USS KNIGHT (DD-633)

Evidence

14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).

1. [1]research packet fu-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-knight-dd633-pkt-fu-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'USS Knight (DD-633/DMS-40)' entry (verbatim transcription via ibiblio HyperWar mirror; live NHHC page returns 404 - standing NHHC link-rot per Batch-01 report) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry under final designation DMS-40 (filed at dafs/DMS/dms40.html; no dafs/DD/dd633.html exists); spec block + full service narrative + namesake biography

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'USS Knight (DD-633/DMS-40)': Gleaves-class destroyer, dp. 1,630, l. 348'4", b. 36'1", dr. 17'5", s. 35 k., cpl. 261, a. 4 5"/4 40mm/4 20mm/5 21" tt/6 dcp/2 dct; namesake Admiral Austin Melvin Knight (1854-1927). Laid down 18 March 1941 by Boston Navy Yard; launched 27 September 1941 (sponsored by Miss Elizabeth H. Royal, granddaughter of Adm. Knight); commissioned 23 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. Richard B. Levin in command. Shakedown off New England; Norfolk 6 October 1942 for Operation Torch; cleared Chesapeake Bay 23 October; off Safi, French Morocco 8 November - landing control ship during the assault, then antisubmarine patrols; returned Norfolk 24 November. Three convoys New York-Casablanca/Fedhala 12 December 1942 - 28 April 1943. Departed Norfolk 8 June 1943 for the Mediterranean (Oran 22 June); TF 85 (Rear Adm. Kirk) for Sicily - off Scoglitti 9 July, fire support for 'Cent' Force landings 10 July, downed an attacking enemy fighter 11 July; Oran 16 July. Algerian/Tunisian escort and patrol; returned to Sicily 31 July for fire support to Patton's 7th Army; operated from Palermo to 22 August (rescued two Brant (ARS-32) sailors knocked overboard during a friendly-fire incident off Malta 11 August). Returned to Sicily 7 September; flagship of Task Group 80.4 - Ventotene Island 8-9 September (took 87 German prisoners), Salerno Bay 10 September fighting off air attacks that damaged Savannah (CL-42), supported capture of Capri 13 September; embarked Rear Adm. Conolly for Bizerte 27 September; Oran 30 September, New York 9 October. Five Atlantic convoy escort runs New York-United Kingdom 21 October 1943 - 1 May 1944. Mediterranean again 17 May 1944 (Oran 28 May); escort/ASW North Africa-Italy-Gibraltar; New York 22 August; UK convoys from 20 September; three Norfolk-Oran runs 28 December 1944 - 2 June 1945. Converted to high-speed minesweeper at Philadelphia Navy Yard 3 June - 24 July 1945; reclassified DMS-40 on 23 June; Norfolk 25 July; departed 12 August for the Pacific via San Diego and Pearl Harbor; Okinawa 28 September; Mine Squadron 21; Yellow Sea mine sweeping 19 October - 16 November; operations Okinawa-Japan to 24 February 1946; Kobe to San Francisco 5 April 1946; Bremerton 27-30 November; decommissioned 19 March 1947; reclassified DD-633 15 July 1955; Pacific Reserve Fleet at Stockton, Calif.; struck from the Navy List 1 December 1966; as of 1 September 1967 scheduled for use as a target off San Diego. Four battle stars for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941-1967

   Population

   Ship's company ~261 (DANFS design complement); Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion workforce 1945

   Limitations

   DANFS establishes identity, construction, service history, reclassifications, and disposal intent; it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Spec block header transcribed with a '(DD-33:' typo for DD-633 and 'Elizabeth II. Royal' for Elizabeth H. Royal (Wikipedia/NavSource corroborate H.). Live NHHC page 404s on all slug variants tried; the ibiblio HyperWar transcription controls.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-01

3. [3]NavSource Naval History, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive DMS-40 Knight (navsource.org/archives/11/0940.htm) - spec block, building/operational data, photo captions citing NARA and NHHC catalog numbers [other_primary]

   Locator

   Spec block + building/operational data + photo captions (NARA 19-N-55085; NHHC NH 77372) + commanding-officer roster

