Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Champlin II (DD-601) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/champlin-ii.html returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Champlin II (DD-601)' entry - specifications block + full service narrative (hazegray.org mirror via Wayback)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: (DD-601: dp. 1,620; l. 347'9"; b. 36'1"; dr. 17'4"; s. 38 k.; cpl. 262; a. 4 5", 5 21" tt.; cl. Benson). Launched 26 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River, Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Brendel; commissioned 12 September 1942, Lt. Cmdr. C. L. Melson in command. Atlantic convoy escort from Dec 1942 (Argentia, Panama Canal Zone, first Casablanca crossing sailing NY 11 Dec 1942, returning 7 Feb 1943); sank U-130 12 Mar 1943 at 37 deg 10' N., 20 deg 21' W. by gunfire, attempted ram, and depth-charge pattern; rescued the 127-man crew of SS Wyoming and 2 survivors of SS Molly Pitcher. Sicily invasion July 1943 (convoy to Scoglitti arriving 9 Jul; preassault bombardment 10 Jul; bombardment of Camerina). Four more Atlantic crossings Aug 1943-Mar 1944. Sank U-856 on 7 Apr 1944 at 40 deg 18' N., 62 deg 18' W. by depth charges, gunfire, and ramming; CO Cmdr. John J. Shaffer III wounded by shrapnel and died next morning. After bow repairs, Anzio support from Naples May 1944; southern France invasion Aug 1944 (shore batteries off Cannes, Gulf of Napoule blockade, Var River bridge near Nice). Jan-Feb 1945 escorted the group carrying President Roosevelt to Malta (Yalta Conference). Pacific transfer: Panama Canal 4 Jun 1945, Pearl Harbor 10 Jul, Wake Island attack 1 Aug, Okinawa escort/patrol 12 Aug-4 Sep, two occupation-support voyages to Japan; homeward via Saipan, Pearl Harbor, San Diego (21-24 Nov). In commission in reserve at Charleston 28 Mar 1946; out of commission in reserve 31 Jan 1947. Six battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem Fore River construction trades 1942; wartime crew (DANFS spec complement 262)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Launch date reads 26 July 1942 - NavSource and Wikipedia read 25 July 1942; conflict carried in gaps. DANFS narrative credits Champlin alone for U-856; NavSource photo captions record USS Huse (DE-145) participating in the attack as part of TU 27.6.1 with USS Croatan (CVE-25). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (link rot documented in BATCH-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, USS Champlin (DD-601) photo/history page (operational and building data block; photo captions incl. Navy Yard Boston 16 Oct 1944 and CDR Shaffer death-investigation details) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-601 page - 'Operational and Building Data' block + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: class Benson as built; laid down by Bethlehem Steel Quincy, Mass. 31 January 1942; launched 25 July 1942; commissioned 12 September 1942; decommissioned 31 January 1947; stricken 2 January 1971; sold 8 May 1972 and broken up for scrap. Machinery 50,000 SHP Bethlehem turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 kt; range 6,500 NM at 12 kt; crew 208; armament 4 x 5"/38AA, 10 x 21" tt (2x5); displacement 2,395 t (full); 348'4" oa. Photo caption documents the ship departing Navy Yard Boston 16 October 1944; another documents that CDR Shaffer was wounded by friendly fire (a 20mm projectile detonated on a ready-ammo-box lid) during the Champlin/USS Huse (DE-145) attack on U-856, TU 27.6.1 operating with USS Croatan (CVE-25).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1972
- Population
- Wartime crew; Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretakers 1947-1971; scrapping workers 1972
- Limitations
- Curated secondary compilation, not itself a primary source - but NavSource is the standing source for NVR-derived strike/disposal data on pre-1987 disposals (the Naval Vessel Register does not include hulls disposed of before 1987). Launch date 25 July conflicts with DANFS 26 July - documented in gaps. Stricken date corroborated by uboat.net and NavalCoverMuseum (same value); no primary record consulted. Scrapping buyer/site not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-02
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[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945) machinery table, 'No. 421 Class' (Benson/Gleaves machinery family) + DANFS spec block; consolidated era inference [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips Ships' Data v1 (Jan 1945) DD machinery table; class profile benson-gleaves-class.class.json (background only)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DD-601 is a Benson-subclass hull built 1942 at Bethlehem Fore River with the class machinery plant - 4 Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 lists 575 psi/700 deg F for the No. 421 Class family) and geared turbines at ~50,000 shp - peak Navy asbestos-insulation era (1938-43 construction). Period-standard applications for the type: boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. DD-601 was not a DMS-conversion hull and was never reactivated; her post-service life was reserve berthing (Charleston, 1946/47-1971) and scrapping (1972).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1972
- Population
