Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]DANFS, 'Dorsey (Destroyer No. 117)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2016-02-23; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20260111064013) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + spec block (Wayback capture 20260111064013)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC record for this hull: spec block 1,090 t, 314'5" x 31'8" x 8'8", 35 kt, complement 100, 4x4"/50 + 2x3" + 12x21" tt., 'cl. Rathburne' (the period class name for the Wickes-group flush-deckers); namesake Midshipman John Dorsey (appointed 1801-04-28, killed 1804-08-07 at Tripoli aboard Gunboat No. 9). Launched 1918-04-09 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia; sponsored by Mrs. A. Means; commissioned 1918-09-16, Comdr. G. F. Neal. WWI convoy escort to Ireland (Sep-Oct 1918) and the Azores; Mar 1919 escorted George Washington carrying President Wilson to the Azores; Adriatic Squadron armistice duty (Malta, Apr-Jul 1919); Asiatic Fleet at Cavite Aug 1921-1922; decommissioned San Diego 1923-03-09; recommissioned 1930-03-01; reserve 10-29 Jun 1935 then Mare Island Navy Yard for towing-gear installation; high-speed target towing through 1940; based Pearl Harbor from 1940-07-03; entered Pearl Harbor Navy Yard 1940-11-06 for conversion, reclassified DMS-1 1940-11-19. At sea with TF 3 during the Pearl Harbor attack; Hawaiian Sea Frontier patrol/escort 1941-1943 incl. San Francisco overhaul 1943-01-01 to 1943-02-11; Solomons patrol/minesweeping and Cape Torokina landings Nov 1943; escort and towing duty through 1944 incl. San Francisco overhaul (Jul-Sep); Lingayen Gulf pre-invasion sweep Jan 1945 (rescued five survivors from LCI(G)-70); Iwo Jima pre-invasion sweep Feb 1945 (towed bomb-damaged Gamble DM-15 to safety 18 Feb); Okinawa sweep from 25 Mar 1945; struck a glancing blow by a suicide plane 1945-03-27 killing three crew and wounding two; departed 4 Apr for Pearl Harbor battle-damage repairs; returned Okinawa 1 Jul; Van Diemen Strait sweep Sep; driven aground by a severe typhoon 1945-10-09; decommissioned 1945-12-08; hulk destroyed 1946-01-01. Six battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1946
- Population
- Cramp & Sons construction trades 1917-18; commissioning-era and WWII crew (complement 100 as DD-117; ~149 as DMS-1)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for identity, service history, and loss. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text. The modern entry reads reserve '10 to 29 June 1935' where the 1963 DANFS transcription reads 1936 - discrepancy logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-01
-
[2]Yeo, Mike, 'Misidentified in the Heat of Battle,' Naval History Magazine 35(2), U.S. Naval Institute (April 2021) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History Magazine, April 2021, Vol. 35 No. 2 - article body and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI-researched detail for this hull: the late-1940 conversion 'from a World War I-era "four-pipe" destroyer into the U.S. Navy's first destroyer minesweeper' removed her No. 4 boiler, fourth stack, and torpedo tubes and modified her stern for minesweeping gear. At Okinawa she operated in Task Unit 53.3.2 with USS Forrest (DMS-24), Gwin (DM-33), Hobson (DMS-26), and Macomb (DMS-23); war diary records general quarters 0527 on 1945-03-27. The kamikaze that struck her is identified as a Mitsubishi Ki-51 'Sonia' (Imperial Japanese Army Air Force), not a Navy Aichi D3A 'Val' as long reported - established by artifacts recovered by crew members Homer R. Arnold (chief water tender) and John I. Whiting, including an engine data plate bearing the embossed Japanese Army star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940 (conversion); 1945-03-27 (attack); article 2021
- Population
- Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion workforce (Nov-Dec 1940); WWII crew
- Limitations
- Peer-reviewed professional-journal secondary source (USNI Naval History) - documents conversion scope and the attacking aircraft's identity; confirms the physical cutting/removal scope of the 1940 PHNY conversion but contains no asbestos or materials information and supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Dorsey (DMS-1), file 11/0901; and Destroyer Photo Index DD-117/DMS-1, file 05/117 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0901.htm (specifications + operational/building data + photo captions incl. 1080-43) and 05/117.htm (destroyer data block, CO table)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archival compilation corroborates DANFS and adds: laid down 18 September 1917 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia (fills a date DANFS omits); designated DD-117 17 July 1920; decommissioned 9 Mar 1923 San Diego, laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet; reclassified highspeed minesweeper DMS-1 19 Nov 1940; grounded by Typhoon Louise at Okinawa 9 Oct 1945, total loss; decommissioned 8 Dec 1945; struck from the Navy Register 3 Jan 1946; hulk destroyed 1 Jan 1946 (DMS page) vs 11 Jan 1946 (destroyer page) - conflict logged. Machinery spec: three White-Forster boilers, two 26,000-shp Cramp (Parsons-design) geared turbines, De Laval single-reduction gear, two shafts (DMS page; the destroyer page reads 24,200 shp - discrepancy logged); DMS-config complement 149, armament 3x3"/50 DP + one twin 40mm. A captioned U.S. Navy photo (1080-43, Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum collection) documents Dorsey on 6 Feb 1943 'after her overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard' - identifying the yard for the DANFS-recorded Jan-Feb 1943 San Francisco overhaul.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1946
