Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet jz-packet.md (9 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS *Crowley* — http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/crowley.html (loaded NHHC DANFS)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-crowley-de303-pkt-jz-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Crowley (DE-303) (builder, dates, Pacific service narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; ibiblio HyperWar mirror does not carry DE-303) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull. Spec block: dp. 1,140; l. 289'5"; b. 35'1"; dr. 8'3"; s. 21 k.; cpl. 156; a. 3 x 3", 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.), 2 dct.; cl. Evarts. Namesake Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Ewing Crowley, DC, USN, killed aboard Arizona (BB-39) at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. Launched 22 September 1943 by Mare Island Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. T. E. Crowley (the namesake's widow); commissioned 25 March 1944, Lt. Cmdr. T. J. Skewes, Jr., USNR. Pacific service: ASW training Hawaii to 12 August 1944; convoy escort Guadalcanal 25 August, Manus 14 September; Manus-based escort to the Palaus 15 September-18 November with Humboldt Bay and Solomons voyages; with Donaldson (DE-44) aided the burning SS Don Marquis 26 September (survivors rescued, cargo saved); Ulithi-based logistics escort for fast-carrier oiler replenishment (Luzon, Formosa, China coast strikes) to 1 February 1945; oilers in the Iwo Jima assault to 22 March; Guam from 9 April, oiler escort during Okinawa operations to 18 June; 3 July-cessation supported 3d and 5th Fleet raids on the Japanese home islands; occupation logistics, Sagami Wan 9 September 1945. Departed Tokyo Bay 16 September, arrived San Francisco 8 October; decommissioned 3 December 1945; sold 21 December 1946. Five battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS spec complement 156)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative gives no laid-down date (NavSource carries 24 May 1943) and no stricken date (NavSource carries 19 December 1945). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Crowley (DE-303) - specifications, building/operational data, official U.S. Navy construction and christening photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-303 page, specifications block + 'Building and Operational Data' + photo captions 0630303, 0630312-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Compilation record for this hull corroborating and extending DANFS: type designation GMT (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull, 3-inch guns); laid down 24 May 1943 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Cal.; launched and christened 22 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Ewing Crowley; commissioned 25 March 1944; departed the building yard for the final time 4 April 1944; decommissioned 3 December 1945 at Berth 12, Kaiser Yard #2, Richmond, Cal., after 1 year and 8-1/3 months of service; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 19 December 1945; sold and scrapped 21 December 1946. Propulsion listed as 4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp, 2 screws; speed 19 kts; complement 15 officers / 183 enlisted. Commanding officers: Lt. Cmdr. Thomas J. Skewes Jr., USNR (25 Mar 1944-15 Oct 1945) and Lt. Cmdr. William H. Dinsmore, USNR (15 Oct-3 Dec 1945). Official Navy photos document the hull on the Mare Island building ways 2 July 1943 (with sister USS Rall, DE-304, adjacent) and off Mare Island 2-4 April 1944 (incl. NHHC NH 75849, Camouflage Measure 32 Design 21D); an image of the ship's own war-end 'War History' report is hosted on the page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1943; decommissioning/inactivation personnel at Kaiser Yard #2, Richmond, 1945
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive reproducing official data and Navy photographs; its laid-down, decommissioning-berth, and stricken details fill gaps in the DANFS narrative. Its speed (19 kt) and complement (15/183) figures conflict with the DANFS spec block (21 kt; 156) - conflicts carried in gaps, not silently reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-02
-
[4]DANFS specifications block (Evarts class) + NavSource GMT-type designation + Atlas shipyard dataset, mare-island-naval-shipyard record (tier 2, asbestos-era yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS/NavSource specifications blocks; shipyards.json record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: an Evarts-class destroyer escort built 1943-44 with a GMT diesel-electric plant would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-electric ship - engine and exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches/windlasses, and deck coverings - but no boilers or steam-line lagging; builder Mare Island Navy Yard is documented as a tier-2 asbestos-era yard in the Atlas dataset (documented products incl. Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, Gold Bond, Super 66, pump/valve packing, gaskets, refractory materials; Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 (2010), affirmed a mesothelioma verdict for a Mare Island welder).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The diesel-electric plant means the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply. The Mare Island yard documentation postdates this hull's construction era (Collins exposure period 1976-94; EIS 1998); it evidences the yard's asbestos era generally, not material installed aboard DE-303 in 1943-44. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-03
-
[5]NARA holdings - RG 24 (deck logs), RG 181 (Mare Island Navy Yard records), RG 19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specifications) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 / RG 181 / RG 19 (not digitized; not retrieved)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documented archival leads for hull-level material data exist but were not retrieved: NARA RG 24 holds DE-303 deck logs (1944-45); RG 181 holds Mare Island Navy Yard construction and work records for the period including 1943-44; RG 19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material specifications that could state installed insulation and lagging for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (records)
- Limitations
- Lead only - no retrieval performed; the existence of a holding does not establish that a material schedule for DE-303 survives or that it documents asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (type=o opinions and type=r dockets), 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-crowley-de303-06 through sl-uss-crowley-de303-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Partial sweep completed: 'USS Crowley' exact-name opinion search (type=o) returned 0 hits - a clean negative with no collisions to classify. The 'DE-303' hull-number opinion query and the 'USS Crowley' RECAP docket query could not be executed: the fleet-wide authenticated CourtListener pacing budget was continuously saturated by other sessions across eight spaced retries over ~75 minutes on 2026-09-28; both are logged 'blocked' in the search ledger rather than retried into a ban. 'Crowley' is a high-collision surname/maritime name (Crowley Maritime Corporation is a frequent asbestos defendant), so a bare-name docket query is low-yield in any case; the exact-name 0-hit is the meaningful negative.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Coverage is partial: only the exact-name opinion query completed. Litigation search coverage is limited to CourtListener-indexed state/federal opinions and federal dockets; unindexed state trial-court filings, settled MDL-875 claimant records, and non-digital proceedings are not covered. No search can prove the absence of all possible litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-05
-
[7]Batch-4211 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS transcription; NavSource archive data; Atlas shipyard dataset; web sweep for asbestos-specific records; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-crowley-de303-01 through sl-uss-crowley-de303-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-303: no hull ACM survey, no abatement or hazmat disclosure, and no museum or preservation program (the hull was sold for scrapping 21 December 1946). Law-firm marketing pages list USS Crowley (DE-303) among 'asbestos ships' (e.g., shepardlawfirm.com, asbestos-ships.com, freeasbestostesting.com) - non-authoritative advocacy material with no primary documentation, excluded as evidence. The completed CourtListener exact-name opinion search returned zero hits for 'USS Crowley'; the hull-number and docket queries were pacing-blocked (see ev-05 and ledger).
- 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 - era materials and a 1943-44 Mare Island build make asbestos applications plausible at class/era level; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Scrapping records name no buyer or breaker's yard, so post-sale material documentation is untraceable in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-crowley-de303-06