Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 764-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bray-de709-pkt-764-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bray (DE-709) - modern NHHC entry by Raymond A. Mann (13 December 2005), retrieved via Wayback capture 2025-02-21; live history.navy.mil page returns 404 (standing NHHC rot) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Bray (DE-709)' - namesake biography, spec block, service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 27 January 1944 at Bay City, Mich., by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co.; launched 15 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Mattie M. Bray; ferried down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, delivered to the Navy 1 September 1944, and commissioned there 4 September 1944, Comdr. James A. Heatherington III, USNR, in command. Spec block: Rudderow class, 1,450 t, 306 ft, 37 ft beam, 13 ft 9 in mean draft (full load), 23.6 kt trial, complement 221, 2x5in + 6x40mm + 6x20mm + 8 dcp + 1 dcp (hh) + 2 dct. Service: shakedown through the hurricane that sank Warrington (DD-383), searched for survivors; Bermuda shakedown; Escort Division (CortDiv) 12, Atlantic Fleet; mid-January 1945 Norfolk training prospective DE crews plus ASW patrols and New London submarine-crew training; 19 March 1945 damage-control party saved Heroic (AMc-84) in Chesapeake Bay; April 1945 escorted bomb-damaged Franklin (CV-13) into New York; late July 1945 entered Charleston Navy Yard for conversion to a high-speed transport, redesignated APD-139 on 16 July 1945; conversion completed late September; school-ship duty at Miami; arrived Green Cove Springs 7 December 1945 (16th Fleet); decommissioned 10 May 1946; berthed Atlantic Reserve Fleet nearly fourteen and a half years; stricken 1 June 1960 in anticipation of sale to Ecuador for service as a floating power plant; after the plan failed, sunk as a target 26 March 1963. Namesake: Cpl. Raymond Leon Bray, USMC, born Greenville, Tex., 1 April 1918; 1st Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Division; killed at Gavutu, Solomon Islands, 7 August 1942; posthumous Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1963
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (Bay City, 1944); USN crew 1944-1946 (design-group complement ~221); embarked troops after APD conversion
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page 404s on all patterns tried; Wayback capture 2025-02-21 cited. The modern entry omits the 8 December 1944 Cuttlefish (SS-171) collision and Boston Navy Yard repairs carried in the Vol. I text (see ev-02); it also omits the Vol. I spec-block torpedo tubes and complement 186 (reads 221). Sunk-as-target date reads 26 March 1963 here vs 27 March in secondary sources - variance in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-01
-
[3]DANFS Vol. I (1959) entry for Bray (DE-709) - verbatim transcription mirror at historycentral.com (print original: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Vol. I, A-B, Naval History Division/GPO; archive.org lending copy 'dictionaryofamer0000navy') [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- historycentral.com/navy/DE/Bray.html - full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS Vol. I record for this hull, adding detail absent from the modern entry: 'Bray was assigned to Escort Division 12, Atlantic Fleet, and during late 1944 participated in anti-submarine operations off Long Island and conducted exercises with American submarines. Following repairs at Boston Navy Yard as a result of a collision with Cuttlefish (SS-171) 8 December, Bray reported to Norfolk early in 1945 and conducted training for prospective destroyer and destroyer escort crews. She later trained with submarine crews off New London until mid-July 1945.' Conversion window dated 15 July - 18 September 1945 at Charleston Navy Yard; 'placed out of commission in reserve 10 May 1946.' Vol. I spec block differs from modern: b. 36 ft 10 in; s. 24 k; cpl. 186; armament adds 3x21-in torpedo tubes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- USN crew 1944-1946; Boston Navy Yard repair workforce December 1944-January 1945
- Limitations
- Verbatim print-DANFS transcription on a non-official mirror (historycentral.com) - text matches DANFS Vol. I style and content; print original is the Naval History Division's Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Vol. I (1959, A-B). Vol. I predates the 1960 strike and 1963 sinking, so it carries no disposition. Mirror text carries OCR artifacts ('comiiiissioned', 'AMc--84', 'Hetherington 11' = Heatherington II). Not a materials source - documents the Boston Navy Yard repair event, not what materials were disturbed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010; shipscribe.com scan of the official publication) - DE contract table pp. 238-239 row for Bray (DE-709) and DE design-group characteristics/machinery table pp. 234-235 row TEV [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I pp. 238-239 (contract table row 27: BRAY DE709 TEV Defoe Shipbuilding); pp. 234-235 (DE design-group table, row 3 TEV); scanned volume is image-only - values confirmed by local OCR at 300 dpi
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips 1945 contract-table row for this hull: Bray (DE-709), design group TEV, built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co.; contract for hull and machinery $3,198,000 signed 9 October 1942; keel laid 27 January 1944; launched 15 April 1944; ship completion 15 June 1944; preliminary acceptance 1 September 1944; date of first commission 4 September 1944. The same volume's DE design-group table (pp. 234-235) gives the TEV group's official characteristics: 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, 37 ft beam; 1,450 t standard / 1,810 t full load; trial speed 23.6 kt; limiting draft 13 ft 9 in; accommodations 15 officers + 206 enlisted; armament 2x5-in/38 DP; machinery: two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750F superheat, GE turbo-electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (contract window); publication 1945
