Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet kc-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Kretchmer
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kretchmer-de329-pkt-kc-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (1968 ed., Vol. 3, p. 676), Kretchmer (DE-329) - construction, service narrative, spec block, and bracketed disposal note citing K. J. Bauer & S. S. Roberts, Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy 1775-1990, p. 225; verbatim HazeGray transcription (live NHHC page 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS transcription, full entry (namesake paragraph, spec block, narrative, disposal bracket)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Ens. Raymond Joseph Kretchmer, USNR (commissioned Ensign 12 Sep 1941; killed in action 9 Aug 1942 aboard USS Astoria at the Battle of Savo Island); laid down 28 Jun 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 31 Aug 1943, sponsor Miss Betty Kretchmer; commissioned 13 Dec 1943, Lt. R. C. Wing in command. Spec block: 1,200 t., 306 ft., 21 kt., complement 186, Edsall class. WWII: Caribbean convoy escort from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad (1944); convoy escort to Europe via Curacao screening shipping for Naples (southern-France assaults); five convoys New York to U.K. ports 20 Sep 1944-27 Apr 1945; Pacific occupation and repatriation duty incl. evacuation of Allied POWs from Formosa Sep 1945; departed Hong Kong 1 Apr 1946. Postwar: decommissioned 20 Sep 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; recommissioned as DER-329 22 Sep 1956 after extensive conversion; Northern Radar Barrier operations from Boston then Newport, R.I. (1957-1962); Sleipnir rescue Aug 1961; post-missile-crisis picket off the southern U.S. coast and plane guard for USS Essex (CVS-9) in Key West waters, incl. the fishing vessel Ala rescue and 21 Feb 1963 MiG-17 incident; Boston Naval Shipyard overhaul from 21 May 1965; Guam homeport 2 Aug 1965; Operation Market Time off South Vietnam (~17,000 contacts investigated, 1,000+ small craft boarded in the first patrol year); radar-picket/escort duties off Vietnam through 1966 into 1967. Bracketed note: stricken from the Navy Register 30 Sep 1973, sold 14 May 1974.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel (Orange, Tex.) construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 186); DER-era and Vietnam-era crew
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. The 1968 entry omits the 1951-54 USCG loan entirely. Internal chronology compresses the Guam availabilities ('10 December' year unqualified; '22 February 1966' departure follows a stated 'year of patrol'). DANFS reads 'Port-au-Spain' - a period typo for Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Live NHHC page returned 404 at research date; verbatim HazeGray transcription cited (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror contains its own typos - 'DER-320', '22 December 1956').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Kretchmer (DE 329), 'Building and Operational Data' chronology and specification block (Wayback capture 2024-09-15; live fetch blocked at research date) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org DE-329 page, 'Kretchmer (DE 329) Building and Operational Data' bullet chronology and 'Specifications' block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource operational chronology covering the periods DANFS omits or compresses: decommissioned 20 Sep 1946 at Charleston, S.C., then towed to Green Cove Springs, Fla. for storage; loaned to the U.S. Coast Guard 20 Jun 1951 and commissioned WDE-429; returned to the Navy and decommissioned 12 Aug 1954 after 3 years 1.5 months; reclassified and converted to DER-329, 21 Oct 1955; recommissioned 22 Sep 1956, Lcdr. Charles F. Fadeley in command, Newport, R.I., Escort Squadron 16; homeport Apra, Guam (CortRon 7) 2 Aug 1965; homeport Pearl Harbor Sep 1969; homeport Key West, Fla. (DesDiv 601) Nov 1969; decommissioned at Naval Station Key West 1 Oct 1973 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register (18 years 11 months total service); sold for scrapping 14 May 1974. USCG loan corroborated by uboat.net allied-warships entry and the Naval Cover Museum designation list.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1946-1974
- Population
- USCG crew (WDE-429) 1951-1954; Navy crew DER-329 era 1956-1973
- Limitations
- NavSource is a respected volunteer-run secondary compilation, not an official register; the 1951-54 USCG period is not confirmed by a located official source (USCG Historian site returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - marked partial. Decommission location conflicts with DANFS (Charleston vs. Green Cove Springs). DER conversion yard is not identified. Complement figure (8 officers/201 enlisted) conflicts with the DANFS spec block (186).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-02
-
[4]The Daily News (Galveston, Tex.), 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement,' Keri Heath, 27 Jul 2020 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article body (paragraphs on the October survey, boiler room, Navy inspection recommendation, and abatement approval)
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard an Edsall-class sister hull: USS Stewart (DE-238) - the only preserved Edsall-class destroyer escort, museum ship at Seawolf Park, Galveston - had an asbestos survey performed after mechanics preparing to work on a boiler room recommended one in October 2019; the environmental firm recommended abatement in the boiler room and some public areas; U.S. Navy inspections (the Navy owns the hull) had recommended the survey; abatement by Separation Systems Consultants was approved July 2020 and the vessels had been closed to the public since November 2019.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2019-2020
- Population
- Galveston Naval Museum staff and visitors; abatement contractor personnel, Seawolf Park
- Limitations
