Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet lo-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Don O. Woods DE-721 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-don-o-woods-de721-pkt-lo-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Don O. Woods (APD-118), verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of Naval History Division entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block; construction paragraph; postwar service paragraph; bracketed disposition note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies this physical hull: launched as DE-721 on 9 February 1944 by Dravo Corp., Neville Island, Pittsburgh; reclassified APD-118 on 17 July 1944; floated to Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas for completion as a high-speed transport; commissioned 28 May 1945. It departed Norfolk 9 August 1945, reached Pearl Harbor 7 September, then served in the Philippines through 23 January 1946; it arrived San Pedro 13 February and was placed out of commission in reserve 18 June 1946. The bracketed DANFS disposition note says it was struck and sold to Mexico as Usumacinta on 12 December 1963. The specifications block gives 1,450 tons displacement, 306 feet length, 24 knots, complement 266, one 5-inch gun, and Crosley class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1963
- Population
- Dravo and Consolidated Steel construction/completion workers; U.S. Navy crew, 1945-1946
- Limitations
- DANFS establishes the vessel's identity, construction/conversion sequence, service, and stated disposition; it does not identify asbestos-containing material, a work location, product, quantity, or individual exposure. The live NHHC page was not located; this is a verbatim historical transcription, not a hull materials record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. III, NAVSHIPS 250-012 (15 Apr. 1945), APD tables [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3.pdf, APD index p. 310; APD characteristics/machinery tables pp. 310-312; construction table p. 313 (book page numbers)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official April 1945 Bureau of Ships volume lists Woods, Don O. (ex-DE-721) as APD-118 in the high-speed-transport tables. Its construction table records Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Texas; keel 1 December 1943; launch 19 February 1944; and commission 28 May 1945. The APD machinery table records two boilers, two turbo-electric units, 12,000 shaft horsepower, two shafts, and 435 psi/750 F steam conditions. The accommodations table lists 12 officers and 192 enlisted, plus 12 officers and 150 enlisted troop capacity.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Construction/completion workers 1943-1945; ship's company; embarked troops
- Limitations
- This official design/construction table verifies construction dates and machinery configuration, not material composition. Its 19 February launch date conflicts with DANFS's 9 February date, and its 204 ship's-company figure conflicts with DANFS's 266; neither conflict is silently resolved. The table's machinery details support class/era context only, not asbestos aboard this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. III, NAVSHIPS 250-012 (15 Apr. 1945), APD-118 machinery data; DANFS Don O. Woods (APD-118) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v3.pdf APD machinery table (Woods, Don O., APD-118); DANFS specifications/construction entry
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: APD-118's documented two-boiler, 435 psi/750 F steam turbo-electric machinery places it within the 1943-45 Rudderow/Crosley steam-escort design family. Period-standard asbestos applications for that type of steam machinery may include boiler and steam-line insulation/lagging, turbine insulation, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction/completion trades 1943-1945; U.S. Navy crew 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Inference only. BuShips establishes machinery, and DANFS identifies the hull/class, but neither source identifies asbestos or any product installed aboard APD-118/DE-721. This row does not establish material presence, quantity, location, disturbance, exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-03
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 Oct. 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page, title and issue date
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's Navy-wide 1979 asbestos report is relevant only as program context for the wartime Navy shipbuilding era; APD-118 had left U.S. Navy custody in 1963, before the policy period discussed in that report.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979 (report); hull context 1943-1963
- Population
- Navy shipyard and shipboard workers (program-wide)
- Limitations
- Program-level context, not hull evidence. The report does not name Don O. Woods, DE-721, APD-118, Dravo, or Consolidated Steel, and it does not establish asbestos aboard this hull or any person's exposure. Full-text retrieval was not completed from the GAO site.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-04
-
[6]National Archives, Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (RG 24; deck-log research guidance) and NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships General Information Books [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Navy logbooks guidance; NARA Record Groups 24 and 19
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA RG 24 deck logs for the ship's 1945-46 commissioned period and Bureau of Ships RG 19 per-vessel General Information Books/material specifications are the next authoritative archival targets. RG 19 material documentation, rather than deck logs, is the more plausible source for a hull-specific insulation or material schedule.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: no APD-118/DE-721 General Information Book, drawing, deck log, or material schedule was retrieved in this research. The NARA guidance establishes relevant record groups, not the existence or content of a particular Don O. Woods file; deck logs would not by themselves prove asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep attempt via fleet helper: exact-name opinion query "USS Don O. Woods"; planned exact-name and hull-number opinion/docket queries [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-don-o-woods-de721-05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No CourtListener conclusion is recorded. The required authenticated helper accepted the exact-name opinion request but did not return results before the execution window expired while awaiting the fleet-wide pacing limiter. Exact-name docket and DE-721 opinion/docket queries were not sent after that pacing block. Accordingly, no qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, name collision, or no-result finding can be made from CourtListener for this hull in this session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Incomplete litigation coverage is not a negative finding about litigation or exposure. No anonymous or v3 request was made, and no raw API method was used. Future research must run exact-name (USS Don O. Woods) and exact hull-number (DE-721, plus APD-118 for the completed hull) opinion and docket searches through the authenticated helper and classify each returned hit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-06
-
[8]Batch-4503 search ledger: DANFS transcription; Bureau of Ships Ships' Data; NARA deck-log guidance; GAO product page; authenticated CourtListener helper [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-don-o-woods-de721-01 through sl-uss-don-o-woods-de721-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the completed public-source research: no hull asbestos survey, abatement record, material schedule, disposal/hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated litigation was retrieved. The only asbestos-related statement retained is the expressly limited class/era inference in ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-03.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof that asbestos was absent. CourtListener coverage is incomplete because fleet pacing prevented a returned response; that gap is separately recorded. This result does not establish exposure, non-exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-don-o-woods-de721-07