Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet kq-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Corbesier
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-corbesier-de438-pkt-kq-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Corbesier (DE-438)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2016-04-19; live URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20251209183741) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Corbesier (DE-438)' entry - spec block and full service narrative (Wayback capture of live page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Antoine Joseph Corbesier (1837-1915), USNA swordmaster for 40+ years, made first lieutenant USMC by special act of Congress 4 Mar 1913, died Naval Hospital Annapolis 26 Mar 1915. Spec block: dp 1,350, l. 306', b. 36'8", dr. 9'5", s. 24 k., cpl. 186, a. 2x5", 3x21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 dcp (hh.), 2 dct.; class John C. Butler. Launched 13 Feb 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. G. V. Stewart; commissioned 31 Mar 1944, LCDR W. B. Porter in command. Departed New York 29 May 1944, arrived Pearl Harbor 26 Jun; two convoy escorts to Eniwetok and back 2 Jul-9 Aug; screened cable ship at Midway 29 Aug-16 Sep, then to Saipan arriving 2 Oct; patrol/escort off Saipan 12 Oct-11 Nov; escorted Army Engineer dredge Guam to Leyte; departed San Pedro Bay 19 Nov for Ulithi arriving 25 Nov; A/S and escort missions to Guam, Saipan, Kossol Roads, Manus; on 23 Jan 1945 with Conklin (DE-439) and Raby (DE-698) sank Japanese submarine I-48 off Yap; sailed 18 Mar with the logistics group supporting the fast carrier striking force in the Okinawa campaign until detached at Saipan 15 Jun; Okinawa A/S screen from 4 Jul through kamikaze attacks and typhoons; anchored Buckner Bay until 24 Sep, then Nagasaki arriving 25 Sep for occupation duties between Nagasaki, Sasebo, Okinawa; cleared Sasebo 15 Oct, arrived San Diego 10 Nov 1945; placed out of commission in reserve 2 Jul 1946, berthed San Diego. Two battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (active service); entry text covers through 1946 decommissioning
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime and reserve-crew complement (design figure 186-222 by source)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. This web edition (2016) predates nothing in the entry - the 1963 printed edition predates the 1972 striking, so disposal dates are absent and carried separately (ev-05). Transcription-mirror variance (HyperWar reads 26 Sep arrival/16 Oct clearing and 1916 death year) resolved toward this NHHC text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (NAVSHIPS 250-011, Jan 1945) - official BuShips publication: 'List of Naval Vessels' DE table names DE438 CORBESIER under WGT design (book p.12), and the DESTROYER-ESCORT VESSELS data table carries a per-hull row for this ship (entry 65, book pp. 240-241) (shipscribe.com scan; image-only, read via OCR) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v1: DE data table pp. 240-241, entry 65 (CORBESIER DE438 row); vessel list p. 12 (DE438 under 'WGT design')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official wartime BuShips per-hull row for this ship (entry 65): CORBESIER, DE-438, builder 'Federal S.B. & D.D. Co., Newark, N.J.', contract price of hull and machinery $2,785,000, contract signed Aug. 7, 1942; keel laid Nov. 4, 1943; launched Feb. 13, 1944; contract date of completion Feb. 28, 1944; preliminary acceptance Mar. 30, 1944; date of first commission Mar. 31, 1944. The row carries BuShips footnote 1 ('Turbines built by Westinghouse') - the Navy's own record tying this hull's geared turbines to Westinghouse. The adjacent 'List of Naval Vessels' assigns DE-438 to the WGT (geared-turbine) design group.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1944 (contract through first commission; volume dated Jan 1945)
- Population
- BuShips program record: contract and construction milestones for this hull
- Limitations
- Construction/registration data only - BuShips Ships' Data is a register of design, builder, and program figures, not a materials or asbestos inventory; it does not state insulation content. Builder listed at the Newark corporate address; the physical yard was Kearny per DANFS. Confirms keel date (4 Nov 1943) and contract price absent from DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-02
-
[4]USS Corbesier (DE-438), 'Ship's History, U.S.S. CORBESIER (DE-438) From Date of Commissioning to Present Date' - official ship submission, Commanding Officer to Secretary of the Navy, letter DE438/A12 Serial 045 dated 24 Oct 1945 (CONFIDENTIAL-era; NavSource-hosted photographic scan, read via OCR) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 06438wh.jpg - 9-page scan: forwarding letter (Serial 045, 24 Oct 1945) + numbered chronology paragraphs (3)-(27)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own official war history adds operational detail beyond DANFS: (3) post-shakedown availability at Navy Yard, New York 20-27 May 1944, logistics at Navy Pier/Pier 35 Brooklyn to 29 May; (4) 29-30 May to N.O.B. Norfolk (Pier 5); (5) with USS John C. Butler (DE-339) escorted