Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet jh-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-preble-dd345-pkt-jh-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Preble IV (Destroyer No. 345)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Specifications header and opening construction paragraph; verbatim text verified via Wayback capture 2025-02-01 and hazegray.org DANFS mirror (live NHHC page returned 404 this session)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Clemson-class destroyer (dp. 1,700 f.; l. 314'4"; b. 30'8"; dr. 9'3"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 129; a. 4 4", 1 3", 12 21" tt.). The fourth Preble (DD-345) was laid down by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 12 April 1919; launched 8 March 1920, sponsored by Miss Sallie MacIntosh Tucker; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 19 March 1920, Comdr. H. A. Baldridge in command.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and commissioning - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-27; the canonical URL is cited with content verified through archived and mirror transcriptions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-01
-
[3]NHHC DANFS, 'Preble IV (Destroyer No. 345)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Service narrative, 1942-1946 paragraphs (verbatim via Wayback capture and hazegray mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS World War II and disposition record for this hull: joined Pearl Harbor entrance patrol 30 January 1942; laid French Frigate Shoals minefield with Mine Division 1 from 1 April 1942; defensive minefield at Kodiak, Alaska, July 1942; overhaul via Seattle; Noumea/New Hebrides escort December 1942-January 1943; Tenambo River (Guadalcanal) minefield night of 31 January 1943 with Tracy and Montgomery; Ferguson Passage minefield night of 6 May 1943 with Gamble, Breese, and Radford (mines sank one Japanese destroyer and damaged two); rescued 85 survivors of SS Stanvac Manila 24 May 1943; Shortland Island mining 28 June 1943 with Breese and Gamble; departed Noumea 9 September 1943 for San Francisco overhaul; Majuro anti-submarine screen and minelaying from 3 February 1944; Peleliu shoal investigation 12 September 1944 and rescue of Perry (DMS-17) survivors 13 September; Leyte Gulf approach buoy-laying and mine destruction with TG 77.5 from 17 October 1944; San Pedro Bay 1 January 1945; repairs at San Francisco from 8 March 1945; returned to Pearl Harbor 8 May; reclassified miscellaneous auxiliary AG-99 5 June 1945; plane-guard/escort duty with Vella Gulf (CVE-111) to Guam and Okinawa and Sitkoh Bay (CVE-86) to Samar; departed for the United States 9 October, arrived Norfolk 20 November 1945; decommissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard 7 December 1945; struck from the Navy List 3 January 1946; sold for scrap to Luria Brothers of Philadelphia 26 October 1946. Eight battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Service and disposition history only - no asbestos work scope, material identity, or disposal materials inventory. DANFS names the repair/overhaul cities (Seattle 1942; San Francisco 1943 and 1945) but not the specific yards; the 1943 San Francisco overhaul is resolved to Mare Island Navy Yard by Navy photo captions (see ev-05), the 1945 yard is unresolved and carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-04
-
[4]USS Preble (DM-20) action report, 'Japanese Air Attack, Sunday, December 7, 1941,' DM20/A16-3 Serial (0297), Pearl Harbor, T.H., December 10, 1941 - CO report with enclosed Executive Officer's report (HyperWar transcription of the Navy record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CO letter paragraph 2 and Executive Officer's enclosure
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous action report for this hull, DM20/A16-3 Serial 0297, signed by commanding officer Lt. Comdr. H. D. Johnston at Pearl Harbor 10 December 1941: 'This ship was moored in berth B-15, undergoing scheduled Navy Yard overhaul. All guns and ammunition had been removed from the ship; the engineering plant was dismantled.' The report records no personnel casualties and no material damage to Preble during either attack wave, the transfer of a gun crew to Cummings (moored alongside), and the reassembly of machine guns and 3"/23 AA guns with ammunition drawn from the Marine Barracks and N.A.D. Lualuale. DANFS adds that a large number of Preble's crew handled ammunition, fought fires, and cared for the wounded aboard Pennsylvania (BB-38), and that Preble completed her yard overhaul 30 January 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Primary