Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet lf-packet.md (10 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-paul-g-baker-de642-pkt-lf-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Paul G. Baker (DE-642) (NHHC official page; live URL serves 404 - cited via Wayback capture 2024-12-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Paul G. Baker (DE-642)', specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 26 September 1943 at San Francisco, Calif., by Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 12 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Katherine E. Baker; commissioned 25 May 1944, Lt. Cmdr. W. Gordon Cornell, USNR. Spec block: displacement 1,400; length 306'; beam 37'; draft 9'5"; speed 23 knots; complement 186; armament 3x3-inch, 10x20mm, 3x21-inch TT, 8 DCP, 1 hedgehog, 2 DCT; class Buckley. Service: shakedown San Diego Jun 1944; Solomons escort duty Sep-Dec 1944; Okinawa inner transport screen off Hagushi Beach from 1 April 1945; 22 April rescued 9 officers and 69 men of minesweeper Swallow (AM-65); 12 May aided splashing a kamikaze attacking New Mexico (BB-40); 11 June splashed a diver 50 feet from target; Okinawa-Saipan escort voyages Jul-Aug 1945; escorted Mallabar (AF-37) to Tokyo Bay, arriving Yokosuka 17 Sep 1945; overhaul at Portland, Ore., and Bremerton, Wash.; Tsingtao, China service Jul-Oct 1946; decommissioned 3 February 1947 at San Diego, placed in reserve; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 December 1969. One battle star for WWII service. Namesake: LT(jg) Paul Gerald Baker, VF-2 aboard Lexington (CV-2), killed 7 May 1942 at Coral Sea, posthumous Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel San Francisco construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 186)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, builder, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; the official text is cited via a 2024-12-04 Wayback capture. DANFS does not name the scrapping purchaser or site.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-01
-
[3]NARA Catalog: 'USS PAUL G BAKER - War History' (naId 77671712) and monthly war-diary file units 9/1944 through 11/1945 (e.g., naId 78665778 'War Diary, 10/1-31/44'; naId 78708491 '11/1-30/44'; naId 101727209 '6/1-30/45'), RG 38, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (naId 4697018), unrestricted, digitized via Fold3 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file units naId 77671712, 78665778, 78708491, 101727209 et al.; RG 38 series naId 4697018
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives holds digitized contemporaneous operational records for this hull: a consolidated 'War History' file unit (microfilm roll A2074) and monthly war diaries spanning September 1944 - November 1945 across rolls A1246, A1289, A1727 and others - unrestricted, scanned in the Fold3/NARA collaboration and retrievable in the NARA catalog.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-45
- Limitations
- War diaries are operational narratives - they can verify movements and events but do not document hull materials or asbestos. Digitized deck logs (RG 24) for DE-642 were not located in the catalog search; RG 19 contract/General Information Book records are undigitized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-02
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[4]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Paul G. Baker (DE 642) page - building/operational data block and NARA-sourced photo captions [museum_official]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/642.htm - 'Building and Operational Data' block, specifications block, photo captions (NARA photos BS 66857/66859/66860, 80-G-236380, 80-G-286228/231/233)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational compilation for this hull: keel laid 26 Sep 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco; launched/christened 12 Mar 1944; commissioned 25 May 1944 (Capt. Leo Sahm USN ret., for Com12thND); assigned to TF 14 Operational Training Unit, San Francisco Bay, 1-17 June 1944 for fitting out/trials; decommissioned San Diego 3 Feb 1947 after 2 years 8 1/3 months and 96,287 miles steamed, credited with destruction of two Japanese bombers; inactivated 2 Apr 1947, Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from NVR 1 Dec 1969; sold for scrapping October 1970. Spec block: 2 'D' Express boilers, GE turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws, 24 kts, complement 15 officers/198 enlisted. Awards: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 star; Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Crew 1944-47; reserve fleet 1947-69
- Limitations
- Volunteer-curated compilation - corroborates and supplements DANFS dates but is secondary; the 15/198 complement and 24-kt figures conflict with the DANFS spec block (186; 23 kt) - variance carried in gaps. 'Sold for scrapping' names no purchaser or site. Not an asbestos source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), destroyer-escort design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 DE design-group table; navypedia us_de_te block map (DE-633-644 = Combustion Engineering)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design reference covering this hull's design group: destroyer escort design groups 2-3 (TE, turbo-electric drive) - 306 ft overall, 1,400/1,450 t standard, 23.6 kt, 2 shafts, GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp, 2 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi / 750F superheat. DE-642 falls in the BuShips group 2/3 TE block (per navypedia's per-block boiler-manufacturer map, the DE-633-644 series carried Combustion Engineering boilers - unverified against contract documents).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945 (design reference); construction 1943-44
