Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet iy-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-edsall-dd219-pkt-iy-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Edsall I (DD-219)' (updated entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specification block and full service narrative; Wayback capture 2023-11-09 of live NHHC page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (updated NHHC text, accessed via Wayback capture of the live page): laid down 15 September 1919 at Philadelphia, Pa., by William Cramp & Sons as Destroyer No. 219; reclassified DD-219 on 17 July 1920; launched 29 July 1920, sponsored by Mrs. Bessie Edsall Bracey; commissioned 26 November 1920, Cmdr. Arthur H. Rice, Jr., in command. Specification block: displacement 1,308 (full load); length 314'4.5"; beam 30'11.5"; draft 9'4" mean; speed 32.50 knots (trial); complement 122; armament 4 4-inch, 1 3-inch, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Clemson. Service: shakedown to San Diego (arrived 11 January 1921); Turkish-waters detachment 1922-1924 including Smyrna evacuations (607 refugees off Litchfield DD-336 on 14 September 1922); Boston overhaul July 1924; Asiatic Station from January 1925 (arrived Shanghai 22 June 1925); DesDiv 57 at Balikpapan on 7 December 1941 under Lt. Joshua J. Nix; searched for HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse survivors; shared sinking of Japanese submarine I-124 off Darwin 20 January 1942 with three Australian corvettes; damaged by premature depth-charge explosion; escorted Langley (AV-3), rescued 177 survivors after her fatal damage 27 February 1942; transferred survivors to Pecos (AO-6) off Christmas Island 1 March 1942; sunk that afternoon by battleships Hiei and Kirishima; two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Documents identity, builder, dates, service narrative, and loss; does not address materials or asbestos content. The updated DANFS figures (1,308 full-load displacement, complement 122, 32.50 kt trial) differ from the older transcription (1,190 tons, complement 101, 35 kt) - carried in gaps. The direct NHHC URL returned 404 to this fetch; the Wayback capture of the live page is cited. DANFS gives no stricken date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-01
-
[3]NHHC, H-Gram 067 with Attachment H-067-1, 'The Dancing Mouse: USS Edsall's Last Stand, 1 March 1942' (Samuel J. Cox, Director NHHC, February 2022) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- H-Gram 067 main text pp. 1-5 and Attachment 067-1 pp. 5-20 (Wayback capture 2025-02-01; live PDF returns 404)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC H-Gram 067 (Director Samuel J. Cox, February 2022), 'The Dancing Mouse: USS Edsall's Last Stand, 1 March 1942': detailed NHHC account of the loss. Edsall, impaired by the premature depth-charge damage (dated 23 January 1942 here, Howard Channel), was sighted ~225 miles SSE of Christmas Island at ~1550 on 1 March 1942, misidentified as a 'Marblehead-type' cruiser. Chikuma opened fire at 1603 at 21,000 yards; Hiei at 1616 at 27,900 yards; more than 1,000 rounds fired by 1650 with no hits against her evasive maneuvering; 26 Val dive-bombers (Kaga 8, Hiryu 9, Soryu 9) scored hits 1657-1720; Kirishima and Chikuma delivered the final barrage and Edsall sank by the stern at 1731. Total: 1,335 shells and 26 550-pound bombs over ~90 minutes. Chikuma picked up about eight survivors; Tone possibly one or two more; crew numbered 185 with 31 USAAF pilots embarked. Survivors were among 34 decapitated prisoners located in mass graves near Kendari II airfield, Celebes, during 1946 war-crimes investigation - five identified as Edsall crewmen by dog tags, a sixth (Fireman Second Class Loren Stanford Myers) in a separate grave; executions determined to have occurred 24 March 1942. Crew declared presumed dead 25 November 1945. Also documents: Edsall one of 156 Clemson-class flush-deckers authorized 1917; laid down September 1919; commissioned 26 November 1920; Nix assumed command 13 October 1941; DESDIV 57 composition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Authoritative operational history drawn substantially from Japanese records; documents events, not materials or asbestos content. Dates the premature depth-charge damage 23 January 1942 while DANFS dates it 19 February 1942 - conflict carried in gaps. Notes internally that accounts derived from Japanese sources are contradictory in time and sequence; H-Gram uses combinedfleet.com TROM times.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-02
-
[4]U.S. Navy, 'Statement from CNO on discovery of the location of the wreck of destroyer USS Edsall (DD-219),' navy.mil Press Office, 11 November 2024 [other_primary]
- Locator
- CNO statement text, navy.mil
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy statement: Chief of Naval Operations announced 11 November 2024 that the Royal Australian Navy had located the wreck of USS Edsall (DD-219), lost in battle in the Indian Ocean early in World War II, and described the wreck as a hallowed site marking the loss of 185 U.S. Navy personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Forces pilots aboard, 'almost all of whom were lost.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Official announcement documents wreck location and embarked strength; says nothing about condition, materials, or any asbestos aboard. 'Almost all were lost' is consistent with the H-Gram's ~8 prisoners taken; the companion embassy announcement's 'no survivors' phrasing means no survivors returned - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-03
-