USS Starlight (AP-175) via Panama Canal Zone (transit 12 Jun), escort to Pearl Harbor 12-26 Jun; (6) escort of convoy Pearl Harbor-Eniwetok 2-11 Jul and return; (7) 21 Jul 1944 LCDR W. B. Porter relieved by LCDR Herbert V. Jones Jr., USNR; availability at Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor during the late-summer period; escorted cable ship to Midway and screened repair operations, then screened a USAT to Saipan via Eniwetok; patrol/escort in the Marianas Oct-11 Nov under enemy air raids at Saipan; escorted a dredge Guam to San Pedro Bay Leyte 17 Nov; at Leyte 'subjected to almost continual [air attacks] of all types including Kamikaze' - at 0550 on 18 Nov the mast was hit by a 40mm projectile during an air raid, the Commanding Officer and two enlisted men sustaining slight flesh wounds, and at 0738 the ship's fire downed a hostile fighter about 1,000 yards on the starboard bow near USS Flusser (DD-368); convoy Leyte-Ulithi twice bombed by 'Frances' bombers 21 Nov (one shot down), detached via Kossol Passage arriving Ulithi 25 Nov; Ulithi-based patrol and escort under CTU 94.6.2 (25 Nov 1944-1 Mar 1945) including hunter/killer operations - the 23 Jan 1945 engagement: sonar contact, hedgehog attacks, CONKLIN's hits at 0935-0940 with heavy underwater explosions, oil and debris recovered, assessed Class B (the I-48 kill); screening unit of TG 50.8 (Logistics Support Group, fast carrier striking forces, Okinawa campaign) 12 Mar-26 Jun 1945; TU 99.1.6 Okinawa Offensive Screen A/S duty 4-19 Jul (Lt Nathaniel H. Sherman relieving LCDR Gilbert N. Cooper as XO 5 Jul); typhoon retirement 19-21 Jul; night torpedo-plane attack 27 Jul (torpedo missed, believed passed under or close astern); Okinawa screen to 10 Sep, then TG 55.6 occupation duty with weekly passenger/mail/freight shuttle Okinawa-Nagasaki-Sasebo and typhoon retirements (incl. anchored at Sasebo 10-11 Oct); detached TF 55 on 15 Oct 1945 for San Diego with Escort Division 65 less Conklin.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-03-31 to 1945-10-15 (report coverage)
- Population
- Wartime ship's company, Mar 1944-Oct 1945
- Limitations
- Primary official document (the ship's own submitted history) - but a photographic scan of moderate legibility read by OCR, so wording is close-paraphrase, not verbatim; locators are the report's numbered paragraphs. Documents operations, command changes, and combat incidents, not materials or asbestos. The 18 Nov 1944 mast hit with CO + two men wounded, and the 27 Jul 1945 torpedo attack, are not in DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-03
-
[5]DANFS, 'Corbesier' entry - lead paragraph for the DE-106 name allocation (NHHC; Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Corbesier entry, second paragraph (DE-106 disposition)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-allocation correction, stated by DANFS itself: 'Corbesier (DE-106) had her name canceled 24 September 1943 and was transferred to France under lend lease 2 January 1944 under the name Senegalais. She was transferred to France permanently under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program 21 April 1952.' DE-106 was a different hull (Cannon-class, building at Dravo Corp., Wilmington, Del., per the class-profile/secondary record - keel Apr 1943, launched 11 Nov 1943, never USN-commissioned). DE-438 is therefore the only U.S. Navy ship commissioned under the name Corbesier; an index or dataset listing 'USS Corbesier (DE-106)' conflates a canceled 1943 name allocation with the operational ship. The two-hull namespace collision matters for exposure records: DE-106 became French Sénégalais (later Yser) and was scrapped abroad in 1965 - an entirely separate material history.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-09-24 to 1952-04-21
- Population
- n/a - registry/name-lineage record
- Limitations
- Resolves, not creates, ambiguity: it documents that a 'Corbesier DE-106' reference is a pre-delivery name allocation, not a commissioned U.S. ship. DE-106's class/builder detail is from secondary/class-profile compilation (not stated in this DANFS entry); everything after 'canceled' is the French ship's history, outside this record's scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-04
-
[6]NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Corbesier (DE 438), file 06/438 (building/operational data timeline, spec block, CO roster, NHHC photo captions incl. L45-64.04.01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-438 page - 'Building and Operational Data' timeline and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition and detail corroboration for this hull from the standard secondary archive: struck from the NVR 1 December 1972; sold for scrapping 3 December 1973; keel laid 4 Nov 1943 at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny (consistent with the BuShips row); commissioned 31 Mar 1944 'at 1203 while moored to Berth 11, New York Navy Yard' by Cmdr. H. F. Sasse for ComNYNYd; inactivated 31 Jul 1946 assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; 108,146 miles steamed in service; CO roster ending with Lt Paul L. Wright Jr., USNR, decommissioning CO (tour to 2 Jul 1946 - consistent with DANFS over NavSource's own '01 June 1946' line); NHHC photo L45-64.04.01 caption documents the post-shakedown availability at New York Navy Yard 20-27 May 1944 and resupply shift to Pier 35, Brooklyn Navy Yard Annex.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- n/a - registry/disposition record