- Population
- Defoe yard workforce (hull 282), 1944; USN crew
- Limitations
- Official BuShips publication naming this hull by contract row - confirms builder, dates, and design group; the machinery/boiler detail is design-group level (TEV), not hull-serial-specific. Boiler manufacturer is not stated in the table; secondary sources conflict (NavSource DE block reads '2 CE boilers', its APD block reads 'Babcox and Wilcox' [sic]) - carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-03
-
[5]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I, DE design-group table (pp. 234-235, TEV row) + documented yard events (Charleston Navy Yard conversion Jul-Sep 1945 per DANFS/BGSU; Boston Navy Yard collision repairs Dec 1944 per DANFS Vol. I; both yards are Atlas dataset entries with yard-level asbestos documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I pp. 234-235 TEV row; DANFS conversion/repair narrative; shipyards.json 'charleston-naval-shipyard' (tier 2) and 'boston-naval-shipyard' records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a turbo-electric escort built at Defoe/Bay City in 1944: the Rudderow-class TEV plant per the official BuShips 1945 design-group table - two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp, 2 shafts, 23.6 kt - is a full superheated-steam plant, so the heavy steam-ship asbestos categories apply at design level: boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbo-generator lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The December 1944 Boston Navy Yard collision repairs and the July-September 1945 Charleston Navy Yard APD conversion are documented yard events at yards whose Atlas dataset entries carry yard-level asbestos product documentation - plausible disturbance/installation windows whose material scope aboard this hull is undocumented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944 (construction); 1944-45 (yard events); 1944-1946 (service)
- Population
- Defoe construction trades 1944; USN engineering/fire-room crew 1944-1946; Boston Navy Yard and Charleston Navy Yard workforces during the documented 1944-45 yard periods; Green Cove Springs inactivation workforce 1945-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - not a ship-specific finding; no member-level asbestos record exists for this hull. The design-group machinery data is official but group-level; the yard events are documented but their asbestos scope aboard this hull is inference. Establishes no quantities, no locations, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-04
-
[6]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Bray (DE-709/APD-139) page + Amphibious Photo Archive APD-139 page (volunteer archive; lead-level): building/operational data blocks, spec blocks, commanding-officer list, ship-submitted War History image link [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/709.htm 'Building and Operational Data' block + CO list; navsource.net/archives/10/04/04139.htm spec block; war-history image 06709wh.jpg (HTTP 500 at drafting)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photo-archive chronology corroborating DANFS: keel laid 27 January 1944 Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City; launched/christened 15 April 1944, sponsor Mrs. Mattie M. Bray; commissioned 4 September 1944 at Naval Station New Orleans, Cmdr. James A. Heatherington III, USNR; reclassified APD-139 on 16 July 1945 during conversion at Charleston Navy Yard; decommissioned 10 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs 'after 1 year and 8 months of service'; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; struck from the Naval Register 1 June 1960; sunk as a target - the DE page reads 26 March 1963, the APD page reads 27 March 1963 (internal variance in gaps). Adds: radio call sign NTAB; awards American Campaign Medal and WWII Victory Medal; APD spec block (1,630 t light/2,130 t full; troop accommodations 12 officers + 150 enlisted; 4 LCVP; 'Babcox and Wilcox D Express' boilers 435 psi/750F - conflicting with its own DE block's '2 CE boilers'); commanding-officer list (Heatherington to 5 Oct 1945; LCDR Jakomas Dec 1945-15 Mar 1946; LTjg Miller to 10 May 1946; LTjg Tench same-day). Links the ship-submitted official War History image - currently returns HTTP 500.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1963
- Population
- USN crew 1944-1946; embarked troops (APD configuration)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained photo archive - lead-level, unverified against USN/NHHC/NARA originals. Its own DE and APD spec blocks conflict on boiler manufacturer; the APD block's 'Babcox' is an OCR artifact for Babcock & Wilcox. Green Cove Springs lay-up photo (USN photo via Destroyer Escort Sailors Association) shows APD-139 moored with sister APDs circa 1947. Nothing on materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-05
-
[7]Bowling Green State University, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, vessel registry entry DE-0709 (USS BRAY) - university maritime archive holding the Defoe Shipbuilding records [other_primary]
- Locator
