Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet jk-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-cushing-dd376-pkt-jk-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Cushing (DD-376) iii' entry (live NHHC page returns HTTP 404; text via Wayback capture 2015-01-19 of the official NHHC page, verbatim DANFS text corroborated by destroyerhistory.org transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Cushing (DD-376) iii' entry incl. spec block; canonical NHHC URL history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cushing-dd-376-iii.html returns HTTP 404 (standing NHHC link-rot per Batch-01 report); destroyerhistory.org/goldplater/usscushing corroborating mirror
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Cushing (DD-376) iii' (official NHHC text, recovered from Wayback capture 2015-01-19 of history.navy.mil; live page returns 404). Spec block: '(DD-376: dp. 1,500; l. 341'4"; b. 35'; dr. 9'10"; s. 36 k.; cpl. 158; a. 5 5", 12 21" tt.; cl. Dale)' - the 'cl. Dale' label is a spec-block anomaly flagged in the correction row (all other authoritative references assign Mahan class; Dale DD-353 was Farragut class). Namesake: Commander William Barker Cushing (1842-1874), Civil War officer who sank CSS Albemarle at Plymouth N.C. 27 October 1864. Service narrative: launched 31 December 1935 by Puget Sound Navy Yard, sponsored by Miss K. A. Cushing (daughter of Commander Cushing); commissioned 28 August 1936, Commander E. T. Short in command; reported to the Pacific Fleet; joined the Amelia Earhart search in the Hawaiian Islands and at Howland Island 4-30 July 1937; San Diego-based exercises and fleet problems; brief Pearl Harbor training periods and one Caribbean cruise. Undergoing overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard when Japan struck Pearl Harbor; sailed from San Francisco 17 December 1941 for west coast-Pearl Harbor convoy escort to 13 January 1942; Midway antisubmarine patrol 18 January-2 February; returned San Francisco 19 February screening TF 1 off California. Departed San Francisco 1 August 1942 for Pearl Harbor training then Guadalcanal operations; Battle of Santa Cruz 26 October; screened transports into Guadalcanal 12 November. Loss narrative per DANFS: in the van on the night of 13 November 1942, sighted three enemy destroyers at 3,000 yards; took several hits amidships with gradual power loss; continued firing and launched torpedoes by local direction at an enemy battleship; abandon ship at 0230; burning hulk last seen from Guadalcanal at 1700, sank about 3,500 yards southeast of Savo Island; 'lost about 70 men killed or missing, some of them later rescued from the water, and many wounded'; aided in saving Henderson Field from disastrous bombardment. Three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1934-1943
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction workforce 1933-36; ship's company (design complement 158, DANFS spec block)
- Limitations
- DANFS establishes identity, construction, service history, loss, and awards; it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Entry states no laid-down date and no stricken date (both supplied by SDB 1938 and NavSource respectively). Spec-block 'cl. Dale' is an anomaly - not adopted; see ev-08.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1938 edition, Destroyers (DD) tables, per-hull rows for CUSHING DD376, index line 52 (shipscribe.com scan of the official publication, Google Books digitization) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1938 Destroyers (DD) tables: characteristics p.48, service conditions p.49, propelling machinery p.50, armament/quarters p.51, construction p.52, dates p.53; CUSHING index no. 52 throughout; construction and machinery cells read directly from rendered page images (ditto/brace cells resolved against the Cummings DD-365 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips Ships' Data (NAVSHIPS 250-012 series), 1938 edition, carries per-hull table rows for CUSHING DD376 (index no. 52). Characteristics table (p.48): 341'3" overall, 334'0" waterline, 34'8" beam, 9'9" draft, 1,465 tons standard displacement. Service conditions (p.49): 1,726 tons (footnote 4: 'Designed normal displacement'), 35+ knots, 21 tons-per-inch immersion, 17 ft maximum draft, 2 smoke pipes, 2 masts. Propelling machinery (p.50): 2 propellers; 'G. E. geared turb.' (ditto of Cummings row); 4 oil-burning boilers, type 'Express' (ditto); turbogenerator sets 2 Turbo + 1 Diesel (shared brace with Cummings row); A.C. current. Armament/quarters (p.51): 5 x 5" 38-cal. A.A.; torpedo tubes (deck) ditto of Cummings's '3 21" quad.'; quarters available: cabin 2, wardroom officers 10, junior officers blank, chief petty officers 14, other enlisted men 178 (sums to 204; footnote 3: includes total berths and hammock swings, excludes cots). Construction (p.52): 'Navy yard, Puget Sound'; contract-price cell blank (navy-yard build); act authorizing building '....do........' = ditto of 16 June 1933; 'Contract signed' cell repurposed for navy-yard builds reads 'Aug. 2, 1933' (footnote 3: 'Date assigned yard') and 'Nov. 1, 1933' (footnote 5: 'Beginning of construction period'); keel laid Aug. 15, 1934. Dates (p.53): ship launched Dec. 31, 1935; contract date of completion Feb. 1, 1936; preliminary acceptance blank; first commission Aug. 28, 1936; statutory 'date over age' Dec. 10, 1952 (never reached - sunk 1942).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1933-1938 (publication 1938)
- Population
