Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet in-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-garfield-thomas-de193-pkt-in-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Garfield Thomas (DE-193) (namesake, specifications, builder, service narrative, MDAP transfer; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Lt. (j.g.) William Garfield Thomas, Jr., USNR (born Watsontown, Pa. 13 Sep 1916; killed aboard Boise CL-47 at Cape Esperance 11-12 Oct 1942 - remained at his station to ensure his turret crew's escape; posthumous Navy Cross). Cannon class; 1,240 tons; 306 ft; beam 36 ft 8 in; draft 8 ft 9 in; 21 kt; complement 186; 3x3-inch, 4 40mm, 8 20mm, 8 DCP, 1 DCP (hh), 2 DCT. Laid down 23 September 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J.; launched 12 December 1943, sponsored by Lt. Betty K. Thomas, Nurse Corps U.S. Army (namesake's sister); commissioned 24 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. Richard G. Werner. Shakedown Bermuda; three Bizerte convoy-escort runs Mar-Sep 1944 (TG 27.4 screen); five U.K.-bound convoy-escort voyages Oct 1944-May 1945 (Plymouth; last from Cardiff); refresher training Culebra-Guantanamo Jun 1945; Pearl Harbor 20 Jul 1945; convoy to the Marshalls, Eniwetok 16 Aug 1945; Marshalls-Carolines convoy screening and patrol to Dec 1945; weather-station duty; Panama Canal transit; New York 1 Mar 1946; Green Cove Springs, Fla.; decommissioned 27 March 1947; Atlantic Reserve Fleet until transferred to Greece under the Military Assistance Program 15 January 1951; 'Garfield Thomas now serves as Panther (D-67).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1951
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime and reserve-era crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription reads 'commissioned 24 January 1914' - a DANFS-original typographical error; 1944 is confirmed by sequence and NavSource (carried in gaps). The entry ends at the 1951 transfer and renders the Greek name 'Panther'; the Hellenic Navy transliteration is 'Panthir' (see ev-02). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-01
-
[3]Hellenic Navy official website, 'Panther D-67 (1951-1992)' old-ships page (Wayback capture 14 Apr 2009) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hellenic Navy > Fleet > Old Ships > Destroyer: Panther D-67 (1951-1992); Wayback capture 2009-04-14
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Hellenic Navy record for this hull's second career: 'Former USS THOMAS GARFIELD DE193 DESTROYER ESCORT CANNON class' (name transposed on the page); one of the four same-class destroyers (AETOS, IERAX, LEON and PANTHER) built in 1944 comprising the newer 'Wild Beasts' squadron; transferred to the Hellenic Navy under the American military assistance program and 'accepted on January 15th 1951 by Cdr G. Petritis HN'; 'one of the most useful and active ships attached to the Destroyer Command extensively used for patrols in the Eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese'; 'Decommissioned July 15th 1992.' Page specifications: 93.3/11.2/4.3 m; 1,240/1,900 tons; 19 kt; three 3-inch/50 guns, 4 (two twin) 40mm, 14 (seven twin) 20mm, Mk52 fire-control, Hedgehog, depth charges.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1951-1992
- Population
- Hellenic Navy crew 1951-1992
- Limitations
- Documents Greek service and the 15 Jul 1992 decommissioning, not materials or asbestos content. The page ends at decommissioning - post-1992 lay-up and disposal are not addressed by this official record; the name order 'THOMAS GARFIELD' and '1944' build year are the page's own approximations (hull launched Dec 1943). No hazmat, survey, or worker-protection information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-02
-
[4]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Index, USS Garfield Thomas (DE-193) building and operational data (secondary compilation citing official records, incl. Dept. of State/USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 held at NARA) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-193 page, 'Building and Operational Data' + photo captions 0619303 (transfer), 0619307 (Souda Bay 1995)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource compilation data for this hull supplying dates and details DANFS omits or compresses: keel laid 23 September 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., Port Newark, N.J.; commissioned 24 January 1944 (confirms year against the DANFS '1914' typo); decommissioned 27 March 1947 at Green Cove Springs, Fla. 'after 3 years and 2 months of service'; struck from the NVR 26 March 1951; transferred (MDAP) to Greece 15 January 1951 and renamed HS Panthir (D-67); 'stricken in 1992, reported to be laid up in Souda Bay Crete as of 1/98'; photo caption 'laid up at Souda Bay Crete 1995'. Caption for USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 (NARA): '15 January 1951: Boston, Mass. - USS Eldridge (DE 173) and USS Garfield Thomas (DE 193). Ceremony at the Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts, transferring the ships to the Royal Hellenic Navy under the provisions of the U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Program... as, respectively, Leon and Panthir.' Class spec detail: DET type, 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesels, electric drive, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kt, 10,800 nm at 12 kt; complement 15 officers/201 enlisted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1998
