Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet kl-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lovering-de39-pkt-kl-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Lovering (DE-39), Vol. 5 (1969), pp.151-152 (namesake paragraph, builder, dates, service narrative, striking; verbatim hazegray transcription - live NHHC page returns 404 and no Wayback capture of the NHHC URL exists; identical live transcription at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de39.txt) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry DE-39, namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative (Vol. 5, 1969, pp.151-152)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake William Bacon Lovering, born 3 August 1913 at Nahant, Mass.; Harvard graduate; enlisted in the Naval Reserve 2 August 1940; appointed midshipman 22 November at Illinois Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School; commissioned ensign 28 February 1941 and assigned to destroyer Hammann (DD-412); died 6 June 1942 when Hammann was torpedoed and sunk while aiding salvage of Yorktown (CV-5) at the Battle of Midway. This hull was the second intended namesake: the name Lovering had been assigned to DE-272 (launched 4 June 1943 at Boston Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph S. Lovering, the ensign's sister-in-law) and was canceled 14 June 1943 when that hull was leased to Great Britain (commissioned as HMS Gould K-476, sunk by U-358 1 March 1944) - DE-39 received the name the same day, 14 June 1943. Hull: originally scheduled for transfer to Great Britain, laid down as BDE-39 on 7 September 1942 by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash.; ordered retained for Navy use; named Lovering 14 June 1943; reclassified DE-39 on 16 June; launched 18 June 1943, sponsored by Miss J. Shannon; commissioned 17 September 1943, Lt. Comdr. A. H. Donaldson, USNR, in command. 25 months of service: coastal shakedown and training with carriers, destroyers, submarines; departed San Francisco 4 December 1943, arrived Pearl Harbor 16 December, departed 4 days later on escort voyage to the Gilbert Islands (arrived 28 December); six months operating out of the Gilberts, mainly from Tarawa, with escort runs to Kwajalein and Majuro (declared secure 7 February 1944) and Eniwetok (after 22 February seizure); returned to Pearl Harbor 27 July 1944 for drydock, then served as target and training vessel for submarines; resumed that duty after returning to the Marshall Islands 19 September; from late October escort missions to Saipan and Guam, concluded 10 March 1945; then steamed to Ulithi for final assignment screening and escorting logistic support groups of the 3d/5th Fleets - Iwo Jima and Ryukyus invasion areas the main theaters; departed for home 9 July 1945, arrived San Pedro 28 July; overhaul prematurely halted 17 August; towed to Terminal Island 6 September; decommissioned 16 October; struck from the Navy Register 1 November 1945; sold to Hugo Neu of New York City on the last day of 1946. Three battle stars for World War II service. Specification block: 1,140 t; 289'5" x 35'2" x 8'3"; 21 k.; complement 156.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (DANFS complement 156)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents namesake, builder, dates, and service narrative - it contains no materials or asbestos information. Live NHHC page 404s for every URL variant tried (checked 2026-09-28) and no Wayback capture of an NHHC Lovering page exists; the verbatim hazegray transcription is cited via its live losthistory.net mirror and a 2016 Wayback capture of hazegray.org. DANFS gives no exact decommissioning location name - the narrative sequence (San Pedro overhaul, tow to Terminal Island 6 September, decommission 16 October) implies Terminal Island; NavSource's 'Treasure Island Naval Station, San Francisco' conflicts and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (15 April 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-010 - DE register row 201 for this hull + DE design-group table row for GMT (shipscribe.com scan, OCR); corroborated by NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45' DE-39 entry (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription: diesel-electric tandem-motor drive 6,000 hp, complement 15 officers + 183 enlisted) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf scan pp.252-253 (DE register row 201 'LOVERING DE39') and pp.234-235 (DE design-group table, GMT row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips register row 201 (register pp.252-253) names this hull: 'LOVERING ... DE39', design group GMT; built by Navy Yard, Puget Sound; contract price $1,649,400; contract signed 1 November 1941 (ditto of preceding Navy-yard DE rows); keel laid 7 September 1942; launched 18 June 1943; date of first commission 17 September 1943. The GMT design-group table (pp.234-235) fixes the type plant: 289 ft 5 in oa / 283 ft 6 in wl, beam 35 ft 2 in, 1,140 t standard (1,430 t full load), ~21.5 kt trial, accommodations 15 officers / 183 enlisted, 2 propellers, 4 G.M. diesel engines model 16-278A at 6,000 hp, boiler columns 'None' - a diesel-electric tandem-motor drive with no steam plant; armament 3 x 3-inch/50 D.P., 1 quad 1.1-inch AA mount. GMT group definition per the table: 'Diesel electric tandem motor drive - short hull.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design accommodations 15 officers / 183 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official register (scan read by OCR; register entries transcribed from the page image and consistent with DANFS on every overlapping field, including the 17 September 1943 commission date). Documents contract/dates/design plant - no materials or asbestos information. The register predates the war's end and records no disposition. Contract price/date are ditto-carried from the preceding Navy-yard DE rows; independent confirmation of the 1 November 1941 contract date for this hull not separately located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-02
-
[4]NavSource Online DE photo archive, USS Lovering (DE 39) page (navsource.org/archives/06/039.htm) - building/operational data via search-index snippet; page itself blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 406) at session time [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/039.htm search-index snippet (fetch blocked at session time)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull (search-index snippet, not fetched directly): keel laid 7 September 1942 as BDE-39 by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton; renamed Lovering 14 June 1943; reclassified DE-39 16 June 1943; launched and christened 18 June 1943, sponsor Miss J. Shannon; commissioned 11 September 1943, Lcdr. A. H. Donaldson, USNR, in command; decommissioned 16 October 1945 at Treasure Island Naval Station, San Francisco, after 2 years and 1 month of service; struck from the NVR 1 November 1945; sold 31 December 1946 for scrapping to Hugo Neu of New York City, resold to and scrapped at the National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Los Angeles. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 stars, WWII Victory Medal.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Scrapping workers, National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, 1946-47
