Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219) (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, three battle stars; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; transcriber's note adds stricken 30 January 1970 and sunk as a target 20 July 1970 per Bauer & Roberts, Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy 1775-1990, p. 224) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake biography + specifications block + service narrative + transcriber's note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Cmdr. James Douglas Blackwood, MC, USN (b. Philadelphia 12 Nov 1881; Navy Cross as Assistant Surgeon aboard transports after USS President Lincoln torpedoed 31 May 1918; killed aboard Vincennes CA-44, Savo Island, 9 Aug 1942). Laid down 22 Feb 1943 as James D. Blackwood, renamed J. Douglas Blackwood 3 Apr 1943; launched 29 May 1943 by Philadelphia Navy Yard, sponsored by the namesake's widow; commissioned 15 Dec 1943, Cmdr. R. V. Randolph in command. Escorted carrier Hornet (CV-12) to the Panama Canal Feb 1944; departed Norfolk 18 Mar 1944 for the Pacific; Majuro 18 Apr 1944; convoy screening Solomons/Admiralties; ASW training Pearl Harbor Oct 1944; Eniwetok 2 Nov 1944; convoy escort Solomons-Philippines; Pearl Harbor 12 Apr 1945; Hawaiian training duty to war's end. Mare Island Navy Yard repairs from 4 Sep 1945; New London 9 Jan 1946; decommissioned 20 Apr 1946 into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 5 Feb 1951 (Lt. Cmdr. J. R. McKee); Norfolk-based Escort Squadron 8 duty alternating with Fleet Sonar School Key West; midshipman cruises incl. Caribbean/Brazil summer 1953; arrived Philadelphia 15 Nov 1957 as reserve training ship. Decommissioned 1 Aug 1958, placed 'in service'; Philadelphia reserve training; recommissioned 2 Oct 1961 (Berlin crisis, Cmdr. J. J. Grebis); Caribbean refresher; Atlantic escort/patrol to summer 1962; decommissioned 1 Aug 1962, reverted to in-service reserve training at Philadelphia 'into 1967.' Spec block: Buckley class; 1,400 t; 306 ft; 24 kt; complement 186. Three battle stars WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades 1943; wartime and postwar crew (DANFS spec complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Decommissioning date conflicts with NavSource's '14 Apr 1947 at Charleston' - carried in gaps. Complement figure (186) conflicts with NavSource/BuShips 213 - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; post-1962 disposition detail derives from the transcriber's Bauer & Roberts note.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS J. Douglas Blackwood (DE 219), file 06/219 (building/operational timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer table, official Navy photographs NH 75610 and DE-219-6946-45/-6947-45) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 06/219 - 'Building and Operational Data' timeline, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull adds yard-period and custody detail: keel laid 22 Feb 1943 Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched/christened 29 May 1943 with five sisters (DE-216 Enright, DE-217 Coolbaugh, DE-218 Darby, DE-220 Francis M. Robinson, DE-221 Solar) in the same drydock ceremony (NHHC photo NH 75610); commissioned 15 Dec 1943; overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard 4 Sep - 17 Nov 1945 (official Navy photos dated 2 and 13 Nov 1945); 'decommissioned at Charleston, S.C. 14 Apr 1947' (conflicts with DANFS - see gaps); recommissioned 5 Feb 1951, Escort Squadron 8, Norfolk; assigned NRT 4th Naval District, Philadelphia, 15 Nov 1957; decommissioned 1 Aug 1958 at North Keystone Ship Repair and Drydock Co., Philadelphia, placed 'in service' as Selected Reserve Force; recommissioned 2 Oct 1961 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for the Berlin crisis (homeport Newport, R.I.); decommissioned 1 Aug 1962 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to in-service NRT status; NRT reassigned to 3rd Naval District, NRTC Whitestone, N.Y., 18 Oct 1968; 'out of service, in reserve' at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and struck from the NVR 30 Jan 1970 (custody to CO, Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet); sunk as a target 20 July 1970. Spec block: TE (turbine-electric, 3-inch guns); 2 'D' Express boilers, GE turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; complement 15 officers / 198 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard overhaul workforce Sep-Nov 1945; North Keystone Ship Repair workforce 1958; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactivation workforce 1961/1962/1970; reserve-training era crew and reservists
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - consistent with DANFS except the 1947 Charleston decommissioning date (conflict carried in gaps). Documents yard periods and custody - not materials or asbestos content; the 1945 Mare Island overhaul is a documented disturbance event whose asbestos scope is inference only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) + Navypedia 'Buckley (TE) class' boiler-block map + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' (tier 3) and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 DE design-group table; https://www.navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_de_te.htm boiler block map (DE-219 within B&W block DE-214-223); shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried the Buckley TE full steam plant - BuShips SDB 1945 design groups 2/3 document 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery (12,000 shp, 2 shafts) - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbo-generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and accommodation insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. The navypedia per-block boiler map assigns Babcock & Wilcox boilers to the DE-214-223 Philadelphia block including this hull. Documented disturbance events for this hull: Philadelphia Navy Yard construction (1943), Mare Island Navy Yard overhaul (Sep-Nov 1945), North Keystone and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactivations (1958/1961/1962/1970), ~23 years of reserve-fleet/NRT custody, and sinking intact as a target 20 Jul 1970 (no breaking-yard phase).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades 1943; Mare Island overhaul workforce 1945; crew 1943-46/1951-58/1961-62; reservists 1958-70; reserve-fleet and target-sinking preparation crews 1970
