Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet jb-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-laub-dd263-pkt-jb-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Laub I (Destroyer No. 263) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative, transfer; verbatim text via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 - live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Laub I (Destroyer No. 263)', specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'The first Laub (Destroyer No. 263) was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Squantum, Mass., 20 April 1918; launched 28 August 1918; sponsored by Miss Marjorie Mohan, a collateral descendent of Henry Laub; and commissioned 17 March 1919, Comdr. W. F. Amsden in command.' Spec block: dp. 1,190; l. 314'5"; b. 31'8"; dr. 9'3"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 120; a. 4 4", 2 3", 4 21" tt.; cl. Clemson. Atlantic destroyer force out of Newport R.I.; NC-4 transatlantic flight plane guard off Newfoundland 2-17 May 1919; Brest 17 July 1919; Constantinople 2 September (Food Commission relief); New York 4 October; San Diego 27 November; torpedo experiments and reserve training cruises along the Pacific coast until decommissioned 15 June 1922; recommissioned 18 December 1939 (Comdr. B. W. Chippendale); Guantanamo 7 April 1940 Caribbean neutrality patrol; Galveston Gulf of Mexico patrols; Halifax 5 September 1940; decommissioned 8 October; transferred to Great Britain the following day under the destroyer-bases agreement; served the Royal Navy protecting Allied shipping in the North Atlantic as Burwell.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1940
- Population
- Bethlehem Squantum construction trades 1918-19; commissioned-era crew (design complement 120)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents namesake, construction, service chronology, and transfer - not materials or asbestos content. The DANFS text does not state the 8 January 1942 striking (NavSource supplies it - logged in gaps) and does not state the scrapping (NHHC Online Library supplies 'scrapped in the United Kingdom in 1947'). Launch date reads 28 August here vs 25 August in Ships' Data 1921 and NavSource - variant logged in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s; verbatim text carried from the Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-01
-
[3]Bureau of Construction and Repair, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, July 1, 1921 edition (Navy Department; Google digitization via shipscribe.com), destroyer tabulated tables, LAUB DD-263 rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1921 destroyer tables, printed pp. ~104-109: LAUB DD-263 row (table row 142) on the dimensions, machinery, armament/builder, and dates pages
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Official Navy Department data book rows for this hull as of 1 July 1921 (alphabetical destroyer table row 142): dimensions 314'4" overall, 310'0" waterline, ~30'11" beam, 9'4" mean draft, normal displacement 1,215 tons; machinery - two propellers, 'Curtis geared turb.', four Yarrow oil-burning boilers, designed power 27,540 shp, trial 27,535 shp; armament 4 x 4"/50 cal., 1 x 3"/23 cal. A.A., 4 x 21" triple torpedo tubes; builder 'Beth. S. B. Corp., Squantum' (ditto of the Lardner row immediately above), cost-plus-fee contract, act of 6 October 1917; dates - keel laid 20 April 1918, launched 25 August 1918, commissioned 17 March 1919.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1921
- Population
- Bethlehem Squantum construction trades; commissioned crew as of 1921
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous characteristics table - documents machinery type/count, dimensions, armament, builder, contract type, and dates for this hull; contains no materials or asbestos information. The SDB launch date (25 August 1918) conflicts with the DANFS text (28 August) - variant logged in gaps. Table values read from OCR of an image-only Google scan; the ~30'11" beam figure differs from DANFS's 31'8" (moulded vs. extreme beam or OCR ambiguity), and the fuel/complement columns of the trial table were not cleanly legible for this hull - not carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Laub (Destroyer # 263, later DD-263), 1919-1940' page and photo captions (verbatim via ibiblio HyperWar mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library DD-263 page, photo caption list (NH 102902, NH 60641, NH 93975, 80-G-424619)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC photo captions for this hull: NH 102902 photographs Laub 'at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 4 June 1919' - a documented ship-specific yard presence during her first commission; NH 60641 'receiving mail at sea, 16 September 1919'; NH 93975 shows Laub nested with sister destroyers at San Diego circa 1919-1920; NARA holds photo 80-G-424619, a port-bow aerial view circa 1940. The page text states she 'was given the designation DD-263 in mid-1920,' was 'laid up for the rest of the 1920s and all but two weeks of the 1930s,' and as HMS Burwell 'was subsequently employed on convoy escort and patrol service in the North Atlantic' and 'was scrapped in the United Kingdom in 1947.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Population
