Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Gadwall (AM-362) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Gadwall', complete text (short entry - minimal DANFS coverage)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull, verbatim: 'Gadwall - A species of wild duck: (Chaulesasmus streperus), about the size of the mallard. (AM-362: dp. 530; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9""; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable) Gadwall was launched 15 July 1943 by Williamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. Charles McNary; and commissioned 23 June 1945, Lt. Robert C. Thompson in command. Gadwall departed Astoria, Oreg., 11 July 1945 for shakedown training out of San Pedro, Calif., followed by mine warfare exercises and amphibious maneuvers with fleet units off the California bases of Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Newport Beach. On 7 December 1945 she put to sea from San Diego for inactivation overhaul at New Orleans, La., until 11 April 1946. She then shifted to Orange, Tex., where she decommissioned 14 June 1945 [correct year is 1946] and was assigned to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified MSF-362 on 7 February 1955 and she remained in reserve berthed at Orange, Tex., until struck from the Navy List 1 November 1966. Gadwall was stripped and designated for sale 10 April 1967.' The record establishes a short U.S. career: commissioned 23 June 1945 - six weeks before the war's end - spent entirely on Pacific-coast shakedown and exercises, then inactivated; she never deployed to a war zone.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1967 (record coverage); hull career 1943-1967
- Population
- Willamette Iron and Steel construction trades, Portland, 1943-45; U.S. Navy crew Jun 1945 - Jun 1946 (complement 104)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity and service dates, not materials or asbestos content. The entry is silent on the hull's PCE-906 origin and laid-down date (the yard table and NavSource supply those) and contains a printed error - 'decommissioned 14 June 1945' - annotated in the mirror transcription as '[correct year is 1946]'; all other sources give 14 June 1946. The launch year '1943' conflicts with NavSource's '15 July 1944' - logged in gaps; DANFS is carried as the official record. The spec block's 'dp. 530' conflicts with NavSource's 945 t and class-typical ~650-ton displacement - logged in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing Batch-01 link-rot); verbatim mirror transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-01
-
[2]NavSource Online Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Gadwall (MSF 362) ex-AM-362 - ship page with specification block, register notes, and commanding-officer list [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/11/02362.htm - vessel page, spec block, register notes, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 24 May 1943 by the Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, OR; launched 15 July 1944; commissioned USS Gadwall (AM 362) 23 June 1945; 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as December 1945'; decommissioned 14 June 1946 at Orange, TX; reclassified Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull) MSF-362 on 7 February 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1966; 'Stripped and sold for scrap 10 April 1967 to Southern Scrap Material of New Orleans, LA.' Commanding officers: LT Robert Charles Thompson USNR (23 Jun 1945 - 5 Nov 1945), LT C. C. Hammitt Jr. USNR (5 Nov 1945 - 10 Mar 1946), LTJG Maurice M. Cable USNR (10 Mar - 14 Jun 1946). Spec block: 945 t, 184'6" x 33' x 9'9", 14.8 kts, complement 104; armament one 3"/50 DP, two twin 40mm, six 20mm, hedgehog, four K-guns, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 855-shp Busch-Sulzer 539 diesels, Farrel-Birmingham single-reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign November-Hotel-Zulu-Delta.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew Jun 1945 - Jun 1946 (three named COs, complement 104); inactivation-overhaul workforce New Orleans Dec 1945 - Apr 1946; reserve-fleet caretakers Orange, TX 1946-1966; Southern Scrap Material shipbreaking workforce 1967
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled secondary database (drawing on NVR entries and contributor material); its register notes quote the NVR of 1 January 1949 secondhand. No materials or asbestos information. The launch year '1944' conflicts with DANFS's '15 July 1943' (carried as official) - logged in gaps. The Busch-Sulzer 539 engine attribution conflicts with Wikipedia's class-generic ALCO 539 infobox entry - logged in gaps. NavSource is the only located source naming the scrap buyer (Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans) - carried with that provenance stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-02
-
[3]shipbuildinghistory.com yard production table: Willamette Iron & Steel (WISCO), Portland OR - yard hull 32 'Gadwell (PCE 906), U.S. Navy, Patrol Escort, 795d, 176 ft, delivered 31-May-45, Later MSF 362, scrapped 1967' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com willamette.htm yard table, hull row 32 (also mirrored at shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/willamette/); hazegray DANFS am363.htm (Gavia PCE-907 precedent); uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5377.html; usnavy.skyrocket.de/data/am-136__admirable.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder's yard production table places this hull at Willamette Iron & Steel, Portland, as yard hull no. 32, carrying the identity 'Gadwell (PCE 906)' - corroborating at yard level that the hull was ordered and begun as PCE-905-class patrol craft escort PCE-906 and completed as Admirable-class minesweeper Gadwall (AM-362), delivered 31 May 1945 (three weeks before commissioning). Disposition column: 'Later MSF 362, scrapped 1967.' The PCE-origin pattern is documented across the whole Willamette bird-name block - yard hulls 31-36 (PCE 905-910) completed as minesweepers Dunlin AM-361 through Harrier AM-366 - and DANFS itself documents the sibling precedent: Gavia 'was laid down as PCE-907 on 8 July 1943 ... reclassified as AM-363 on 27 September 1943.' uboat.net and skyrocket.de tables corroborate AM-362's Willamette build and core dates (uboat's row is internally inconsistent - 'ordered 26 Jun 1943' after 'laid down 24 May 1943,' and a 'commissioned 26 Dec 1945' that matches sister Dipper's delivery date - treated as unreliable for conflicting fields).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (build); 1967 (scrapping note)
- Population
- Willamette Iron & Steel construction trades, Portland, 1943-45
