Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet kp-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-pkt-kp-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Melvin R. Nawman (DE-416) (builder, dates, namesake, service narrative, awards; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404 under both URL patterns tried) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 3 January 1944 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 16 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. R. B. Nawman, mother of the late 2d Lt. Melvin R. Nawman; commissioned 16 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. W. Kinsley in command. Shakedown off Bermuda; steamed forth from Boston Navy Yard 22 July 1944 for the Pacific; a 2-month training period with an antisubmarine hunter-killer group at Pearl Harbor; convoy missions to Eniwetok and Ulithi from October, a submarine contact 18 November, and an encounter with a severe tropical storm a month later. 1945 with the 5th Fleet: screened Anzio (CVE-57) while its planes bombed Iwo Jima 16 February-3 March; redeployed off Okinawa, where her guns shot down her first two planes near Kerama Retto 2 April, earning Bronze Stars for two crew; escort duty around Guam; 47 consecutive days at sea screening carrier task forces off the east coast of Japan. Postwar: Korea, three escort trips to the China coast; Magic Carpet duty from 22 December; arrived San Francisco 15 January 1946; decommissioned San Diego 23 April 1946, Pacific Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 28 March 1951 (Lt. Comdr. P. H. Teeter); Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, arriving Melville, R.I., 11 July; annual Key West voyages, Caribbean visits from 1954, Fleet Sonar School support, three midshipmen cruises (Norway, Denmark, Quebec), a 49-day Mediterranean voyage October 1957; first Naval Reserve cruise 16 June 1958; after overhaul February 1959 designated Selected Reserve Training Ship, berthed Davisville, R.I., then Providence after 12 December; one Puerto Rico cruise spring 1960; towed into New York Navy Yard 1 June for inactivation; decommissioned 30 August 1960, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Four battle stars for World War II. Spec block: dp 1,350; l. 306'; b. 36'8"; dr. 9'5"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 186; a. 2 5", 4 40mm., 10 20m., 3 21" tt., 2 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.); cl. John C. Butler. Namesake: Melvin Rollie Nawman, born 10 September in Aurora, Ill., University of Utah, enlisted USMCR 7 July 1941, wings and 2d lieutenant's commission 27 July 1942, VMSB-32, arrived Henderson Field 30 October, died three days later on a volunteer strike against the 'Tokyo Express', posthumous Air Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1944; wartime crew (design complement 186); postwar and Selected Reserve crews 1951-1960
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry predates the 1972 striking and 1973 scrapping sale. Transcription cited because live NHHC DANFS pages 404. DANFS's 'three days later' namesake death dates the fatal mission to ~2 November 1942; the NavSource namesake biography (via Missing Marines) dates the strike 22 November 1942 - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-01
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[3]NavSource Online DE-416 'Building and Operational Data' block, specifications block, namesake biography (via Missing Marines), CO list, and inactive-fleet photo captions (Wayback capture 2025-05-12; live navsource.org unreachable to automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-416 page, 'Building and Operational Data' block + photo captions 0619104/0619105/0619107
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Building/operational and disposal record: commissioned 16 May 1944 at the Tennessee Iron and Coal Co. dock, Houston; decommissioned at San Diego 23 April 1946 after 1 year and 11 months of service having steamed 124,622 miles, credited with the destruction of three Japanese aircraft; inactivation completed 27 January 1947, assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned San Diego 28 March 1951, assigned Escort Squadron 12 at Newport, R.I.; assigned to NRT 1st Naval District at the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center, Davisville, R.I., as a unit of Reserve Escort Squadron 2, 13 January 1958; decommissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard Annex, Bayonne, N.J., 30 August 1960 after 9 years and 5 months of service, custody to Commander, New York Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the NVR 1 July 1972 with 11 years and 4 months total service; sold for scrapping 3 October 1973. NavSource photo captions place the mothballed hull at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Inactive Ship Basin winter 1972-spring 1973 and 25 May 1973 (nested with Oswald DE-767, Tabberer DE-418, Coffman DE-191, Raymond DE-341).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Reserve-fleet/inactive-ships custody personnel 1946-1951 and 1960-1972; shipbreaking workers 1973
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer photographic/historical archive - stricken (1972-07-01) and sold-for-scrapping (1973-10-03) dates are concordant with secondary compilations (Wikipedia, NavalCoverMuseum) but are not verified against an official disposition document: live NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals and the DANFS text predates them. Scrapping buyer, yard, and any pre-sale stripping/abatement are undocumented; a 1973 scrapping sale predates hazmat-review regimes, so no abatement record is expected to exist. The New York Naval Shipyard Annex at Bayonne, N.J., is carried under the dataset's brooklyn-navy-yard (New York Naval Shipyard) yard - the annex, not the Brooklyn yard proper.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-02