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry for Knight (DD-633 ex-DMS-40 ex-DD-633): class 'Gleaves Class Destroyer/Ellyson Class Highspeed Minesweeper'; laid down 18 March 1941 at Boston Navy Yard; launched 27 September 1941; commissioned 23 June 1942; 'Reclassified and converted to a High Speed Minesweeper, DMS-40, 30 May 1945' (conflicts with DANFS's 23 June reclassification date); decommissioned and placed in reserve 19 March 1947 at Bremerton, WA, laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton, CA Group (Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning as January 1947); reclassified DD-633 15 July 1955; struck from the Navy Register 1 December 1966; 'Sunk as a target 27 October 1967.' Specs: 1,630 t. (lt) / 2,200 t. (fl); 347'10" x 36'1" x 15'8"; 37 kts; complement 261; armament 4 x 5"/38 DP, 4 x 40mm, 5 x 20mm, 6 dcp, 2 dct; propulsion 'Four boilers, two steam turbines, two shafts.' Photo captions document NARA photo 19-N-55085 (off the New York Navy Yard, 20 October 1943) and NHHC photo NH 77372 (arriving San Francisco 5 April 1946). Commanding officers listed: LCDR Richard B. Levin (23 June 1942 - 3 May 1943), LCDR Joel C. Ford, Jr. (to 2 September 1944), CDR John B. Ferriter (to 30 November 1945), LCDR Roy A. Norelius (1946).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941-1967

   Population

   Ship's company (261 per NavSource/DANFS)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled secondary archive; building data and dates are consistent with DANFS but the compilation itself is not an official document - verification marked partial. DMS-40 reclassification date conflicts with DANFS (30 May vs. 23 June 1945 - logged in gaps); speed 37 kt vs. DANFS 35 kt; the 27 October 1967 sinking date rests on this source alone (DANFS records only the scheduled target use). No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-02

4. [4]ConvoyWeb, the Arnold Hague convoy database (convoyweb.org.uk/hague), vessel search 'KNIGHT' - 20 USS KNIGHT listings across UGF/GUF/CU/UC/UGS series [other_primary]

   Locator

   Hague DB search results for 'KNIGHT' - USS KNIGHT entries only (other 'Knight' namesakes - Geo W McKnight, Athelknight, Empire Knight, Iron Knight - are merchant vessels, excluded); UGF.1, UGF.3, UGF.5, UGF.7, UGF.9, UGF.11, GUF.3, GUF.5, GUF.7, GUF.11, CU.40, CU.46, UC.40A, UC.46A, UGS.65, UGS.76, UGS.88

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Independent convoy-level documentation of this hull's wartime employment: the Arnold Hague convoy database (ConvoyWeb) lists USS KNIGHT in 20 convoys - UGF.1 (Oct 1942 Hampton Roads-Casablanca, the Torch assault convoy), UGF.3/5/7 (Dec 1942-Apr 1943 Hampton Roads-Casablanca/Gibraltar), UGF.9 (Jun 1943 Hampton Roads-Oran), UGF.11 (May 1944 Hampton Roads-Med), GUF.3/5/7/11 (Dec 1942-Jun 1944 Oran-Hampton Roads returns), CU.40 and CU.46 (Sep/Nov 1944 NYC-Liverpool), UC.40A and UC.46A (Oct/Nov 1944 Liverpool-NYC returns), and UGS.65/76/88 (Dec 1944-Apr 1945 Hampton Roads-Gibraltar) - corroborating the DANFS convoy-escort narrative including the Torch departure window and the three 1944-45 Norfolk-Oran runs.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1942-1945

   Population

   Ship's company during convoy-escort periods 1942-1945

   Limitations

   Establishes convoy membership/routing, not materials - no asbestos content. Hague listings are compiled from Admiralty movement records; individual convoy escort assignments are corroborative documentation of where the hull was, independent of DANFS.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-03

5. [5]DANFS Knight narrative + NARA photo 19-N-55085 caption (via NavSource) + NavSource operational/building data [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS narrative yard entries; NavSource photo caption for NARA 19-N-55085 (New York Navy Yard, 1943-10-20) and building data

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Yard-presence documentation naming this hull: (a) Boston Navy Yard - built, 18 March 1941 - 23 June 1942 (DANFS); (b) New York Navy Yard - NARA photo 19-N-55085 captions this hull 'off the New York Navy Yard' 20 October 1943, consistent with the DANFS New York arrival of 9 October 1943 between convoy runs; (c) Philadelphia Navy Yard - entered 3 June 1945 for destroyer-minesweeper conversion, reclassified DMS-40 (23 June per DANFS; 30 May per NavSource), departed 24 July 1945 (DANFS); (d) Bremerton (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard environs) - arrived 27-30 November 1946 transit and decommissioned there 19 March 1947 (DANFS); (e) Pacific Reserve Fleet Stockton, CA Group - reserve layup to the 1966 strike (DANFS/NavSource; Stockton is a reserve-fleet anchorage, not a yard).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Population

