Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]DANFS, Martin H. Ray (DE-338), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (1969) Vol. 4, p. 254 (namesake bio, builder, dates, service narrative, striking and scrapping note; live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS transcription de338.txt (Vol. 4, p. 254)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Lt. Martin H. Ray, Jr., USN (born 9 August 1913, Philadelphia; USNA class of 1934; five years USS Pennsylvania BB-38; USS Hammann DD-412 from 1939; engineering officer lost 6 June 1942 when Hammann was torpedoed while assisting USS Yorktown at Midway; posthumous Navy Cross). Specs: 1,200 t; 306 ft; 21 kt; complement 186; Edsall class. Laid down 27 October 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 23 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Ray, Jr., widow of Lt. Ray; commissioned 28 February 1944, Lt. H. V. Tucker, Jr., in command. One month shakedown to Bermuda; three weeks at Norfolk training prospective DE crews; from June 1944, a 12-month period escorting 14 convoys with no ship lost; two voyages to Italy from Norfolk beginning 1 July; departed New York 29 October on the first of five voyages to the British Isles and France; Guantanamo Bay training, Panama Canal transit 2 August 1945, at Pearl Harbor when the war ended; 'Magic Carpet' voyage to San Diego arriving 11 September with 58 military passengers debarked; sailed to Philadelphia Navy Yard two days later for Atlantic Reserve Fleet assignment; decommissioned March 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; struck from the Navy list 1 May 1966; 'The following September she was scrapped.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 186); Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-1967
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link rot, matches Batch-01); verbatim hazegray transcription cited. DANFS's 'following September [1966] she was scrapped' conflicts with the NavSource/uboat.net/NVR-derived sale date 30 March 1967 - divergence carried in gaps. DANFS's March 1946 decommissioning conflicts with NavSource's July 1947 - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-01
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[2]Ship's own tactical-history submission: letter DE338/A12-1/(Ru), Serial 228, 15 December 1945, Commanding Officer USS Martin H. Ray (DE-338), Florida Group, Sixteenth Fleet, Green Cove Springs, Fla., to Secretary of the Navy (Public Information Section), with enclosures (A) Tactical History and (B) List of Commanding Officers (signed F. K. Dalrymple; NARA micro serial 157642 stamp; NavSource scan of the official war history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/images/338/06338wh.jpg - cover letter (Serial 228, 15 Dec 1945), Enclosure (A) Tactical History, Enclosure (B) CO list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous ship-generated record for this hull: keel laid 27 October 1943 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Orange, Tex.; launched 23 December 1943, christened by Mrs. M. H. Ray, widow of Lieutenant Martin Hanscom Ray; commissioned 28 February 1944, Lt. Comdr. H. V. Tucker, Jr. (then Lt. Tucker) accepting command, commissioning complement ten officers and one hundred eighty-nine men; ten-day stay at Todd Galveston Drydock, Inc., Galveston, Tex.; one-month Bermuda shakedown; post-shakedown availability at Charleston, S.C.; one month at Norfolk as a school ship training nucleus crews; escort career from June 1944 - floating drydock Wilmington, N.C. to Bermuda, coast-wise convoy New York to Norfolk, two convoys Norfolk to Italy, five round trips New York to Great Britain, final trip May 1945 as flagship for Capt. E. D. Poole, CTU 61.5, 'senior escort ship in the Atlantic Fleet'; ordered to Norfolk Navy Yard for availability pre-Pacific; two weeks Guantanamo Bay training; Panama Canal transit night of 2 August 1945; at Pearl Harbor at war's end; ordered 3 September 1945 to return; debarked seven Marine officers, one Army officer, and fifty Army enlisted passengers at San Diego; proceeded to Philadelphia Navy Yard for necessary repairs, departed 18 October 1945, arrived Green Cove Springs 20 October 1945 'for laying up in the Reserve Fleet in the St. Johns River'; fourteen convoys escorted, no ship lost.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; commissioning complement 10 officers/189 enlisted; Todd Galveston, Charleston, Norfolk Navy Yard, Philadelphia Navy Yard availability workers 1944-45
- Limitations
- Primary ship-generated document submitted during inactivation - the strongest single source for this hull's yard availabilities (Todd Galveston, Charleston post-shakedown, Norfolk Navy Yard, Philadelphia Navy Yard), none of which appears in the DANFS narrative. Dated 15 December 1945 at Green Cove Springs, so it does not fix the formal decommissioning date. Text reads the namesake's death as 'June 7th 1943' - original-document error (Hammann was lost 6 June 1942); not repeated in this record's fields. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row for RAY, MARTIN H., DE-338 (shipscribe.com scan; book roster section) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE roster, row 275, RAY, MARTIN H. DE-338 (shipscribe scan PDF p. 138, visually verified at 300 dpi)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull: RAY, MARTIN H., official number DE-338, design group FMR; builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; contract price of hull and machinery $1,539,000 (cost-plus-fixed-fee); contract signed 7 August 1942; keel laid 27 October 1943; launched 29 December 1943 per the roster; contract completion 22 February 1944; preliminary acceptance 28 February 1944; first commission 28 February 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Corp. construction trades, Orange, Tex., 1943-44
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and milestone dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. The roster's launch column reads Dec. 29, 1943 while DANFS and the ship's own war history read Dec. 23, 1943 - an intra-official-source divergence carried in gaps (uboat.net and the Wikipedia infobox repeat the 29th, apparently from this roster).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-03
