Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet kx-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with reclassification note)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-donnell-de56-pkt-kx-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, USS Donnell (DE-56/IX-182) (live NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/donnell.html returns 404; Wayback capture 2024-12-09 verified verbatim; ibiblio HyperWar transcription cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar dafs/IX/ix182.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 13 March 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, Mass., sponsored by Mrs. E. R. Donnell; commissioned 26 June 1943, Lt. Cmdr. F. C. Billings USNR in command. Spec block: 1,400 t, 306', 37' beam, 9'5" draft, 24 kt, complement 186, 3x3" guns, 3x21" tt., 8 dcp., 1 hedgehog, 2 dct., Buckley class. Departed Boston 31 August 1943 for transatlantic convoy duty; guarded four convoys to Londonderry and return. On fifth voyage 3 May 1944: sound contact and periscope sighted, depth-charge attack pressed home; simultaneously torpedoed - stern blown off, own depth charges inflicted additional damage; 29 killed, 25 wounded. Towed by Reeves (DE-156), Hopping (DE-155), and HMS Samsonia to Dunnstaffnage Bay, Scotland, arriving 12 May. Placed in commission in reserve at Lisahally, Northern Ireland, 20 June 1944 as accommodation ship; reclassified IX-182 15 July 1944; towed to Plymouth July 1944 (passengers/cargo); towed to Cherbourg August 1944, supplied electric power to shore installations; February 1945 returned to England as barracks ship at Portland and Plymouth; arrived Philadelphia Navy Yard 18 July 1945; decommissioned 23 October 1945; sold 29 April 1946. Namesake: Ens. Earl Roe Donnell, Jr., VS-6, killed 1 February 1942 Marshalls raid, posthumous Air Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (DANFS complement 186); Lisahally/Plymouth yard workers 1944; Cherbourg power-detail crew 1944-45; Philadelphia Navy Yard disposal workforce 1945-46
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; no laid-down or stricken dates are printed in this entry. Live NHHC page 404s (link-rot pattern noted in batch-01); Wayback capture of the canonical URL (2024-12-09) verified as verbatim identical to the ibiblio transcription. The attacking U-boat is not named by DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-01
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[3]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Donnell (DE 56) page (building/operational data, NARA photo captions, All Hands Sep 1945 caption, CO roster) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/056.htm - specifications block, 'Building and Operational Data' list, photo captions 0605602/0605609/0605607
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational record for this hull: keel laid 27 November 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Corp., Hingham, Mass.; launched 13 March 1943; commissioned 26 June 1943; torpedoed 3 May 1944 (29 killed, 25 wounded); placed in commission in reserve at Lisahally 20 June 1944; reclassified IX-182 15 July 1944; towed to Cherbourg August 1944, supplied electric power to shore installations; February 1945 barracks ship at Portland and Plymouth; arrived Philadelphia Navy Yard 18 July 1945; placed out of commission in reserve 23 October 1945; struck from the NVR 16 November 1945; scrapping commenced on-site at Philadelphia Navy Yard 29 April 1946. Photo captions document a New York Navy Yard repair/overhaul period circa 8-18 April 1944 and a September 1945 All Hands photograph of Donnell at Cherbourg 'being used as a power plant after her fantail was blown off by a German torpedo. The transformer on deck was captured from the Germans.' Spec block: Buckley TE, 1,400 t light / 1,740 t full, 300' wl / 306' oa, 36'9" extreme beam, 2 'D' Express boilers, GE turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws, 24 kt, complement 15 officers / 198 enlisted. Five commanding officers listed, last Lcdr. Robert S. Hetzel USNR (decommissioning CO).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- New York Navy Yard repair workforce April 1944; Philadelphia Navy Yard scrapping workforce April 1946+
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive - secondary quality. Sole source for keel-laying (27 Nov 1942), stricken date (16 Nov 1945), 'scrapping commenced' framing of the 29 Apr 1946 disposal, the April 1944 New York Navy Yard availability, and the All Hands caption details; none corroborated in DANFS. Complement figure (213) conflicts with the DANFS spec block (186) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Summary of War Damage to U.S. Battleships, Carriers, Cruisers, Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts, 8 December 1943 to 7 December 1944,' NAVSHIPS A-3(420), Preliminary Design Section, 1 June 1945 (HyperWar/ibiblio scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Section IV 'Ships Damaged,' Destroyer Escorts table, printed p. 54 (PDF p. 56), DONNELL (DE56) row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous BuShips war-damage summary entry for this hull: 'DONNELL (DE56) 5/3/44 North Atlantic Submarine Torpedo-1 - German submarine torpedo detonated in vicinity of starboard propeller. Stern blown off. Propulsive power lost. Shell, decks and supporting members buckled from amidships aft. Ship girder broken at frame 139. Stern raised to angle of about 45 deg. hinged at frame 112. Flooding aft of machinery spaces. Towed to Boston. and scrapped.' Engineering detail confirms the blast severed the after body with structural damage reaching the machinery spaces - the space types carrying the heaviest era insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crew at time of casualty (29 killed, 25 wounded per DANFS)
- Limitations
- The closing clause 'Towed to Boston. and scrapped.' conflicts with DANFS (towed to Dunnstaffnage Bay, Scotland; served as IX-182 at Cherbourg; towed to Philadelphia July 1945) - a documented error/compression inside a primary Navy source, carried verbatim and flagged rather than silently reconciled. The document addresses battle damage, not materials; no asbestos content is mentioned.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-03