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a digitized primary register: the striking and sale dates have no located official web source (NVR online excludes pre-1987 disposals; DANFS edition predates them) - they agree across NavSource, Navypedia, and the class profile, so the dates are carried with partial verification. NavSource's '01 June 1946' decommissioning conflicts with DANFS 2 Jul 1946 and its own CO roster; DANFS carried, conflict logged in gaps. Asbestos content is not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-05
-
[7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v1 (this hull's WGT-design registration + construction row) + BuShips design-group-6 data + John C. Butler class profile (john-c-butler-class.class.json, verified 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB v1 WGT-design registration (p.12) + design-group data; class profile ev-01/02/05
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a WGT-design destroyer escort built Nov 1943-Mar 1944 with two 'D' express boilers (Babcock & Wilcox in the DE438-452 block per Navypedia's BuShips-block map) and Westinghouse geared turbines (12,000 shp, 24.3 kt) would have carried the period-standard asbestos load: boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line and pipe lagging, flange gaskets and valve packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings - the application categories that DE-era litigation materials document as Navy-specified. The strongest class-level anchor in this dataset is Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec naming sister ship USS Brannon (DE-446), where pretrial materials allege Navy-specified asbestos insulation on DE machinery (ev-07, ev-08).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction trades Federal Shipbuilding Kearny 1943-44; ship's company 1944-46
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a ship-specific finding. No hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey was located for DE-438; the boiler make (B&W) is itself a block-map attribution, not a per-hull BuShips line. The steam plant makes asbestos presence plausible; it does not document it aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-06
-
[8]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - exhibit list, ECF 738 att. 1 (as verified in the John C. Butler class profile) [court_record]
- Locator
- Jack v. Borg-Warner ECF 738 att. 1 - exhibit list entries (as catalogued in the class profile)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The DE-era asbestos-litigation document suite identified in a sister-ship case's exhibit list: 'Bureau of Ships Manual, Chapter 39, Thermal Insulation, NAVSHIPS 250000(39), dated 24 August 1945'; 'Navy Department Specification, Felt, Insulating, Asbestos, 32F3a, dated 15 October 1945'; 'General Specifications for Machinery - Subsection S39-1, Navy Department, Bureau of Engineering, dated 3 Feb 1939'; 'Instructions Relative to Heat Insulation' (BuEng Manual ch.13, rev. 1933, repr. May 1939); BUMED Code-55 memo 'Occupational Health Issues for POM-80' (9 Jun 1977, ex-NARA). These are the primary Navy insulation documents plaintiffs rely on for John C. Butler-class hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1933-1977 (document dates)
- Population
- n/a - documentary lead set
- Limitations
- Document identifications from a litigation exhibit list - identifies what the suite is called, not its contents; no document was retrieved. Class-level context: the spec suite postdates/dates to the era but was not tied to DE-438 by any located source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-07
-
[9]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - praecipe/pretrial materials naming USS Brannon (DE-446) (as verified in the John C. Butler class profile) [court_record]
- Locator
- Jack v. Borg-Warner pretrial order materials, ECF 738 att. 1
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The class's only located ship-named asbestos docket names sister ship USS Brannon (DE-446), not DE-438: pretrial materials recite that 'Griscom-Russell supplied the Navy with the evaporator on Mr. Jack's ship in conformity to detailed precise specifications... without insulation. The Navy did not consult it about the type of insulation it planned to use,' with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship' while 'on the USS BRANNON this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' Pleading/exhibit-list stage only - the closest litigation record in the John C. Butler class, carried as class context, not evidence for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2017 litigation; WWII-era alleged exposure window
- Population
- Jack plaintiff (USN service aboard DE-446 era)
- Limitations
- Allegation/exhibit-list stage for a DIFFERENT hull (DE-446) - doubly removed from a DE-438 finding: it is unadjudicated, and it names a sister ship. Even its own pleading concedes the insulation could have been non-asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-08