- BGSU HCGL item 434653 - registry block, 'Rebuilds' and 'Disposition' fields, vessel-names table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HCGL registry record for this hull: Defoe yard hull number 00282; steel hull, 306.0 x 36.0 x 13.75 ft; builder Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, MI, built 1944; owner U.S. Navy. Rebuild entry: 'Converted to high speed transport at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, SC, July 15-September 15, 1945. Reclassified on July 16, 1945.' History: commissioned 4 September 1944. Disposition: 'Decommissioned on May 10, 1946 and placed in Reserve Fleet. Sunk as a target on March 26, 1963.' Name table lists BRAY (APD-139) 1945-1963 - the same hull under its reclassified designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1963
- Population
- Defoe yard workforce (hull 282), 1944
- Limitations
- Registry-style summary (source listed as HCGL internal) - corroborates dates, adds the yard hull number, and corroborates the 26 March 1963 target-sinking date against the 27 March secondary reading; contains no materials or asbestos information and no citations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o; RECAP docket index type=r) for exact name 'USS Bray' and hull numbers 'DE-709'/'APD-139' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bray-de709-05 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep: exact-name query '"USS Bray"' (type=o) returned 0 results - no opinion naming this vessel located. Hull-number query '"DE-709"' (type=o) returned 8 hits, all string collisions on review - Lesaldo v. Dabas (N.Y. App. Div. 2016, slip-and-fall; '*709' page marker), Hazel v. Delaware Supermarkets (Del. 2008, premises liability), Crist v. Hunan Palace (Kan. 2004, dram shop), Fisher v. United States (6th Cir. 1966, LEXIS-7097 cite fragment), Schlesinger v. United States (Ct. Cl. 1968, government contracts), Overholser v. Treibly (D.C. Cir. 1945, estate), Merchants' Nat. Bank v. School Dist. No. 8 (9th Cir. 1899, bonds), and Duncan v. Poythress (5th Cir. 1981, section 1983) - none vessel-, Navy-, or asbestos-related. '"APD-139"' (type=o) returned 0 results. RECAP-docket search '"USS Bray"' (type=r) returned 0 results - no docket naming the vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Opinion index swept for the exact name and both hull numbers; docket index swept for the exact name. The sweep does not cover state-court records outside the index, trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. 'Bray' is a common surname with collision surface (e.g., Bray v. Ingersoll-Rand, D. Conn. 2015, an Electric Boat shipyard case unrelated to this vessel) - any future hit requires collision classification rather than automatic attribution; DE-709/APD-139 strings also collide with unrelated page markers and reference numbers, as the 8 reviewed hits show.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-07
-
[9]Batch-4489 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Wayback capture + DANFS Vol. I mirror, BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I, NVR, NavSource, BGSU Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Atlas shipyard dataset, CourtListener API v4, NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bray-de709-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material-condition report, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. The hull had no preservation era - stricken 1 June 1960 and sunk as a target March 1963 - so no museum or memorial disclosure can exist. The only public asbestos claims about this hull are law-firm marketing pages (mesotheliomahelp.org destroyer-escort list; simmonsfirm.com ship list) asserting unsourced boilerplate claims - excluded per source rules and logged in the report, not evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 steam-plant hull with two documented naval-yard work periods would have carried era-standard materials, which is why the class/era inference row exists. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Target-sinking records (1963) are not located in public sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-08
-
[10]Archival leads for hull-level material documentation not yet retrieved: (1) BGSU HCGL Defoe Shipbuilding Company holdings (finding-aid agent 525: six-plus collections incl. Defoe-Navy correspondence, shipyard layout and building schedules, photo series, 'The Defoe Rollover' employee periodical 1942-44); (2) NARA RG 19 BuShips contract specifications/ships' data for DE-709/APD-139 and RG 24 deck logs (1944-1946); (3) Charleston Navy Yard work orders for the July-September 1945 APD conversion; (4) Boston Navy Yard repair records for the December 1944 Cuttlefish collision; (5) ship-submitted War History of USS Bray (NavSource-hosted scan, image server returning HTTP 500 at drafting); (6) Navy disposal/target-sinking file for March 1963 [other_primary]
- Locator
- BGSU finding-aid agent 525; NARA RG 19/RG 24 series (undigitized); Charleston/Boston navy yard work records; NavSource image 06709wh.jpg; Navy disposal records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary holdings likely to contain hull-level material information exist but were not pulled: BGSU HCGL's Defoe Shipbuilding collections are the builder-yard paper record for the hull's construction (yard hull 00282); NARA RG 19/RG 24 hold the contract specifications and the deck-log run; Charleston and Boston navy yard work records document the two in-service yard periods; the ship-submitted War History is digitized at NavSource but its image server errored (500) on repeated fetches; the 1963 target-sinking file would document the disposal.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1963 (records); 2026 (lead status)
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings were retrieved or reviewed; contents unknown. They establish nothing about materials aboard. NARA catalog returns an SPA shell to programmatic fetches (standing limitation).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bray-de709-09