Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 752-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-pkt-752-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Charles J. Kimmel (DE-584) (namesake biography, builder, dates, specs, service narrative, battle star; verbatim hazegray transcription via Wayback 2024-12-07 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Charles Jack Kimmel born Rushsylvania, Ohio 2 July 1918, enlisted USMC 29 October 1941, commissioned 2nd Lt. 31 January 1942, killed in action near the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal, 2 November 1942 leading a bayonet charge - posthumous Navy Cross. DE-584 spec block: dp. 1,450; l. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'8"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 2 x 5", 3 x 21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.), 2 dct.; cl. Rudderow. Launched 15 January 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass., sponsored by Mrs. C. J. Kimmel; commissioned 20 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. G. Storey, Jr., USNR; reported to the Atlantic Fleet. Coastwise convoys Norfolk-New York to August 1944; 2 August convoy escort to Oran; independent escort of a transport to Naples in support of the southern France assault; rejoined at Oran 26 August; returned to Boston 18 September for repairs and Pacific-type camouflage. Arrived Manus 7 November 1944; Hollandia 20 November; reinforcement convoy to Leyte; San Fabian Attack Force 28 December; air attacks 6-8 January 1945; antiaircraft barrage during the 9 January Lingayen assault. Philippine operations through war's end incl. two Palau screens; from 2 June, Davao Gulf local defense force - communications for naval forces ashore plus air-sea rescue (22 survivors of a downed Air Force transport under the guns of Auqui Island on her first day); Piso Point bombardment aiding Filipino guerrillas (~600 enemy). September 1945 convoy to Okinawa; homeward-bound pennant at Samar 29 November; San Diego 18 December 1945; out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947. One battle star for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (design complement 186); Navy Yard Boston availability workforce June and September 1944
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, service history, and disposal-era facts through decommissioning - not materials or asbestos content. This DANFS volume predates the 1968 striking and 1969 sinking, so those dates come from other records (ev-05). Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link-rot pattern); verbatim hazegray transcription via Wayback cited. Spec-block draft (9'8") differs from NavSource (13'9" draft limit) - spec rows print different draft conventions; noted, not reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row for KIMMEL, CHAS. J., DE-584 (shipscribe.com scan; tesseract OCR + visual read of book pp. 250-251) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 roster row 185, KIMMEL CHAS. J. DE-584 (book pp. 250-251; shipscribe scan PDF p. 135)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull (roster row 185): KIMMEL, CHAS. J., official number DE584, design group TEV; builder 'Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Hingham, Mass.'; contract price $2,596,000; contract signed 7 August 1942 ('do.' ditto chain); keel laid 1 December 1943; launched 15 January 1944; 'date of completion' column reads 14 May 1944; preliminary acceptance and date of first commission both 20 April 1944. Keel, launch, and commission dates concur with DANFS and NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard construction trades 1943-44
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, design group, price, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. The 'completion' column reads May 14, 1944 while first commission reads Apr. 20, 1944 - column semantics ambiguous in the printed table (possibly builder's-completion vs. delivery); carried as printed, not reconciled (same ambiguity pattern noted on sibling rows).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-02
-
[4]U.S.S. Charles J. Kimmel (DE584) Ship's History, DE584/A12 Serial 263, 1 December 1945 - the ship's official war history submitted by the Commanding Officer to the Secretary of the Navy (Public Information Section) per ALPAC #310; signed F. G. Storey, Jr.; cc CINCPAC PUBINFO, COMDESPAC, Fleet Hometown News Center (NavSource image scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-584 page, 'View the official War History' image (06584wh.jpg), 3-page typescript
