtListener limitation: the 'DE-170' hit sets (40 opinions / 630 dockets) are dominated by docket-entry-number collisions and were reviewed at the first page each rather than exhaustively; a qualifying docket naming the vessel would be expected to also carry 'USS Booth' or 'Datu Kalantiaw,' both clean at 0. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-booth-de170-08