- Population
- Hunters Point Navy Yard overhaul workforce (1943-01/02); construction trades 1917-18
- Limitations
- Specialist volunteer compilation of official photos and register data - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC on all shared dates. The Hunters Point attribution rests on a photo caption, not a work order. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-03
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 1945), List of Naval Vessels and DMS characteristics tables (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 List of Naval Vessels, 'MINE SWEEPERS - HIGH SPEED (DMS)' section ('DMS1 DORSEY'); DMS characteristics tables (accommodations/armament/reduction-gear/generator/fuel pages), DMS-1 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official wartime BuShips Ships' Data Vol. 2 carries this hull in the List of Naval Vessels as 'DMS1 DORSEY' (design-group 1 - the ex-Wickes flush-decker conversions) and carries a DMS-1 row through the DMS characteristics tables (accommodations, armament of 3x3"/50 DP, main reduction gears, ship's-service generators, fuel capacities). Confirms the hull's official DMS-1 identity and wartime configuration in a primary BuShips publication.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative BuShips publication naming this hull - confirms DMS-1 identity and configuration. Scanned-table OCR is columnar and partially garbled; per-cell values for the DMS-1 row are not reliably extractable beyond the list entry and armament row, so only the entry's presence is asserted. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-04
-
[5]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, photo NH 54551, USS Dorsey (Destroyer No. 117/DD-117) picture-data caption (verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the NHHC record) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library picture-data page, photo NH 54551
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photo caption for this hull: photographed circa 1920-1921 'after having her after 4"/50 gun moved from the main deck to atop an enlarged deckhouse. She was designated DD-117 in July 1920' - documents the early-1920s configuration and the hull-number assignment date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1920-1921 (photo); caption published 2010-10-29
- Limitations
- Official NHHC photographic record - documents configuration and designation date only; contains no asbestos or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Mirrored on HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC site 404s (standing link rot).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-05
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - documented machinery plant and yard events for this hull (DANFS, NavSource, SDB 1945 v2, USNI) + Atlas shipyards.json records for Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, and Mare Island Naval Shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DMS-1 machinery spec; DANFS narrative (yard events); USNI Apr 2021 (conversion scope); shipyards.json records 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard', 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull was built 1917-18 at William Cramp & Sons as a multi-boiler geared-steam-turbine flush-decker (White-Forster boilers, Parsons-design turbines) - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and fireproofing were commonly asbestos-containing in WWI-era naval construction. Documented WWII-phase yard events placed the hull inside yards whose asbestos product use is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset: Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion Nov-Dec 1940 (amosite blankets, pipe covering, asbestos mud documented for the yard) which physically removed boiler No. 4 and the fourth stack; Hunters Point Navy Yard overhaul Jan-Feb 1943 (thermal insulation for piping and boilers, gaskets, fireproofing documented for the yard); Mare Island Navy Yard towing-gear installation mid-1935 (Unibestos, Marinite, Kaylo, packing documented for the yard); Pearl Harbor battle-damage repairs Apr-Jun 1945.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1945
- Population
- Cramp construction trades 1917-18; Mare Island workforce 1935; Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion workforce 1940 and repair workforce 1945; Hunters Point overhaul workforce 1943; crew 1918-1945
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant, construction era, and documented yard periods - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, material schedule, or work order naming DD-117/DMS-1 was located; the yard findings are yard-level and do not establish that asbestos was applied to or disturbed aboard this hull. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-06
-
[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction and yard work during exactly this hull's conversion/overhaul era (1940-1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction and yard work generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-07
-
