Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet ih-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-fechteler-de157-pkt-ih-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'USS Fechteler I (DE-157)' - namesakes, specifications block, and full service narrative (verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC DANFS pages for this hull return 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'USS Fechteler I (DE-157)', namesake paragraphs + specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesakes RADM Augustus Francis Fechteler (1857-1921, Navy Cross, commanded Norfolk Navy Yard and 5th Naval District) and his son LT Frank Casper Fechteler (1897-1922, naval aviator, killed in crash near Detroit 18 September 1922). Specifications: 1,400 t; 306 ft; beam 36'10"; draft 9'5"; 24 kt; complement 186; 3 x 3-in guns; 3 x 21-in tt; class Buckley. Launched 22 April 1943 by Norfolk Navy Yard, sponsored by Miss Joan S. Fechteler (granddaughter of the Rear Admiral, niece of the Lieutenant); commissioned 1 July 1943, Lt. Cmdr. C. R. Simmers in command. Service: two convoy voyages New York-Netherlands West Indies-North Africa 8 Sep-31 Dec 1943; overhaul at New York City; experimental ASW exercises Narragansett Bay; sailed 28 Feb 1944 for Azores and Londonderry, arrived 6 Mar, escorted NY-bound convoy, reached U.S. 22 Mar; sailed 1 Apr for Hampton Roads and joined Bizerte convoy, under heavy air attack 20 Apr, arrived 22 Apr; homeward bound, torpedoed 5 May 1944 in the Western Mediterranean by a homing torpedo from U-967 - broke in two and sank, 29 killed and 26 wounded, Laning (DE-159) and other convoy ships rescued 186 survivors. One battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades 1943; ship's company 1943-1944 (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents namesakes, construction, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Entry text misprints the hull number once as 'DE-167' (the spec block and title read DE-157); documented rather than corrected. Live NHHC DANFS page for this hull returns 404 - verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription cited, consistent with batch-01 link-rot handling.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Fechteler (DE 157) page - building/operational data chronology, specifications block, and indexed official photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/157.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' chronology, 'Specifications' block, photo captions 0615701-0615705 (navsource.org mirror unreachable 2026-09-28; .net mirror used)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology and specifications for this hull: keel laid 7 February 1943 by the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va.; launched and christened 22 April 1943 (sponsor Miss Joan S. Fechteler); commissioned 1 July 1943 at Berth 108, St. Helena Annex of the Norfolk Navy Yard, Berkley, Va., Lcdr. C. R. Simmers in command; sunk 5 May 1944 torpedoed by U-967 off Oran, Algeria (29 killed, 26 wounded; Laning (DE-159) and other convoy ships rescued 186 survivors); struck from the Navy List 18 July 1944 'with only 10 months of service.' Specifications block: Buckley class, TE type (turbine-electric drive, 3-in guns); 1,400 t light / 1,740 t full; 300 ft wl / 306 ft oa; beam 36'9"; draft limit 10'6"; propulsion 2 'D' Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kt; range 6,000 nm at 12 kt; complement 15 officers / 198 enlisted. Indexed official photos include commissioning photo NH 79827 (1 July 1943), NARA photo 19-N-61300 (New York Navy Yard pier J, 10 January 1944 - entered the Yard 31 Dec 1943 for scheduled repairs, departed 15 Jan 1944 for Quonset Point ASW exercises), and BuShips photo BS 65722 (New York Navy Yard, 31 March 1944, with two sister ships).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1944; New York Navy Yard repair workforce Dec 1943-Jan 1944
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official records (NVR-style dates, DANFS, photo captions) - a secondary compilation, not a primary record; the underlying NARA/BuShips/NH photographs are identified by number and serve as retrieval leads. Complement reading (15/198 = 213) conflicts with the DANFS spec block (186) - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships entry, 'USS Fechteler (i) (DE 157)' - building dates, loss record, attack narrative (G. Guethmundsson/uboat.net compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/1374.html - data table (Ordered/Laid down/Launched/Commissioned/Lost/loss position) + 'History' attack paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Loss record for this hull: ordered 10 January 1942; at 04:41 on 5 May 1944 U-967 fired a Gnat acoustic torpedo at the escorts of convoy GUS-38 about 120 miles northwest of Oran, Algeria, hitting USS Fechteler (DE-157) amidships in position 36 deg 07'N, 02 deg 40'W; the explosion lifted the ship out of the water and broke her in two; most of the crew abandoned ship before both parts sank; 29 crew members were lost; the commanding officer, Lt. Calvert Burke Gill, USN, and 186 survivors were rescued. GUS-38's escort group was also attacked by U-371 (3-4 May: USS Menges DE-320 and FFL Senegalais damaged).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-05-05
