Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet eu-packet.md (7 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ludlow-dd438-pkt-eu-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Ludlow III (DD-438)' entry (live NHHC page returns HTTP 404; verbatim text via Wayback capture 2016-10-23 of the official NHHC page; corroborated by the GlobalSecurity DANFS transcription and the hazegray DANFS mirror indexed text) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Ludlow III' entry incl. spec block; canonical NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/ludlow-iii.html returned HTTP 404 (standing NHHC link-rot per Batch-01 report)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Ludlow III (DD-438)' (NHHC; live page returns HTTP 404, text via Wayback capture 2016-10-23): spec block - dp. 1,630; l. 348'4"; b. 35'6"; dr. 11'10"; s. 33 k.; cpl. 208; a. 4 5", 10 21" tt., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 1 Y-gun; 'cl. Benson'. Third Ludlow named for Lt. Augustus C. Ludlow (Chesapeake-Shannon action, 1813). Laid down 18 December 1939 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched 11 November 1940, sponsored by Miss Frances Nicholson Chrystie; commissioned at Boston 5 March 1941, Lt. Comdr. Claude H. Bennett Jr. in command. October 1941 Newfoundland/Iceland convoy duty; post-Pearl Harbor convoy runs to Londonderry, Liverpool, Greenock, Freetown. TF 34 / Operation Torch: off Cape Fedhala late 7 November 1942; engaged shore batteries, bombers, and a Vichy French force of a cruiser and two destroyers; a 6-inch shell struck her forward before Augusta and Brooklyn arrived. Battle-damage repair at New York; three Casablanca convoy runs from 14 January 1943; Mediterranean from June 1943: Sicily fire support off Licata and Porto Empedocle (10 July), first aircraft splashed 11 August; Salerno 9 September - led an assault-wave section through a known minefield; commended by the commanding general ashore; Naples-Oran convoy duty to 11 January 1944; Anzio 22 January - in the following week splashed two bombers, one fighter, three rocket glider bombs; a shell crashed through the torpedo director deck and pilothouse (unexploded; Chief Gunner's Mate James D. Johnson got it overboard), causing her to retire for repair at New York. Returned to the Mediterranean 20 April 1944; 19 May, with Niblack, depth-charged U-960 to the surface where Ludlow's main battery sank her (20 survivors captured). Southern France invasion from Palermo 11 August; Frejus screening; Marseille with Augusta 25-30 August; Monaco-area fire support against mines, E-boats, explosive boats, human torpedoes - captured three one-man diving-machine operators 5 September. 23 January 1945 plane-guard duty off west Africa; Boston 28 February; April escort of LST convoy from England; Pacific transit (Panama Canal 27 June, Pearl Harbor 17 July); post-surrender occupation-escort duty to Wakayama (27 September); Far East operations to 3 November; Aleutians 'Magic Carpet' duty. Out of commission in reserve at Charleston 20 May 1946; reserve training; in commission in reserve 6 June 1950; active status 21 November 1950; decommissioned 22 January 1951 and transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, renamed HHMS Doxa. Six battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1951
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction workforce 1939-41; ship's company (design complement 208 per spec block; wartime accommodations 276 per SDB 1945)
- Limitations
- DANFS establishes identity, construction, service history, transfer, and awards; it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Spec block reads 'cl. Benson' while BuShips Ships' Data 1945 groups the hull under 'No. 423 Class' (Gleaves design) - flagged in the correction row. The Anzio-hit shell caliber reads '6-inch' in this text vs. '5 inch' in the GlobalSecurity transcription - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, January 1945 edition, Destroyers (DD) tables, per-hull rows for LUDLOW DD438, roster index 253 (shipscribe.com scan of the official publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945: roster p.7 ('D438 LUDLOW' under 'No. 423 Class'); DD armament/accommodations row 253 (drafts, 16+260 berthing, 4x5"/38 DP, 2 twin AA, 2 quintuple 21" TT); DD machinery row 253 (Westinghouse turbines, 50,000 shp, 4 boilers, 580 psi/825F); DD construction row 253 (Bath Iron Works, $4,813,000, act 17 May 1938, contract 15 Jun 1939, keel 18 Dec 1939, launch 11 Nov 1940, commission 5 Mar 1941)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels (January 1945 edition), carries per-hull table rows for LUDLOW DD438 (roster index 253, grouped under 'No. 423 Class'): characteristics - 348'4" overall, 341'0" on waterline, 36'0" beam, 1,630 tons standard / 2,525 tons full-load displacement, 22 tons per inch immersion, 37.4 kt trial speed; armament/accommodations - maximum draft 13'6", limiting draft 17'6", total accommodations 16 officers + 260 enlisted, main battery '4 5", 38 cal. D.P.', 2 twin AA mounts, torpedo tubes '2 21" quin.' (two quintuple); propelling machinery - 2 shafts, 'Westgh. turb.', 50,000 shp, 4 boilers, steam conditions for full power 580 psi / 825 deg F; construction - Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, contract price of hull and machinery $4,813,000, act authorizing building dated May 17, 1938, contract signed June 15, 1939, keel laid Dec. 18, 1939, launched Nov. 11, 1940, commissioned Mar. 5, 1941 (right-side date columns partially OCR-degraded; dates corroborated by DANFS).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1945 (publication Jan 1945)