   Boston Navy Yard construction workforce (1941-42); Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion workforce (Jun-Jul 1945); Puget Sound/Bremerton inactivation workforce (1946-47); ship's company during availabilities

   Limitations

   Documents which yards this hull entered and when - an exposure-window map, not a materials record. No work package, job order, or material list for the Philadelphia conversion or any availability was located; the asbestos scope of the 1945 conversion is inference only. The New York Navy Yard entry rests on a photo caption (ship presence off the yard, not necessarily an availability).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-04

6. [6]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'A Destroyer' by John Steinbeck, Vol. 20 No. 1 (February 2006) - editor's introduction documenting Steinbeck's September 1943 embarkation aboard USS Knight (DD-633) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   USNI Naval History Feb 2006 article, italicized editor's introduction (live page 403 to automated fetch; Wayback capture 2025-06-09 controls)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   John Steinbeck embarked aboard this hull in September 1943: U.S. Naval Institute's Naval History magazine records that the writer 'spent much of the first weeks of September on board the USS Knight (DD-633)' while the ship was 'flagship of a special-operations unit tasked with creating diversionary confusion in Italy's Gulf of Gaeta prior to the Allied invasion at Salerno and then supporting the landings, raiding convoys, and capturing islands.' His censored 24 November 1943 New York Herald Tribune dispatch described the ship only as 'the destroyer X' ('She bombarded at Casablanca and Gela and Salerno and she has captured islands... commissioned fifteen months ago' - matching this hull's June 1942 commissioning and Torch/Husky/Salerno record); the dispatches were collected in Once There Was a War (1958).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1943 (embarkation); 2006 (publication)

   Population

   Ship's company September 1943 (incl. embarked war correspondent)

   Limitations

   Historical-interest context: documents a notable embarked correspondent during the September 1943 TG 80.4 operations the DANFS narrative also records. Contains no asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-05

7. [7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v1 'No. 421 Class' machinery table (575 psi/700 deg F; 47,000 shp for lead ship DD-421) + NavSource hull spec (4 boilers/2 turbines/2 shafts) + DANFS-documented conversion event + Destroyer History Foundation DMS-conversion program page (MinRon 21 cohort naming this hull) + Atlas class profile benson-gleaves-class [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v1 DD machinery table (No. 421 Class row); NavSource DD-633/DMS-40 spec block; DANFS conversion paragraph; destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/dms/ ('DesDiv 30 (Cowie, Knight, Doran and Earle) ... organized as Mine Squadron 21' - verified 2026-09-27); class profile ev-benson-gleaves-class-04 (era inference, 1938-43 construction peak-era)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull carried the Benson/Gleaves-family machinery plant - 4 superheated boilers (575 psi/700 deg F class figures per the BuShips Ships' Data 1945 'No. 421 Class' machinery table) feeding two geared steam turbines (~47,000-50,000 shp with a documented BuShips-vs-secondary discrepancy) - built March 1941 - June 1942 at a Navy yard, peak Navy asbestos era. Typical applications for the type: boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe and turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, deck tile, accommodation insulation. The 3 June - 24 July 1945 Philadelphia Navy Yard DMS conversion was a machinery-space-disturbing yard period (minesweeping gear fitted aft per the class DMS-conversion record) - work of the kind that disturbed original insulation. Knight was a member of the twelve-ship 1945 DMS-conversion cohort organized as Mine Squadron 21.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Population

   Boston Navy Yard construction trades (1941-42); ship's company 1942-47; Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion workforce 1945

   Limitations

   Inference from documented machinery class, construction era, and documented yard periods - NOT a hull record. No specification, material schedule, survey, or abatement contract naming DD-633 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Every listed application is 'typical of the type/era,' not 'installed on this hull.' The 47,000 vs. 50,000 shp discrepancy between BuShips (DD-421) and secondary sources is documented in the class profile.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-06

8. [8]Atlas shipyards.json yard record 'boston-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 3, documented product list) + DANFS Knight construction data [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json 'boston-naval-shipyard' record; DANFS construction paragraph

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Builder-yard documentation: the Atlas shipyards dataset carries Boston Naval Shipyard at evidence tier 3 with documented asbestos products (John Crane gaskets and sealing materials). DANFS documents this hull built at that yard March 1941 - June 1942 (laid down 18 March 1941, launched 27 September 1941, commissioned 23 June 1942) - a hull built inside a tier-3-documented asbestos yard during the peak asbestos era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941-1942

   Population

   Boston Navy Yard construction workforce 1941-1942

   Limitations

   Yard-product documentation plus a documented hull build event - the combination is still not a hull materials record: no build specification or material schedule for DD-633 was located, and nothing establishes what asbestos products went aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Establishes the opportunity and environment only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-07

