Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet jk-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-case-dd370-pkt-jk-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Case II (DD-370) (namesake biography, builder, dates, spec block, full service narrative, disposition; live NHHC page returns 404 - content verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 and verbatim mirrors hazegray/destroyerhistory.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Case II entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture 20251209091841; hazegray dd370txt.htm via Wayback 2021-02-26; destroyerhistory.org/goldplater/usscase/)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 14 September 1935 by Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass., sponsored by Miss M. R. Case; commissioned 15 September 1936 (Comdr. J. S. Roberts); reported to the Battle Force, later the Pacific Fleet. Specification block: 1,500 tons, 341'4" length, 35' beam, 9'10" draft, 36 kt, complement 158, 5x5" guns and 12x21" torpedo tubes, class Mahan. Service: fleet problems Hawaiian area; 1938 school ship San Diego; midshipman Alaska cruise summer 1939; April 1940 Pearl Harbor fleet problem (Midway, Johnston, Palmyra); Feb-Apr 1941 Samoa/Tahiti/Auckland. In a nest of destroyers at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard 7 December 1941, opened fire and shared in splashing enemy planes; convoy escort west coast-Pearl Harbor to 23 May 1942; Kodiak/Adak operations May-August 1942 incl. 7 August Kiska bombardment; States overhaul; Fiji convoy December 1942; Espiritu Santo base Jan-Sep 1943; San Francisco overhaul, back to Pearl Harbor December 1943; screened 3d/5th Fleet strikes Jan-Aug 1944 (Marshalls, Palau/western Carolines, Hollandia/Truk/Satawan/Ponape, Bonins, Battle of the Philippine Sea 19-20 June); Eniwetok repair; Guam; Marcus Island bombardment 9 October; TG 38.1 Luzon strikes for Leyte 18-23 October; Iwo Jima bombardment night 11-12 November; rammed and sank Japanese midget submarine at Mugai Channel entrance 20 November 1944; Iwo Jima bombardment 24 December (with USS Roe sank a fleeing transport); Saipan-Iwo Jima antisubmarine/air-sea-rescue/radar-picket duty to war's end; accepted and supervised surrender of the Bonin Islands at Chichi Jima 2 September 1945; Norfolk arrival 1 November; decommissioned 13 December 1945; sold 31 December 1947. Seven battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1934-1947
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1934-36; crew 1936-45 (design complement 158)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, service, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-27; verbatim Wayback capture and mirror transcriptions cited. DANFS does not state the laid-down date or a stricken date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-01
-
[3]USS Case (DD-370) Pearl Harbor action report, DD370/A16-3 Serial No. 1, San Francisco, 2 January 1942, Commanding Officer R. W. Bedilion to CincPac (NHHC WWII Pearl Harbor action-reports digital exhibit; live page 404 - Wayback capture 2025-02-01 and HyperWar transcription verified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Case action report para. 1-2 (condition of ship) and para. 3 (actions); HyperWar USN/ships/logs/DD/dd370-Pearl.html; NHHC exhibit page via Wayback
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous commanding-officer report for this hull: on 7 December 1941 Case was 'moored alongside the U.S.S. Whitney at Buoys X-8 undergoing regular scheduled overhaul,' nested with Selfridge, Tucker, Reid, and Conyngham. Machinery condition recorded in detail: 'Receiving all services from USS Whitney, plant secured, rotor of one main fuel pump on tender, suction lines on both main condensate pumps out, various ... valves on auxiliary steam lines and fire main on tender, one engineroom supply blower at yard, all boiler steam gauges on tender, #2 generator control meter off, [1st] effect of evaporators partially dismantled.' About 95% of crew aboard; .50-cal machine guns opened fire in about 4 minutes; machinery reassembled and ship underway by 1600; shared in splashing one enemy plane. Documents a scheduled tender/yard overhaul with the steam plant partially dismantled - the exposure-relevant machinery state (opened systems, parts ashore at the yard and on the tender).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-12-07 (overhaul period)
- Population
- Crew aboard during Pearl Harbor Navy Yard overhaul availability, Dec 1941 (~95% aboard)
- Limitations
