Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet ke-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-o-flaherty-de340-pkt-ke-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, O'Flaherty (DE-340) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative, battle stars; NHHC page published 2016-04-18, captured 2022-06-17 - live page now serves 404; identical text in the 1970 print edition, DANFS Vol. 5, pp. 139-140, via hazegray/losthistory transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed stricken/sold note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 4 October 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 14 December 1943, sponsored by Ensign Lavada M. O'Flaherty, N.N.C., sister of the namesake; commissioned 8 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. D. W. Farnham in command. Shakedown off Bermuda May-June 1944; accompanied battleship New York (BB-34) to Trinidad, then Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor; escorted Rudyerd Bay (CVE-81) to Majuro 20-26 July; screened Santee (CVE-29) to Guam - first action, Operation 'Forager'; 'Milk-Run' convoys Eniwetok-Manus; midnight 3-4 October dash located and rescued 12 crew of a crashed PBM; from 26 October a unit of Escort Division 64, hunter-killer group around Corregidor (CVE-58), later operating with Makassar Strait (CVE-91) and Wake Island (CVE-65); January 1945 Lingayen Gulf Attack Force under frequent kamikaze raids; shifted to 5th Fleet at Ulithi; 10 February-14 March carrier screening for the Iwo Jima invasion; departed for Okinawa 16 March as a unit of TG 52.1, Destroyer Division 120 - on 2 April she downed a diving 'Zeke' with her after 40mm guns; participated in the Okinawa operation 21 March-22 June less an April repair period at Guam; picket and auxiliary escort duty until the surrender; operated out of Guam until ordered home late 1945; operations off California until decommissioned at San Diego in January 1947; into 1970 in reserve berthed at Mare Island, Vallejo, California; [stricken from the Navy Register 1 December 1972; sold 27 November 1973 - bracketed Bauer & Roberts note]; four battle stars for World War II service. Namesake: Ens. Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty, USNR (b. Tonopah, Nev., 26 February 1918), VS-6 pilot aboard Enterprise (CV-6), Navy Cross, killed in action 4 June 1942 at Midway.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS complement 222); reserve-fleet caretakers Mare Island 1947-72
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Decommissioning month only ('January 1947'), no day. Live NHHC page returns 404; 2022-06-17 Wayback capture and the verbatim 1970 print transcription (Vol. 5 pp. 139-140) are cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-01
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[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (1 January 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-010 - DE design-group table and individual-ship register row (shipscribe.com scan; locally OCR'd) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 PDF pp. ~137-140 (book pp. ~252-255): DE design-group table row 6; individual-ship register index 242 'O'FLAHERTY ... DE340'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips register names this hull: individual-ship table row (index 242) 'O'FLAHERTY - DE340 - WGT - Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. - $2,043,000 - [contract date ditto = Aug. 7, 1942]' with milestone columns reading Oct. 4, 1943; Dec. 14, 1943; Mar. 5, 1944; Apr. 8, 1944; Apr. 8, 1944 - keel, launch and commission dates consistent with DANFS. The DE design-group table (book pp. 234-235) defines group 6 'WGT' (geared-turbine drive): 306 ft oa, 1,350 t standard, 24.3 kt, 2 shafts, geared turbines 12,000 shp, two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi / 750 deg F; accommodations 15 officers / 207 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (register); covers 1942-44 contract/construction data
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Image-only scan verified by local OCR at 2x enlargement this session (book p. 255, register index 242). The 'Mar. 5, 1944' milestone column label (delivery vs. completion) is not OCR-legible and is not asserted; contract date read as ditto from the Aug. 7, 1942 block above. Establishes design group and plant class only - no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-02
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[4]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS O'Flaherty (DE-340) building and operational data + cataloged official photo holdings (NH 100046 NHHC; NARA 80-G-382849, 80-G-382850, BS 132045) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/340.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' chronology + photo caption blocks (usndazzle.com corroborates NARA numbers 80-G-382849/850, BS 132045)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archive record for this hull: call sign N-K-F-V; keel 4 October 1943 Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 14 December 1943, sponsored by Ensign Lavada M. O'Flaherty, N.N.C.; commissioned 8 April 1944 at Orange, Lcdr. D. W. Farnham USNR; decommissioned January 1947 at San Diego after 2 years 9 months of service; struck 1 December 1972; sold for scrapping 27 November 1973. Photo captions add yard detail: shakedown at Bermuda 3-25 May 1944 as a unit of Escort Division 65; returned to the Boston Navy Yard for post-shakedown repairs and modifications 29 May-8 June 1944; departed Norfolk 13 June with New York (BB-34), Trippe (DD-403) and Jack Miller (DE-410); fueled NAS Trinidad 19-20 June; Panama Canal transit 23 June; San Diego 2 July. Cataloged official photographs: NH 100046 (NHHC) and NARA 80-G-382849, 80-G-382850, BS 132045 - Boston, 8 June 1944, MS31/22D camouflage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Wartime crew; Boston Navy Yard workforce during the 29 May-9 June 1944 availability
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive sourced from NVR/ship records and NARA photo captions; corroborates DANFS and adds yard/schedule detail. Photo catalog numbers document official holdings, not contents; none addresses materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-03