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war-history submission for this hull records: commissioned 20 April 1944 'built by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard inc., Hingham, Mass.' and delivered to the Navy by the Superintendent of Shipbuilding, Quincy, Mass.; initial crew 'nine officers and one-hundred eighty nine enlisted men'; christened 15 January 1944 by 'Mrs. Charles J. Kimmel, mother of the gallant officer.' Post-shakedown (finished 9 June 1944) 'departed for her home yard, Navy Yard Boston, Mass.' - a documented Navy-yard availability. September 1944: after the 15 September USS Jenks (DE-665) joint submarine hunt, 'ordered to report to Boston, Mass., for voyage repairs'; 'arrived at the South Boston Navy Yard' where 'all her equipment thoroughly repaired. Alterations were accomplished to put her in the best shape for a long hard cruise. She was given a type camouflage' - departed 30 September for the Pacific. May 1945: 'drydocked by a floating dock at Guiuan Roadstead, Samar, P.I.' with all hands scraping, wirebrushing, and painting. Also documents Escort Division 71 flagship tours (Comdr. Evan W. Yancey from 9 July 1944; Comdr. W. F. C. Robards from 7 October 1944 to 11 October 1945), the 2 June 1945 Auqui Island whaleboat rescue of 22 Army Air Force personnel (Lt.(jg) Powers; commendations from Vice Adm. J. L. Kauffman, ComPhilSeaFron), the Piso Point bombardment, the November 1945 typhoon-search 'Well Done', the 194-foot homeward pennant with 13 stars, and arrival San Diego 18 December 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Commissioning crew 9 officers / 189 enlisted (April 1944); Navy Yard Boston (incl. South Boston annex) availability workforce June and September 1944; wartime crew through December 1945
- Limitations
- Ship-submitted administrative history written for public-information purposes - a contemporaneous primary record of operations and yard periods, but it contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. The named Navy-yard availabilities establish where work was done, not what materials were disturbed. OCR/visual read of a typewritten scan; minor name spellings (e.g., the delivering superintendent) not fully resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 3 / TEV (shipscribe.com scan; OCR + visual read of book pp. 234-235) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-3 TEV row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 3 (symbol TEV - 'turbine electric drive, 5" guns') - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, 37 ft beam, 1,450 t standard / 1,810 t full load, 23.6 kt trial; limiting navigational draft 13'9"; design accommodations 15 officers / 206 enlisted; armament 2 x 5"/38 D.P. plus a torpedo-tube mount; machinery: 2 'D' express-type boilers at 435 p.s.i., 750 deg. F superheat; G.E. turbo-electric machinery, 12,000 shaft hp, 2 shafts. Footnote: turbines built by G.E. or Westinghouse, interchangeable as units - per-hull manufacturer is in the roster's machinery column (not legible for DE-584 in the scan). Documents that this hull's assigned design carried a full superheated-steam plant, unlike the diesel DE groups (GMT/FMR/DET rows read 'None' in the boiler columns).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (publication)
- Population
- TEV-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers / 206 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation for the whole TEV group, not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos. Table read from a scanned page; group-3 cells read cleanly for boilers, pressures, and machinery. NavSource's '2 CE boilers' is a secondary attribution of boiler manufacturer not contradicted by SDB (which prints type, not maker).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-04
-
[6]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-584 (compiled building/operational data, spec block, NHHC photo caption NH 72678, namesake biography, commanding-officer list) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-584 page: specifications block, 'Building and Operational Data' chronology, photo caption NH 72678, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: TEV type; propulsion 2 CE boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; complement listed 12 officers / 192 enlisted. Building/operational data: keel laid 1 December 1943 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Mass.; launched and christened 15 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. C. J. Kimmel; commissioned 20 April 1944, Lcdr F. G. Storey, Jr., USNR; decommissioned at San Diego 15 January 1947 after 2 years 9 months of service having steamed 89,240 miles; inactivation completed 29 January 1947, assigned Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the NVR 30 June 1968; sunk as target off California 13 November 1969. Photo NH 72678 (U.S. Naval Historical Center) shows the ship nested in the San Diego reserve fleet circa 1960 alongside USS Richey (DE-385), USS Bivin (DE-536), USS Gillette (DE-681), and USS Bull (APD-78). Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star; WWII Victory Medal; Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Commanding officers: Storey to 18 Dec 1945; Lcdr Walter Gadsby Jr. to ~Mar 1946; Lt. Edward S. Marvich to ~May 1946; Lcdr William J. Rogers Jr. (decommissioning CO).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Wartime crew; reserve-fleet caretakers San Diego 1947-1969; target-sinking detail 1969
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation citing official records and NHHC photo captions - not itself an official record. The 89,240-mile figure, the inactivation date/unit assignment, the 30 June 1968 NVR strike date, the 13 November 1969 target sinking, and the 12/192 complement are not verified against a primary source (NVR no longer lists this pre-1987 disposal); complement conflicts with DANFS (186) and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-05
