USS Elden (DE-264)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet jw-packet.md (11 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Elden — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Elden (MIRROR-DANFS; page is DANFS-derived)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-elden-de264-pkt-jw-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Elden (DE-264) (1969 ed., Vol. 2 pp.334-335): namesake biography, specifications block, construction, Pacific service narrative, decommissioning and sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   hazegray DANFS transcription, escorts/de264.txt (DANFS 1969 Vol. 2 pp.334-335)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: Evarts-class destroyer escort; displacement 1,140 t; length 289'5"; beam 35'1"; draft 8'3"; speed 21 k.; complement 156; armament 3 x 3", 2 depth charge tracks, 8 depth charge projectors, 1 hedgehog. Namesake Lt. Ralph Waldo Elden (USNA 1931), executive officer of USS Hammann (DD-412), killed 6 June 1942 at Midway directing abandonment of the sinking destroyer, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Elden launched 6 April 1943 by Boston Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. R. W. Elden, commissioned 4 August 1943 (Lt. Cmdr. G. F. Adams, USNR); sailed from Norfolk 13 October 1943 for Pacific duty, arriving Pearl Harbor 17 November; screened oilers to 5th Fleet rendezvous incl. the Kwajalein/Majuro occupation; hunter-killer patrol eastern Marshalls from 30 March 1944; Marianas capture and occupation - Tinian patrol, barges sunk night of 25-26 June, Saipan transport screening, Guam convoy escort; operated from Manus from 26 August 1944 screening oilers to Palaus/Leyte refueling rendezvous; returned to Pearl Harbor 16 November for overhaul; convoy escorts to Eniwetok Jan-Feb 1945; Iwo Jima transport-area patrol 7-20 March 1945; west coast overhaul; operated from Ulithi from 21 July escorting oilers refueling fleet units during the final raids on Japan; Far East occupation duty; returned to San Francisco 25 November 1945; decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard 18 January 1946; sold 12 July 1947. Six battle stars for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1947

   Population

   Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 156)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content - no asbestos claim follows from it. Transcription mirror cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; transcription is verbatim from DANFS 1969 Vol. 2. Striking is not addressed by DANFS; the strike date rests on secondary registers (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-01

3. [3]USS Elden (DE-264) official War Record - transmittal letter DE264/A12-1 Serial 110 dated 22 September 1945, Commanding Officer to Secretary of the Navy (ship-generated official record; 14-page image scan hosted by NavSource) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/06/264(wh).htm - 'Officially Submitted War History' (14 pp., images 06264wh-1.jpg through -14.jpg); transmittal letter on p.1

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ship's own official War Record for this hull: commissioned 4 August 1943 Boston, Mass.; star operations Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Marianas, Western Caroline, and Iwo Jima Operations; totals 149,663 miles steamed, average speed 14.1, 319 days in port, 427 days at sea. Documented yard and repair availabilities: Boston Navy Yard post-shakedown availability 21 September - 2 October 1943; voyage-repair drydocking Portsmouth, Va. 9-10 October 1943; ARD-13 floating drydock Majuro 29 February - 2 March 1944 (sound gear, bottom upkeep); Navy Yard Pearl Harbor upkeep availability 7-18 May 1944; ARD-19 drydock Manus 16-17 October 1944 (sonar gear); Pearl Harbor arrival 14 November 1944 with availability to 4 December, Navy Yard drydock 7-11 December 1944; Moore Drydock, West Yard, Oakland - 'yard availability, overhaul, repairs and alterations' 12 April - 31 May 1945; repair-base work San Diego 8-9 June 1945 (fire control, SA radar); #4 motor repairs at Pearl Harbor 7-8 July 1945. Flagship of Escort Division SIXTEEN from 10 February 1945 (Capt. J. B. Cleland Jr., USNR). Damage record: 9 October 1944, fueling from USS Sabine (AO-25) in heavy swells, rolled to port striking Sabine's side - damaged one depth charge and three roller loaders. Japanese surrender notice received 15 August 1945 while screening TU 30.8.8 replenishment of TF 38.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Population