- Crew 1919-1922 and 1939-1940; Boston Navy Yard workers during the 4 June 1919 visit
- Limitations
- Captions document events, dates, and configuration, not materials: none mentions asbestos. The Boston Navy Yard presence (4 June 1919) is documented; the nature/duration of the yard visit is not stated. 'Scrapped in the United Kingdom in 1947' establishes disposition without naming buyer or site.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-03
-
[5]NARA Special List 44 named-vessel logbook inventory, 'Laub (DD-263)' rows; NARA RG 19 Ship Plan Index, LAUB DD-263 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Special List 44 'Laub' table rows; archives.gov RG 19 Ship Plan Index 'LAUB' rows (NAIDs 53484425, 175669691)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two NARA holding lists name this hull: (1) Special List 44 lists 'Laub (DD-263)' deck logs covering 3/17/1919-6/15/1922 (first commission) plus a fragmentary row 1/1/1922-6/15/1922 annotated 'see Lapwing, 1922' - no 1939-1940 recommission-period logs appear for DD-263 in the named-vessel listing; (2) the RG 19 Ship Plan Index lists LAUB DD-263 under Alphabetical Ship Drawings NAID 53484425 and Microfilm NAID 175669691.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1919-1922 (listed coverage)
- Population
- Crew of record, 1919-1922 commission
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - holdings are undigitized/unpulled in this effort; deck logs would not normally state insulation materials and the drawing sets' content is unexamined. Nothing asserted from them beyond existence. The apparent absence of 1939-40 logbooks from the SL44 listing is noted, not resolved (coverage may exist under another heading).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-04
-
[6]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DD-263 (chronology, class spec block, commanding-officer list, stricken date) via Wayback capture 2025-01-12; corroborated by DANFS text [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/263.htm spec block + Operational and Building Data + CO table (Wayback capture 2025-01-12)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource index for this hull: 'Laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Squantum Ma. on April 20 1918. Launched August 25 1918 and commissioned March 17 1919. Decommissioned June 15 1922, Recommissioned December 18 1939. Decommissioned October 9 1940. To Britain October 9 1940, renamed HMS Burwell (H94). Stricken January 8 1942. Broken up for Scrap in 1947.' Class spec block: 1,215 tons, 314'5" x 31'8" x 9'10", machinery 26,500 shp geared turbines, 2 screws, 35 knots, crew 114. CO list: LCDR William F. Amsden (Mar 1919), LT Robert B. Carney (Nov 1919, later ADM), LT Ralph H. Henkle (to Jun 1922), CDR Burton W. Chippendale (Dec 1939), LT Edwin S. Schanze (Jul-Oct 1940, later RADM).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1947
- Population
- Crew 1919-1922, 1939-1940
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source - used for corroboration and for the stricken date DANFS omits. Reads launch 25 August and final decommissioning 9 October against DANFS's 28 August / 8 October; complement 114 vs DANFS 120 - variants logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-05
-
[7]naval-history.net, 'HMS BURWELL (H 94) - ex-US Destroyer, including Convoy Escort Movements' (Lt Cdr G. B. Mason RN transcription) via Wayback capture 2017-08-12; hmscavalier.org.uk ship history for scrap-sale date [other_primary]
- Locator
- naval-history.net HMS Burwell movement chronology (Wayback capture 2017-08-12); hmscavalier.org.uk HMS Burwell page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Specialist secondary transcription of official movement records for this hull's Royal Navy phase: commissioned as HMS Burwell at Halifax; taken in hand by HM Dockyard Devonport for convoy-escort modifications into January 1941; allocated to the 12th Escort Group February 1941 (collision with sister HMS Ripley 13 February); NW Approaches escort March-April; Iceland-based mid-Atlantic duty May-June; Newfoundland Escort Group from July 1941; detached from convoy HX145 in August 1941 to assist in the capture of U-570; 15th Escort Group September, 4th Canadian Escort Group October; refit November 1941-January 1942; Londonderry-based Atlantic escort; withdrawn to reserve October 1943 and converted to an air target ship; laid up at Milford Haven January 1945; sold for scrap March 1947 (hmscavalier.org.uk reads 4 March 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1947
- Population
- Royal Navy crew, 1940-1945
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary transcription, not a primary source - carried as context for the RN phase only; does not document materials, insulation, or asbestos content aboard. RN refit scopes (Devonport 1940-41; late-1941 refit) are not itemized in the sources searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-06
-
