Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 978-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hingham-pf30-pkt-978-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Hingham (PF-30), Vol. III p. 333 (live NHHC page, verified via firecrawl 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specification block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'A city in Massachusetts.' Hingham (PF-30), originally designated PG-138, launched under Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc. 27 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Katherine F. Harrington; commissioned 3 November 1944 after outfitting at Plaquemine, La.; first commanding officer Lt. Comdr. W. K. Earle, USCG. Following shakedown training out of Bermuda, finished conversion to a weather ship at Boston and after escorting a merchant ship from Argentia to Boston reported 3 January 1945 to the North Atlantic Weather Patrol; weather patrol in the North Atlantic through winter; remained on station after the close of the war, returning to Boston 4 May 1946; sailed to Charleston, decommissioned 5 June 1946; sold 15 August 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa., and scrapped. Spec block: dp. 1,430; l. 303'11"; b. 37'6"; dr. 13'8"; s. 20 k.; cpl. 190; a. 3 3", 2 dct, 1 dep. (h.h.), 8 dcp.; cl. Tacoma.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades, Superior WI 1943; U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-46 (design complement 190)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Spec block gives the class design figures - complement 190 conflicts with NavSource's 176 and armament 3x3" conflicts with NavSource's 2x3"/50 fitted-out listing (explained by the USCG weather-ship armament note - see ev-03); both carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Frigate Photo Archive, 'Hingham (PF 30)' ex-PG-138 page (timeline, specifications, commanding officers) - verified live 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 12/08030 - timeline block, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: authorized as patrol gunboat PG-138; reclassified patrol frigate PF-30, 15 April 1943; laid down 25 July 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract at Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin; launched 27 August 1943; commissioned USS Hingham (PF-30) 3 November 1944 at New Orleans, LA; decommissioned 5 June 1946 at Charleston, SC; sold for scrap 15 August 1947 to Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Chester, PA. Specifications: 1,430 t, 303'11" oa, 37'6" beam, 13'8" draft, 20.3 kts, complement 176; armament two 3"/50 dual-purpose mounts, two twin 40mm, nine 20mm, one Hedgehog, eight Y-gun depth charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500-ihp J. Hendy Iron Works steam engines, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Zebra-Tare-Victor. COs: LCDR William Kehr Earle, USCG (3 Nov 1944); LCDR Hugh V. Hopkins, USCG (4 Jul 1945 - 5 Jun 1946). No photograph of the hull is on file.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is the standard non-government photographic/reference archive for this class - reliable for dates and spec lineage but not an official record; contains no materials or asbestos information. Complement 176 conflicts with the DANFS/USCG figure of 190 (carried in gaps); armament listing reflects the weather-ship fit (see ev-03 note on the landed after 3-inch gun).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office asset page, 'USS Hingham, PF-30' (24 March 2021; cites The Coast Guard At War Vol. V, Conway's 1922-1946 pp. 148-149, DANFS Vol. III p. 333) - verified live 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian asset page 2549063 - specifications block + history + armament note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG Historian's Office record for this hull, reflecting her Coast Guard-manned service: builder Walter Butler Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin; length 303'11"; beam 37'6"; draft 12'8" fl; displacement 2,230 tons; propulsion '2-shaft VTE, 3 boilers'; range 9,500 nm at 12 knots; top speed 20 knots; complement 190; armament 3 x 3"/50, 2 x 40mm (2x2), 9 x 20mm, 1 Hedgehog, 8 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge racks - with the class-wide note 'For those frigates fitted out for weather patrol duty, the after 3-inch gun was removed and a weather balloon hanger was added aft.' Service narrative matches DANFS verbatim (conversion at Boston; North Atlantic Weather Patrol from 3 January 1945; Boston return 4 May 1946; Charleston decommissioning 5 June 1946; sale to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 15 August 1947, scrapped).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Official service record; contains no materials or asbestos information. Displacement 2,230 t is the full-load figure against DANFS/NavSource's 1,430 t standard; draft 12'8" conflicts with the 13'8" carried by DANFS/NavSource; boiler count 3 conflicts with NavSource's two 3-drum express boilers - all carried in gaps. 'Hanger' is the source's spelling.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships record, USS Hingham (PF-30), Frigate of the Tacoma class; companion commander record, Lcmdr William K Earle USCGR (uboat.net/allies/commanders/4774.html) - verified live 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 2251 + commanders page 4774
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Specialist secondary database record for this hull: built by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co. (Superior, Wisconsin); ordered 8 December 1942; laid down 25 July 1943; launched 27 August 1943; commissioned 3 November 1944; end service 5 June 1946 ('Decommissioned 5 June 1946. Stricken at an unknown date. Sold 15 August 1947 to be broken up for scrap.'). Commander record confirms Earle's tenure 3 November 1944 - 5 July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary reference, not an official record; used to corroborate the order date and CO tenure only. 'Stricken at an unknown date' confirms the strike date is undocumented in consulted sources (carried in gaps). Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-04
-
[6]ShipbuildingHistory.com (T. Colton), 'Walter Butler Shipbuilders - Superior WI' yard production list - secondary reference, not an official record (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Butler Superior yard table, row for yard hull 27 / PF-30
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary yard-production list naming this hull: Butler Superior yard hull 27 = PF-30 Hingham, Maritime Commission hull 1441, WSA frigate contract, commissioned 3 November 1944; carried as 'weather ship 1944, scrapped 1947.' Yard-list neighbors Emporia (PF-28, MC 1439), Grand Rapids (PF-31, MC 1442), and Woonsocket (PF-32, MC 1443) carry the same 'weather ship 1944' notation - a cluster of Butler-built frigates converted to weather ships.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler Shipbuilders workforce, Superior WI
- Limitations
- Secondary reference - yard hull 27 and MC hull 1441 are consistent with the class build sequence but are not corroborated by an official source. No materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-05
-