   Ship's company 1943-1945; Escort Division 16 staff Feb-Oct 1945

   Limitations

   Ship-generated primary record (scan of the official SecNav submission) confirming identity, command, operations, and every wartime yard availability of this hull; operational content only - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statements. The scan is image-only; all 14 pages were read but OCR quality varies. Covers August 1943 - 21 September 1945; inactivation events (Nov 1945 return, Jan 1946 decommissioning) postdate it and rest on DANFS/NavSource.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-02

4. [4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels,' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 15 April 1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE) section: per-hull construction row for ELDEN DE264 and GMT design-group characteristics table (shipscribe.com scan of the official wartime publication) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 Vol. I, DE section, book pp. 234-235 (GMT design-group table) and pp. 244-245 (ELDEN DE264 construction row, table row 101); PDF pp. 127 and 132 of shipscribe.com SDB1945v1.pdf

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official BuShips data naming this hull: DE construction table row reads 'ELDEN ... DE264 | GMT | Navy Yard, Boston | contract price of hull and machinery $3,180,000 | contract signed Jan. 25, 1942'; columns continue keel laid Feb. 23, 1943, ship launched Apr. 6, 1943, contract date of completion and date of preliminary acceptance blank, 'date of first commission Aug. 5, 1943.' The GMT design-group table (same section) records the class characteristics: length overall 289'5" / waterline 283'6", extreme beam 35'2", standard displacement 1,140 t / full load 1,430 t, trial speed 21.5 kt; machinery 'G. M. diesel model 16-278A,' 2 propellers, 6,000 shp; Boilers: 'None'; no main reduction gears; ship's service generators 2 x 200 kW + 2 x 100 kW diesel; fuel oil 887 barrels; armament 3 x 3"/50 cal. D.P. + 1 quad 40mm AA mount; total accommodations 15 officers + 183 enlisted; footnote defines 'GMT = Diesel electric tandem motor drive - short hull.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945 (publication); construction 1942-1943

   Population

   Accommodations documented (class table): 15 officers + 183 enlisted

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous official Navy data naming this hull - the strongest identity/specification source in the file. It documents machinery and fittings classes only; 'Boilers: None' establishes the absence of a steam plant (and thereby bounds which era asbestos categories could apply) but contains no asbestos or insulation-material statements and supports no asbestos claim. The 'Aug. 5, 1943' first-commission date conflicts by one day with DANFS and the War Record (4 August) - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-03

5. [5]U.S. Navy / Naval Historical Center photos NH 91595 and NH 91596 (NHHC collection): 'USS Elden (DE-264) at the Hunter's Point Naval drydocks, San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California, 24 May 1945. Circles mark recent alterations.'; NH 107609 (at anchor, c. 1945) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NHHC photos NH 91595 / NH 91596 (accession numbers; Wikimedia Commons file page documents NHHC provenance); NavSource DE-264 photo index item 0626403

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NHHC photographic record for this hull: official Navy photographs place Elden at the Hunter's Point Naval drydocks, San Francisco Naval Shipyard, on 24 May 1945 - inside the War-Record-documented 12 April - 31 May 1945 overhaul window attributed there to Moore Drydock, West Yard, Oakland. The caption notes circled recent alterations. A second NHHC image, NH 107609, shows the ship at anchor c. 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-05-24

   Population

   Overhaul-period shipyard workforce, San Francisco Bay, 1945

   Limitations

   Photo documentation of yard presence and recent-alteration markings only; contains no asbestos or materials information. Whether the 1945 west-coast availability was split between Moore Drydock (Oakland, per the War Record) and Hunter's Point drydocks (per this photo), or the caption misattributes the facility, is undocumented - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-04

6. [6]NavSource Evarts-class data page (GMT design article, Bob Sables) + navypedia GMT-class member table + BuShips SDB 1945 GMT design-group row; Atlas shipyard dataset records for the hull's documented yards [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 GMT design row (book p.234); NavSource archives/06/005a.htm class page; navypedia us_de_gmt.htm member table; shipyards.json yard_ids boston-naval-shipyard, norfolk-naval-shipyard, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard, moore-dry-dock-oakland, hunters-point-naval-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard; WAST California Site List (April 2018), Moore Dry Dock Oakland entry

