Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 371-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-light-target-3-ix37-pkt-371-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Sinclair (Destroyer No. 275)' - build, service, Light Target-3 (IX-37) rename, cancelled conversion, disposal [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS online article, full narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The hull designated Light Target-3 (IX-37) was USS Sinclair (DD-275), a Clemson-class destroyer laid down 15 October 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Squantum, Mass.; launched 2 June 1919; commissioned 8 October 1919 (Lt. Comdr. C. S. Roberts). DANFS characteristics: 1,215 tons, 314'4" x 30'11" x 9'4", 34.5 knots, complement 122, armament 4x4in/1x3in/12x21in torpedo tubes. Service: Caribbean patrol 1920; Pacific Fleet, San Diego; July 1920 Alaska/BC tour with Secretary of the Navy; reserve at San Diego (date misprinted '25 May 1920'); recommissioned 27 September 1923 replacing a Honda Point wreck; Battle Fleet exercises and Puget Sound overhauls 1924-1928; Fleet Problem IX 1929; decommissioned San Diego 1 June 1929. On 22 November 1930 renamed Light Target-3 (IX-37); conversion to a radio-controlled target ship was cancelled due to faulty boilers and she was replaced by Kilty (DD-137); original name recovered 24 April 1931, destroyer designation 11 August 1931. Struck from the Navy list 5 June 1935; sold 30 August 1935 to Learner and Rosenthal, Oakland, Calif., for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1918-1935
- Population
- Crew ~122 (DANFS); construction trades (Bethlehem Squantum, 1918-19)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; contains no asbestos or material content - establishes identity, designation chain, and that the hull never operated as a target. Internal date inconsistencies in the DANFS narrative (reserve '25 May 1920' placed before July 1920 operations; final decommissioning 1929 vs NavSource 1930) are logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-01
-
[3]IX-37 designation assigned twice - Shipscribe IX unclassified-vessel index (compiled from Navy Ships' Data Books/Filing Manual) + NavSource DD-137 designation history; succession corroborated by DANFS Sinclair ('replaced by Kilty (DD-137)') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS Kilty DD-137 operational data block; shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX3/IX3type.html IX-37 (I)/(II) entries; DANFS Sinclair final paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- IX-37 was used twice. IX-37 (I): Sinclair (DD-275), renamed Light Target-3 22 November 1930 while laid up; reverted to DD-275/Sinclair 1931. IX-37 (II): Kilty (DD-137), reclassified 'Light target No. 3 (IX-37)' on 11 August 1931 (the same day Sinclair's DD-275 designation was restored) and reverted to DD-137 on 16 April 1932 - all while Kilty lay decommissioned in reserve (1922-1939). Kilty's DANFS entry omits the interlude entirely. Neither hull was ever converted or operated as a target; the functional radio-controlled target conversions were Stoddert (DD-302, IX-35) and Boggs (DD-136, IX-36).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1930-1932
- Limitations
- Prevents conflation of two hulls under one symbol. Succession is officially supported (DANFS Sinclair names Kilty as replacement; Shipscribe index compiled from Navy Ships' Data Books); Kilty's exact reclassification dates (11 Aug 1931 / 16 Apr 1932) rest on compiled reference tabulations (NavSource), not on a fetched primary document. Whether Kilty was formally renamed vs. only reclassified is unresolved - sources say 'reclassified'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-02
-
[4]OSHA Shipyard Employment eTool - Shipbreaking: Inventory of Hazardous Materials ('Asbestos (pipe insulation, bulkheads, wiring, tile, boilers)') [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSHA eTool, 'Inventory of Hazardous Materials' list and Figure 3 caption
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Federal OSHA guidance for shipbreaking identifies asbestos as expected aboard legacy vessels in pipe insulation, boilers, bulkheads, wiring, and tile - the same systems a 1918-19 steam destroyer carried (4 water-tube boilers, geared turbines). Era inference: asbestos magnesia lagging, gaskets, and packing were standard marine-insulation materials of the period for exactly this machinery fit.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- guidance current as accessed; vessel era 1918-1935
- Population
- Shipbreaking trades (general); by extension construction/overhaul crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only. OSHA's document covers shipbreaking of legacy vessels generally, names no hull, and does not establish asbestos aboard DD-275 specifically. No ship-specific survey, spec, or casualty report was located; ship scrapped 1935, before asbestos regulation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-03