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific asbestos finding. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming DE-219 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. The navypedia boiler-block map is secondary and unverified against contract documents.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-03
-
[4]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 3; litigation-documented product identifications incl. Eagle-Picher Super 60, Thermasil pipe covering and block, Unibestos, Kaylo, Garlock sheet gaskets and packing, Johns-Manville pipe insulation; OSHA 1989 inspection) and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 2; Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, packing/gaskets; EIS/EIR ACM documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json records 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder/overhaul-yard context: the two naval shipyards documented for this hull's construction (Philadelphia Navy Yard, 1943) and postwar overhaul (Mare Island Navy Yard, Sep-Nov 1945) are both documented asbestos-era yards in the Atlas dataset - Philadelphia at tier 3 with named asbestos products identified in litigation and an OSHA-documented asbestos inspection, Mare Island at tier 2 with EIS-documented ACM and litigation. The hull's 1958 inactivation yard (North Keystone Ship Repair and Drydock Co., Philadelphia - private) has no Atlas record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970 (yard events); yard documentation undated-modern
- Population
- Philadelphia NSY construction/inactivation trades; Mare Island NSY overhaul trades
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only - does not establish that asbestos from these yards was installed on or disturbed aboard this specific hull, nor any quantity, location, exposure, or causation. Yard records are context for the documented yard events in ev-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-04
-
[5]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-05
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked to automated fetch, HTTP 403; content via product-page description)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy's structured asbestos-protection policy dates from the mid/late 1970s: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This hull was stricken 30 Jan 1970 and sunk 20 Jul 1970 - before the documented program era - so no in-service asbestos-management or abatement record for this hull would be expected under the documented program.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (program); this hull disposed 1970
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific; explains the expected documentary vacuum rather than filling it. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard this hull; does not address shipyard (non-Navy) practices during her 1943-1970 life.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-06
-
[7]Batch-4137 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror; NavSource 06/219; BuShips SDB 1945 v1 (class design data); navypedia boiler-block map; Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener API v4 exact-name and hull-number sweeps (partially run under shared fleet quota); indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-01 through sl-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-219: no hull asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, or qualifying docketed asbestos case naming USS J. Douglas Blackwood / DE-219 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener exact-phrase opinion search '"J. Douglas Blackwood"' returned zero results (clean HTTP 200). The 'USS Blackwood' short name carries a collision risk: HMS Blackwood (K313), the ex-USS Blackwood (BDE-4) Captain-class frigate sunk off Portland Bill 1944, bears it as an ex-USS name, while DE-219's own postwar crew used 'USS Blackwood' informally (e.g., Navy Memorial oral history); no qualifying litigation located for either hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 turbo-electric steam destroyer escort is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her documented yard events (1945 Mare Island overhaul; 1958-1970 Philadelphia inactivations) and 1970 intact sinking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage was partially quota-limited (shared fleet budget); see search_ledger for which queries completed and which were deferred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-07
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships - incl. Booklet of General Plans and General Information Books), RG 181 (naval shore establishment records incl. naval shipyards); NHHC photographic collection (NH 75610; DE-219-6946-45/-6947-45 Mare Island series) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; NavSource 06/219 photo captions (NH 75610; DE-219-6946-45/-6947-45)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for DE-219's commissioned periods 1943-46, 1951-58, 1961-62 (RG 24, NARA); BuShips records incl. the Buckley-class Booklet of General Plans and per-hull General Information Books which can carry material specifications (RG 19); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard job/work records for the documented yard events (RG 181); NHHC photo files incl. the six-hull christening photo NH 75610 and the November 1945 Mare Island overhaul series DE-219-6946-45/-6947-45; Philadelphia Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet custody records and any weapon-test file for the 20 Jul 1970 target sinking (sinking location undocumented).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1970 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-j-douglas-blackwood-de219-08