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Class/design-group data - documents the plant configuration this hull was built to, not hull-specific materials. Boiler-manufacturer assignment is navypedia-sourced and unverified. Does not establish any asbestos content aboard this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-04
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[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB 1945 group 2/3 TE plant data + GAO HRD-80-2 program context + Atlas shipyard dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB 1945 group 2/3 data; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: the Buckley TE class is the only destroyer-escort design besides the Butler WGT class with a full steam plant - two superheated boilers plus turbo-electric machinery in 1943-44 construction implies era-standard asbestos applications: boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bethlehem Steel San Francisco (Union Iron Works/Pier 70) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding, tier 3) as an asbestos-era yard. GAO documented the Navy's standing policy (1975/1979) of leaving asbestos insulation in place unless damaged or in high-maintenance areas - consistent with as-built material persisting into reserve-fleet layup, but no source characterizes DE-642's material state.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel San Francisco construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-47; Portland/Bremerton overhaul workers 1945-46; reserve-fleet and scrapping workers 1947-70
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no member-level asbestos record exists for DE-642 in the sources searched. Establishes no quantities, no individual exposure, and no current condition (hull scrapped 1970).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-05
-
[7]National Register nomination, Union Iron Works Historic District - Pier 70, San Francisco (Port of San Francisco, April 2014) [nps]
- Locator
- UIW NRHP nomination (April 2014), summary paragraph and site description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NRHP nomination documents the builder yard: the Union Iron Works shipyard at Potrero Point (Pier 70), San Francisco - 66 acres, operated by Bethlehem Steel through WWII as its San Francisco plant - the site where DE-642 was laid down, launched, and fitted out 1943-44. Establishes builder-yard identity and physical plant context.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1884-1945 (district period of significance)
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel San Francisco workforce (WWII peak ~18,000 per secondary sources)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not hull-level - the nomination covers historic-district significance and buildings, not asbestos content of vessels built there. It corroborates the DANFS builder line; it does not evidence asbestos aboard DE-642.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-06
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[8]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated): "USS Paul G. Baker" and "Paul G. Baker" opinion searches (0 hits each); "DE-642" docket search (collisions only) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, type=o and type=r, queries "USS Paul G. Baker", "Paul G. Baker", "DE-642"
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation - or litigation of any kind - naming this hull was located on CourtListener. Exact-phrase opinion searches "USS Paul G. Baker" and "Paul G. Baker" returned zero hits. The "DE-642" docket search returned only docket-entry-number collisions ('DE 642' = docket entry 642 in unrelated civil matters, e.g., Ghahan LLC v. Palm Steak House LLC, S.D. Fla. contract case); the "DE-642" opinion query and "Paul G. Baker" docket query were declined by the fleet pacer this session - flagged as an honest sweep limitation, not a verified zero. The class-level Buckley sweep (class profile, 2026-09-16) likewise located no asbestos docket naming any of the 148 class hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29 (search date)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - absence here does not prove no claim was ever filed (state-court and unindexed federal filings are outside coverage); it establishes that no qualifying litigation naming this hull appears in the largest open case-law corpus. 'Paul G. Baker' is also a person-name string; zero-hit result means no opinion text mentions the ship name at all.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-07
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[9]This record's search ledger (sl-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-01 through -07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-01 through -07
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract or disclosure, museum/donation hazmat record (hull scrapped, never preserved), OSHA/NIOSH file, or qualifying litigation naming DE-642 appears in the sources searched (NHHC/DANFS, NARA catalog, NavSource compilation, NPS/NRHP yard documentation, CourtListener opinions and dockets, web sweep). Law-firm vessel listicles naming the hull (Shepard O'Donnell; freeasbestostesting.com) were reviewed and excluded as non-authoritative marketing sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Absence of located record does not prove absence of material or claims - NARA RG 19 contract files/General Information Books and BuShips material schedules are undigitized; state-court filings are outside CourtListener coverage; the hull was scrapped in 1970 and no surviving fabric exists to survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-g-baker-de642-08