Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet gj-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-pkt-gj-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Harry F. Bauer (DM-26) (builder, dates, service narrative, striking and sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, DM-26 specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched as DD-738 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, 9 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Harry F. Bauer; converted to minelayer DM-26 and commissioned 22 September 1944 (Comdr. R. C. Williams, Jr.). Specs: dp. 2200; 376'6" x 40'10" x 15'8"; 34 kt; cpl. 336; 3x5", 8x20mm, 2x.50cal; class Robert H. Smith. WWII: Iwo Jima picket/ASW/shore bombardment (Feb 1945); Kerama Retto 25 March; screened minecraft; three aircraft downed night 28-29 March; picket duty from 1 April under near-continuous attack; torpedo through ballast tank 6 April (no explosion); three aircraft downed night 29 April; 6 June attack with J. William Ditter (DM-31) - each ship downed three, one crashed close aboard flooding two compartments; repairs at Leyte revealed unexploded bomb; Okinawa 15 August; East China Sea minesweeping from 20 August; Sasebo 28 October; San Diego 22 December. Postwar: Norfolk from 8 January 1946, Atlantic Fleet ASW/tactical ops; 2d Fleet exercises Oct-Nov 1948; Naval Academy cruise with Missouri June-July 1949; Mediterranean 9 Sep 1950-1 Feb 1951; ended active steaming September 1955; decommissioned 12 March 1956 at Charleston; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia. Bracketed note: struck 15 August 1971, sold 12 June 1974. Presidential Unit Citation (Okinawa) and four battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1944; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Laid-down date is not given in this entry (NavSource supplies 6 March 1944). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray mirror (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/destroy/dd738txt.htm) carries identical text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-01
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[3]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Harry F. Bauer (MMD-26 ex-DM-26 ex-DD-738) registry entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0826.htm, hull chronology block + specifications
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Registry record for this hull: laid down 6 March 1944 as DD-738 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched 9 July 1944; reclassified Light Minelayer DM-26 on 20 July 1944; delivered and commissioned USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26) 22 September 1944; decommissioned 12 March 1956 at Charleston, SC; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group; reclassified Fast Minelayer MMD-26 on 1 January 1969; struck from the Navy Register 15 August 1971; sold for scrap 12 June 1974 by the Defense Supply Agency, Defense Property Disposal Service, to Northern Metals of Philadelphia, PA. Specs: four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, two 60,000 shp General Electric geared turbines, two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1944; crew 1944-1956
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive drawing on official records (DANFS, Navy Register) - registry-level detail, no asbestos or materials content. Complement listed as 363 conflicts with DANFS 336; sale date agrees with DANFS (12 June 1974) against a '1 June 1974' figure circulating in secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-02
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[4]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, Photo NH 95369, USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26), picture data (caption) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Photo NH 95369 picture data caption (ibiblio mirror of history.navy.mil Online Library)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photo record for this hull: 'Underway during the 1950s, after being refitted with a tripod foremast. Laid down and launched as DD-738, this ship was redesignated DM-26 prior to completion.' Independently documents the mid-construction destroyer-to-minelayer redesignation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944; photo circa 1950s
- Limitations
- Caption-level record only - documents designation history, not materials. 'Prior to completion' framing is consistent with NavSource's reclassification date (20 July 1944, between the 9 July launch and 22 September commissioning).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-03
-
[5]Robert M. Morgenthau, 'Answering the Call: Reflections of a 90-Day Wonder,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 136/5/1,287 (May 2010) - first-person memoir of service as this hull's executive officer [other_primary]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings May 2010, memoir text (photo caption identifies him as XO aboard DM-26)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific wartime memoir: Robert M. Morgenthau (later U.S. Attorney, SDNY, and Manhattan District Attorney) served as executive officer of USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26) after the sinking of USS Lansdale (DD-426). He recounts the 6 April 1945 aerial torpedo hit 'through the bow' on the northern picket station nearest Japan and steward's-mate gun crews holding their 20-mm mounts when a kamikaze exploded above the forward stack; he states the ship was credited with destroying 17 kamikaze planes and that ship and crew received the Presidential Unit Citation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (events); 2010 (publication)
- Population
- Wartime officers and crew of DM-26
- Limitations
- Participant memoir published 65 years after events - combat-history detail, no asbestos or materials information. The '17 kamikaze planes' credited count exceeds the DANFS narrative's named engagements (memoir vs. official-record reconciliation not attempted; PUC itself is DANFS-confirmed).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-04
-
