Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet ix-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-mason-dd191-pkt-ix-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Mason I (Destroyer No. 191) - verbatim NHHC text via 2024-12-15 Wayback capture (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Characteristics block + construction paragraph, DANFS 'Mason I (Destroyer No. 191)' entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'The first Mason (Destroyer No. 191) was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., 10 July 1918; launched 8 March 1919; sponsored by Miss Mary Mason Williams, great-granddaughter of Secretary Mason and commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard 28 February 1920, Lt. Carl F. Holden temporarily in command until Lt. Comdr. Hartwell C. Davis took command 8 March. On 17 July Mason was designated DD-191.' Characteristics block: (Destroyer No. 191: dp. 1,190; l. 314'5"; b. 31'9"; dr. 9'3"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 101; a. 4 4", 3 3", 12 21" tt.; cl. Clemson). Named for John Young Mason (1799-1859), Secretary of the Navy 1844-1845 and 1846-1849.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1920
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-19; commissioning crew (~101 design complement)
- Limitations
- Historical narrative, not a materials survey; establishes identity, builder, and chronology only - no asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot issue per BATCH-01 report); Wayback capture of the canonical NHHC page cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-01
-
[3]DANFS, Mason I - USN service 1920-22, treaty decommissioning, 1939 recommissioning (Wayback capture); NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Mason (DD-191) page (reserve-period framing) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Second/third DANFS paragraphs; ibiblio Online Library DD-191 narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS U.S. service record: 'After shakedown off Norfolk, she operated along the east coast for the next 2 years until she sailed for Philadelphia. As a result of the Washington Treaty of 6 February 1922 limiting naval armament, the destroyer decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 3 July 1922. After World War II broke out in Europe, Mason recommissioned 4 December 1939.' NHHC Online Library adds that she remained in 'red lead row' (reserve) at Philadelphia for over seventeen years between commissions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1920-1940
- Population
- Crew 1920-1922 and 1939-1940; Philadelphia Navy Yard caretaker/overhaul trades
- Limitations
- Documents operating periods and the 17-year reserve lay-up at Philadelphia Navy Yard - a long inactive period relevant to condition history - but makes no materials or insulation statement; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-02
-
[4]DANFS, Mason I - Destroyers for Bases transfer, HMS Broadwater service, loss to U-101 (Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Final three DANFS paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS transfer-and-loss record: under the 'Destroyers for Bases' executive agreement of 2 September 1940, Mason was one of 50 overage four-pipers turned over to Great Britain for 99-year base leases; arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2 October; decommissioned the 8th; transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Broadwater (H-81) 9 October. Departed Halifax 15 October via St. John's, arrived the Clyde 26 October for the 11th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command; early 1941 escorted convoys around the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East; May and June at Southampton; July 1941 assigned to the Newfoundland Escort Force. Early 17 October she attacked a U-boat of the pack assaulting convoy SC-48 some 400 miles south of Iceland; twenty-four hours later she fell victim to torpedoes of U-101 and sank at 1340 the same day (18 October 1941).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1941
- Population
- RN ship's company 1940-41 (~141 aboard at loss per uboat.net); RN dockyard workers at refits
- Limitations
- Documents transfer, RN convoy-escort service, and sinking - but no casualty count (secondary sources conflict: 44 vs 56 dead - carried in gaps, not asserted) and no materials statement; no asbestos content. RN dockyard work periods (secondary compilations: Devonport, Cardiff, Clyde, Southampton) are industrial events on this hull without documented asbestos scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-191 USS Mason (navsource.org/archives/05/191.htm) - register compilation transcribing official data [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block, 'Operational and Building Data', and foreign-service history lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index register compilation for DD-191: 'Machinery, 26,500 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws. Speed, 35 Knots, Crew 114'; class note 'Basic repeat Wickes Class, with 35% more fuel capacity'; build/transfer data matching DANFS plus 'Stricken January 8 1941' and 'Sunk by U-101 on October 18 1941'; loss position 57.01N 19.08W. Foreign-service compilation (R. Hurst) adds the RN refit sequence: Devonport/Cardiff refit completing 31 January 1941, boiler-defect repairs on the Clyde 9-17 April 1941, Southampton refit 9 June - completed Portsmouth 20 June 1941, then Newfoundland Escort Force.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1941 (register data)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary compilation transcribing official registers - underlying documents not independently examined (navsource.org fetch blocked from this host; indexed text verified). Machinery figures differ from DANFS complement/speed block (crew 114 vs 101); RN refit detail is secondary-sourced. Establishes steam-plant configuration relevant to era insulation practice; contains no asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-04
