Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Hopping (DE-155), NHHC ship-history entry (live page serves 404; Wayback capture 2025-12-09; verbatim transcription of DANFS Vol. 4 (1969) p.363 at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de155.txt) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Hopping (DE-155)', specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture); hazegray mirror, DANFS Vol. 4 p.363
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched by Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., 9 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. H. L. Hopping (widow of the namesake, Lt. Comdr. Hallsted Lubeck Hopping, Commander Scouting Squadron 6 off Enterprise CV-6, killed in the 1 February 1942 raid on Roi Island); commissioned 21 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Giambattista in command. Shakedown Bermuda; Casablanca voyage (arrived 2 September 1943); nine New York-United Kingdom convoy crossings; 3 May 1944 counterattacked the U-boat that torpedoed sister Donnell (DE-56) and towed her for two days to within range of British salvage ships off Ireland (Londonderry); converted to high-speed transport at Frontier Base, Staten Island, October-November 1944, reclassified APD-51; departed Norfolk 20 December 1944 via Panama and San Diego for Pearl Harbor (15 January 1945); UDT training to 13 February; Leyte Gulf 4 March; Kerama Retto 21 March with UDT Team 7 embarked; screening and patrol duty through the Okinawa campaign, assisted in splashing several planes the night of 28-29 March; 9 April engaged a concealed shore battery in Buckner Bay, silenced it, sustained damaging hits, repairs at Ulithi (arrived 23 April); returned to Okinawa 17 May until island secured; sailed 8 August for Leyte; occupation duty evacuating former POWs (arrived Japan 11 September; disembarked over 100 former Navy and Marine prisoners at Guam 19 September); departed Tokyo Bay 24 November 1945 with returnees; arrived San Diego 11 December; Charleston and Norfolk; Green Cove Springs 27 April 1946; decommissioned 5 May 1947; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas group; struck from the Navy List September 1964; sold 15 August 1966 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md. One battle star for World War II service. Spec block: 1,400 t; 306 ft; 36 ft 10 in beam; 9 ft 5 in draft; 24 kt; complement 186; class Buckley.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1966
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crew (DE design complement 186); Frontier Base conversion workforce Oct-Nov 1944; embarked UDT-7 and troops 1945; Boston Metals scrapping workforce 1966
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, dates, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; canonical page verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 (published 2016-04-06). The hazegray printed transcription misprints the post-conversion Norfolk departure as '20 March 1944'; the canonical NHHC text reads 20 December 1944 (internally consistent with the October-November conversion and 15 January 1945 Pearl Harbor arrival) and is the date carried. DANFS prints no laid-down date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, Amphibious Photo Archive: USS Hopping (APD-51) ex USS Hopping (DE-155) - build/conversion data, APD specifications block, awards, commanding officer list; plus Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-155 building/operational data (navsource.org/archives/06/155.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/10/04/04051.htm (APD chronology + spec block + CO table) and navsource.org/archives/06/155.htm (DE photo index building/operational data)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull corroborating DANFS and adding detail: DE index reads keel laid 15 December 1942 by Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va.; launched and christened 10 March 1943 (sponsor Mrs. H. L. Hopping); commissioned 21 May 1943 at Berth 105, St. Helena Annex of the Norfolk Navy Yard, Berkley, Va.; reclassified APD-51 7 September 1944, converted at Frontier Base, Staten Island, N.Y.; decommissioned 5 May 1947 at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; struck from the NVR 1 September 1964; sold for scrapping 15 August 1966 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md. The APD archive page reads laid down 11 December 1942, launched 9 March 1943, converted October-November 1944, 'Redesignated (APD-51) in November 1944'; assignment TransDiv 105 (Capt. J. M. Kennaday); campaign credit Okinawa Gunto operation 26 March-30 June 1945; occupation service 2 September-25 November 1945; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange, TX. APD spec block: displacement 1,400 lt / 2,130 fl; 306 ft ovl; 37 ft beam; 12 ft 7 in draft; 23.6 kt trial; range 6,000 nm at 12 kt; complement 12 officers / 192 enlisted plus troop accommodations 12 officers / 150 enlisted; four LCVP; armament one 5"/38 DP, three twin 40 mm, six single 20 mm, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two Combustion Engineering 'D' Express boilers 435 psi/750 F, two GE turbines (turbo-electric drive), two propellers, 12,000 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1966
- Population
- Post-conversion crew (~204) plus embarked troops (to ~162) and UDT-7 detachment; Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretakers 1947-1964
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled secondary archive used for corroboration and spec detail, not an official record; its two pages conflict with each other and with DANFS on the laid-down date (11 vs 15 December 1942), launch date (9 vs 10 March 1943), and APD designation month (7 September vs November 1944) - DANFS values carried where available, conflicts logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-02
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[3]East Carolina University, J. Y. Joyner Library, Manuscript Collection #564-010 finding aid: 'Destroyer Escort Commanding Officers Collection: USS Hopping (DE-155) Records' (1943-1946) [other_primary]
- Locator