document establishes the ship was in Navy Yard overhaul status with engineering plant dismantled at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 - a shipyard work event - but says nothing about materials, insulation, or asbestos. DANFS's Pennsylvania detail is a secondary corroboration of the crew's activity, not part of the report text quoted here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive 'Preble (AG 99) ex-DM-20 ex-DD-345' and Destroyer Photo Index DD-345, including U.S. Navy photo captions NH 103726, NH 103727, 7662-43/7663-43/7664-43/7666-43 (Mare Island, 17 November 1943) and NH 2217 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource index data block and photo caption lines for the 17 November 1943 Mare Island departure series; NHHC Online Library picture-data page for NH 2217 (ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary mirror)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource photo-index and Navy photo-caption record for this hull: delivered 15 March 1920; designated DD-345 17 July 1920; reclassified DM-20 30 June 1937 and AG-99 5 June 1945; decommissioned at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., 7 December 1945; struck 3 January 1946; sold for scrap 26 October 1946 to Luria Bros., Philadelphia. Navy photo captions (NH 103726, NH 103727, 7662-43 through 7666-43) document Preble at Mare Island Navy Yard on 17 November 1943 with white outlines marking recent alterations (including 3"/50 guns atop the midships superstructure) and state she 'had just completed an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard from 29 September to 17 November 1943' - resolving DANFS's September-1943 San Francisco departure to a documented Mare Island yard period. NH 2217 shows her at anchor, probably Guantanamo Bay, early 1920s. Call sign Nan-Uncle-Nan-George (NUNG); DM-era data 1,190 t., 30 kt, 80 mines, complement 149.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable volunteer archive used as an index; the overhaul dates rest on U.S. Navy photo captions transcribed there (verified via Wayback capture 2024-05-29 - live navsource.org refused automated fetch). The captions document the yard period and alterations but contain no asbestos or materials information. Figure variants (crew 114 as built vs DANFS 129; shp figures) are carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-05
-
[6]National Archives, 'Special List 44 - Named Vessels' (Preble entries) and 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (RG 19 GIB entries P 9 and P 11; S39/S48 drawing groups; RG 24 deck-log caveat) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, Preble rows '(DD-345, AG-99, DM-20) 3/19/1920-12/7/1945'; asbestos guide, GIB and drawing-group sections: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List 44 indexes Preble deck logs under DD-345, AG-99, and DM-20 covering 19 March 1920 through 7 December 1945. NARA's asbestos research guide ('Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961') identifies RG 19 ship General Information Books - including Entry P 9 (Destroyer, Destroyer Escort, and Frigate GIBs) and Entry P 11 (Minesweeper and Minelayer GIBs), both relevant to this hull's DD and DM periods - plus hull-number-arranged engineering drawings and the S39 insulation/lagging and S48 piping drawing groups as routes to material research.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The index verifies log holdings, not their contents. NARA explicitly cautions that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly document asbestos. No Preble log, General Information Book, or S39/S48 drawing was retrieved or inspected for this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-06
-
[7]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030) + NavSource DD-345 machinery data + Atlas shipyards.json records 'bath-iron-works', 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard', and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' + NARA RG 19 GIB/S39/S48 archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; NavSource DD-345 index; shipyards.json records 'bath-iron-works', 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'; NARA asbestos guide GIB/drawing sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: DD-345 was a Clemson-class flush-deck destroyer built 1919-20 at Bath Iron Works with the class-standard plant of four water-tube boilers and geared steam turbines (NavSource: 26,500 shp, 2 screws; boiler make 'Normand' per NavSource). 