Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet hr-packet.md (9 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-cromwell-de1014-pkt-hr-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Cromwell (DE-1014) (builder, dates, namesake biography, service narrative through 1960; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page not locatable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray.org DANFS transcription of the DE-1014 entry (DANFS Vol. II-era text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Capt. John Philip Cromwell (b. 11 Sep 1901, Henry, Ill.; USNA 1924), who elected to remain aboard USS Sculpin (SS-191) when she was scuttled off Truk 19 Nov 1943 rather than risk compelled disclosure of Gilbert Islands invasion plans - posthumous Medal of Honor. DE-1014 launched 4 June 1954 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Miss A. Cromwell; commissioned 24 November 1954, LCDR E. J. Cummings, Jr., in command. Homeport Newport: ASW exercises Iceland to the Virgin Islands; Caribbean fleet exercises; schoolship for the Fleet Sonar School at Key West; NATO exercises Sep-Oct 1957 (England, France); first Mediterranean tour May-Oct 1958 incl. eastern-Med patrol during the Lebanon crisis; Feb-Apr 1959 Panama Canal transit, west-coast South America ports, exercises with the Peruvian Navy; Aug-Oct 1959 NATO operations; first half 1960 amphibious exercises with Marines off the North Carolina coast; NATO exercises fall 1960. Spec block: 1,280 tons; 314'6"; 36'9" beam; 9'3" draft; 25 kt; complement 170; class Dealey. The published DANFS entry covers the ship through 1960 only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1953-1960
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1953-54; commissioned crew 1954-1972 (design complement 170)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity and service history, not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends at 1960 - post-1960 service, decommissioning, and disposal are outside its coverage. Transcription mirror cited (hazegray.org) because no live or archived NHHC page was locatable - the transcription was verified verbatim against the DANFS layout. NavSource carries a conflicting 20 Aug 1954 launch date (sister Hammerberg's actual date) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Cromwell (DE-1014) file 06/06021014 (specifications, building data, CO table, photo chronology) + navypedia Dealey-class table (BIW yard no. 322) + NavalCoverMuseum hull page [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net 06/06021014 - Building and Operational Data block, specifications block, CO table; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_de_dealey.htm class table; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CROMWELL_DE_1014
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-archive construction, service, and disposal record for this hull: keel laid 3 Aug 1953 at Bath Iron Works (navypedia yard no. 322; class table shows sister Hammerberg DE-1015, yard 323, launched 20 Aug 1954); commissioned 24 Nov 1954; decommissioned and struck from the NVR 5 July 1972 after 17 years and 7-1/3 months; 15 June 1973 scheduled transfer to New Zealand cancelled, sold for scrapping; DE-1014 'was the first ship named in his honor' (no prior USS Cromwell). Specification block: SCB No. 72/1952-53; 1,314 t light / 1,940 t full; 314'6" oa; 36' extreme beam; 18'10" draft limit; 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 De Laval geared turbine, 20,000 shp, 1 shaft; 27 kt; 6,000 nm at 12 kt; complement 12 officers / 161 enlisted; 4 x 3"/50 Mk33 (2x2), Squid ASW mortar, 6 x Mk32 TTs (2x3); SPS-5/SPS-6C radars, SQS-4 sonar; awards panel shows National Defense Service Medal and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Post-1960 service rests on crew-maintained and volunteer sources: hullnumber.com crew submissions list UNITAS South American cruises 1963-64, Mediterranean deployments 1967 and 1968, Guantanamo Bay 1966 and 1970, and North Atlantic operations 1971; NavSource photo chronology (Boston Harbor 1961, Panama Canal Zone 1961, Naples late-1960s, Newport 1967/1970) and the 11-officer CO table 1954-1972 corroborate continued Newport-based Atlantic Fleet service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1953-1973
- Population
- Crew 1954-1972; reserve/inactivation and disposal workforce 1972-73
- Limitations
- NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/navypedia are volunteer-compiled secondary archives consistent with (not substitutes for) official records - dates agree with DANFS except the launch, which NavSource and NCM carry as 20 Aug 1954, sister DE-1015's documented date (conflict in gaps). The New Zealand transfer plan and the 15 Jun 1973 sale date are secondary-sourced; the buyer and breaking site are undocumented. Specifications describe the plant type, not materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-02
-
[4]Naval Historical Center, 'U.S. Navy Ships and Units Which Received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Participating in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962' (faq90-3, archived 2000) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Archived NHHC faq90-3 ship list (alphabetical, DE-1014 absent); navysite.de crewlist commandid 2003 entries for Mittler, Sacco; hullnumber.com/DE-1014 deployments
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Crew-recollection sources (navysite.de crew list entries for DE-1014) describe Caribbean escort duty during the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and hullnumber.com carries a mislabeled 'Cuban Missle Blockade JUN 1964' crew entry. The official NHHC list of ships awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for the 1962 quarantine does NOT include Cromwell (DE-1014): the alphabetical list runs Cook (APD 130) to Corry (DDR 817) with no Cromwell, and the escort entries present are Brough (DE 148), Maloy (DE 791), Peterson (DE 152), Claud Jones (DE 1033), John R. Perry (DE 1034), and DER/DE entries - not DE-1014. Cromwell's AFEM ribbon (NavSource awards panel) is consistent with the DANFS-documented 1958 Lebanon-crisis patrol. The quarantine-participation claim is unsupported by the official record and is carried as unverified.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962 (claimed); 1958 (documented AFEM-qualifying service)
- Limitations
- Absence from the AFEM list is strong evidence she was not a credited quarantine participant but does not absolutely exclude uncredited Caribbean presence during the crisis; the crew accounts are genuine recollections possibly conflating 1962 tensions with later Caribbean ops. This row corrects a recurring secondary-source claim; it establishes nothing about materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-03
-
