Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet im-packet.md (8 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Burden R. Hastings DE-19 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-pkt-im-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Burden R. Hastings (DE-19) (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Burden R. Hastings' (DE-19), namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Burden Robert Hastings, born Washington, D.C. 1 August 1910, appointed Midshipman 1929, designated Naval Aviator, killed in action 27 December 1941 at Jolo, Philippine Islands. Specifications: dp. 1140; l. 289'5"; b. 35'1"; dr. 11'; s. 21 k.; cpl. 156; a. 3 3"; cl. Evarts. Launched as HMS Duckworth (BDE-19) 20 November 1942 by Mare Island Navy Yard; taken over by the United States and reclassified DE-19, 25 January 1943; renamed Burden R. Hastings 19 February 1943; commissioned 1 May 1943, Lt. Cmdr. P. A. Walker, USNR, in command. Service: July 1943 quick voyage between California and Pearl Harbor and return; August returned to Pearl Harbor, then patrol and escort duties at Baker Island; arrived off Tarawa 12 November, pre-invasion bombardment until the 20th landings, supported occupation until 23 November, then Funafuti; rest of 1943 convoys to Tarawa and Noumea; Pearl Harbor 8 January 1944; supported occupation of Kwajalein 5-6 February 1944; Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raids 30 March-1 April; remainder of war convoy escort, plane guard, and hunter-killer groups in Marshall, Gilbert, and western Caroline Islands area; 15 June 1944 attacked and sank Japanese submarine RO-44 at 11 deg 13' N, 164 deg 15' E; post-hostilities Central Pacific operations until September 1945; departed Pearl Harbor 20 September, reported Commander 11th Naval District for inactivation 29 September; placed out of commission in reserve 25 October 1945; sold 1 February 1947. Four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 156); yard workers at Hunter's Point (1944 overhaul) and Terminal Island (1945 inactivation)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS omits a laid-down date and a stricken date. Two documented conflicts with the ship's own war-end history submission (ev-02): DANFS dates the RO-44 engagement 15 June 1944 where the war history records the radar contact at 0250 on 16 June; and DANFS records Tarawa bombardment duty 12-23 November 1943 where the war history places the ship at Wallis Island (arrived 11 November) and then Apamama (delivered 28 November) - see gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (standing link-rot note from BATCH-01); hazegray verbatim transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-01
-
[3]USS Burden R. Hastings (DE-19) war-end history submission, 'HISTORY OF U.S.S. BURDEN R. HASTINGS (DE-19)' (CONFIDENTIAL, ship letterhead c/o Fleet Post Office San Francisco, 4 pp.) - scan of the official document hosted by NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-19 page, 'War History' scan (06019wh.jpg) - 4 numbered pages, CONFIDENTIAL
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary ship-submitted history for this hull (read against the scanned document): commissioned 1 May 1943, Cdr. F. M. Eklund USN (Ret.) officiating, 'some 29 months of active service in the Pacific Ocean Areas and almost 130,000 miles of travel.' Trials from 9 May; departed 19 May for San Diego shakedown escorting USS Prince William (CVE-31), arrived 21 May; 8 July departed for Hawaii with USS Tracy escorting SS President Tyler and SS Hinds (Kahului 14 July, Pearl 15th; returned to San Francisco escorting President Tyler 19-26 July); alterations at San Francisco; 8 August departed with USS Austin (DE-15) escorting President Tyler to Pearl Harbor, arrived 15 August; 26 August departed escorting USS Schuylkill (AO-76) to Baker Island (equator crossing 2 September; arrived off Baker Island 4 September; three weeks screening landing operations; relieved 26 September; returned to Pearl Harbor via Palmyra arriving 2 October). October availability and ASW training; departed 31 October convoy to Wallis Island, arrived 11 November; about two weeks at anchor in Baie de Mua Bay, Wallis Island; convoy to Apamama with transport Jane Addams and LSTs, delivered 28 November; screened the transport area; 2-31 December convoys between Apamama, Funafuti, and Tarawa; 23 December Lt. Cmdr. Walker relieved as CO by Lt. Ernest B. Fay; departed Tarawa 31 December escorting USS Caelum, arrived Pearl Harbor 8 January 1944. Departed 28 January for Kwajalein (invasion began 31 January; she and three other escorts convoyed