Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ix-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-preston-dd19-pkt-ix-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Preston III (Destroyer No. 19) entry, specifications block and opening paragraph (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page not located) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block and paragraph 1
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies the third Preston (Destroyer No. 19) as laid down 28 April 1908 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; launched 14 July 1909, sponsored by Miss Katherine Magoun; and commissioned 21 December 1909, Lt. Comdr. G. C. Day in command. The specification line gives 902 tons full-load displacement, 293 ft 10 in length, 26 ft 11 in beam, 10 ft 11 in draft, 29 knots speed, complement 88, and armament of five 3-inch guns and three 18-inch torpedo tubes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1908-1909
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1908-09; commissioning crew (design complement 88)
- Limitations
- Documents identity, builder, dates, and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The DANFS spec line lists class as 'Preston'; the NHHC Online Library and standard references group DD-17 through DD-21 as the Smith class. Commissioning reads 21 December 1909 here versus 24 December in secondary compilations - conflict carried in gaps. Cited via verbatim transcription mirror because no live history.navy.mil page for this entry was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-01
-
[3]DANFS, Preston III (Destroyer No. 19) entry, service narrative (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page not located) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, paragraph 2 (service narrative and disposal)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS service narrative for this hull: attached to Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet for peacetime patrols and exercises, then neutrality duties; at New York on 6 April 1917, sailed within the week for Boston and patrolled until 12 May; reassigned to Destroyer Force, Atlantic for two months of coastal escort and patrol; sailed east in July 1917 and operated off the Azores 1 August-5 October; then based at Brest, France conducting similar missions along the French coast until the Armistice; sailed for the United States 11 December 1918, arrived Charleston 4 January 1919; shifted to Philadelphia, decommissioned 17 July 1919, struck from the Navy List 15 September 1919, and sold 21 November 1919 to the T. A. Scott Co. of New London, Conn. - described as the coal burning 'Flivver.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1909-1919
- Population
- Crew 1909-1919; Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation workforce 1919; T. A. Scott Co. scrapping workforce
- Limitations
- Documents operating areas, bases, and disposition dates; it does not describe materials aboard, overhaul work performed, or asbestos content. 'Coal burning' is confirmed; machinery details beyond the specification line are not given. The Charleston and Philadelphia periods are work-period leads only - no yard work scope is stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Library, 'USS Preston (Destroyer # 19), 1909-1919' page (U.S. Naval Historical Center photographs NH 99254, NH 99266, NH 44198, NH 98604-B; verbatim mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library page header narrative and photo captions NH 98604-B, NH 44198
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library photograph page for this hull: a 700-ton Smith class destroyer built at Camden, New Jersey, commissioned December 1909; East Coast and Caribbean service until U.S. entry into World War I; western Atlantic patrol and escort for three months; Azores-based work August-October 1917; Brest, France operations for the rest of the conflict; return December 1918; relative inactivity at Charleston and Philadelphia; decommissioned July 1919; sold November 1919; named for Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston, USN (1840-1865), killed in the assault on Fort Fisher in January 1865. Photograph NH 98604-B places this hull in the Philadelphia Navy Yard's Reserve Basin circa spring 1919.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1909-1919
- Population
- Crew and Philadelphia Navy Yard personnel circa 1919
- Limitations
- Confirms class, tonnage, builder location, service outline, namesake, and a documented Philadelphia Reserve Basin lay-up in spring 1919; contains no materials or asbestos information. The Reserve Basin photo documents presence, not work performed. Mirrored on ibiblio HyperWar; content is verbatim Naval Historical Center material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-03
-
[5]NARA Ship Plan Index entries for PRESTON DD-19 (RG 19 NAIDs 53484778, 175661707, 175670331; RG 38 NAID 12451237); NARA catalog drawing NAID 117877386 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Ship Plan Index, PRESTON rows; catalog.archives.gov/id/117877386
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists PRESTON, DD-19, in four record series: RG 19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53484778), RG 19 Bureau of Steam Engineering drawings (NAID 175661707), RG 19 Microfilm (NAID 175670331), and RG 38 Trial Curves (NAID 12451237). Individual digitized DD-19 engineering drawings exist in the NARA catalog, including a Bureau of Construction and Repair sheet 'Arrangement of Boiler Mountings and Internal Piping' dated 27 October 1909 (NAID 117877386). These are leads for ship-specific plans, including any insulation and piping specifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1909 (drawing dates); ongoing holdings
