Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ez-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Pringle | hull: DD-477 | designation: destroyer (DD) | class: Fletcher
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pringle-dd477-pkt-ez-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Pringle (DD-477) (builder, dates, specifications, service narrative, loss; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription; identical text at losthistory.net hazegray mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down by the Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C., 31 July 1941; launched 2 May 1942, sponsored by Mrs. John D. H. Kane; commissioned 15 September 1942, Lt. Comdr. Harold O. Larson in command. Spec block: Fletcher class, 2,940 t full, 376'5" x 39'7", 35 kt, complement 329, armament 5 x 5", 10 x 40mm, 7 x 20mm, 10 x 21" tt. First U.S. destroyer to use an aircraft with catapult (Convoy ON-154 escort, January 1943); Pacific service from February 1943: Solomons (Vanga Point action with Waller and Saufley 17-18 July 1943; Vella Lavella; Empress Augusta Bay 11 November; Bougainville March 1944); Marianas fire support (Saipan, Tinian); overhaul at Mare Island; Leyte/Ormoc bombardment 27-28 November 1944; kamikaze hit 30 December 1944 off Mindoro (11 killed, 20 wounded); Iwo Jima February 1945; Okinawa - radar picket duty 15 April; on 16 April 1945 downed two kamikazes before a third crashed the bridge abaft the No. 1 stack, bomb detonation buckled the keel and split the vessel in two at the forward fireroom, sank in six minutes with 258 survivors; ten battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (design complement 329)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative gives no killed figure for the sinking (258 survivors stated); no struck-from-list date is recorded. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, War Damage Report No. 51, 'Destroyer Report: Gunfire, Bomb and Kamikaze Damage, Including Losses in Action, 17 October 1941 to 15 August 1945' (Navy Department, 25 January 1947), Table II - 'Governing Elements in Loss of Destroyers Sunk by Gunfire, Bomb or Kamikaze Attack' (NHHC Online Reading Room; ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WDR-51, Table II section B 'Structural Damage', subsection 'a. Jackknifed', row 4
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips postwar engineering analysis names this hull: PRINGLE (DD477), 2050T, is listed among destroyer losses under 'Jackknifed' - the structural-failure category for ships lost when above-water attack (usually multiple kamikaze hits) destroyed the upper flange of the hull girder - Kamikaze, Okinawa, 4/16/45. Confirms the DANFS loss account (keel buckled, vessel split in two) and dates the loss.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1947 (report); 1945-04-16 (event)
- Population
- Crew at loss 1945-04-16 (258 survivors per DANFS)
- Limitations
- Documents loss mechanism and date only; contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information and no per-hull narrative section (Pringle appears in the tabulated analysis, not as a full case section).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine, 'Historic Fleets' (February 1998, Vol. 12 No. 1) - account of the Secretary of the Navy directive of 27 May 1940 fitting six Fletcher-class destroyers (DD-476 through DD-481) with aircraft catapults [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Magazine, 'Historic Fleets' (Feb 1998), paragraphs on DD-476/477 catapult program; cf. destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/arm_3/
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific configuration record: Pringle (DD-477) was one of six Fletcher-class hulls earmarked under a Secretary of the Navy directive of 27 May 1940 to be fitted with an aircraft catapult, handling derrick, and avgas tankage for an OS2U-3 Kingfisher floatplane (replacing the after torpedo mount and 5-inch mount No. 3). Per USNI, five of the six were completed with the catapult (Leutze was completed as a standard Fletcher); Pringle launched and recovered her Kingfisher during a westbound Atlantic convoy escort in January 1943 - the use DANFS records as the first by a U.S. destroyer - and the aircraft gear had been removed by the time she departed for the Pacific in February 1943. destroyerhistory.org's Fletcher armament page reports only three of the six completed with the fit - the completed-count discrepancy is carried in gaps.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940-1943
- Limitations
- Documents a nonstandard armament/aircraft configuration of this hull, not materials or asbestos content. The completed-catapult count is disputed between reputable secondary sources (USNI: five; destroyerhistory.org: three; both agree Pringle was fitted and DANFS confirms the January 1943 use). Removal timing per USNI (before the February 1943 Pacific departure). usni.org returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; article content verified via search-index extract, and the same program details appear in destroyerhistory.org's Fletcher armament page (with the completed-count discrepancy noted).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Pringle (DD-477) page (photo captions from Naval Historical Center collections incl. NH 107408; building/operational data; note of an NHC oral-history report for Pringle) + USS Pringle survivor-association site (usspringle.org; privately published) hosting scans of the ship's Navy action report (pp. 5-7 of the sinking report), the 16 April 1945 muster roll, and casualty reports dated 18 April 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usspringle.org 'The Sinking' page (action-report scans pp. 5-7; muster roll; casualty reports 18 Apr 1945) and index page; navsource.net/archives/05/477.htm resource list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific archival material exists for this hull: the survivor-association site hosts reproductions of official Navy records - the sinking action report, the muster roll 'taken while in the water' on 16 April 1945 (per contributor Jack Schugardt's note), and casualty reports dated 18 April 1945 - and NavSource's resource list notes a 'USS Pringle oral history report at NHC' (Naval Historical Center). Association accounting: 320 men aboard at Radar Picket Station No. 14, 258 survivors; reported sinking position 27 deg 26 min N, 126 deg 59 min E.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945 (records); hosted material accessed 2026-09-27