9. [9]Atlas shipyards.json yard record 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 3, documented product list) + DANFS Knight conversion narrative [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard' record; DANFS conversion paragraph (entered Philadelphia Navy Yard 3 June 1945; conversion completed 24 July 1945; reclassified DMS-40 23 June)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Conversion-yard documentation: the Atlas shipyards dataset carries Philadelphia Naval Shipyard at evidence tier 3 with documented asbestos products (Eagle-Picher Super 60; Onecote cement; Thermasil pipe covering and block; Unibestos; Cary block; Baldwin-Ehret-Hill asbestos products; Carey asbestos products; Kaylo; Garlock asbestos sheet gaskets and packing; Ruberoid; Johns-Manville pipe insulation). DANFS documents this hull inside that yard 3 June - 24 July 1945 for the destroyer-minesweeper conversion (reclassified DMS-40) - a machinery-space-disturbing availability at a tier-3-documented asbestos yard.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion workforce (Jun-Jul 1945); ship's company during the availability

   Limitations

   Yard-product documentation plus a documented hull-presence event - the combination is still not a hull materials record: no conversion work package, job order, or material list for DMS-40 was located, and nothing establishes what insulation was removed, disturbed, or installed aboard this hull. Establishes the opportunity and environment only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-knight-dd633-08

10. [10]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, per Batch-01 standing note; content via product-page description and class-profile record ev-benson-gleaves-class-05)

    Finding type

    gov_survey

    Finding

    Program context: GAO documented that the Navy's standing asbestos policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. For this hull the policy window is moot in the record sense: she decommissioned 1947, spent ~19 years in reserve layup, and was struck (1966) and sunk as a target (1967) before the policy existed - but the 1945 DMS conversion falls inside the era when disturbance of original insulation was routine and undocumented.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1975-1979 policy window; hull context 1945-1947

    Population

    Navy shipyard workers (program context)

    Limitations

    Program-level documentation postdating this hull's entire commissioned life - cited for what the Navy's disturbance-driven exposure model implies about undocumented wartime conversion work, not as hull evidence. Establishes nothing about materials aboard DD-633.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-knight-dd633-09

11. [11]DANFS disposal entry (scheduled target use) + NavSource sinking date (27 Oct 1967) + Basel Convention (1989/1992); IMO Hong Kong Convention (2009/2025); EU Reg. 1257/2013 - regulatory timeline only [other_primary]

    Locator

    DANFS closing paragraph; NavSource 'Sunk as a target 27 October 1967' line; Basel/IMO/EU instrument dates

    Finding type

    regulatory

    Finding

    Disposal-context record: the hull was struck 1 December 1966 and sunk as a target off San Diego 27 October 1967 (DANFS records the scheduled target use as of 1 September 1967; the sinking date rests on NavSource). Sinking means no shipbreaking occurred: any materials aboard went down with the hull, and no pre-sinking hazardous-materials survey for this hull was located. The disposal predates every modern regime governing hazardous-materials inventory in end-of-life vessels (Basel Convention in force 1992; IMO Hong Kong Convention adopted 2009, in force 26 June 2025; EU Ship Recycling Regulation 2013); none was required by the regimes then in force.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1966-1967 disposal; later regimes 1992/2013/2025

    Population

    Target-sinking preparation crews (1967, undocumented)

    Limitations

    Regulatory timeline plus documented disposal facts only - no source documents what materials were aboard or removed before sinking. Sunk-hull disposal means no surviving hull exists for any present-day survey and no shipbreaking workforce exposure event was generated. Whether the hull was stripped of salvageable or hazardous material before sinking is undocumented; the wreck's present condition and location are not surveyed.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-knight-dd633-10

12. [12]CourtListener API v4 searches (2026-09-27, all HTTP 200 authenticated, fleet-paced): '"USS Knight"' o=0/r=0; '"DD-633"' o=10 identifier collisions (non-asbestos federal contract/bankruptcy matters) / r=5 (4 unrelated + MDL-875 master aggregate match, unresolvable); '"Knight" asbestos' o=601/r=4,107 surname collisions with zero vessel context; '"aboard USS Knight" OR "aboard the Knight"' o=0 [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-knight-dd633-04 and -05

