Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ez-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Hudson | hull: DD-475 | designation: destroyer (DD) | class: Fletcher
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hudson-dd475-pkt-ez-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Hudson III (DD-475) (namesake biography, specifications block, launch/commissioning/sponsor, service narrative, battle stars, reserve sequence; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Capt. William Levereth Hudson; spec block (dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'8"; dr. 17'9"; s. 37 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm.; cl. Fletcher); launched 3 June 1942 by Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Henry H. Hough; commissioned 13 April 1943 with 'Comdr. Richard R. Pratt in command'; Bougainville landings and 8 November 1943 air-attack defense; Truk-area anti-shipping sweeps; Green Islands operations (sank a Japanese submarine 31 January 1944); Marianas/Saipan/Guam/Tinian; Battle of the Philippine Sea 19 June 1944; Peleliu and Angaur 12-25 September; San Francisco overhaul; Iwo Jima radar picket from 19 February 1945 and B-29 survivor rescue 8 March; Okinawa radar picket from 1 April; sank RO-49 off Okinawa 5 April; sole casualty a chief clipped by a kamikaze wingtip 22 April; alongside burning USS Sangamon three times on 4 May ('destroyer who saved a carrier'), Guam repairs 10 May; Third Fleet, convoy duty, northern Japan occupation from 8 September; Operation Magic Carpet; Puget Sound Navy Yard inactivation prep; San Diego decommission 31 May 1946; moved to Mare Island January 1947. Nine battle stars for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry predates disposal: it ends 'at Mare Island ... where she remains' and carries no laid-down, stricken, or sale data. Its 'Comdr. Richard R. Pratt in command' at commissioning conflicts with reconstructed CO lists (Smedberg first) - logged in gaps, not reconciled. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DD-475 USS Hudson (operational/building data block, commanding-officer list) + destroyerhistory.org Fletcher-class Hudson page, DesRon 45 squadron page, and the ship's Navy Department history transcription (Destroyer History Foundation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 'Operational and Building Data' block + commanding-officers list; destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/usshudson/, /desron45/, and the ship's Navy Department history page (index.asp?pid=47503) - source of the Hunters Point completion date and Iwo Jima ammunition figures
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compilation and archival-index data for this hull: laid down 20 February 1942 at Boston Navy Yard (same day and same yard as Charrette DD-581; both launched 3 June 1942); commissioned 13 April 1943; joined Destroyer Squadron 45 / Destroyer Division 89 (with Guest, Bennett, Fullam-flag, Halford) at Efate for the Bougainville landings; with Guest sank submarine I-171 northwest of Buka, night of 31 January-1 February 1944 (corroborated by the official DANFS entry for Guest DD-472: 'Hudson (DD-475) followed up this attack to complete the kill of 1,400-ton Japanese submarine I-171'); 1944 overhaul at Hunters Point (San Francisco Naval Shipyard), completed 7 December 1944; decommissioned 31 May 1946; stricken 1 December 1972; sold 27 November 1973; dismantled by Zidell interests at Tacoma, Washington beginning 14 December 1973. CO list: CDR William R. Smedberg III (13 Apr 1943 - 23 Dec 1943), CDR Richard R. Pratt (23 Dec 1943 - 1 Aug 1945), LCDR Raphael A. Zoeller (1 Aug 1945 - 31 May 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crew; Zidell Tacoma dismantling workforce 1973-74
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations transcribing official records - not primary documents. Laid-down, stricken, and sale dates are consistent across NavSource, destroyerhistory.org, Wikipedia, and uboat.net, but no official published source was located for them (the DANFS entry predates disposal). DesRon 45/DesDiv 89 assignment and the Smedberg CO sequence come from the specialist archives, not DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-02
-
[4]Navy Unit Commendation citation for USS Hudson, Secretary of the Navy (James Forrestal) - verbatim transcription (NavSource page; also destroyerhistory.org Unit Commendations collection) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-475 page, NUC citation text block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific award document: the Secretary of the Navy (James Forrestal) presented the Navy Unit Commendation to USS Hudson 'for outstanding heroism in action as a fighter direction ship on radar picket station during the Okinawa Campaign, from 1 April to 10 May 1945 ... withstood the stress and perils of vital radar picket duty to prevent the Japanese from striking in force the Naval forces off the Okinawa beachhead.' All personnel serving aboard 1 April - 10 May 1945 authorized the ribbon.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew aboard during 1 April - 10 May 1945 Okinawa radar picket duty
- Limitations
- Verbatim transcription on a volunteer archive (second transcription at destroyerhistory.org); the underlying SecNav citation document was not retrieved from an official repository, and the NHHC unit-awards index was not separately verified for this entry. Award documentation only - carries no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 37 kt; cpl. 273) + Fletcher-class profile machinery data (4 B&W boilers, 2-shaft geared turbines, 60,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Boston Naval Shipyard record (John Crane gasket/packing product-identification, Tex. App. 2003) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json record 'boston-naval-shipyard'; fletcher-class.class.json propulsion data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 with a four-boiler steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; builder Boston Naval Shipyard (Charlestown) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset - a litigation product-identification record for John Crane gaskets and sealing materials at the yard. The identical machinery plant across the 175-ship class makes the insulation regime strongly class-determined, but no hull-specific material schedule was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-46; reserve-fleet caretakers 1946-72