- Ship's company (quarters available: 2 cabin, 10 wardroom officers, 14 CPO, 178 enlisted = 204 berths); construction workforce at Puget Sound Navy Yard
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official Navy tabulation naming this hull - the strongest specification source in the file. Documents machinery plant, dimensions, armament, berthing, authorization, and milestone dates only; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statements and supports no asbestos claim beyond establishing the steam-plant type to which era inference applies. 'Quarters available' (berths/hammock swings) is a berthing figure, distinct from complement; the boiler type 'Express' is a manufacturer type-name (consistent with the class record's Foster Wheeler attribution) - wording variance logged in ev-08.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USN Ships - USS Cushing (DD-376), 1936-1942' page (official Navy photo captions; transcription hosted on HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC photography page structure changed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio transcription usnsh-c/dd376.htm: service summary paragraphs + wreck paragraph; photo numbers NH 74262, NH 74263, NH 74264, NH 74265, 80-G-465925
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library photo-caption page (transcribed on HyperWar/ibiblio): 'USS Cushing (DD-376), 1936-1942' - 'a 1465-ton Mahan class destroyer built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, was commissioned August 1936'; confirms the 1937 Earhart search, the Mare Island Navy Yard overhaul in progress at the Pearl Harbor attack, early-war convoy/TF 1 operations, Santa Cruz screening of Enterprise, and the 13 November 1942 loss narrative including that she 'engaged several Japanese ships, among them the battleship Hiei', that surviving crewmen were forced over the side and 'rescued the following morning', and that the hulk 'suffered a magazine exposion [sic] and sank' in the late afternoon. Wreck status: 'Cushing's sunken wreck was located and examined in 1991-92. She rests nearly upright nearly a half-mile below the surface of Iron Bottom Sound, southeast of Savo Island. Her hull has been destroyed aft of the forward part of the after deckhouse, but is essentially intact from there to the bow. Cushing's forward superstructure, weakened by intense fires before she sank, has largely collapsed...' Official photo numbers documented: NH 74262-74265 (incl. pre-commissioning trials off Puget Sound Navy Yard July 1936) and NARA 80-G-465925.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1942; wreck examination 1991-92
- Population
- Ship's company at loss (survivors rescued from the water the following morning); postwar wreck-survey personnel 1991-92
- Limitations
- Official Navy photographic captions documenting construction yard, service narrative, loss, and the 1991-92 wreck examination; no asbestos or materials content. '1465-ton' matches the SDB 1938 standard-displacement figure. The wreck-survey description is a condition report, not a hazardous-materials survey - it says nothing about asbestos aboard the wreck.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Destroyer Photo Archive, USS Cushing (DD-376) page (volunteer-compiled naval history data consistent with BuShips/NVR conventions; Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-376 spec block + 'Operational and Building Data' paragraph (laid down, stricken, loss narrative, casualty line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Naval History compiled data page for USS Cushing (DD-376) (Wayback capture 2024-05-24; live navsource.org fetch failed): class Mahan 'As Built'; displacement 2103 tons full; dimensions 341'4" (oa) x 35'5" x 12'4" (max); armament 5 x 5"/38AA, 4 x 0.5" MG, 12 x 21" tt (3x4); machinery '49,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws'; speed 36.5 knots, range 6,500 NM at 12 knots; crew 158. Operational/building data: 'Laid down by Puget Sound Navy Yard August 15 1934. Launched December 31 1935 and commissioned August 28 1936. Sunk by Gun Fire from Japanese Warships off Guadalcanal November 13 1942. Stricken January 13 1943. 69 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on duty.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1934-1943
- Population
- Ship's company at loss 1942-11-13
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source supplying the stricken date (Jan. 13, 1943 - consistent with the mass striking of the 13 Nov 1942 Guadalcanal losses) and the laid-down date corroborating SDB 1938; casualty line '69 lost' differs from DANFS 'about 70 killed or missing' - logged in ev-08. Compiled figure '49,000 SHP' conflicts with HyperWar's '42,800 h.p.' and the class design ~50,000 shp - logged. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-04
