Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ew-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ellyson-dd454-pkt-ew-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ellyson (DD-454) (specifications block, full service narrative, 1954 transfer; Wayback capture of history.navy.mil page - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture 2004-03-13 of history.navy.mil/danfs/e3/ellyson.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 25 July 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J., sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson; commissioned 28 November 1941, Lt. Comdr. J. B. Rooney. Atlantic convoy escort (Halifax-West Indies-Panama Canal); rescued 24 survivors of sunken Norwegian ship printed as 'SS Harness' 14 January 1942; flagship Commander Destroyer Squadron 10 from 15 June 1942; screened Ranger (CV-4) through the Fedhala landings 8 November 1942 and two Casablanca ferry runs; Argentia and British Home Fleet (Scapa Flow) operations April-August 1943 incl. July feint invasion of southern Norway; scouting line for Iowa (BB-61) carrying President Roosevelt to Teheran, November 1943; U-616 hunt and gunfire sinking 16-17 May 1944 with Hambleton (DD-455) and Macomb (DD-458), 30 survivors rescued; Pointe du Hoc cover 6 June and Cherbourg bombardment 25 June 1944; southern France invasion 15 August 1944 and capture of a fishing vessel carrying 50 German submariners 27 August; arrived Boston 8 November 1944 for conversion to high-speed minesweeper, reclassified DMS-19 15 November 1944; Pacific from 3 January 1945, off Okinawa 24 March for pre-invasion sweeping, radar picket after 1 April, aided and then scuttled gutted sister Emmons (DMS-22) early 7 April 1945; July flagship of the task group sweeping the East China Sea; swept Tokyo Bay for the Third Fleet's entry and served as command ship clearing the Inland Sea from Buckner Bay; departed Japan 5 December 1945, Norfolk 9 January 1946. Postwar Charleston-based with Mine Force Atlantic (immobilized at Charleston 1948, resumed November), Sixth Fleet Mediterranean 1949, 1951, 1953; designation reverted to DD-454 4 May 1954; decommissioned 19 October 1954 and transferred to the Japanese Government 20 October 1954 under MDAP, serving as Asakaze. Seven WWII battle stars. Spec block: dp. 1,630; l. 347'10"; b. 36'1"; dr. 15'8"; s. 38 k.; cpl. 208; a. 4 5", 5 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Benson.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1954
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1940-41; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 208)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. It omits a laid-down date; gives the rescued ship's name as 'SS Harness' where the tanker sunk on that date was SS Norness; and ends at the 1954 Japan transfer (later disposition is secondary-source only). Wayback capture of the official NHHC page cited because the live page returns 404; the hazegray transcription carries typos ('4 6"' guns, 'L. B. Rooney') not present in the NHHC text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-01
-
[3]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Ellyson (DD 454) ex-DMS-19 page (building data, DMS propulsion spec, reclassification and disposition chain) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/11/0919.htm - ship data block, fate line, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled ship-data record for this hull: laid down 2 December 1940 at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 25 July 1941; commissioned 28 November 1941; reclassified/converted to high-speed minesweeper DMS-19 on 15 November 1944; reverted to DD-454 on 4 May 1954; decommissioned 19 October 1954; transferred to Japan 20 October 1954 and renamed Asakaze (DD 181); JMSDF decommissioning October 1969; returned to U.S. custody December 1969; transferred to Taiwan October 1970 for spares and repair needs (never commissioned in the ROC Navy); reported used as a prop in a 1976 Taiwanese naval-action film and sunk during the 'sea battle' scene. Propulsion spec: four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, two 50,000-shp General Electric geared turbines with De Laval double-reduction gear, two shafts. National Archives photo 80-G-382791/382792 (steaming off Boston 17 December 1944, post-conversion).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Population
- Crew 1941-1954; JMSDF Asakaze crew 1954-1969
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled archive (volunteer-maintained, cites official sources and National Archives photos) - not an official record. Post-Japan details conflict with other secondary sources (Destroyer History Foundation reads JMSDF service to 1972 then scrapping; Wikipedia reads sale to ROC August 1970) and the 1976 film-prop sinking is single-source; 'struck from the Naval Register' is printed at the 1954 transfer line where NVR-derived listings read 1 February 1970 - conflicts in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-02
-
[4]Destroyer History Foundation, USS Ellyson (DD-454, DMS-19) ship page (Benson-Gleaves class section) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussellyson/ - ship narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist destroyer-history record for this hull: laid down 2 December 1940 alongside Bristol at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny; both launched 25 July 1941 as the first destroyers of the repeat 1,630-ton Gleaves class completed at Federal; commissioned 28 November 1941; flagship of Destroyer Squadron 10 operating with Destroyer Division 19 (Hambleton, Rodman, Emmons, Macomb); Utah Beach gunfire support and Cherbourg bombardment; southern France; converted at Boston as fast minesweeper DMS-19 November-December 1944; flagship of Mine Squadron 20 at Okinawa, scuttling Emmons with gunfire early 7 April 1945 northeast of Ie Shima; prepared the way for the Third Fleet's entry into Tokyo Bay 29 August 1945; crew nickname 'Elly Mae'; four EAME and three Asiatic-Pacific service stars; JMSDF service as Asakaze 'until 1972, when she was scrapped.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1954