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. Fleischer et al. (1946) document amosite asbestos as 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' under construction - a government/peer-reviewed yard survey establishing Navy practice, carried as era context. The Atlas yard dataset documents builder Bath Iron Works at yard level (evidence tier 2, including a 1942-era industrial-hygiene finding of serious pipe-covering-shop dust risk, PMID 21016030) and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (tier 1, mesothelioma cohort findings PMIDs 4016758 and 7918819), where this hull underwent the overhaul in progress on 7 December 1941; Mare Island Naval Shipyard (tier 2), site of the documented 29 September-17 November 1943 overhaul, is likewise in the dataset. NARA RG 19 General Information Books and S39/S48 drawings are the archival lead for hull-level materials data.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1919-1946 (hull); 1946 (Fleischer survey); 1985/1994 (Pearl Harbor cohort studies)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1919-20; crew 1920-45; Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and Mare Island Navy Yard workforces during documented overhaul periods
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - NO ship-specific asbestos finding; no surveyed material, spec sheet, or removal record for this hull was located. Fleischer documents WWII-era construction practice, roughly two decades after this hull's 1919-20 build - era-continuity evidence, not proof of identical 1919-20 materials. The 1942 Drinker-era study at Bath Iron Works postdates this hull's construction; Pearl Harbor and Mare Island findings concern yard operations, not this hull specifically. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches (type=o and type=r) for '"USS Preble"' and '"DD-345"', 2026-09-27; Gerads v. 84 Lumber Co., No. 3:23-cv-03672-SMY (S.D. Ill.), Memorandum and Order, ECF No. 70 (filed 2024-05-08) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results 'USS Preble' (type=o count=0; type=r count=7); Gerads Doc. 70 Background section quoting the complaint's allegation of service 'aboard the USS Preble and USS Rathburne from 1968 through 1972'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated v4 sweep: zero opinions contain the exact phrase 'USS Preble' (type=o, count=0, 2026-09-27). Seven 'USS Preble' docket-level hits (type=r) were classified: Gerads v. 84 Lumber Co. (S.D. Ill. 3:23-cv-03672, P.I.: Asbestos) is qualifying asbestos litigation naming 'USS Preble' but the service window pleaded (boiler technician aboard USS Preble and USS Rathburne, 1968-1972) falls 22+ years after DD-345 was scrapped - it resolves to DDG-46, a different hull (see ev-09). Kraus v. Alcatel-Lucent (E.D. Pa. 2:18-cv-02119, P.I.: Asbestos) contains 'USS Preble' in indexed docket text (a 221-page response document) with hull attribution and role unresolved from the index - archival lead only. The remaining five hits are non-asbestos name/keyword collisions: Coronado v. General Dynamics Information Technology (S.D. Cal., employment), United States v. Butler (S.D. Fla., criminal exhibit), two bankruptcy proceedings (FB Real Estate Holdings, N.D. Ga.; Northwest Territorial Mint, W.D. Wash.). Hull-number queries 'DD-345' returned only string collisions: the single opinion hit is Pomona Park Bar & Package Store v. Excelsior Insurance Co., 347 So. 2d 136 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977), in which 'No. DD-345' is the appellate docket number, and all fourteen docket hits are JS-44 civil-cover-sheet codes, case-number strings, or exhibit references - none asbestos or vessel-related.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- No qualifying asbestos opinion or docket naming this hull (DD-345) was located. The Gerads allegation is a pleading-stage recital in an order denying motions to dismiss - and by pleaded dates belongs to DDG-46. Kraus remains an unexamined docket-text reference; unindexed pleadings or RECAP attachments naming the hull cannot be excluded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-08
-
[9]Gerads v. 84 Lumber Co., No. 3:23-cv-03672-SMY (S.D. Ill.), ECF No. 70 (2024-05-08), service dates 1968-1972; DANFS/Wikipedia hull data for Preble (DLG-15/DDG-46): commissioned 1960-05-09, decommissioned 1991-11-15, scrapped 2003; Waters Kraus marketing case page for Brewer v. Alfa Laval (BC374988) - excluded source class, cited only to document the collision [court_record]
- Locator
- Gerads Doc. 70 p.2 (Background: 1968-1972 service window); DDG-46 dates via NavSource/Wikipedia cross-check; marketing corpus: waterskraus.com, shepardlawfirm.com (DDG-46 page), mesotheliomahelp.org destroyer list