- Documents the machinery and maintenance condition of this hull during a documented overhaul period - what systems were opened/dismantled - but says nothing about insulation, lagging, gasket, or packing materials or any asbestos content. 'At yard' shows parts were ashore at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard; does not itemize yard work scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images: photo 19-N-28600 'USS Case (DD-370) Underway off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California on 20 February 1942' (Bureau of Ships Collection, U.S. National Archives); photo 80-G-K-14467 (color) 'Destroyer Division Six, Destroyer Squadron Three (DesDiv6, DesRon3) At San Diego ... October 1941' listing 'USS Case (DD-370), Division flagship' (indexed on NHHC's USS Shaw DD-373 page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library picture-data page 19-N-28600; NHHC USS Shaw (DD-373) index page, photo 80-G-K-14467 caption; NavSource DD-370 page (photos 0537007/0537008, Nov 1943)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy photographs document this hull at/near yards and in formation: off Mare Island Navy Yard on 20 February 1942 during the convoy-escort period (BuShips/NARA 19-N-28600), and at San Diego in October 1941 as Destroyer Division 6 flagship in DesRon 3 alongside Clark, Cummings, Shaw, and Tucker (80-G-K-14467). Additional Navy photographs dated 21-23 November 1943 show the ship at/off Mare Island at the end of the October-November 1943 overhaul (the 'overhaul at San Francisco' in DANFS), consistent with NavSource's 9 October-27 November 1943 Mare Island availability window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-10; 1942-02; 1943-10 to 1943-11
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard trades 1942 and 1943; crew during availabilities
- Limitations
- Photographs establish presence, dates, and appearance - not work scope, materials removed or installed, or asbestos handling. The November 1943 Mare Island dates come via NavSource/Commons reproductions of Navy photos (no NHHC numbers verified); yard-period asbestos scope is inference only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-03
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 sweep: 'USS Case' (type=o 3 hits; type=r 92; type=rd 112); 'USS Case' +asbestos (o 0; r 7); 'USS Case' +navy (o 0); 'USS Case DD' (o 0); 'aboard USS Case' (o 0; r 0); 'USS Case' +mesothelioma (o 0); 'DD-370' (o 1; r 14); 'DD-370' +asbestos (o 0) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 /search/ results (queries and hit classifications logged in search_ledger)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull (DD-370) located in CourtListener. 'USS Case' is a high-collision term: all 3 opinion hits are 'USS' = United States Steel caption collisions (United States Steel Corp. v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; United States Steel Corp. v. Commonwealth; Payne v. N.Y., S. & W.R.R. Co.). The single 'DD-370' opinion hit is a court docket-number collision (Johnson v. Johansen, Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1976, 'No. DD-370'); all 14 'DD-370' docket hits are identifier collisions (Vioxx MDL, McKesson, AT&T-style matters). Of 7 'USS Case' + asbestos docket hits, six are caption/text collisions (contract removal, legal malpractice, FCRA, foreclosure, prisoner civil rights) and one is the MDL-875 JPML master docket (IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI)) whose aggregated text cannot be resolved to a specific filing naming the ship; 112 RECAP full-text hits are OCR caption noise ('USS.' in criminal captions; 'Case N:NN-cv-' headers). Any genuine 'USS Case' ship reference would also be ambiguous against USS Case (DD-285), in service 1919-1930.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- litigation indexed through 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP dockets - not state-court dockets without RECAP coverage, unfiled claims, VA claims, or trust claims. Absence here does not prove no claimant ever alleged exposure aboard DD-370; it means no indexed qualifying case was located. The MDL-875 master-docket aggregate match is unverifiable noise - not classified as qualifying. DD-285 vs DD-370 ambiguity applies to any bare 'USS Case' mention.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-04
-
[6]NARA research guide 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961': asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel 1941-1961 is a frequently requested topic; ship-specific research route is RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence (filed by hull designation, e.g., DD370), Destroyer/DE/Frigate General Information Books (Entry P 9, Item S-68), and hull-series engineering drawings by Ship Material Group - S39 'Insulation and Lagging' and S48 'Piping' drawings being the asbestos-relevant series [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided-topic page, sections 'Bureau of Ships ... Correspondence', 'General Information Books', 'Cartographic Branch' (S39/S48)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA identifies asbestos use in U.S. Navy materiel during 1941-1961 as a recognized research subject and documents the record path for ship-level verification: RG 19 general/confidential correspondence filed under the hull code (DD370), General Information Books, and engineering drawings including the S39 insulation-and-lagging and S48 piping series. Establishes the era/program context in which a 1934-36 steam destroyer would have been built with asbestos-containing insulation and where DD-370-specific materials documentation would be found.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide scope)
- Limitations
- A research guide about the Navy era cannot establish the presence, type, location, or quantity of asbestos on this hull. It identifies where ship-specific proof would live; no such DD-370 document has been retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-05
