Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ig-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-frost-de144-pkt-ig-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Frost (DE-144) (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, striking and sale; live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative + bracketed disposal note (HyperWar/ibiblio de144.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: only ship named for Commander Holloway Halstead Frost (Navy Cross, WWI antisubmarine tactics work; died 26 January 1935); launched 21 March 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; sponsored by Mrs. Holloway H. Frost; commissioned 30 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. T. S. Lank in command. One convoy-escort voyage to Casablanca 11 November-25 December 1943, then coastal escort and operations with the Croatan (CVE-25) hunter-killer group: first patrol 24 March-11 May 1944 (search for U-856, sunk 7 April by other escorts; joined in sinking U-488 on 26 April with three other escorts after a Croatan aircraft sighting); second patrol 3 June-22 July 1944 (initial contact with U-490 on 11 June - sunk by gunfire, Frost taking 13 prisoners; U-154 sunk 3 July after the submarine attempted to torpedo Frost); third patrol 20 August-2 October 1944 (rescued survivors of Warrington DD-383, capsized in a hurricane night of 13-14 September). Training at Guantanamo Bay and Bermuda; patrol 23 January-7 February 1945 with the group escorting Quincy (CA-71) carrying President Roosevelt toward Yalta. Final antisubmarine patrol: Presidential Unit Citation for joining in sinking U-880 (explosion 0114, 16 April 1945, contact by Stanton DE-247) and U-1235 (illuminated and attacked with Stanton; explosion 0410) on the night of 15-16 April. Sailed Boston 10 July 1945 for Caribbean training and Pacific duty; reached Pearl Harbor after hostilities; passengers to San Diego; Norfolk; decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 18 June 1946. Bracketed note: struck from the Navy list 1 April 1965, sold 29 December 1966. Seven battle stars for WWII service in addition to the PUC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1966
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 186); Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-1965
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The namesake biography carries an apparent typographical error ('Naval Academy class of 1900' for an 1889 birth; secondary sources read class of 1910) - noted in gaps, not material. DANFS does not give a keel-laying date for this hull (supplied by the BuShips roster row, ev-02). Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim mirror transcription cited instead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row for FROST, DE-144 (shipscribe.com scan; OCR of book pp. 244-245) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 roster row 125, FROST DE-144 (book pp. 244-245; shipscribe scan PDF p. 132)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull: FROST, official number DE-144, design group FMR; builder 'do.' under Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. (the ditto carries from FRENCH DE-367's builder entry); contract price $1,988,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee (footnote 3); contract signed 10 January 1942; keel laid 13 January 1943; ship launched 21 March 1943; contract date of completion 20 July 1943; date of first preliminary acceptance 30 August 1943; date of first commission 30 August 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Corp. construction trades, Orange, Tex., 1943
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. OCR'd from a scanned page (textless scan; values read directly off the rendered image).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-02
-
[4]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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-4 row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 4 (symbol FMR - 'Fairbanks-Morse diesel reverse gear drive' per the table footnote) - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,200 t standard / 1,590 t full load; trial speed 21.2 kt; machinery F.M. diesel model 38D8-1/8, 6,000 shp, 2 propellers, single reduction gears; boilers 'None'; 2 diesel ship's-service generators (200/40 kW, 450 V A.C./120 V D.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.
- 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, 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 (generator capacity reads '200/40').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Frost (DE-144) page (specs, building/operational data, commanding-officer list, NARA photo caption, awards; navsource.org DNS unresolved - identical archive via navsource.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/144.htm specifications + building-and-operational-data block + commanding-officer table + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 13 January 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 21 March 1943, sponsor Mrs. Holloway H. Frost; commissioned 30 August 1943, Lcdr. T. S. Lank; 15 April 1945 in company with Stanton (DE-247) attacked U-880 NNW of the Azores, sinking it at 01:14; decommissioned 18 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years 9 and 2/3 months of service; struck from the NVR 1 April 1965; sold for scrapping 29 December 1966. Specs: Edsall class, FMR type; 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws; 21 kt; complement 8/201. Commanding officers listed: Lcdr. Theodore Small Lank (30 Aug 1943-29 Jan 1944), Lcdr. John H. McWhorter (29 Jan 1944-15 Aug 1944), Lcdr. Andrew E. Ritchie (15 Aug 1944-27 Oct 1945), Lt. Kedar B. Brown (27 Oct 1945-18 Jun 1946, decommissioning CO). Photo captions place the ship off the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, 5 January 1944 (NARA photo CP-DE-144-19-N-61239).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1966
- Population
- Wartime crew (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS and the BuShips roster where they overlap. Contributed photo captions are unattributed detail. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-04
-
[6]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 and edsall-member-record inference pattern (same diesel-DE application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built in 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, boiler columns read 'None'), 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
- 1943-1966
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943; crew 1943-46; reserve-fleet maintenance 1946-65
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-144 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-frost-de144-05
-
[7]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 (citation re-verified via batch-4037 uss-edsall-de129 record, accessed 2026-09-28) [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, vs. Consolidated Steel, Orange) and a museum-hull lifecycle DE-144 never had (DE-144 was sold and scrapped 1966). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as delivered/preserved; establishes nothing about DE-144's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - full report via Justia mirror (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 full report, 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section and digest (Justia mirror PDF)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos use: product specifications for thermal insulation were revised to asbestos-free in 1973, but asbestos materials already purchased were installed in some ships delivered as late as May 1978; asbestos also served in non-insulation components such as clutches and electric cables; the Navy's October 1975 policy limited removal to damaged insulation. DE-144 (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. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk naval shipyards - says nothing about this specific hull or any diesel-escort application specifically. gao.gov product page reachable; full PDF served 403 to automated fetch, so the Justia mirror of the same official report is cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Frost' / 'DE-144' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, type=o and type=r (see search_ledger sl-05, sl-06)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Frost (DE-144) located. Exact-name sweeps: "USS Frost" returned 0 opinions and 0 RECAP dockets; "aboard the Frost" returned 0 opinions. Hull-number sweeps: "DE-144" returned 42 opinions and 829 dockets, all identifier collisions - 'DE-144' appears as document-entry tokens (e.g., 'D.E. 144'), DEA/matter numbers, and exhibit codes in unrelated criminal, commercial, insurance, and Puerto Rico matters; page-1 review plus a full-result keyword scan found zero navy/ship/asbestos context. DE-144 is the only U.S. Navy ship named Frost, so any future vessel-name hit needs no hull disambiguation, but 'Frost' is a common surname and a frostbite-injury term that produce heavy non-vessel collisions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- CourtListener/RECAP coverage is docket-driven and incomplete for state-court and older federal dockets - non-location is not proof no case exists. Sweep executed 2026-09-28 via the authenticated fleet-paced helper across multiple windows (intermittent fleet pacing stand-downs; 5 queries landed across ~2 hours).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-frost-de144-08
-
[10]Batch-4054 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource archive page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (OCR of scanned roster and design table); GAO HRD-80-2 full text via Justia; NARA digitized deck-log inventory; VA/BVA web search; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (sl-05, sl-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-frost-de144-01 through sl-uss-frost-de144-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-144: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was sold for scrapping in December 1966, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for sister hull Stewart (DE-238). The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Frost (DE-144) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull (asbestos-ships.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, mesotheliomabook.com, shepardlawfirm.com) - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules. A VA/BVA web-index search surfaces only frostbite-injury decisions (name collision on 'frost'), not the ship.
- 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. Deck logs (RG 24) and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book) at NARA 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-frost-de144-09