- Population
- Crew aboard at loss: 320 per association accounting (see gaps for casualty-figure variance)
- Limitations
- usspringle.org is privately published ('not an official U.S. Navy website' per its own disclaimer); the underlying documents are official Navy records held by NARA/Office of Naval Records, with the site serving as access copy. These are personnel and action records - they document who was aboard and the loss, not materials or asbestos content. The NHC oral-history report was not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-04
-
[6]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 35 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, charleston-naval-shipyard record (yard-level asbestos product list; OSHA Inspection 100361849 asbestos-standard citation under 29 CFR 1910.1001; yard-level asbestos litigation incl. Whalen 2014) + mare-island-naval-shipyard record (1944 overhaul yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json records 'charleston-naval-shipyard' and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-42 with the class-standard four-boiler, 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; builder Charleston Navy Yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (era asbestos product list; 1988 OSHA citation under the asbestos standard; yard-level asbestos verdicts), and the 1944 overhaul yard (Mare Island) is likewise documented at yard level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; Mare Island overhaul trades 1944; crew 1942-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The yard records document yard-level conditions, largely postdating this hull's 1941-42 construction and 1944 overhaul windows, and cannot establish what was installed aboard DD-477. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing DD-477's entire construction and service life (1941-1945) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated): 'USS Pringle' type=o (0 hits); 'aboard USS Pringle' type=o (0 hits); 'DD-477' type=o (1 hit - docket-number collision: Planning & Zoning Board of Orange Park v. Eager, 351 So. 2d 402 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977), where 'DD-477' is the case's docket number, not the ship); name-variant and docket-level sweeps pacing-limited this session - see limitations_note [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint; Eager collision at https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/7560043/planning-zoning-board-of-orange-park-v-eager/
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-27): 'USS Pringle' (type=o) returned zero hits; 'aboard USS Pringle' (type=o) returned zero; 'DD-477' (type=o) returned a single hit that is a NAME COLLISION - Planning & Zoning Board of Orange Park v. Eager, 351 So. 2d 402 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977), a zoning certiorari case in which 'DD-477' is the docket number, not the vessel. No published opinion naming this hull was located; the collision class for this ship is the surname Pringle / docket-number strings, not a later same-name hull - DD-477 is the only USS Pringle.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep result, not a merits finding: opinion-index coverage supports 'no published opinion names this hull' for the queries completed. Name-variant ('U.S.S. Pringle', 'aboard the Pringle', 'DD 477') opinion queries and the docket-level (type=r) sweeps for 'USS Pringle' and 'DD-477' were intermittently pacing-blocked by the shared fleet request budget this session - logged honestly in search_ledger sl-uss-pringle-dd477-10 rather than retried into a ban. Pleadings naming the hull without a published opinion would not surface at type=o in any case; RECAP docket coverage of state-court asbestos complaints is incomplete.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-07
-
[9]Batch-3460 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (ibiblio + losthistory/hazegray mirrors); BuShips War Damage Report No. 51; NavSource photo index; survivor-association document scans; NARA catalog; CourtListener sweep; Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pringle-dd477-01 through sl-uss-pringle-dd477-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-477: no hull materials schedule, no ACM survey (the hull is a sunken war grave off Okinawa; no wreck discovery, survey, salvage, or materials-inventory record located in authoritative sources), no abatement or hazmat disclosure, and no published opinion naming the hull in the completed CourtListener opinion sweeps (the sole 'DD-477' hit is a 1977 Florida zoning case in which DD-477 is a docket number - a name collision). The Fletcher-class profile (class-c worktree) independently records no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record for any Fletcher hull.
- 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 destroyer sunk with her 1945 fit intact retains era materials in the wreck, and the ship never underwent postwar scrapping or abatement. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pringle-dd477-08