Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet kk-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Richey; hull DE-385; destroyer escort, Edsall class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-richey-de385-pkt-kk-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Richey (DE-385) (namesake biography, spec block, service narrative, reserve-fleet/USCG/struck notes; NHHC page updated 2005-09-29; live page returns 404 - Wayback capture 2024-02-23 plus verbatim transcription at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de385.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'Richey' entry (updated 2005-09-29), namesake paragraph + spec block + service narrative; Wayback capture 2024-02-23
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Ensign Joseph Lee Richey, USNR (born 8 June 1920, Barnard, Mo.; naval aviator, Observation Squadron 2 aboard California BB-41; killed 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor). Spec block: dp. 1,490 (f.); l. 306'; b. 36'7"; dr. 12'3"; s. 21 k.; cpl. 216; cl. Edsall. Laid down 19 April 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 30 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Lee Richey; commissioned 30 October 1943, Cmdr. Petros D. Miller [sic - war history and NavSource read Mills], USCG, in command. Atlantic convoy escort Jan-Jul 1944 (New York/Norfolk to Casablanca, Oran, Bizerte) and Sep-Oct 1944 (to Belfast and Londonderry); Jan-late May 1945 escorted convoys between the United States, France, and Britain; April 1945 rescued 32 men from collided and burning tankers SS Nasbulk and SS St. Mihiel. May 1945 New York overhaul; via Cuba and the Panama Canal to the Pacific; July 1945 reported to the North Pacific Fleet at Adak; September 1945 occupied the Japanese naval base at Ominato, northern Honshu; via Okinawa to Taku, China, assisting occupation forces. 'In March 1950 she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Loaned to the Coast Guard 1 April 1952, she was subsequently returned and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet in June 1954, where she remained until struck from the Navy list 30 June 1968, and sunk as a target.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; Coast Guard crew 1943-1947 (design complement 216)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS names no decommissioning date and no USCG hull number; its 'March 1950 ... Atlantic Reserve Fleet' line sits beside a January 1947 decommissioning in secondary compilations - conflict carried in gaps rather than reconciled. CO surname reads 'Miller' in the DANFS transcription vs. 'Mills' in the ship's own war history and NavSource - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture and verbatim transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row 280 for RICHEY, DE-385 (book pp. 258-259; PDF p. 139) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I, DE roster row 280 (book pp. 258-259 = PDF p. 139), read at 300 dpi
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row (no. 280) for this hull: RICHEY, official number DE-385, design group FMR; built by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; contract price of hull and machinery $2,183,000 (footnote-3 marker: cost plus fixed fee); contract signed 7 August 1942; keel laid 19 April 1943; ship launched 30 June 1943; contract date of completion 20 September 1943; date of first preliminary acceptance 29 October 1943; date of commission 30 October 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. Read directly from the 300-dpi page render (the table has no PDF text layer); dates cross-checked against DANFS and NavSource, which concur.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 4 / FMR (book pp. 234-235; PDF p. 127) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I, DE design-group table row 4/FMR (book pp. 234-235 = PDF p. 127), read at 300 dpi
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table for design group 4 (symbol FMR - 'Fairbanks Morse diesel reverse gear drive'): 306 ft overall / 300 ft waterline; beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,200 tons standard / 1,590 tons full load; trial speed 21.2 kt; machinery - Fairbanks-Morse model 38D8-1/8 diesel engines, 6,000 shp, 2 propellers; boilers: 'None'; main reduction gears single-reduction (F.B.); ship's-service diesel generators (2 x 200 kW 450V A.C. + 2 x 100 kW 120V D.C. per table columns); accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted; armament 3 x 3-inch/50 cal. D.P. Documents that this hull's FMR design carried a diesel plant with no boilers or steam system.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945 (design data)
- Population
- Design cohort: all FMR-group hulls
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation for the whole FMR group, not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos. The table is a scanned page read at 300 dpi; the roster's engine-count cell is shared across columns (4 engines per NavSource class data, consistent with the design).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-03
-
[5]USS Richey (DE-385), 'History of this vessel' and supplementary submissions - ship-submitted war history letters, CO to Secretary of the Navy (Public Information Section), file DE-385/A7(-1), serials dated 3 October, 24 November, and 21 December 1945 (NavSource-hosted scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource image 06385wh.jpg - six-page scan; paragraphs 2-20 (convoy list, rescue, medical transfers, Pacific/occupation narrative, CO chain, officer roster)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous record written by this hull's own command: 'a Coast Guard manned Destroyer Escort ... commissioned 30 October, 1943 at the Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas.' Convoy record with hull-specific convoy numbers - UGS-30 Norfolk-Casablanca 11 Jan 1944, return GUS-29 (arrived NY 22 Feb); UGS-36 to Oran 16 Mar 1944, then GUS-36 Oran-Bizerte-NY; UGS-43 to Bizerte 23 May 1944, GUS-43 return (arrived NY 10 Jul); TCU-35 to Londonderry 11 Aug, UCT-35 return 27 Aug; CU-41 to Belfast 29 Sep, UC-41 return 25 Oct. Jan-29 May 1945 convoys U.S.