Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet fd-packet.md (14 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-converse-dd509-pkt-fd-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Converse II (DD-509) (namesake lineage, builder, dates, service narrative, transfer; verbatim text via Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/c13/converse-ii.htm, 2005-01-11 - live NHHC page serves 404; identical transcription hosted by hazegray and destroyerhistory.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, Converse II - specifications block + full service narrative + transfer line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Rear Admiral George A. Converse (1844-1909). Specifications block: dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 40'; dr. 13'; s. 36 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Fletcher. Launched 30 August 1942 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Miss A. V. Jackson; commissioned 20 November 1942, Commander D. C. E. Hamberger in command. Trained at Guantanamo Bay and Pearl Harbor; arrived Noumea 17 May 1943; joined Destroyer Squadron 23 at Port Purvis 16 September 1943 - Presidential Unit Citation for northern Solomons operations 31 October 1943 to 4 February 1944. Buka/Bonis bombardment and Battle of Empress Augusta Bay 31 October-1 November 1943; Cape St. George action 24-25 November (three enemy ships sunk; Converse struck by a torpedo which failed to explode); 3 December 1943 bomber near-miss caused electrical failure - complete repairs at Sydney, Australia, 14 December to 30 January 1944; TF 58 screening through Palaus, Hollandia, Truk/Satawan/Ponape, Saipan, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Guam/Rota; overhaul at Mare Island from 4 August 1944; returned 3 November 1944 for Leyte convoy screening; 21 December kamikaze attacks on the Mindoro resupply echelon - rescued 266 survivors of LST-749; Lingayen Gulf fire support 9-10 January 1945; Corregidor task unit (Malinta Tunnel sealed); Subic Bay overhaul; Panay/Los Negros invasion 18 March-1 April 1945; Okinawa radar picket from 16 May 1945 to war's end without damage. Departed Okinawa 10 September; ceremonial PUC award at Washington, D.C., 19 October; overhaul at Brooklyn; decommissioned in reserve at Charleston, S.C., 23 April 1946. 'On 1 July 1959 she was transferred under the Mutual Assistance Program to Spain, with whom she serves as Almirante Valdes (D-43).' Eleven battle stars plus the PUC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1959
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1942; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS gives no laid-down or stricken date for this hull (NavSource supplies both - ev-02). The entry is frozen at its writing date - 'serves as Almirante Valdes' is a 1959-era statement; the ship was later stricken and scrapped (ev-02, ev-04). Mirror/capture cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-509 USS Converse (building/operational data, machinery line, stricken date, Spanish-service disposition, PUC citation text, commanding-officer roster, photo captions; via Wayback capture - navsource.org unreachable at fetch time) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-509 index page: 'As Built' block + 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' + 'On Spanish Service' photo captions + PUC text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: 'CLASS - FLETCHER As Built'; displacement 2,924 tons (full); 376'5" x 39'7" x 13'9" (max); machinery 60,000 shp, Allis Chalmers turbines, 2 screws; speed 38 knots; range 6,500 nm at 15 kt; crew 273; call sign NFAC. Laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., 23 February 1942; launched 30 August 1942; commissioned 20 November 1942; decommissioned 23 April 1946; stricken 1 October 1972; to Spain 1 July 1959, renamed Almirante Valdes (hull no. 43, then reclassified D-23); 'Stricken November 17, 1986 and scrapped in 1988.' Photo captions document the hull at Charleston NSY piers November 1945 (nest with John Rodgers), at Philadelphia Navy Yard 22 May 1959 'being prepped for transfer to Spain,' transfer to the Spanish Navy 1 July 1959, and a 13 June 1985 collision with submarine Siroco (S-72) off Cartagena (no casualties; Spanish Ministry of Defense caption). Caption text notes pre-transfer modernization 'along the general lines of project SCB-74A.' PUC text lists DesRon 23 members Charles Ausburne, Claxton, Dyson, Spence, Converse, Stanly, citation period 1 November 1943 to 23 February 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Population
