Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ii-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-pkt-ii-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS web edition, 'Edgar G. Chase (DE-16) 1943-1945' (NHHC; biography Robert J. Cressman, history John W. Watts, published 2017-05-19) - live canonical page verified (HTTP 200) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Edgar G. Chase (DE-16) 1943-1945' - full record incl. spec block and service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Edgar Griffith Chase (b. 12 September 1910, Washington, D.C.; USNA 1932; LCDR; executive officer of USS Meredith DD-434 when sunk by planes from Japanese carrier Zuikaku off Guadalcanal 15 October 1942; died of exposure 17 October 1942). Ship: Burges (BDE-16), intended for the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease, laid down 14 March 1942 at Vallejo, Calif., by Mare Island Navy Yard; christened 26 September 1942 by Mrs. Anne Bennett Wichels (wife of Ernest D. Wichels, Chief Clerk of Mare Island Navy Yard); reallocated to the U.S. Navy 19 February 1943; commissioned as Edgar G. Chase (DE-16) 20 March 1943, Lt. Cmdr. John J. Morony in command. Service: shakedown San Diego and Bermuda (April-May 1943); Charleston Navy Yard upkeep 27 May-3 June 1943; school ship with Sub Chaser Training Center Miami (Escort Task Group 23.2), thirteen months training in the Dry Tortugas incl. a 13 June 1943 submarine hunt with Reuben James (DE-153); drydockings at Dade Dry Dock Co., Hialeah, Fla., late 1943; upkeep Charleston 10-21 July 1944; August 1944 escorted Tripoli (CVE-64) Norfolk-to-Recife, returning with Solomons (CVE-67) and O'Toole (DE-527); assigned CortDiv 80 at New York Navy Yard 26 August 1944; barge convoy NY-119 to the British Isles 19 September-October 1944 (Falmouth/Plymouth); returned Norfolk 22 November 1944; UGS-64 convoy to Oran December 1944-January 1945 (Foxer/FXR towed anti-torpedo device deployed); further Oran convoys (UGS-75/GUS-77) through 30 May 1945; New York maintenance June 1945; Casco Bay training 1-15 July; Naval Training Center Miami school-ship duty from 20 July 1945; arrived Charleston Naval Shipyard early September 1945 for inactivation. Decommissioned at Charleston 16 October 1945; stricken from the Navy List 1 November 1945; sold to Edward Goodman, Harris Structural Steel, New Jersey, 18 March 1947 and broken up for scrap. Spec block: 1,140 t; 289'5"; 35'2"; 8'3" draft; complement 156; 3x3-inch, 4x40mm, 9x20mm, 2 depth-charge tracks, 8 depth-charge projectors, 1 hedgehog; class Evarts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; Charleston and New York Navy Yard repair/upkeep workers 1943-45; Dade Dry Dock Co. workers 1943; wartime crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, build data, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. The web edition's spec block prints speed as '2 knots' - an obvious typographical error for 21 knots (1969 print DANFS reads 21 k.; carried per print edition). Complement 156 conflicts with the BuShips GMT design accommodations (198) - carried in gaps. The print edition's 'Mrs. Ernest H. Wichels' sponsor line is superseded by the web edition's 'Mrs. Anne Bennett Wichels, wife of Ernest D. Wichels' - documented in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, "Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945" Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010, 15 April 1945; RESTRICTED, downgraded from Confidential 5 January 1946), shipscribe.com scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf: roster book p.10 (PDF p.15); DE design-group table book pp.234-235 (PDF p.127); individual-ship table book p.240 (PDF p.130)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips record for this hull: (1) List of Naval Vessels roster groups DE-16 EDGAR G. CHASE under 'GMT design' (book p.10). (2) DE design-group table (book pp.234-235): design group 1 = GMT, officially glossed 'GMT = Diesel electric tandem motor drive - short hull' - machinery 'G. M. diesel model 16-278A', 6,000 shp, 2 propellers, boiler columns read 'None' (diesel-electric plant, no boilers or steam machinery); 289'5" oa, 35'2" beam, 1,140 t standard / 1,430 t full load; complement 15 officers / 183 enlisted. (3) Individual-ship table (book p.240): 'CHASE, EDGAR G. - DE16' - built by Navy Yard, Mare Island; contract price $1,649,400; contract signed Nov. 1, 1941; keel laid Mar. 14, 1942; launched Sept. 26, 1942; date of first commission Mar. 20, 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew (design complement 15 officers/183 enlisted)
- Limitations
- OCR of a textless 2-up scan; figures cross-checked against DANFS. The design table records official characteristics and build data - not materials; 'None' in the boiler columns establishes the diesel-electric plant (bounding which asbestos-application categories could apply) but says nothing about actual installed materials. Design complement (198) conflicts with the DANFS spec block (156) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-02
-
[4]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I GMT machinery block + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (documented asbestos-era naval yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf DE design table (book pp.234-235); shipyards.json record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-electric destroyer escort built 1942-43 at a Navy yard in the peak asbestos years: with no boilers or steam plant, the boiler-lagging and steam-line asbestos categories do not apply; plausible era applications concentrate in engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing throughout machinery spaces, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings. Builder Mare Island is a documented tier-2 asbestos-era yard in the Atlas dataset (Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, Gold Bond, Super 66, packing, gaskets, bonnet insulation, refractory materials).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Atlas yard dataset's dated Mare Island product records are 1965-1994, postdating this hull's 1942-43 construction; they document the yard's asbestos era, not what went aboard DE-16. Does not establish presence, absence, quantity, location, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-03
-
[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311; PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and government shipyard system under which this hull was built at Mare Island Navy Yard (1942-43).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s
- Population
- WWII-era U.S. shipbuilding workers (national scope)
- Limitations
