Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 978-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-dearborn-pf33-pkt-978-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Dearborn (PF-33) - construction, sponsor, commissioning, weather-patrol service, decommissioning, disposal (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative (live NHHC page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: spec block '(PF-33: dp. 1,430; l. 303'11"; b. 37'6"; dr. 13'8"; s. 20 k.; cpl. 190; a. 3 3"; cl. Tacoma)'. 'Dearborn (PF-33) was launched 27 September 1943 by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wis., under a Maratime [sic] Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. R. C. Dahlinger of Dearborn, Mich.; and commissioned 10 September 1944, Lieutenant Commander F. F. Nichols, USCG, in command. Sailing from Boston 3 November 1944 Dearborn arrived at Argentia, Newfoundland, 4 days later for duty on weather patrol. She had similar duty off Bermuda, as well as plane guard and rescue duty until 30 April 1946 when she arrived at Boston. On 7 May she departed for Charleston, arriving 2 days later. Dearborn was decommissioned there 5 June 1946 and sold 8 July 1947.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades (1943-44); USCG crew (~176-190, 1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS names the service (weather patrol at Argentia and off Bermuda, plane guard and rescue duty) but does not describe the weather-ship conversion or where commissioning/conversion occurred. A hazegray DANFS transcription circulates with a '8 July 1942' typo - the live NHHC text reads '8 July 1947' and is what is cited here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive, Dearborn (PF 33) ex-Toledo, ex-PG-141 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, NHHC photography (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/08033.htm header block, class timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: MC Type T. S2-S2-AQ1; originally authorized as Patrol Gunboat PG-141; reclassified Patrol Frigate PF-33 on 15 April 1943; laid down 15 August 1943 as Toledo under a Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, WI; renamed Dearborn prior to launching; launched 27 September 1943; commissioned USS Dearborn (PF-33) 10 September 1944; decommissioned 5 June 1946 at Charleston, SC; sold for scrap 8 July 1947. Specifications: displacement 1,430 t.; length 303'11"(oa); beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; speed 20.3 kts.; complement 176; armament two 3"/50 dual-purpose mounts, two twin 40mm mounts, nine 20mm guns, one Hedgehog projector, eight Y-gun depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks; propulsion 'Two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500 iHP Diamond Iron Works steam engines, two shafts.' Commanding officers: LCDR Fred Furst Nichols, USCG (10 September 1944); LCDR John Van B. Metts, Jr., USCGR (August 1945 - 5 June 1946). Call sign Nan-Zebra-Uncle-Able. Page carries NHHC photo NH 78997 (in port, ca. 1944-45) and the launching-ceremony program cover signed by Dearborn Mayor Orville L. Hubbard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades (1943-44); USCG crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestone dates track DANFS here. The spec block's complement (176) and armament (two 3"/50 mounts) differ from the DANFS class figures (190; three 3") - consistent with the weather-ship conversion documented elsewhere (aft 3" mount removed), not with an error. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory (Colton compilation), Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Superior WI production table - PF-33/Dearborn as yard hull 30, Maritime Commission hull 1444, delivered 17 July 1944, 'weather ship 1944, scrapped 1947' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-emer-large/butlersuperior/ hull table, rows 19-30
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder production-table record for this hull: Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Superior, WI (yard at North 1st and Hammond Avenue, former Lake Superior Shipbuilding, taken over at the outset of the war) lists PF-33 Dearborn as yard hull number 30, Maritime Commission hull 1444, a 1,430-ton frigate delivered 17 July 1944 under War Shipping Administration contract, disposition noted 'weather ship 1944, scrapped 1947.' The same table documents this hull as the last of twelve Tacoma-class frigates (PF-22 through PF-33) built at the Superior yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler Superior yard workforce (~5,000 workers at 1943 peak per Wisconsin Historical Society marker, ev-07)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (respected shipbuilding reference), not a primary record; the delivery date (17 July 1944 to WSA/MC) precedes Navy commissioning (10 September 1944) - the delivery-to-commissioning interval (outfitting, transit from Lake Superior, and any conversion yard period) is not documented in sources consulted. 'Weather ship 1944' corroborates the configuration evidence but gives no conversion place or date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-03
-
