Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet fy-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-pkt-fy-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663) (NHHC, published 2015-07-16; live page 404, cited via Wayback capture 2025-02-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture 2025-02-01)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched by Boston Navy Yard 6 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Louise S. Edwards (mother of the namesake); commissioned 26 January 1944, Comdr. J. W. Boulware in command. Specifications block: dp. 2,700; l. 376'6"; b. 39'8"; dr. 13'; s. 35 k.; cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt.; cl. Fletcher. Pacific service narrative: Saipan (15 June 1944, fire support 21 June-2 July, whaleboat rescue of 44 soldiers 7 July), Tinian bombardment with Montpelier; Peleliu (UDT close support 13 September, assault fire support 15 September, destroyed a 14-barge reinforcement column ~650 troops night of 23 September); Leyte pre-invasion bombardment 18-20 October; Battle of Surigao Strait 25 October (headed Section 3 of DesRon 56 with Leutze and Bennion; night torpedo attack claiming two hits on battleship Yamashiro); Lingayen Gulf January 1945 (downed two suicide aircraft 6 January); Iwo Jima 19-27 February; Okinawa March-July 1945 (suppressed batteries firing on grounded USS Longshaw 18 May; fire support and radar picket to 28 July); covered Ominato occupation 6 September 1945; arrived Seattle 10 November; decommissioned 1 July 1946 into the Long Beach Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; loaned to Japan under the Military Assistance Program in 1959 as Ariake (DD-183). Seven battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS cpl. 319)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not state a laid-down date (1943-07-04 rests on NavSource/secondary compilations) and predates the 1974 strike and 1976 scrapping - the entry text ends with 'where she serves as Ariake (DD-183).' Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing NHHC link rot); verbatim text cited via Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-663 USS Heywood L. Edwards (operational and building data block; full Navy Unit Commendation text) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-663 page, 'As Built' technical block + 'Operational and Building Data' + NUC citation text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/operational record for this hull: laid down by Boston Navy Yard 4 July 1943; launched 6 October 1943; commissioned 26 January 1944; decommissioned 1 July 1946; stricken 18 March 1974; to Japan 10 March 1959 renamed Ariake (JMSDF stricken 1974); broken up for scrap in 1976. Technical block: Fletcher class as built; 2,924 tons full; 376'5" x 39'7" x 13'9"; machinery 60,000 shp, Allis-Chalmers turbines, 2 screws; 38 knots; range 6,500 nm at 15 kt; crew 273. Carries the full SecNav Navy Unit Commendation citation (signed John L. Sullivan): 128 days on fire support and radar picket stations and 350 bombardment missions during the Okinawa assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1976
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is a recognized non-government photographic archive; its figures derive from official records but the page is a secondary compilation. Documents construction dates, machinery, strike/transfer/fate, and awards - not asbestos content. Machinery figure (Allis-Chalmers) and crew (273) differ from the Fletcher class-design value (GE turbines, cpl. 319 in DANFS); carried as stated with the variance noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-02
-
[4]Navypedia, ARIAKE destroyers (1944/1959) class page; Destroyer History Foundation ship page (destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/ussheywoodledwards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia jap_dd_ariake.htm member table + project history; destroyerhistory.org Fletcher-class ship page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-USN (JMSDF) record for this hull: handed over with sister USS Richard P. Leary (DD-664) to Japan at Long Beach 10 March 1959 under the Japan-U.S. Ship Loan Agreement; towed to Yokosuka (arriving 16 April); self-defense ship flag ceremony 20 April 1959; commissioned as JDS Ariake (DD-183), lead ship of the two-hull Ariake class. Mothball removal and training-role conversion performed at Uraga Dock (torpedo tubes removed; 40-person trainee auditorium added; fuel-tank space partly converted to fresh water); a main-turbine blade failure on trials required parts from the U.S., delaying recommissioning to 21 April 1960. 1963 modernization (tripod mast, enlarged CIC, Weapon Alpha and Hedgehog ASW fit, OPS-1/OPS-15 radars); assigned to the Practical Experiment Corps 1970 with an experimental bow extension at Ishikawajima-Harima; deleted from the JMSDF list March 1974; scrapped 1976.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1959-1976