- Population
- Ship's company (accommodations: 16 officers, 260 enlisted); Bath Iron Works construction workforce
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official Navy tabulation naming this hull - the strongest specification source in the file. Documents machinery plant, dimensions, armament, berthing, builder, contract price, and dates only; contains no asbestos or insulation-material statements and supports no asbestos claim beyond establishing the steam-plant type to which era inference applies. Image-scan OCR (tesseract) on shipscribe PDF; per-cell transcription errors possible - key cells cross-checked against DANFS and class profile.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Summary of War Damage to U.S. Battleships, Carriers, Cruisers and Destroyers, 17 October 1941 - 7 December 1942, NAVSHIPS A(374), 15 September 1943 (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Summary table, destroyer-damage section, LUDLOW (DD438) row, 11/8/42 North Africa entry (adjacent to MURPHY DD603 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official battle-damage record: the Bureau of Ships 'Summary of War Damage to U.S. Battleships, Carriers, Cruisers and Destroyers, 17 October 1941 to 7 December 1942' (NAVSHIPS A(374), Preliminary Design Section, 15 September 1943) tabulates LUDLOW (DD438): 11/8/42, North Africa, Gunfire - 1, 'Projectile struck starboard side forecastle deck frame 41 - local damage.' This is the Casablanca hit described in DANFS ('a 6-inch shell struck her forward').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-11-08
- Population
- Ship's company at Casablanca 8 November 1942
- Limitations
- Official BuShips tabulation confirming the 8 November 1942 Casablanca hit on this hull - relevant as the trigger event for the documented late-1942 New York repair availability, a yard period that would have disturbed fitted materials. Contains no asbestos or insulation statement. The companion 1943-44 summary volume (8 Dec 1943 - 7 Dec 1944) does not tabulate the Anzio dud-shell hit (January/February 1944) - checked OCR of the destroyer tables; negative noted in ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-03
-
[5]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, photo NH 107302 picture-data page (transcription hosted on HyperWar/ibiblio; official U.S. Navy photograph) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Picture-data page for NH 107302 (caption text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library of Selected Images picture-data page for official U.S. Navy photo NH 107302: 'USS Ludlow (DD-438) Underway off the Massachusetts coast, 29 March 1945. Photographed by Naval Air Station, Squantum, Massachusetts.' Confirms the hull's documented post-Boston-return window (DANFS: returned to Boston 28 February 1945, then April escort voyage to England) between Mediterranean service and the June 1945 Pacific transit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-03-29
- Population
- Ship's company, March 1945
- Limitations
- Official photographic caption confirming ship identity and location on 29 March 1945; no asbestos or materials content. Live NHHC photography pages return 404; ibiblio transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-04
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 machinery row for DD-438 ('Westgh. turb.' / 4 boilers / 580 psi / 825F / 50,000 shp) + Atlas shipyards.json yard record bath-iron-works (documented yard-level asbestos products; 1942 Drinker pipe-covering-shop survey) + Gleaves/Niblack General Information Book (Bath, 1942) machinery documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 DD-438 machinery row; shipyards.json yard_id bath-iron-works; destroyerhistory.org 423gleaves_GIBook.pdf propelling-machinery sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a twin-screw high-pressure steam plant - two Westinghouse geared turbines fed by four Babcock & Wilcox oil-fired boilers at 580 psi / 825 deg F steam conditions for full power, 50,000 shp (SDB 1945 machinery row 253 for DD-438) - built December 1939 to March 1941 at Bath Iron Works, a builder yard independently documented in the Atlas shipyards dataset (yard_id bath-iron-works: documented asbestos products and a 1942 industrial-hygiene survey by Dr. Philip Drinker reporting 'a fairly serious dust risk' of asbestos in the yard's pipe-covering shop - the study window coincides with this hull's own construction era). Wartime-era Navy steam-plant construction used asbestos-containing boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, and fireproofing as standard materials; Ludlow additionally underwent two documented battle-damage repair periods at New York (post-Casablanca, late 1942; post-Anzio, early 1944) and inactivation at Charleston (1946) - yard availabilities of the type that disturbed machinery-space insulation, though the asbestos scope of these specific availabilities is undocumented. No hull-specific material schedule, insulation specification, or survey naming DD-438 was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1951
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1939-41; ship's company 1941-46 (design complement 208 / wartime accommodations 276); repair-yard workers at New York 1942 and 1944; inactivation workforce Charleston 1946