[5]NARA, 'USS DEARBORN - War Diary, 1/1-31/45', NAID 139865955, RG 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series WWII War Diaries, microfilm Roll A1412, scanned via Fold3 partnership; plus 'Dearborn (PF-33), 1/31/45-9/30/45' muster rolls, NAID 125663978, microfilm roll 1306, scanned via Ancestry partnership [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 139865955 (war diary); NAID 125663978 (muster rolls)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds digitized operational and personnel records for this hull: a WWII war diary for January 1945 (NAID 139865955, RG 38, five scanned pages via Fold3 - the month she began weather patrol out of Argentia) and muster rolls covering 31 January - 30 September 1945 (NAID 125663978, scanned via Ancestry). These are the primary-source leads for her weather-ship employment and crew complement at the time.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- USCG crew (1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog metadata verified (titles, NAIDs, digitization status); the scanned page content was not reviewed line-by-line this session. Deck logs for PF-33 (RG 24 logbooks, paper) were not located in the digitized deck-log series - open lead at NARA College Park. Neither record type is expected to address materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-04
-
[6]NavalCoverMuseum (NHHC-affiliated postal-history archive), USS DEARBORN PF-33 - designation history and postmark record (Locy Type 9efu, 1946-04-30; 'Used after Post Office was Discontinued on November 9, 1945') [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/DEARBORN_PF_33 - designation history + postmarks section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Postal-history record for this hull: designation sequence (PG-141 authorized; reclassified PF 15 April 1943; keel laid as TOLEDO 15 August 1943; renamed and launched 27 September 1943; commissioned 10 September 1944 - decommissioned 5 June 1946; sold 8 July 1947 for scrap) matching DANFS/NavSource. Ship's post office discontinued 9 November 1945; a postmark dated 30 April 1946 exists - matching the DANFS date she arrived at Boston at the end of weather-patrol duty.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- USCG crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Postal-history compilation; designation data tracks the primary record. The 'post office discontinued 9 November 1945' detail is the museum's reading of its cover holdings - useful corroborating detail, not a Navy milestone. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-05
-
[7]Robert Erwin Johnson, 'Coast Guard-Manned Naval Vessels in World War II', U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office / Commandant's Bulletin insert (Feb 1993), media.defense.gov (full text extracted via firecrawl; direct fetch 403 to automated GET) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CGMANNEDVESSELS.PDF, frigate section (pp. covering 'THE FIRST FRIGATES' through weather-ship conversion)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Coast Guard historical context for this hull's manning and employment: the Navy had merchant shipyards build the frigates because they were 'not thought capable of building ships such as DEs to naval standards'; the British River-class design was modified for American construction; 69 contracted in California and Great Lakes yards in 1942, 96 built, 21 to the Royal Navy. 'The Coast Guard was made responsible for manning 75 of the no longer essential frigates' after the U-boat threat abated. The class's vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines caused alignment problems delaying entry into service; 'some had their main engines rebuilt after failing trials or during post-shakedown availability.' On weather-ship conversion: 'the replacement of the after three-inch gun by a small deckhouse for inflating weather balloons. Forty-four of the ships were so fitted, manning weather stations in both the Atlantic and Pacific.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USCG crews across 75 CG-manned frigates
- Limitations
- Class/era context only - Dearborn is not named in the publication (no vessel appendix). The 44-hull weather-conversion count is the official USCG figure; secondary literature circulates a different count (23), unresolved - see gaps. Documents program-level manning and configuration, not this hull's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-06
-
[8]Wisconsin Historical Society, 'Wartime Shipbuilding' marker, Superior, WI (erected 1990; text transcribed via hmdb.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- hmdb.org marker 223799 (Wisconsin Historical Society marker, Superior, WI, 1990)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- State-of-Wisconsin documentation of this hull's builder: 'The Walter Butler Company built fifty-two ships, including eighteen coastal freighters, twenty-two ocean-going cargo ships, and twelve frigates employed as convoy escorts. In May 1943, Butler's 5,000 workers launched five large cargo ships in a single day.' Superior yards produced 81 ships 1942-1945, exceeding all other Wisconsin shipyards combined. The twelve Walter Butler frigates are the PF-22 through PF-33 sequence that includes this hull (yard hull 30).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (marker erected 1990)