eleven ships, arrived 5 February, 'to find the resistance quite active'); sortied from Majuro with USS Indiana and the destroyer Remy for Pearl Harbor, arrived 13 February; departed 29 February for Eniwetok with Thomas (DE-21) and Greer (DE-23) escorting eight transports, arrived 11 March; 'ping-line' duty off Deep Channel and Wide Passage; Majuro 23 March, then SOPA Majuro screen/patrol duty, escort of friendly submarines through safety lanes, convoy escort among Marshall Islands. Detached from Majuro 13 June for Pearl Harbor via Eniwetok: at 0250 on 16 June an SL radar surface contact at 095 deg T, 10 miles, no IFF, tracked at 18 knots (the ship 'needed her maximum speed of 19-1/2 knots to overtake the target'); challenges by Aldis lamp unanswered, star shells fired, contact submerged; sonar contact 0354 at 1,700 yards; two hedgehog attacks (second produced heavy underwater explosions and a phosphorescent flash) and four depth charges, followed by a violent secondary explosion that knocked out the gyrocompass; wreckage recovered including 175 linear feet of teak decking and a spare-parts box top whose writing identified the submarine as RO-44; COMINCH assessed 'definitely sunk,' one of the few Class A assessments in the Pacific to that time; arrived Pearl Harbor 22 June. July: screened USS Ommaney Bay flight exercises; 9 July Eniwetok convoy (arrived 17th); returned to Pearl escorting USS North Carolina, USS Bataan, USS Windham Bay, and transport Scott (arrived 23 July); ComSubTrainPac submarine-training duty from 24 July; 21 August Rear Admiral Kauffman (ComDesPac) presented the Legion of Merit to Cdr. Fay for sinking RO-44. Departed 23 August for San Francisco escorting SS Phillippa, arrived 31 August, moored at Hunters Point Naval Drydocks for yard overhaul (20 days leave for all hands); 14 October Bronze Stars awarded aboard to four members of the RO-44 action; 17 October Lt. Joseph W. Stivers USNR relieved Lt. Cmdr. Fay as CO; 26 October ammunition reloaded and trial runs. Departed 6 November with a 16-ship convoy for Pearl Harbor (arrived 16 November); 26 November convoy to Eniwetok (arrived 4 December); December 1944-January 1945 convoy trips between Eniwetok and Ulithi. 12 January 1945 a human torpedo entered Ulithi lagoon and torpedoed ammunition ship AE-9 (damaged, not sunk); the Hastings joined the sonar search. Departed Eniwetok 24 January for Pearl Harbor via Roi, Kwajalein, Majuro escorting SS Afoundria, arrived 2 February; carrier and submarine training exercises to 22 June (rescued several ditched aircraft crews; one Eniwetok round trip 8-24 April); 22 June departed with Escort Division 10 for Eniwetok (arrived 30 June); July-early August convoy escort Eniwetok-Ulithi, ComCortDiv 10 acting as CTG 96.3 (4 August-11 September); received the war-over dispatch 14 August; anchored Eniwetok 17 August; departed 11 September for Kwajalein with Wileman (DE-22) and two other DEs; division departed the Marshalls 14 September for Pearl Harbor (arrived 19th) and 'left the 21st for decommissioning at San Pedro, California.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew during operations described (design complement 156); Hunters Point yard workers (August-October 1944 overhaul); Terminal Island (October 1945 inactivation)
- Limitations
- Official ship-submitted summary (a SecNav/Bureau-filed war history) - a primary source for this hull's movements, availabilities, command changes, and the RO-44 engagement; it does not discuss materials or asbestos. Internal conflicts: the document reads the launch as 'November 28, 1942' (against 20 November in DANFS/NavSource/contemporaneous launch photos), dates the RO-44 contact to 0250 on 16 June (against DANFS's 15 June), and places the ship on a Wallis Island/Apamama itinerary during 12-23 November 1943 (against DANFS's Tarawa bombardment narrative) - all carried in gaps. Scan hosted on a private archive site (NavSource); the underlying document is an official government submission.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-02