- Program-level scholarship; does not name this hull, the Evarts class, or Mare Island specifically. Supports era context only - not evidence that asbestos was installed aboard this hull; establishes nothing about quantities, locations, or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-04
-
[6]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (1979-10-18) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use, with substitution to asbestos-free insulation specification not occurring until 1973 and some ships delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978. This hull's entire construction and service (1942-45) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level report; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk, not Mare Island, and the report postdates this hull's entire existence (scrapped 1947). gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - product-page description used; full text not retrieved. Establishes nothing about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-05
-
[7]Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., Div. 1, 2010), No. A124268; Alameda County Super. Ct. No. RG04143303 [court_record]
- Locator
- 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 - factual recital of employment history and verdict
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard litigation record for the yard that built this hull: published appellate opinion records that Ulysses Collins worked as a structural and pipe welder at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 1976-1994 (and Hunters Point 1960-1973), died of mesothelioma 8 May 2005, and that a jury found insulation supplier Plant Insulation negligent and strictly liable; the appeal reversed fault apportionment for retrial.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1976-1994 exposure; 2010 opinion
- Population
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard worker (welder) 1976-1994
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation evidence, not hull-specific: the opinion names no vessel, and Collins's Mare Island employment window (1976-94) postdates DE-16's 1942-43 construction by more than three decades. Documents era yard exposure conditions only; establishes nothing about materials aboard DE-16. Merits note: verdict was reversed and remanded on apportionment only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-06
-
[8]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (official research guide; live page verified HTTP 200) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos - filing-code methodology section (hull 'DE16'; class 'DE5 Class')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order): per NARA's asbestos research guide, hull-specific BuShips correspondence for this ship files under code 'DE16' in RG 19 general/confidential correspondence series (1940-46, Entries A1 1266-A..P and UD 1017-A) and class correspondence under 'DE5 Class' (Evarts, the class-namesake hull); Mare Island Navy Yard construction/outfitting records reside in RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, San Francisco region); deck logs for DE-16's 1943-45 service are in RG 24. NARA-indexed U.S. Navy photos 80-G-238903 and 80-G-238886 of this hull exist in Still Pictures (College Park).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - not evidence about this hull. Digitization status and contents of the DE-16 correspondence file, Evarts-class correspondence, Mare Island construction records, and DE-16 deck logs are unverified; no box-level retrieval performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (batch helper cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-05, -06, -10, -11, -12, -13, -14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated sweep complete (API v4 via cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-28). Results: 'Edgar G. Chase' - 0 opinions, 0 dockets; 'USS Edgar G. Chase' - 0 dockets; asbestos + 'Edgar Chase' - 0 opinions; 'HMS Burges' OR 'BDE-16' - 0 opinions. Hull-number queries return collision classes only: 'DE-16' opinions 1,822 hits of tokenizer noise (hyphen splits 'de'+'16'; 0 of 20 sampled contain the literal string); 'DE-16' dockets 10,444 hits of the same noise, the single literal hit being PACER docket-entry shorthand ('DE-16' = docket entry 16) in Stoppa v. Sussco (S.D. Fla. fraud, unrelated). Classification: NO qualifying asbestos litigation, NO other litigation naming this vessel - all hits are name collision / tokenizer noise.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's indexed corpus (federal + state appellate opinions; RECAP dockets) - not a complete census of trial-court filings. A pleading-stage complaint naming DE-16 that never generated a RECAP docket or opinion would not surface. Sweep executed under heavy fleet pacing contention; all seven planned queries completed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-08
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[10]Batch-4071 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS web edition; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I OCR'd rows; Atlas shipyards.json Mare Island record; California appellate record (Collins); NARA asbestos research guide; Corn & Starr 1987 (PMID 3555021); CourtListener authenticated sweep; NavSource (lead only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding (first-class result, per O'Brien/LST-325 discipline): across every repository searched, no ship-specific asbestos documentation exists for this hull. CourtListener authenticated sweep found no qualifying litigation: 0 opinion hits and 0 docket hits for exact name 'Edgar G. Chase'; 0 docket hits for 'USS Edgar G. Chase'; 0 opinion hits for asbestos + 'Edgar Chase'; hull-number queries return only tokenizer noise and PACER docket-entry shorthand collisions (see ev-08/ledger). No hull asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, NPS/museum materials statement, or preservation record exists - the hull was sold for scrap in 1947. Naval Vessel Register holds no record (pre-1987 disposals excluded). What remains is class/era inference for a 1942-43 diesel-electric escort built at an asbestos-era Navy yard - plausible, bounded by the absence of boilers, but never a ship-specific finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of evidence in searched public repositories is not proof asbestos was absent aboard - it establishes only that no ship-specific documentation is publicly indexed. Hull correspondence (NARA RG 19 file code 'DE16'), deck logs (RG 24), and Mare Island construction records (RG 181) were not retrieved; a ship-specific record could exist in those unsearched archives.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edgar-g-chase-de16-09