-
[7]DANFS Case II (DD-370) specifications block and builder line + Mahan-class technical record (four water-tube boilers - Babcock & Wilcox or Foster Wheeler in the class record - two General Electric geared steam turbines, ~46,000-48,000 shp class figure, superheated-steam conditions raised over the preceding Farragut class); builder Boston Navy Yard listed in Atlas shipyard dataset as boston-naval-shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS DD-370/DD-364 spec blocks; Mahan-class engineering record (secondary); shipyards.json 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a treaty-era US destroyer built 1934-36 at Boston Navy Yard with a high-pressure superheated-steam four-boiler plant would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - boiler and turbine insulation, steam-line lagging, valve gaskets and stem packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The raised-pressure/higher-temperature plant is the asbestos-relevant design feature of the class. Documented maintenance periods consistent with machinery disturbance aboard this hull: construction at Boston Navy Yard; December 1941 overhaul alongside tender USS Whitney at Pearl Harbor with the steam plant partially dismantled (ev-02); 'States' overhaul late 1942; Mare Island overhaul October-November 1943 (ev-03); decommissioning at Norfolk late 1945 and 1947-48 scrapping. No hull-specific inventory or specification has been retrieved to confirm applications aboard DD-370 itself.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1934-1948
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1934-36; engineering and repair crews 1936-45; Pearl Harbor NY and Mare Island NY yard trades during documented availabilities; breakers 1947-48
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a ship-specific finding. No ACM inventory, survey, or abatement record exists for this hull; scrapping predates asbestos documentation programs. Which boiler maker supplied this hull is unverified. Overhaul-yard periods are documented events; any asbestos handling in them is inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-06
-
[8]NARA Ship Plan Index entries for CASE (DD-370): RG 19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings NAID 53483881 and RG 19 Microfilm NAID 175668607; Special List 44 deck-log coverage 'Case (DD-370)' 9/15/1936-12/31/1945; Bureau of Naval Personnel Reports of Changes digitized via DPLA: 'Case (DD-370) - Report Of Changes, February 1944' NAID 112287597 and 'Case (DD-370) - Report of Changes, December 1944' NAID 112287590 (NARA College Park) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Ship Plan Index (CASE DD-370 rows); archives.gov Special List 44 (Case DD-370 row); Wikimedia Commons file pages citing DPLA/NARA NAIDs 112287590 and 112287597
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA catalogs hull-specific holdings for DD-370: engineering-drawing file units in the hull series (NAIDs 53483881, 175668607) where S39 insulation/lagging sheets would reside if they exist; complete commissioned-era deck logs (1936-09-15 to 1945-12-31 per Special List 44); and digitized Bureau of Naval Personnel Reports of Changes for February and December 1944 (NAIDs 112287597, 112287590), muster-roll-type records naming personnel assigned to this hull. These are the open archival leads for hull-level materials and population data.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1945
- Population
- Crew 1936-45 (deck logs and personnel reports name individuals)
- Limitations
- Catalog entries establish that record series exist for this hull, not their contents: drawings were not retrieved or examined, and whether S39/S48 sheets survive for DD-370 is unverified. The Reports of Changes are personnel records - they document who was aboard, not materials. Nothing in these holdings is yet evidence of asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-07
-
[9]Bounded public-source review: NHHC DANFS and Pearl Harbor action-report records, NHHC Online Library photo records, NARA asbestos guide/Ship Plan Index/Special List 44/DPLA personnel holdings, NAVSEA FOIA reading room (blocked, HTTP 403), and the CourtListener sweep - versus any DD-370 asbestos inventory, survey, abatement, specification, or qualifying litigation record [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-case-dd370-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying DD-370-specific asbestos, abatement, or material-inventory document was located in the reviewed public sources, and no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in CourtListener. Ship-specific asbestos status is unknown: the hull was sold for scrap 31 December 1947, predating Navy asbestos documentation programs, and no museum hull survives.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- research conducted 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Bounded public-source search, not proof that asbestos was absent. NARA drawings, GIBs, and deck logs were not retrieved or examined; unindexed state-court, VA, and trust claims are outside the sweep's coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-case-dd370-08