Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, Kalk I (Destroyer No. 170), Naval History and Heritage Command; verbatim transcription also at losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (danfs/destroy/dd170txt.htm) and corroborated by Wayback capture 20251208004605 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications parenthetical + namesake paragraph + full service narrative + DD-254 name-swap footnote
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: '(DD-170: dp. 1,060; l. 314'5"; b. 31'8"; dr. 9'2"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 2 1-pdrs., 12 21" tt.; cl. Wickes)'. Namesake paragraph: Stanton Frederick Kalk, born 14 October 1894 in Ala., USNA 1916; served in Florida (BB-30); assigned to Jacob Jones (DD-61) 10 September 1917; officer-of-the-deck when U-53 sank Jacob Jones 6 December 1917 on patrol Brest-Queenstown; died of exposure/exhaustion swimming between rafts; posthumous Distinguished Service Medal. 'Kalk (Destroyer No. 170), laid down as Rodgers 4 March 1917, was launched 21 December 1918, by the Fore River Ship building Corp., Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. Flora Stanton Kalk, mother of Lt. Kalk.; renamed Kalk 23 December 1918; and commissioned at Boston 29 March 1919, Lt. Comdr. N. R. Van der Veer in command.' Footnote: 'Kalk (DD-254) was renamed Rodgers (DD-254) (q.v.) 23 December 1918.' Shakedown off Newport; Boston to Newfoundland 3 May 1919; mid-Atlantic rescue cover for the NC-4 flight 16-17 May; Europe July 1919 (Brest, Hamburg, 3-week Baltic cruise on American Relief Administration operations); dispatch/escort at Brest until departing 25 January 1920; 1st Naval District reserve training and DesRon 3 operations Cape Cod-Charleston; decommissioned at Philadelphia 10 July 1922 under the Five Power Naval Treaty; recommissioned 17 June 1940 (Lt. T. P. Elliott); Charleston for Neutrality Patrol 31 July; one of 50 overage 4-pipers under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement of 2 September; cleared Charleston 7 September via Hampton Roads and Newport to Halifax N.S. (arrived 18 September); decommissioned and turned over to the British 23 September 1940. RN narrative: collision with HMS Georgetown (ex-Maddox, DD-168) at St. John's 1 October while en route England; went aground en route to Saint John repairs and suffered extensive damage; manned by Canadians amid a British manpower shortage; 'late in June 1941 she commissioned in the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Hamilton.' North American convoy duty St. John's-New York; 2 August 1942 attacked a U-boat, forcing it to submerge; declared unfit for operations 11 August 1943, tender to HMCS Cornwallis; declared surplus 1 April 1945; decommissioned 8 June at Sydney N.S.; departed 6 July under tow for Baltimore, scrapped by Boston Iron & Metal Co.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; U.S. crews 1919-1922 and 1940 (design complement 101); RN and RCN crews 1940-1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The live NHHC page returned HTTP 404 to standard tool fetches but HTTP 200 with the full verbatim entry via a browser-UA curl on 2026-09-26 (the WAF/bot-detection behavior documented in batch-3113/3160); a 2025-12-08 Wayback capture corroborates verbatim. The DANFS laid-down date '4 March 1917' conflicts with NavSource and canada.ca (both 17 August 1918) and would predate the mid-1917 emergency authorizations under which the DD-170 contract block was ordered - conflict documented in gaps, not silently reconciled. DANFS states no stricken date. Does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, location, or any individual's exposure aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-01
-
[2]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Kalk (DD-170) page (operational/building data, class specification block, photo captions, commanding-officers list, Robert Hurst RCN-service narrative) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/170.htm (class block; operational/building data; photo captions incl. NH 48684, NH 70867; commanding-officers list; 'On British Service' Hurst narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource build and operational record for this hull: class 'WICKES (LITTLE)' - 'Built to a different set of plans (Bethlehem) than the Wickes (Bath)'; displacement 1,154 t; 314'5" (oa) x 31'8" x 9'10" (max); machinery 24,200 shp, geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 kt; crew 103; radio call sign NIGD. Laid down by Fore River, Quincy, 17 August 1918; launched 21 December 1918; commissioned 29 March 1919; decommissioned 10 July 1922; recommissioned 17 June 1940; decommissioned 23 September 1940; to Britain 23 September 1940, renamed HMS Hamilton (I24); stricken 8 January 1941; sold to Boston Iron & Metal, Baltimore, and broken up for scrap 1945. Commanding officers: LCDR N. R. Van