- Wartime crew 1942-46; reserve-period caretakers 1946-59; Spanish Navy crew 1959-86
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-run photographic archive - not an official record; used here for the dates DANFS omits (laid down, U.S. stricken) and for disposal detail. Overlapping dates match DANFS exactly. Its crew figure (273) matches DANFS but conflicts with the destroyerhistory sheet's wartime 329; its speed (38 kt) conflicts with DANFS (36 kt); the PUC citation dates differ from the DANFS PUC period - all documented in gaps rather than reconciled. Spanish stricken year 1986 corroborated by Spanish naval-history sources; the 1988 scrapping is NavSource/secondary.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-02
-
[4]Destroyer History Foundation (destroyerhistory.org), USS Converse DD-509 pages - 'The 509' data sheet (Bath hull no. 198; ordered 28 June 1940; specifications; 1943 and post-1944 armament fits), 'Shipmates' History' (1981 Converse yearbook narrative), transcribed SECRET action report of 27 November 1943 (Cape St. George), and 'Almirante Valdes' page (Spanish-service summary quoting the ship's Spanish commanding officer) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/ussconverse/ subpages 'The 509' (pid=50902), 'Shipmates' History' (pid=50903), 'DANFS History' (pid=50904), 'Action Reports' (pid=50905, Cape St. George report pid=50911), 'Almirante Valdes' (pid=50909)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Foundation-hosted record set for this hull: ordered 28 June 1940; Bath Iron Works hull no. 198, specifications shared with sister Strong (DD-467) - 376'5.5" overall, 39'8" beam, 2,050 long tons normal, 60,000 shp, 36 kt, two screws, 4,800 nm at 15 kt, designed complement 34 officers + 295 enlisted; 'round-bridge' (high-bridge) Fletcher; 1944 modification added two 40mm twin mounts (in common with 157 of 166 then-active Fletchers). Verbatim transcription of the ship's own SECRET action report (27 November 1943, CO to Cincpac via Comsopac/CTF39/Comdesron 23) documents the 24-25 November 1943 Cape St. George engagement including the dud-torpedo strike at ~0219. The 'Almirante Valdes' page (quoting a Spanish commanding officer's letter) reports 1959-1988 Spanish service, a renewed main battery, modernized torpedo/radar equipment, and 21,772 steaming hours / 324,836 nautical miles logged under the Spanish flag.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1988
- Population
- Construction/crew populations as per data sheet; Spanish crew 1959-1988
- Limitations
- Specialized naval-history foundation hosting primary-document transcriptions and veteran yearbook material - secondary host for the primary action report; the yearbook narrative and Spanish-CO letter are veteran-produced secondary material used for detail DANFS omits (order date, hull number, armament fits, Spanish employment). Complement figure (329) conflicts with DANFS (273) - documented in gaps. No asbestos-related content in any page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-03
-
[5]Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE, Spanish official gazette), num. 271, 10 November 1987, pp. 33513-33517 - Resolucion de la Junta Delegada de Enajenaciones y Liquidadora de Material de la zona maritima del Cantabrico: public auction of the ex-destroyer 'Almirante Valdes' [other_primary]
- Locator
- BOE num. 271 (10 Nov 1987), sec. V Anuncios, Resolucion 5619-A (71268), Arsenal de Ferrol, 20 October 1987
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Spanish disposal record for this hull: the BOE announces the public auction of ex-destructor 'Almirante Valdes' (ex-USS Converse DD-509), base price 13,414,236 pesetas, the material examinable at the La Grana naval station (Ferrol) on working days, auction to be held at 11:00 on 17 December 1987 in the Arsenal de Ferrol auction hall - the Spanish Navy's formal end-of-life disposition of the hull prior to scrapping (1988).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1987
- Population
- Spanish breaker's-yard workforce 1987-88 (unquantified)
- Limitations