-
[10]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and construction context of this hull (contract signed Aug 1942, built Nov 1943-Mar 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- WWII U.S. shipbuilding workforce (era context)
- Limitations
- Industry-wide WWII context - covers U.S. shipbuilding generally; does not name DE-438, the John C. Butler class, or Federal Shipbuilding. Context for why asbestos presence is plausible, not evidence it was aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-09
-
[11]Batch-4328 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback; HyperWar and losthistory/hazegray DANFS transcription mirrors; NavSource DE-438 file incl. official ship's War History scan (OCR'd); BuShips SDB 1945 v1 (vessel list + per-hull row OCR'd); MARAD ShipHistory (search attempted); VA BVA index; NARA record-group guides; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated sweeps); indexed-web litigation check; class profile john-c-butler-class.class.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- this record's search_ledger rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, insulation specification, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or VA adjudication naming USS Corbesier / DE-438 was found in the public sources searched. The hull was scrapped in 1973-74, so there is no surviving remnant and no preservation-era survey. The ship-specific record is full for identity/construction/service/disposal - it is the asbestos layer that is empty, and that absence is recorded rather than inferred away.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- searched 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is not absence of asbestos: a 1943-44 full-steam-plant escort almost certainly contained ACM by era standards (ev-06), but no source located ties asbestos to this specific hull, so ship-specific documentation is reported as unknown per the batch standard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweeps (opinion + RECAP docket corpora), all completed: "Corbesier" type=o (count 0); "DE-438" OR "DE 438" type=o (count 8); "DE438" OR "DE-438" type=r (count 108); Corbesier type=r (count 5) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint results (queries and counts in search_ledger sl-09/10)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in the CourtListener corpora: the name query "Corbesier" returns zero opinions - no published opinion mentions the name at all. Hull-number opinion hits (8) are reporter-page and federal 'D.E.' (document-entry) number collisions, none maritime, none asbestos. Docket-level hits: 108 for "DE438"/"DE-438" are the same document-entry-number collision class; the 5 dockets matching 'Corbesier' are person-name collisions - United States v. Condo (D. Mass., 'video deposition of Bertrand Corbesier'), Hill v. City of Chicago Dept. of Police, United States v. Michel (D.D.C.), Amy C. Minson (Bankr. N.D. Ill.), Celsius Network LLC (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) - none admiralty, none asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- searched 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Opinion coverage (type=o) does not index every district docket/RECAP filing comprehensively, so a pleading-stage case naming the hull could exist outside the opinion corpus; the docket-level sweeps mitigate this and were also non-qualifying. 'Corbesier' is a low-collision name (Belgian surname), which strengthens the negative finding: zero opinion hits is close to definitive for the published-opinion layer.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-11
-
[13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships - incl. ship specifications and General Information Books), RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - deck logs), RG 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces - action reports, war diaries, and the ship-history series from which the DE-438 'Ship's History' submission derives); NHHC photo files (L45-64.04.01; 80-G-233088/233093; NH 51707 namesake portrait) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/24/313 guide entries; NHHC photo numbers per NavSource captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): RG 24 deck logs 1944-46; RG 19 BuShips records for the DE program and Federal Shipbuilding contract files (the SDB row cites contract of Aug 7, 1942, $2,785,000); RG 313 war diaries/action reports covering the I-48 engagement, Leyte air raids, and Okinawa screen; the ship-history serial file behind DE438/A12 Serial 045; NHHC photographic records (the full-res L45-64.04.01 New York Navy Yard image and the 80-G series underway photos).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- record groups cover 1943-1973
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Record-group-level mapping only - no box-level citation or retrieval performed; deck logs and BuShips hull files are the most likely containers for any hull-specific insulation/material records if they survive.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-corbesier-de438-12