-
[6]Franke, K. & Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(S3):1-20 (2011), PMID 22200078 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article abstract and 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation' section; era text quoted from published review; PMID verified via NCBI E-utilities
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed state-of-the-science review documents that amosite and chrysotile asbestos were used extensively as insulating materials aboard U.S. naval ships 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s' for incombustibility, low thermal conductivity, light weight, and strength; suppliers followed government specifications prescribing asbestos content in insulation, gaskets, packing, and similar materials. This hull's entire existence - construction 1918-19, U.S. service 1920-1940, RN service 1940-41 - falls inside the documented window; the 1939-40 reactivation refit and RN dockyard periods would have followed period specifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1900-1970 documented; hull extant 1918-1941
- Population
- US Navy ship crews and yard workers, 1880s-1950s (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarly documentation; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Authors' expertise is in exposure assessment (defense-side expert context noted in legal commentary) - substantive era claim is corroborated by period Navy specifications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-05
-
[7]Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Exposure to Asbestos (Veterans Health Library) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 'Who's at risk?' section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- VA veterans-health guidance identifies service aboard older Navy ships and shipyard work as potential asbestos-exposure settings - general-era background supporting Tier 2 classification only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Navy service era generally
- Population
- Navy veterans and shipyard workers (general)
- Limitations
- VA guidance does not name this vessel and establishes no installation, product, fiber type, condition, quantity, individual exposure, disease causation, or claim eligibility aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches: '"USS Mason"' type=o (0), '"DD-191"' type=o (0), '"Destroyer No. 191"' type=o (0), '"HMS Broadwater"' type=o (0), '"DD-191"' type=r (13, all collisions), '"USS Mason"' type=r (6, all loose-token; one MDL-875 tag-along attachment unverified); '"Destroyer No. 191"' type=r blocked by fleet pacing [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion index type=o; docket index type=r; search_ledger sl-uss-mason-dd191-04/05/06/07; MDL-875 tag-along: /docket/1245688/8184/1/ (doc 8184-1, 116 pp., not retrieved)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 sweep (2026-09-26, authenticated, fleet-paced): 'USS Mason' type=o returned 0 hits - no published opinion names the vessel. 'DD-191' type=o returned 0 hits. 'Destroyer No. 191' type=o returned 0 hits. 'HMS Broadwater' type=o returned 0 hits - the distinctive RN name is a clean negative. 'DD-191' type=r (docket index) returned 13 hits, all name collisions - exhibit-label 'DD' attachment ranges (e.g. 'Exhibit DD-FF'), an OCR-mangled '191 New York Avenue' attorney address, and docket-number tokens; none involve a vessel, the Navy, or asbestos. 'USS Mason' type=r returned 6 hits, all loose-token matches - no literal 'USS Mason' phrase appears in any returned record; one is an MDL-875 notice-of-tag-along attachment (116-page complaint PDF, District of Massachusetts tag-along) whose vessel-list content was not retrieved and, even if 'USS Mason' appears in it, would be a pleading-stage allegation facing DE-529/DDG-87 disambiguation. 'Destroyer No. 191' type=r remained fleet-paced - queued for backfill; see search_ledger. Collision discipline for this name: 'USS Mason' in a post-1944 context more likely refers to DE-529 (in commission 1944-45) or DDG-87 (in commission since 2003); 'Mason' is also a high-frequency surname.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 sweep
- Limitations
- Opinion-index coverage is not exhaustive: unreported trial-level filings, RECAP-only dockets, and pre-1950 district matters are thin in the index. The MDL-875 tag-along docket hit is token-level and unverified - its complaint PDF was not retrieved, and any 'Mason' vessel reference inside it would still be a pleading allegation requiring hull disambiguation (DE-529 is the asbestos-era referent). 'Destroyer No. 191' type=r did not execute. Absence of an opinion is not absence of litigation; no zero-litigation conclusion is made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-07
-
[9]Batch-3196 search ledger (this record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-mason-dd191-01 through sl-uss-mason-dd191-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials specification naming the hull, owner/museum hazmat disclosure, or located exposure claim was found in the authoritative sources searched (NHHC/DANFS, NHHC Online Library, NavSource register compilation, NARA guided research routes, VA guidance - see search_ledger). The hull was sunk in action in 1941, before asbestos-awareness documentation regimes existed, and no preservation, museum, or scrapping phase ever generated hazmat documentation for it. Ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26 searches
- Limitations
- Bounded public-source negative finding, not proof of absence: a 1918 four-boiler steam-turbine destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, but no hull-specific record was located. War loss in 1941 (no scrapping/museum phase) makes absence of a public record expected rather than probative. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-08
-
[10]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided topic; NARA Guide to Federal Records, RG 19; 'USA - DD Wickes & Clemson Class Booklet of General Plans (1919)', Internet Archive ddflushdeckersbogp1919 (NARA RG 19 file unit 'Plans for Flush Deckers, 1789-1967') [other_primary]
