Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet eq-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Ellet; hull DD-398; designation destroyer, Benham-class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ellet-dd398-pkt-eq-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ellet (DD-398) (namesake, builder, dates, full service narrative, battle stars, sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 on all URL variants probed) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: spec block 'DD-398: dp. 1,850; l. 341'3"; b. 35'6"; dr. 10'9"; s. 38 k.; cpl. 184; a 4 5", 16 21" tt.; cl. Gridley' (modern classification Benham class - printed variant logged in gaps). Launched 11 June 1938 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Miss Elvira Daniel Cabell, granddaughter of Col. Charles Ellet, Jr.; commissioned 17 February 1939, Lt. Comdr. F. J. Mee. Neutrality Patrol off the Grand Banks Sep-Oct 1939; DesDiv 18 West Gulf Patrol out of Galveston; San Diego from 26 Feb 1940; home port Pearl Harbor summer 1941; October 1941 carried an Army survey expedition Christmas Island to Honolulu. At sea in the TF 8 screen returning from the Wake Island reinforcement when Pearl Harbor was attacked 7 Dec 1941; convoy escort to the west coast; Christmas Island troop convoy Feb 1942; TF 16 screen for the Halsey-Doolittle Raid April 1942 (Pearl Harbor 25 Apr); Coral Sea reinforcement attempt; Battle of Midway 4-6 Jun 1942; Guadalcanal 7 Aug 1942 - preinvasion bombardment, transport-area patrol, air attacks; 9 Aug rescued 41 officers and 461 men from Quincy and 1 man from Astoria (transcription reads 'Quincy (CA-89)' - Quincy's correct hull number is CA-39; logged in gaps) and joined Selfridge (DD-357) in sinking the hulk of HMAS Canberra; screened Enterprise (CV-6) covering Solomons reinforcement; TF 16 Solomons patrols Nov 1942-May 1943; northern Solomons consolidation July 1943; west-coast overhaul Sept 1943; Marshalls screening late Jan 1944; one week in Pearl Harbor for repairs; Hollandia Apr 1944; 5th Fleet Marianas - Bonins diversionary raids, Saipan and Guam assaults; Ulithi 13 Oct 1944; scouted Ngulu Atoll (troops landed 16 Oct); 17 Oct assisted mined Montgomery (DM-17) with pumps and towed her into Ulithi lagoon; Marianas Patrol and Escort Group; Iwo Jima bombardments Dec 1944 and Jan 1945; Guam/Saipan-based convoy escort and air-sea rescue 'until July 1946' (transcription reads 1946 - an internal error given her Oct 1945 decommissioning; logged in gaps). Repairing at Mare Island when hostilities ended; decommissioned there 29 October 1945; sold 1 August 1947. Ten battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1947
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1936-39; wartime crew (design complement 184)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents namesake, construction, service chronology, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. Spec block reads 'cl. Gridley' where modern sources class her Benham (DD-397 group; sister Benham DD-397's own DANFS spec block reads 'cl. Benham'); transcription artifacts 'Quincy (CA-89)' and 'July 1946' logged in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 on all URL variants probed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-01
-
[3]NavalCoverMuseum ELLET DD 398 page + uboat.net Allied Warships ship/1715 record + NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DD-398 (navsource.org/archives/05/05398.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/ELLET_DD_398 'Ship Name and Designation History'; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1715.html history block; navsource.org/archives/05/05398.htm 'Operational and Building Data' (search-index capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-source consensus on dates the DANFS transcription omits: stricken from the Naval Register 13 November 1945 (all three sources concur; NavSource index snippet reads 'Stricken November 13 1945', uboat.net 'Stricken 13 November 1945', NavalCoverMuseum 'Struck from Naval Register 13 November 1945'); sold 1 August 1947 and broken up for scrap. NavSource corroborates laid down 3 December 1936 at Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ. NavalCoverMuseum confirms sponsor Miss Elvira Daniel Cabell and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 battle stars.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1947
- Limitations
- NavSource, uboat.net, and NavalCoverMuseum are reputable volunteer compilations, not official records; the stricken date is a three-source secondary consensus rather than a primary document - DANFS is silent on it. NavSource live host was unreachable by direct fetch from this machine; its content was verified via search-index snippet.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-02
-
[4]Bureau of Construction and Repair / Navy Department, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, 1938 edition (Google-digitized scan via shipscribe.com), destroyer tables - ELLET DD398 rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1938 destroyer tables - class-list row 'No. 397-408 Class' and contract/build table row 'ELLET | Federal S. B. & D. D. Co | 4,000,000 | Mar. 27, 1934 | Nov. 14, 1935 | Dec. 3, 1936' (PDF text layer; also legible in scan)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Official Navy Department data book rows for this hull (1938 edition, published while she was building): ELLET DD398 appears in the No. 397-408 class destroyer tables; contract/build row reads builder 'Federal S. B. & D. D. Co', price of hull and machinery $4,000,000, date of act authorizing building March 27, 1934, contract November 14, 1935, keel laid December 3, 1936; a later column tabulates February 16, 1939 (projected first-commission date - actual commissioning was 17 February 1939 per DANFS). Her machinery and dimension cells are blank in this edition - she was incomplete at the data cutoff.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1934-1939 (contract/build data)
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1936-39
