Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Key (DE-348) (1968, Vol. 3, p.638: namesake, specs block, service narrative, striking and sale; live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Key' - namesake paragraph, DE-348 specifications block, and service narrative (hazegray/losthistory.net transcription of DANFS 1968 Vol. 3 p.638)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: only ship named for 1st Lt. Eugene Morland Key, USMCR (killed 7 August 1942 at Tulagi, posthumous Navy Cross); launched 12 February 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. Ira F. Key; commissioned 5 June 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Buckley in command. Shakedown off Bermuda; Norfolk-based destroyer-escort crew training and North Atlantic antisubmarine patrol; convoy escort Hampton Roads-Naples (cleared 20 September, returned New York 24 October 1944); CortDiv 76 to 7th Fleet SW Pacific via New York 10 November; Hollandia 27 December; five Hollandia-Leyte Gulf escort runs 1 January-6 February 1945; ASW patrols east of Leyte Gulf from 9 February; Mangarin Bay, Mindoro, 19 February for South China Sea duty; from 14 March screening out of Leyte Gulf and Polloc, Mindanao; 15 May escorted LSM/LCI convoy to Davao Gulf and bombarded/destroyed a Japanese PT base at Piso Point; Morotai 14 June; Tawitawi-bound LCI screen 23-26 June; Balikpapan assault convoy 28 June-7 July (rescued LCM survivor after mine sinking); ASW to 22 July; Leyte 4 August; post-surrender ASW patrols 22-31 August; convoy to Ulithi; Manila 8 September; two Manila-Okinawa escort runs 18 September-23 November supporting occupation; embarked homebound veterans at Guiuan, Samar, 27 November; San Pedro, Calif., 17 December; decommissioned 9 July 1946 at Terminal Island and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet; berthed at Bremerton, Wash. (1968 edition). Stricken from the Navy Register 1 March 1972 and sold 19 December 1972 (bracketed note citing Bauer & Roberts, Register of Ships 1775-1990, p.236). One battle star for World War II. Specs block: 1,350 t; 306 ft; 36 ft 8 in beam; 24 kt; complement 186; class JOHN C. BUTLER.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime and occupation-era crew (DANFS design complement 186); Pacific Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-1972
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link rot); verbatim mirror transcription cited. Reserve-fleet berth given as Bremerton in the 1968 text while NavSource assigns the San Diego Group - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-01
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row for KEY, DE-348 (shipscribe.com scan of the official book, pp. 250-251; scanned-image PDF read at 200 dpi) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE roster row 184, KEY DE-348 (book pp. 250-251; shipscribe scan PDF p. 135)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull (row 184): KEY, official number DE348, design group WGT; builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; contract price $2,043,000 marked with the cost-plus-fixed-fee footnote; contract signed 7 August 1942; keel laid 14 December 1943; ship launched 12 February 1944; date of first preliminary acceptance 31 May 1944; date of commission 5 June 1944; name carries the footnote for Westinghouse-built turbines.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Corp. construction trades, Orange, Tex., 1943-44
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract type/price, machinery design group, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. Scanned-page table read visually; contract-completion cell shows a ditto mark carried down from the preceding row (Apr. 15, 1944) - not independently meaningful.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-02
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Key (DE-348) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, commanding-officer list, NH 74292 photo citation; live navsource.net fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/348.htm specifications + building-and-operational-data block + commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 14 December 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 12 February 1944, sponsor Mrs. Ira F. Key; accepted by the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Orange, 31 May 1944 (original scheduled commissioning date - ship incomplete, accepted under the yard's 'a ship a day for the month of May' incentive slogan and commissioned five days later); commissioned 5 June 1944 at Orange, Lcdr. F. D. Buckley; decommissioned 9 July 1946 at Terminal Island, Cal. after 2 years 1 month of service, 91,251 miles steamed; inactivation completed at San Diego 23 December 1946, assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the NVR 1 March 1972; sold for scrapping 19 December 1972. Call sign NTFA. Four commanding officers listed. Cites NHHC photo NH 74292 (off San Francisco, 1945-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Wartime crew (NavSource complement 14 officers/201 enlisted); Pacific Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-1972
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS and the BuShips roster where they overlap. The 'ship a day' acceptance anecdote is NavSource-only detail. Berthing-group assignment (San Diego Group) conflicts with the 1968 DANFS 'berthed at Bremerton' - carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-03
-