[7]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,' Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, 1997 (The U.S. Navy in the Modern World series, no. 4; ISBN 0-945274-35-1) - official U.S. Navy historical study based on NARA record groups and Soviet archives (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Russell, Project Hula (NHC 1997): pp. 22-23 (30 committed, 28 turned over, 27 returned), appendix pp. 39-40 (PF/EK transfer table)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy study of the PF-program foreign transfer set: 'the Navy to commit 30 frigates to Project HULA for delivery to the Soviet Pacific Fleet in the summer of 1945. Of the 28 turned over, the Soviet navy received 12 of the most reliable ships (those frigates built by Kaiser) and 7 of the least reliable' (pp. 22-23; appendix pp. 39-40 lists the 28 PF transfers by EK designation). Hingham (PF-30) does not appear in the transfer appendix - consistent with her documented continuous U.S. service on weather patrol through May 1946 - and her CONUS scrapping disposition stands apart from the Hula ships' Soviet/Korean/Japanese careers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- 28 transferred PF frigates and their crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level record; does not name this hull. The non-transfer finding rests on her absence from Russell's appendix combined with DANFS's documented continuous U.S. service - an inference from two corroborating records, not a direct statement. Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Tacoma class, steam plant); NavSource specifications (two 3-drum express boilers, two J. Hendy vertical triple-expansion engines, two shafts); USCG Historian specifications (2-shaft VTE, 3 boilers); shipyards.json (builder not listed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications block; USCG Historian specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Maritime Commission type T. S2-S2-AQ1 patrol frigate built 1943-44 with a reciprocating steam plant (3-drum express boilers; two 5,500-ihp vertical triple-expansion engines) would have carried period-standard asbestos applications typical of steam warships of the period - boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging between machinery spaces, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and electrical insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Walter Butler construction trades 1943-44; U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - none of the cited sources names asbestos, and no ship-specific survey, manifest, or specification for this hull was located. Does not establish quantities, specific products, or present-day presence; the hull was scrapped in 1947-48.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-07
-
[9]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page (gao.gov blocks automated full-text fetch, HTTP 403 - standing limitation carried from Batch 01) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 - spanning this hull's entire construction (1943-44), U.S. service era (1944-46), and 1947 scrapping window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- through early 1970s (policy period)
- Population
- Navy ships and shipyard workers, program-wide
- Limitations
- Program-level record - does not name this hull or this class; establishes the era policy environment, not ship-specific conditions. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov 403 to automated fetches); description taken from the product page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-08
-
[10]Sandy v. Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., 221 Minn. 215, 21 N.W.2d 612 (Minn. 1946) - Supreme Court of Minnesota, decided 1 February 1946, Olson J., CourtListener opinion 3534323 (verified live 2026-10-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- 221 Minn. 215; complaint recitals and holding; appeal from District Court, St. Louis County
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A machinist employed at Walter Butler Shipbuilders' Riverside plant in Duluth, Minnesota (August 1943 - 24 December 1944) alleged that spun-glass insulation dust, applied by other employees to Maritime Commission ships under construction, covered his body and clothing and caused occupational dermatitis; he sued in tort. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the order overruling the demurrer: the claim lay within the state's occupational-disease work-compensation provisions (L. 1943, c. 633, s. 3(n)) as the exclusive remedy. The opinion documents loose fibrous-insulation application inside MC hulls at this builder's Duluth plant in a period overlapping this hull's construction at the company's Superior, Wisconsin yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Walter Butler Duluth Riverside construction trades (1943-44 window)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage procedural ruling (demurrer), not an exposure finding - the merits were never adjudicated. The fiber was 'spun glass insulation,' not asbestos; the workplace was the Duluth Riverside plant, not the Superior yard where this hull was built; no vessel is named. Documents insulation-dust exposure conditions at the builder company generally - context, not hull evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-09
-
[11]NARA catalog file units, RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (USS HINGHAM): 'USS HINGHAM - War History' (NAID 77654382, 1 image online); 'USS HINGHAM - War Diary, 1/1-31/45' (NAID 139859896); 'USS Hingham - War Diary, 3/1-31/45' (NAID 633434968, 4 images online) - verified live 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov id/77654382, id/139859896, id/633434968 - RG 38, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific operational records for this hull are digitized in the National Archives Catalog: a war-history file unit and monthly war diaries covering the North Atlantic Weather Patrol period (January 1945, March 1945 located in this pass; additional 1945-46 diaries for the hull exist in the search result set). These are the lead primary records for the Boston weather-ship conversion and weather-patrol operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Lead only - the records' contents (including any material or conversion-work specifications bearing on insulation) are unexamined. The catalog query returned 71 file units for 'USS HINGHAM'; the unit list here is not exhaustive.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-10
-
[12]Batch-8434 search ledger (this record): live DANFS; USCG Historian's Office; NavSource; ShipbuildingHistory yard list; uboat.net; NVR; NARA; MARAD; CourtListener (intermittently pace-blocked); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hingham-pf30-01 through sl-uss-hingham-pf30-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Hingham (PF-30/PG-138) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: the exact-name opinion base query returned zero hits and the hull-number opinion base query returned four hits, all name collisions ('PF 30' as proposed-finding/exhibit citation shorthand); the two docket-index base queries remained pace-blocked at record-drafting time - logged as blocked, not as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-44 steam warship of this type is era-consistent with asbestos applications (see ev-07). Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The incomplete docket-index sweep means litigation naming this hull may exist outside the searched sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hingham-pf30-11