Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Maurice J. Manuel (DE-351) (live NHHC page returns 404; text verified via Wayback capture 20251209125445 of the official page; no ibiblio/HyperWar transcription exists - de351.html 404s) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (Wayback capture 20251209125445 of history.navy.mil/.../m/maurice-j-manuel.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 22 December 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 19 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Leona Manuel; commissioned at Orange 30 June 1944, Lt. Comdr. William M. Lowry in command. Spec block: dp. 1,350; l. 306'; b. 36'8"; dr. 9'5"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20mm., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.); class John C. Butler. Service: shakedown off Bermuda; training ship out of Norfolk; convoy escort from New York - first American convoy into Marseilles 20 October 1944; second southern-France convoy 25 November-24 December; Pacific from 16 January 1945 via Canal Zone to Manus (19 February); TF 75 convoy escort, Leyte Gulf 8 March; convoy runs Leyte/New Guinea/Palaus/Ulithi/Manila/Subic/Lingayen; late-July Okinawa run; Luzon patrol at war's end; 26 August departed Manila Bay escorting SS Winthrop Victory and General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) carrying Allied officers to the surrender ceremony aboard Missouri - entered Tokyo Bay 31 August; San Pedro Bay patrols; departed Philippines 27 November, Long Beach 17 December; decommissioned San Diego 20 May 1946, Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned San Diego 27 April 1951 (Lt. Comdr. G. A. Sullivan); Atlantic Fleet, Newport R.I. from 11 August; Fleet Sonar School Key West July-September 1952; northern-Europe midshipman cruise July-September 1953 (Bergen, Copenhagen; via Guantanamo to Norfolk 3 September); exercises Argentia to Colon and a 1955 midshipman cruise; Philadelphia 24 June 1956 for inactivation overhaul; decommissioned there 30 October 1957, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; stricken 1 May 1966; 'in August 1966 she was used as a target to destruction.' Namesake Pfc. Maurice Joseph Manuel, USMC, killed 10 November 1942 on Guadalcanal, posthumous Silver Star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1966
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction workforce 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS spec complement 186); postwar crew 1951-57
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, service history, and disposal - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (documented link-rot pattern); text verified via Wayback capture dated 2025-12-09; no HyperWar/ibiblio transcription exists for DE-351 (de351.html 404) and hazegray was unreachable in-session, so the Wayback capture is the citable text. First decommissioning reads 20 May 1946 here vs 22 May in NavSource - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-351 USS Maurice J. Manuel (compiled building/operational data, spec block, CO list, awards) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/351.htm spec block + building/operational data + CO table + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: John C. Butler class, type WGT (geared-turbine drive, 5" guns); displacement 1,350 t light / 1,745 t full; length 300' wl / 306' oa; beam 36'10"; draft 11'0" limit; propulsion 2 'D' Express boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kts; range 6,000 nm @ 12 kt; complement 14 officers/201 enlisted; armament 2x1 5"/38, 2x2 40mm, 10x20mm, 3x21" TT, 1 Mk10 hedgehog, 8 Mk6 DCP, 2 Mk9 stern racks; call sign N-T-N-Z. Building data: keel laid Consolidated Steel Co. Orange TX 22 Dec 1943; launched/christened 19 Feb 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Leona Manuel; commissioned at Orange 30 Jun 1944 (Lcdr. William M. Lowry); decommissioned San Diego 22 May 1946 'after 1 year and 10 2/3 months of service having steamed 87,109 miles'; inactivation completed 28 Feb 1947, Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned San Diego 27 Apr 1951 (Lcdr. G. A. Sullivan); Newport R.I. 11 Aug 1951 for Atlantic Fleet duty; decommissioned Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 30 Oct 1957; struck from NVR 1 May 1966 (8 years 4 2/3 months total service); sunk as a target August 1966. CO list: Lowry (comm. CO to 25 Oct 1945), Witten, Warner, Scholler, Sullivan, Porter, McMurray, Brewington, Watkins (decomm. CO). Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Photo captions document a 1953 midshipman cruise (Copenhagen) during which the ship struck a whale disabling sonar and fathometer, and Key West/Fleet Sonar School duty August 1952.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1966
- Population
- Crew 1944-46 and 1951-57 (NavSource figure 215 total)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation citing official records - not itself an official record. Complement (14/201) conflicts with DANFS (186) and the class BOGP design table (196 + flag); first decommissioning reads 22 May 1946 vs DANFS 20 May - both conflicts carried in gaps. Documents service/specs, not materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-02
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[3]'Ship's History' of USS Maurice J. Manuel (DE-351) - contemporaneous ship-produced booklet dated 22 November 1945, forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy by CO Lt. C. H. Witten, USNR (letter serial 254, file DE351/A12-1, 7 December 1945); scanned image hosted on NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource scan images/351/06351wh.jpg (forwarding letter + 3-page ship's history, dated 22 November 1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A contemporaneous ship-produced 'Ship's History' for this hull survives as a scanned three-page document on NavSource, submitted at war's end under a forwarding letter to the Secretary of the Navy (serial 254, 7 December 1945). Written aboard, it independently corroborates and adds detail to the DANFS service arc: commissioning at the Orange city docks 30 June 1944 with a company of under two hundred; pre-shakedown drydocking at Galveston; Bermuda shakedown; post-shakedown availability at Boston Navy Yard; training duty at Norfolk including escorting Preston and Alaska on their new-construction trials; the 6 October 1944 New York departure and first-convoy entry into Marseilles; the December 1944 return escorting a straggling troopship and tying up at the New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard 24 December; Pacific transit via the Canal Zone to Manus; convoy escort among Hollandia, Kossol Roads, Ulithi, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Manila, Subic Bay, and Buckner Bay and Hagushi Harbor, Okinawa; the Tokyo Bay escort with General S. D. Sturgis and SS Winthrop Victory, anchoring 'not far from the USS Missouri'; and Lowry's relief by Witten 25 October 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (narrative coverage)