-
[7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-3 machinery row (2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750 deg. F; GE turbo-electric 12,000 shp) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Atlas class-pattern precedent for steam-powered escorts [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-3 row (2 'D' express boilers present) vs. diesel-group rows (boilers 'None'); cf. john-c-butler-class and rudderow-class records (same steam-DE application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Rudderow-class (TEV) destroyer escort built 1943-44 at a Bethlehem wartime emergency yard with a full superheated-steam turbo-electric plant would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a steam-powered escort - boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, gaskets and packing on steam and feed systems, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and compartment fire insulation. Unlike the diesel DE classes (FMR/DET/GMT - whose SDB rows read 'None' in the boiler columns), the TEV and WGT designs retained boilers and steam lines, so the largest asbestos categories of steam ships apply to this design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-47; reserve-fleet maintenance 1947-69
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-584 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. The builder yard (Bethlehem-Hingham, operated 1941-45) has no yard-level asbestos record in the Atlas dataset, so no yard documentation attaches to construction; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-06
-
[8]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json, 37 yard_ids): 'boston-naval-shipyard' = Boston Naval Shipyard (evidence tier 3; litigation-identified products incl. John Crane gaskets and sealing materials in yard use) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'boston-naval-shipyard'; ev-03 (war history) for the documented yard periods
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder/repair-yard context: the ship's own war history documents two Boston Navy Yard periods - the June 1944 post-shakedown return to 'her home yard, Navy Yard Boston' and the September 1944 voyage-repair/alteration availability at the 'South Boston Navy Yard' (the yard's South Boston annex). The Atlas Boston Naval Shipyard record is tier 3 with litigation-identified asbestos gasket and sealing products in yard use. The builder yard (Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham) is NOT an Atlas dataset entry - the 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record is the Quincy/Fore River corporate site, a different yard - so no yard-level asbestos documentation attaches to the 1943-44 construction period.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard availability workforce June and September 1944
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - the Boston yard's litigation record documents products in yard use generally; it names no DE-584 application and establishes neither which products went aboard during the availabilities nor any quantity or individual exposure. Whether the September 1944 repairs disturbed insulation is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page (report metadata and digest)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program history: standing policy (from 1975) removed deteriorated asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas; program-level documentation of asbestos in naval vessels and shipyards of this era. DE-584 spent 1947-1969 in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego - within the period during which the Navy managed, rather than fully removed, shipboard asbestos - but the hull was stricken and sunk as a target before the period of GAO fieldwork visibility.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s-1979 (program history)
- Population
- Navy shipyard and fleet-maintenance workforce (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - GAO fieldwork centered on specific naval shipyards and the report names no vessel of this class; establishes Navy policy context for reserve-fleet custody, nothing about materials aboard DE-584. gao.gov blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403 per sibling-batch findings); product-page description used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-08
-
[10]Navy insulation-spec suite identified as controlling era documents in destroyer-escort asbestos litigation: Bureau of Ships Manual ch.39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) (24 Aug 1945); Navy Department Specification 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' (Oct 1945); General Specifications for Machinery S39-1 (BuEng, 3 Feb 1939); BuEng Manual ch.13 'Instructions Relative to Heat Insulation' (1933/1939) - per Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec (W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537) exhibit-list recital, as cataloged in the Atlas john-c-butler-class class profile [other_primary]