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 4 / FMR (shipscribe.com scan; book pp. 234-235) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-4 row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 4 (symbol FMR - Fairbanks-Morse diesel reverse gear drive) - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,200 t standard / 1,590 t full load; ~21 kt; machinery 4 Fairbanks-Morse model 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 6,000 shp, 2 shafts; boilers 'None'; 2 diesel ship's-service generators (100 kW, 450 A.C.); accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted; armament 3 x 3 in/50 cal. D.P. Documents that the FMR design carried a diesel plant with no boilers or steam system.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (publication)
- Population
- FMR-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation for the whole FMR group (85 hulls), not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos. Table OCR'd from a scanned page; individual cell values partially garbled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-04
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[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Martin H. Ray (DE 338) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, flag hoist NTNG, photo captions; compiled secondary archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/338.htm building-and-operational-data block + specs + photo credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 27 October 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 23 December 1943, sponsor Mrs. Martin H. Ray Jr., widow of Lt. Ray; commissioned 28 February 1944 at the City Dock, Orange, Tex., Lt. H. V. Tucker, Jr., in command; 'July 1947: Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 3 years and 4 months of service'; struck from the NVR 1 May 1966; sold for scrapping 30 March 1967. Specs: FMR type - 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws; 21 kts; 9,100 nm at 12 kt; complement 8/201. Awards: American Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal. Contributed photo captions credit Arnold Waxman, Lcdr., USNR (Ret.) as assistant engineering officer aboard August 1944 - July 1946, and a swim party off the fantail in Italy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Population
- Wartime crew (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - most dates concur with DANFS/SDB where they overlap. The July 1947 decommissioning date conflicts with DANFS's March 1946 (carried in gaps); the Waxman service dates (aboard through July 1946) are an unattributed photo credit that also postdates March 1946. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-05
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[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS Martin H. Ray (DE 338) - warship record, WWII commanding-officer list, and compiled convoy-event entries (compiled reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1567.html - warship record + 'Notable events' entry 1 Jul 1944 (Convoy UGF 12)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled convoy record names this hull: convoy UGF-12 (departed Hampton Roads 1 July 1944) escorted by Task Force 68 with Martin H. Ray (Lt. H. V. Tucker, Jr., USNR) among the Edsall-class escorts including Edsall, Stewart, Daniel, Roy O. Hale, and Dale W. Peterson - corroborating the DANFS/war-history narrative of Mediterranean convoy escort beginning 1 July 1944. Warship record: ordered 7 August 1942; decommissioned March 1946; stricken 1 May 1966; 'Sold 30 March 1967 and broken up for scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1967
- Population
- Wartime crew under Lt. / Lt.Cdr. H. V. Tucker, Jr., USNR
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary source drawing on convoy sailing records - corroborates the official narratives; not an official document and not a materials/asbestos source. Launch date here reads 29 Dec 1943 (the BuShips-roster variant). Only one of the fourteen escorted convoys is resolved to a named convoy in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-06
-
[7]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row (no boilers; F.M. diesel) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Atlas class-pattern precedent for diesel-powered escorts [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-4 row (machinery, 'None' in boiler columns); cf. Edsall DE-129 and Dale W. Peterson DE-337 records (same design row, same inference set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1943-44 would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-powered escort - exhaust-system insulation and lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Because the FMR plant has no boilers or steam lines (SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row), the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply to this design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46/47; reserve-fleet maintenance 1946-67; availability-yard workers (Todd Galveston, Charleston, Norfolk, Philadelphia) 1944-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-338 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. Builder yard (Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex.) is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos documentation is attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-07
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[8]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article_c2c77857, 27 Jul 2020
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a preserved Edsall-class sister hull: the Galveston Daily News reported asbestos in public areas of USS Stewart (DE-238) and USS Cavalla (SS-244) at Seawolf Park, with contractor Separation Systems Consultants approved to proceed with abatement; mechanics preparing boiler-room work on Stewart had recommended an asbestos survey (Oct. 2019), and an environmental firm's survey recommended abatement in the boiler room and some public areas; the Galveston Park Board cited U.S. Navy inspection recommendations that an asbestos survey be conducted. USS Stewart is a Brown Shipbuilding-built Edsall-class hull (DE-238) - class-level corroboration that Edsall-class construction carried asbestos-containing material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2019-2020