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official repository - used for the NVR strike date, decommissioning location/duration, Souda Bay lay-up reporting, class spec detail, and the NARA photo identifier that DANFS omits. Its 'stricken in 1992' is consistent with the Hellenic Navy's 15 Jul 1992 decommissioning but the post-1992 reports ('laid up... as of 1/98') are photo-caption level. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Cannon class, DET type) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny, N.J.) record, ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944 (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey, 30 Aug-2 Sep 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); NavSource/DANFS class specs (DET propulsion)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: this hull was built at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Port Newark/Kearny, N.J.), a yard where an Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey (30 Aug-2 Sep 1944 - months after this hull's January 1944 completion) documented insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation (Owens-Illinois Kaylo), Garlock gaskets, and W.R. Grace Monokote fireproofing in confined spaces; yard-dataset asbestos product list for the era also includes gaskets and packing. For the class: Cannon-class escorts (DET type) had diesel-electric plants - 4 GM 16-278A diesels with electric drive - so the steam boiler/turbine insulation profile of destroyer classes does NOT apply; era-consistent ACM aboard a 1943 DE is expected in engine exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery and pipe insulation, gaskets/packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1992
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; USN crew 1944-47; Hellenic Navy crew 1951-92
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the 1944 yard survey documents yard practice, not this hull's bill of materials, and postdates the hull's commissioning; no ship-specific asbestos finding for DE-193 exists. Does not establish quantity, locations, or what (if anything) survived 41 years of Greek service and post-1992 disposal.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-04
-
[6]NARA holdings identified via NavSource caption: Dept. of State/USIA photo 306-PSG-51-686 Box 45 (15 Jan 1951 Boston Naval Shipyard MDAP transfer ceremony - documents both DE-173 and DE-193); WWII deck logs and war diary for DE-193 (NARA textual/microfilm holdings, per NHHC ship-records guidance); BuShips records for the pre-launch name change (William G. Thomas to Garfield Thomas, 3 Nov 1943 per secondary compilations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource photo caption 0619303 (NARA photo identifier); NARA catalog.archives.gov (unreachable)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level primary records: the USIA photograph (NARA 306-PSG-51-686 Box 45) documents the joint Boston Naval Shipyard transfer ceremony of this hull and USS Eldridge (DE-173) to Greece on 15 Jan 1951 - the only identified U.S.-custody documentation of the transfer site. WWII deck logs and war diary for DE-193 (1944-1947) are held in NARA/NHHC collections and could record yard availabilities and material-relevant work; BuShips naming records would settle the William G. Thomas rename. No retrieval or review of these holdings has been performed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1951 (records); 2026 (lead)
- Limitations
- Leads only - the photo identifier comes from the NavSource caption, not direct NARA inspection; NARA online catalog was not reachable programmatically at research time (JS-shell responses). Deck-log contents and the naming-record file are unverified. No asbestos content is asserted for these holdings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 opinion-index sweeps: "USS Garfield Thomas" exact phrase (count 0); "Garfield Thomas" phrase (count 5 - all name collisions); authenticated via fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-06 through sl-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or demolition-safety record; and no litigation naming the vessel. CourtListener opinion index: "USS Garfield Thomas" returned zero opinions; "Garfield Thomas" returned five opinions, all person-name collisions - Dallas v. General Motors, 725 F. Supp. 902 (W.D. Tex. 1989) (automotive crashworthiness; match is counsel names 'Gary Garfield, Thomas Fennell'), United States v. Thomas (2d Cir. 2010), Kilpatrick v. Kilpatrick (Conn. 1937), Thomas v. Hipp (N.C. 1943), and Henderson v. Scott (Tenn. Ct. App. 1925) - none vessel-related and none asbestos litigation. The hull passed out of U.S. custody in 1951 and was laid up in Greece after 1992, outside the reach of U.S. asbestos-litigation and federal hazmat-disclosure records.
- 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 - a 1943-built escort retained in service through 1992 is era-consistent with carried ACM, but nothing ship-specific documents it. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The opinion corpus covers published opinions; MDL-875 pleading-stage vessel lists would not appear here. Hull-number and docket-index sweeps are logged in the search ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-garfield-thomas-de193-06