- Locator
- john-c-butler-class.class.json evidence rows citing Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list (ECF 738 att. 1)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The era's controlling Navy insulation specifications - including an explicitly asbestos-named felt spec - are identified in DE-class litigation exhibit lists and cataloged in this dataset's John C. Butler-class profile. These are the correct next-pull targets for class-level asbestos specification documentation applicable to the Rudderow (TEV) class, a sister steam-escort design of the same build era.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1939-1945 (spec dates)
- Limitations
- Identified secondhand via class-level research and a litigation exhibit list for a different DE class; the underlying spec documents were not retrieved in this session, and nothing in this row is specific to DE-584. Retrieval pending - treat as research lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-09
-
[11]NARA Record Group 19 (BuShips records - per-vessel General Information Books; Alphabetical Series of Ship Engineering Drawings incl. Rudderow/Crosley-hull Booklets of General Plans) and Record Group 24 (deck logs for DE-584, 1944-47) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org item apdcrosleybogp1945 (Crosley-class BOGP, NARA RG19 provenance); NARA catalog search unsuccessful in-session
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The primary-source leads for hull-level material documentation are unexamined: RG19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specifications) and the Rudderow/Crosley-class Booklets of General Plans in RG19's Alphabetical Series (a 1945 Crosley-class APD BOGP built on the Rudderow hull form is digitized at archive.org); RG24 deck logs for DE-584 (1944-47) were not located in digitized form. General-arrangement drawings occasionally carry material/insulation callouts.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - establishes nothing about DE-584 materials. Deck-log existence presumed from standard RG24 holdings for commissioned vessels, not confirmed per-hull; NARA catalog API did not return usable results in-session (sibling-batch pattern).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket sweeps for this vessel (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py): '"USS Charles J. Kimmel"' opinions = 0; '"USS Kimmel"' = 0; '"Charles J. Kimmel"' = 0; 'Kimmel' = 6,284 (all reviewed hits surname parties); '"DE-584"' opinions = 3 (tokenization noise); dockets '"USS Charles J. Kimmel"' = 0, '"USS Kimmel"' = 0, '"DE-584"' = 100 (all reviewed hits ECF docket-entry-number fragments) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-08 through sl-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-15
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep found NO litigation naming this vessel: exact-name queries ('USS Charles J. Kimmel', 'USS Kimmel', 'Charles J. Kimmel') returned 0 opinions and 0 dockets. Broad 'Kimmel' opinion sweep returned 6,284 hits - all 20 reviewed top results are surname parties or counsel (criminal, family-law, and bankruptcy matters incl. Santos v. Kimmel, 2d Cir.; Commonwealth v. Kimmel, Pa. Super.) - none naming the vessel, Navy service, or asbestos. 'DE-584' opinions = 3 hits, all tokenization noise in unrelated captions (Texas water-district contract dispute; a 1955 immigration appeal; a 1967 railroad-labor case). 'DE-584' dockets = 100 hits, all 20 reviewed top results are RECAP docket-entry-number fragments ('DE 584' = docket entry 584) in unrelated federal civil/criminal/bankruptcy dockets. No hit names the vessel, the hull number as a vessel, or asbestos exposure aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Coverage is first-page review per query (top ~20 results by relevance): 'Kimmel' produced 6,284 opinion hits and deep-tail results were not individually opened - residual low-relevance collisions possible, but no reviewed hit named the vessel and the surname is high-collision. Absence of a located docket does not prove no lawsuit ever named the ship - only that none is indexed in CourtListener's opinion/RECAP corpora.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-11
-
[13]Batch-4396 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; verbatim transcription via hazegray/Wayback); NavSource DE-584 index + ship-submitted war history image; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I (OCR + visual); NVR; NARA catalog; Atlas shipyards.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-01 through sl-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-584: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure (hull sunk as target 1969 - no surviving structure), materials record, or litigation naming this vessel was found in the public sources searched, including a full CourtListener opinion/docket sweep by name and hull number (see ev-11). See search_ledger.
- 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 - it reflects that no ship-specific documentation exists in the sources searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-charles-j-kimmel-de584-12
