Evidence
4 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-4).
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[1]DANFS, Crane (DD-109), Naval History and Heritage Command (Wayback Machine capture 2025-12-09 of history.navy.mil; live URL returns HTTP 404 as of 2026-09-26; text concurs with HyperWar/ibiblio mirror at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/DD/dd109.html) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications parenthetical + full narrative (namesake paragraph omitted)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: a 1,060-ton Wickes-class destroyer (314'5" x 31'9" x 8'6"; 35 kt design speed; complement 100; armament 4 4-inch guns, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes). Launched 4 July 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. M. McGuire; commissioned 18 April 1919, Lt. Cmdr. William F. Gresham in command. Clearing San Francisco 21 April 1919, arrived Newport, R.I., 13 May; sailed for European waters 5 June, visiting England and France and joining the escort for the transport George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference; returned to New York 27 July, reassigned to the Pacific Fleet, arrived San Francisco 1 September, and was visited by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels during the 4 September Naval Review. Placed in reserve at San Diego 26 January 1920; reclassified to DD-109 on 17 July 1920 (originally Destroyer No. 109); decommissioned 7 June 1922 at San Diego. Recommissioned 18 December 1939, Cmdr. Marion Y. Cohen in command, and joined the Neutrality Patrol in the Pacific, training Naval Reservists and Armed Guard crews. Remained on the west coast on antisubmarine patrol, local escort duty, training exercises, and amphibious screening duty until 22 April 1944, when assigned to the West Coast Sound Training School. Departed San Diego 2 October 1945, arrived Philadelphia 19 October 1945; decommissioned 14 November 1945; sold 1 November 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1946
- Population
- Bethlehem/Union Iron Works construction trades, San Francisco, 1918; wartime and interwar crew (design complement 100)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, dates, and service narrative only - it contains no asbestos or materials information. It does not give a laid-down date, a separate strike date, boiler/turbine count, or shaft horsepower for this hull. The live NHHC page returns HTTP 404 as of this research pass; the Wayback capture and the HyperWar/ibiblio transcription are used as mirrors and agree on all facts stated here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crane-dd109-01
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[2]U.S. General Accounting Office, HRD-80-2, "Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure" (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page abstract, gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO reports Navy-wide that thermal insulation was the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships fleet-wide, and describes the Navy's 1975 policy (remove/replace only damaged or repair-necessitated insulation) and its 1979 revision (selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). This is institutional Navy-wide practice, not a finding about this hull or the Wickes class specifically.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1979 (report); Navy-wide practice described spans earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers, Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, 1970s (report population; not this hull's population)
- Limitations
- gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the finding is drawn from the GAO product-page abstract/description, not the full PDF text. The report's fieldwork focus is Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards in the 1970s - decades after this hull was scrapped (1946) - and it does not name USS Crane, the Wickes class, or Union Iron Works. Provided as Navy-wide institutional context only; establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crane-dd109-02
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 19: Records of the Bureau of Ships, finding aid (Ship General Information Books, 1921-1961, Item S-68) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19 finding aid, series description for Item S-68
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Record Group 19 finding aid identifies Ship General Information Books (1921-1961) as a NARA holding that, for individual U.S. Navy vessels, can include hull-specific material and equipment specifications. If a General Information Book exists for USS Crane (DD-109), it would be the type of record capable of confirming hull-specific insulation or lagging material - it was not located or retrieved in this research pass.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1921-1961 (record series span)
- Limitations
- This is a description of a record series, not a retrieved document about this hull. It does not confirm that a General Information Book for this vessel exists, is digitized, or names any material. Establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this hull; archival lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crane-dd109-03
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[4]CourtListener API v4 sweep: opinions (type=o) and RECAP dockets (type=r), exact phrase "USS Crane" and hull-number string "DD-109"; combined query "USS Crane" asbestos (type=o), 2026-09-26 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 responses, 2026-09-26 (see search_ledger sl-uss-crane-dd109-05 through -07)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Exact-phrase search for "USS Crane" returned zero results in both CourtListener opinions and RECAP dockets. A combined query "USS Crane" + asbestos (opinions) also returned zero results. A hull-number search for "DD-109" returned: one opinion, Tanzler v. Wansley, 350 So. 2d 113 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977) - a municipal pension-disability case in which "DD-109" is an unrelated Florida trial-court docket number, not a Navy hull reference; and 23 RECAP dockets (37 documents), sampled results being unrelated civil matters where "DD 109" matches an unrelated party-name string (e.g., "East Side DD 109 L.L.C." real-estate entities named as parties in Bbosa v. Kamal and Portier, LLC v. City of New York, both S.D.N.Y.). No qualifying asbestos litigation, and no other litigation, naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 (search date)
- Limitations
- Negative result from CourtListener's public opinion and RECAP indexes only, which do not comprehensively cover pre-electronic-filing state court records or pre-PACER federal filings; this hull's active service (1919-1945) and 1946 disposal predate the digitized-litigation era entirely, and it left no post-service chain of custody (e.g., museum or reserve-fleet hulk) that could generate a modern claim tied to continued shipyard handling. Absence of a hit does not prove no litigation naming this hull exists anywhere, only that none is retrievable in CourtListener's current index as of the search date. "Crane" is also a high-collision term for reasons unrelated to litigation: a distinct vessel, USS Crane Ship No. 1 (AB-1), and a distinct shore facility, Naval Support Activity/Crane Army Ammunition Activity, Crane, Indiana, share the name and were not returned here but should be excluded if encountered in future sweeps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crane-dd109-04