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming this hull. Exact-name sweeps: 'USS Knight' returned 0 hits on BOTH the opinion index (type=o) and the RECAP docket index (type=r, count 0 / document_count 0). Hull-number sweeps: 'DD-633' returned 10 opinion hits, all identifier collisions - federal procurement, bankruptcy, insurance, and criminal matters (U.S. v. Foster Wheeler, 316 F. Supp. 963, S.D.N.Y. 1970 Navy boiler-contract case; U.S. v. United Technologies x2; KDH Corp. v. U.S., 23 Cl. Ct. 34; Ohio Casualty v. U.S., 12 Cl. Ct. 590; Woods Hole Oceanographic v. U.S., 677 F.2d 149; U.S. v. Barnette, 800 F.2d 1558; U.S. v. White, 765 F.2d 1469; In re Bicoastal Corp., 134 B.R. 50) in which 'DD-633' is a DoD form/contract string, not a hull reference - and none is asbestos litigation in any event; 'DD-633' in the RECAP docket index returned 5 hits - four unrelated dockets (U.S. v. United Technologies contract docket; Catalano and Galardi bankruptcies; Arch Coal Ch. 11) plus the MDL-875 master asbestos docket (IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), J.P.M.L., MDL No. 875) whose aggregate indexed text contains the string 'DD-633' at an unresolvable position - asbestos-docket identifier match, vessel reference unverified. Broadened sweeps: '"Knight" asbestos' returned 601 opinion hits and 4,107 docket hits - every returned record a surname collision (asbestos plaintiffs surnamed Knight, e.g. Scapa Dryer Fabrics v. Roy Knight; Knight v. Huntington Ingalls; Knight v. A C & S), with zero vessel-context strings ('USS Knight'/'DD-633'/'DMS-40'/'destroyer'/'aboard') in the returned sets; '"aboard USS Knight" OR "aboard the Knight"' returned 0. No qualifying result. Law-firm 'Navy ship asbestos lists' do name USS Knight (DD-633) - excluded per source policy; such lists are marketing claims asserting no adjudicated fact.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    2026-09-27

    Limitations

    All planned queries executed and classified: zero qualifying results; every hit is a surname or identifier collision, none with vessel context. The DD-633 opinion hits were classified from case metadata/character (all non-asbestos federal procurement, bankruptcy, insurance, or criminal matters) - per-opinion full-text review was not performed under fleet pacing limits, but no such case is qualifying asbestos litigation regardless of how the DD-633 string appears inside it. The MDL-875 'DD-633' string cannot be resolved to a vessel reference without document-level review of a mega-docket; it is plausibly a DoD form code. RECAP coverage is limited to indexed text; unindexed dockets, state-court cases, and settled matters are outside coverage. 'Knight' is a high-collision surname; absence of located litigation does not mean none exists.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-knight-dd633-11

13. [13]Batch-3606 search ledger (this record), rows sl-uss-knight-dd633-01 through -09 [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-knight-dd633-01 through -09

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Knight, DD-633, or DMS-40 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Sources checked: DANFS (ibiblio HyperWar verbatim transcription; live NHHC 404 on all slug variants), NavSource mine-warfare photo archive, NVR register check (out of scope - disposed 1967, predating NVR digitized coverage), ConvoyWeb Hague database, USNI Naval History, Atlas class profile and shipyards dataset, general-web asbestos-mention check (law-firm list pages only - excluded per source policy), CourtListener authenticated sweep (see search_ledger).

    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 - a 1941-42 Gleaves-class steam destroyer built at a tier-3 Navy yard and given a machinery-space-disturbing 1945 conversion at a tier-3 asbestos yard is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials aboard. No hull survives for survey (sunk as target 1967). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-knight-dd633-12

14. [14]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships incl. General Information Books and ship engineering drawings), RG 181 (naval districts and shore establishments); NHHC/NARA photographic collections [other_primary]

    Locator

    https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; .../groups/019.html ; .../groups/181.html ; NARA photo 19-N-55085 and NHHC NH 77372 per NavSource captions

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Knight's commissioned period, June 1942 - March 1947, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (NAID 594258) at Archives II, College Park - digitization status unverified; (b) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) records incl. any General Information Book or plans file unit for DD-633 (per-hull material specifications - the strongest potential hull-level materials source; the alphabetical ship-drawings series holds a DD-423 file unit as NAID 158896600, so a DD-633 unit likely exists but the catalog query returned only a SPA shell this session) and the Philadelphia Navy Yard DMS-40 conversion work package (Jun-Jul 1945); (c) NARA RG 181 yard records for Boston Navy Yard (build) and Philadelphia NSY (conversion); (d) NARA photo 19-N-55085 (Knight off New York Navy Yard, 20 Oct 1943) and NHHC photo NH 77372 (arriving San Francisco 5 Apr 1946).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1941-1967 records

    Limitations

    Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DD-633 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-knight-dd633-13