Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet ew-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-emmons-dd457-pkt-ew-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, USS Emmons (DMS-22) (builder, dates, service narrative, loss; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 under all URL variants) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 23 August 1941 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine (sponsor the namesake's granddaughter, transcribed 'Mrs. F. E. Reacock'); commissioned 5 December 1941, Lt. Cmdr. T. C. Ragan; spec block 1,630 t, 348'2", 38 kt, complement 208, 4 x 5-inch, class 'Benson'; reclassified DMS-22 on 15 November 1944. Service: shakedown to Callao January 1942; Ranger (CV-4) escort to Gold Coast April 1942; Argentia patrols and British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow July-August 1942 incl. Kola Inlet convoy; Safi/North Africa November 1942; second Home Fleet tour mid-1943 guarding British carriers in strikes on Norway; escorted Iowa (BB-61) with President Roosevelt November-December 1943; U-616 sinking 17 May 1944; Normandy June 1944 (pre-assault minesweeping guard, D-Day bombardment, Cherbourg 25 June); southern France August 1944; Boston 9 November 1944 for high-speed-minesweeper conversion; Ulithi staging for Okinawa; radar picket with Rodman (DMS-21); struck by five kamikazes near-simultaneously 6 April 1945; 60 dead, 77 wounded; hulk sunk next day to prevent capture. Navy Unit Commendation plus four battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1940-41; wartime crew (design complement 208)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; omits the keel-laying and struck-from-register dates (carried from secondary compilations - see gaps); gives no post-loss wreck information. Live NHHC page 404s; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription cited per standing batch practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-01
-
[3]Kan, H., Katagiri, C., Nakanishi, Y., Yoshizaki, S., Nagao, M., & Ono, R. (2018). Assessment and Significance of a World War II battle site: recording the USS Emmons using a High-Resolution DEM combining Multibeam Bathymetry and SfM Photogrammetry. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 47(2):267-280 [other_primary]
- Locator
- IJNA 47(2):267-280, site-history and survey-results sections
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed archaeological baseline record of this hull's wreck site: the wreck lies in ~40 m of water northeast of Kouri Island, Okinawa, on a coral reef in roughly north-south orientation; identified in August 2000 after local fishermen reported oil floating north of the Motobu Peninsula and the Japan Coast Guard imaged the wreck remotely, then confirmed by divers in 2001. High-resolution multibeam bathymetry and SfM photogrammetry (surveyed 27 August 2014) produced a 3D baseline for future in-situ monitoring. Photographs document at least four live Mark IX depth charges aboard, reported to the Japan Coast Guard in January 2017; JCG set warning buoys over the site and disposal-vs-preservation remains unresolved (hull ownership concerns).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2000-2018
- Population
- Divers and researchers at the wreck site 2001-present
- Limitations
- Archaeological/heritage documentation of the wreck's physical state - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials-content assessment; establishes location, condition, ordnance hazards, and an oil-sheen history (August 2000), not exposure or causation for any person.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-02
-
[4]DVIDS / AFN Okinawa, 'USS Emmons Memorial Dive' (U.S. Navy video by MC2 Jason Isaacs, VIRIN 240410-N-CZ893-1001, posted 2024-05-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DVIDS video ID 922448, release text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official DoD media record: American and Japanese divers conducted a memorial dive on the wreck of USS Emmons (DD-457/DMS-22) on 6 April 2024; the release describes the ship as a Gleaves-class destroyer converted to a minesweeper before the Battle of Okinawa and locates the wreck 'off the western coast of Okinawa near Kouri Island'; it restates the loss sequence - five kamikaze hits 6 April 1945, 60 dead and 77 wounded, and USS Ellyson sinking the hulk by gunfire early 7 April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945 (events described); 2024 (documentation)
- Population
- Memorial divers (US/Japanese), Okinawa dive community
- Limitations
- Confirms wreck location and the continuing memorial-dive practice; contains no asbestos or materials information and independently verifies nothing about construction materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-03
-
[5]Stars and Stripes: 'NCIS mulls probe into vandalism of sunken U.S. warship off Okinawa' (2010-09-29) and 'Looted plaque from sunken WWII destroyer off Okinawa returned' (Travis J. Tritten, 2011) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- stripes.com 2011 article (return) + 2010-09-29 Stars and Stripes report (theft, via hnn.us reprint)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Documents this wreck's custody status and protection regime: in 2010 divers looted the builder's plaque (keel-laid/commission plaque) from inside the wreck at ~135 ft; NCIS considered a criminal investigation under the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004, under which such wrecks remain sovereign U.S. property. The plaque was returned anonymously by mail to the Okinawa Diving Safety Council on 7 April 2011, turned over to NCIS, and the original forwarded to the Naval History and Heritage Command for preservation; replicas were made for the USS Emmons Association and the wreck site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2010-2011
