Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet jf-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-paul-hamilton-dd307-pkt-jf-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Paul Hamilton I (DD-307) - verbatim transcription via hazegray.org, retrieved through Wayback Machine capture 2021-04-14 (live NHHC DANFS page not located; hazegray.org unreachable this session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Paul Hamilton I', specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Clemson-class destroyer (dp. 1,215; l. 314'4"; b. 30'11"; dr. 9'4"; s. 33.2 k.; cpl. 128; a. 4 4", 2 3" AA, 12 21" tt.). Launched 21 February 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Miss Justin McGrath; commissioned 24 September 1920, Lt. Comdr. J. F. McClain in command. After acceptance trials off California, assigned to Division Thirty-three, Squadron Six, Flotilla Two, Cruiser-Destroyer Force Pacific, based at San Diego; performed yeoman service with the Pacific Battle Fleet from 1920 until early 1930. Decommissioned 20 January 1930; scrapped 1931.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1931
- Population
- Bethlehem/Union Iron Works construction trades 1918-1920; Pacific Battle Fleet crew (complement 128)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Does not state the laid-down date (NavSource and secondary sources give 25 September 1918) or the strike date (NavSource gives 8 July 1930). Transcription mirror cited because no live NHHC page for DD-307 was located and hazegray.org did not respond this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-01
-
[3]NHHC Naval History Live, 'Disaster at Honda Point' (NHHC Communication and Outreach Division publication) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Naval History Live article, narrative paragraphs (ship list)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC official history publication names this hull in the Honda (Pedernales) Point disaster of 8 September 1923: fourteen Clemson-class destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 11 steamed south from San Francisco at 20 knots in dense fog; the flagship Delphy's premature turn put the column on the rocks - seven destroyers lost (Delphy, S. P. Lee, Young, Woodbury, Nicholas, Fuller, Chauncey), twenty-three sailors killed, the worst peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history. Farragut and Somers grounded but backed off with negligible damage; Percival, Kennedy, Paul Hamilton, Stoddert, and Thompson 'managed to stop in time to avoid the rocks.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1923-09-08
- Population
- DesRon 11 crews, September 1923
- Limitations
- Documents this hull's presence in the DesRon 11 column and its survival of the 8 September 1923 disaster; contains no asbestos or materials information. A summary history article, not the primary investigation record - the 1923 court of inquiry record is the underlying primary source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images: USS Paul Hamilton (DD-307), 1920-1931 (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of the NHC page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library page usnsh-p/dd307.htm, summary paragraph + photo captions NH 69436, NH 69515, NH 86082-A, NH 54650
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Naval Historical Center photo record for this hull: 'a 1190-ton Clemson class destroyer... built at San Francisco, California, and commissioned in September 1920. She spent the rest of the decade operating along the U.S. Pacific Coast, with occasional trips out of the area to participate in U.S. Fleet exercises... decommissioned in January 1930 and scrapped in 1931.' Photo captions place the hull at: Panama Bay 21 January 1921 during a combined Atlantic and Pacific Fleets concentration (NH 86082-A); moored with Destroyer Division Thirty-three off San Diego 16 April 1921 (NH 69515, NH 72598); and present at the Fleet Review of 4 June 1927 (NH 54650).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1920-1931
- Population
- Crew during 1920-1930 Pacific service
- Limitations
- Official photo-caption-level documentation of operations and locations; contains no asbestos or materials information. The displacement figure (1,190 tons) differs slightly from DANFS (1,215). Live NHHC-page equivalent URL not located; NHC-era mirror cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-03
-
[5]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, January 1925, 'Operation of a Destroyer at Full Power' (Board of Inspection and Survey engineer member / Eleventh Destroyer Squadron engineer 1923-24) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings, January 1925 issue; indexed article excerpt
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous professional-press engineering article whose data table covers 'the Paul Hamilton, under the command of Lieutenant Commander T. L. McCauley' and sister ship Farragut, drawn from full-power destroyer trials and the author's service as squadron engineer of the eleventh destroyer squadron in 1923-24 - documenting this hull's engineering operations and confirming DesRon 11 affiliation. The article notes Bethlehem Shipbuilding-built destroyers carried a considerably greater shaft inclination than other war-program destroyers, reducing propeller efficiency.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1919-1924 (trials); 1925 (publication)