- Population
- JMSDF crews 1959-1974; Uraga Dock and Ishikawajima-Harima yard workers (reactivation/refit); scrapping workers 1976
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations (navypedia, destroyerhistory.org, Wikipedia citing JMSDF references) - no JMSDF primary record was located online. Documents custody, refit events, and disposition; none of the sources addresses asbestos content or material condition. The 1959-60 Uraga Dock reactivation and 1970 IHI bow work are undocumented for hazmat/ACM handling; whether era asbestos material was disturbed, removed, or retained is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 35 kt, cpl. 319) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Boston Naval Shipyard record (incl. In re John Crane, Inc., Tex. App. 2003 gasket/packing product-identification row) + NARA RG 19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer with a four-boiler, 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; builder Boston Navy Yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (evidence tier 3; a 2003 Texas appellate opinion carries a product-identification allegation of John Crane gaskets and sealing materials at the yard). NARA RG 19 '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
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46; JMSDF crews 1959-74
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The yard-level John Crane record is a litigation product-identification allegation at the yard, undated and not tied to this hull's 1943-44 construction. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this hull's 1943-44 construction, 1944-46 commissioned service, 1946-59 reserve lay-up, and 1959 JMSDF transfer entirely inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Reserve-fleet lay-up and foreign-transfer phases are not addressed by the report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, fleet-paced): "USS Heywood L. Edwards" type=o = 0; type=r = 0; "USS Heywood" type=o = 0; "Heywood Edwards" type=o = 0; "Heywood L. Edwards" type=r (unquoted) = 443 hits, reviewed top results all person-name collisions; "DD-663" type=o = 1 (Hallmark Industry v. Reynolds Metals Co., 9th Cir. 1974 - aluminum-industry appeal, name collision); "DD-663" type=r = 2 (Smartmatic USA v. Dominion Voting Systems, S.D.N.Y.; New York Times Co. v. Microsoft Corp., S.D.N.Y. - exhibit-ID collisions) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results for the query set; search_ledger rows sl-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-04/05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming this hull. Exact-name opinion and RECAP docket searches return zero hits; all 'DD-663' hits classify as identifier collisions - Hallmark Industry v. Reynolds Metals (9th Cir. 1974, aluminum-industry appeal where 'DD-663' is a non-vessel reference; snippet not returned by the index) and two dockets where 'DD-663' appears in exhibit numbering (Smartmatic v. Dominion; NYT v. Microsoft).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Negative finding bounded by indexed text: non-digitized pleadings, MDL-875 consolidated dockets, and state-court-only matters can name the hull without appearing in CourtListener search. Hallmark match context unverified beyond case subject matter (opinion full text not pulled - opinion fetches are outside the sanctioned search helper). Absence of located litigation is not evidence about materials aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-06
-
[8]NARA College Park holdings for this hull: HEYWOOD L EDWARDS - War Diary, 1/26/44 to 4/30/44 (NARA ID 78445516); USS HEYWOOD L EDWARDS - AA Action Reports, 6/15/44-7/6/44, off Saipan (micro serial 83249); WWII deck logs; ship-produced 1946 war diary/cruise book digitized at Bangor Public Library (digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/143) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov id/78445516; NARA College Park textual reference (via DPLA aggregation); digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/143
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-specific primary records exist at NARA College Park (war diary, AA action reports, deck logs) and a ship-published 1946 war diary is digitized via Bangor Public Library's WWII regimental-history collection - unretrieved. These are the correct repositories for any hull-level material, overhaul, or inactivation documentation; the records themselves were not reviewed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1946 records
- Limitations
- Archival pointers only - holdings indexed but contents unreviewed; nothing retrieved speaks to asbestos aboard. War diaries/deck logs record operations, not materials; hull-level material specifications would sit in NARA RG 19 General Information Books (unretrieved).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heywood-l-edwards-dd663-07