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official characteristics/build table - documents builder, contract price/dates, and keel-laying for this hull; the blank machinery cells mean this edition contributes no machinery data (see ev-04 for the 1943 edition). Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, 1943 edition, Vol. 1 (Navy Department Library scan via shipscribe.com; declassified by Admiral Cochrane 5 Jan 1946), destroyer machinery tables pp. 104-105, row 108 - ELLET DD398 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1943 v1 destroyer machinery/armament/quarters table, book pp. 104-105 (PDF p. 60 of 229), row 108 'ELLET DD398'
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Official Navy Department machinery row for this hull (1943 edition, destroyer tables book pp. 104-105, sequence row 108, name/hull 'ELLET ... DD398' verified at 300-dpi OCR): 2 propellers; engine type 'Westgh. turb. red. gr.' (Westinghouse turbines with reduction gearing, i.e., geared turbines); boilers (oil burning) 3, 'B.&W.' (Babcock & Wilcox); 2 turbo generator sets; armament 4 x 5-inch 38-caliber (D.P.) guns and 4 x 21-inch quadruple torpedo tubes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943 edition; in-commission destroyer
- Population
- Crew/engine-room personnel 1939-1945 (machinery context)
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official machinery/armament table - documents the hull's plant (3 B&W boilers, Westinghouse geared turbines) and armament; contains no materials or asbestos information (asbestos content of boiler/steam-line insulation is class/era inference, not stated). Row was read by OCR of an image-only scan; cell values verified against DANFS spec block (4 5-inch, 16 21-inch tt) and class data. Quarters cells on this row were too degraded to transcribe reliably.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-04
-
[6]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USN Ships - USS Ellet (DD-398)' page and picture-data captions (19-N-20352, NH 97894, NH 67739, NH 81174/81175/81176, NH 97740, 80-G-K-385, 80-G-K-386) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio HyperWar mirror of NHHC Online Library, USS Ellet (DD-398) page + individual picture-data pages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC photo captions document ship-specific events: NH 97894 photographs this hull 'off Kearny, New Jersey, at the time of her delivery to the Navy, circa early 1939' (delivery from the builder's yard); 19-N-20352 shows her going astern February 1939 probably in the New York City area (Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives); NH 81174-81176 place her in the Hudson River/New York Harbor 1939 naval review with USS Benham (DD-397); 80-G-K-385 and 80-G-K-386 are official Navy color photographs taken from her deck during the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings of 7-9 August 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939; 1942
- Population
- Crew during delivery (early 1939) and Guadalcanal operations (Aug 1942)
- Limitations
- Captions document events and configuration, not materials - no caption mentions asbestos or insulation. The Guadalcanal frames place personnel aboard during combat operations but say nothing about exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-05
-
[7]NARA Special List 44 named-vessel logbook inventory ('Ellet (DD-398)') + NARA Ship Plan Index (RG 19) entries for ELLET DD-398 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov SL44 'Ellet (DD-398)' row; archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-index 'ELLET DD-398' rows (NAID 153714474; 175661075; 175669041)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two NARA holding sets name this hull: (1) Special List 44 lists 'Ellet (DD-398)' deck logs covering 2/17/1939-10/29/1945 - effectively her entire commissioned career; (2) the RG 19 Ship Plan Index lists ELLET DD-398 under the Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings (NAID 153714474), Aperture Cards (NAID 175661075), and Microfilm (NAID 175669041) - hull drawing sets that may carry machinery arrangement and lagging notation typical of Bureau of Ships drawing books.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1945 (logbook coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - holdings are undigitized/unpulled in this effort; deck logs would not normally state insulation materials and the drawing sets' content is unexamined. Nothing asserted from them beyond existence and coverage windows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-06
-
[8]SDB 1943 machinery row for this hull (3 B&W boilers, Westinghouse geared turbines) + Atlas shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2; documented products incl. Johns-Manville Superex, Owens-Illinois Kaylo, W.R. Grace Monokote, Garlock gaskets) + NARA RG 19 General Information Books per-vessel material specifications (archival lead) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1943 p. 105 DD-398 machinery row; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny'; Benham-class machinery data per navypedia/NavSource class blocks
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1936-39 Benham-class destroyer with a three-boiler high-pressure oil-fired steam plant (3 B&W boilers, Westinghouse geared turbines, 2 shafts - SDB 1943 hull row; class design ~50,000 shp, 38.5 kt per class references). The Gibbs & Cox high-pressure Benham plant runs at elevated temperatures consistent with heavy thermal lagging; steam plants of this era carried asbestos in boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, compartment fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Federal Shipbuilding (Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2) with asbestos products in use at the yard. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the standing hull-level archival lead; retrieval not performed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1945
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1936-39; crew/engine-room personnel 1939-1945
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record supports 'documented aboard this hull' wording; establishes no quantities, no locations, and no individual exposure. Federal yard product documentation (1944 survey) postdates this hull's 1936-39 construction by five years and does not speak to what was installed aboard DD-398. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-07
