Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet ie-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. — real identity: USS Hammann; hull DE-131; destroyer escort, Edsall class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hammann-de131-pkt-ie-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (1968) Vol. 3 p.225, Hammann (DE-131) - specifications block + service narrative + bracketed Bauer & Roberts 'Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990' p.224 supplement (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed register supplement
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second Hammann (DE-131), formerly Langley, named 1 August 1942 after the first Hammann (DD-412); launched by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 13 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Lilliam Rohde; commissioned 17 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. R. D. deKay in command. Bermuda shakedown departing 5 June; returned Philadelphia 6 July; first transatlantic convoy voyage from Norfolk 13 July 1943; four Casablanca passages through 10 March 1944 screening with escort carriers; several submarine-contact attacks, no kills; six further European convoy voyages via Northern Ireland ports 28 March - 29 November 1944; four more to Liverpool starting 4 January 1945; on 2 March 1945 aided convoy ship Lone Jack after a torpedo attack - picked up 70 survivors and sent salvage parties aboard to keep her afloat. Departed New York 7 July 1945 for Guantanamo training, San Diego via Panama 4 August, then Pearl Harbor; war over before arrival; passengers to California, Canal transit to Charleston 25 September; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 24 October 1945 and placed in reserve; later moved to the Texas Group at Orange. Bracketed supplement: stricken from the Navy Register 1 October 1972; sold 18 January 1974. Spec block: 1,200 t; 306 ft; beam 36'7"; draft 8'7"; 21 kt; complement 186; 3 x 3-inch, 2 depth-charge tracks, 8 depth-charge projectors, 1 hedgehog; class Edsall.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (complement 186 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, and service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS text gives no keel-laying date (the 1942-07-10 laid-down date comes from NavSource and the Bauer-Roberts register table). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (standing link rot per batch-01). Decommissioning and fate dates here carry DANFS/Bauer-Roberts values; the conflicting NavSource lines are documented in ev-03/gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-01
-
[3]Naval Historical Center Online Library, 'USS Hammann (DE-131), 1943-1974' ship page + Ens. Charles H. Hammann namesake biography page (verbatim NHC transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- USN Ships photo page for DE-131 + PEOPLE biography page for Charles H. Hammann (NH 79440)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHC ship page for this hull: 1200-ton Edsall-class escort ship built at Orange, Texas; commissioned May 1943; convoy escort duties in the Atlantic through the European war between the United States, North Africa, and England; transferred to the Pacific July 1945 but the war ended before she reached the combat zone; returned to the Atlantic in September and 'was decommissioned in October 1945'; 'from then until she was sold in January 1974, USS Hammann was laid up in the reserve fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and later at Orange, Texas.' Namesake: Ensign Charles H. Hammann, USNRF (1892-1919), Medal of Honor for the 21 August 1918 seaplane rescue of Ensign George H. Ludlow off Pola; died on active duty at Langley Field, Va., 14 June 1919; both DD-412 and DE-131 named for him. Page notes NHC held no photos of this hull and points to NARA-held views (80-G-76615 off the Virginia Capes 1943-07-27; 80-G-219932 underway 1944-03-25).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Wartime crew; reserve-fleet caretakers 1945-74
- Limitations
- NHC page documents service summary, decommission month, and disposal route - not materials or asbestos content. Its 'decommissioned in October 1945' and 'sold in January 1974' independently corroborate the DANFS values against the conflicting NavSource lines (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Hammann (DE 131) - specifications block + building/operational data + commanding-officer list + photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-131 page: specifications block, building/operational data, CO list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: Edsall class, FMR type ('geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive'); propulsion 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws; 21 kt; complement 8/201; awards American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 star, WWII Victory Medal. Building/operational data: keel laid 10 July 1942 as 'Lanoley' [sic - Langley]; name changed to Hammann 1 August 1942; launched/christened 13 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Lilliam Rohde; commissioned 17 May 1943, Lcdr. R. D. deKay in command; commanding officers listed through Lt. Edward L. Pepper, USNR (relieving 1945-11-21, to 1946-01-14); reads decommissioned 10 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs 'after 2 years and 11-3/4 months of service'; struck from the NVR 1 October 1972; and 'sunk as a target off Jacksonville, Fla., 13 December 1973.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Wartime crew; successive commanding officers 1943-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive, not an official record - used here as corroborating detail (keel date, CO list, awards) AND as the documented source of two conflicts: decommissioned 1946-05-10 vs DANFS/NHC 1945-10, and 'sunk as target 1973-12-13' vs DANFS/Bauer-Roberts/NHC 'sold 1974-01'. Official values are carried; the conflicts are logged in gaps rather than silently reconciled. Not asbestos documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-03