- Population
- Crew 1944-45 ('less than two hundred men' per the document)
- Limitations
- Crew-produced morale/history document, not an official record - informal narrative style; hosted as an image scan (no OCR text) so verification is visual, not full-text. Contains no materials or asbestos content; corroborates the service narrative and shipboard organization only. Some proper names are partially legible in the scan.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-03
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[4]Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Texas - 'USA - DE-339 - DE-372 John C. Butler Class Booklet of General Plans' (booklet dated 29 September 1944; digitized drawing set, archive.org item dejohncbutlerbogp1944v2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org item dejohncbutlerbogp1944v2 (12 sheets; dimensions & data and midship/type cross-sections reviewed in the DE-343 session for this same booklet)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The class's own builder-produced Booklet of General Plans survives digitized: drawn by Consolidated Steel Co. of Orange, Texas - this hull's own builder - dated 29 September 1944, and explicitly covering hulls DE-339 through DE-372, the block containing DE-351. The 12-sheet set comprises cover, title page, dimensions & data, outboard and inboard profiles, bridges, superstructure/main/first-platform/second-platform/hold deck plans, and midship & type cross-section sketches. Per the examination recorded in the sibling DE-343 record (same builder block, same sheets), the dimensions & data sheet carries the design figures and the cross-sections carry compartment labels (aft fireroom B-3, forward engine room B-2, boiler uptake, etc.); the sheets examined are general-arrangement drawings with no insulation-material callouts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange design/build workforce
- Limitations
- Class/block-level design drawings covering this hull's builder block - not a hull-specific document (the booklet names the DE-339-372 range, not DE-351 individually). Sheet examination was performed in the sibling DE-343 session for the identical booklet; sheets reviewed showed arrangement and dimensions only, and whether any of the 12 sheets specifies insulation fiber content is unverified - the remaining sheets were not exhaustively reviewed for material notes. Digitized from a redistributed PDF (300 dpi JPGs), not NARA-direct; provenance is the builder's drawing set.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-04
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[5]NavSource/BOGP propulsion specs (WGT: 2 'D' Express boilers, 2 geared turbines, 12,000 shp) + BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design group 6 (per Atlas john-c-butler-class profile ev-01: 306 ft oa, 1,350 t, 24.3 kt, 12,000 shp, 2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F) + navypedia WGT block map (Combustion Engineering boilers for DE-339-372, including this hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; class profile ev-01 (BuShips SDB 1945 group-6 row); navypedia WGT block map (DE-339-372 CE boilers); destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/orange/ (yard scope)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a BuShips design-group-6 (WGT) steam escort - one of only two DE classes with a full steam plant - built December 1943-June 1944 at Consolidated Steel's Orange, Texas yard (Navy-expanded 1940; 102 DEs built there between the Fletcher and Gearing programs per Destroyer History Foundation). A superheated-steam plant (2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F, Combustion Engineering for the DE-339-372 block; Westinghouse geared turbines) and ship construction of that era would have carried period-standard asbestos in boiler and steam-line insulation/lagging, turbine lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, and compartment fire insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46 and 1951-57; Boston and New York navy-yard availability workers 1944; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactivation-overhaul workforce 1956-57
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - not a ship-specific finding. Consolidated Steel Orange is not in the Atlas shipyard dataset and no dated asbestos-product record for that yard was located; the inference rests on ship type, plant, and build era, not a wartime yard product record. Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-05
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[6]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of wartime pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. Citation re-verified via NCBI efetch this session; the amosite quotation is carried from sibling records' verified extraction - 1946 full text not re-verified in this session. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-06
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[7]Corn, J.K., and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), PMID 3555021, DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 3555021, abstract
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical review documenting 'the extensive use of asbestos as a fireproofing and insulating material in shipbuilding in the 1940s, when World War II industrial expansion brought about a hitherto unprecedented rise in the amount of asbestos utilized' - the era context for this hull's 1943-44 construction, and the policy analysis linking wartime decisions to postwar shipyard-worker asbestos disease.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s shipbuilding era (published 1987)
- Population
- WWII-era shipbuilding workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era/industry-level historical review; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. Citation and abstract verified via NCBI efetch this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-07
