Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet fr-packet.md (6 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Ordronaux | hull: DD-617 | designation: Destroyer | class: Benson **[MIRROR]** https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-617.htm (DANFS text)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ordronaux-dd617-pkt-fr-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Ordronaux' (DD-617) entry (Vol. V-era text; 'Into 1970, she remains berthed at Orange, Texas' dates the entry) - verbatim transcription via hazegray.org DANFS Online, Wayback capture 2021-04-21 (live NHHC page returns 404 on all URL variants; live hazegray.org unreachable this session, losthistory.net mirror carried identical text); spec block: dp. 1,620; l. 348'; b. 36'; dr. 13'4"; s. 37.6 k.; cpl. 276; a. 4 5", 4 40mm, 5 21" tt.; cl. Benson [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry: spec block + full service narrative (hazegray.org danfs/destroy/dd617txt.htm, Wayback capture 2021-04-21; identical text at losthistory.net/hazegray mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 25 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River, Mass.; launched 9 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. J. Henry Judik; commissioned 13 February 1943, Lt. Comdr. Robert Brodie Jr. in command. Service: departed New York 1 May 1943 escorting a convoy to Mers-el-Kebir; first combat 6 July 1943 at Bizerte (German air attack); Sicily invasion 9-21 July (torpedo-boat squadron at Porto Empedocle, antisubmarine screen, fire support); nearly a year of Atlantic/Mediterranean convoy duty; 7 April 1944 spotted U-856 south of Nova Scotia with a hunter-killer unit (Champlin DD-601 made contact and rammed after Huse DE-145 depth-charge attacks; Nields DD-616 and Ordronaux captured 28 survivors); 12 May 1944 screening HMS Dido with Mackenzie (DD-614) during the Terracina/Gaeta bombardment supporting the 5th Army, then Dido and French cruiser Emile Bertin off the Anzio beachhead for the rest of May; 9 August 1944 attached to the southern France fire-support force - on the 15th within 3,000 yards of the beach on call fire, straddled by 88 mm shore fire; convoy duty; alterations at New York (yard unnamed) then Pacific transit 1 May 1945, Pearl Harbor 24 July, Wake Island close fire support 1 August; Okinawa before the capitulation; occupation landings at Wakayama and Nagoya; Honshu port cruises incl. two to Tokyo Bay; sailed for the U.S. 31 October 1945. Local operations off Charleston, S.C.; 'placed out of commission in reserve January 1947' and attached to the Charleston group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; berthed at Orange, Texas into 1970. Three battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1970
- Population
- Bethlehem Fore River construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 276 per spec block)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents builder, dates, design specifications, service narrative, and reserve-fleet disposition - not materials or asbestos content. The decommissioning wording ('January 1947') conflicts with NavSource's 27 March 1946 - carried in gaps, not reconciled. Mirror transcription cited because live NHHC pages for DD-617 return 404 on all URL variants tried (standing link rot per batch-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index, USS Ordronaux (DD-617) page (operational and building data block, machinery, commanding officers, fate) - via Wayback capture 2024-05-25 [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/617.htm 'CLASS - BENSON' data block + 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' + 'Commanding Officers' (Wayback capture 20240525114411)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: CLASS - BENSON as built; displacement 2,395 tons (full); 348'4" oa x 36'1" x 13'2" max; armament 4 x 5"/38AA, 6 x 0.5" MG, 10 x 21" tt (2x5); machinery 50,000 shp, Bethlehem turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 knots; range 6,500 NM at 12 knots; crew 208. Building data: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Quincy, 25 July 1942; launched 9 November 1942; commissioned 13 February 1943; decommissioned 27 March 1946; stricken 1 July 1971. Fate: sold 16 March 1973 to Luria Brothers, New York, for $91,833.50 and scrapped in Kearny, NJ. Commanding officers: LCDR Robert A. (Steve) Brodie Jr. 13 Feb 1943-7 Jan 1944; CDR Jonathon Leopold Warren Woodville Jr. 7 Jan 1944-27 Mar 1946. Includes a link to the scanned DOD sealed-bid auction offering booklet of 2 March 1973 listing ex-DD-617 among the hulls offered.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Crew 1943-1946/47; reserve-fleet custody 1946/47-1971 (Charleston group, then Orange TX ISMF); scrapping workforce 1973
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archival index - used for disposal detail (buyer, price, scrapping city), the decommission date variant, and the commanding-officer list; a secondary compilation, not a primary Navy document. Conflicts with DANFS: decommissioning reads 27 March 1946 vs DANFS 'January 1947'; crew 208 vs 276; speed 35 kt vs 37.6 kt; armament 10x21" tt (2x5) vs 5x21" tt - conflicts carried in gaps, not silently reconciled. Nothing addresses materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-02
-