der Veer (29 Mar 1919-10 Mar 1920), LT C. G. Moore Jr. (to 6 Aug 1920), LTJG L. M. Grant (to 15 Feb 1921), LT E. F. Bilson (list reads 'to 2 Jan 1921'), LT J. A. Saunders (to 10 Jul 1922); 1940: LCDR H. O. Larson (17 Jun-22 Jul), LT T. P. Elliott (22 Jul-23 Sep). Robert Hurst RCN narrative: collided with HMS Georgetown at St. John's 4 October 1940; undocking 25 October caused further serious damage; paid off, crew used to man other Town-class ships; RCN employment commenced 12 July 1941; retired from active service August 1943, Bay of Fundy training ship from December 1943; paid off 8 June 1945; sold to Frankie Bros. as agents for Boston Iron & Metal; in tow with St Francis under Foundation Security the tow collided with Winding Gulf and parted - one hulk was taken in tow by USCGC Hornbeam and beached as a total loss 14 July 1945, believed St Francis though at least one RCN report indicates Hamilton; a flush-deck wreck lies off Sakonnet Point, RI.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; crews 1919-1945
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official records (spec block derives from Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels). The 17 August 1918 laid-down date conflicts with DANFS's '4 March 1917' - documented in gaps. The Hurst narrative is contributor-sourced (collision 4 Oct vs DANFS/canada.ca 1 Oct; undocking 25 Oct vs canada.ca 26 Oct; RCN employment 12 July 1941 vs canada.ca commissioning 6 July 1941). The CO list's '2 Jan 1921' for Bilson reads like a typographical slip for 1922. The scrapping ambiguity (Hamilton vs St Francis hulk) is explicitly unverified by NavSource's own text. Asbestos content is not addressed by these records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-02
-
[3]Government of Canada / Royal Canadian Navy official ship history, HMCS Hamilton (I24) (canada.ca) [other_primary]
- Locator
- canada.ca 'HMCS Hamilton (I24)' ship-history page, narrative paragraphs + specifications list + battle honours
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official RCN ship-history record for this hull: 'Commissioned as HMS Kalk, this Town class destroyer was renamed HMS Hamilton at St. John's, Newfoundland where, on her arrival on October 1, 1940, she was damaged in a collision with her sister-ship HMS Georgetown. She was taken to Saint John, New Brunswick, for repairs and, while being undocked there on October 26, ran aground and received damage sufficient to lay her up for half a year. She was subsequently offered to the Royal Canadian Navy, re-commissioned at Saint John as a Royal Canadian Navy ship on July 6, 1941, and assigned to Western Local Escort Force. After escorting one convoy, she collided with the Netherlands submarine O-15 at Halifax. Following repairs, she again took up local escort duties, and in June 1943 became a member of Escort Group W-4. She still had not made a transatlantic passage when, in August 1943, she was allocated to HMCS Cornwallis, the naval training establishment in Deep Brook, Nova Scotia, as a training ship. HMCS Hamilton was paid off on June 8, 1945 at Sydney, Nova Scotia, and broken up at Baltimore, Maryland, the same year.' Builder: 'Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd., Fore River Yard, Quincy, Massachusetts'; laid down August 17, 1918; launched December 21, 1918; RCN commissioning July 6, 1941; paying off June 8, 1945; displacement 1,069 t; dimensions 85.6 x 9.3 x 2.6 m; maximum speed 28 kt; crew 153; armament three 4-inch, one 3-inch, six 21-inch tt, depth charges; battle honour: Atlantic 1942-1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- RN and RCN crews 1940-1945 (RCN fit crew 153); Saint John, N.B. repair workforce 1940-41
- Limitations
- canada.ca is an official (Government of Canada / RCN) source for the British/Canadian era but is a summary history - it gives the 17 August 1918 laid-down date (conflict with DANFS carried in gaps), the 6 July 1941 RCN commissioning (vs DANFS 'late in June'), and the commissioned-as-HMS-Kalk nuance (vs DANFS 'commissioned ... as HMS Hamilton'). Its RCN-era figures (1,069 t, 28 kt, crew 153, reduced armament) describe the Canadian fit, not the as-built US configuration. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-03
-