- Population
- Crew 1941-1954
- Limitations
- Private foundation reference work, not an official record; corroborates DANFS where they overlap and supplies the 2 December laid-down date DANFS omits. Its post-Japan ending ('Asakaze until 1972, scrapped') conflicts with NavSource (returned 1969, Taiwan spares hulk, 1976 film sinking) - documented in gaps, neither asserted as final.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Benson class; 38 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record incl. Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (toxicdocs.org survey scan); conversion event per DANFS narrative
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard and era/design inference (no hull record): DD-454 was built December 1940-November 1941 at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, NJ. That yard's asbestos product use is documented at yard level by the Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey (Aug 30-Sep 2, 1944): insulator work with Johns-Manville Superex asbestos pipe covering and boiler insulation in confined shipboard spaces, with dust counts during cutting/fitting - the same wartime destroyer-production era, three years after this hull's launch. A 1940-41 Gleaves-design destroyer with four superheated B&W boilers and ~50,000 shp of geared turbines would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The November-December 1944 Boston conversion to DMS-19 was a documented yard period that disturbed machinery spaces; its asbestos scope is undocumented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1954
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1940-41; Boston Naval Shipyard conversion workforce 1944; crew 1941-1954
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey documents yard practice (and postdates this hull's launch); no survey, material schedule, or work package names DD-454. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA RG 19 per-vessel material specifications are an unretrieved archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep, 2026-09-27 (all requests via fleet pacing helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ellyson-dd454-04 and sl-uss-ellyson-dd454-05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep produced no qualifying asbestos-litigation hit naming this hull: '"USS Ellyson"' type=o (opinions) - 0 hits; '"DD-454" OR "DMS-19"' type=o - 0 hits; '"Ellyson"' type=o - 374 hits, top-20 reviewed: all surname collisions (Ellyson v. Ellyson divorce, attorney Roger W. Ellyson on South Dakota criminal appeals, etc.), none referencing the vessel, the Navy, or asbestos; '"USS Ellyson"' type=r (dockets) - 0 hits. The bare-name docket query ('"Ellyson"' type=r) was throttled by the fleet pacing budget mid-sweep and is carried as blocked in the ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep is complete on ship-specific queries (full name and both hull numbers) at 0 hits; the 374 bare-name opinion hits are surname-dominated - only the top-20 page was reviewed, so a deep-tail mention cannot be excluded but ship-specific queries were clean. One planned bare-name docket query ran into fleet pacing and remains unexecuted - logged, not silently dropped. Absence of a docket is not proof no claim was ever filed (state-court and settled matters are underindexed).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing DD-454's construction (1940-41) and entire U.S. commissioned service (1941-1954) inside the documented asbestos-use era. Her service predates the Navy's asbestos-control policy period (1975 onward); post-1954 material condition under the Japanese flag is undocumented in U.S. sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-06
-
[8]Batch-3437 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil); NavSource; Destroyer History Foundation; CourtListener API v4 opinion+docket sweep; GAO HRD-80-2; Atlas shipyards dataset + ToxicDocs; law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ellyson-dd454-01 through sl-uss-ellyson-dd454-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-454/DMS-19: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, court finding, or docketed asbestos adjudication naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship left U.S. custody in 1954 - before modern asbestos documentation practice - was never preserved as a museum, and ended as an overseas spares hulk, so the disclosure channels that produced ship-specific records for preserved hulls do not exist here.
- 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 - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level and at builder-yard level. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-07
-
[9]Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, NAID 594258 series) for this hull; RG 38 WWII war diaries; BuShips/Boston Naval Shipyard DMS-19 conversion work packages; NARA RG 19 General Information Books / Booklets of General Plans for hull-level material specs; MDAP transfer records for the 1954 Japan loan [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations 1941-1978 (series NAID 594258); RG 38 war diaries; RG 19 BuShips records
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved primary-source leads bearing on this hull's material condition: NARA deck logs and war diaries (service and yard-period record), BuShips and Boston Naval Shipyard work packages for the November-December 1944 DMS-19 conversion, and RG 19 Booklets of General Plans / General Information Books for hull-level material specifications.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1954
- Limitations
- Existence of the record series is documented; hull-level contents not reviewed and digitization status unverified (catalog search returned no public digital objects for this hull).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ellyson-dd454-08