Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Florida V (Battleship No. 30) - NHHC live page verified 200 on 2026-09-18 via browser user-agent (plain-agent fetch returned 404 - fetch-behavior note, not link rot); Wayback capture 2020-12-26 corroborates verbatim [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official service history documents this hull's construction (laid down New York Navy Yard 9 Mar 1909; launched 12 May 1910, sponsor Miss Elizabeth Legere Fleming; commissioned 15 Sep 1911), outfitting and shakedown with sister Utah, flagship of Division 1 Atlantic Fleet (29 Mar 1912), Vera Cruz landing (21 Apr 1914 - Florida Battalion 13 officers/272 enlisted under Lt. Wainwright; two killed; 25 crew/staff Medals of Honor), WWI service in Battleship Division Nine (New York, Florida, Delaware, Wyoming - departed 25 Nov 1917, Scapa Flow 7 Dec 1917, redesignated Sixth Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet) including the 8 Feb 1918 U-boat torpedo attack off Stavanger (four fired, all missed), the 21 Nov 1918 surrender sortie and 24 Nov escort of the interned High Seas Fleet, the 13 Dec 1918 Brest demonstration for President Wilson, postwar yard periods (Norfolk Navy Yard Jan 1919; Boston Navy Yard overhaul 20 Jun 1919-5 Jan 1920; Boston repairs to 13 Feb 1921; Boston overhaul Sep 1922-May 1923), re-designation BB-30 (17 Jul 1920), the Colby diplomatic cruise to Brazil/Uruguay (Dec 1920-Jan 1921), Control Force flagship (1 Oct 1921), Caribbean Fleet Problems I/II/IV (1922), midshipmen cruises (1922, 1923), the 1924-26 modernization (placed in reserve 23 Sep 1924; coal-to-oil boiler conversion, aircraft handling equipment, heavier deck armor, anti-torpedo blisters, rearranged secondary battery, stacks trunked two-to-one, aft basket mast removed; alterations completed by 24 Oct 1926; 22.32 knots on trials - fastest battleship in the fleet; BatDiv 2 Scouting Force), final operations to Sep 1930, arrival Philadelphia Navy Yard 26 Sep 1930, decommissioning 16 Feb 1931, salvage-disposal authorization 1 Apr 1931 per the London Naval Treaty, strike 6 Apr 1931, and scrapping completed 30 Sep 1932.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1909-1932
- Population
- Construction trades, New York Navy Yard 1909-11; Boston Navy Yard 1912/1919-23; Norfolk Navy Yard 1919; modernization yard trades 1924-26; Philadelphia Navy Yard 1930-32; crew (Vera Cruz, WWI Grand Fleet, peacetime)
- Limitations
- Service history only - contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazmat information; documents yard periods during which era insulation work would have occurred without describing materials. The modernization yard is not named. The narrative describes 'conversion of the ship's boilers from coal- to oil-fired' and 'the new boilers' but does not itemize machinery replacement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-01
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[2]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Florida (Battleship # 30, later BB-30), 1911-1931' (Naval Historical Center; ibiblio transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library ship page, descriptive text block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC ship page independently corroborates the DANFS outline: lead ship of a class of two 21,825-ton battleships built at the New York Navy Yard, commissioned September 1911; Vera Cruz intervention April-July 1914; joined the British Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow December 1917 for North Sea service through WWI; December 1918 Wilson escort and the New York Victory Fleet Review; hull number BB-30 assigned July 1920; Secretary of State diplomatic cruise and Control Force flagship duty; 'modernized in 1925-27, receiving heavier deck armor and anti-torpedo blisters along her sides, as well as oil-burning boilers and a rearranged secondary gun battery,' stacks trunked and 'basket' mainmast removed; 'decommissioned in February 1931 and scrapped at the Philadelphia Navy Yard later in that year' under the 1930 London naval limitations treaty.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1911-1931
- Population
- Same hull populations as ev-uss-florida-bb30-01
- Limitations
- Summary ship page only - no asbestos or insulation-material information. Its modernization window (1925-27) and scrapping-year phrasing ('later in that year,' i.e., 1931) differ slightly from DANFS (reserve Sep 1924 to completion Oct 1926; scrapping completed 30 Sep 1932) - conflicts flagged in gaps, not merged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-02
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[3]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'Florida Class (BB-30 and BB-31), 1909 Building Program' (Naval Historical Center; ibiblio transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC class page, design characteristics and modernization paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC class page documents the Florida class as 'the first U.S. battleships to have steam turbine propulsion' (28,000 horsepower direct-drive turbines, four propellers, 20.75-knot maximum speed; 21,825 tons; ten 12-inch/45 in five twin turrets, sixteen 5-inch/51 casemates), and documents the class-level modernization: 'modernized in 1925-27. Their coal-fired boilers were replaced with oil-burning models, beam was increased to 106' by the addition of anti-torpedo "blisters", heavier deck armor was added and some of the five-inch guns were relocated to higher positions,' with appearance changed 'from two smokestacks and "cage" masts to one of each.' It records that the 1930 London treaty 'brought their battleship days to a swift end. Florida was decommissioned in 1931 and soon scrapped. Utah was "demilitarized" and retained as an auxiliary target ship.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1909-1932
- Population
- Class construction and modernization trades; crew
- Limitations