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[4]NHHC, 'United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995,' Appendix 12 - Ships Named for Naval Aviators: 'Hastings, Burden R. (DE 19 - ex-BDE 19)*** LT Burden R. Hastings, USN 1 May 1943' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 12 PDF, 'Hastings, Burden R. (DE 19 - ex-BDE 19)' entry (p. 601)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC publication independently confirms the namesake and commissioning date for this hull: Burden R. Hastings (DE-19, ex-BDE-19) was named for Lt. Burden R. Hastings, USN, and commissioned 1 May 1943 - consistent with DANFS and the ship's war history.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Namesake/commissioning confirmation only - no construction, materials, or asbestos content. The namesake is unique to this hull (no later ship has carried the name), so 'USS Burden R. Hastings' references are not subject to namesake-era collisions. The live NHHC PDF URL returned 404 on 2026-09-28; the entry text was confirmed via the search engine's index of this document and the same appendix was cited live in the batch-3946 (DE-10) record the same day.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-03
-
[5]NavSource DE-19 class/specification block (Evarts class, GMT type: 'diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull'; propulsion '4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws') + Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol. 1946;28(1):9-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-19 specifications block; Fleischer et al. 1946 (bibliographic citation; digitized copy not fetched)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: this hull was an Evarts-class destroyer escort built 1942-43 with a diesel-electric plant (four GM 16-278A diesels with electric drive, 6,000 shp - no boilers or steam system). A WWII Navy diesel-electric escort would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to that plant type - exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and deck coverings - while the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply. The contemporaneous Fleischer/Viles/Gade/Drinker survey (WWII-era naval-vessel construction, published 1946) documented asbestos pipe-covering operations across Navy and contract yards as standard practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (construction/operations); 1942-46 (era hygiene literature)
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45 (DANFS design complement 156)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. Machinery specifics are class-design data (NavSource; the DANFS spec block for this hull carries speed and armament only; the ship's own war history records a maximum speed of 19.5 knots in service). The 1946 survey anonymized its yards and does not name this hull; it establishes era practice, not installation aboard DE-19. Does not quantify asbestos, establish crew exposure, or speak to legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-04
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[6]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (evidence tier 2), 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard' (tier 3), 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard' (tier 1) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json records 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard', 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Yard-level documentation for yards where this hull was built or worked on: builder Mare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo) is a tier-2 yard in the Atlas dataset; the 31 August-late October 1944 yard-overhaul yard, Hunters Point Naval Drydocks/Shipyard (San Francisco, per the ship's war history and NARA-held photos 80-G-306969/306973 dated 2 November 1944), is tier-3; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (repeated availabilities per the war history: October 1943, June-July 1944, November 1944, February-June 1945 base periods) is tier-1. DE-19's construction and availabilities at these yards fall within the documented asbestos era for each.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Yard workers during 1942-43 construction, the 1944 Hunters Point overhaul, Pearl Harbor availabilities, and 1945 inactivation
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings only - no work order, specification, or survey ties yard asbestos products to this hull's specific construction or availabilities; yard tier reflects the dataset's yard-level documentation, not conditions aboard DE-19. Establishes builder/overhaul context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-05
-