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: a GMT-design destroyer escort built 1943 would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-electric ship - exhaust insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and deck coverings - while the official design table's 'Boilers: None' means the heavy steam-ship categories (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply. Built at Boston Naval Shipyard, a tier-3 Atlas-documented asbestos-era yard (John Crane gasket/sealing products documented via court record); every wartime availability documented in the War Record likewise sits at an Atlas-documented asbestos-era yard (Norfolk Naval Shipyard tier 2; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard tier 1; Moore Dry Dock Oakland tier 2 - with 'Amosite pipe covering (block and felt), asbestos boiler block insulation, gaskets, millboard, deck covering' documented for the yard and a Western Asbestos Settlement Trust California Site List 'MOORE DRY DOCK--OAKLAND, CA (ADELINE ST)' Exposure Level H designation; Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard tier 3; Mare Island Naval Shipyard tier 2).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; repair-yard workforces at documented availabilities 1943-46; wartime crew

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder/yard-level inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No hull-level material schedule, work order, or asbestos specification for DE-264 was located; yard documentation establishes the yards' asbestos environments, not material placed aboard this hull, and establishes nothing about quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-05

7. [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; Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (PMID 21016030); AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Era-level documentation that asbestos was standard material in exactly this hull's construction environment: the U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at Navy yards and Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' (Fleischer et al., 1946); Corn & Starr (1987) document that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in WWII U.S. shipbuilding, the era and program under which this hull was built and repaired.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1940s era documented; articles 1946 and 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard pipe coverers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level documentation only; neither source names this vessel, class, or builder yard, and neither establishes that asbestos was aboard this hull - nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Per the Atlas shipyards record, C&EN (July 2026) reported a retraction call for the Fleischer paper alleging understatement of asbestos hazards - noted for transparency.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-06

8. [8]Batch-4186 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS transcription; BuShips SDB 1945 Vol. I per-hull and GMT design rows; ship-submitted War Record scan; NHHC photo records NH 91595/91596/107609; NARA catalog war-diary record; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries; Atlas shipyard dataset; general-web asbestos-mention check [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-elden-de264-01 through sl-uss-elden-de264-09

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Elden or DE-264 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated API v4): zero opinion hits and zero docket hits for the exact name 'USS Elden'; the 16 'DE-264' opinion hits are identifier collisions in unrelated litigation - none vessel- or asbestos-related (itemized in ledger sl-07). The hull was scrapped after its 12 July 1947 sale - before the asbestos regulation, disclosure, and museum-preservation eras that generate modern hull records. General-web hits naming the hull are auto-generated law-firm marketing list entries (asbestos-ships.com, shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, elslaw.com) - excluded as non-authoritative.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 naval-vessel construction and four documented asbestos-era yard availabilities are era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the 1947 scrapping predates inventory regimes. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-07

9. [9]NARA Catalog: 'USS ELDEN - War Diary, 10/1-31/43' (NAID 134321823; Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations WWII War Diaries, microfilm serial 57997) - cataloged record located via DPLA; NARA Guide: RG 24 deck logs, RG 19 Bureau of Ships records [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA NAID 134321823 (WWII War Diaries, micro serial 57997); RG 24 Entry 118 / NAID 594258 deck-log series; RG 19 Bureau of Ships (GIB/work packages)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order): (a) NARA catalog holds USS Elden war-diary records in the WWII War Diaries series (e.g., NAID 134321823, October 1943, micro serial 57997, National Archives at College Park) - monthly entries plausibly span the commissioned period; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs for the commissioned period, August 1943 - January 1946, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (NAID 594258); (c) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records incl. General Information Books and contract/work-package records for the Boston Navy Yard build (contract signed 25 January 1942) and the documented availabilities (Portsmouth Oct 1943; Pearl Harbor 1944-45; Moore Drydock Oakland Apr-May 1945; Mare Island inactivation) - per-hull material specifications, if any survive, would sit in these series.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1946 records

   Limitations

   Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DE-264 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-elden-de264-08