Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]research packet crew-manus-a-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Jack W. Wilke
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-pkt-crew-manus-a-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Jack W. Wilke (DE-800) (namesake biography, build record, wartime and experimental service, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake paragraph + DE-800 spec block + service narrative + bracketed disposal note; postwar experimental-ASW role corroborated by NHHC photo L45-142.04.02 caption (1955, Key West Naval Station, 'trials ship for the Operational Development Force') as mirrored on NavSource (search_ledger sl-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Ens. Jack Winton Wilke (born Covina, Calif., 13 June 1919; Torpedo Squadron 8 aviator killed at Midway, posthumous Navy Cross); launched by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., 18 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Joe H. Wilke; commissioned 7 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. R. D. Lowther in command; convoy escort to Britain, the Mediterranean, and northern France (1944); hunter-killer group, Newfoundland-Nova Scotia, 5 December 1944-May 1945; weather reporting and air-sea rescue at Norfolk; sonar training ship at Miami 4 June-18 July 1945; three-month overhaul at New York Navy Yard from September 1945; experimental antisubmarine ship out of Key West from 7 January 1946 through the 1950s (ASW tactics and sound-equipment experiments, Caribbean cruises); Havana deployment January 1959; decommissioned 24 May 1960, Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia; struck 1 August 1972; sold 1 February 1974 (bracketed addendum citing Bauer & Roberts, Register of Ships, p. 231). Spec block: dp. 1,400; cpl. 186; 24 k.; class Buckley.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades, Orange TX, 1943-44; wartime and experimental-era crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS gives no laid-down date (18 October 1943 is secondary-sourced - see gaps). The namesake paragraph compresses Wilke's assignment (see gaps). Sold-date conflict: the bracketed addendum's 1 February 1974 traces to Bauer & Roberts; NavSource and Wikipedia read 4 March 1974 to Union Metals & Alloys Corp. - carried unreconciled in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (standing NHHC link rot).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-01
-
[3]Navypedia, "TE destroyer escorts (Buckley)" page - member table and machinery data (live 2026-09-29); corroborated by BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design-group table per class-profile verification 2026-09-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- us_de_te.htm member table (DE-800 row) + Machinery block map; shipscribe.com SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 (URL returned 404 on 2026-09-29 re-check)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Machinery/design data for the class block containing this hull: Navypedia's per-block boiler-manufacturer map assigns the DE-789-800 group (all Consolidated, Orange) two General Electric steam turbine-generators, two electric motors, and two Babcock & Wilcox boilers - 12,000 shp turbo-electric drive, two shafts, ~23-24 kt. Navypedia lists DE-800 built by Consolidated, Orange; laid down 10/1943; launched 18.12.1943; commissioned 3/1944; stricken 8.1972 - consistent with DANFS. BuShips Ships' Data 1945 (class-profile verified) gives the TE design groups 2-3: two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (build); 1945 (BuShips data)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - the boiler-manufacturer block map is Navypedia-sourced and unverified against contract documents; BuShips corroboration is class-level, not hull-level. Establishes the plant type (steam, turbo-electric) relevant to asbestos-inference categories only - NOT proof of asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-02
-
[4]DANFS specifications block (Buckley class; TE turbo-electric, 24 kt) + Navypedia boiler block map (B&W for DE-789-800) + class-profile era material categories [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS DE-800 spec block; navypedia us_de_te.htm machinery map; buckley-class.class.json evidence rows ev-01/-02
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Buckley-class (TE) destroyer escort built October 1943-March 1944 with a full steam plant (two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 F per BuShips class data; Babcock & Wilcox units for the DE-789-800 block per Navypedia) would have carried era-standard asbestos applications typical of steam warships: boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and deck coverings. The turbo-electric layout differs from geared-turbine ships only in transmission, not in boiler/steam-system insulation categories.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades 1943-44; engineering crews 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No material schedule, construction spec, or survey for DE-800 was located; the list is era-typical for a steam DE, not verified aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-03
-
[5]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr 9828426, Docket 94-15 783 (decided 1998-09-23) - Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange TX employment 1942-1946 [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision text, Findings of Fact 1-2 + Reasons and Bases (employment history, testimony)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision adjudicating asbestos-related lung disease for a veteran employed by Consolidated Steel, Ltd., Orange, Texas, as a boilermaker-department driller from 1942 to 1946 - the same yard and window in which this hull was built (laid down October 1943, delivered March 1944). The Board found as fact that the veteran 'was not exposed to asbestos during his periods of employment with Consolidated Steel Corporation in Orange, Texas, from 1942 to 1946' and 'was exposed to asbestos when serving aboard Navy vessels in service' (vessels unnamed; naval service May 1944-February 1946). Service connection granted for asbestos-related lung disease.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (exposure window); 1998 (decision)
- Population
- One veteran-claimant (Consolidated Steel driller 1942-46; Navy service 1944-46)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not hull evidence - the decision names no vessel, makes a claimant-specific factual finding (negative for yard exposure, positive for shipboard exposure aboard unnamed vessels), and is a nonprecedential individual adjudication. It documents that Orange-yard wartime asbestos claims were raised and adjudicated; it neither establishes nor negates asbestos conditions at the yard generally or aboard DE-800.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep (batch-4543 search ledger): exact-name and hull-number queries, opinion index [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-04 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-index sweep located no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull: "Jack W. Wilke" returned 0 hits; "DE-800" returned 37 hits whose case names and courts classify as identifier collisions (Puerto Rico appellate and supreme dockets plus one New Jersey case - the string 'DE-800'/'de 800' in these is unrelated document or text noise, none naval or asbestos); "DE-800" + asbestos returned one hit (Dorothy P. Robinson v. Lorillard Corp., 444 F.2d 791 (4th Cir. 1971) - a Title VII employment-discrimination class action at Lorillard's Greensboro cigarette plant; verified by case identity as a string collision, not naval or asbestos-as-vessel litigation); "Wilke" + asbestos + ship returned five hits (roofing, casino, antitrust, trust litigation, and the Georgine v. Amchem asbestos class certification - 'Wilke' as surname reference; no case name indicates this vessel). Fleet pacing limits prevented a deeper RECAP/docket pass; 'Wilke' is a common surname and name-collision risk is high.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Index-level sweep, not an exhaustive full-text docket review: a naming convention inside a plaintiff's complaint text ('aboard the Wilke') may not surface in case-name or snippet indexing; RECAP coverage of state-court removals is incomplete; Robinson's 'DE-800' string occurrence inside the opinion text was classified by case identity rather than snippet context, and the Georgine 'Wilke' occurrence remains index-level only (fleet pacing stood the session down before snippet pulls). Absence of a located case does not prove no suit was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-05
-
[7]Batch-4543 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS transcription (ibiblio HyperWar + hazegray via Wayback); NavSource DE archive; Navypedia class data; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog; CourtListener opinion index; VA BVA decision file [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-800: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no museum or disposal hazmat disclosure (the ship was scrapped in 1974 - no preservation custodian exists to generate restoration-era disclosures), and no qualifying asbestos case names the vessel (see litigation sweep row).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-44 steam destroyer escort is era-consistent with installed ACM, and scrapping records of the period rarely disclose materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jack-w-wilke-de800-06