[5]NPR, 'The USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese forces in World War II, has been found' (12 November 2024), citing NHHC spokesperson; consistent with contemporaneous AP/Stars and Stripes/NYT reporting [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NPR article text, discovery and identification paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Wreck-discovery detail reported from NHHC officials: Royal Australian Navy support ship MV Stoker located the wreck in late summer 2023 during a hydrographic survey, in more than 18,000 feet of water south of Christmas Island. The RAN notified NHHC in May 2024; NHHC underwater archaeologists evaluated whether the wreck was Edsall or the same-class USS Pillsbury (DD-227), sunk the following day, and on 6 November 2024 the U.S. Navy determined that 'the preponderance of evidence leads to the identification of the wreck as the remains of Edsall.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Press reporting of official announcements; identification basis (damage pattern and position consistency) is NHHC's as reported. No survey data, imagery analysis, or material inventory is published; exact wreck position is undisclosed and no asbestos evaluation of the wreck exists or is expected.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-04
-
[6]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, EDSALL DD-219 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- EDSALL DD-219 rows, RG 19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings and Microfilm; RG 38 Trial Curves
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists EDSALL DD-219 in Record Group 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) under Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53484109) and Microfilm (NAID 175669026), plus an RG 38 Trial Curves entry (NAID 12451237). These collections are leads for examining ship-specific plans, including any insulation or piping drawings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The index establishes holdings, not the contents of individual drawings. No Edsall drawing or material schedule was retrieved or reviewed; the index is not evidence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-05
-
[7]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; General Information Books; Cartographic Branch; Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA's research guide describes potential asbestos-relevant Navy record groups for the 1941-1961 period, including RG 19 destroyer General Information Books and S39 insulation/lagging and S48 piping drawings, and states that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly show asbestos aboard ships. Filed under hull designation DD219 and DD186-class correspondence for the class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a research guide, not an Edsall material record. Its coverage scope (1941-1961) postdates almost all of this ship's 1920-1942 life, so even the records it describes may not cover the construction-era material fit. It establishes where to search, not that an Edsall GIB exists or that asbestos was aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-06
-
[8]U.S. GAO, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (1979) [gao]
- Locator
- Highlights, paragraphs 1-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1979 GAO review documents asbestos insulation policy and exposure concerns across Navy shipbuilding and repair, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. This is program-level context only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- GAO studied policy decades after Edsall's 1942 loss and did not examine this hull. It cannot establish this ship's materials, exposures, or construction-era work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-07
-
[9]Negative result from NHHC DANFS, NHHC H-Gram 067, navy.mil, NARA Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, and GAO HRD-80-2 review; see search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger sl-uss-edsall-dd219-01 through sl-uss-edsall-dd219-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official sources and catalog entries reviewed for this record (DANFS updated entry, NHHC H-Gram 067, navy.mil CNO statement, NARA Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, GAO HRD-80-2) yielded no ship-specific asbestos survey, product schedule, abatement record, or material finding for Edsall. Asbestos presence aboard DD-219 remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a bounded search result, not proof that asbestos was absent. Edsall was sunk in combat 1942, so no postwar abatement, scrapping, or museum documentation exists; the only remaining ship-specific material leads are archival (NARA plans and any surviving Bureau of Ships correspondence for DD-219).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-08
-
[10]CourtListener authenticated API v4 search attempts via fleet helper; helper pacing messages [court_record]
- Locator
- Search ledger sl-uss-edsall-dd219-09 through sl-uss-edsall-dd219-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep for this hull was attempted via the authenticated fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py). Each call returned the fleet pacing guard message that the shared request budget was momentarily spent; no opinion or docket result was returned in this session. No litigation classification (qualifying asbestos litigation / other litigation / name collision / no result) can be made from this incomplete sweep.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Blocked by fleet pacing, not a negative result: no CourtListener query for this ship returned data in this session, so this row proves nothing about the presence or absence of litigation naming the hull. Note also that a second USS Edsall (DE-129, destroyer escort, 1943-1968) exists and any future docket hits must be checked for name collision.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edsall-dd219-09