- Construction trades (Bethlehem Fore River, 1942); wartime crew; reserve-fleet maintenance personnel 1947-71; scrapping workers 1972
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific build specification, material schedule, ACM inventory, or survey was located; establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual. Reserve-era maintenance/inactivation work on machinery insulation is undocumented for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-03
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[4]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked to automated fetch, HTTP 403; content via product-page description - standing limitation per BATCH-01)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - i.e., original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; postdates DD-601's striking (1971) and scrapping (1972). Context for Navy asbestos-management practice during and after the ship's era only - establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-04
-
[5]USS Champlin (DD-601) veterans' association site, documents page - scans of the ship's official deck logs (Sep 1942-1946; association newsletter states copies were purchased from the National Archives) plus official USN documents: U-856 Battle Action Report, U-856 survivor interrogations, U-856 chronological log, U-130 operations, CDR Shaffer medical record / death investigation / burial service, BuOrd 20mm alert [other_primary]
- Locator
- usschamplin.com/documents2.html (deck-log index + document links); newsletter5.html (NARA purchase note)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A hull-level primary-source set exists and is partially online: scanned official deck logs month-by-month (Sep 1942 through 1946) and official USN action/records documents for this specific ship are hosted by the USS Champlin reunion group. Deck logs document yard availabilities and locations and are the deepest ship-specific record class available for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Wartime ship's company documented in the logs
- Limitations
- Documents are official NARA-derived records but the host is a private veterans' association, not a government archive - scan completeness/integrity unverified against NARA originals; no asbestos or materials content expected in deck logs, and none was identified; underlying RG 24 deck logs sit at NARA regardless of this site's status.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-05
-
[6]East Carolina University Digital Collections, 'USS Champlin (DD-601) commissioning procedure memorandum' (12 Sep 1942; signed by prospective CO Lt. Cmdr. C. L. Melson; Steven N. Anastasion Collection, East Carolina Manuscript Collection, local ID 0913-b1-fa) [museum_official]
- Locator
- ECU Digital Collections item 36692 (Steven N. Anastasion Collection 0913-b1-fa)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Institutional archive holding for this hull: the ship's commissioning-procedure memorandum dated 12 September 1942 (commissioning day), with a deck diagram noting commissioning stations - a ship-specific primary document in a university manuscript collection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-09-12
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Single-item administrative document; no materials/asbestos content; cited to show ship-level primary documents exist in institutional holdings, not to establish any exposure record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-06
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[7]CourtListener API v4 sweeps (type=o opinion index; type=r RECAP docket index), 2026-09-27 - authenticated, fleet-paced [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-champlin-dd601-07/08; verified collisions: gov.uscourts.jpml.375294.7545.3.pdf (Pratt tag-along) and gov.uscourts.mssd.115252 doc 1-1 (Webb, OCR of 147-page state-court complaint)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. CourtListener opinion index: 'USS Champlin' and 'U.S.S. Champlin' = 0 hits each. RECAP document full-text index (type=rd): 'USS Champlin' = 0 hits - no indexed document contains the ship-name phrase. Docket index (type=r) 'USS Champlin' = 67 dockets, all name collisions on review: 'Champlin' matches are person/company names (attorneys/experts; Champlin Petroleum Co. / Champlin Oil Refinery worksite allegations; defendant's managing member William Champlin III) alongside unrelated 'USS' tokens - including IN RE Asbestos Products Liability Litigation No. VI (MDL-875) JPML tag-along entry 7545 (underlying complaint Pratt, N.D. Cal. 4:11-cv-03503: 'Champlin' = refinery exposure site, not the ship) and Webb v. Baldor Electric Co. (S.D. Miss. 1:22-cv-00145, asbestos complaint removed from Jackson County Cir. Ct. 2022-003.AS: 'Champlin' = William Champlin III; the plaintiff's naval-vessel exposure list does not include DD-601). Bare hull-number queries 'DD-601' return mass noise (801 opinions / 57,377 dockets - coincidental token matches), no relevant hit on review.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Search limited to CourtListener-indexed opinion text and RECAP docket/document text; non-indexed dockets, state-court filings, and un-digitized records are outside coverage. Absence of located litigation does not mean none exists - negative finding only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champlin-dd601-07