Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, 'Edwards' (DD-265) entry - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS DD-265 entry, specifications block and service narrative paragraphs 1-4
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 10 October 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Squantum, Mass.; sponsored by Miss Julia Edwards Noyes (whose great-grandfather was the uncle of Midshipman Edwards, the namesake); commissioned 24 April 1919 at Boston Navy Yard, Commander P. L. Wilson in command. In May 1919 she carried spare parts for airplanes and seaplanes to St. John's, Newfoundland, for the Navy's first transatlantic seaplane flight; sailed to Europe for Food Administration duty, escorting George Washington (carrying President Wilson) into Brest; assigned to the Pacific Fleet, San Diego destroyer base, reduced commission 1 November 1919; moved to Puget Sound Navy Yard February 1920; returned to San Diego reserve; placed out of commission June 1922. Recommissioned 18 December 1939 for the Neutrality Patrol; after overhaul left the west coast 22 March for Galveston; patrolled the Gulf and east coast until fall 1940; decommissioned at Halifax 8 October 1940 and delivered to the British Government as one of the 50 destroyers exchanged for bases. Spec block: Clemson class, 1,190 tons, 314'6", 36 kt, complement 120, 4x4"/2x3"/4x21" torpedo tubes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Documents identity and service history, not asbestos composition, installed products, or occupational exposure. The 120 figure is the DANFS design complement, not an actual muster. DANFS gives no laid-down date for this hull; the carried date (20 April 1918) comes from secondary sources (NavSource, uboat.net, NavalCoverMuseum) - Wikipedia's infobox reads 3 June 1918, an unresolved conflict carried in gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404; verbatim hazegray mirror transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-01
-
[2]DANFS 'Edwards' (DD-265) final paragraph via hazegray mirror; corroborating detail: uboat.net Allied Warships HMS Buxton (H 96); naval-history.net Mason service history; NavSource DD-265 photo index [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry final paragraph; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4324.html; naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-11US-HMS_Buxton.htm; navsource.org/archives/05/265.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record, post-transfer service: commissioned in the Royal Navy 8 October 1940 as HMS Buxton for service in the third 'Town' Flotilla; served in Canadian waters; allocated to 6th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command; in October 1943 transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and stationed at Digby, Nova Scotia, until the end of 1944; paid off early in 1945. Secondary chronologies (uboat.net warship entry; Lt Cdr G.B. Mason RN Rtd service history on naval-history.net) add: RN commissioning day also reported as 3 October; repairs Halifax November 1940-March 1941; refit Boston August-September 1941; HM Dockyard Chatham refit November 1941-February 1942 (Type 271/286 radar fitted); 6th Escort Group Liverpool May-July 1942; transferred to RCN Western Local Escort Force August 1942; refit Boston December 1942-March 1943; withdrawn and paid off August 1943; static training ship Halifax then Digby; placed on RCN disposal list 16 January 1945; paid off 2 June 1945; sold for breaking up at Baltimore 21 March 1946 (Boston Metals Co. per NavSource) and towed to the breaker's yard later that year; stricken from the U.S. Navy list 8 January 1941.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- DANFS is the official record and covers the outline; the refit-yard and disposal specifics come from reputable secondary compilations (uboat.net, Mason's service histories, NavSource) - not official records, so flagged here. Sources conflict on the RCN transfer framing (operational allocation to WLEF August 1942 vs DANFS 'transferred October 1943'), the RN commissioning day (3 vs 8 October 1940), and breaking location (Baltimore sale vs 'broken up in Canada' per uboat.net); conflicts carried in gaps. Yard-period events establish presence at Halifax, Boston, and Chatham dockyards, not the materials handled there.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-02
-
[3]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, EDWARDS DD-265 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- EDWARDS DD-265 entries, RG 19, Alphabetical Ship Drawings and Microfilm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists EDWARDS, DD-265, in Record Group 19 under Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53484111) and Microfilm (NAID 175669028). These collections are leads for examining ship-specific plans, including any available insulation and 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 Edwards drawing or material schedule was retrieved or reviewed; the index is not evidence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-03
-
[4]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. It states that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly show asbestos aboard ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a research guide, not an Edwards material record. It establishes where to search and why service records are insufficient; it does not show that an Edwards GIB exists or that this ship contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-04
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[5]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 Edwards' 1940 transfer out of U.S. service and 1946-47 breaking, and did not examine this hull. It cannot establish this ship's materials, exposures, or repair work. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the product-page description was used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-05
-
[6]Negative result from DANFS, NARA Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, and GAO HRD-80-2 review; see search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger sl-01 through sl-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official sources and catalog entries reviewed for this record did not yield a ship-specific asbestos survey, product schedule, abatement record, or material finding for Edwards. Asbestos presence aboard DD-265 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. Underlying NARA plans, GIBs, transfer/refit work packages (Boston 1941, Chatham 1941-42, Boston 1942-43), and sale or scrapping files were not obtained.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-06
-
[7]CourtListener authenticated API v4 search responses via fleet helper; MDL-875 docket 8585-1 (Knowles v. A.W. Chesterton, 2:12-cv-02284 C.D. Cal.) [court_record]
- Locator
- type=o count 0; type=r count 1 (Knowles tag-along attachment); type=r hull-variant count 2 (both collisions); ledger sl-06 through sl-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener API v4 sweeps: exact-name opinion search '"USS Edwards"' returned count 0. Exact-name docket search returned one hit: MDL-875 (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation No. VI, J.P.M.L.) document 8585-1, a 352-page complaint PDF from Knowles v. A.W. Chesterton Co. et al., C.D. Cal. 2:12-cv-02284 - the 'USS Edwards' reference is inside the complaint attachment; which Edwards hull (DD-265 vs the WWII-era DD-619) and whether it is an exposure-site allegation or a list reference is unresolved because the RECAP full text was not retrievable within the pacing window. Hull-number/variant docket search '"DD-265" OR "HMS Buxton"' returned two hits, both name collisions (Rogers v. Henry, D.N.J. - OCR-fragment match in an opinion scan; Madoff SIPA bankruptcy - exhibit/account-number match). Hull-number opinion search and a hull-disambiguation query were blocked by the fleet pacing guard before results returned.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was verified. The Knowles MDL-875 complaint reference is an unresolved archival lead - even if confirmed, it is a pleading-stage allegation, and a WWII-era plaintiff's 'USS Edwards' more plausibly means DD-619 (in commission 1942-46) than DD-265 (out of U.S. service 1940). Hull-number opinion sweep and disambiguation queries remain unrun due to fleet pacing; absence of hits does not prove no complaint exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-edwards-dd265-07