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[4]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 design-group-6 row (shipscribe scan) + NavSource machinery line; insulation-spec suite identified via Jack v. Borg-Warner exhibit list (class-profile archival lead ev-john-c-butler-class-04); yard periods per DANFS narrative and NavSource photo captions (ev-01, ev-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 (design group 6); Jack v. Borg-Warner ECF 738 att. 1 exhibit-list items Honeywell-160 through -167; DANFS narrative (Boston departure, New York Navy Yard inactivation)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-416 is a BuShips design-group-6 (WGT) John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built January-May 1944 with 2 superheated 'D' express boilers (Combustion Engineering in the DE-402-424 Brown-built block per navypedia) and Westinghouse geared turbines (12,000 shp) - inside the peak naval asbestos era, when the documented insulation suite (BuShips Manual ch.39 'Thermal Insulation' NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) 1945; Navy Dept spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' Oct 1945; BuEng ch.13 heat-insulation instructions 1933/39) covered thermal pipe covering, block insulation, asbestos felt, lagging cloth/tape, millboard, finishing cement, gaskets and packing aboard steam-driven hulls. Documented yard periods on this hull: departure from Boston Navy Yard 22 July 1944 after Bermuda shakedown (a presence consistent with post-shakedown availability; scope not itemized in DANFS), inactivation at the New York Naval Shipyard (June-August 1960, Bayonne annex), and inactive-fleet custody at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1972-73. Builder Brown Shipbuilding Co. (Houston, Tex. - Greens Bayou yard) is not in the Atlas yard dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1944; Boston Navy Yard and New York Naval Shipyard yard workers 1944/1960; crew 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Class/era and specification inference only - does NOT establish that any asbestos-containing material was installed aboard this hull, and establishes no quantity and no individual exposure. The controlling spec suite is identified from a sister-hull litigation exhibit list; the spec documents themselves were not retrieved this session. The documented yard presences (Boston departure, New York inactivation, Philadelphia berth) establish location and custody, not the materials handled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-03
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[5]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - pretrial order materials and exhibit list, ECF 738 att. 1 (verified in class-profile record john-c-butler-class, 2026-09-16) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation context: pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC (W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537) name USS Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sister of this hull, and recite the plaintiff's theory that a Griscom-Russell evaporator was supplied to Navy specification 'without insulation' and that asbestos was 'a critical material' when the Navy insulated it aboard - while the same materials concede the insulation 'could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The exhibit list identifies the era's controlling Navy insulation documents as evidence in that case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- WWII/postwar service era; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon (DE-446)
- Limitations
- Names sister hull DE-446, NOT this hull - included to document the class's known litigation posture and the insulation-spec theory; it is a pleading/exhibit-list-level recital, not an adjudicated finding, and transfers nothing ship-specific to DE-416.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-04
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[6]Owens Corning/Fibreboard Asbestos Personal Injury Trust, 'FB Approved Site List' (updated 2026-05-13), record 10020240 - 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX, 1/1/1941-12/31/1982'; Fuller-Austin Asbestos Settlement Trust, 'Current FA Jobsite List' (2008) - 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX, first exposure 1/1/1965' [court_record]
- Locator
- OCFB FB Approved Site List record 10020240; Fuller-Austin FA Jobsite List 'Brown Shipyard / Houston / TX / 1/1/1965' (per fleet research file, Todd-Houston yard report 2026-09-16)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: two independent section 524(g) asbestos bankruptcy trusts publish approved site lists naming 'Brown Shipyard, Houston, TX' as an accepted exposure site. The Owens Corning/Fibreboard list's accepted exposure window (1/1/1941-12/31/1982) spans this hull's entire construction period (January-May 1944) at that yard. These are court-administered claims records - a site appears only after the trust accepts that the debtor's asbestos product was present there.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1982 (Fibreboard window); 1965+ (Fuller-Austin window)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding yard workers (wartime and postwar eras per list windows)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation-derived record, not hull evidence: the lists name the yard, not DE-416, and do not identify which products, dates, or areas of the yard were involved. Fuller-Austin's exposure start (1965) postdates this hull's construction and both in-service periods; only the Fibreboard window overlaps the build period. Same source family (claims-administration records) twice - under the Atlas bar this counts as one family at most. Establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-05
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[7]Batch-4317 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS probes; ibiblio DANFS transcription; NavSource operational data (Wayback); NVR detail probe; shipyards.json yard-dataset check; class profile (class-f/john-c-butler-class.class.json); CourtListener API v4 + RECAP (partially completed); law-firm listicle sweep (excluded) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-416: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming THIS hull was found in the sources searched. CourtListener API v4 authenticated opinion search for the exact phrase 'USS Melvin R. Nawman' returned zero results; the 'Nawman' surname sweep, 'Melvin R. Nawman' variant, 'DE-416' hull-number queries, and the RECAP docket index were fleet-shared pacing-blocked on 2026-09-28 - logged as a re-run gap, not a completed negative. 'USS Melvin R. Nawman (DE-416) asbestos' content circulates on law-firm/lead-gen ship lists (asbestos-ships.com dedicated page, shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomabook.com) - excluded per source rules; none cites underlying documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard or of filings - state-court and non-digitized records are not covered, and the CourtListener sweep could not be completed under fleet-shared rate limiting (one of five planned queries completed). Law-firm ship lists repeat the hull name without documentation and were not usable as evidence. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-melvin-r-nawman-de416-06