- Population
- Engineering department crew during trials
- Limitations
- Full text behind a 403 paywall; content confirmed from the indexed excerpt only - the quoted observations are from the excerpt, not a full-article read. Contains no asbestos or materials information; does not establish which hulls carried which machinery details.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches (2026-09-27): "USS Paul Hamilton", "Paul Hamilton"+"DD-307", "Paul Hamilton" asbestos, "aboard the Paul Hamilton", "USS Paul Hamilton" OR "U.S.S. Paul Hamilton" OR "Paul Hamilton DD" [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results, opinion type=o and docket type=r
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Paul Hamilton (DD-307) located. Query results resolved as non-qualifying: Peoples v. United States, 87 Fed. Cl. 553 (2009) and 101 Fed. Cl. 245 (2011) - military-pay/BCNR case, plaintiff's 'USS Paul Hamilton' service is DDG-60-era; Mendoza v. Zirkle Fruit Co. (E.D. Wash. 2004) - agricultural labor/RICO class action, 'Paul Hamilton' matches attorney Paul Hamilton Beattie (name collision); United States v. Butler, 9:25-cr-80093 (S.D. Fla. 2025) - criminal docket, name collision; California Marine Cleaning, Inc. v. United States, 3:22-cv-00741 (S.D. Cal.) - Suits in Admiralty Act property-damage suit arising from the July 2020 USS Bonhomme Richard fire, not asbestos litigation and not this hull. Exact-hull query '"Paul Hamilton" "DD-307"' returned zero results; '"aboard the Paul Hamilton"' returned zero results.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP indexes only - unindexed state-court filings, MDL-875 docket attachments, and non-digitized records are not captured. A hull scrapped in 1931 predates the asbestos-litigation era, so absence of hits is expected rather than exculpatory. One supplementary query ('"aboard USS Paul Hamilton"') was blocked by the fleet pacing limiter this session; given the other results its marginal value is negligible.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-05
-
[7]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-307 USS Paul Hamilton (as-built data, commanding-officer roster) + NARA RG 19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-307 index page (as-built block + CO roster); NARA RG19 GIB series as unretrieved lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: DD-307 was a Clemson-class flush-deck destroyer built 1918-1920 with the class-standard plant of four water-tube boilers and geared steam turbines (NavSource: 26,500 shp, 2 screws). Steam vessels of this construction era carried thermal insulation on boilers, steam drums, and steam lines plus gaskets and packing, and insulation products of the period commonly contained asbestos fiber. NavSource also records the laying down 25 September 1918, striking 8 July 1930, and sale/breakup for scrap in 1931, and carries a commanding-officer roster (McClain 1920-21; Fiske; McCauley 1922-25; Munroe 1925-27; Theiss 1927-29; Fort 1929-30). NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material specifications and are the archival lead for hull-level materials data.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1931
- Population
- Bethlehem/Union Iron Works construction trades 1918-1920; crew 1920-1930
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NO ship-specific asbestos finding; no surveyed material, spec sheet, or removal record for this hull was located. NavSource is a reputable volunteer archive used as an index/lead, not a primary source; its as-built figures (114 crew, 1,215 tons) differ slightly from DANFS. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-06
-
[8]U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian: Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament (London Naval Treaty), signed 22 April 1930 (FRUS 1930, vol. I) and Milestones essay on the London Naval Conference [other_primary]
- Locator
- FRUS 1930 vol. I doc 106 (treaty text); history.state.gov Milestones 1921-1936, London Naval Conference
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The London Naval Treaty of 22 April 1930 capped U.S. destroyer tonnage at 200,000 tons and imposed age limits and scrapping obligations in the destroyer category, driving the mass disposal of worn World War I-program flush-deck destroyers in 1930-31 - the contemporaneous policy context for this hull's decommissioning (20 January 1930), striking (8 July 1930), and scrapping (1931).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1930-1931
- Limitations
- Treaty text and diplomatic record do not name this hull; the linkage between treaty tonnage limits and DD-307's disposal is contemporaneous-timing inference, not a documented selection. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-paul-hamilton-dd307-07