[8]Batch-3125 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 05/117 + 11/0901; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; USNI Naval History Apr 2021; NHHC Online Library NH 54551; CourtListener opinion + docket sweeps; indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index via web; Naval Vessel Register; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dorsey-dd117-01 through sl-uss-dorsey-dd117-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Dorsey / DD-117 / DMS-1 / Destroyer No. 117 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull ceased to exist in January 1946 - destroyed in place on an Okinawa reef after Typhoon Louise - so no museum, reserve-fleet, or disposal/abatement record surface ever existed for this vessel. CourtListener's one exact-phrase 'USS Dorsey' opinion hit is non-qualifying other litigation (Gorin v. United States, 111 F.2d 712 (9th Cir. 1940) - the ship named only inside a quoted 1935 ONI report in an espionage case). Indexed-web checks surface only law-firm marketing ship lists (simmonsfirm.com navy ships list; mesotheliomahelp.org destroyer list; mesothelioma.com destroyer table; duboselawfirm.com destroyer table) that name DD-117 without primary support - an excluded source class per the no-law-firm-sources rule, logged in the batch report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1917-18 steam destroyer with documented 1940-45 yard work is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials; the record simply contains none for this hull. CourtListener coverage was completed under fleet pacing constraints: exact-name opinions = 1 non-qualifying hit; exact-name dockets = 0; hull-number and designator sweeps = number/code collisions only; 'Dorsey' asbestos dockets = surname collisions (1,148 results, page-1 reviewed - a buried hull mention cannot be excluded on a surname sweep). Per-query detail in the search ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 181 (naval districts and shore establishments - Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and Hunters Point work records); Independence Seaport Museum (Philadelphia) holds the Cramp shipbuilding collection [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; Independence Seaport Museum Cramp collection
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Dorsey 1918-1923 and 1930-1945 (RG 24, NARA); BuShips records incl. the 1940 DMS-1 conversion file and Wickes-class Booklet of General Plans (RG 19); Pearl Harbor Navy Yard job records for the Nov 1940 conversion and Apr-Jun 1945 battle-damage repairs, and Hunters Point Navy Yard records for the Jan-Feb 1943 overhaul (RG 181); BuShips/CINCPAC survey and board records for the 9 Oct 1945 typhoon grounding and Jan 1946 hulk destruction; builder records in the Cramp collection at the Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1917-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-09
-
[10]National Archives, Special List 44, Named Vessels, Dorsey entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- Dorsey (DD-117, DMS-1), two adjacent index entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's named-vessel logbook index lists Dorsey under both DD-117 and DMS-1 for 16 September 1918 through 10 March 1923 and 1 March 1930 through 8 December 1945. Its first end date differs by one day from DANFS's first decommissioning date of 9 March 1923.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- An index to logbook coverage, not the logbooks or a material inventory. The 1923 end date is not independently labeled a formal decommissioning date in the index; the DANFS 9 March 1923 date is carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-10
-
[11]Department of the Navy, OPNAVINST 5100.19F (2019), chapter B1, Asbestos [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter B1, page B1-2, paragraph 1e
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A Navy afloat safety manual describes historical shipboard asbestos uses in thermal insulation and lagging around high-temperature machinery, boilers, and piping, and in some gaskets, electrical wiring, deck tiles, paneling, and packing. These are Navy-wide research categories for Dorsey's era and later service, not identified Dorsey products.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- The 2019 manual does not name Dorsey and postdates the ship's destruction. Its list cannot establish which, if any, listed products were aboard DD-117/DMS-1 in 1918-1945; no ship-specific asbestos finding is made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-11
-
[12]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, Dorsey entries; 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DORSEY DD-117 entries; asbestos guide, Cartographic Branch section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's ship-plan index identifies Dorsey (DD-117) in RG 19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings (catalog 53484030) and RG 19 microfilm (catalog 175668920). NARA's asbestos research guide identifies S39 insulation and lagging and S48 piping drawings as potentially useful categories. The Dorsey drawings are an archival lead for material research.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- The online index establishes record-series leads, not that Dorsey's plans include S39/S48 sheets or specify asbestos. The underlying drawings were not inspected; no material conclusion follows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dorsey-dd117-12