Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet if-packet.md (9 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Fiske (the FIRST ship of the name); hull DE-143; type: Edsall-class destroyer escort — http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/DE/de143.html ("The first Fiske (DE-143)"; "cl. Edsall")
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-fiske-de143-pkt-if-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Fiske I (DE-143), June 2019 edition (verbatim transcription by Tin Can Sailors destroyers.org, citing DANFS June 2019; older DANFS edition via HyperWar/ibiblio de143.html - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- destroyers.org/ships/de-143 'Ship History' (DANFS June 2019) + ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/DE/de143.html (older edition)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: first ship named for Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske (born Lyons, N.Y., 13 June 1854; died New York City 6 April 1942); laid down 4 January 1943 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Co.; launched 14 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Frances O. D. Chalkley, wife of Capt. Henry G. Chalkley Jr., USNR, supervisor of naval shipbuilding at Orange; commissioned 25 August 1943 at Orange, Lt. Cmdr. Robert P. Walker in command. Galveston dry dock 30 Aug; New Orleans 2-3 Sep; shakedown Great Sound, Bermuda, 14 Sep; trials complete 9 Oct; post-shakedown availability Charleston Navy Yard from 12 Oct. First escort duty screening convoy UGS-22 from New York 23 Oct, detached to Norfolk Navy Yard; TG 29.13 escorting Pastores (AF-16) to Coco Solo C.Z. 12-18 Nov; then Guantanamo Bay and escort of Orizaba (AP-24) to Brooklyn 25 Nov; UGS-26 to Casablanca 4-20 Dec; GUS-25 return to Norfolk 17 Jan 1944; UGS-32 to Casablanca Feb; GUS-31 return 17 Mar; New York Navy Yard availability 19-30 Mar; Montauk Point exercises with Fessenden (DE-142) and Farquhar (DE-139); UGS-38 to Bizerte Apr-May (convoy attacked by German torpedo bombers in the western Mediterranean 20 Apr - none within range of Fiske's guns); GUS-38 return to New York 21 May, dry dock at New York Navy Yard; Destroyer Escort Division Nine, Casco Bay exercises 3-8 Jun; joined TG 22.6 hunter-killer group around Wake Island (CVE-65) 15 Jun; patrolled between Northwest Africa and the Azores, replenished Casablanca 20-24 Jul. On 2 Aug 1944, detached with Douglas L. Howard (DE-138) to investigate a contact (~1157 sighting); sonar contact at ~1,075 yards, then 'jolted by a terrific underwater explosion amidships' with no torpedo propeller noise or wake observed; a second explosion seconds later, believed internal; broke in two by 1245 and abandoned - torpedo from U-804 (Oblt. Herbert Meyer); 30 killed and 50 badly wounded; survivors rescued by Farquhar (DE-139); stricken from the Navy Register 22 August 1944; one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The June 2019 edition (Tin Can Sailors transcription) supplies the keel date (4 Jan 1943) and stricken date (22 Aug 1944) that the older HyperWar transcription lacks; the older transcription also misprints the namesake's birth year as 1864 (correct: 1854, consistent with Naval Academy class of 1874). Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim transcriptions cited instead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-01
-
[3]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Fiske (DE-143) page (Naval Historical Center text + official photo catalog; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-f/de143.htm (NHC ship page + photo captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Naval Historical Center record for this hull: 'a 1200-ton Edsall (FMR) class escort ship built at Orange, Texas, commissioned in late August 1943... On 2 August 1944, while in action with the German submarine U-804, USS Fiske was torpedoed amidships, broke in two and sank. Thirty of her crew members were lost with her.' Official photo catalog for this hull: NH 53909 (underway New York Harbor, 20 Oct 1943); NH 102966 (ready for launching at Consolidated Steel Corp. shipyard, Orange, 14 Mar 1943); 80-G-270255, -270256, -270257, -270258, -270259, -270260 (sinking sequence, 2 Aug 1944, photographed from Wake Island aircraft; National Archives collections) - bow and stern sections photographed sinking; both had to be finished off by gunfire.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Wartime crew; rescue by Farquhar (DE-139)
- Limitations
- NHC page documents identity, loss, and the official photo catalog - not materials or asbestos content. Confirms 30 crew lost (matching DANFS, against the 33 in VA/secondary sources - divergence carried in gaps). Photo numbers are NARA archival leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-02
-
[4]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Fiske (DE-143) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, CO list, flag hoist NQDA, contributed photo captions citing NARA photo numbers; Wayback capture 2024-06-17) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/143.htm building-and-operational-data block, CO list, awards block, and photo captions (Wayback 2024-06-17 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 4 January 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 14 March 1943, sponsor Mrs. Frances Chalkley, wife of Capt. Henry G. Chalkley, USNR, supervisor of shipbuilding at Consolidated Steel; commissioned 25 August 1943 at the City Dock, Orange, Lcdr. R. P. Walker in command; sunk 2 August 1944, torpedoed by U-804 in the Central Atlantic, survivors rescued by Farquhar (DE-139) with the loss of 30 men; struck from the Navy List 22 August 1944. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive); American Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal. Complement 8/201; flag hoist/radio call sign NQDA. CO list (Hechler/Reeves): Lcdr. Robert Power Walker 25 Aug 1943-20 Jan 1944; Lt. John Alfred Comly, USNR, 20 Jan 1944-2 Aug 1944 (last CO). Photo captions add NARA photo numbers (19N55726-29, NY Navy Yard berthing detail 27-28 Nov 1943 alongside Butler DD-636 and Gherardi DD-637).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Wartime crew (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS where they overlap. Photo captions are contributed detail (NY Navy Yard berthing sequence). No asbestos or materials information. Live navsource.org fetch failed; Wayback 2024-06-17 capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-03