-
[5]NavSource Edsall-class specifications (FMR type) + Destroyer History Foundation Edsall-class profile ('a Fairbanks Morse design for submarines with a compact single reduction gear transmission - the FMR type') + Atlas shipyard dataset (no Consolidated Steel Orange record); NARA RG19 BuShips General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-131 specifications block; destroyerhistory.org/de/edsallclass general-information page; shipyards.json (37 yard_ids checked - 'consolidated-steel' absent); HAER TX-26-A p.2 (yard output counts)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1942-43 at Consolidated Steel, Orange, carried no propulsion boilers or steam plant - four Fairbanks-Morse diesels drove the shafts through reduction/reverse gears - so the heavy steam-ship asbestos categories (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply to the propulsion plant; the period-standard asbestos set aboard a WWII geared-diesel DE is exhaust-system insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck coverings. Builder Consolidated Steel Corp. (Orange, Tex.) has no record in the Atlas shipyard dataset - no yard-level asbestos product list exists to borrow; the yard's wartime scale (39 destroyers, 93 destroyer escorts built by 1946 per HAER TX-26-A) establishes only era consistency.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45; reserve-fleet caretakers 1945-74; 1974 scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific finding. No hull-level material schedule or insulation specification was located; the NARA RG19 BuShips 'General Information Books' (per-vessel material specs) are the standing archival lead and were not retrieved. Does not establish what was installed, what remains, or any quantity aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-04
-
[6]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 9828426, Docket No. 94-15 783 (decided 1998-09-23, Houston RO appeal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision 9828426: Findings of Fact 1-3; Factual Background (NAVPERS 553, enlistment qualifications card, co-worker letters of Sept 1996, St. Elizabeth Hospital/Bencowitz M.D. findings)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official VA appellate adjudication naming this hull's builder yard: a veteran employed at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas (1942-44 and first half 1946) as a driller in the boilermaker department - drilling/reaming/countersinking steel plates on ship hulls - claimed asbestosis; co-worker letters placed his work on the outside of hull shells in that construction stage. The Board found as fact that he was NOT exposed to asbestos during his Consolidated Steel employment, WAS exposed to asbestos serving aboard Navy vessels in service (asbestos-coated pipes throughout the ships; slept within one foot of asbestos; dust came off pipes when guns fired; asbestos tile flooring duty at Boston receiving station), and granted service connection for asbestos-related lung disease (extensive pleural/diaphragmatic calcifications, pleural plaques), denying asbestosis as such. Vessels are not named - DE-131 is nowhere in the record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (exposure); 1998 (decision)
- Population
- One WWII Navy veteran / Orange-yard driller (1942-46); co-worker affiants
- Limitations
- Yard/era context only - names no vessel, including this hull. The Board's no-exposure finding covers one driller's documented duties on hull shells, not the whole yard: it neither proves nor disproves asbestos elsewhere in Consolidated Steel work (other trades/locations were not adjudicated). An administrative benefits adjudication, not a toxic-tort finding; probative of era practice, nothing more.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-05
-
[7]HAER TX-26-A, 'U.S. Naval Station, Orange, Pier 11' (Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet), Library of Congress Prints & Photographs - 28 data pages compiled after 1968 under DERP-FUDS sponsorship (historian Martha Doty Freeman, 1995) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER TX-26-A data pages: Significance statement; Part II History sections B-D (establishment, berthing, preservation process, 1963-73 vessel counts)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Federal documentation of the reserve facility where this hull lay 1945-74: Orange was selected 1945 as one of fourteen berthing bases (the only Gulf Coast one) because Sabine River fresh water retarded corrosion; Naval Station Orange (Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet) built 1946-47 with twelve piers by Brown & Root; ~200 vessels eventually stored, held until 1980. The documented mothballing regimen: vessels grouped by type and moored; hulls coated with 'a poisonous hot plastic paint'; topside equipment sealed under 'a moisture-proof web shot from a spray gun'; interiors dehumidified by machines that 'inhal[ed] dry air into the compartments and expell[ed] moist air.' Ships initially berthed at the adjacent Consolidated Steel facilities before the piers were ready. Consolidated's wartime output at Orange: 39 destroyers, 93 destroyer escorts, 106 landing craft, 9 APDs by 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1980 (facility); record compiled 1995