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1938 machinery row for DD-376 ('G. E. geared turb. / 4 Express / 2 Turbo + 1 Diesel sets, A.C.') + Atlas shipyards.json yard record puget-sound-naval-shipyard (documented asbestos products) + Mahan-class GIB machinery description (465 psi / 645 deg F Foster Wheeler plant; destroyerhistory.org transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1938 p.50 machinery row CUSHING; shipyards.json yard_id puget-sound-naval-shipyard; destroyerhistory.org Mahan-class page (BuC&R GIB for USS Mahan and USS Cummings)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a two-shaft high-pressure steam plant - two General Electric geared turbines fed by four oil-burning boilers (per-hull machinery row, BuShips Ships' Data 1938; class GIB figure 465 psi / 645 deg F, ~50,000 shp) - built November 1933-August 1936 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, a Navy yard where the Atlas shipyards.json record independently documents asbestos products (thermal insulation, gaskets, electrical systems, deck tiles, fireproofing materials, asbestos refractory materials; associated industrial-hygiene evidence includes a 1970 DTIC study AD0715808 and peer-reviewed follow-up PMID 1065583 documenting amosite and chrysotile exposure in insulation trades, with the caveat that the documented study window is 1962-1972, roughly three decades after this hull's construction). Interwar-era Navy steam-plant construction used asbestos-containing boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, and fireproofing as standard materials; no hull-specific material schedule, insulation specification, or survey naming DD-376 was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1933-1942
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1933-36; ship's company 1936-42 (design complement 158; wartime higher); Mare Island Navy Yard trades during the 1941-42 overhaul
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant, construction era, and builder yard - NOT a hull record. Establishes no asbestos content aboard DD-376, no quantity, no location, no individual exposure, no causation. The Puget Sound yard's documented asbestos studies postdate construction by ~30 years (1962-1972 window) and are yard-level evidence, applied here only as builder context; this hull predates the WWII asbestos-construction peak that most era scholarship describes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-05
-
[7]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page description + report PDF (Navy response attachment, shipboard-asbestos paragraph; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation that asbestos use was pervasive in Navy ships: the GAO's 1979 report on Navy asbestos protection conveys the Navy's statement that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' and that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' (attachment quoting Navy response on shipboard applications). Context for the general era of Navy shipboard asbestos use; DD-376 (lost 1942) predates the report scope but the finding documents the longstanding Navy-wide practice this hull's construction era belonged to.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (report); practices described span earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level finding about the modern (1970s) fleet, not about this 1933-36 hull - quoted language describes ships delivered since 1973 and in-service practice; establishes nothing about DD-376's materials. Included only as Navy-wide era context consistent with Batch-01 usage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches: 'USS Cushing' type=o (0 hits); 'USS Cushing' type=r (0 dockets); 'DD-376' type=o (1 hit - Miner v. Miner, Fla. DCA 1977, identifier collision); '"Cushing" asbestos' type=o (48 hits, reviewed - attorney-name collisions only, no vessel references) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 /search/ results for each query; Miner v. Miner classified on court/date/case-type metadata (Fla. App. domestic-relations disposition)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, fleet-paced, 2026-09-27): 'USS Cushing' (type=o) returned 0 hits; 'USS Cushing' (type=r) returned 0 dockets; 'DD-376' (type=o) returned 1 hit - Miner v. Miner, Fla. Dist. Ct. App., filed 1977-01-10, a domestic-relations appellate disposition = identifier COLLISION, not vessel litigation; '"Cushing" asbestos' (type=o) returned 48 hits - first page (20 records) reviewed in full: all matches resolve to attorney/firm names (Ambrose & Cushing, P.C.; Cushing O. Condon of Ford Marrin; Thomas W. Cushing of Baker & McKenzie) or unrelated text, none to the vessel. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming DD-376 located. Collision analysis: the name recurs in three later hulls - DD-797 (Fletcher class, in commission 1944-1961, transferred to Turkey) and DD-985 (Spruance class, 1979-2005) - whose service windows overlap the asbestos-litigation era; any allegation reciting service 'aboard USS Cushing' after 1943 could not pertain to this hull, which had already sunk. No such allegation surfaced.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- litigation indexed through 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep result, not a merits finding: opinion-index coverage supports 'no published opinion names DD-376', but pleading-stage naming without a published opinion, unindexed state-court dockets, VA claims, and asbestos trust claims are outside coverage. The fleet pacing budget blocked two supplementary variants this session ('U.S.S. Cushing' type=o; 'aboard the Cushing') - logged honestly in the ledger; the exact-name and hull-number results already constrain the outcome. Miner v. Miner content not full-text verified (collision classified on metadata).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-07
-