-
[5]United States Navy at War 1941-1945, Official Reports to the Secretary of the Navy (chronology appendix, entry for 2 August 1944, Atlantic) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USN-Chron-1944.html, 2 August 1944 Atlantic entry (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of the official SecNav report)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official USN wartime chronology entry for this hull's loss: 'Destroyer escort Fiske (DE-143) is sunk by German submarine U-804, 800 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, 47 deg 11 min N, 33 deg 29 min W.' Establishes the documented sinking position used for this record's coordinates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-08-02
- Population
- Wartime crew lost and rescued (30 killed per DANFS; 50 badly wounded)
- Limitations
- Official loss/chronology record - establishes date, cause, and position of sinking; contains no materials or asbestos information. uboat.net's grid reference (BD 5513) and the VA Veteran's profile (~800 miles east of Cape Race) concur on the position.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 4 / FMR (shipscribe.com scan; OCR of book pp. 234-235) + DE per-hull roster (book pp. 238-247) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-4 row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127) and DE roster pp. 244-245 (PDF p. 132 - alphabetical gap Finnegan-to-Flaherty where FISKE would sit)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 4 (symbol FMR - Fairbanks-Morse diesel reverse-gear drive) - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,200 t standard / 1,590 t full load; 21 kt; machinery 4 Fairbanks-Morse model 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 6,000 shp, 2 shafts; boilers 'None'; 2 diesel ship's-service generators (100 kW, A.C.); accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted; armament 3 x 3 in/50 cal. D.P. Documents that the FMR design carried a diesel plant with no boilers or steam system. FISKE does NOT appear in the volume's per-hull DE roster (alphabetical sequence runs Finnegan DE-307 to Flaherty DE-135) - the roster excludes hulls sunk before publication, consistent with the volume's treatment of other pre-1945 losses.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (publication)
- Population
- FMR-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation for the whole FMR group (85 hulls), not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos. Table OCR'd from a scanned page; individual cell values partially garbled. Roster absence is a coverage boundary of the 1945 volume (sunken hulls excluded), not a data defect.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-05
-
[7]VA News / National Cemetery Administration Veterans Legacy Program, 'Veteran of the Day: Navy Veteran Lupe Higareda' (27 July 2023) [other_primary]
- Locator
- news.va.gov/122363 (Veterans Legacy Program profile, NCA)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official VA memorial record naming this hull: Seaman Lupe Higareda was serving aboard USS Fiske (DE-143) of the hunter-killer task group (the VA text reads 'Task Group 22.63'; DANFS reads TG 22.6) when the ship was torpedoed 2 August 1944 ~800 nautical miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland; the ship broke in half after 10 minutes and sank; survivors were picked up by Farquhar (DE-139) and taken to Newfoundland for medical attention. Higareda's body was never recovered - officially considered buried at sea; memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing (East Coast Memorial, NYC, and Cambridge American Cemetery, England) and by cenotaph at Rock Island National Cemetery. The VA article reads 'Thirty-three crew members were lost' - diverging from DANFS/NHC's 30 (carried in gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944 (event); 2023 (publication)
- Population
- Seaman Lupe Higareda (KIA 1944-08-02); Fiske crew and families
- Limitations
- Official VA publication documenting a named casualty of this hull and survivor disposition - not a materials or asbestos record. Casualty count (33) diverges from DANFS/NHC (30); task-group suffix reads 22.63 vs DANFS 22.6. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-06
-
[8]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row (no boilers; F.M. diesel) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Atlas class-pattern precedent for diesel-powered escorts [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-4 row (machinery, 'None' in boiler columns); cf. cannon-class profile ev-cannon-class-03 and Edsall DE-129 record ev-05 (same diesel-DE application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1943 would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-powered escort - exhaust-system insulation and lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Because the FMR plant has no boilers or steam lines (SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row), the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply to this design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; crew 1943-44