[4]USS Key (DE-348) ship-submitted War History, cover letter signed by the Commanding Officer forwarding the ship's history to Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, dated 10 October 1945 (NavSource-hosted photograph of the original document, file 06348wh.jpg) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/images/348/06348wh.jpg - five-panel document photograph (cover letter + history pages)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war-time-submitted history exists and survives as a photographed document: cover letter 'History of the U.S.S. KEY - Forwarding of' from the Commanding Officer, U.S.S. KEY (DE-348), to Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, dated 10 October 1945, with a multi-page 'HISTORY of The United States Ship KEY, DESTROYER ESCORT NO. 348' attached. Legible passages corroborate the DANFS narrative: named for 1st Lt. Eugene Morland Key USMCR; accepted 31 May 1944 and commissioned 5 June 1944 at Orange, Texas, Lt. Comdr. Franklin D. Buckley in command; Bermuda shakedown; Norfolk training duty; the Naples convoy (departed 20 September, returned New York 24 October 1944); CortDiv 76; Panama Canal transit; Hollandia arrival 27 December; Leyte escort runs; Mangarin Bay, Mindoro; Polloc, Mindanao; the 15 May Davao Gulf convoy and Piso Point bombardment; Morotai; Tawitawi-bound LCI screen 23-26 June; Balikpapan 7 July (LCM survivor rescue); two Manila-Okinawa runs; homebound-veteran embarkation at Guiuan, Samar, 27 November; San Pedro arrival 17 December 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-45
- Limitations
- Primary source (ship-submitted narrative) surviving as a low-resolution facsimile - section headings, the cover date, and the broad operational sequence are legible and corroborate DANFS, but fine detail is not reliably readable; a NARA original would be the cleaner citation. Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-04
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[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 6 / WGT (shipscribe.com scan; book pp. 234-235) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-6 WGT row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 6 (symbol WGT - 'turbine gear drive, 5-inch guns') - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,350 t standard / 1,745 t full load; 24.3 kt trial speed; machinery: 2 propellers, geared turbines, 12,000 shp; boilers: 2, 'D' express type, steam conditions 435 p.s.i. / 750 deg. F; main reduction gears double-helical; 2 turbo ship's-service generators (200 kW 450 V A.C. / 40 kW 120 V D.C.); accommodations 15 officers + 207 enlisted; armament 2 x 5 in/38 cal. D.P. with 40 mm AA mounts. Table footnote: 'Turbines were built by G.E. or Westinghouse and are interchangeable as units' - per-hull roster assigns Westinghouse to DE-348. Documents that the WGT design carried a full steam plant, unlike the diesel FMR class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (publication)
- Population
- WGT-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers + 207 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation for the whole WGT group, not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos. Table read visually from a scanned page; armament columns partially illegible at cell level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-05
-
[6]Navypedia, 'WGT' destroyer escorts (JOHN C. BUTLER) (1943-1955) - class roster and technical-data table (compiled reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia us_de_tev_wgt.htm member table row DE348 + technical-data block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class roster row for DE348: Key, Consolidated, Orange; laid down 12/1943; launched 12.2.1944; commissioned 6/1944; stricken 3.1972 - corroborating the per-hull BuShips roster. The WGT/John C. Butler class page enumerates the Consolidated-built block DE-339 through DE-372 (Key's block) plus later blocks; the Atlas class profile (john-c-butler-class) records 83 completed USN hulls and 28 cancellations from this page, with the boiler-block map showing Combustion Engineering boilers for DE339-372 and 402-424.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- John C. Butler-class construction and operating crews
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference (class-level): the roster row corroborates the per-hull BuShips record; boiler-block attribution is a class-level inference consistent with the era, not a ship-specific equipment finding. Not a materials or asbestos source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-06
-
[7]Era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-6 machinery row (2 'D' express boilers; geared steam turbines) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Navy insulation-spec archival leads (NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) ch.39; spec 32F3a) identified via the Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list on a sister hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-6 row (boilers 'D' express, 435/750F); cf. john-c-butler-class profile ev-john-c-butler-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a John C. Butler-class (WGT) destroyer escort built 1943-44 carried a full steam plant - 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750F feeding geared turbines (SDB 1945 design-group-6 machinery row) - and would have carried era-standard asbestos applications of steam-powered escorts: boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets and packing, evaporator and auxiliary-machinery insulation, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The evaporator association is corroborated at class level by pleading-stage materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec naming sister hull DE-446 (see ev-uss-key-de348-08).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46; reserve-fleet maintenance 1946-72
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule, material list, or construction-contract exhibit for DE-348 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. Builder yard (Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex.) is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos documentation is attached. The Navy insulation-spec documents are archival leads, not retrieved texts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-07