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Boston yard record is an allegation-level appellate product identification (In re John Crane, Inc., Tex. App. 1st Dist. 2003), weaker than a survey, and is not dated to this hull's construction window. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (October 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page description
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation: GAO reported 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 entire lifecycle (built 1942-43, commissioned service to 1946, reserve to 1972, dismantled 1973-74) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era coverage through early 1970s
- Limitations
- Program-level finding only - no hull-specific content; fieldwork yards were elsewhere (not Boston). gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches; product-page description used, full text not retrieved this session. Does not establish what was installed aboard DD-475.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-05
-
[7]Buckholtz (Estate of Woodruff) v. American Optical Corp. et al., No. 56257-0-II (Wash. Ct. App. Div. II, unpublished opinion filed Jan. 24, 2023); Pierce County Superior Court No. 20-2-08044-1; WA Supreme Court petition for review No. 101864-9 (filed April 2023) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion factual recital (Woodruff employment, asbestos handling, Philippine Sea dismantling); pp. 4-7 of slip opinion; verdict/judgment figures pp. 1, 11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Disposal-site documentation: this hull was dismantled at the Zidell ship-breaking operation on the Port of Tacoma waterway beginning 14 December 1973 (per destroyerhistory.org). Washington litigation documents that operation as an asbestos-exposure worksite: Dennis Woodruff, a Zidell Dismantling burner/laborer May 1970 - July 1973, testified that work included 'removing asbestos insulation material from pipes' of dismantled WWII Navy ships and placing it on the pier, with no asbestos warnings aboard the ships; he died of mesothelioma. A jury returned an $11,216,056 verdict (judgment $9,448,556 after offsets) against Zidell Explorations as owner of at least one dismantled ship (USS Philippine Sea). Division II REVERSED on discovery-sanction grounds - the spoliation finding and adverse-inference instruction were error - and remanded for a new trial, while upholding that Zidell Explorations owed a duty as owner of at least one ship Woodruff worked; the appellate disposition did not disturb the underlying site conditions described in the trial record. WA Supreme Court petition for review No. 101864-9 was filed April 2023; final disposition not located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1970-1973 (exposure); 2021-2023 (litigation)
- Population
- Zidell Dismantling shipbreaking workforce, Port of Tacoma site, 1970-1973 (Hull dismantled Dec 1973 - 1974 by the same operation)
- Limitations
- Context only - the opinion never names DD-475 (the sole ship named is USS Philippine Sea) and the plaintiff's employment ended 17 July 1973, roughly five months before this hull arrived for dismantling. Classify down: a reversed judgment on spoliation grounds - trial testimony recites site conditions but does not adjudicate asbestos content of this hull. Unpublished opinion cited for its factual record, not precedent. Scrapper attribution itself (Zidell at Tacoma, from 14 December 1973) rests on the destroyerhistory.org compilation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches, exact-name and hull-number query set (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results: '"USS Hudson"' (type=o and type=r), '"U.S.S. Hudson"' (type=o), '"DD-475"' (type=o) - all count 0
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep: CourtListener opinion searches '"USS Hudson"', '"U.S.S. Hudson"', and '"DD-475"' each returned 0 results; the RECAP docket search '"USS Hudson"' returned 0 results / 0 documents. No asbestos or other litigation naming this hull located in either corpus. The '"DD-475"' docket query was deferred when the fleet-wide hourly request budget was spent - logged in the search ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Zero results across the opinion index and the primary docket query is a solid negative finding, but the hull-number docket variant was not run before the pacing cutoff, and 'Hudson' is a high-collision name - any future hit must still be classified for hull attribution (Hudson I/II and non-vessel uses).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-07
-
[9]Batch-3458 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirrors; NavSource photo index; destroyerhistory.org pages incl. ship's Navy Department history transcription; WA appellate opinions; Atlas shipyard dataset; Fletcher-class profile; GAO product page; CourtListener sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hudson-dd475-01 through sl-uss-hudson-dd475-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-475: no hull ACM survey exists (hull scrapped 1973-74), no abatement or removal record was located for its construction, overhaul, inactivation, or dismantling phases, and no asbestos case naming this hull was found in the completed opinion-index sweep. The asbestos picture rests on class/era inference (ev-04), program documentation (ev-05), and dismantling-site litigation context (ev-06).
- 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 - era-standard insulation is probable at class level and the dismantling operation is documented asbestos-involved, but neither establishes hull-specific content. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hudson-dd475-08