Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet ij-packet.md (6 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Eldridge DE-173 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-eldridge-de173-pkt-ij-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Eldridge (DE-173) (namesake, specifications, builder, service narrative, MDAP transfer; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Lt. Cmdr. John Eldridge, Jr. (USNA 1927; Commander, Scouting Squadron 71, USS Wasp CV-7; killed in action Solomons 2 Nov 1942; posthumous Navy Cross). Cannon class; 1,240 tons; 306 ft; 21 kt; complement 186; 3x3-inch, 3x21-inch TT, 8 DCP, 1 DCP (hh), 2 DCT. Launched 25 July 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J., sponsored by the namesake's widow; commissioned 27 August 1943, Lt. C. R. Hamilton, USNR. Nine convoy-escort voyages to Casablanca, Bizerte, and Oran 4 Jan 1944-9 May 1945; departed New York 28 May 1945 for the Pacific; underwater-contact attack en route to Saipan July 1945; Okinawa arrival 7 Aug 1945; Saipan-Ulithi-Okinawa escort to Nov 1945; out of commission in reserve 17 June 1946; transferred to Greece under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program 15 January 1951 (DANFS renders the Greek name 'Lion').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1951
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime and reserve-era crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry does not state a laid-down date and ends at the 1951 transfer; Greek-service record comes from the Hellenic Navy page (ev-03). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-01
-
[3]Department of the Navy - Naval Historical Center, 'The Philadelphia Experiment' FAQ page (history.navy.mil/faqs/faq21-1.htm, printed 11 Mar 1999), incorporating the Office of Naval Research information sheet [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC FAQ text, deck-log/war-diary summary paragraphs + ONR information sheet appendix
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy record correcting the 'Philadelphia Experiment' legend attached to this hull. The Naval Historical Center's Operational Archives Branch reviewed Eldridge's deck log and war diary from commissioning (27 Aug 1943, New York Navy Yard) through December 1943: the ship was in New York/Long Island Sound until 16 Sep, off Bermuda for training/sea trials 18 Sep-15 Oct, in New York until 1 Nov, escort of convoy UGS-23 (Norfolk 2 Nov, Casablanca arrival 22 Nov), convoy GUS-22 to New York (arrival 17 Dec), then to Norfolk 31 Dec. 'During this time frame, Eldridge was never in Philadelphia.' ONR stated the claimed physics does not conform to known physical laws; repeated archive searches located no document supporting an invisibility/teleportation experiment at Philadelphia or anywhere else; 'Project Rainbow' records search likewise negative. Eldridge's WWII action reports, war diary, and 1943 deck-log remarks are held on microfilm NRS-1978-26 (duplication order lead).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943 (deck log); 1999 (fact sheet)
- Population
- Crew Aug-Dec 1943 (movements documented)
- Limitations
- The document debunks a popular legend and incidentally establishes deck-log-verified wartime movements for this hull; it contains no asbestos information. Its affirmative correction matters to this record because the myth places the ship at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in fall 1943 - per the reviewed deck log the hull was never at that yard, so no yard-period exposure inference from Philadelphia Naval Shipyard is supportable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-02
-
[4]Hellenic Navy official website, 'LEON D-54 (1951-1992)' old-ships page (Wayback capture 28 Sep 2009) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hellenic Navy > Fleet > Old Ships > Destroyer: Leon D-54 (1951-1992); Wayback capture 2009-09-28
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Hellenic Navy record for this hull's second career: 'Former USS ELDRIDGE DE173 DESTROYER ESCORT'; one of four same-class ships (with AETOS, IERAX, PANTHIR) transferred under the American military assistance program forming the 'Wild Beasts' squadron; accepted by Lt Cdr D. Foifas HN on 15 January 1951; 'used extensively on patrols in the Eastern Aegean Sea and the Dodecanese as well as for the training of Naval Cadets'; decommissioned 15 November 1992; sold 11 November 1999 to 'V&J SCRAPMETAL TRADING L.T.D' of Piraeus for demolition ('SCARP (disassemblation and partition)'). The page also states the Philadelphia Experiment 'more than likely never took place having never been substantiated.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1951-1999
- Population
- Hellenic Navy crew 1951-1992; Greek demolition workers 1999-2001
- Limitations
- Documents Greek service and end-of-life disposition, not materials or asbestos content. Demolition of a 1943-built hull is a recognized asbestos-exposure pathway, but this record contains no hazmat, survey, or worker-protection information for the 1999-2001 scrapping. Greek strike date conflicts with NavSource's 'struck from the Greek Navy 1991' - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Index, USS Eldridge (DE-173) building and operational data (secondary compilation citing official records, incl. Dept. of State/USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 held at NARA) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-173 page, 'Building and Operational Data' + photo caption 0617306