[5]NavSource specifications block for this hull (2 Foster-Wheeler boilers; 1 De Laval geared turbine; 20,000 shp; 1 shaft) + navypedia Dealey class technical data + Atlas shipyard dataset Bath Iron Works record (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net 06/06021014 spec block; navypedia Dealey technical data and modernization notes; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull's documented plant - two Foster-Wheeler boilers feeding a single De Laval geared steam turbine at 20,000 shp - is a mid-1950s steam plant of the pattern whose boiler casing and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, deck coverings, and interior joiner insulation were commonly asbestos-containing. Builder Bath Iron Works is a tier-2 yard in the Atlas dataset whose documented products include Kaylo pipe covering, Foster Wheeler gaskets, asbestos felt, loose packing, vinyl floor tile, and adhesives - the Foster-Wheeler correspondence between the yard's documented gasket products and this hull's documented boiler maker is a narrowing context, not a product identification aboard this hull. Mid-1960s refits (navypedia: Mk 32 torpedo tubes and VDS sonar added to Cromwell, Dealey, and Courtney; WLR-1 ECM suite 1967) are undocumented disturbance-phase events where insulation work would have occurred.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1953-1973
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1953-54; crew 1954-72 (engineering ratings highest-plausibility); refit yard workforce mid-1960s; breaking-yard workforce 1973
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No survey, specification, material schedule, or litigation exhibit documents asbestos aboard DE-1014; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Yard-level product documentation is attributed to the yard, not transferred to the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-04
-
[6]In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (J.P.M.L./E.D. Pa., Judge Robreno; master docket filed 1991-01-17, terminated 2022-11-01) - member case Bolton et al v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., N.D. Cal. 4:12-cv-00723-DMR - CourtListener RECAP [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener docket 1245688 (MDL No. 875): type=r '"USS Cromwell"' count=1; type=rd pinpoint - document ids 386429742 (entry 8537 att. 2, tag-along notice ex.), 386439977 (entry 9516 att., Powell decl. Ex. C), 386451139 (entry 9523 att., Powell decl. Ex. C) - all reproducing Bolton v. Air & Liquid Sys. 4:12-cv-00723 (N.D. Cal.) materials
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The exact phrase '"USS Cromwell"' appears in indexed MDL-875 docket text, pinpointed by RECAP document search to filings in member case Bolton et al v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., N.D. Cal. 4:12-cv-00723-DMR: the string appears in documents attached to (a) the Crane Co. notice of potential tag-along filed 2012-03-20 (master-docket entry 8537, exhibit = the Bolton complaint and N.D. Cal. docket sheet) and (b) the Air & Liquid Systems / Burnham LLC conditional-remand-vacate motion exhibits (entries 9516, 9523, filed Sep 2013, Powell declaration Exhibit C reproducing the case docket/pleadings). The reference sits in plaintiff-side case materials of an asbestos product-liability action - consistent with a vessel work-history listing of DE-1014 among the plaintiff's claimed exposure sites - but the pinpointed text context does not confirm the allegation's precise form.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2012-2013 (member-case filings); exposure period unverified
- Population
- Bolton plaintiff(s) (N.D. Cal. asbestos action); vessel role unverified
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage reference at most - even if Bolton's complaint lists this hull in a vessel work history, it is an unadjudicated allegation, not a finding; the matched documents are the complaint/docket-sheet reproductions, so the string's exact context (exposure vessel vs. other mention) is unverified at the document-text level. Establishes nothing about materials aboard. Bolton merits/disposition not reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-05
-
[7]Batch-3950 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray transcription; NavSource 06/06021014; navypedia Dealey class page; NavalCoverMuseum; NHHC AFEM quarantine list; CourtListener authenticated API v4 opinion and docket sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cromwell-de1014-05 through sl-uss-cromwell-de1014-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-1014: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case adjudicating this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener exact-phrase '"USS Cromwell"' opinion search returned zero hits; '"DE-1014"' opinion search returned a single identifier collision (CBS Broadcasting Inc. v. Echostar Communications Corp., S.D. Fla. 2006 - '[DE-1014]' is a docket-entry citation in a satellite-broadcast copyright case, not the hull); a '"Cromwell" asbestos' opinion sweep returned 121 hits whose first-page review was composed of surname collisions and Sullivan & Cromwell law-firm references with no vessel-related hit located; the one exact-name RECAP docket hit is the MDL-875 text reference recorded at ev-05 (pleading-stage vessel reference in Bolton v. Air & Liquid Systems member-case materials); the '"DE-1014"' RECAP docket sweep returned 27 hits, all docket-entry identifier collisions in unrelated criminal, bankruptcy, and civil dockets. The hull was scrapped in 1973 - before the asbestos-litigation era matured - consistent with the near-empty litigation record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a mid-1950s steam plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and undocumented yard periods and the 1973 breaking are disturbance phases of unknown extent. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Sweeps completed via authenticated fleet-paced API; the unquoted variant forms (DE 1014, U.S.S. Cromwell) were not separately run - the quoted exact forms returned clean results.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-06
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships records incl. Booklets of General Plans), RG 181 (naval shore establishment - inactivation/disposal files); NHHC photographic holdings (photo NH51733 referenced by NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order required; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Cromwell 1954-1972 (RG 24, NARA College Park) would document yard periods, drydockings, and the 1962 operational record that would settle the quarantine-participation question; BuShips records including SCB 72 contract plans and the Booklet of General Plans for this design (RG 19) are the hull-level material-specification lead; inactivation and 1973 disposal files (RG 181 / DLA disposition records) are the most promising lead for the sale buyer and breaking site.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1953-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cromwell-de1014-07