- Documents ACM aboard a sister hull of the same class - NOT aboard DE-329. Establishes that Edsall-class construction included asbestos-containing material surviving into the present, but does not establish content, location, or quantity aboard Kretchmer, which was scrapped in 1974 with no condition survey located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Edsall class) + NavSource FMR-type propulsion specification for DE-329 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block (class: Edsall) and NavSource 'Specifications' block (FMR geared-diesel type)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a destroyer escort built in 1943 at Consolidated Steel's wartime Orange, Texas yard carried period-standard asbestos-containing products - insulation and lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and deck coverings. Her FMR geared-diesel plant (4 Fairbanks-Morse diesels, 2 shafts, no boilers or steam system) means the asbestos profile is weighted toward exhaust and equipment insulation rather than the boiler/turbine lagging load of steam ships. Same-class documentation aboard museum sister USS Stewart (DE-238) confirms asbestos products were present in Edsall-class construction (see ev-03).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Consolidated Steel (Orange, Tex.) construction trades 1943; crew 1943-1973 (plus USCG crew 1951-1954)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - not a hull record. No ship-specific materials documentation located; product list reflects era-standard categories, not an inventory of DE-329. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, or condition of asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov product page (report summary; full text 403 to automated fetch per Batch-01 note)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas; fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. For this hull the policy timing is itself the finding: stricken 30 Sep 1973 and sold for scrap 14 May 1974, Kretchmer's entire service life and disposal predate the Navy's documented insulation-removal program - era insulation would have remained in place unless routine maintenance disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (program); hull disposed 1974
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crew (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level record; does not name this hull and its fieldwork yards (Long Beach, Norfolk) were not Kretchmer's documented yards (Boston Naval Shipyard, 1965). Establishes policy timing only - no shipboard conditions, no exposure data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 opinion index, queries run 2026-09-28: exact name "USS Kretchmer"; surname "Kretchmer" [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search (type=o), 2026-09-28; queries and classifications in this record's search_ledger
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in the CourtListener opinion index: exact-name query "USS Kretchmer" returned 0 results; surname query "Kretchmer" returned 100 opinion results, all personal-name collisions (criminal, estate, insurance, and real-estate litigants named Kretchmer). The sole asbestos-matched hit, La Monica v. Kretchmer, 64 Misc. 2d 821 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1970), concerns injunction against enforcement of New York City asbestos spray-coating regulations against defendants including EPA Administrator Jerome Kretchmer - a personal-name collision; the vessel is not a party or a referenced exposure site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is the opinion index; RECAP docket-type and hull-number-string queries (DE-329, DER-329, WDE-429) were deferred/blocked by fleet request pacing at research time - coverage is partial. Absence of located opinions is not proof no pleading or unindexed case exists; asbestos exposure-site claims typically live in state-court pleadings not indexed by opinion text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-06
-
[8]Kenneth Spencer Research Library (University of Kansas), 'U.S.S. Kretchmer materials' collection, incl. Dr. Sheridan, 'A Brief History of the U.S.S. Kretchmer (DE 329) in WWII' (1991) and Charley Manning's compiled history (undated) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.lib.ku.edu repositories/3/archival_objects/381141 (collection); /381151 (Sheridan history); /381152 (Manning history)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A named-hull archival collection exists: crew-generated histories and memorabilia for USS Kretchmer (DE-329) donated by WWII crew member Dr. Sheridan (USNR), including a 1991 'Brief History of the U.S.S. Kretchmer (DE 329) in WWII', a compiled history by Charley Manning, reunion correspondence, and newspaper clippings. Potential primary source for firsthand descriptions of shipboard conditions and materials.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (service described); 1991 (history compiled)
- Population
- WWII crew (USNR), USS Kretchmer
- Limitations
- Finding aid consulted; contents not reviewed. The collection may contain no asbestos-relevant material; it is a lead for future primary-source work, not evidence of any condition aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-07
-
[9]Batch-4231 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (404; transcriptions used); NVR (pre-1987 disposals not yet in register); USCG Historian site (HTTP 403); CourtListener opinion sweep (no qualifying litigation); museum/museum-ship press for class sister USS Stewart [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kretchmer-de329-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-329 / DER-329 / WDE-429: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or report, no museum hazmat disclosure (no museum hull exists - sold for scrapping 14 May 1974), no NVR entry (pre-1987 disposal), and no docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - 1943-era construction makes period ACM likely at the class level (ev-03, ev-04), but nothing ship-specific was found. Scrapping-era ACM content and disposal-site handling are undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kretchmer-de329-08