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[5]War Diary, USS O'Flaherty - monthly reports April 1944 through November 1945 (Lt. Comdr. D. W. Farnham series Apr-Nov 1944; Lt. Cdr. Paul L. Callan series Jan-Nov 1945) plus Action Report, Okinawa Operation, 21 March-3 May 1945 - NARA WWII War Diaries collection, digitized on Fold3 (subscription-gated) [other_primary]
- Locator
- fold3.com image IDs 274534297 (1944-04), 295417016 (1945-01/02), 295879688 (1945-03), 295921307 (1945-04), 300780662 (Okinawa action report), 296148929, 296606660, 300385925, 300771680, 300862974, 301650543
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's official WWII war diary series and Okinawa action report exist in the NARA WWII War Diaries digitization on Fold3 (image IDs incl. 274534297 April 1944; 295417016 Jan-Feb 1945; 295879688 March 1945; 295921307 April 1945; 300780662 Okinawa action report; 296148929 May; 296606660 June; 300385925 July; 300771680 August; 300862974 September; 301650543 October-November 1945). These records document the ship's yard availabilities - fitting-out at Todd Galveston Dry Docks in April 1944 and Boston Navy Yard post-shakedown repairs - and all operations at report granularity.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-45; yard workforces (Todd Galveston; Boston Navy Yard)
- Limitations
- Existence and identifier series verified via the citation set of the vessel's public secondary literature (good-article bibliography); full text not retrieved this session (subscription-gated). War diaries record operations and availabilities, not materials or asbestos content - the documents may incidentally name repair scopes. NARA RG 24 deck logs and RG 19 General Information Books are further unretrieved leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-04
-
[6]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design-group 6 (WGT) plant spec + Atlas John C. Butler class profile (WGT block map: Combustion Engineering boilers for DE-339-372 block per navypedia) + Navy insulation-spec archival leads identified in class litigation (Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list, W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table row 6; class profile john-c-butler-class (worktree class-f); Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. 2:17-cv-00537, ECF 738 att. 1 exhibit list
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a WGT-group destroyer escort completed April 1944 with two 'D' express boilers (435 psi / 750 deg F; Combustion Engineering per the class boiler-block map covering DE-339 through DE-372) and Westinghouse geared turbines would have carried era-standard asbestos applications for a steam ship - boiler and steam-line insulation, lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, deck coverings. The WWII Navy insulation-spec suite naming asbestos products - BuShips Manual ch. 39 Thermal Insulation (NAVSHIPS 250-000(39), 24 Aug 1945) and Navy Dept. spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' (15 Oct 1945) - is identified in the class litigation record and carried as archival leads, not retrieved text.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; engineering-plant crew 1944-47; reserve-fleet caretakers to 1972
- Limitations
- Class/era and design-group inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No per-hull material schedule for DE-340 was located (NARA RG 19 General Information Books are the unretrieved lead). Boiler-manufacturer attribution is a secondary block-map claim unverified against contract documents. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-05
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[7]Batch-4243 CourtListener sweep (this record): exact-name and hull-number queries, opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) indexes, via authenticated API v4 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-flaherty-de340-06 through sl-uss-o-flaherty-de340-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS O'Flaherty (DE-340) located: 'USS O'Flaherty' returned zero opinion hits and zero RECAP docket hits; '"O'Flaherty" ship' returned 47 opinion hits and '"O'Flaherty" asbestos' returned 18 opinion hits, all name collisions - parties, attorneys, and law-firm names (e.g., Unigard Insurance Group v. O'Flaherty & Belgum; Tragarz v. Keene Corp.; Belkow v. Celotex Corp.; In re Asbestos II - the O'Flaherty string in asbestos opinions is defense attorney Paul B. O'Flaherty Jr., Baker & McKenzie) - none vessel-related; 'DE-340' returned 17 opinion hits, all identifier collisions (Puerto Rican docket numbers and federal entry references, none vessel-related, none asbestos); '"O'Flaherty"' in RECAP dockets returned 748 dockets / 3,266 documents - reviewed index page comprises person-name party dockets (bankruptcy and civil matters), no vessel reference.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep covers indexed CourtListener opinions and RECAP dockets only; PACER-only federal dockets, state dockets, and unindexed pleadings are outside its scope. The 748-docket surname set was reviewed at index level (first page plus collision-pattern inspection); a vessel mention inside an unrelated 'O'Flaherty' person's docket cannot be exhaustively excluded. Absence of a located case does not prove no claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-06
-
[8]Batch-4243 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (Wayback + print transcription); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 register; NavSource operational data; NARA WWII War Diaries (Fold3); Atlas shipyard dataset; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-flaherty-de340-01 through sl-uss-o-flaherty-de340-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-340: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat or pre-scrapping environmental disclosure, and no qualifying litigation names the vessel in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrap 27 November 1973; no museum or extant fabric exists to survey.
- 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 - a 1943-44 steam destroyer escort is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, and original-era material could have entered the scrapping chain undocumented. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, nor does it establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-flaherty-de340-07