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource compilation data for this hull supplying dates DANFS omits: keel laid 22 February 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., Port Newark, N.J.; commissioned 27 August 1943 at the New York Navy Yard (commissioning officer of record Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly, Commandant); decommissioned 17 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; transferred (MDAP) to Greece and renamed Leon (D-54) 15 January 1951; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 26 March 1951; reported laid up at Souda Bay, Crete, in terminal reserve as of January 1998. Photo-caption record places the transfer ceremony at the Boston Naval Shipyard, 15 January 1951 (USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686, NARA).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1999
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official repository - used for the laid-down date, stricken date, decommissioning location, and the NARA photo identifier that DANFS omits. Its 'struck from the Greek Navy 1991' conflicts with the Hellenic Navy's 'decommissioned 15 November 1992' (carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (Cannon class, DET type) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny, N.J.) record, ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944 (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey, 30 Aug-2 Sep 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); NavSource/DANFS class specs (DET propulsion)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: this hull was built at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Port Newark/Kearny, N.J.), a yard where an Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey (30 Aug-2 Sep 1944 - about a year after this hull's construction) documented insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation (Owens-Illinois Kaylo), Garlock gaskets, and W.R. Grace Monokote fireproofing in confined spaces; yard-dataset asbestos product list for the era also includes steam-system gaskets and packing. For the class: Cannon-class escorts (DET type) had diesel-electric plants - 4 GM 16-278A diesels with electric drive - so the steam boiler/turbine insulation profile of destroyer classes does NOT apply; era-consistent ACM aboard a 1943 DE is expected in engine exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery and pipe insulation, gaskets/packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1999
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; USN crew 1943-46; Hellenic Navy crew 1951-92
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the 1944 yard survey documents yard practice, not this hull's bill of materials, and postdates the hull's launch; no ship-specific asbestos finding for DE-173 exists. Does not establish quantity, locations, or what (if anything) survived Greek service and 1999-2001 demolition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-05
-
[7]NARA holdings identified via the NHC fact sheet and NavSource caption: Eldridge WWII deck log/war diary/action reports on microfilm NRS-1978-26 (Naval Historical Center Operational Archives duplication program); Dept. of State/USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 (15 Jan 1951 Boston Naval Shipyard transfer ceremony); SS Andrew Furuseth movement report cards, Tenth Fleet records, Textual Reference Branch, NARA College Park [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC FAQ text (microfilm citation); NavSource photo caption 0617306 (NARA photo identifier)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level primary records: the 1943 deck log (with remarks section), war diary, and WWII action reports survive on microfilm NRS-1978-26; the MDAP transfer ceremony at Boston Naval Shipyard is documented in USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 (NARA RG 306). Deck logs/war diaries can record yard availabilities and work that a hazmat-relevant search could exploit; no such review has been performed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1951 (records); 2026 (lead)
- Limitations
- Lead only - the microfilm was cited by the NHC fact sheet as the movement record; it has not been retrieved or read for this record. NARA online catalog was not reachable programmatically at research time (JS-shell API responses). No asbestos content is asserted for these holdings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-06
-
[8]Batch-4086 search ledger (this record): DANFS/HyperWar; NHHC live site; NVR; Hellenic Navy official page; NHC/ONR fact sheet; NavSource; NARA catalog; CourtListener opinion + docket search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-eldridge-de173-01 through sl-uss-eldridge-de173-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or demolition-safety record; no CourtListener opinion naming 'USS Eldridge' (opinion-index query returned zero results). The hull passed out of U.S. custody in 1951 and was demolished in Greece after 1999, outside the reach of U.S. asbestos-litigation and federal hazmat-disclosure records.
- 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-built escort retained in service through 1992 and scrapped circa 1999-2001 is era-consistent with carried ACM, but nothing ship-specific documents it. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener docket-index and hull-number sweeps are logged in the search ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eldridge-de173-07