[8]SDB 1921 machinery table for this hull (Curtis geared turbines, 4 Yarrow oil-burning boilers) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bethlehem Shipbuilding record [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1921 destroyer machinery table (row 142); shipyards.json record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (tier 3)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1918-1919 Clemson-class flush-deck destroyer with a four-boiler oil-fired steam plant (4 Yarrow boilers, Curtis geared turbines, 2 shafts, design 27,540 shp per SDB 1921 machinery table; 35 kt per DANFS). Steam plants of this era carried asbestos in boiler and machinery insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and electrical insulation. Builder Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. is a tier-3 yard in the Atlas dataset with yard-level documented products (asbestos-containing block, cement, insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, welding blankets) and a Selikoff-era cohort association for Bethlehem shipyards.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem Squantum construction trades 1918-19; crew 1919-1922 and 1939-1940; RN crew 1940-1945
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record supports 'documented aboard this hull' wording; establishes no quantities, no locations, and no individual exposure. The yard dataset's merged Bethlehem record covers multiple Bethlehem facilities (Quincy/Fore River, Sparrows Point, Union Iron Works); Squantum-specific product documentation is not separately identified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-07
-
[9]GAO HRD-80-2, Navy asbestos-removal policy context (standing BATCH-01 note: gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product description (standing BATCH-01 citation)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy's standing asbestos-removal policy dates from 1975 (remove asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). This hull left U.S. custody at Halifax in October 1940 and was scrapped in the United Kingdom in 1947 - roughly three decades before the documented Navy asbestos-control era and before disposal hazmat documentation practices.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1975-1980 (policy era) vs 1918-1947 (hull life)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - GAO HRD-80-2 does not name this hull or class; it bounds what U.S.-custody documentation could exist, it does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard. gao.gov 403 to automated fetches (standing note); full-text pull remains an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for this hull (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoints (type=o opinions, type=r dockets); per-query counts and dispositions in search_ledger rows sl-uss-laub-dd263-09 and sl-uss-laub-dd263-14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Laub or DD-263 located in CourtListener (API v4, authenticated, fleet-paced, swept 2026-09-27): '"USS Laub"' opinions 0 hits, dockets 0 hits; '"DD-263"' opinions 1 hit - Spurrier v. United Bank, Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1978, where 'DD-263' is the appellate docket number (name collision, not a ship); '"DD-263"' dockets 4 hits, all name collisions (bankruptcy and civil dockets - Popfinger Ch. 7 S.D. Fla., Madoff SIPA S.D.N.Y., French v. Wilkinson N.D. Tex., Pocock v. Software in the Public Interest S.D.N.Y.); '"Laub" asbestos' opinions 11 hits and dockets 81 hits (20 inspected), all surname collisions - 'Laub' is a person surname throughout (e.g., plaintiff in Laub v. Honeywell Intl Inc, S.D. Ill. 2001; law-firm names Gross Shuman Brizdle Laub & Gilfillan and Smith Paff & Laub in captions); none names a vessel. '"HMS Burwell"' opinion query blocked by fleet pacing after 7 retries and logged in the ledger. Reviewer note: post-1941 'USS Laub' references in litigation ordinarily concern the Benson-class DD-613 (in commission 1942-1946), not this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (sweep date)
- Limitations
- Completed queries returned no qualifying hit, but the sweep does not exclude unindexed dockets, unreported settlements, state-court matters outside coverage, or cases naming only the DD-613 hull; one supplemental query ('"HMS Burwell"' opinions) remained blocked by the fleet pacing budget at finalize time (7 retries over ~30 min) - logged as blocked, not as a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-09
-
[11]Search-ledger composite: NHHC/DANFS via Wayback, hazegray/losthistory DANFS transcription, SDB 1921 (shipscribe scan), NHHC Online Library (ibiblio mirror), NavSource (Wayback), NARA SL44 + RG 19 index, NVR probe, CourtListener sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-laub-dd263-01 through sl-uss-laub-dd263-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-263: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, disposal hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming the vessel was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull left U.S. custody October 1940 and was scrapped in the United Kingdom in March 1947 - before Navy asbestos-control programs and disposal documentation practices, so a U.S.-custody abatement record is not expected to exist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1947 (hull life); 2026-09-27 (search)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1918-19 steam-plant hull is consistent with retained era materials through its service life and 1947 UK scrapping. Does not rule out unindexed litigation, unreported claims, or records in unpulled NARA holdings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-laub-dd263-10