-France-England; 'All in all, the RICHEY made 16 safe crossings of the submarine infested waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean' (cumulative escort total). Early April 1945: 32 men picked up 'from the fire swept seas' after tankers S.S. Nasbulk and S.S. St. Mihiel collided; MoMM1c John F. Collins, USCG, awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal by CinC U.S. Atlantic Fleet for personally bringing in three men. Two breeches-buoy surgeon exchanges with USS Rhodes (DE-384) for acute-appendix cases (19 Feb and 28 Apr 1945). Reported to the Northern Pacific Fleet at Adak first week of July 1945; operated as part of the Ninth Fleet; assigned to the Fourth Fleet (Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher) which occupied the Japanese Naval Base at Ominato 8 Sep 1945; Navy Day at Valdez 27 Oct; departed 14 Nov for Taku, China via Buckner Bay, Okinawa - 'ready duty status' at Taku as of Dec 1945. Command chain: Cmdr. Petros D. Mills USCG (commissioning-Jul 1944); Cmdr. John H. Forney USCG (Jul-Dec 1944, then Commander Escort Division 23); Lt. Cmdr. Roger J. Auge USCG (Dec 1944-).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- USCG crew aboard DE-385, 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Ship-submitted administrative history - documents manning (all-USCG crew), convoy identity, and operations, but contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. Confirms the correct CO surname 'Mills' (DANFS transcription reads 'Miller'). As a NavSource-hosted scan the document's NARA shelf position is not identified on the image; the file number DE-385/A7-1 is the series marker.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-04
-
[6]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Richey (DE-385) page - specs, building/operational data, awards, photo captions, CO list; NavalCoverMuseum designation timeline [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/385.htm building/operational data block, awards block, photo NH 72678 caption; navypedia.org FMR roster row DE-385; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/RICHEY_DE_385
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: keel 19 Apr 1943, launched/christened 30 Jun 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Joseph Lee (Jane) Richey, the namesake's widow), commissioned 30 Oct 1943 at Houston (Capt. DeWitt C. Redgrave USN for Com8thND; Cmdr. Petros D. Mills USCG in command); decommissioned January 1947 'after 3 years and 3 months of service'; loaned to USCG and recommissioned 1 Apr 1952 as WDE-485; decommissioned June 1954 after 2 years 2 months; struck from the NVR 30 Jun 1968 ('5 years and 5 months' total service); 'sunk as a target off California, July 1969.' Awards include Korean Service Medal and UN Korean Service Medal (USCG service). Photo NH 72678 (U.S. Naval Historical Center) shows DE-385 berthed with the reserve fleet at Naval Base San Diego circa 1960. Navypedia roster carries the designation chain 'DE385, 4.1952-WDE485, 6.1954-DE385 ... stricken 6.1968' (its builder cell reads 'Consolidated, Orange' for this block - erroneous; Brown Shipbuilding is correct per DANFS and the BuShips roster).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- USCG crew 1952-1954; reserve-fleet custody 1947-1968
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS and BuShips SDB where they overlap. 'January 1947' decommissioning and 'July 1969' sinking come from this compilation layer (NVR-derived), not from DANFS; the 1947-1950 interval and Atlantic-vs-Pacific reserve assignments conflict with DANFS's sequence - carried in gaps. Navypedia's erroneous builder cell noted rather than silently discarded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-05
-
[7]USCG Historian's Office, 'U.S. Coast Guard W Numbers' register (Flynn, 2014): 'WDE 485 Richey ex. DE-385'; USCG Historian photo 210902-G-G0000-016 captioned 'USCGC RICHEY, WDE 485'; National Coast Guard Museum, 'From Advisors to Ocean Stations' (Thomas & Price, 22 Jul 2026) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Flynn W-numbers PDF p.6 (WDE 485); history.uscg.mil/Our-Collections/Photos/igphoto/2002846758; nationalcoastguardmuseum.org/articles/coast-guard-in-korea/ 'Ocean Stations' section + photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG sources confirm the Coast Guard period for this hull: the USCG 'W' number register assigns WDE-485 to Richey ex-DE-385, and the Historian's Office photo caption uses the same number (the current history.uscg.mil asset list reads 'WDE-385' - discrepancy carried in gaps). The National Coast Guard Museum's Korean War article records that the Coast Guard 'commissioned 12 mothballed Destroyer Escorts as cutters' for ocean-station duty, expanded to five stations 'across the Pacific and around the Korean Peninsula' - weather data for operational commanders, communications relay for transoceanic aircraft, medical services, and SAR - and captions Richey: 'Former World War II destroyer escort Richey converted to a Coast Guard cutter for Ocean Station duty.' This places the hull's 1952-54 USCG service on Pacific ocean stations supporting the Korean theater, consistent with her Korean Service Medal / UN Korean Service Medal ribbons (NavSource).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1952-1954
- Population
- USCG crew aboard WDE-485, 1952-1954
- Limitations
- Confirms Coast Guard identity, ocean-station role, and Korea-era theater - no materials or asbestos content. Live history.uscg.mil pages return 403 to automated fetches; the W-numbers register PDF (media.defense.gov) and the National Coast Guard Museum article are the cited sources. Wikipedia's unsourced 'North Atlantic' ocean-station claim is contradicted by the museum's Pacific framing and the Korea-service ribbons - noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-06
-