- Documents the hull's sale/disposal only - the notice is silent on hazardous materials, asbestos content, or scrapping conditions. Buyer and breakup site are not named in the notice; Spanish scrapping practice of the era is undocumented here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 36 kt; cpl. 273) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bath Iron Works record (evidence_tier 2) incl. Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 28:9-16 (1946), PMID 21016030 - 1942 field study at the yard; NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (ev-bath-iron-works-02 PMID 21016030; ev-01 OSHA 1987; ev-03/-05/-06 litigation; NIOSH HHE 89-0273); NARA RG19 lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942 with a four-boiler/60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset, including the 1942-conducted Harvard/Navy health survey of pipe-covering operations at the yard (published 1946; recorded 'fairly serious dust risk' and exposure levels at ten times the safe threshold in pipe-covering shops) - a study performed while this hull was on the ways (laid down February, launched August 1942). Yard-level litigation (Austin v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Me. 1984; Shorette BRB 1996) and OSHA/NIOSH records (1987 inspection; HHE 89-0273, 1990) further document asbestos conditions at the builder yard. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1942; crew 1942-1946 U.S., 1959-1986 Spanish
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1942 yard survey documents pipe-shop conditions at the builder, not materials installed aboard DD-509 specifically, and the dataset's litigation/OSHA/NIOSH rows postdate her construction by decades. Does not quantify material aboard or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing DD-509's construction (1942) and entire U.S. commissioned service and reserve period (1942-1959) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era context for 1942-1959 hull
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py helper; fleet-paced shared quota) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-converse-dd509-06 through sl-uss-converse-dd509-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener sweep for this hull returned NO qualifying litigation: 'USS Converse' - 0 opinions and 0 RECAP dockets; 'DD-509' - 0 opinions and 2 docket hits, both name collisions (a Bates 'DD_' exhibit-number series in Andrews v. D'Souza, 1:22-cv-04259, N.D. Ga., and a supplement filing in In re International Heritage, Inc., 98-02675, Bankr. E.D.N.C.); 'DD 509' - 0 opinions and the same 2 collision dockets; 'aboard Converse'/'aboard the Converse' - 0 opinions. Broad queries ('Converse' AND 'asbestos' = 275 opinions; 'Converse' AND Navy/destroyer/naval terms = 733 opinions) were reviewed at top relevance - all surname/word collisions (e.g., United States v. William J. Converse; J.B. Converse Company; 'converse' as ordinary legal prose), none naming the ship.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Substantially complete but not exhaustive sweep: full pagination of the two broad 'Converse' queries stood down under fleet-wide pacing (exit 2, ~114/hr shared budget); name-collision risk is low because exact-name and hull-number queries returned clean zero/collision-only results, and the only other hull of this name (DD-291, scrapped 1931) predates asbestos litigation. No qualifying case located; no finding asserted beyond completed query scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-07
-
[9]Batch-3487 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback NHHC capture + destroyerhistory/hazegray transcriptions; NavSource via Wayback; destroyerhistory.org ship pages incl. transcribed action report; BOE official disposal notice; NVR ship-detail query; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; Atlas shipyards.json Bath Iron Works record; CourtListener authenticated sweep; law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-converse-dd509-01 through sl-uss-converse-dd509-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation record naming DD-509 was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was transferred to Spain in 1959 and scrapped abroad in 1988, so the documentation channels that produced ship-specific records elsewhere (museum disclosure, MARAD/NDRF stewardship, domestic demolition oversight, U.S. litigation recitals) never applied; Spain's official disposal notice is silent on materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level (ev-05, ev-06) and the builder yard's contemporaneous 1942 pipe-covering study documents asbestos work in the construction environment. The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot. This finding reflects a search of public/official sources only; Spanish-language archival channels (Armada historical archive, Ferrol Arsenal records) were not searched beyond the BOE notice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-converse-dd509-08