- Population
- NCIS, Okinawa dive community, USS Emmons Association
- Limitations
- News coverage of a heritage-crime incident - establishes Navy custody and the SMCA enforcement posture for this wreck; no asbestos or materials content; the 2010 incident date ('sometime in the past three months') is approximate in the source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block + Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 1 (Jan 1945) machinery table for the DD-421 class + Atlas shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works' record + GAO HRD-80-2 program context [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips SDB 1945 v1 destroyer machinery table (shipscribe.com scan); shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works'; gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Bristol-group Gleaves-class destroyer built 1940-41 at Bath Iron Works carried 4 superheated boilers (~575 psi/700F per BuShips class data) and geared turbines of roughly 47,000-50,000 shp - peak Navy asbestos-era machinery; period-standard applications were boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, deck tile, and accommodation insulation. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (era industrial-hygiene record). The November 1944 Boston Navy Yard conversion to DMS-22 was the kind of machinery-space yard work documented to disturb era insulation; the ship's April 1945 loss foreclosed all postwar abatement, so whatever era materials were aboard remain on the wreck unassessed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Bath Iron Works trades 1940-41; Boston Navy Yard conversion workforce Nov 1944-Jan 1945; wartime crew
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull; establishes no quantities, no locations, and no individual exposure. GAO HRD-80-2 is program-level (fieldwork at other yards); 47,000 vs 50,000 shp is a documented class-level discrepancy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-05
-
[7]NARA WWII action-report holdings (USS Emmons action report and sinking report, LT John J. Griffin Jr., USNR, 6 April 1945 - cited in IJNA bibliography) + BuShips RG 19 General Information Books + East Carolina University USS Emmons Association Collection (finding aid 0887) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IJNA 47(2) bibliography (Griffin 1945); ECU finding aid 0887
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved: (1) the ship's own 6 April 1945 action report and sinking report authored by acting CO LT John J. Griffin Jr. (cited as 'Griffin, J.J. Jr 1945' in the IJNA paper's bibliography - NARA WWII action-report holdings); (2) BuShips RG 19 General Information Book for DD-457 - per-vessel material specifications, the correct path for any hull-level insulation schedule; (3) ECU USS Emmons Association Collection (membership roster, newsletters, wreck-rediscovery documentary videotape).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945 (action report); 2001-2002 (association collection)
- Limitations
- Record-group and collection mapping only - none of these holdings was retrieved; none is shown to contain asbestos information for this hull. ECU's finding aid itself contains date defects (sinking '5 April 1945', rediscovery '19 February 2001') vs. the documented 7 April 1945 sinking - noted in the batch report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 'USS Emmons' / 'DD-457' / 'DMS-22' (type=o opinions and type=r RECAP dockets), via authenticated helper [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search endpoint, queries logged in search_ledger
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos-litigation result naming this hull was located: 'USS Emmons' returned zero opinions and zero RECAP dockets; 'DD-457' returned 3 opinions and 4 dockets, all identifier collisions (military court-martial opinions citing DD Form 457 and unrelated dockets - Czajkowski v. Reed Elsevier, Anderson v. General Motors, Schillo v. Del Toro, In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litigation); 'DMS-22' returned 2 opinions, both collisions (Dynegy Midstream Services 'DMS' acronym; Smith v. NBC); 'Emmons' + asbestos returned 58 opinions, all surname collisions (parties/counsel named Emmons) with no vessel reference.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- litigation index coverage through 2026-09-27
- Population
- WWII crew (window 1941-1945); Bath Iron Works builders
- Limitations
- RECAP/opinion-index coverage only - a sinking-in-action ship (1945) leaves a narrow litigation window (crew-era exposure claims would run under veteran/VA or yards-worker captions rather than the ship name); absence of an indexed hit does not prove no claim was ever filed. Sweep executed 2026-09-27 via cl-auth-search.py under the fleet pace limiter.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-07
-
[9]This record's search ledger (2026-09-27): NHHC/DANFS, HyperWar, NavSource, destroyerhistory.org, IJNA/Crossref, DVIDS, Stars and Stripes, ECU, NARA catalog, CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-emmons-dd457-01 through sl-uss-emmons-dd457-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no materials survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Emmons (DD-457/DMS-22) was found in the public sources searched. The peer-reviewed wreck survey (IJNA 2018) records the hull's physical state - corrosion, ordnance, oil-sheen history - without any insulation or asbestos assessment.
- 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 1940-41 steam destroyer is era-consistent with standard asbestos applications, and war loss foreclosed the postwar abatement records that document sister ships. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-emmons-dd457-08