[8]Era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row (FMR: F.M. diesel, boilers 'None') + documented sister-hull asbestos record (USS Stewart DE-238) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I DE design-group table (PDF p. 127); product set follows the house diesel-escort inference model (cf. uss-slater-de766, uss-forster-de334)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1943 at Brown Shipbuilding would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-powered escort - exhaust-system insulation and lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Because the FMR plant has no boilers or steam lines (SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row), the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply to this design.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; USCG crew 1943-47 and 1952-54
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-385 was located; this establishes era-consistent expectation for the type, not that any specific material went aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-07
-
[9]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Galveston Daily News 2020-07-27 article text (survey, contractor approval, Navy inspection recommendation)
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a preserved Edsall-class sister hull from the SAME builder: an October 2019 survey aboard USS Stewart (DE-238, Brown Shipbuilding-built Edsall-class, Seawolf Park, Galveston) - recommended by mechanics preparing boiler-room work and by a U.S. Navy inspection - reported a potential asbestos hazard in the boiler room and public areas; contractor Separation Systems Consultants was approved in July 2020 to proceed with abatement (about two weeks' work). Class-level corroboration that Edsall-class construction, including Brown Shipbuilding hulls, carried asbestos-containing material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2019-2020
- Population
- Museum visitors/staff and contractors at Seawolf Park (sister hull DE-238)
- Limitations
- Evidence about a sister hull (DE-238), NOT this hull: same builder and same design group, but a museum-hull lifecycle DE-385 never had (expended as a target 1969). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship; establishes nothing about materials or exposure aboard DE-385. Notably DE-238's survey flagged its 'boiler room' - a steam-era framing; the FMR design has no boilers per SDB, so the class-level inference itself should not be over-read.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov HRD-80-2 product page (abstract)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use, with substitution away from asbestos not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-385 (built 1943) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction and shipyard maintenance.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s-1979
- Population
- Navy ship and shipyard workers, WWII-1970s
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only - says nothing about this specific hull, diesel-escort applications specifically, or any individual's exposure. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via the GAO product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 sweep (type=o opinions, type=r RECAP dockets): exact-name queries "USS Richey"/"U.S.S. Richey"; hull-number query "DE-385" (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results; query set in search_ledger rows sl-uss-richey-de385-07 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep result for this hull: exact-name opinion query "USS Richey" returned count=0 - a clean negative (no second USS Richey exists in the record set, so the name cannot collide with another hull). The hull-number opinion query "DE-385" returned hits that were reviewed in-session and sampled as identifier collisions in unrelated litigation (e.g., Healthpoint Ltd. v. Ethex Corp., 273 F. Supp. 2d 817 (2001) - pharmaceutical litigation where 'DE-385' matches a filing/exhibit string), consistent with every prior DE-3xx hull-number sweep in the batch family; the full result count was lost to output truncation and a re-run could not be completed. RECAP docket sweeps for the name and hull number remained blocked - the fleet-shared CourtListener request budget (~114/hr across all sessions) was continuously spent by concurrent fleet sessions through 10+ spaced attempts over ~75 minutes. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located; the located hits classify as collisions, not vessel references.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Partial sweep honestly bounded: name opinions clean at 0; hull-number opinions returned only sampled collisions (Healthpoint-type identifier matches, no vessel/Navy/asbestos content in observed hits); RECAP docket sweeps not completed this session (fleet budget contention - logged, not retried into a ban). 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - unindexed, PACER-only, state-court, or settled/undocketed claims are outside the corpus.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-10
-
[12]Batch-4283 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback/losthistory transcription; NavSource archive page + war-history scan; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I roster and design tables; USCG W-numbers register and museum article; Navypedia roster; CourtListener queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-richey-de385-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-385: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was expended as a target off California in July 1969, predating regulated asbestos documentation and any museum-donation lifecycle. The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Richey (DE-385) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull (asbestos-ships.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, shepardlawfirm.com, freeasbestostesting.com) - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence aboard - 1943 escort construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and same-builder sister DE-238 carried documented asbestos. NARA RG 19 construction records / General Information Books and WWII-era deck logs at Archives II are unsurveyed archival leads; the ship-submitted war history is digitized but contains no materials data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-richey-de385-11