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source - not primary documentation. Overlapping dates agree with DANFS/SDB except two: NavSource reads commissioned 11 September 1943 (DANFS and the BuShips register both read 17 September) and decommissioned at Treasure Island Naval Station (the DANFS narrative sequence - San Pedro overhaul, tow to Terminal Island 6 September 1945, decommission 16 October - implies Terminal Island). Both conflicts carried in gaps rather than resolved. NavSource alone supplies the post-sale scrapping chain (National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-03
-
[5]BuShips SDB-1945 GMT design-group table (pp.234-235: 4 x GM 16-278A diesels, 6,000 hp, boiler columns 'None') + Atlas shipyard dataset, 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard' record (tier 1; DTIC AD0715808; PMIDs 1065583, 19235622; Superfund WA2170023418) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf pp.234-235 (GMT row); shipyards.json record 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a GMT-type destroyer escort built 1942-43 would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-electric ship - exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, fireproofing, and deck coverings - but no boilers or steam-line lagging (the BuShips design table records 'None' in the GMT boiler columns). Builder Puget Sound Navy Yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 1): pulmonary abnormalities in 21% of pipe coverers/insulators and 40-150 f/cc during rip-out (DTIC AD0715808, 1970); amosite/chrysotile exposure during overhaul rip-out and installation with preformed magnesia block ~15% asbestos (PMID 1065583, 1962-1972 study period); a peer-reviewed visual review of WWII-era exposure conditions at the yard (PMID 19235622, covering 1940-1965); EPA Superfund-listed site WA2170023418.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The diesel-electric plant means the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply. The cited PSNY studies substantially postdate this hull's 1942-43 construction (the 1940-1965 visual review is the closest to era-relevant); they document yard exposures, not materials installed aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-04
-
[6]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; content via product-page description)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program posture: standing policy from 1975 removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Context for this hull's timeline: DE-39 decommissioned October 1945, stricken November 1945, and sold for scrapping 31 December 1946 - the hull left Navy custody roughly three decades before the GAO-described program-era reviews and before any Navy asbestos survey regime existed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program review population, not this hull)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not ship- or class-specific; fieldwork yards were elsewhere (Long Beach, Norfolk). DE-39 was scrapped before the period GAO surveyed, so this row frames why no modern Navy survey or abatement record for the hull should be expected - it is not evidence about this hull's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-05
-
[7]Batch-4288 search ledger (this record): DANFS via verbatim hazegray transcription (losthistory.net live + 2016 Wayback capture); BuShips SDB-1945 register (OCR); NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45' DE-39 page (HyperWar transcription); NavSource snippet; CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket sweeps; NVR; NARA catalog; Atlas shipyard dataset; excluded-source web check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lovering-de39-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or disposal hazmat disclosure, and no asbestos opinion naming USS Lovering was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger; RECAP docket lanes throttled unexecuted). The only asbestos-bearing page naming the hull located is a law-firm marketing page (asbestos-ships.com dedicated page), an excluded source under batch rules asserting no documentable ship-specific fact.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull's 1942-43 construction is consistent with era materials, and no scrapping-environmental record exists from 1946-47. CourtListener docket coverage is partial (throttled, see ev-07). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep for USS Lovering / DE-39 (authenticated fleet helper, 2026-09-28) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 type=o and type=r queries; search_ledger rows 05-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep completed under heavy fleet pacing: '"USS Lovering"' opinions (type=o) returned 0 hits - a clean negative for the exact ship phrase; '"Lovering"' opinions returned 828 hits, all surname collisions on review (probate, estate tax, family law, property assessment; no asbestos or vessel context in any returned snippet). The '"DE-39"' opinion query and both RECAP docket queries ('"USS Lovering"', '"Lovering" asbestos') could not be executed - the fleet-wide pacing limiter denied every spaced retry over ~90 minutes. Note: 'Lovering' is also the canceled name of DE-272 (HMS Gould) - that hull never served under the U.S. name, so a 'USS Lovering' service reference resolves to DE-39.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Partial sweep: the opinion index is clean for the exact phrase and the bare-surname sweep produced only non-vessel collisions, but the hull-number opinion query and all RECAP docket queries were throttled unexecuted - unverified negative for those lanes, not a proven absence. Coverage is CourtListener's indexed corpus only in any case - unindexed state-court pleadings, settled trust claims, and non-digitized filings are outside scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-07
-
[9]NARA Record Group 24 (deck logs) and RG 19 (BuShips General Information Books) holdings for DE-39 - not retrieved [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 deck-log series; RG 19 General Information Books
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Untapped primary repositories for this hull: NARA deck logs (RG 24) covering the September 1943 - October 1945 commissioned period; BuShips General Information Books (RG 19) which, where extant for DEs, carry per-vessel material specifications; and the Puget Sound Navy Yard contract/build file (contract dated 1 November 1941 per the SDB register). None retrieved this session; the NARA catalog API returned no matching digitized record.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (records)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Lead only - presence of a usable DE-39 entry in these holdings is unverified. GIB coverage of Navy-yard-built DEs is incomplete.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lovering-de39-08