Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Claxton I (DD-140) - verbatim transcription via hazegray/losthistory mirror (live NHHC DANFS pages 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry for Claxton I (DD-140), specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 14 January 1919 by Mare Island Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Kellogg, commissioned 15 September 1919 (Lt. Cmdr. F. T. Leighton). West coast service to 18 June 1922 (decommissioned San Diego); recommissioned 22 January 1930; west coast and New Orleans reserve training to September 1933; Special Service Squadron Cuban patrol; rotating reserve Charleston January-November 1934; Cuban patrols to October 1935; Naval Academy duty 1936-37 (three coastal cruises); Squadron 40-T Spanish Civil War neutrality patrol October 1937-November 1938; Naval Academy January 1939; Neutrality Patrol Florida Straits from September 1939; New England patrol January-February 1940; arrived Halifax 21 November 1940; delivered to British authorities 26 November 1940 in the destroyers-for-bases exchange; decommissioned 5 December 1940 and commissioned in the Royal Navy the same day as HMS Salisbury. RN/RCN service: Belfast arrival 30 December 1940, Western Approaches Atlantic convoy escort; escorted USS Wasp (CV-7) on both Malta ferry voyages April-May 1942; Clyde troop-convoy escort to September 1942; assigned to the Royal Canadian Navy, local escort from St. John's to November 1943; care-and-maintenance at Halifax; paid off 10 December 1943; sold for scrapping 26 June 1944. Spec block: 1,090 t; 314' x 31' x 8'8"; 35 k; cpl 122; 4x4", 1x3", 12x21" tt; class Wickes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1944
- Population
- Mare Island construction/fitting-out trades (1918-19); USN crews 1919-1922 and 1930-1940 (design complement 122); Naval Academy midshipman-cruise populations 1936-37 and 1939; RN Western Approaches crews 1940-42; RCN escort crews 1942-43
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity and service history, not materials or asbestos content - supports no asbestos claim. Launch and commission dates conflict with the Navy's own Ships' Data Book 1924 (Jan 15 / Sept 13, 1919) - both dates carried, conflict logged in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because live NHHC pages return 404 for every URL variant tried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-01
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[2]Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1924 edition (U.S. Navy Dept., Bureau of Construction and Repair / Bureau of Engineering official publication; shipscribe.com scan of the GPO original) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1924 destroyer tabulated-data section (CLAXTON machinery row); armament/builder table (entry 46); historical-data table (CLAXTON row); namesake list, Destroyer No. 140 entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy's official tabulated record for DD-140 gives machinery as '2 Parsons geared turb..... 4 Normand...... 27,000 26,675' (2-shaft Parsons geared steam turbines; four Normand water-tube boilers; 27,000 shp design / 26,675 shp tabulated figure); builder 'Navy yard, Mare Island'; dimensions 314'4" x 30'11"; armament '4 4", 50 cal.; 1 3",23 cal.A.A.; 4 21" triple' torpedo tubes; and historical-table dates including keel laid Apr. 25, 1918, launch Jan. 15, 1919, commission Sept. 13, 1919, and a June 17, 1922 out-of-commission entry. The same builder column lists 'Navy yard, Mare Island' for the neighboring hulls of the Mare Island batch (BOGGS DD-136, KILTY DD-137, KENNISON DD-138, WARD DD-139, CLAXTON DD-140, HAMILTON DD-141), all tabulated with the Parsons/Normand machinery fit. Namesake entry: 'Destroyer No. 140-CLAXTON-named in memory of Midshipman Thomas Claxton; born in Baltimore, Md. Appointed a midshipman December 17, 1810; died of wounds received on board the Lawrence early in the Battle of Lake Erie. Congress awarded a sword to his nearest male relative and expressed deep regret for his loss and commended his name "to the recollection and affection of a grateful country and his conduct as an example to future generations."'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1924 (tabulation)
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1918-19
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official Navy data book - primary-source quality - but its tabulated launch date (Jan 15, 1919), commission date (Sept 13, 1919), and first decommissioning (June 17, 1922) conflict with DANFS (Jan 14, Sept 15, June 18); the conflicts are logged rather than silently reconciled. Scanned 1924 table OCR is column-fragile; figures quoted are from the CLAXTON row as transcribed. Contains no asbestos or materials information; establishes machinery type only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-02
