Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Conway II (DD-507) - verbatim June 2015 transcription mirrored at Tin Can Sailors (destroyers.org/ships/dd-507) and globalsecurity.org; live NHHC page returns 404 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Conway II entry, full narrative; NHHC canonical URL 404 (link rot) - mirror at https://www.destroyers.org/ships/dd-507/ (verbatim, labeled 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, June 2015') and https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-507.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 5 November 1941 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. F. E. Beatty; commissioned 9 October 1942 (Cmdr. N. S. Prime). WWII: Battle of Rennell Island 29-30 Jan 1943 (rescued USS Chicago CA-29 survivors); Guadalcanal patrols; Vila-Stanmore bombardment and Kula Gulf sweep 4-6 Mar; Rendova/New Georgia operations, Kolombangara and Munda bombardments; Vella Lavella; overhaul in Fiji Islands and Sydney; Treasury Islands landings 27 Oct, Choiseul, Bougainville 29 Oct; Green Island 11-17 Feb 1944; New Britain/New Ireland bombardments 28 Feb-17 Mar; joined 5th Fleet at Majuro 8 May; Saipan landings 15 Jun; Guam/Tinian bombardment; cleared 12 Aug 1944 for San Francisco overhaul; Ulithi 21 Nov for 7th Fleet - Leyte Gulf patrol, Camotes Sea sweep, Mindoro, then Lingayen/Corregidor/Parang landings from 31 Dec; Philippine ops to Jun 1945; Brunei Bay covering group 7 Jun, Balikpapan, Saragani Bay; postwar Yellow Sea minesweeping support, Jinsen Korea 20-24 Sep 1945, China Sea flagship to 29 Dec; arrived Charleston 13 Mar 1946; decommissioned in reserve 25 Jun 1946. Recommissioned at Boston 8 Nov 1950 after conversion to escort destroyer; Korea 1951 (TF 77 screen; Kolgochi-Ri, Hodo Pando, Hungnam, Wonsan bombardments Oct); returned via Suez to Norfolk 20 Dec 1951; NATO/Mediterranean deployments 1953-54, 1955, 1957 (Jordan crisis, Dardanelles); TF Alfa ASW operations 1958-60. 13 WWII battle stars; 2 Korean War battle stars. Reclassified DDE-507 26 Mar 1949; reverted DD-507 30 Jun 1962; stricken 15 Nov 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1969
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1941-42; wartime and postwar crew
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and dates - not materials, asbestos content, or any hazardous-material condition aboard. The transcription contains a documented typographical error ('launched 5 November 1941' repeats the laid-down date; the actual launch was 16 Aug 1942, fixed by contemporaneous press coverage of the 8-ship mass launch - Pacific Marine Review Sept 1942 p.92 and the WLBZ radio broadcast transcript). Live NHHC URL returns 404; verbatim mirror text cited per established practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-01
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[2]National Archives, Ship Plan Index: CONWAY DD-507 - RG 19 Hull Series of Ship Engineering Drawings, NAID 153714536; CONWAY DDE-507 - RG 19 Hull Series of Ship Engineering Drawings, NAID 153714860; CONWAY DD-507 - RG 19 Microfilm, NAID 175668760. NARA deck-log index: Conway (DD-507) deck logs 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 digitized in series 594258 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index rows CONWAY/DD-507 (NAIDs 153714536, 153714860, 175668760); deck-log index entry 'Conway (DD-507)' years 1966-1969, catalog.archives.gov/search-within/594258
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA identifies ship-specific Bureau of Ships RG 19 holdings for this hull: engineering-drawings file units under both the DD-507 and DDE-507 designations (the latter covering the escort-destroyer conversion configuration) plus a microfilm holding, and digitized deck logs for 1966-1969. The drawings are the route to original material/insulation schedules; the deck logs document yard availabilities and in-port periods for the ship's last full operating years.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- WWII-era engineering records; deck logs 1966-1969
- Limitations
- The index establishes that identified holdings exist, not their contents. No drawing, insulation schedule, material callout, or logbook page was retrieved or reviewed. Establishing hull-specific material facts requires pulling the file units.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-02
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[3]Atlas shipyard dataset record 'bath-iron-works' (OSHA 1987 inspection; NIOSH HHE 89-0273; Blaine Austin v. Raybestos-Manhattan litigation; Dr. Philip Drinker 1942 Harvard pipe-covering-shop dust study) + Fletcher-class machinery block (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp, 2 shafts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (ev-bath-iron-works-02, Drinker 1942); Fletcher-class spec block per BuShips Ships' Data 1945/class documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: this hull was built 1941-42 at Bath Iron Works carrying the standard Fletcher four-boiler/60,000-shp steam plant; a destroyer of this class and era would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The builder yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset: Drinker's 1942 Harvard study recorded 'fairly serious dust risk' at roughly 10x the safe threshold in BIW pipe-covering shops - contemporaneous with this hull's construction on the ways (Nov 1941-Oct 1942). NARA RG 19 drawings are the archival lead for hull-level material schedules.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1970
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1941-42; crew 1942-1969
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. Yard studies document shop conditions at the builder, not materials installed aboard DD-507; no insulation schedule or ship-specific document was retrieved. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-03