- Population
- Ship's company at loss (~215 aboard per casualty arithmetic: 29 killed + 186 rescued)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a specialist secondary compilation, not an official Navy record - the Gnat/position/convoy/commander detail corroborates and extends DANFS but rests on that compilation's sourcing. 'Off Oran' is the common shorthand; the recorded position is ~120 miles NW of the city in open water. Commanding-officer change (Simmers at commissioning vs Gill at loss) is not documented in the sources consulted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-03
-
[5]Norfolk Naval Shipyard official history page, 'USS Reeves & USS Fechteler' (nnsy1.navy.mil, archived 2007-07-22) + NHHC 'Ships Named for Naval Aviators' appendix (history.navy.mil PDF app12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 2007-07-22 of nnsy1.navy.mil/History/FECH_REE.HTM; NHHC content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/pdf/app12.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard official record for this hull: the archived Norfolk Naval Shipyard history page records 'Keels laid 7 February 1943. Launched 22 April 1943' for Reeves (DE-156) and Fechteler (DE-157) together - corroborating the NavSource/DANFS build dates on an official Navy domain - and records Fechteler 'sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea on 4 May 1944.' Separately, the NHHC 'Ships Named for Naval Aviators' appendix lists 'Fechteler (DE 157) LT Frank C. Fechteler, USN 1 Jul 1943' - attributing this hull's namesake to the aviator son (the DD-870 successor honored the same family).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades 1943
- Limitations
- The NNSY page's 4 May sinking date conflicts with DANFS, NavSource, and uboat.net (all 5 May; torpedo hit 04:41 on 5 May) - documented in gaps rather than reconciled. The archived page is skeletal (three lines) and says nothing of materials or asbestos. Namesake attribution varies across sources (NHHC appendix: LT Frank C. Fechteler; some secondary summaries name the Rear Admiral); both men are presented in the DANFS entry itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) + Buckley-class profile (buckley-class.class.json, batch class-f) + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'norfolk-naval-shipyard' (tier 2) and 'brooklyn-navy-yard' (tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB 1945 v1 pp. 234-235 DE design-group table; navypedia us_de_te block map; NavSource DE-157 spec block; shipyards.json records 'norfolk-naval-shipyard' and 'brooklyn-navy-yard'; buckley-class.class.json ev-01/ev-04 (background)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: the Buckley class is the turbo-electric (TE) destroyer escort design - one of only two DE groups with a full steam plant - and DE-157's block carried two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design groups 2-3; NavSource spec block reads 2 'D' Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive). A 1943 steam-plant escort would have carried era-standard boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; the navypedia block map assigns this hull's build block (DE-156/157) Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Builder Norfolk Naval Shipyard is a tier-2 Atlas yard with a documented era product list (pipe insulation and lagging, boiler and turbine insulation, gaskets, packing, deck coverings); the 31 Dec 1943 - 15 Jan 1944 New York Navy Yard availability is a documented yard event at a tier-3 yard whose asbestos scope is undocumented. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades Feb-Jul 1943; ship's company Jul 1943-May 1944; New York Navy Yard repair workforce Dec 1943-Jan 1944
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding; no ship-specific asbestos record was located for this hull (see ev-uss-fechteler-de157-06) and none has been located for any of the 148 Buckley hulls per the class profile. Establishes no quantities and no individual's exposure; the boiler-manufacturer block assignment is navypedia-sourced and unverified against contract documents. Hull sunk May 1944 - present-day material question is moot at wreck level only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-05
-