[9]Cross-source reconciliation: NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture) vs. BuShips SDB 1938 rows vs. NHHC Online Library captions vs. NavSource compiled data vs. HyperWar ship table vs. destroyerhistory.org class transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and narrative; SDB 1938 pp.48-53 rows and footnotes; NavSource DD-376 spec block; NHHC caption '1465-ton' and wreck paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or logged: (a) Class label - the official DANFS spec block reads 'cl. Dale' for this hull; every other authoritative and secondary reference assigns Mahan class (Dale DD-353 was a Farragut-class ship) - 'cl. Dale' logged as a DANFS spec-block anomaly, Mahan class carried. (b) Complement - DANFS spec block and NavSource read 158; SDB 1938 'quarters available' row sums to 204 berths (2+10+14+178, footnote: includes berths and hammock swings, excludes cots); HyperWar compiled table reads 251 - 158 carried per DANFS, others in gaps. (c) Shaft horsepower - NavSource '49,000 SHP'; HyperWar ship page '42,800 h.p.'; class GIB design figure ~50,000 shp (destroyerhistory.org Mahan-class transcription) - range logged, NavSource figure carried in propulsion_summary. (d) Boiler type - SDB 1938 per-hull row reads 'Express' (ditto of Cummings); the class record describes Foster Wheeler boilers (465 psi, 645 deg F) - 'Express' is a boiler type-name consistent with Foster Wheeler manufacture; wording variance logged rather than reconciled silently. (e) Casualty count - DANFS 'about 70 men killed or missing, some later rescued'; NavSource '69 of her crew were lost'; ~70 carried per DANFS. (f) Sinking position - DANFS 'about 3,500 yards southeast of Savo Island' (the same narrative prints 'Sayo Island' in the 2015 NHHC web text - an obvious typo); NHHC photo page 'Iron Bottom Sound, southeast of Savo Island'. (g) Dimensions - SDB '341'3" oa / 34'8" beam' vs. DANFS '341'4" / 35'' vs. NavSource '341'4" / 35'5" / 12'4" max draft' - rounding-level variances logged. (h) Namesake - NHHC page text 'daughter of Command Cushing' is a typo for Commander Cushing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1933-1943
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies among authoritative and secondary sources; none of the underlying sources contains asbestos information, and none of the variances affects identity, class assignment (Mahan), or the loss timeline.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-08
-
[10]Batch-3361 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback capture + destroyerhistory.org mirror; BuShips SDB 1938 per-hull rows (pdftotext + rendered-page reads); NHHC Online Library photo captions (ibiblio transcription); NavSource DD-376 page (Wayback capture); Mahan-class record (destroyerhistory.org GIB transcription); Atlas shipyard dataset; NARA catalog holdings check; CourtListener name/hull/asbestos searches; general-web check for ship-specific asbestos mentions [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cushing-dd376-01 through sl-uss-cushing-dd376-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Cushing DD-376 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The configuration of the loss record itself limits what could exist: the hull was a total loss on 13 November 1942, sunk in place in Iron Bottom Sound (Solomon Islands waters) at roughly half-mile depth; there was no postwar disposal, mothballing, overhaul, or scrapping program under which asbestos documentation would typically be generated for this hull, and the 1991-92 wreck examination documented condition only.
- 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 - a 1933-36 Navy-yard-built high-pressure steam destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing, and the wreck has never had a materials survey. This row records that no ship-specific documentation was located; it does not establish presence or absence, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-09
-
[11]NARA catalog holdings: NAID 125737450 (muster rolls 1939-42), NAID 210566392 with items 496084031/496084033 (BuShips photographs); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24, RG 19, RG 38 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov records search 'Cushing (DD-376)'; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html and /019.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA muster-roll file unit 'Cushing (DD-376), 1/4/39-10/31/42' (NAID 125737450, microfilm Roll No. 1263, Ancestry-scanned partnership images available via NARA catalog); (b) NARA BuShips still-picture file unit 'Destroyer - U.S.S. Cushing' (NAID 210566392, Naval History Photographs series, RG 19), items incl. NAID 496084031 (19-N-16338, dated 1937-02-02) and NAID 496084033 (19-N-31935, 'USS Cushing, Trial - Destroyer (DD376)'); (c) NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy ships and stations, 1801-1946' - DD-376 deck logs for the commissioned period Aug 1936-Nov 1942; (d) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Construction and Repair / BuShips) General Information Book and Booklet of General Plans for this hull - the open lead for any hull-level insulation/materials specification (the class GIB for Mahan/Cummings is the located surrogate); (e) Bureau of Personnel casualty report for the 13 November 1942 loss (destroyerhistory.org reproduces a casualty list citing this NARA source); (f) any surviving ship's loss report / war diary in RG 38 (CNO) - not verified. Naval Vessel Register - not applicable: stricken 13 January 1943, predating NVR coverage.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1933-1943 records
- Limitations
- Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DD-376 is unknown until surveyed. The muster rolls and photographs document personnel and appearance, not materials. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cushing-dd376-10