[4]Destroyer History Foundation, 'Wickes-Clemson Classes' flush-decker reference page (citing Bauer & Roberts, Friedman, Alden, Reilly, Roscoe, DANFS/NHHC) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/wickesclass/ (program origin, authorizations, eight-yard build, Bauer & Roberts subclassification, Yarrow-boiler retirement wave)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class-history context for this hull: the Wickes/Clemson mass-production program stemmed from the Naval Appropriation Act of 29 August 1916 (50 destroyers) plus the 3 March 1917 Naval Emergency Fund (to DD-135), a 200-ship 'Board on the Submarine Menace' expansion, and twelve more through DD-347 in 1918 - DD-170 falls in the 200-ship expansion, so a laying-down before mid-1917 is programmatically implausible (relevant to the DANFS '4 March 1917' conflict). 111 Wickes-class ships were built in eight yards; under the Bauer & Roberts classification only 38 ships from Bath, Cramp, Mare Island and Charleston count as Wickes proper, the 26 each from Bethlehem's Fore River and Union Iron Works forming the 'Little' class - placing this Fore River-built hull in the Bethlehem-design 'Little' group (NavSource concurs: 'WICKES (LITTLE)'). The Bethlehem-built ships carried Yarrow water-tube boilers that wore out, driving the 1930 en-masse retirement of 60 Bethlehem flush-deckers. Fifty flush-deckers went to Britain and Canada under the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1916-1945 (class context)
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Destroyer History Foundation is a nonprofit naval-history archive summarizing published references and DANFS/NHHC - not itself an official record. Class-design details (Yarrow boilers on Bethlehem hulls, Bauer & Roberts subclassification) are class-level statements; they do not document this specific hull's machinery condition or materials. Nothing in the page addresses asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-04
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[5]Rushworth, 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal (2005), DOI 10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x; Franke & Paustenbach, 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: a state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(S3):1-20 (2011), DOI 10.3109/08958378.2011.643417 (citations Crossref-verified 2026-09-26, batch-3110 citation base reused per batch-3160) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 2005 (doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x); Inhalation Toxicology 2011 (doi.org/10.3109/08958378.2011.643417); shipyards.json yard_id check (fore-river-shipyard, bethlehem-shipbuilding)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: peer-reviewed reviews of U.S. Navy asbestos practice document shipboard asbestos thermal insulation in use from the 1880s through the 1950s, spanning this hull's entire 1919-1940 U.S. service, her 18-year Philadelphia reserve layup (1922-1940), and her 1940-1945 Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy service (the UK and Canada applied their own-era standard insulation practices aboard transferred Town-class ships). A Bethlehem-built Wickes-class destroyer constructed 1918-19 with a 24,200-shp, two-shaft geared steam-turbine plant and Yarrow water-tube boilers (NavSource class block; Destroyer History Foundation class history) would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and fireproofing. Builder Fore River Shipbuilding Corp. / Bethlehem Shipbuilding (Quincy) is an Atlas shipyards.json entry under both names (fore-river-shipyard; bethlehem-shipbuilding).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1945 (vessel); 2005-2011 (era reviews)
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; USN crews 1919-22, 1940; RN/RCN crews 1940-45; Saint John, N.B. repair workforce 1940-41; Baltimore scrapping workforce 1945
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The cited reviews are state-of-the-science literature covering era practice and do not name this hull; the machinery figures come from compiled class spec blocks, not a hull survey. No insulation specification, survey, or material test for this hull was located; nothing quantifies material or establishes any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-05
-
[6]NHHC photograph citations in the NavSource photo index for this hull (NH 48684, NH 70867) + RCN official photo of HMCS Hamilton (1943) + NARA RG19 General Information Books / RG24 deck logs lead + Library and Archives Canada RCN ship files lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/05/170.htm photo captions (NH 48684 portrait; NH 70867 ship; RCN official photo 1943); archives.gov (RG19 GIB, RG24 deck logs - series level); bac-lac.gc.ca (RCN ship files - series level)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: NHHC holds photograph NH 48684 (Midshipman Stanton F. Kalk, USN 1894-1917, photographed circa 1916) and NH 70867 (USS Kalk (DD-170) tied to mooring buoys, circa 1919-1922), plus a pier-side view circa 1919-1922 (per NavSource captions); NavSource carries an RCN official photograph of HMCS Hamilton underway in 1943. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material specifications that could document this hull's as-built insulation fit - not retrieved. USN deck logs (RG24) cover 1919-1922 and June-September 1940; RCN-era logs and ship files for HMCS Hamilton rest with Library and Archives Canada - not checked.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1916-1945 (photo subjects and records)