- Population
- Texas Group / Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility staff; reserve-ship caretakers and reactivation crews
- Limitations
- Facility-level record only - DE-131 is not named in the data pages, and no asbestos or hazardous-material content appears in them (the pier's own 4-inch insulated steam supply/return lines are noted as utilities, fiber unidentified). Documents the preservation regime applied to reserve hulls generally: sealed interiors under dehumidification - original material remained aboard under cocooning until sale, but no vessel-specific material record results.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-06
-
[8]Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, 'Information Sheet: Philadelphia Experiment' (verbatim reproduction via archive.org scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ONR Information Sheet text (archive.org scan of the Department of the Navy document)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy debunk of the 'Philadelphia Experiment' legend, relevant here because a fringe variant of the story (The Blurb, March 1989 'A-Z' and derivative websites) names this hull - DE-131 - rather than USS Eldridge (DE-173) as the real test ship. The ONR information sheet states that records in the NHHC Archives Branch 'have been repeatedly searched, but no documents have been located which confirm the event, or any interest by the Navy in attempting such an achievement,' that ONR 'has never conducted any investigations on invisibility,' and that the legend likely grew from routine WWII degaussing work at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943 (alleged event); ONR sheet issued post-1996
- Limitations
- Context-only folklore row carried because the hull's name recurs in Philadelphia Experiment literature; the Hammann variant itself appears only in fringe publications, not any authoritative source - it is not evidence of anything about the ship or its materials. The ONR sheet addresses the legend generally (Eldridge); it does not mention DE-131 by name.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep: "USS Hammann" type=o verified; "USS Hammann" type=r, "DE-131" type=o/r, bare "Hammann" attempted but fleet-pacing-blocked (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hammann-de131-11 and sl-uss-hammann-de131-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep produced no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. "USS Hammann" opinion search (type=o, authenticated): HTTP 200, count 0 - no published opinion names the vessel in any posture. This independently corroborates the sibling batch-3398 sweep of the identical name one day earlier (2026-09-27: 0 opinions, 0 dockets). The hull-number searches ("DE-131" type=o, spaced retries across ~50 minutes; type=r), the "USS Hammann" docket search (type=r, one attempt), and a bare-"Hammann" catch-all (planned, never reached the wire) were all refused by the fleet-wide pacing budget (~114/hr shared across all fleet sessions) - logged as blocked in the search ledger rather than retried into a ban.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (sweep date); sibling corroboration 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Verified to opinion level for the exact vessel name only; docket-level and hull-number coverage is incomplete (pacing-blocked) - a residual gap, not a clean negative at every layer. Hull-ambiguity rule for any future hits: pre-June-1942 'USS Hammann' references resolve to DD-412 (Sims-class, sunk at Midway 1942-06-06), post-June-1942 references resolve to this hull (DE-131, commissioned 1943-05-17). RECAP indexes cover indexed text only; asbestos litigation often names shipbuilders or operators rather than hulls. Absence of a docketed case does not establish absence of exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-08
-
[10]Batch-4040 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; hazegray/losthistory transcription), NHC Online Library ship + namesake pages (ibiblio), NavSource DE-131 photo index, destroyerhistory.org Edsall class profile, VA BVA decision 9828426, HAER TX-26-A data pages (loc.gov), ONR Philadelphia Experiment information sheet (archive.org), shipyards.json (37 yard_ids), CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hammann-de131-01 through sl-uss-hammann-de131-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or NPS documentation exists for this hull in the public sources searched, and none is expected - the ship was sold for scrapping in January 1974, a decade before systematic asbestos abatement documentation, after 27 years sealed in freshwater reserve. The hull is not preserved, so no preservation-era survey exists. Litigation posture: no published opinion names USS Hammann in any posture (verified opinion sweep); hull-number and docket-level coverage remains pacing-blocked (see ev-08 litigation_sweep).
- 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 1942-43 warship is era-consistent with asbestos insulation (see ev-04). Establishes no exposure and defeats none; the honest state of the record is 'unknown, era-inferred.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hammann-de131-09