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-143 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. Builder yard (Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex.) is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos documentation is attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-07
-
[9]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 (citation re-verified in class-f gato-class profile, accessed 2026-09-16) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article_c2c77857, 27 Jul 2020
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a preserved Edsall-class sister hull: the Galveston Daily News reported asbestos in public areas of USS Stewart (DE-238) and USS Cavalla (SS-244) at Seawolf Park, with contractor Separation Systems Consultants approved to proceed with abatement; the Galveston Park Board cited U.S. Navy inspection recommendations that an asbestos survey be conducted. USS Stewart is a Brown Shipbuilding-built Edsall-class hull (DE-238) - class-level corroboration that Edsall-class construction carried asbestos-containing material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2020
- Population
- Museum staff/volunteers and Seawolf Park visitors; abatement crews
- Limitations
- Evidence about a sister hull (DE-238), NOT this hull: different builder (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston) and a museum-hull lifecycle DE-143 never had (DE-143 was sunk in action 1944). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as delivered/preserved; establishes nothing about DE-143's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-143 (built 1943) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this specific hull or any diesel-escort application specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Fiske' / 'DE-143' / 'Fiske'+asbestos (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, type=o ('USS Fiske', 8 results reviewed) and type=r; sl-uss-fiske-de143-05 through sl-uss-fiske-de143-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Four sweeps completed, all non-qualifying. (1) 'USS Fiske' opinions: 8 hits, all name collisions, none asbestos litigation and none naming either Fiske hull - In re Shannon C. and Dept. of Social Welfare v. Raymond C. Jr. (Cal. Ct. App. 1986, dependency), B. v. Bureau Wijsmuller v. United States (S.D.N.Y. 1979, admiralty), Thomson v. United States (4th Cir. 1959), In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litig. MDL-2925 (D.D.C. 2025), al Bahlul v. United States (D.C. Cir. 2016, habeas), Tinly v. Martin (Ky. 1882, attorney 'Fisk'), Hughes v. Stoutenburg (N.Y. Sur. 1915). (2) 'DE-143' opinions: 40 hits, all numeric collisions (docket-entry/exhibit numbering), none naming the vessel. (3) 'Fiske'+asbestos opinions: 47 hits reviewed - asbestos bankruptcy opinions (UNR Industries, Forty-Eight Insulations, UNARCO) in which 'Fiske' is the Chicago law firm Defrees and Fiske appearing in counsel listings; no vessel reference. (4) 'USS Fiske' dockets (type=r): 1 hit, United States v. QTC Medical Services (C.D. Cal. 2:14-cv-08961, False Claims Act, VA medical-exam contracts) - name collision. NO qualifying asbestos litigation naming DE-143 was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Opinion/docket matches are full-text name collisions (surname, law firms, attorneys, docket numbering) - a 'Fiske' string is not a vessel reference. CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP dockets, not unreported state-court asbestos pleadings or trust claims - absence here does not prove no veteran ever filed a claim referencing DE-143. Separately, a 2025 BVA decision names USS Fiske DD-842 (the second hull) for non-asbestos AFFF/PKP exposure - a name collision, not this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-10
-
[12]Batch-4053 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions (June 2019 + older edition); NHHC Online Library photo page; official USN wartime chronology; NavSource archive page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (OCR - per-hull roster check); VA Veterans Legacy Program profile; NARA digitized deck-log inventory; BVA/va.gov web search; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-05 through sl-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fiske-de143-01 through sl-uss-fiske-de143-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-143: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was sunk in action 2 August 1944, eleven months after commissioning, so no post-service lifecycle (reserve fleet, overhaul, museum donation, scrapping) ever generated the records that document sister hulls such as Stewart (DE-238). The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Fiske in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate WWII hulls - and those name DD-842, the second Fiske, not DE-143; all are non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming DE-143 was located on CourtListener.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence aboard - 1943 escort construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and sister-hull DE-238 carried documented asbestos. Lt. Comly's after-action report (quoted in DANFS), TG 22.6 records, BuShips construction correspondence, and any General Information Book for the hull (RG 19) plus deck logs if they survived (RG 24, Archives II) are unsurveyed leads. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fiske-de143-11