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Photo/archival leads only - none of these sources is stated to contain asbestos or materials data; the RG19 General Information Books are the standard archival path for hull-level material specifications and were not pulled. Photo numbers verified via NavSource captions citing the Naval Historical Center archive; live NHHC photo pages and the NARA catalog API were not queried item-level this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-06
-
[7]Batch-3175 intake metadata correction: upstream PRIMARY record listed ship_class 'Hopkins'; corrected to Wickes-class (Bethlehem 'Little' design group) per the DANFS specifications block ('cl. Wickes') and NavSource class label ('WICKES (LITTLE)') [other_primary]
- Locator
- batch-3175 intake note; DANFS spec block 'cl. Wickes'; NavSource class block 'WICKES (LITTLE)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Metadata correction documented: the batch intake metadata described this hull's class as 'Hopkins'; the correct class is Wickes (Bethlehem 'Little' design group, Fore River-built) per the DANFS specifications block and NavSource class block. No USS Hopkins-class exists for this hull - 'Hopkins' was the name of unrelated destroyers DD-6 and DD-249, and Hopkins (DD-249/DMS-13) was a Clemson-class sister flush-decker, which is the likely confusion source. VERIFY found no same-hull designation match at any tier and confirmed same-name VERIFY records on other hull numbers (DD-611) are not duplicates of this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Correction of intake metadata only - does not itself document materials or asbestos aboard. The class attribution rests on the DANFS 'cl. Wickes' specification block and the NavSource/Bauer & Roberts 'Little' subclassification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep for this hull - PENDING/BLOCKED this session (fleet-wide pacing budget); see limitations_note and search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kalk-dd170-08 through sl-uss-kalk-dd170-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- PLACEHOLDER - CourtListener sweep could not complete this session: every authenticated query was refused by the fleet-wide pacing budget (exit 2, 'momentarily spent'). Queries intended: 'USS Kalk' and 'U.S.S. Kalk' (type=o and type=r), 'DD-170' designator, and 'Kalk' + asbestos surname-collision control. No qualifying or non-qualifying result is asserted; this row logs the blocked sweep rather than a negative result. NOTE: any 'USS Kalk' litigation hit requires hull attribution care - USS Kalk (DD-611), a Benson-class destroyer in service 1942-1968, is the likelier referent for exposure-era pleadings; asbestos litigation naming the DD-170 hull is a priori unlikely because the hull transferred to British/Canadian service in 1940 and was scrapped 1945, decades before asbestos litigation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Open item, not a negative result: CourtListener coverage could not be exercised at all this session under the fleet pacing throttle. Absence of a hit would not in any case prove no claim was ever filed - state-court and MDL-875 pleading coverage is partial. Hull-attribution discipline applies: 'Kalk' also collides with the surname (e.g., parties named Kalk) and with DD-611.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-08
-
[9]Batch-3175 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live page via browser-UA + Wayback corroboration + hazegray mirror transcription); NavSource DD-170 index page; canada.ca HMCS Hamilton official history; Destroyer History Foundation Wickes-Clemson class page; Atlas shipyards.json builder check; NPS NRHP/NHL check; Naval Vessel Register (not applicable - struck 1941); CourtListener sweeps (blocked); marketing/law-firm ship-list review [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kalk-dd170-01 through sl-uss-kalk-dd170-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey exists or is feasible (the hull was broken up at Baltimore in 1945 and does not exist), no abatement or hazmat disclosure exists, and the CourtListener litigation sweep could not complete (fleet pacing) so no qualifying case is asserted. The ship left U.S. service in September 1940 and was scrapped roughly three decades before the asbestos-litigation era, so the usual exposure-record pathways (museum disclosures, veteran litigation naming the hull, abatement contracts) do not exist for it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1918-19-built steam destroyer is consistent with era-standard insulated fit, but no hull-level evidence exists either way. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The litigation sweep is an open item (blocked), not an executed negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kalk-dd170-09