Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Maddox I (Destroyer No. 168/DD-168) (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page not located - see gaps) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Maddox I)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 20 July 1918 by Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass.; launched 27 October 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Clarence N. Hinkamp (granddaughter of Capt. Maddox); commissioned 10 March 1919, Comdr. Edward C. S. Parker; designated DD-168 17 July 1920. Division 21, Atlantic Fleet; May 1919 'bridge of ships' for the NC-1/NC-4 first transatlantic flight; European service Aug 1919-Feb 1920 (Brest; George Washington honor escort; cross-channel Dover/Harwich-Boulogne/Hook of Holland; Kiel Canal, Baltic ports); Boston operations to Feb 1922; decommissioned Philadelphia Navy Yard 14 June 1922; inactive 18 years; recommissioned 17 June 1940; mid-Atlantic Neutrality Patrol; departed Newport 16 September 1940 for Halifax, decommissioned 23 September 1940, transferred to Great Britain under the destroyer-naval base agreement and commissioned in the RN as HMS Georgetown; Operation Bowery (escorting Wasp, May 1942); transferred to Royal Canadian Navy September 1942 for western Atlantic convoy escort; returned to UK December 1943, Reserve Fleet; turned over to Soviet Navy August 1944, renamed Doblestnyi (Glorious or Valiant). Specs: 1,060 t, 314'5", 31'8", 8'6", 35 kt, cpl. 101, 4x4", 2x1-pdr, 12x21" tt; class Wickes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1952
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; USN crew 1919-22 and Jun-Sep 1940 (design complement 101)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS reads decommissioned 23 Sep and transferred 'the next day' (24 Sep); RN-compiled sources and NavSource read transfer/commissioning both on 23 Sep - conflict logged in gaps. DANFS gives Soviet name 'Doblestnyi'; RN-compiled sources give 'Zhostki' - conflict logged in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page was not located (consolidated NHHC 404s are a known standing issue).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-01
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[2]Naval-History.Net, 'Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in WW2' (Lt Cdr Geoffrey B. Mason RN Rtd): HMS, later HMCS Georgetown (I 40), also Russian Zhostki - ex-US destroyer [reputable_press]
- Locator
- naval-history.net Georgetown chronology, 'Details of War Service' 1940-1944 + 'Post RN Service'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled RN service chronology for this hull: commissioned for RN service at Halifax 23 September 1940 as HMS MADDOX (Town-class names not yet announced); collision with HMS Hamilton at St. John's 1 October, repaired Halifax; renamed HMS GEORGETOWN 4 October 1940; arrived Devonport 13 November for limited refit; 4th Escort Group, Greenock, NW Approaches convoy escort from 20 November 1940; collision damage 26 February 1941; repairs in Tyne (Jun) and Clyde (Jul) shipyards; 3rd Escort Group from 20 July 1941 incl. WS8C escort; convoys SC44/SC48 September 1941; transferred to 27th Escort Group; Clyde refit November 1941-March 1942 (Stage 2 modifications: Type 271 radar, Hedgehog; completion delayed by boiler-room fire 13 December 1941); Operation Bowery May 1942 (screen for Renown + USS Wasp; Malta Spitfire delivery 8 May); Clyde Escort Force June-October 1942 (WS20, WS21P; Northern Barrage escort); passage to Newfoundland November 1942 as HMCS Georgetown, Western Local Escort Force, St. John's (HX218, HX222 support); refit at Charleston, South Carolina March-April 1943; convoy defence May-October 1943; returned UK November 1943; paid off into Reserve at Hartlepool December 1943; selected for USSR transfer; refitted Middle Docks, Tyneside June-July 1944; Soviet crew joined July, renamed ZHOSTKI; passage to Murmansk with convoy JW59 August 1944; Soviet Northern Fleet service to August 1952; towed to Rosyth; reverted to previous identity 9 September 1952; sold to BISCO for demolition by T.W. Ward at Inverkeithing; arrived breaker's yard in tow 16 September 1952. Battle honour: Atlantic 1940-43.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1952
- Population
- RN crew 1940-42; RCN crew 1942-43; RN reserve/refit workforces Devonport, Tyne, Clyde, Charleston, Tyneside; Soviet Navy crew 1944-52
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary history (not an RN primary record); the appended convoy list is explicitly 'not cross-checked.' Contains no asbestos or materials information. Yard refits are documented as events - their asbestos scope is not established by this source. The March-April 1943 'Charleston, South Carolina' refit does not name the facility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-02
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[3]DANFS specifications block, Maddox I (DD-168): 'cl. Wickes' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS spec line '(Destroyer No. 168 ... cl. Wickes)'; NavSource DD-168 page class note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Metadata correction: this hull is Wickes-class, not Hopkins as carried in PRIMARY metadata. DANFS classifies DD-168 'cl. Wickes'; NavSource further identifies the Bethlehem-design ('Little') Wickes variant built at Fore River/Bethlehem Quincy (yard no. 328). Hopkins-class torpedo-boat destroyers (DD-6/DD-7 era) are unrelated hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918
- Limitations