- Population
- Museum staff/volunteers and Seawolf Park visitors; abatement crews
- Limitations
- Evidence about a sister hull (DE-238), NOT this hull: different builder (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston) and a museum-hull lifecycle DE-338 never had (DE-338 was scrapped 1967). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as preserved; establishes nothing about DE-338's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure. The article's 'boiler room' reference is to a sister hull's space as reported; the FMR propulsion plant itself carries no boilers.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-08
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[9]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, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-338 (built 1943-44) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this specific hull or any diesel-escort application specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-09
-
[10]NARA WWII War Diaries series (RG 38) index record for USS MARTIN H RAY war history - Fold3 document 302006111, micro serial 157642, reel A2068, indexed date 8 May 1946; deck-log inventory check at archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fold3 document 302006111 (NARA RG 38 WWII War Diaries mirror); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - DE-338 absent from digitized deck-log list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Cataloged archival records exist for this hull: a war history for USS MARTIN H RAY is indexed in the National Archives WWII War Diaries series (micro serial 157642, reel A2068) with an index date of 8 May 1946 - postdating DANFS's March 1946 decommissioning by about two months. The ship's tactical-history letter of 15 December 1945 (ev-02) survives as the NavSource scan of this document family. WWII-era deck logs (RG 24) are not in the digitized Navy deck-log catalog and remain at Archives II, College Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (record dates); 2026-09-28 (catalog check)
- Limitations
- Catalog/index-level records only - the war-diary content was not retrieved (microfilm at Archives II; Fold3 is a commercial mirror requiring subscription for page images beyond the index). The 8 May 1946 index date implies a commissioned command existing past DANFS's March 1946 decommissioning, consistent with NavSource's July 1947 variant but not conclusive (inactivation paperwork can postdate decommissioning). No materials or asbestos content is implied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-10
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for '"Martin H. Ray"' / '"DE-338"' / '"USS Martin H. Ray" asbestos' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'Martin H. Ray' type=o count=2 (both Gray v. Commissioner name collisions); 'DE-338' type=o count=17 (all docket-entry/Spanish-text false positives); 'USS Martin H. Ray' type=o count=0
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located in completed sweeps. Opinion sweep '"Martin H. Ray"' (type=o): 2 hits, both the same 1948 Tax Court case (Gray v. Commissioner, 10 T.C. 590) matching 'Martin H. Kay & Associates,' an accounting firm - name collision, no vessel, no asbestos. Hull-number sweep '"DE-338"' (type=o): 17 hits, all false positives - federal opinions citing '(DE 338)' docket-entry numbers (verified: Yates v. Ford Motor Co., E.D.N.C. 2015, an asbestos brake-dust case whose '(DE ###)' references are docket-entry citations, not hull numbers) and Puerto Rico Spanish-language opinions ('de 338' = 'of 338' parcel/citation phrasing). Zero vessel references. Exact-name sweep '"USS Martin H. Ray"' (type=o): count=0 - no indexed opinion contains the phrase. The '"Martin H. Ray"'/'"DE-338"' docket sweep (type=r) remained fleet-paced at session end - carried PENDING in search_ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is the CourtListener opinion + RECAP docket indexes only; state-court dockets not mirrored, PACER-only filings, and settled/undocketed claims are outside it. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - it proves no indexed opinion names the hull. DE-338's out-of-service date (1946-47) predates the asbestos-litigation era; 'Ray' is a moderate-collision name (submarine namesakes SS-271 and SSN-653, plus the common surname and the namesake officer himself). The docket sweep (type=r) is PENDING at commit (fleet pacing) - one sweep short of full coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-11
-
[12]Batch-4241 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource archive page and ship's war-history scan; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (scanned roster row 275 and design-group-4 table); uboat.net warship/convoy record; GAO product page; NARA war-diary index record and digitized deck-log inventory; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (attempted - see sl-05 through sl-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-01 through sl-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-338: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was sold for scrapping in 1967, pre-dating the asbestos-regulation, asbestos-litigation, and museum-donation eras that produced records for sister hull Stewart (DE-238). The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Martin H. Ray (DE-338) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull (shepardlawfirm.com, freeasbestostesting.com, mesotheliomahope.com, veteransguide.org) - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence aboard - 1943-44 escort construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and sister-hull DE-238 carried documented asbestos. Deck logs (RG 24) and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book) at NARA are unsurveyed leads; a war-history record is indexed for this hull (ev-10). Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-martin-h-ray-de338-12