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-140 USS CLAXTON page - building data, CO roster, NHHC photo credits (NH 74060 et al.) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-140 page - specifications block, operational/building data, commanding-officer roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist compilation corroborating identity and disposition: laid down Mare Island Navy Yard April 25, 1918; decommissioned San Diego June 18, 1922; recommissioned January 22, 1930; transferred to Britain November 26, 1940 renamed HMS Salisbury (I52); stricken January 8, 1941; 'Broken up for scrap in April 1945.' Spec block: 1,154 t; 314'5" oa x 31'8" x 9'10" max; machinery 24,200 SHP Parsons turbines, 2 screws; crew 103. Namesake bio: Thomas Claxton, born Baltimore, Md., midshipman 17 December 1810, mortally wounded at the Battle of Lake Erie 10 September 1813, died at Erie, Pa., 17 October 1813. Photo index documents NHHC images incl. NH 74060 (fitting out mid-1919) and construction views with Hamilton (DD-141) and Kennison (DD-138) on the Mare Island ways July 16, 1918.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Construction and crew populations as in ev-01; 1944-45 shipbreaking workforce (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Detailed secondary compilation, not an official record - its own 'Operational and Building Data' contains obvious 1918-for-1919 year typos ('Launched January 15 1918', 'commissioned September 15 1918') and collapses the Nov 26 delivery / Dec 5 decommissioning sequence into one November 26 'decommissioned and transferred' line; spec block figures (1,154 t; crew 103) differ from DANFS (1,090 t; cpl 122) - all conflicts logged, not merged. 'Broken up April 1945' rests on secondary sources alone. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-03
-
[4]Consolidated era/design inference - SDB 1924 machinery row for DD-140 (4 Normand boilers, Parsons geared turbines) + Fleischer, W.E., et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 + Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987) + Atlas shipyards.json record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1924 CLAXTON machinery row; Fleischer et al. 1946 abstract; Corn & Starr 1987; shipyards.json 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' entry
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DD-140 was a 1918-19 steam destroyer with four oil-fired Normand water-tube boilers feeding Parsons geared turbines - the machinery class whose boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, and fireproofing were commonly asbestos-containing in that era. The USMC-commissioned Fleischer et al. 1946 survey found amosite 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels,' and Corn & Starr (1987) document extensive asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding. Builder context: Mare Island Naval Shipyard is a tier-2 yard in the Atlas dataset with documented asbestos products (Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, gaskets, packing) - but those yard records derive from much later periods (1976-94 litigation-era welding exposure; 1998 EIS/EIR facility ACM), not the 1918-19 construction era. NARA RG 19 General Information Books and Mare Island construction records (NARA Pacific, San Bruno) are the hull-level specification leads.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Mare Island construction trades 1918-19; steaming crews 1919-1940; RN/RCN escort crews 1940-1943
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding. The era literature is WWII-weighted (1940s pipe-covering practice); whether the same materials and suppliers applied to a 1918-19 Mare Island build is unverified, and the yard's documented asbestos products postdate this hull's construction by decades. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation aboard DD-140.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-04
-
[5]NHHC (Naval Historical Center) FAQ publication, 'Destroyers for Bases Agreement, 2 September 1940' - text of the Lothian-Knox note exchange (Wayback capture; live page 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC FAQ 59 page, note-exchange text (Wayback 2007 capture of history.navy.mil/faqs/faq59-24.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC text of the 2 September 1940 Destroyers for Bases agreement: Britain granted the U.S. 99-year leases for naval/air bases (Newfoundland, Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Antigua, British Guiana) in exchange for naval and military equipment - implemented as the transfer of fifty over-age WWI-era U.S. destroyers, of which Claxton (DD-140) was one (delivered at Halifax 26 November 1940 per DANFS). Program-level documentation explaining why this hull left U.S. custody in December 1940.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940