[4]NARA/NHHC still-photograph captions and Imperial War Museum photographs via Destroyer History Foundation and NavSource: NARA 19-N-42147 (port bow, off Boston, 13 Feb 1943), NARA 19-N-39334 (Boston, 28 Feb 1943), NH 107217 (underway off Boston 28 Feb 1943); IWM A 23710/23712/23713 (Ordronaux and Mackenzie circling HMS Dido under German shore fire off Gaeta, 18 May 1944); 80-G-354884 (six-destroyer nest at USS Black Hawk AD-9, Pearl Harbor, July 1945); 1970 photo of the Orange, Texas Inactive Ship Facility nest (Parker DD-604, Meade DD-602, Ordronaux DD-617, Hobby DD-610) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussordronaux/ (NARA 19-N-39334 caption); NavSource DD-617 and DD-614 pages (IWM A 23710/23712/23713, 80-G-354884, and 1970 Orange TX nest captions)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard-period and disposition documentation for this hull: official U.S. Navy and NARA photographs fix the hull off Boston in February 1943 (post-commissioning/shakedown period); IWM photographs corroborate the DANFS narrative of the 18 May 1944 Gaeta bombardment screening HMS Dido with Mackenzie; the 80-G-354884 caption places the hull at Pearl Harbor in July 1945 alongside Hawkins (DD-873), Boyle (DD-600), Champlin (DD-601), Swanson (DD-443), and Franks (DD-554); a 1970 photograph places the hull in a four-destroyer nest at the Orange, Texas Inactive Ship Facility with Parker (DD-604), Meade (DD-602), and Hobby (DD-610) - confirming the reserve-fleet berth DANFS describes ('Into 1970, she remains berthed at Orange, Texas').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Boston-area activity 1943; Gaeta operation May 1944; Pearl Harbor July 1945; Orange TX ISMF reserve berth to ~1971
- Limitations
- Photo captions fix the hull's location on those dates but state nothing about work scope, materials, insulation, or asbestos. NARA/IWM photo numbers verified only as transcribed in NavSource and Destroyer History Foundation captions; the NARA catalog itself was not searchable this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-03
-
[5]Benson/Gleaves class profile (benson-gleaves-class.class.json, batch class-F) synthesizing BuShips Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 1 (Jan 1945) machinery table for the No. 421 Class + DANFS spec block + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'fore-river-shipyard' [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DD machinery table (No. 421 Class); benson-gleaves-class.class.json ev-benson-gleaves-class-03/-04; shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' + 'fore-river-shipyard' records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Bethlehem Steel Fore River (Quincy) Benson-class destroyer commissioned 13 February 1943 with 4 Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers (575 psi/700F per the BuShips 1945 class table) and ~47,000-50,000 shp geared steam turbines (Bethlehem turbines per NavSource) falls inside the Navy's peak asbestos-insulation era. Typical applications for the type: boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe and turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets and packing, fireproofing, deck tile and accommodation insulation. The builder is documented in the Atlas shipyards dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding, tier 3 - consolidated corporate record including the Quincy/Fore River operation) with yard-level asbestos product identification (85% magnesia block, Marinite board, Transite and Aircell pipe covering, Unibestos products, lagging, gaskets, packing). Her documented yard windows (Fore River construction 1942-43, New York alterations early 1945, Charleston inactivation 1946/47) and the 1973 commercial scrapping at Kearny are the windows where era insulation would have been installed, disturbed, or removed. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem Fore River construction trades 1942-43; New York alteration-yard trades 1945; inactivation yard trades 1946/47; scrapping trades 1973; crew 1943-1946/47
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull; this row contextualizes, it does not document materials aboard DD-617. Yard-level product documentation is consolidated corporate and does not name this hull or this yard's DD-617 work. NARA GIB retrieval not performed. Class-level 47,000 vs 50,000 shp discrepancy documented in the class profile.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-04
-
[6]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: the standing 1975 policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - context for how Navy hulls of this era were handled in the abatement-policy period. Ordronaux's active service ended in 1946/47 and she was scrapped in 1973, before these policies operated; her Navy-custody reserve-fleet layup (1946/47-1971 at Charleston then Orange, Texas) falls in the pre-policy era in which original insulation typically remained undisturbed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period; hull scrapped 1973
- Population
- Navy shipyard and fleet personnel (program scope); reserve-fleet caretakers 1946/47-1971
- Limitations
