Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet fo-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-howorth-dd592-pkt-fo-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Howorth (DD-592) (namesake, specifications block, service narrative, decommissioning and disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404, ibiblio mirror has no dd592 file; hazegray text via Wayback capture 2021-04-19; corroborating transcription at destroyerhistory.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake headnote + specifications block + service narrative (hazegray Wayback capture 2021-04-19; destroyerhistory.org transcription corroborates)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake William L. Howorth (b. Massachusetts 16 July 1841; acting master's mate 1863; served with Lt. William B. Cushing on the Cape Fear reconnaissance and the Albemarle expedition - captured, exchanged, promoted acting master February 1865; ensign 1868, resigned 1869). Spec block: dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'8"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 5 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct; cl. Fletcher. Launched 10 January 1943 by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash.; sponsored by Mrs. R. P. Bromley; commissioned 3 April 1944, Comdr. E. S. Burns in command. Service: shakedown; sailed 22 July 1944 screening a Marine convoy to Pearl Harbor; Seventh Fleet at Hollandia; Morotai 30 September; Solomons escort/antisubmarine duty; Leyte 22 October 1944; Ormoc landings 7 December; Mindoro operation with Nashville - third suicider damaged her mast; Lingayen Gulf 13 January-1 February 1945; Iwo Jima 19 February-14 March; Okinawa 1 April - crashed in the superstructure by a kamikaze while proceeding with cruiser St. Louis (nine men killed); repaired at Mare Island from 2 May 1945; sailed 15 July for Pearl Harbor; en route to Adak 15 August at Japan's surrender; Yokohama 17 September; departed Tokyo Bay 11 November, San Francisco 28 November; decommissioned 30 April 1946 at San Diego; remained in the Pacific Reserve Fleet until March 1962, when she was sunk in torpedo tests off San Diego. Five battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1962
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry does not state the laid-down date (carried from NavSource secondary compilation - see ev-02) or a stricken date. Transcription variance: hazegray reads 'proceeding with cruiser St. Louis to station 1 April' where the destroyerhistory transcription reads '6 April'; the Tin Can Sailors damage list dates the kamikaze hit 6 April 1945 - 6 April carried (logged in gaps). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-592 USS Howorth - operational/building data block, machinery line, photo captions, commanding-officer list (Wayback capture 2024-05-25; live page blocked automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-592 page, 'As Built' specs, 'Operational and Building Data', 'Fate' lines, photo-caption index, CO list (Wayback capture 2024-05-25)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource index data for this hull: laid down by Puget Sound Navy Yard 26 November 1941; launched 10 January 1943; commissioned 3 April 1944; decommissioned 30 April 1946; stricken 1 June 1961; fate - 'Sunk as target off San Clemente Island March 8 1962 by USS Volador (SS-490) and USS Salmon (SS-573).' Machinery line reads '60,000 SHP; Allis Chalmers Turbines, 2 screws'; crew 273; call sign NAZN. Photo captions place the hull at christening/commissioning at Puget Sound Navy Yard 3 April 1944, in Puget Sound 3 May 1944, maneuvering with USS Denver off the California coast 28 May 1944, departing Mare Island 3 July 1945 (post-repair), alongside at Mare Island 14 January 1946 (overhaul period beginning late November 1945), and in a six-image Navy sinking series dated 8 March 1962 (NPC photo nos. 1059931-1059935). Commanding officers: CDR Edward Stitt Burns (Apr 3 1944-Jun 5 1945); LCDR William Lewis Thompson (Jun 5 1945-).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1962
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard trades 1941-44; crew 1944-46; SubFlot 1 target-test personnel 1962
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary compilation indexing official records, not a primary document; its laid-down and stricken dates fill gaps left by the DANFS entry (which states neither) and are consistent with NavalCoverMuseum and the class-profile member row. One caption reads 'overhaul at the yard from 28 Nov 1946 to 17 Jan 1946' - internally impossible (17 Jan precedes 28 Nov); DANFS has the ship arriving San Francisco 28 November 1945, so the first date is a caption typo for 1945. Does not establish materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-02
-
[4]San Jose Mercury, 10 March 1962 - 'Two submarines torpedoed a destroyer...' (contemporaneous report of the 8 March 1962 sinking; text reproduced on destroyerhistory.org) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org USS Howorth 'Target' page, reproducing San Jose Mercury 10 March 1962
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press record of this hull's disposal: on 8 March 1962 the former USS Howorth was sunk in a Navy ordnance test about 20 miles off San Diego; Submarine Flotilla 1 (Capt. D. H. McClintock) fired 'two of the newest type torpedoes' from USS Volador and USS Salmon in a series probing the WWII dud-torpedo phenomenon; the first torpedo blew large holes in both sides of the hull and after the second hit the destroyer 'stood on her bow' and dove; a landing craft attached to the stern had provided power and a moving-target arrangement for the test. Confirms the hull was expended intact - no breaking or abatement phase followed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1962-03-08
- Population
- Submarine Flotilla 1 test personnel, March 1962
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous wire-service-era report: accurate on the sinking event (corroborated by the Navy photo series and NavSource) but it also claims Howorth 'was used as a guinea pig in the 1946 nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll' - a claim contradicted by the official Operation Crossroads target-vessel roster and the ship's documented 1946 whereabouts; treated as a press error and corrected in ev-04. Does not address materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-03
-