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[8]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - praecipe/pretrial order materials, ECF 738 att. 1 (as cataloged in the Atlas john-c-butler-class profile, ev-03/-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- Class profile ev-john-c-butler-class-03/-04 citing Jack ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec name USS Charles E. Brannon (DE-446) - a John C. Butler-class sister hull, though a Federal Shipbuilding (Newark) boat in the Babcock & Wilcox boiler block rather than this hull's Consolidated/Combustion-Engineering block - and recite the DE-era exposure theory: that a Griscom-Russell evaporator installed per Navy specifications was insulated after delivery, that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship,' while conceding the insulation aboard Brannon 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- service era WWII/postwar; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon DE-446 (sister hull)
- Limitations
- Pretrial-order/exhibit-list level material about a same-class sister hull, not DE-351: allegation/expert-recital stage, never adjudicated, and the quoted material itself concedes non-asbestos insulation was possible aboard DE-446. Documents that DE-class evaporator insulation was litigation-contested; establishes nothing about this hull's materials or any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-08
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[9]Navy insulation-spec suite identified as controlling era documents in destroyer-escort asbestos litigation: Bureau of Ships Manual ch.39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) (24 Aug 1945); Navy Department Specification 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' (Oct 1945); BuEng Manual ch.13 - per Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec (W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537) exhibit-list recital, as cataloged in the Atlas john-c-butler-class class profile [other_primary]
- Locator
- john-c-butler-class.class.json class_notes + evidence rows citing Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list (ECF 738 att. 1)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The era's controlling Navy insulation specifications - including an explicitly asbestos-named felt spec - are identified in DE-class litigation exhibit lists and cataloged in this dataset's John C. Butler-class profile. These are the correct next-pull targets for class-level asbestos specification documentation applicable to this hull's design family.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (spec dates)
- Limitations
- Identified secondhand via class-level research and a litigation exhibit list for a sister hull; the underlying spec documents were not retrieved in this session, and nothing in this row is specific to DE-351. Retrieval pending - treat as research lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-09
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[10]This record's search ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos documentation located for DE-351: no hull survey, abatement contract, disposal-condition hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming this hull was found in any repository searched. The hull was sunk as a target in August 1966 - no surviving structure or museum file exists. NARA catalog returned a JS application shell (no digitized deck log or General Information Book located); archive.org returned only name-collision items; BVA public search index requires a key and was not retrievable in-session. 'No ship-specific record located' is itself reported as the finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of located record does not prove absence of asbestos or of claims - it is the honest state of public documentation. No disposal-condition or hazmat-clearance record for the 1966 target sinking was located in any searched source, and the sinking's location and exercise details are not in located sources. Non-digitized NARA holdings (RG19 per-vessel General Information Books, RG24 deck logs for both commissioned periods) remain unexamined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-10
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o and RECAP docket index type=r) for 'USS Maurice J. Manuel', 'Maurice J. Manuel', 'DE-351' via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-04 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep completed for name and hull-number queries under fleet pacing: the exact-phrase opinion query 'USS Maurice J. Manuel' returned ZERO hits in the opinion index (clean negative); the bare-hull opinion query '"DE-351"' returned 18 opinions, every one a collision with no vessel/asbestos/Navy context in case name or snippet (docket-entry/exhibit-number references and unrelated matches: e.g., VTS Transportation v. Palm Beach County, Rider v. Dep't of Defense, Healthpoint v. Ethex); and the RECAP docket query '"Maurice J. Manuel" OR "DE-351"' returned 225 dockets in which every sampled hit is likewise a collision - 'DE #351'/'DE# 351' docket-entry-number references and unrelated 'Manuel' surname parties (e.g., attorney Manuel Vazquez). No qualifying asbestos litigation - or any litigation - naming this hull was located. A surname collision check ('"Maurice Manuel" asbestos') was attempted once and blocked by the fleet pace budget; with all three substantive queries complete, it is logged as a redundant unexecuted check rather than a negative.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (index state)
- Limitations
- Coverage is search-index level, not a PACER-level docket inspection: a pleading could name the hull inside a document that index text does not expose, and docket results beyond the sampled window were not individually reviewed (sampled hits uniformly matched on 'DE #' docket-entry strings, not the ship). 'DE-351' collides with docket-entry-number strings and a NACA technical-report series; 'Manuel'/'Maurice' are common surnames - broad-name hits require classification, not automatic attribution. The surname-collision opinion query was never executed (fleet pacing); the sweep does not cover state-court records, bankruptcy trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions. Absence of a located case does not prove no claim was ever filed or settled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-maurice-j-manuel-de351-11