- Correction to inherited metadata only; the Wickes (Bath) vs Wickes-Little (Bethlehem) design distinction is documented by NavSource (semi-official photographic archive), not by DANFS itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-03
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[4]Era/design inference keyed to DANFS specs (Wickes class, steam plant, 1918-19 construction) + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'fore-river-shipyard' (tier 3 yard with documented asbestos product list incl. boilers, pipes, turbines, fireproofing, gaskets, packing) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block (propulsion era); naval-history.net refit chronology; shipyards.json record 'fore-river-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Wickes-class destroyer built 1918-19 at Bethlehem's Fore River yard with a four-boiler geared-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Builder Fore River is a tier-3 yard in the Atlas dataset with documented asbestos products (boilers, pipes, turbines, fireproofing materials, gaskets, packing). Five documented refit periods aboard this hull (Devonport Nov 1940; Tyne and Clyde 1941; Clyde Stage 2 Nov 1941-Mar 1942; Charleston SC Mar-Apr 1943; Middle Docks Tyneside Jun-Jul 1944) are the events at which era materials would have been disturbed - asbestos scope at each is unestablished.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1952
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; USN/RN/RCN/Soviet crews and yard workforces 1919-1952
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific document inspected names asbestos aboard DD-168/Georgetown/Zhostki. Does not establish the presence, quantity, condition, or disturbance of asbestos aboard this hull; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-04
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[5]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated): 'USS Maddox' opinions and dockets; 'aboard Maddox'; 'DD-168'; 'HMS Georgetown' - 2026-09-26 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results, queries as listed; search_ledger rows sl-uss-maddox-dd168-06 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. Opinion queries 'USS Maddox', 'USS Maddox' + asbestos, 'aboard Maddox', and 'HMS Georgetown' returned zero. 'DD-168' opinion query returned one hit - Commonwealth v. Robinson, 864 A.2d 460 (Pa. 2004), a capital-murder appeal: name collision, not the vessel. 'USS Maddox' docket query returned clerk-name collisions ('Clarence Maddox' clerk stamp on S.D. Fla. filings, e.g. Weissman v. NASD), not the vessel. 'DD-168' docket query returned 15 hits, all exhibit-number collisions in unrelated cases (e.g. 'Exhibit DD-168 (Sealed)' in United States v. Ortega; PJM Power Providers v. FERC). No hit attributes exposure to DD-168.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a docketed case is not proof no exposure claim was ever made (state-court and non-digitized filings are outside CourtListener coverage). 'Maddox' is high-collision: USS Maddox DD-622 and DD-731 (Gulf of Tonkin hull) are different vessels - any 'Maddox' hit must be hull-differentiated; none located for DD-168. The 'HMS Georgetown' docket-type query remained budget-blocked at session end (fleet-paced quota) - logged in search_ledger. Queries run 2026-09-26 under authenticated access.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-05
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[6]Destroyers for Bases agreement: exchange of notes, Department of State, 2 September 1940; FDR message to Congress 3 September 1940 (50 over-age destroyers for base leases) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio PHA reproduction of the 2-3 Sep 1940 notes and presidential message
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documentary context for this hull's transfer: the 2-3 September 1940 Destroyers for Bases agreement exchanged 50 over-age USN destroyers for 99-year leases on British base sites. Maddox was among the destroyers transferred at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in late September 1940 (DANFS: decommissioned 23 Sep, transferred 'the next day'; RN-compiled records: transferred and commissioned 23 September 1940).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940
- Limitations
- Context for the transfer event only; the agreement is a diplomatic instrument and contains no vessel-material or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-06
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[7]Archival leads (unretrieved): NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records / General Information Books for DD-168; Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation (1922) and reactivation (1940) files; UK National Archives ADM records and logs for HMS/HMCS Georgetown; T.W. Ward Inverkeithing yard records for the 1952 breaking [other_primary]
- Locator
- Repository series as listed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Potential primary repositories that could hold hull-level material specifications: NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships design/construction records and per-vessel General Information Books, when extant for flush-deck destroyers); Philadelphia Navy Yard correspondence for the 1922 decommissioning and 1940 reactivation; TNA ADM series for the RN/RCN refit files (Devonport 1940, Clyde 1941-42, Charleston 1943, Tyneside 1944); Scottish yard records for the 1952 T.W. Ward breaking.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1952
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these repositories was queried. Whether hull-level material specifications survive for DD-168 is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maddox-dd168-07