USS Hill (DE-141)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet if-packet.md (8 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Hill; hull DE-141; type: Edsall-class destroyer escort — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hill (page incorporates the public-domain DANFS entry; "Edsall-class destroyer escort")

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-hill-de141-pkt-if-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Hill (DE-141) - verbatim NHHC page via Wayback capture 2021-04-18 (live history.navy.mil page serves 404); spec block: dp. 1,200; l. 306'; b. 36'7"; dr. 8'7"; sp. 21 k.; cpl. 186; cl. Edsall [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Wayback capture 20210418131231 of history.navy.mil DANFS page danfs/h/hill.html - spec block + narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: launched 28 February 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. Edward Hill, widow of Chief Boatswain Hill; commissioned there 16 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. G. R. Keating in command. Shakedown out of Bermuda; torpedo-explosive testing and New England training; convoy escort Hampton Roads to Casablanca via Ponta Delgada (departed 5 December 1943, returned 18 January 1944); four further transatlantic voyages to North Africa, the fourth including antisubmarine patrol at Bahia, Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa; Caribbean operations February-March 1945; Argentia, Newfoundland, 3 April 1945 as convoy screen and plane guard for escort carrier Mission Bay; repairs at New York; sailed for the Caribbean 2 July 1945 and two weeks later for the Pacific via the Canal Zone; word of Japanese capitulation en route to Hawaii; reached Green Cove Springs, Fla., via San Pedro, the Panama Canal, and Charleston 27 October 1945; decommissioned in reserve there 7 June 1946. Namesake: Chief Boatswain Hill (DANFS renders 'Edward Hill'), Medal of Honor for Pearl Harbor.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Consolidated Steel construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (DANFS spec complement 186)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry text predates disposal - strike (1972) and sale (1973-74) are not covered; see ev-02. DANFS renders the namesake 'Edward Hill'; Medal of Honor records read Edwin Joseph Hill - flagged in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture of the NHHC page cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-01

3. [3]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Hill (DE-141) - building and operational data compiled from NVR/NHHC/NARA records; Edsall-class spec block (FMR geared-diesel type) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/06/141.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' block and photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource building/disposal chronology for this hull: keel laid 21 December 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 28 February 1943; commissioned 16 August 1943 (Lcdr. G. R. Keating); decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 7 June 1946 after 2 years 10 months service; struck from the NVR 1 October 1972; sold for scrapping 13 December 1973 to the Southern Scrap Materials Co., New Orleans, La. Photo captions document a New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) overhaul in March 1945 prior to Pacific assignment (NARA photo numbers 19-N-80588 and 19-N-80589, 22 March 1945; aerial views 30 March 1945).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1974

   Population

   Scrapping-yard workers, Southern Scrap Materials Co., New Orleans, 1973-74

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer archive compiling official sources (NVR, NHHC, NARA) - secondary compilation, not itself a government record. Sale date conflicts with secondary sources reading 18 January 1974 (Wikipedia, uboat.net, NavalCoverMuseum) - flagged in gaps rather than reconciled. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-02

4. [4]NHHC photograph L45-125.01.02 (USS Hill DE-141 off New York City, 22 March 1945, Camouflage Measure 32 Design 3D) + NARA photos 19-N-80588 / 19-N-80589 (New York Navy Yard, 22 March 1945) - archival records of the March 1945 New York Navy Yard overhaul [other_primary]

   Locator

   NHHC digital ID L45-125.01.02 (via Wikimedia Commons metadata); NARA 19-N-80588/80589 cited in NavSource captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official photographic record confirms a March 1945 yard period for this hull: NHHC photo L45-125.01.02 shows Hill off New York City 22 March 1945 in Measure 32/3D camouflage, repainted Measure 22 days later for Pacific service; NARA 19-N-80588/80589 (New York Navy Yard, 22 March 1945) and 30 March 1945 aerials taken from New York NAS Floyd Bennett Field aircraft corroborate the Brooklyn Navy Yard overhaul documented in DANFS as 'repairs at New York.' NARA RG 19/80-G photo files and RG 24 deck logs are the archival leads for yard work-package detail.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945-03

   Population

   New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) trades, March 1945; ship's crew

   Limitations

   Photographs confirm the yard period's date and location, not its scope or materials; no work-package, insulation, or hazmat content. NARA retrieval not performed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-03

5. [5]NHHC Online Library (HyperWar transcription), 'US People - Hill, Edwin Joseph': photo NH 49196 + Medal of Honor citation text as printed in 'Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy,' p.206 [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/ej-hill.htm

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official MoH record for the namesake: Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill, USN, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) during the 7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack - led line-handling details to the quays, cast off lines, swam back to the ship, and was killed by bomb explosion while attempting to let go the anchors on the forecastle. 'The escort ship USS Hill (DE-141), 1943-1974, was named in honor of Chief Boatswain Hill.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1941