[6]Destroyer History Foundation, Mine Squadron 3 page (twelve 2,200-tonners converted during construction as Robert H. Smith-class light minelayers; MinDiv 7 = DM-23/-24/-25/-26) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bath Iron Works record (yard-level tier 2; 1942 Drinker industrial-hygiene study) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/sumner-gearingclass/minron3/ (cohort + PUC/NUC roster); shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (ev-bath-iron-works-02, Drinker 1942 study, PMID 21016030)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: this hull is one of twelve Sumner-class hulls converted during construction to Robert H. Smith-class light minelayers (Mine Squadron 3; Harry F. Bauer in Mine Division 7) - the DM conversions omitted the torpedo battery for mine rails but carried the identical four-boiler Babcock & Wilcox / GE geared-turbine plant, which in a 1944 build would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including a 1942-era industrial-hygiene study (Dr. Philip Drinker, Harvard) finding 'fairly serious dust risk' at about 10x the safe threshold in pipe-covering shops, and yard-documented products including Kaylo pipe covering, asbestos felt, and loose packing. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1956
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1944; crew 1944-1956
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no source located names materials aboard this specific hull. The Drinker study is yard-level (1942, pipe-covering shops) and predates this hull's construction; it does not establish what was installed aboard DD-738/DM-26. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-05
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[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos-insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - this hull's entire construction (1944) and active service (1944-1956) fall inside the documented asbestos-use era, and its reserve lay-up (1956-1971) and sale (1974) predate any documented Navy substitution. The ship received no FRAM-type modernization, so no mid-life insulation-disturbance event is documented either.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only - the report documents Navy-wide conditions, not this hull; full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via fleet helper, 2026-09-27: q='"Harry F. Bauer"' type=o (0); q='"Harry F. Bauer" asbestos' type=o (0); q='"Harry F. Bauer"' type=r (1 docket - collision); q='"DD-738"' type=o (0) and type=r (0); q='"DM-26"' type=o (9 - all collisions); q='"DM-26"' type=r (67 - all reviewed, all collisions); q='"USS Bauer"' type=o (0); q='"MMD-26" OR "USS Harry F. Bauer"' type=r (17 - all collisions). Raw results saved: cl-hfb-docket.json, cl-dd738-opinion.json, cl-dd738-docket.json, cl-dm26-opinion.json, cl-dm26-docket.json + p2/p3/p4, cl-uss-bauer-opinion.json, cl-mmd26-uss.json [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-06 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in CourtListener's indexes. Exact-name sweep: 'Harry F. Bauer' opinions = 0 hits; 'Harry F. Bauer' + asbestos = 0; 'Harry F. Bauer' dockets = 1 hit resolved to a collision - 'Harry F Bauer' is a named individual (attorney/adversary defendant) in In re Liberty State Benefits of Delaware Inc., Bankr. D. Del. 11-12404 (2011-2018), a fraudulent-conveyance/malpractice matter, not the ship. Hull-number sweeps: 'DD-738' = 0 opinions, 0 dockets. 'DM-26' opinions = 9 hits, all collisions: five Texas Attorney General letter opinions (DM-26 is the AG opinion-number series - e.g., Opinion DM-26 of 1991; companion hits cross-cite it), two U.S. Customs Court reappraisements (Aut Customs Brokers 1963; F. W. Woolworth 1960 - tariff/catalog strings), a Court of Claims contract case (Max Jordan Bauunternehmung 1986 - exhibit token), and a Texas state appeal (TX HHSC v. Puglisi 2015 - form token). 'DM-26' dockets = 67 hits reviewed across all four pages - every hit is a 'dm-00026' docket-number fragment or an exhibit/document label (Intel antitrust MDL 'DM 26' letters, Katrina exhibit lists, bankruptcy/criminal filings) in non-asbestos, non-vessel litigation. 'USS Bauer' opinions = 0. 'MMD-26' OR 'USS Harry F. Bauer' dockets = 17 hits, all exhibit/docket-token collisions in unrelated civil matters (insurance, copyright, forfeiture).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage limits: opinion and RECAP docket indexes do not comprehensively cover pre-electronic-filing state trial-court records, settled MDL-875 claimant submissions, or unindexed filings; absence of a hit does not prove no litigation naming this hull exists anywhere. 'DM-26' and 'MMD-26' are high-collision tokens resolved by reading captions and document descriptions rather than full texts. USS Bauer (DE-1025, named for Lt. Col. Harold W. Bauer USMC) is a distinct hull; its absence from 'USS Bauer' opinion hits covers both ships.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-07
-
[9]NARA RG 38 WWII War Diaries (DM-26 unit diaries; Fold3-digitized under subscription) + RG 24 deck logs + RG 19 Bureau of Ships General Information Books (per-hull material specifications); NARA catalog public search returned no open digital records for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 38 (war diaries, Fold3/NARA); RG 24 (deck logs); RG 19 (GIB) - catalog.archives.gov public search empty 2026-09-27
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: NARA RG 38 WWII War Diaries include destroyer-minelayer unit diaries covering DM-26's 1944-45 operations (Destroyer History Foundation cites squadron/division war diaries for MinRon 3; Fold3 hosts the RG 38 series behind subscription); RG 24 deck logs cover 1944-1956; the RG 19 General Information Book for the DD-692-class series may carry the material/insulation specification applied at completion as DM-26. None were retrieved.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Leads only - existence inferred from the record series' documented coverage, not from hull-level catalog entries. No claim about contents; the GIB would be the authoritative source for hull-level material specs if retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-08
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[10]Batch-3711 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription + mirrors; NavSource registry; NHHC photo catalog; USNI memoir; Destroyer History Foundation MinRon 3; GAO product page; CourtListener sweeps; NARA public catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1974 with no museum or reserve-fleet afterlife to generate modern exposure documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-consistent materials likely remained largely undisturbed through the ship's unmodernized service life, but no located source establishes asbestos content of this specific hull. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harry-f-bauer-dd738-09