[7]Batch-4068 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 exact-name queries ('Fechteler'/'USS Fechteler', opinion and docket indexes) and hull-number queries ('DE-157', 'DE 157'); NHHC DANFS mirror; NavSource; uboat.net; archived NNSY page; NVR; Atlas shipyards.json; web sweep for hull-specific asbestos records [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fechteler-de157-07 through sl-uss-fechteler-de157-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in CourtListener opinion or docket indexes. 'Fechteler' opinions: 216 hits, top-20 reviewed - ALL person-name collisions (Fechteler v. Jordan, D.C. Cir. 1955 - Navy Mutual Aid/ADM William M. Fechteler matter; Palm, Fechteler & Co. NY/customs cases; 'Fechtel' spelling variants), no ship reference. 'Fechteler' asbestos opinions: 2 hits, both person-name collisions (Arnold v. Dollar General, Fla. App. 1994; Davis Turner & Co. v. United States, Customs Court 1944). 'Fechteler' asbestos dockets: 2 hits - MDL-875 master docket and NYT v. Microsoft (S.D.N.Y., person-name); the MDL-875 hit resolves to the Dennis v. Todd Shipyards complaint attachment (W.D. Wash. 2:11-cv-00455) whose exposure table explicitly reads 'FECHTELER (DD-870)' - the second ship of the name, NOT this hull (verified in batch-3835 same-day full-text review of RECAP doc 386414211). 'USS Fechteler' docket phrase query timed out (subsumed by the broader 'Fechteler' sweeps). 'DE-157' opinions: 22 hits, all identifier collisions ('DE 157' appears as PACER docket-entry/exhibit references in unrelated civil dockets - Tobinick v. Novella S.D. Fla. et al.); 'DE-157' dockets: 670 hits, all PACER 'DE ###' docket-entry references (heavily S.D. Fla. civil), none vessel-related or asbestos-qualifying. Separately: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no museum hazmat disclosure, and no wreck survey or salvage record was located - the 1944 war loss forecloses the postwar record paths that generate such documentation for surviving hulls.
- 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 - era materials were standard in 1943 construction; it establishes only that no public ship-specific record was found in the sources searched. The hull's 1944 war loss forecloses the postwar record paths (abatement, disposal, museum custody, long litigation tail) that generate such documentation for surviving hulls. Pleading-stage or unindexed litigation could exist outside the CourtListener index (state courts, PACER-only filings, bankruptcy-trust submissions, VA claims). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-06
-
[8]NARA digitized-deck-logs program page (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, RG 24) + RG 38 wartime ship-loss report series + RG 19 General Information Books archival series + indexed official photos NH 79827 / NARA 19-N-61300 / BuShips BS 65722 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-logs program page; NARA RG 24/RG 19/RG 38 series descriptions (general); NavSource photo index numbers
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Open archival leads for hull-level material and exposure-relevant records: (1) this ship's deck logs (1 July 1943 - 5 May 1944) are held in NARA RG 24 at College Park under an ongoing digitization program - digitized availability for DE-157 unverified; (2) the WWII ship-loss report and Board of Investigation file for the 5 May 1944 sinking (RG 38 / RG 24 war diaries) are the authoritative loss documentation beyond secondary compilations; (3) NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material/specification books that can carry insulation and machinery data - not retrieved for this hull; (4) official photographs indexed by NavSource (commissioning NH 79827; NARA 19-N-61300 at NY Navy Yard 10 Jan 1944; BuShips BS 65722 at NY Navy Yard 31 Mar 1944) are retrievable from NHHC/NARA still-picture holdings.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (records)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - none of these holdings was retrieved or confirmed digitized for this hull; catalog.archives.gov returned no parseable programmatic result for the ship name (person-name records only) and the UI is script-rendered. Presence in a series is not evidence of asbestos content aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-07
-
[9]Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004, Pub. L. 108-375, div. A, title XIV, 118 Stat. 2094 (10 U.S.C. 113 note) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 10 U.S.C. 113 note (SMCA), statutory text
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Legal status of the wreck for this hull: under the Sunken Military Craft Act a sunken U.S. military craft remains the property of the United States notwithstanding sinking (including by enemy action) or passage of time, absent express divestiture; unauthorized disturbance is prohibited. DE-157 was sunk in action 5 May 1944 with 29 crew lost - the wreck is a sovereign U.S. Navy war grave in Algerian-adjacent international waters; materials aboard, including any era insulation, remain in situ absent a located survey or salvage record (none found).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-present
- Population
- 29 crew killed aboard (war grave); wreck site unvisited per sources located
- Limitations
- Statutory-status context only - the Act establishes title and disturbance restrictions, not the presence, type, or condition of materials aboard; no wreck survey or condition assessment was located in authoritative sources, so present condition of the hull is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fechteler-de157-08