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Name-collision correction: the asbestos-litigation record and marketing corpus naming 'USS Preble' predominantly concerns DDG-46, a different hull. CourtListener-documented Gerads v. 84 Lumber (S.D. Ill.) pleads Navy boiler-technician service aboard 'the USS Preble' 1968-1972 - a window when the only commissioned USS Preble was the Farragut-class guided missile destroyer DDG-46 (commissioned 9 May 1960, decommissioned 15 November 1991; DD-345 had been scrapped two decades earlier). The same discriminator resolves the marketed Brewer v. Alfa Laval verdict (L.A. Superior No. BC374988, 2008): the plaintiff's '41-month period in the early 1960s' aboard USS Preble matches DDG-46, not this hull. Marketing ship-list pages that name 'USS Preble (DD-345)' (e.g., mesotheliomahelp.org's generic destroyer roster) are excluded-source-class list inclusion, not litigation. DANFS establishes the discriminator: DDG-46 is the Farragut-class hull built by Bath Iron Works, laid down 1957.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Marketing claims are not litigation records and are cited only to document collision risk, never as exposure evidence. The Gerads recital is an unadjudicated pleading allegation for a different hull. A consumer matching 'USS Preble' + asbestos to DD-345 from that corpus would be a misattribution; conversely, a genuinely DD-345-era exposure pleading cannot be excluded by this sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-09
-
[10]Batch 3330 search ledger, rows sl-uss-preble-dd345-01 through sl-uss-preble-dd345-08 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger in this record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No Preble-specific (DD-345) asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated asbestos finding was located in the public sources searched: NHHC DANFS (verbatim entry), the CO's 10 December 1941 action report, Navy photo captions via NavSource/NHHC Online Library, NARA Special List 44 and the NARA asbestos research guide, and the completed CourtListener sweeps (search_ledger sl-05 through sl-08). The hull was sold for scrap in 1946 - before modern ACM documentation practice - so no preserved-hull or museum-disclosure surface exists.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- A bounded search result, not proof that asbestos was absent aboard - 1919-20 steam-destroyer construction commonly used asbestos, but for this hull that remains era inference, not ship-proven. No physical archive holdings were reviewed; RG 19 GIB/S39/S48 and RG 24 deck-log holdings are unretrieved. A follow-up CourtListener query for the marketed Brewer v. Alfa Laval verdict was pacing-blocked; it is collateral to this hull (DDG-46) either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-10
-
[11]NHHC DANFS, 'Preble IV (Destroyer No. 345)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Service narrative, 1920-1937 paragraphs (verbatim via Wayback capture and hazegray mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS interwar record for this hull: after shakedown in Cuban waters, special duty in Mexican waters (Vera Cruz, June 1920) with three voyages to Galveston for medical supplies during the Sonora rebellion; Atlantic Fleet exercises; departed Newport 20 June (1922, with Squadron 15) for the Asiatic Station via Suez, arriving Chefoo, China, 26 August 1922; seven years cruising Asian waters including Japan earthquake relief September 1923, Rangoon/Calcutta June-July 1924 delivering gas and oil for the Army round-the-world flight, and 1927 patrol duty on the Yangtze and Whangpo Rivers taking aboard refugees; returned to San Diego 17 August 1929; assigned to Rotating Reserve Destroyer Squadron 20 at the Mare Island Navy Yard 24 September 1932; Fleet Problems 15, 16, and 18; transferred from Destroyers, Battle Force to Minecraft, Battle Force 19 May 1937 and converted to a light minelayer, reclassified DM-20 effective 30 June 1937; departed Pearl Harbor 20 September 1937 for mine training on the West Coast and operated in the Hawaiian area thereafter.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Operational history only; the entry gives no asbestos work scope, product identity, worker task, or exposure measurement. The yard performing the 1937 DM conversion is not named in DANFS - the ship was Pearl Harbor-based and departed Pearl Harbor on completion, consistent with a Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion as DANFS states explicitly for sister Sicard (DM-21), but that is inference for this hull and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preble-dd345-02