[5]NPS Submerged Cultural Resources Unit report SCRC-37, 'The Archeology of the Atomic Bomb' (Delgado), Appendix I - Operation Crossroads target-vessel disposition table; corroborated by the official JTF-1 report 'Bombs on Bikini' Appendix 9 target array (atomicarchive.com reproduction) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS SCRC-37 Appendix I (destroyer disposition table); JTF-1 'Bombs on Bikini' Appendix 9 (destroyer target task unit, atomicarchive.com reproduction); DANFS timeline (ev-01); NavSource Mare Island caption (ev-02)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the San Jose Mercury 10 March 1962 claim that the former Howorth 'was used as a guinea pig in the 1946 nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll' is contradicted by the official record. The JTF-1 report's Appendix 9 Test-Able destroyer target task unit lists 12 hulls by name (Lamson, Conyngham, Mugford, Ralph Talbot, Mayrant, Rhind, Stack, Wilson, Hughes, Anderson, Mustin, Wainwright) and the NPS SCRC-37 Appendix I disposition table of all ~95 Crossroads target vessels lists 12 destroyers including Trippe - DD-592 appears on neither roster. The DANFS timeline is independently inconsistent with Bikini: the ship returned to San Francisco 28 November 1945, was alongside at Mare Island for overhaul into mid-January 1946 (NavSource photo record), and decommissioned at San Diego 30 April 1946 - two months before Shot Able (1 July 1946) - remaining in the Pacific Reserve Fleet until sunk in 1962. Conclusion: Howorth did not participate in Operation Crossroads; the press claim is an error (plausibly conflating the 'guinea pig' torpedo-test role with a genuine Bikini target hulk).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1946 (Crossroads); 1962 (erroneous report)
- Limitations
- The correction rests on the published target roster's omission plus the ship's documented US-west-coast timeline; no Crossroads support-fleet roster was separately checked for a non-target role, but a hull decommissioned at San Diego on 30 April 1946 could not have served as a commissioned support unit in the July tests. Establishes non-participation in Crossroads; says nothing about asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 60,000-shp steam plant) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard record (DTIC AD0715808 1970 industrial-health study; peer-reviewed asbestos-exposure report PMID 1065583, study period 1962-1972; EPA Superfund site WA2170023418) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard' (evidence rows ev-01 through ev-04/09)
- 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; the builder yard (Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WA) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset, including a 1970 DTIC industrial-health study (pulmonary abnormalities in 21% of workers studied; 40-150 fibers/cm3 during insulation rip-out), a peer-reviewed report documenting amosite and chrysotile exposure during ship overhaul, rip-out, and installation work with preformed magnesia block insulation (~15% asbestos) and asbestos cements/cloth (PMID 1065583), and an EPA Superfund listing. 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
- 1941-1962
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The yard-level asbestos documentation postdates this hull's 1941-43 construction by ~20-30 years and documents yard practice, not materials aboard DD-592. NARA GIB retrieval not performed. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-05
-
[7]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page + report summary (published Oct. 18, 1979; publicly released Oct. 22, 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level era context: GAO documented that the Navy's major asbestos use aboard ships was thermal insulation, that substitution of alternative materials did not begin until the early 1970s, that the October 1975 policy was remove-and-replace only when insulation was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, and that a one-time removal program was rejected on roughly $2 billion estimated cost. Howorth was sunk as a target in 1962 - a decade before substitution began and thirteen-plus years before any removal policy existed - so no asbestos-handling program ever applied to this hull; whatever period material was aboard went down with the wreck.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); 1943-1962 (hull life)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews, program-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Program-level findings, not a survey of this hull; GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing defect since batch-01); product-page description and published summary used. Does not establish what was aboard DD-592 or its condition at sinking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches: 'USS Howorth' type=o (0 hits); 'DD-592' type=o (0 hits); 'Howorth' asbestos type=o (0 hits); 'USS Howorth' type=r docket sweep (blocked - fleet pacing across three spaced attempts) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint: q="USS Howorth" type=o (count=0); q="DD-592" type=o (count=0); q=Howorth asbestos type=o (count=0); q="USS Howorth" type=r (pacing-blocked x3)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep via authenticated API v4 (cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced), 2026-09-27: 'USS Howorth' opinion search returned 0 hits - no published opinion contains the exact phrase; 'DD-592' opinion search returned 0 hits; 'Howorth' + asbestos opinion search returned 0 hits. The 'USS Howorth' docket-level (type=r) sweep was pacing-blocked on three spaced attempts and is logged as a residual gap. Classification: no qualifying asbestos litigation located for DD-592 - no published opinion names the hull or its hull number in any context. 'Howorth' is a single-hull name (only DD-592 ever bore it), so the opinion-level negative is low-collision.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage supports 'no published opinion names DD-592 or USS Howorth', but pleadings naming the hull without a published opinion would not surface at type=o; the type=r docket sweep did not complete (fleet pacing), so an unopinionated docket naming the hull cannot be ruled out this session. No qualifying litigation of any posture was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-07
-
[9]Batch-3564 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via hazegray Wayback capture + destroyerhistory.org transcription; NavSource DD-592 page (Wayback capture); San Jose Mercury 10 Mar 1962 (destroyerhistory reproduction); NPS SCRC-37 Appendix I + JTF-1 Appendix 9 Crossroads target rosters; Atlas shipyard dataset (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard); GAO HRD-80-2; CourtListener opinion sweep; NPS NRHP/NHL check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-howorth-dd592-01 through sl-uss-howorth-dd592-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Howorth DD-592 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The configuration of the disposal record itself limits what could exist: the hull went straight from fifteen years of Pacific Reserve Fleet custody at San Diego to an intact at-sea sinking on 8 March 1962 - there was no postwar overhaul program after the 1945-46 repair/overhaul period, no modernization (no FRAM), no scrapping or museum phase, and no surviving hull to survey.
- 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 - a 1941-43 Navy-yard-built steam destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing, and the wreck has never been surveyed for materials. This row records that no ship-specific documentation was located; it does not establish presence or absence, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-howorth-dd592-08