- Population
- ~5,000 Walter Butler yard workers (1943 peak); Superior yard workforce 1942-45
- Limitations
- Builder-level documentation from an official state marker; the marker text itself is the primary element cited (hmdb.org is the transcription host). Establishes yard scale (52 ships, ~5,000 workers) and confirms twelve frigates built - does not name PF-33 or address materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-07
-
[9]Sandy v. Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., 221 Minn. 215, 21 N.W.2d 612 (Minn. 1946), Docket No. 34,126 - Minnesota Supreme Court opinion (CourtListener; corroborated by vLex extraction) [court_record]
- Locator
- 21 N.W.2d 612, opinion text (facts 'recited in the complaint'); CourtListener opinion 3534323
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Court-documented insulation practice at this hull's builder during the construction era, at the lowest litigation stage: a machinist's complaint alleged he was exposed 'within the hull, in the hold and lower regions of ships' under construction for the U.S. Maritime Commission at Walter Butler's Riverside plant in Duluth, MN (August 1943 - December 1944), to 'spun glass dust arising from material known as spun glass insulation' applied by other employees, allegedly causing dermatitis. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the overruling of the employer's demurrer - the complaint was dismissed on legal grounds (occupational-disease claims belonged under the workmen's compensation act); the facts were never tried.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (employment Aug 1943-Dec 1944; opinion 1 Feb 1946)
- Population
- Walter Butler Duluth Riverside-plant trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Stage discipline: pleading allegations only, disposed of on demurrer - never a fact-finding; classified down accordingly. NOT an asbestos case - the material alleged is 'spun glass' (fiberglass) insulation, which is not asbestos and does not establish asbestos use. Yard is the builder's Duluth Riverside plant (C1-M cargo hulls), not the Superior frigate yard - builder-company practice in the same program era, not evidence about materials aboard PF-33.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked to automated fetch)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1943-44) and service era (1944-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500 ihp Diamond Iron Works steam engines, two shafts); Wikipedia class-article cross-check (2 x 3-drum express boilers, 240 psi; 2 x vertical triple-expansion steam engines); USCG Historian's office (triple-expansion reciprocating engines, ev-06); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; class-article cross-check; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steam-propelled frigate built 1943-44 to mercantile standards sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a ship with a full steam plant (boilers, steam lines, reciprocating engines) were boiler and engine-room thermal insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and deck coverings. Unlike diesel-electric escorts, the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway applies to this hull's plant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler Superior construction trades (1943-44); USCG crew (1944-46); any inactivation/disposal yard trades at Charleston (1946-47); 1947 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PF-33. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The contemporaneous Sandy record (ev-08) documents non-asbestos spun-glass insulation at the builder's other yard - neither proving nor disproving asbestos use here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-10
-
[12]Batch-8437 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; NavSource 12/08033; shipbuildinghistory Walter Butler Superior table; NARA NAIDs 139865955 + 125663978; NavalCoverMuseum; USCG Historian's office PDF; Wisconsin Historical Society marker; Minnesota Supreme Court opinion; GAO product page; CourtListener (pending - see sl-12); secondary-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dearborn-pf33-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Dearborn (PF-33) was found in the public sources searched. The only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy, including a shepardlawfirm.com listicle that mislabels the hull 'DE 33' (a destroyer-escort designation this ship never held) and a mesothelioma.net patrol-boats page naming 'USS Dearborn' with no sourcing. The contemporaneous Sandy decision documents spun-glass (non-asbestos) insulation at the builder's other yard - not asbestos evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. CourtListener exact-name opinion query returned zero hits (no opinion text matches 'USS Dearborn'); the docket-side and PF-33 queries remained fleet-pace-blocked at commit - partial open gap, not a negative result; see search_ledger sl-12/sl-13 and gaps. Deck logs, Walter Butler work packages, and 1947 scrapping-contract records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dearborn-pf33-11