- Class-level design and modernization summary - establishes turbine/boiler configuration and modernization scope for both hulls but names no insulation material and is not a hull-specific record for BB-30 alone. Contains no asbestos or hazmat information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-03
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[4]International Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament (London Naval Treaty), signed 22 April 1930, Article II - text via U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian, FRUS 1930 vol. I [other_primary]
- Locator
- FRUS 1930 vol. I, London Naval Treaty text, Part II Article II
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Article II of the London Naval Treaty names Florida, Utah, and Arkansas-or-Wyoming as the U.S. capital ships to be disposed of: unless converted to exclusive target use under the Washington Treaty formula, each 'shall be scrapped,' with one U.S. ship rendered unfit for warlike service within twelve months of the treaty's entry into force and finally scrapped within twenty-four months (second ship: eighteen and thirty months). The treaty entered into force 27 October 1930; the U.S. converted Utah to the target ship AG-16 and scrapped Florida - decommissioned within the twelve-month window (16 Feb 1931) and finally scrapped within the twenty-four-month window (completed 30 Sep 1932 per DANFS).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1930-1932
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard disposal/scrapping workforce 1930-32 (implied by DANFS, not named in the treaty)
- Limitations
- Treaty text establishes the legal disposal requirement and the treaty-compliant schedule - it does not document how or where the breaking was performed or what materials were removed. Disposal records, if extant, sit with the Philadelphia Navy Yard/NARA, not this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-04
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[5]DANFS spec block + DANFS battleship index (BB-30/31 block) + NHHC ship/class pages - documented propulsion plant and yard periods (basis for era-level insulation inference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block (displacement/speed/complement) + yard-period narrative; DANFS BB index spec block (12 B&W boilers, Parsons turbines, 28,000 shp); NHHC class page powerplant line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As built through her 1930-32 disposal, Florida carried an insulated steam plant - twelve Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired water-tube boilers (converted to oil firing / replaced with oil-burning models during the documented 1924-26 modernization), Parsons direct-drive turbines on four shafts, and associated steam piping. Thermal insulation, gaskets, and packing in pre-WWI-era naval steam plants were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber; each documented yard period (construction/outfitting 1909-11, Boston availabilities 1912/1919-20/1921/1922-23, Norfolk 1919, the 1924-26 modernization machinery rework, and the 1930-32 Philadelphia decommissioning and breaking) was an insulation-disturbance event. The 1931-32 breaking of a 1909-era insulated steam plant was itself the largest undocumented disturbance event in the hull's life.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1909-1932
- Population
- New York Navy Yard construction trades 1909-11; Boston/Norfolk yard trades 1912-23; modernization yard trades 1924-26; Philadelphia Navy Yard disposal workforce 1930-32; engine-room and boiler-room crew
- Limitations
- Era-level inference only - no design manual, construction record, survey, disposal record, or litigation document names the insulation materials aboard this hull; asbestos presence is consistent-but-unproven. Does not establish quantity, product identity, exposure of any individual, or what the breakers encountered. Weaker than a class design document: nothing cites a specific insulation material for this hull or the Florida class.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-05
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[6]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - every insulation installation and disturbance aboard this hull (1909-11 construction; all overhauls; the 1924-26 modernization; the 1930-32 disposal) predates the substitution era by decades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only - not hull-specific. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-06
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[7]Batch-160 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page + Wayback corroboration; NHHC Online Library ship/class pages; DANFS battleship index; FRUS London Naval Treaty text; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 and web index; VA BVA decision index (va.gov/vetapp); open-web litigation sweeps; NavSource and hazegray probes [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-florida-bb30-01 through sl-uss-florida-bb30-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement or disposal/scrapping contract, hazmat disclosure, product-identification document, or docketed case naming USS Florida (BB-30 / Battleship No. 30) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1931-32, predating both the asbestos-litigation era and asbestos-aware disposal documentation; DANFS records only administrative disposal dates, not material-level detail. Open-web litigation sweeps returned only excluded law-firm marketing listicles plus name collisions (CSS Florida prize case 101 U.S. 37 (1880); SS United States reef litigation; a BVA decision naming the submarine SSBN-728).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-typical insulated steam plant likely carried asbestos-containing materials. CourtListener API search blocked by the documented 125/day shared-machine rate limit on 2026-09-18 (HTTP 429; same cap hit batches 101 and 111 this date) - the litigation check is incomplete and should be re-run; NavSource and hazegray were unreachable (connection timeouts), so secondary builder's-data cross-checks were not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-florida-bb30-07