-
[8]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - Praecipe/pretrial order materials, ECF 738 att. 1, naming sister hull USS Brannon (DE-446) (recorded in the Atlas john-c-butler-class profile, ev-john-c-butler-class-03 and -04, from CourtListener RECAP 2026-09-16) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener RECAP docket 2:17-cv-00537 (W.D. Wash.) - pretrial/exhibit materials naming DE-446 (per class-profile locator, docket 6100500)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation corroboration: pretrial-order/exhibit materials in this asbestos docket name USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sister of the same WGT design group (different builder - Federal Shipbuilding, Newark; different boiler block per the navypedia map), and recite that 'Griscom-Russell supplied the Navy with the evaporator on Mr. Jack's ship in conformity to detailed precise specifications... without insulation,' with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship' - while conceding 'on the USS BRANNON this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The exhibit list identifies the era's controlling Navy insulation-spec suite as archival leads (BuShips Manual ch.39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39), 24 Aug 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos,' 15 Oct 1945; BuEng ch.13; BUMED 1977 memo). Documents that the class's insulation regime is asbestos-litigation-relevant at pleading/exhibit level.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2017 (litigation)
- Population
- Jack v. Borg-Warner plaintiff (alleged exposure aboard DE-446)
- Limitations
- Evidence about a sister hull (DE-446), NOT this hull - and pleading/exhibit-list stage only, never adjudicated as to DE-446 either. Recorded from the Atlas class profile; the docket was not re-pulled this session (fleet pacing). Establishes nothing about DE-348's materials or any individual exposure; included so the class-level corroboration is not silently treated as hull-specific.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-08
-
[9]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, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-348 (built 1943-44) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this specific hull or any destroyer-escort application specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Key' / 'DE-348' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'USS Key' type=o count=0, type=r count=2 (both collisions); 'DE-348' type=o count=11 (all ECF/PR-docket collisions); 'DE-348' type=r blocked (fleet pacing)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion sweep '"USS Key"' (type=o): 0 hits. Opinion sweep '"DE-348"' (type=o): 11 hits, ALL false positives - ECF document-entry-number citations ('DE 348') inside unrelated opinions (e.g., Doe 1 v. United States, S.D. Fla., 'Motion to Compel Answers (DE 348)') and Puerto Rico docket-number collisions (Banco Popular de Puerto Rico v. Zorrilla Posada; Manny Davila Inc v. ELA de PR; Rivera Zeno; Colon Collazo), plus unrelated civil/criminal opinions (United States v. Austin Woods; Hofmann v. EMI Resorts; Bruwer v. Oaks; Zinnemann v. Bagnol; Dilworth v. MetLife; Gov't of the Virgin Islands v. Joseph) - zero vessel or asbestos references among them. Docket sweep '"USS Key"' (type=r): 2 hits, both name collisions - United States v. Dropbox accounts (D. Guam 2023 search-warrant application) and United States v. Holmes (9th Cir. exhibits) - neither asbestos nor vessel-related. Docket sweep '"DE-348"' (type=r): attempted, blocked by fleet-wide pacing budget (HTTP 429 stand-down) - logged as blocked, not as no-result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is the CourtListener opinion + RECAP docket indexes only; state-court dockets not mirrored, PACER-only filings, and settled/undocketed claims are outside it. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - it proves no indexed opinion or docket names the hull. DE-348 was out of service from 1946, predating the asbestos-litigation era. The 'DE-348' docket-type sweep remains incomplete (blocked); 'USS Key' queries additionally collide with USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657) references.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-10
-
[11]Batch-4251 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource archive page + ship-submitted war-history scan; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 per-hull roster row and design-group table (scanned pages read visually); GAO product page; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog check; VA/BVA web search; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-04 through sl-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-key-de348-01 through sl-uss-key-de348-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-348: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos claim naming this hull was found in the sources searched - it was sold for scrapping in December 1972, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for preserved hulls, and its litigation window (in service 1944-46) closed before the asbestos-litigation era. The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Key (DE-348) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Negative result, not proof of absence: the hull was scrapped and cannot be surveyed; NARA construction/insulation records (RG 19 General Information Book; contract exhibits) are unsurveyed archival leads; PACER-only and state-court filings are outside the CourtListener sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-key-de348-11