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant, construction era, builder yard, and documented repair availabilities - NOT a hull record. Establishes no asbestos content aboard DD-438, no quantity, no location, no individual exposure, no causation. The Bath yard evidence is yard-level; the Drinker survey documents shop conditions during the era, not this hull's outfit. Asbestos disturbance at the two New York repair availabilities and the 1946 Charleston inactivation is inference - the repair scope records are not public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-05
-
[7]General Information book, USS Gleaves (DD-423) and USS Niblack (DD-424), Office of Supervisor of Shipbuilding U.S.N., Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine, 1942 (scan hosted by the Destroyer History Foundation, destroyerhistory.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- GIB cover page + Section A-1 propelling machinery tables (DD-423 boilers: B&W express, 665 psi designed working pressure; DD-423/DD-424 turbines: Westinghouse cross-compound; propellers: Hyde Windlass, 50,000 hp at 390 rpm) - local OCR read of image scan
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class primary document (same builder): the 1942 'General Information - Destroyer Number 423 U.S.S. Gleaves / Destroyer Number 424 U.S.S. Niblack' volume, produced by the Office of Supervisor of Shipbuilding, U.S.N., at Bath Iron Works Corporation under Bureau of Ships cognizance, documents the machinery plant shared by the Bath-built Gleaves group - four Babcock & Wilcox oil-fired express-type boilers with superheater and economizer (designed working pressure 665 psi) and Westinghouse cross-compound turbines with cruising turbine, 50,000 hp design at 390 rpm - the same builder and machinery family as DD-438 (whose own SDB row reads Westinghouse turbines). The published excerpt (15 pages: hull measurement bases, capacities, propelling machinery, ordnance and ordnance outfit) contains no insulation, lagging, or material-schedule section.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Gleaves-class design/construction reference population (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-lead document for sister hulls DD-423/DD-424, not this hull's book - Ludlow (DD-438) was built at the same yard to the same Gibbs & Cox design and would have its own GIB (not located online; NARA RG 19 series is the lead). The excerpt contains no asbestos or insulation statement, so it neither supports nor denies asbestos content; it documents the class machinery type to which era inference attaches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page description + report scope (fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards); full text blocked to automated fetch per Batch-01 report
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation that asbestos use was pervasive in Navy ships: the GAO's 1979 report on Navy asbestos protection reviewed the use of asbestos in Navy ships and conveys the Navy's statement that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' and that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' (attachment quoting Navy response on shipboard applications). Context for the general era of Navy shipboard asbestos use; DD-438 (U.S. service ended 1951) predates the report's in-service scope, but the finding documents the longstanding Navy-wide practice this hull's construction era belonged to.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (report); practices described span earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level finding about the later (1970s) fleet, not about this 1939-41 hull - quoted language describes ships in service at the time of the report; establishes nothing about DD-438's materials. Included only as Navy-wide era context consistent with Batch-01 usage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 searches: 'USS Ludlow' type=o (0 hits); 'DD-438' type=o (0 hits); 'Ludlow asbestos' type=o (47 hits; 20 reviewed, all non-ship collisions); 'USS Ludlow' type=r pending - per search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API results (type=o opinion index; type=r RECAP docket index), 2026-09-27
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-27): 'USS Ludlow' (type=o) returned 0 hits - no published opinion names the ship. 'DD-438' (type=o) returned 0 hits. 'Ludlow asbestos' (type=o) returned 47 hits - the first-page 20 reviewed are all name/place collisions (Ludlow, Vermont municipal cases; litigant surnames; unrelated matters) and none names USS Ludlow or DD-438; remaining pages unpaged under fleet pacing. The docket-level 'USS Ludlow' (type=r) sweep remained pending at drafting under fleet pacing - see search_ledger rows for the per-query outcomes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (sweep)
- Limitations
- Sweep result, not a merits finding: the opinion index supports 'no published opinion names USS Ludlow or DD-438, and no reviewed asbestos opinion does either', but pleadings naming the hull without a published opinion would not surface at type=o, RECAP docket-text coverage is partial, and the type=r docket sweep was not completed under fleet pacing. Note a second 'USS Ludlow' exists in the name lineage (DD-112, Wickes class, scrapped pre-WWII) - no hits for either hull were located. Absence of located litigation does not mean none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-08
-
[10]Cross-source reconciliation: NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture) vs. BuShips SDB 1945 per-hull rows vs. BuShips war-damage summary vs. NHHC photo caption vs. GlobalSecurity/hazegray DANFS transcriptions vs. secondary compilations (uboat.net, historyofwar.org, seaforces.org, NavSource index snippets) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and narrative; SDB 1945 roster p.7 + rows 253; GlobalSecurity DD-438 page; historyofwar.org weapons_USS_Ludlow_DD438