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary sources; the PCE-906 identity is absent from the DANFS entry, which begins at launch. No source located gives Gadwall's own PCE-to-AM reclassification date (sibling Gavia's is documented as 27 September 1943). The yard table spells the name 'Gadwell' - spelling variant or table typo; 'Gadwall' carried per DANFS/NavSource. The Bureau of Ships contract file (NARA RG 19) is the unretrieved primary source that would confirm the conversion order and date. None of these sources contains materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-03
-
[4]Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. La. 2012) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text at *654 (S39-1 '85 per cent magnesia' passage; Gate affidavit on enforced specs); CourtListener cluster 8718087 (cluster-level URL cited; a same-numbered stub opinion in the index is a mismatched immigration case - data defect logged in batch-1136)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Published federal opinion reviewing record evidence in an asbestos case documents the Navy specification regime applicable to construction of this era: the Navy's General Specifications for Machinery, subsection S39-1 'Heat insulation and lagging for piping and machinery,' required insulation of '85 per cent magnesia' for the stated temperature ranges - a pipe covering and block-form insulation documented in that record as containing 12-18% asbestos fiber - and Chapter 39 of the Bureau of Ships Manual required thermal insulation on machinery and encouraged asbestos use; record evidence states military specifications 'affirmatively required the use of asbestos-containing thermal insulation.' This hull was built under U.S. Navy contract (PCE-905/Admirable program), so the spec regime is the applicable construction context.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- WWII-era specifications; opinion 2012
- Population
- Navy construction-era shipyard workers; engine-room and machinery crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Documents the Navy specification regime, not this hull: the opinion's record evidence concerned a different vessel, the spec edition applicable to the PCE-906/AM-362 contract (laid down May 1943) is not itself quoted here, and a diesel minesweeper had no boiler or turbine plant (the S41-1 turbine context is steam-specific; S39-1 piping/machinery insulation is the applicable scope). Establishes that asbestos insulation was spec-required in Navy construction of the era - not that it was installed on or remained aboard this hull, nor causation or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-04
-
[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program (Navy-contract steel-hulled minesweeper construction at Willamette Iron & Steel, 1943-45) under which this hull was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was or remained aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-05
-
[6]Batch-1305 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS, NavSource, uboat.net, shipbuildinghistory Willamette yard table, skyrocket.de, sibling DANFS entries AM-361/363-366, NARA catalog, maritime.org plan index (blocked), CourtListener (blocked), engine-level web searches on all name variants [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-gadwall-am362-01 through sl-uss-gadwall-am362-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Gadwall, AM-362, MSF-362, or PCE-906 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The litigation sweep is INCOMPLETE: the authenticated CourtListener API v4 was exhausted at its 2,800/day shared cap at research time (reset ~8.9h out) and could not be queried - per batch instructions the search was not retried into a ban; engine-level web searches on all name variants returned no qualifying litigation (the only ship-name litigation-adjacent hit was a mesothelioma.com minesweeper list page, a law-firm marketing page excluded per source rules).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - WWII Navy construction specifications made asbestos insulation near-universal in ships of this program, and the hull's material condition at scrapping (1967) is undocumented. The CourtListener re-run (all name and hull-number variants) remains an open item; 'Gadwall' is a distinctive species name (low collision, though a real English word), so future hits would likely be genuine but still require verification. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-06
-
[7]Archival-lead mapping: NARA RG 24 deck logs for the hull's twelve-month U.S. commission (Jun 1945 - Jun 1946); NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships contract/construction records for the PCE-906 contract (would confirm the PCE-to-AM reclassification date and carry material specifications); inactivation-overhaul records for the New Orleans availability (Dec 1945 - Apr 1946); Texas Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet / disposal file for the 1966 striking and 1967 sale to Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans (would document stripping scope); maritime.org digitized Booklet of General Plans index (PCE-874 BOGP is the nearest PCE-family document; Raven AM-55 BOGP for the mine-warfare design family) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog (catalog.archives.gov - API returns SPA shell, not headless-queryable); maritime.org/doc/plans index (HTTP 403 at access time) - both unsurveyed for materials statements
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved archival path: this vessel was in U.S. commission for roughly twelve months (23 Jun 1945 - 14 Jun 1946), so NARA RG 24 deck logs exist for the full window - they would document shakedown at San Pedro, the California-coast exercises, the Dec 1945 transit to New Orleans, the inactivation overhaul there, and the shift to Orange, Tex. The BuShips contract file (RG 19) for PCE-906 would carry the conversion order and material specifications. The disposal file behind the 10 April 1967 sale to Southern Scrap Material Co. would document the stripping performed before sale. The 1967 shipbreaking at New Orleans is itself an undocumented disturbance event - shipbreaking is a recognized asbestos-exposure trade.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1967 (records); unsurveyed
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull; no box-level retrieval performed and no spend authorized. Whether any of these holdings contain materials specifications or disturbance/abatement records for this hull is unknown. The maritime.org plans index returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch at research time - unsurveyed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gadwall-am362-07