- Program-level context only, not hull-specific: no policy-era yard availability on this hull is documented, and commercial scrapping of the period predates modern ACM regulation - what happened to her insulation at Kearny in 1973 is undocumented. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated full-text fetches; the product-page description was used (standing limitation from Batch 01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweeps via cl-auth-search.py (2026-09-27): 'USS Ordronaux' opinions 0 hits, dockets 0 hits; 'DD-617' opinions 0 hits, dockets 5 hits all non-vessel; 'Ordronaux' dockets 32 hits all non-vessel; 'Ordronaux' opinions blocked by pacing [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ordronaux-dd617-06/-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep result for this hull: the 'USS Ordronaux' exact-name sweeps returned zero opinions and zero dockets; the 'DD-617' opinion sweep returned zero hits. The 'DD-617' docket sweep returned 5 hits, all non-vessel document/docket-number collisions (Color Kinetics v. TIR Systems 1:03-cv-12491; Drumgold v. Callahan 1:04-cv-11193; NEBL v. American Medical Systems 1:04-cv-12482; Applied Research Systems v. Cell Genesys 1:04-cv-11810 - all D. Mass. civil/patent dockets; and Circuit City Stores bankruptcy 08-35653, Bankr. E.D. Va.) - classified name collisions, non-qualifying. The 'Ordronaux' bare-surname docket sweep returned 32 hits, all collisions with the 19th-century jurist John Ordronaux, whose treatises are cited in Second-Amendment and jurisprudence dockets (Heller v. DC lineage, Young v. State of Hawaii, Frey v. Bruen, Gun Owners of America v. Del Toro, Authors Guild v. OpenAI, Bartz v. Anthropic, etc.) - no docket names the vessel. The 'Ordronaux' surname OPINION sweep could not be completed this session - the fleet-wide pacing budget (~114/hr shared quota) stayed saturated across spaced attempts (acquire timeouts, exit 2); carried as blocked rather than assumed clean.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- No asbestos claimant identifying this hull located
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is limited to CourtListener-indexed opinions and RECAP dockets; non-indexed, settled, state-court, bankruptcy-trust, or un-digitized filings fall outside coverage. The 'Ordronaux' surname opinion index remains uncovered this session (pacing saturation) - absence-of-litigation wording rests on the five completed sweeps plus the non-CourtListener record; that one gap is carried openly. The docket hits confirm the name-collision hazard for this hull: 'Ordronaux' matches both a cited legal scholar and DD-number strings in unrelated dockets - any future hits require classification, not automatic vessel attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-06
-
[8]Batch-3589 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live and mirrors; NavSource data sheet; NARA/NHHC/IWM photo captions; Atlas class profile + shipyards dataset; CourtListener sweeps (five of six completed; surname opinion index blocked - pacing); NARA catalog; open web [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ordronaux-dd617-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no materials schedule, no museum hazmat disclosure, and no qualifying asbestos litigation naming DD-617 surfaced in the sources searched (completed CourtListener sweeps: 'USS Ordronaux' opinions 0, dockets 0; 'DD-617' opinions 0, dockets 5 non-vessel collisions; 'Ordronaux' dockets 32 non-vessel jurist-citation collisions; only the 'Ordronaux' surname opinion index remains uncovered - see ev-06 and the search ledger). The hull's lifecycle - reserve fleet 1946/47-1971, commercial scrapping at Kearny 1973 - contains no located asbestos-documentation event.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 steam destroyer is era-consistent with asbestos insulation, and nothing located either proves or disproves shipboard presence. Commercial scrapping in 1973 predates modern ACM documentation regimes, so absence of abatement paperwork is expected rather than informative. The 'Ordronaux' surname opinion index is uncovered this session - see ev-06 and the search ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-07
-
[9]NARA holdings as archival leads: RG 24 deck logs for DD-617 (1943-1946/47); RG 19 General Information Books / hull material specifications; RG 38 WWII war diaries; RG 181 Charleston Naval Shipyard inactivation-period records; NARA/NHHC still-picture series incl. 19-N-42147, 19-N-39334, NH 107217, 80-G-354884; plus the DOD sealed-bid auction offering booklet of 2 March 1973 scanned on NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (JS-rendered, no extractable results); photo series via NavSource/destroyerhistory.org captions; DOD offering booklet scan navsource.org/archives/06/140a.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved this session: (a) NARA RG 19 General Information Books / contract material specifications for DD-617 - the hull-level asbestos-relevant source if one exists (the Destroyer History Foundation's posted GIB scan covers only DD-421/DD-422); (b) RG 24 deck logs 1943-1946/47 and RG 38 war diaries; (c) RG 181 yard records for the Charleston inactivation and the unnamed New York alterations yard of early 1945; (d) the NARA still-picture series identified by photo numbers in NavSource/Destroyer History Foundation captions; (e) the scanned DOD sealed-bid offering booklet of 2 March 1973 listing ex-DD-617 (NavSource archives/06/140a.htm). The NARA catalog search interface is JS-rendered and returned no extractable results to automated query, so none of these was confirmed or pulled.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Leads only - existence of the photo series is confirmed by caption citations on NavSource and the Destroyer History Foundation; the textual records (GIBs, deck logs, yard files, war diaries) are standard-holdings expectations, not verified per-hull pulls. No spend authorized; reproduction order required.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ordronaux-dd617-08