- Limitations
- Agreement text is program-level context; it does not name individual hulls (the fifty-ship list is documented elsewhere) and contains no materials/asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-05
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[6]Batch-3146 search ledger (this record): NHHC live pages (404); hazegray/losthistory DANFS mirror; Ships' Data Book 1924 (shipscribe scan); NavSource DD-140; Atlas shipyards.json; destroyers-for-bases agreement text (NHHC FAQ 59, Wayback); CourtListener API v4 opinion + RECAP sweeps (authenticated); lead-gen asbestos sites reviewed and excluded [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-claxton-dd140-01 through sl-uss-claxton-dd140-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Claxton (DD-140) / HMS Salisbury (I52): no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, preservation record (hull scrapped 1944-45, not preserved), court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Lead-gen site navyshipexposure.com claims a six-entry equipment manifest for 'USS Claxton' derived from 'ship-specific BUSHIPS documentation' and litigation records (Quimby fuel-oil pumps, Worthington feed pumps, Manning Maxwell Moore safety valves, Northern Pump) - the page does not distinguish DD-140 from DD-571, cites no retrievable document, and is a non-citable marketing source; its underlying NARA/BUSHIPS machinery records may exist but were not located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1918-19 steam destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, and the lead-gen manifest hints at retrievable NARA/BUSHIPS equipment files worth a paid-archives check. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-06
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[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (opinion + RECAP docket indexes) for USS Claxton / DD-140 / HMS Salisbury - see finding_value [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoints (type=o, type=r)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener sweep completed 2026-09-26: ZERO qualifying hits. Opinion searches returned zero results for "USS Claxton", "DD-140", and "aboard the Claxton" OR "aboard USS Claxton" OR "HMS Salisbury". RECAP docket search "USS Claxton" OR "DD-140" returned 25 dockets - all are exhibit-number collisions ('Exhibit DD-140' sequences in unrelated cases incl. Ver Hagen v. BeneTek, Madoff SIPA trustee exhibits); none mention the vessel. RECAP 'Claxton asbestos' returned 188 dockets / 352 documents - sampled top-ranked results are surname collisions (Claxton v. Singh, M.D. Pa. personal injury) and law-firm-name collisions ('Lewis, Fisher, Henderson, Claxton & Mulroy LLP' counsel-of-record entries inside MDL-875 asbestos dockets, e.g. Shapley v. Minnesota Mining); no hull-naming hit in sampled results. No asbestos case names DD-140, and none names DD-571 either ('USS Claxton' verbatim = 0 opinions, covering both hulls).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's indexed opinion and RECAP docket text; a hull named only in non-digitized PACER filings, state-court paper records, or unindexed complaint exhibits would not surface. The 'Claxton asbestos' docket sweep was sampled (top BM25-ranked results), not paged exhaustively - a deep-buried hull reference in the 188-hit tail cannot be excluded, though the collision classes found (surnames, the Claxton-named asbestos-defense firm) account for the hit volume.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-07
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships/Bureau of Construction and Repair records - Wickes-class General Information Books, Mare Island construction files); NARA Pacific Region (San Bruno) Mare Island Naval Shipyard records; The National Archives (Kew) ADM series for the HMS Salisbury period and 1944-45 disposal; U.S. Naval Academy records for the 1936-37/1939 midshipman-cruise assignment [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/181/24 group guides; TNA ADM guidance
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 19 / RG 181 - Wickes-class General Information Books and Mare Island construction/yard files are the resolution path for hull-level material specifications and the equipment manifest the lead-gen site gestures at; (b) NARA Pacific (San Bruno) Mare Island Naval Shipyard records; (c) UK National Archives ADM series - HMS Salisbury commissioned-ship records and the 1944 sale/breakup file; (d) USNA records for the midshipman-training assignment periods; (e) NARA deck logs (RG 24) for DD-140's USN commission periods.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DD-140 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claxton-dd140-08