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[5]NARA Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), named-vessels index [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 named-vessels table, 'Donnel (IX-182)' row (6/27/1943-10/23/1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 indexes a deck-log run for this hull under the misspelling 'Donnel' with the final designation (IX-182): single run 6/27/1943 - 10/23/1945, i.e., commissioning through decommissioning including the entire IX-182 accommodation-ship/power-barge period. Logbooks are textual holdings at Archives II, College Park, MD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Index-level confirmation only - establishes that a logbook run exists, not its condition or contents. The 'Donnel' misspelling means name-searchers will miss the entry without hull-number lookup. Not digitized: the National Archives Catalog online deck-log list (navy-online) carries no Donnell/DE-56/IX-182 entry (checked 2026-09-28).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-04
-
[6]uboat.net, U-473 boat page vs. United States Navy Memorial 'Lost Ship's Tribute: Donnell' page (navylog.navymemorial.org/donnell) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/boats/u473.htm ('Attacks' 3 May 1944 entry); navylog.navymemorial.org/donnell (Lost Ship's Tribute + Lost At Sea Log, 29 names)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Attacker identity for the 3 May 1944 torpedoing is in conflict between sources. uboat.net attributes the hit to U-473 (Type VIIC, Kptlt. Heinz Sternberg), working against convoy CU 22; U-473 dived to 180m and survived 34 counter-attack depth charges with minor damage, and was itself sunk 6 May 1944 at 49.29N 21.22W by HMS Starling, Wren, and Wild Goose. The U.S. Navy Memorial's Lost Ship's Tribute page attributes the torpedo to U-765 ('U-Boat Attack off Cape Clear Ireland... struck by a torpedo from U-765'), consistent with postwar revised-loss assessments; Sternberg's own report claimed a T-5 acoustic torpedo fired at a destroyer 'had missed' (per the MaritimeQuest narrative of the CU-22 action). DANFS does not name the attacker. The record carries both attributions as unresolved.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Attribution conflict unresolved in located sources: uboat.net/standard compilations say U-473; the US Navy Memorial log says U-765; the German-side patrol report implies a claimed miss. Neither source is the action report itself (NARA RG 38 war diaries/action reports are the unretrieved primary lead). No effect on the ship's documented damage - only on which U-boat fired the hit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) + consolidated era inference [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table (groups 2-3 rows); navypedia us_de_te block map places DE-56 in the Foster Wheeler boiler group (DE51-98 block)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: Donnell is a Buckley-class (TE, turbo-electric) destroyer escort - one of only two DE designs with a full steam plant. BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design groups 2-3 document the TE plant: 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp. A 1942-43 steam plant of this type implies boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing typical of the construction era; superheated steam conditions at 750F specifically implicate high-temperature insulation products.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1942-43; engineering crew 1943-46 (incl. IX-182 power-plant detail)
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - establishes no asbestos content aboard this hull, no quantities, and no individual exposure. No ship-specific material schedule or survey located (NARA RG 19 General Information Books are the unretrieved archival lead). The Buckley class profile's litigation sweep located no ship-specific asbestos record for any member hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-06
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[8]CourtListener API v4 search sweep (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced) 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, exact-name and hull-number queries
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep complete: ZERO qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Exact-name queries '"USS Donnell"' returned 0 opinions and 0 dockets. Hull-number queries returned only name/number collisions: '"Donnell" "DE-56"' = 1 opinion (Alexander v. Westbury Union Free School District, E.D.N.Y. 2011 - 'DE 56'-style docket-entry notation plus a 'Donnell' surname, not the ship); '"IX-182"' = 5 opinions + 41 dockets, all exhibit/Bates-string matches (Jones v. Illinois Educational Labor Relations Bd.; Andaloro v. PFPC; Finberg v. Sullivan; et al.); '"DE-56"' dockets = 3,123 raw hits, all unrelated (docket-entry and exhibit strings). Asbestos-context queries: '"Donnell" asbestos destroyer escort' = 1 opinion (Abadie v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., La. Ct. App. 2001 - asbestos consolidation, 'Donnell' is a plaintiff surname, not the ship); '"Donnell" asbestos' dockets = 1,002 raw hits, all surname collisions (Donnell/O'Donnell plaintiffs v. asbestos defendants, e.g., Donnell v. A-C Product Liability Trust; O'Donnell v. Asbestos Corp.).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- n/a
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Search-index sweep: 'USS Donnell' zero hits in both opinion and docket types is the dispositive negative - any filing naming the ship as such would hit that query. Residual limitation: a plaintiff surnamed Donnell whose complaint text mentions service aboard 'USS Donnell' would surface only if indexed text carries the ship name - the exact-phrase search covers that case. Individual docket-file full-text review not performed (search-level sweep per batch scope).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-07
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[9]Consolidated search result - see search_ledger rows sl-uss-donnell-de56-* for repositories and queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger, this record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding: no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record of any kind was located for this hull - no survey, abatement record, material specification, hazmat disclosure, museum disclosure (hull scrapped 1946), or docketed litigation naming DE-56 or IX-182. Ship's history is fully documented; asbestos status aboard is unknown rather than documented-absent.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of documentation is not documentation of absence: the hull carried a full steam plant and was extensively worked on (combat damage, conversion, disposal), but no located source addresses materials aboard. The O'Brien/batch-01 standard applies - the negative result is recorded, not papered over.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-donnell-de56-08