- Limitations
- The index establishes holdings, not the contents of individual drawings. No DD-19 drawing was reviewed for insulation or lagging callouts; catalog holdings are not evidence of asbestos aboard. The Bureau of Steam Engineering series is the most asbestos-relevant lead because it covers machinery and piping plans.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-04
-
[6]NARA guided topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (record-series guidance: GIBs, S39/S48 drawings, deck logs and muster rolls caveat) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Guide sections: Beginning Research; General Information Books (Entry P 9); Cartographic Branch S-code descriptions; Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA's research guide for asbestos aboard U.S. naval vessels identifies the record types relevant to ship-specific asbestos research: RG 19 Destroyer, Destroyer Escort, and Frigate General Information Books (Entry P 9, covering 1907-1961 - a span that includes this hull's 1909-1919 service) and S39 Insulation and Lagging and S48 Piping drawings within the ship engineering drawing series, noting that S39/S48 drawings are relatively rare in the paper series and that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly show asbestos aboard ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Guide framed for 1941-1961 materiel; GIB series P 9 spans 1907-1961
- Limitations
- This is a research guide, not a Preston material record. It establishes where to search and why service records are insufficient; it does not show that a Preston GIB or S39/S48 drawing exists or that this ship contained asbestos. The guide's framing period (1941-1961) largely postdates this hull, though the P 9 destroyer GIB series and the engineering-drawing series cover her era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-05
-
[7]GAO HRD-80-2, review of Navy asbestos policy in shipbuilding and repair (1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page, highlights section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1979 GAO review documents asbestos insulation policy and exposure concerns across Navy shipbuilding and repair, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. This is program-level context only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1979 (review)
- Limitations
- GAO studied Navy asbestos policy roughly sixty years after this hull was sold for scrap and did not examine this ship. It cannot establish this ship's materials, exposures, or repair work. gao.gov returns 403 to automated fetches; the product-page description was relied on.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-06
-
[8]Batch-3194 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC Online Library; NARA Ship Plan Index and asbestos research guide; GAO HRD-80-2; CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-01 through sl-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official sources and catalog entries reviewed for this record did not yield a ship-specific asbestos survey, product schedule, abatement record, or material finding for Preston (DD-19). Asbestos presence aboard DD-19 remains unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- This is a bounded search result, not proof that asbestos was absent. Underlying NARA plans, Bureau of Steam Engineering drawings, any destroyer GIB, and T. A. Scott Co. scrapping files were not obtained. A 1909 coal-fired steam plant makes period insulation likely, but likelihood is not a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep via cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-26: 'USS Preston' type=o count 0; 'Destroyer No. 19' type=o count 0; 'DD-19' type=o count 5 (all non-qualifying collisions); 'USS Preston' type=r and 'aboard' phrase query blocked [court_record]
- Locator
- Search counts; search ledger rows sl-06 through sl-10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener API v4 opinion searches through the required helper: 'USS Preston' returned count 0; 'Destroyer No. 19' returned count 0; 'DD-19' returned 5 hits, all name collisions or other litigation - Hodges v. Canon Lodge Medical Investors (Colo. App. 1994), People v. Haupt (N.Y. App. Div. 1987), Narvaez Cintron v. Sucesion Chinea Oliveras (P.R. App. 2024), People v. Wright (N.Y. Sup. 1973), Thomas v. Duralite Co. (D.N.J. 1974) - none is asbestos or maritime litigation and 'DD-19' in these matters is a non-vessel string (statutory, exhibit, or model designation). The 'USS Preston' docket query and an 'aboard' phrase query were blocked by the fleet pacing guard. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in the completed queries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- The zero counts apply to the exact-name and 'Destroyer No. 19' opinion queries; the five 'DD-19' hits were screened at caption/court level (none presents asbestos or maritime subject matter) - full-text context of the matched string was not retrieved because fleet pacing closed. The docket index and 'aboard' phrase queries were blocked, so the sweep does not cover RECAP dockets; it does not prove that no asbestos complaint naming a Preston exists. Any future hit requires hull screening: 'USS Preston' is shared by DD-327 (1921-1932), DD-379 (1936-1942, sunk at Guadalcanal), and William B. Preston (DD-344/AVD-7).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-preston-dd19-08