-
[9]Atlas shipyard dataset records: 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2 - Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey, Aug 30-Sep 2 1944, interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning, Brazoria County TX 1990); 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (tier 2 - ACM in yard buildings per 1998 EIS/EIR; Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 (2010)); 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard' (tier 1 - worker mesothelioma cohort/case-control documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_ids federal-shipbuilding-kearny / mare-island-naval-shipyard / pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard; ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Yard-level context for the Navy/commercial yards tied to this hull: builder Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, Kearny (tier 2 in the Atlas dataset - its flagship record is the 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial health survey documenting insulator work with Johns-Manville Superex asbestos pipe covering and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces; dataset product list also names Kaylo, Monokote, Garlock); Mare Island Naval Shipyard (tier 2 - documented repair availability and decommissioning site for this hull, Oct 1945); Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (tier 1 - this hull's home port from summer 1941 and site of a documented week of repairs in 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1945 (yard events); yard documentation later
- Population
- Federal Kearny trades 1936-39 (hull's build); Pearl Harbor yard trades 1944 repair period; Mare Island trades Aug-Oct 1945 repair/inactivation
- Limitations
- Yard-level records only - they document conditions/products at yards that built, repaired, or hosted this hull; no element is evidence of asbestos aboard DD-398. The Federal survey postdates construction by five years. 'A week in Pearl Harbor for repairs' (DANFS) does not name the performing facility - Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard inclusion in related_shipyards is on the documented-presence basis, not on a verified work package (logged in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - program-level context per BATCH-01 standing note [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct 1979); BATCH-01 standing note
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy's standing asbestos-removal policy dates from 1975 (remove asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). This hull was sold for scrap 1 August 1947 - nearly three decades before any standing Navy asbestos-control program and before disposal hazmat documentation practices - so the hull is consistent with era materials retained in place through its entire service life and sale; no U.S.-custody abatement or disposal material record is expected to exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy era vs. 1936-1947 U.S. custody of this hull
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - GAO HRD-80-2 does not name this hull or class; it bounds what documentation could exist, it does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard. gao.gov returns 403 to automated fetches; product-page description relied on per BATCH-01 standing note.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 search (type=o opinions and type=r dockets), exact-name and hull-number queries for 'USS Ellet' / 'DD-398' (authenticated, cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py session stderr (pacing stand-down, exit 2); search_ledger sl-uss-ellet-dd398-10/-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- PENDING/UNRESOLVED AT COMMIT: the authenticated CourtListener helper (cl-auth-search.py) returned the fleet-wide pacing stand-down ('budget momentarily spent, ~114/hr shared across all sessions') on every attempt this session (six attempts spaced across ~50 minutes, 2026-09-27). No CourtListener result - positive or negative - was obtained for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The litigation layer is a gap, not a negative finding: the sweep did not run. Collision hazards when it does run: 'Ellet' is a litigant surname and the namesake family carries a Civil War litigation footprint (Ellet Ram Fleet prize/salvage matters of the 1860s-70s) - bare-name hits require hull attribution before classification. Only one USS Ellet exists (DD-398), so any vessel hit post-1939 attribution is straightforward, but surname noise is not.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-10
-
[12]Batch-3383 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live probes (404) + HyperWar/ibiblio verbatim transcription; hazegray mirror (unreachable); BuShips Ships' Data 1938 and 1943 editions (shipscribe); NHHC Online Library photo captions; NavSource (unreachable - search-index snippet) / uboat.net / NavalCoverMuseum corroboration; NARA SL44 + RG 19 Ship Plan Index; NVR SHIPSDETAIL probe (302); Atlas shipyard dataset; web sweep for hull-specific asbestos/abatement/litigation mentions (marketing-list hits only, excluded); CourtListener sweep blocked by fleet pacing [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ellet-dd398-01 through sl-uss-ellet-dd398-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-398: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, disposal hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming the vessel was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrap 1 August 1947 - before the Navy's documented asbestos-control program era (GAO HRD-80-2: standing removal policy dates from 1975) and before disposal hazmat documentation practices - so no U.S.-custody abatement or disposal-phase material record is expected to exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1936-39 high-pressure steam-plant hull built at an asbestos-documented yard is era-consistent with ACM. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Negative finding is bounded by the search_ledger actually completed; the CourtListener leg did not run (ev-10).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellet-dd398-11