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (October 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 PDF, 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that thermal insulation was 'the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships' and that Navy product specifications were not revised to eliminate asbestos thermal insulation until 1973-75 - establishing that U.S. naval vessel construction of the preceding decades, including this 1918-19 hull's era, routinely specified asbestos insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1979 (report); applicable construction era pre-1975
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation about the modern fleet (fieldwork Long Beach and Norfolk, 1979); postdates this hull's 1935 scrapping and documents application categories, not this vessel. Full text reached via GAO asset PDF through search-index extraction; direct fetch intermittently blocked.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-04
-
[6]DANFS, 'Boggs (Destroyer No. 136)' - the radio-controlled target-ship conversion the IX-series designations stood for [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Boggs narrative, conversion and Mobile Target Division service
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program context for 'Light Target' designations: Boggs (DD-136), the IX-36(II) hull, underwent 'extensive modifications to transform her into a radio-controlled target ship,' recommissioning as AG-19 on 19 December 1931 and serving Mobile Target Division 1 on high-speed radio-control tests and target towing. Sinclair (IX-37 I) was selected for the same conversion but it was cancelled on boiler condition; the designation period was administrative only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1931-1941 (program); hull IX designation 1930-31
- Limitations
- Program-level context; documents what conversion entailed for the sister targets, not any fact about DD-275's own material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-05
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[7]CourtListener API v4 sweeps - 'IX-37' opinion search (32 hits, all name collisions: exhibit/section-number matches in unrelated Texas/school/probate matters); 'USS Sinclair' (0 results); '"Light Target" destroyer' (0 results); '"Sinclair" asbestos ship' (45 hits, none vessel-relevant - Sinclair surname/Sinclair Oil defendant-name collisions inside unrelated opinions); authenticated via fleet rate-limited helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-light-target-3-ix37-09 through sl-uss-light-target-3-ix37-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located: 'IX-37' returned 32 opinion hits, every one a name collision (string matched exhibit or section numbers in unrelated litigation - e.g., Texas HHSC, school-district, probate matters); 'USS Sinclair' exact-name returned 0 results; '"Light Target" destroyer' returned 0 results; '"Sinclair" asbestos ship' returned 45 hits with no vessel-relevant case names or snippets (Sinclair Oil/surname collisions inside unrelated asbestos and admiralty opinions). All hits were classified before exclusion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a docketed case does not prove absence of exposure; a ship scrapped in 1935 largely predates asbestos tort litigation, so a null sweep is expected rather than probative. RECAP docket coverage is partial for older matters; WWI-era construction-era claims would not surface by hull name anyway.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-06
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[8]Batch-4806 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Sinclair, Kilty, Boggs); NavSource DD-275/DD-137 photo histories; Shipscribe IX index; NARA catalog; Naval Vessel Register; OSHA shipbreaking eTool; GAO HRD-80-2; CourtListener sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-light-target-3-ix37-01 through sl-uss-light-target-3-ix37-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, insulation spec, or hull-naming document was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold and broken up in 1935 - before asbestos regulation, before the asbestos litigation era, and before the preservation-museum regime that generates hazmat disclosures for surviving ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; 1918-19 steam-warship construction is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, but that inference is not ship-proven. Establishes no exposure fact and defeats none.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-07
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[9]NARA archival leads (unretrieved): RG 19 Bureau of Ships construction/machinery records for DD-275; RG 24 deck logs for Sinclair's 1929-31 reserve period; Boston Federal Records Center holdings for Bethlehem Squantum (closed yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search (no digitized DD-275 records located)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Lead only: pre-WWII deck logs and Bureau of Ships hull files for DD-275 (including any documentation of the cancelled target conversion and the 'faulty boilers' finding) exist in analog NARA custody (RG 19/RG 24) but are not digitized in catalog.archives.gov; no retrieval performed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1918-1935 records; checked 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Unretrieved archival lead - contents unknown; inclusion marks the next research step, not an assertion about contents.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-light-target-3-ix37-08