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or logged: (a) Class label - DANFS spec block reads 'cl. Benson' while the official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 roster groups DD-438 under 'No. 423 Class' (the Gibbs & Cox/Gleaves design group, i.e. the Gleaves subclass) and modern references (NHHC hull index, navypedia, destroyerhistory.org) treat her as Gleaves class - Gleaves carried, 'Benson' label logged as the documented DANFS anomaly. (b) Complement - DANFS spec block reads 208; SDB 1945 total accommodations read 16 officers + 260 enlisted = 276 and the HyperWar ship page reads 'Complement: 276' - the 208 figure is the design/peacetime spec-block number, 276 the wartime accommodation figure; both recorded. (c) Anzio-hit shell caliber - the NHHC DANFS text (Wayback capture) reads 'A 6-inch shell crashed through the torpedo director deck and the pilothouse' while the GlobalSecurity DANFS transcription reads 'A 5 inch shell' - discrepancy unresolved; secondary compilation historyofwar.org reads 6-inch/170mm and dates the hit 8 February 1944. (d) Keel date - DANFS and SDB 1945 both read 18 December 1939; uboat.net reads 8 December 1939 - 18 December controls (two official sources). (e) Turbine manufacturer - SDB 1945 DD-438 row reads 'Westgh. turb.' (Westinghouse), consistent with the Bath-built Gleaves pattern in the class GIB (DD-423/424 Westinghouse cross-compound). (f) Greek-era pennant - DANFS reads 'HHMS Doxa'; secondary compilations add pennant D-20 and the 1972 scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1972
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies among authoritative and secondary sources; none of the underlying sources contains asbestos information, and none of the variances affects identity or the service timeline.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-09
-
[11]Batch-3423 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC via Wayback capture + GlobalSecurity/hazegray transcriptions; BuShips SDB 1945 per-hull rows; BuShips war-damage summaries (1941-42 and 1943-44 volumes); NHHC Online Library photo caption; Gleaves/Niblack GIB; NARA catalog (muster rolls, war history, war diaries); CourtListener name/hull searches; general-web asbestos-mention check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ludlow-dd438-01 through sl-uss-ludlow-dd438-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials schedule, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Ludlow DD-438 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's disposition pattern limits what documentation could exist: transferred to Greece in January 1951 - twenty-plus years before U.S. asbestos-awareness era documentation practices - and scrapped abroad in 1972; there was no U.S. museum custody, NDRF layup, MARAD disposal, or domestic demolition under which asbestos documentation would typically be generated for this hull.
- 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 1939-41 Bath-built steam destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing, and the hull was broken up abroad in 1972 leaving no survey opportunity. This row records that no ship-specific documentation was located; it does not establish presence or absence, exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-10
-
[12]NARA Catalog (catalog.archives.gov) records: naId 125314460 / 126498711 (Ludlow DD-438 muster rolls, Roll 5178, Ancestry-scanned); naId 77644749 (USS LUDLOW - War History, Roll A2052); naId 77543133, 139881556 et al. (monthly war diaries); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24 (ship logs) / RG 19 (BuShips) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file-unit records for Ludlow (DD-438): muster rolls (Roll 5178, digital objects via Ancestry partnership); war history (Roll A2052, serial 156982); war diaries (Rolls A1928, A1416, others)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (cataloged, contents not retrieved): (a) NARA muster-roll file unit 'Ludlow (DD-438), 3/5/41-5/20/46' - naIds 125314460 and 126498711, microfilm Roll 5178, covering the full U.S. commissioned period and scanned under the NARA-Ancestry partnership (digital objects present in the catalog record); (b) NARA file unit 'USS LUDLOW - War History' - naId 77644749, microfilm Roll A2052 (Micro Serial 156982), the ship's own war-history report; (c) monthly 'USS LUDLOW - War Diary' file units (e.g., naId 77543133 for 9/1-30/45 on Roll A1928; naId 139881556 for 2/1-28/45 on Roll A1416) in the WWII war-diary microfilm series; (d) NARA RG 19 (BuShips/BuC&R) records including any hull-specific General Information Book for DD-438 (the DD-423/DD-424 Bath GIB is the located surrogate); (e) NARA still-picture holdings (photo NH 107302 et al.). Deck-log and war-diary text could document yard availabilities and repair scope not described in DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946 records
- Population
- Ship's company 1941-1946 (muster-roll coverage)
- Limitations
- Catalog records verified to exist and to name this hull; document contents unsurveyed - muster rolls record crew assignments (crew-level exposure research lead), war history/diaries record operations and availabilities. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding; no box-level retrieval performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ludlow-dd438-11