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[4]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 Oct 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, report description
- 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 this hull's construction (1941-42), entire commissioned service (1942-46, 1950-69), and target-sinking disposal (June 1970) 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 1941-1970 hull life
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and shipboard personnel covered by the program review
- Limitations
- Program- and era-level context only. The report does not name USS Conway or establish asbestos aboard DD-507; it supports era framing, not a hull finding. gao.gov blocks automated full-text fetch (HTTP 403); content via the product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-04
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[5]Authenticated CourtListener API v4 sweep via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py (2026-09-27): queries "USS Conway" (opinions+dockets), "DD-507" (opinions+dockets), "DDE-507" (opinions), "Conway asbestos destroyer" (opinions) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 search endpoint, query set above; collision review via result metadata and snippet inspection
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep returned ZERO qualifying results naming this hull. Opinions: "USS Conway" 0 hits; "DD-507" 0 hits; "DDE-507" 0 hits; "Conway asbestos destroyer" 0 hits. RECAP dockets: "USS Conway" 1 hit and "DD-507" 3 hits, all individually reviewed and classified as name/string collisions - United States v. QTC Medical Services (C.D. Cal. 2:14-cv-08961, False Claims Act qui tam; match inside complaint text, not about the vessel), Andrews v. D'Souza (N.D. Ga. 1:22-cv-04259, civil rights; Bates-stamp collisions 'DD_000469' style), and Ware bankruptcy (N.D. Ind. 19-12344, form-text collision). No asbestos docket or opinion naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 search
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage limits: opinion search covers published/indexed opinions and the RECAP docket index is not exhaustive - unappealed state-court cases and settled matters do not surface. One planned query ("DDE-507" dockets) was not completed: the authenticated helper was held by the fleet-wide pacing limiter; marked incomplete rather than represented as no-result. Zero qualifying hits does not prove no litigation ever named the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-05
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[6]Batch-3485 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (via mirrors); NARA Ship Plan Index and deck-log index; CourtListener API v4; Atlas shipyard dataset; NVR (disposed hull, no entry); veterans/reunion sources as secondary leads; marketing ship-list pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-conway-dd507-01 through sl-uss-conway-dd507-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-507: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming the hull in the sources searched. The hull was sunk as a target in June 1970 - before the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (Oct 1972) imposed ocean-dumping review - so the disposal produced no public environmental or hazmat documentation channel, and the ship never became a museum (the disclosure channel that produced records for preserved hulls does not exist).
- 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 and the builder yard's 1942-era insulation-shop dust conditions are contemporaneous with this hull's construction. The hull lies sunk off Virginia; present-day material condition is undocumented and moot for exposure purposes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-06
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[7]USS Conway Veterans Association history page + Tin Can Sailors ship history ('USS Conway DD-507,' Ed Zajkowski, The Tin Can Sailor, September 1983) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussconwayveteransassociation.com/history.html (sinking paragraph); destroyers.org/ships/dd-507 (Zajkowski history: United Engineering, Norfolk overhauls, Philadelphia NRT)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary ship-history detail supplementing DANFS: the 1944 stateside overhaul was at United Engineering Company (San Francisco); overhauls at Norfolk in 1952 and 1958; Naval Reserve training duty at Philadelphia from 6 Sep 1968; declared 'unfit for further service' 15 Sep 1969; designated a target ship by CINCLANTFLT March 1970; on 26 June 1970 the hulk broke loose under tow, posed a hazard to navigation, and was sunk by 5-inch gunfire from USS Henley (DD-762) at 36 deg 56.5 min N, 72 deg 54.5 min W (~149.5 miles off Cape Henry Light, ~10,210 ft). Association also reports a July-December 1966 WestPac/Vietnam deployment with Saigon River transits (consistent with the DANFS-derived Wikipedia summary) and Bay of Pigs/Cuban blockade operations (1961-62).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Crew, 1944 overhaul and 1968-70 reserve periods; towing/sinking detail parties June 1970
- Limitations
- Veterans-association and reunion-press sources, not official records: details are plausible and internally consistent but not authoritatively verified. The sinking position/circumstances, yard names, and Vietnam window should be confirmed against deck logs (NARA holds 1966-69) or a Navy disposal record before being treated as final. Yard names carry port-level confirmation only (e.g., DANFS says 'San Francisco' for the 1944 overhaul; 'United Engineering Company' is the reunion-history attribution).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conway-dd507-07