   Limitations

   Biographical/namesake documentation only - no materials or asbestos content. Confirms the correct namesake reading (Edwin Joseph) against DANFS's 'Edward Hill' rendering.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-04

6. [6]NavSource Edsall-class spec block for DE-141 (Type FMR: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kts) + HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy' Edsall-class entry ('geared-diesel engines, Fairbanks Morse reverse gear drive') [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net DE-141 spec block (propulsion line); ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/DE/DE-141_Hill.html

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference narrowed by plant type: DE-141 is a diesel ship - four Fairbanks-Morse geared diesels with diesel-generators, no boilers or steam system - so the boiler/steam-lagging categories that dominate steam-ship asbestos profiles do not apply. Era inference is limited to engine/exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake/clutch linings, and deck coverings aboard a 1942-43 Gulf Coast-built warship. Builder Consolidated Steel Corp. (Orange, Tex.) is an asbestos-era private yard - not in the Atlas yard dataset.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Consolidated Steel construction trades 1942-43; engine-room crew 1943-46

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no ship-specific asbestos finding exists for this hull; this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. The diesel plant narrows rather than eliminates inferred categories.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-05

7. [7]Florida DEP site-history document for former NAS Green Cove Springs / Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet (quoting NARA-CP RG 72 Inactive Ship Facility correspondence): fleet administered by Commander Florida Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet under Sixth Naval District; up to ~600 vessels berthed; ~175 recommissioned for Korea; Florida Group disestablishment target 30 June 1962 [other_primary]

   Locator

   prodenv.dep.state.fl.us DepStaging dms/8.249447.1, site-history section (footnotes 14, 17-18, 22-24 citing NARA-CP RG 72)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official environmental-agency site history documents the reserve-fleet environment where this hull lay in reserve 1946 onward: the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs (St. Johns River) berthed as many as ~600 mothballed vessels, recommissioned over 175 for Korea, and was targeted for disestablishment 30 June 1962 (per NARA RG 72 correspondence cited in the report). The mothballing process described - sealing guns in plastic, dehumidifiers, chipping old paint and repainting with sealant - is documented at fleet level only.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1946-1962

   Population

   Reserve-fleet maintenance workers, Green Cove Springs, 1946-1962

   Limitations

   Fleet-level context, not hull-level: the document does not name DE-141 or any individual vessel, addresses the site rather than shipboard materials, and contains no asbestos finding. Hill's post-1962 berthing after the Green Cove Springs closure is not documented in sources searched - flagged in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-06

8. [8]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 9828426 (1998-09-23), Docket 94-15 783 - asbestos service-connection claim by a Consolidated Steel (Orange, Tex.) boilermaker-department driller, 1942-44, who then served aboard Navy vessels 1944-46 [court_record]

   Locator

   va.gov vetapp98/files3/9828426.txt - Findings of Fact 1-2 and Reasons and Bases (boilermaker department, hull-drilling duties)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Official VA adjudication touching this hull's builder yard and era: the claimant drilled, reamed, and countersunk steel hull plates at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 1942-44 (the yard and window that built DE-141), then served 1944-46 aboard Navy vessels he named as Prince William and AN-37 Teakwood - not Hill. The Board found he was NOT exposed to asbestos at the yard (exterior-hull drilling in an area where asbestos was not used) but WAS exposed aboard Navy vessels (asbestos-coated piping; sleeping bunks beneath pipes), and granted service connection for asbestos-related lung disease while denying asbestosis.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1946 (exposure window); 1993-1998 (adjudication)

   Population

   Consolidated Steel Orange boilermaker-shop worker 1942-44; Navy gunner's mate 1944-46

   Limitations

   Per-claimant merits finding, not a yard-wide determination: the decision names neither DE-141 nor any asbestos finding about this hull, and does not establish that yard workers generally were or were not exposed - exposure was adjudicated duty-by-duty. Builder-yard context only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-07

9. [9]CourtListener authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py): "USS Hill" type=o (0) and type=r (0); "DE-141" type=o (57, all collisions) and type=r (891, all collisions) [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener API v4 search type=o and type=r, queries "USS Hill" and "DE-141", 2026-09-28

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying litigation located. Authenticated CourtListener API v4 searches (2026-09-28): "USS Hill" returned zero opinions and zero dockets - no case names this hull under its exact name. "DE-141" returned 57 opinions and 891 dockets, ALL identifier-string collisions - the hits are docket-entry citations ('DE 141', 'DE#141' = docket entry 141) and form/code strings inside unrelated matters (prisoner civil-rights, immigration, consumer and employment cases); no snippet mentions a vessel, the Navy, or asbestos. No asbestos case names this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28

   Limitations

   Negative litigation finding only - absence of docketed litigation does not establish absence of exposure or asbestos aboard; it records that no public court record in CourtListener links this hull to asbestos claims. The 57+891 hull-number hits were classified at index/snippet level as the uniform docket-entry-citation pattern (same collision class documented for 'DE-238' in the Stewart record); no vessel reference appears in any returned snippet.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hill-de141-08