[7]NARA holdings for this hull: the war-end history submission itself (the document scanned at NavSource 06019wh.jpg); Bureau of Ships/NARA photographs 80-G-306969 and 80-G-306973 (2 November 1944, Hunters Point, camouflage Measure 32/9d) and Mare Island launch photographs (DE-19-7138-42 series); RG 24 deck logs for DE-19; RG 19 Bureau of Ships 'Booklet of General Plans' per-hull series; RG 38 WWII War Diaries entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (deck logs, RG 24); archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-plans (RG 19 plans); NavSource photo captions citing NARA (80-G-306969, 80-G-306973)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material/work documentation: (a) DE-19 deck logs (RG 24, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations) document availabilities and yard periods; (b) the ship's war history submission exists in Secretary of the Navy/Bureau files, already located in scan form via NavSource; (c) NARA-held photographs document the ship at Hunters Point 2 November 1944 (80-G-306969, 80-G-306973) and the 20 November 1942 Mare Island launch ceremony (Navy photo nos. DE-19-7138-42 et seq.); (d) a per-hull Booklet of General Plans or Evarts-class engineering drawings in RG 19 would record machinery and insulation-spec callouts; (e) WWII War Diaries (RG 38) may hold additional unit entries. NARA catalog search was inconclusive in-session; retrieval not performed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945 records
- Limitations
- Leads only - deck logs log events and yard periods but rarely identify materials; plan-booklet existence for DE-19 specifically is unverified. No asbestos content is asserted from these holdings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py) - opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) searches for '"Burden R. Hastings"', '"Burden Hastings"', '"USS Hastings"', and '"DE-19"' [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-05 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation naming this hull located. CourtListener opinion index (type=o): '"Burden R. Hastings"' = 0 hits; '"USS Hastings"' = 0 hits; '"Burden Hastings"' = 4 hits, all name collisions on review (United States v. Jovon Medley, 4th Cir. 2020/2022 - 'burden'/'Hastings' co-occurrence; Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. Casey, Ala. Civ. App. 1992; United States v. James C. Hastings, 4th Cir. 1997) - none vessel-related, none asbestos. RECAP docket index (type=r): '"Burden R. Hastings"' = 0; '"USS Hastings"' = 0. Hull-number queries '"DE-19"' = 1,957 opinion hits and 10,137 docket hits, all identifier collisions on review of top results (Puerto Rico 'De' case-number strings, document/exhibit labels, unrelated civil dockets) - no vessel-related result identified.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep completed 2026-09-28 via the authenticated fleet-paced helper; the '"USS Burden R. Hastings"' USS-prefixed variant was attempted but the shared fleet budget re-saturated before it ran - it is a strict subset of the completed '"Burden R. Hastings"' query (0 hits) so coverage stands. Not a trial-level finding for any vessel - it establishes only that no docketed opinion or RECAP docket surfaced naming Burden R. Hastings or DE-19 as a vessel. Absence of a docket hit does not prove no claim was ever asserted; asbestos lawsuits naming hulls are a small subset of filed cases. 'Hastings' is a moderate-collision name (surname/placename); 'DE-19' is a high-collision identifier - the collision sets were classified by caption, court, and date on the returned pages; not every hit in the 10k+ identifier set was individually reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-07
-
[9]Batch-4104 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; hazegray transcription); NHHC Appendix 12 namesake publication (live PDF 404, content confirmed via search index); ship's war-end history submission (NavSource scan of the SecNav-filed document); NavSource building/specification data and Evarts-class article; Atlas shipyards.json yard records; CourtListener sweep (see ledger); law-firm ship-list pages (excluded by source rule) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-19: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, or docketed litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger; completed CourtListener sweep returned zero qualifying hits). The hull was sold for scrapping February 1947, so no museum-phase or layberth hazmat record can exist. Generic asbestos claims for 'USS Burden R. Hastings' exist on law-firm marketing pages (asbestos-ships.com; shepardlawfirm.com; freeasbestostesting.com destroyer-escort list) - all are boilerplate ship-list pages with no cited source and are 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 are consistent with a 1942-43 diesel-electric escort, and the hull's 1947 destruction forecloses modern survey evidence. The litigation sweep is complete for name and hull-number queries but does not prove no claim was ever asserted. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-burden-r-hastings-de19-08