- digital.lib.ecu.edu finding aid 0564-010 - biographical/historical note, scope-and-content note, container list (Box 1 folders a-d)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- ECU holds this hull's own contemporaneous records: a typescript war diary (1 December 1943-30 June 1944, by commanding officer Louis F. Loutrel Jr.), a handwritten war diary (8 May 1944-30 April 1946, attributed to W. J. McNulty), action reports covering the 3 May 1944 Donnell torpedoing and Hopping's U-boat counterattack and 6-9 May 1944 depth-charge actions (including Reeves DE-156 reports on Donnell's wounded and tow), the commissioning program, drawings of the escort and two converted high-speed transports, and a ports-of-call list. The finding aid notes diary entries for the high-speed-transport conversion (7 October-18 November 1944, p. 73), kamikaze attacks at Okinawa (6 April, 17 May, 2 June 1945), the 9 April 1945 shore-battery damage, POW transport (15-19 September 1945), and the pre-inactivation overhaul (1 January-30 April 1946, pp. 145-148).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's crew 1943-1946 (diary coverage window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the collection was identified from its finding aid and not reviewed; war diaries and action reports document operations, not materials or asbestos content. The conversion-window entries (7 Oct-18 Nov 1944) are the closest contemporaneous source for the scope of yard work aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-03
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[4]NARA Special List 44 - Named Vessels (vessel logbooks inventory): entry 'Hopping (DE-155)', coverage 5/21/1943-6/30/1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Special List 44, 'Hopping (DE-155)' row (alphabetical H entries)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's published vessel-logbook inventory lists deck logs for 'Hopping (DE-155)' spanning 21 May 1943 (commissioning) to 30 June 1945 - the ship's contemporaneous operational record covering the DE period, the APD conversion, and the Okinawa campaign. Deck logs are a primary-source lead for exact yard periods, locations, and underway time; they do not record materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Ship's crew 1943-1945 (log coverage window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - logs not retrieved or reviewed; they document operations, not asbestos content. 1943-45 deck logs predate the VA/NARA Vietnam-era digitization program and are not in the online catalog.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-04
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[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table pp. 234-235 (shipscribe.com scan) + navypedia 'Buckley (TE) class destroyer escorts' boiler-block map + Atlas class profile buckley-class.class.json (background); builder Norfolk Navy Yard resolves to shipyards.json yard_id 'norfolk-naval-shipyard' [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table; navypedia us_de_te.htm block map; navsource.net APD-51 spec block; shipyards.json (yard slug check)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Buckley-class (BuShips design groups 2-3, TE turbo-electric) destroyer escort built December 1942-May 1943 carried two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750 F superheat feeding GE turbine-generators and electric motors (12,000 shp, two shafts); NavSource's APD-51 spec block and the navypedia block map both attribute Combustion Engineering boilers to this hull (DE-155 block) - unverified against contract documents. A 1943 steam-plant escort of this design would have carried period-standard asbestos in boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line lagging between fireroom and engineroom, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and winch/windlass brake linings. The documented October-November 1944 Frontier Base conversion to APD-51 (troop berthing/messing added, four LCVP davits, armament rearranged) is the kind of yard period that disturbs insulation; its scope on this hull is undocumented. Builder Norfolk Navy Yard is a dataset yard (norfolk-naval-shipyard); Frontier Base (Tompkinsville, Staten Island) and scrapper Boston Metals Co. (Baltimore) are not dataset entries.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1942-1966
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; Frontier Base conversion workforce 1944; wartime and postwar crew; Boston Metals scrapping workforce 1966
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder/yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No bill of material, hull survey, or conversion work package was located for this hull; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. Boiler manufacturer is secondary-sourced (NavSource + navypedia both read Combustion Engineering; consistent, but unverified against BuShips contract data).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-05
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[6]CourtListener API v4 opinion search, '"USS Hopping"' (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-25) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener type=o result sets ('USS Hopping' count=0; 'Hopping' asbestos count=19 all collisions; 'APD-51' count=0; 'DE-155' count=38 all docket-entry noise)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Opinion-index sweeps returned no vessel litigation: '"USS Hopping"' exact name = 0 hits; '"Hopping" asbestos' = 19 hits, ALL name collisions (attorney 'Paula Hopping' in In re Keene Corp.; law firm 'Fitzgerald, Walker, Conley & Hopping' in United States v. Detroit Sheet Metal; 'product hopping' pharmaceutical antitrust in In re Suboxone; remaining hits matched the asbestos term alone with no 'Hopping' present) - none reference the vessel; '"APD-51"' = 0 hits; '"DE-155"' = 38 hits, all docket-entry-number noise ('DE 155' = docket entry 155 in unrelated opinions - labor, securities, immigration dockets; no vessel or asbestos context).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- sweep run 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage complete for exact name, surname+asbestos, and both hull numbers; the type=r docket sweep was fleet-paced at drafting time - logged pending in search_ledger. A litigation absence in indexed opinions does not exclude unindexed dockets or unreported settlements.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-06
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[7]Batch-2438 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback-verified), hazegray printed-DANFS transcription, NavSource DE/APD archives, HyperWar APD spec page, NARA Special List 44, ECU finding aid, NVR probe, CourtListener sweeps, marketing-list sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hopping-apd51-01 through sl-uss-hopping-apd51-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-155/APD-51: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, disposal hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos case naming the vessel was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, in August 1966 - before the Navy's documented asbestos-control program era and before disposal hazmat documentation practices - so no abatement or disposal-phase material record is expected to exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 steam-plant hull is consistent with retained era materials through its U.S. service life. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hopping-apd51-07