- Locator
- GIB series list (Entry P 9, 1907-1961); S39/S48 cartographic guidance; https://archive.org/details/ddflushdeckersbogp1919 (item verified live)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA research routes for hull-level asbestos evidence, per NARA's official guide 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961': RG 19 Entry P 9 'Destroyer, Destroyer Escort, and Frigate General Information Books' (1907-1961) would hold this hull's information book if it survives; RG 19 ship engineering drawings include S39 'Insulation and Lagging' and S48 'Piping' sets filed by hull designation; RG 24 deck logs (1920-1922, 1939-1940) can date work periods. The 'USA - DD Wickes & Clemson Class Booklet of General Plans (1919)' (RG 19 'Plans for Flush Deckers' file unit, digitized on the Internet Archive as ddflushdeckersbogp1919) directly covers this class - class-level arrangement drawings only, no insulation material statement. None retrieved at item level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Series-level leads only; no vessel file, box, or drawing was retrieved. This hull predates the guide's 1940-1961 correspondence emphasis, so GIBs (P 9) and S39 drawings are the plausible series; the class Booklet of General Plans covers arrangement, not materials. Existence of responsive hull-specific material is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-09
-
[11]DANFS, Mason I entry namesake paragraph naming Mason II (DE-529) for Ensign Newton Henry Mason (Wayback capture); DANFS, Mason II (DE-529) verbatim transcription via ibiblio HyperWar mirror; Naval Vessel Register, USS Mason (DDG-87) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Mason I namesake para; DANFS DE-529 characteristics + construction paragraph; NVR DDG-87 detail page (nvr.navy.mil) - detail fetch returned nav shell from this host
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Disambiguation boundary: three Navy ships carry the name Mason. This hull (DD-191, Clemson class, Newport News 1918-19, to RN as HMS Broadwater 1940, sunk 1941) is the first. Mason II (DE-529): Evarts-class destroyer escort built at Boston Navy Yard, laid down 14 October 1943, launched 17 November 1943, commissioned 20 March 1944 - the first U.S. Navy ship with a predominantly African-American enlisted crew - decommissioned 12 October 1945 and scrapped 1947; its WWII-era service is inside the asbestos-litigation window and is the more likely referent of any 'USS Mason' exposure claim. Mason III (DDG-87): Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, commissioned 2003, in active service. Any 'USS Mason' litigation, exposure claim, or asbestos reference dated 1944 or later refers to DE-529 or DDG-87 unless DD-191, Destroyer No. 191, HMS Broadwater, or 1918-1940 service dates are explicitly named.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Disambiguation row only; records no asbestos finding for any hull. DE-529's WWII service makes it the high-collision hull for asbestos claims; DDG-87 detail page not retrievable from this host (register-level identity is standard, uncontested). 'Mason' is also a common surname producing captioned-party collisions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-10
-
[12]Atlas shipyards.json records: newport-news-shipbuilding (tier 1), philadelphia-naval-shipyard, norfolk-naval-shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard records (builder + Navy yards named in DANFS service record)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder yard context: Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va. - this hull's builder - resolves in the Atlas shipyards dataset (yard_id 'newport-news-shipbuilding', evidence_tier 1) with documented asbestos products (Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud) and verified litigation/epidemiology (Tidewater VA mesothelioma cohort; Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Minton, Va. 2013). Decommissioning/reserve yard Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioning yard Norfolk Navy Yard also resolve in the dataset.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1940 (hull events); yard evidence spans later decades
- Population
- Newport News construction trades 1918-19; Philadelphia Navy Yard caretaker trades 1922-39; Norfolk Navy Yard fitting-out trades 1919-20
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only - the verified NNS evidence postdates this hull's 1918-19 construction (epidemiology and litigation concern WWII-era and later work), so it does not evidence asbestos aboard this hull; it confirms the builder is a documented asbestos-era yard. Philadelphia/Norfolk yard records likewise do not document 1922-1940 work on this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-11
-
[13]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Mason (Destroyer # 191, later DD-191), 1920-1940' page (NH 97969, NH 42534), via ibiblio HyperWar mirror [museum_official]
- Locator
- NH 97969 caption (east coast c. 1920-22); NH 42534 caption (NNS fitting out, April 1919)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photography catalog holds the official visual record for this hull: NH 97969 (off the U.S. east coast, circa 1920-1922) and NH 42534 (Newport News Shipbuilding yard April 1919, ten destroyers fitting out - 'probably' including Mason among Destroyer Nos. 183-192). Catalog entries are locator aids; photographs were not examined at material level and no insulation identification was attempted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1922 imagery
- Limitations
- Photographs document topside/fitting-out configuration only; no asbestos or insulation content is identifiable from catalog descriptions, and the April 1919 NNS group photo identifies Mason only as 'probably' present. Archival lead for construction-era configuration.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mason-dd191-12