Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet ju-packet.md (12 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ricketts-de254-pkt-ju-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ricketts (DE-254) (namesake, builder, dates, convoy escort and Pacific occupation service, reserve-fleet berthings, scrapping sale; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS section does not carry DE-254) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 16 March 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 10 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Milton E. Ricketts, widow of Lt. Milton E. Ricketts (posthumous Medal of Honor, USS Yorktown CV-5, Coral Sea 8 May 1942); commissioned 5 October 1943 at Houston, Lt. Comdr. Glenn L. Rollins, USCG, in command. Shakedown off Bermuda; Charleston arrival 28 November 1943 escorting SS Braga; post-shakedown overhaul; New York convoy base. One Casablanca run then 12 round-trip escort voyages to Northern Europe (Lough Foyle/Lisahally, Clyde, Cherbourg/Portland, Le Havre/Southampton); rescued 33 survivors from burning tanker collision (El Coston and Murfreesboro) 25 February 1944 - CO awarded Bronze Star, two officers and six enlisted the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. To the Pacific June-July 1945 (Panama Canal 7 July; Pearl Harbor training); Eniwetok; Kusaie surrender/occupation duty and repatriation of Ponape/Kusaie natives; Brooklyn Navy Yard arrival 16 December 1945; inactivation at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; decommissioned into Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, 17 April 1946; reserve berthing Green Cove Springs to 1961, then Texas Group, Orange, Tex.; sold for scrapping 18 January 1974 to Andy International, Inc., Brownsville, Tex. DANFS specs: 1,200 t; 306 ft; 36 ft 7 in; 21 kt; complement 186.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; Coast Guard wartime crew (design complement 186); reserve-fleet caretaker personnel
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative omits the striking date (NavSource/secondary give 1 November 1972). Charleston is a port reference - the post-shakedown overhaul facility is unnamed. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim Haze Gray transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-01
-
[3]NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' photo-index page, DE-254 USS Ricketts (verbatim transcription - HyperWar mirror of NHHC series) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC photo-index page for DE-254 (specifications list); navsource.net/archives/06/254.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo-index record for this hull: Edsall-class destroyer escort; machinery described as 'Geared-diesel engines, Fairbanks Morse reverse gear drive'; displacement 1,490 tons; complement 216; 3 x 3"/50, hedgehog, depth-charge tracks and K-guns; commissioned 1943. Establishes this hull's propulsion type - geared diesel, not steam - which delimits which asbestos application categories apply (no boilers or steam-system lagging). NavSource archive page for DE-254 (photographs and building/operational data) agrees: 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- crew and construction trades (machinery-space occupants)
- Limitations
- Machinery line is a type description, not a materials list; it does not state asbestos content aboard. Displacement (1,490 t) and complement (216) differ from the DANFS figures (1,200 t; 186) - different loading-condition/manning conventions; both documented, neither silently reconciled. Mirror transcription of an NHHC series page; NavSource is a compiled archive, secondary-tier for data lines.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard, 'The Coast Guard at War' vol. V, sec. 1 'Escorts' - Destroyer Escorts subsection (official service history; HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar 'The Coast Guard at War' vol. V Escorts - Destroyer Escorts subsection, division roster and manning table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Coast Guard war history names this hull among the 30 destroyer escorts manned by the Coast Guard under a June 1943 CNO directive: Escort Division 20 - 'Marchand, Hurst, Camp, Crow, Pettie, Ricketts' - with Ricketts (DE-254) manned 10-5-43. The CG DEs were all 306-ft Fairbanks-Morse diesel types built at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, and Consolidated Steel, Orange, Tex.; program complement per hull 10 officers, 13 chief petty officers, 163 crew (186 total). Establishes that this hull's wartime population was a U.S. Coast Guard crew, not Navy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew (~186: 10 officers, 13 CPOs, 163 enlisted per the same source)
- Limitations
- Official service history documents manning and the program roster, not materials or asbestos content. Its 'four diesel engines of 1700 horse power each' figure (6,800 hp total) conflicts with the 6,000-shp class figure - carried in gaps. 'Pettie' is the source's spelling of USS Pettit (DE-253). Transcription mirror of the official USCG publication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-03
-
[5]Ship's History of USS Ricketts (DE-254) - official ship's-history submission forwarded by Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, serial 52049, 28 November 1945 (scanned original hosted at NavSource archives/06/images/254/06254wh.jpg) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/images/254/06254wh.jpg (transmittal letter CinCPac serial 52049 + Ship's History enclosure)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's own wartime record, a declassified official submission: 'The USS RICKETTS (DE-254) was commissioned on October 5, 1943, at Houston, Texas... Her first run was to Casablanca and subsequent runs totaling twenty-one crossings were made between New York and foreign ports... She was engaged in this duty for twenty-one months during which time the division established the record of never having lost a ship to enemy action.' Corroborates Coast Guard manning ('five Coast Guard manned sister ships comprising Division 20'), the 33-man Murfreesboro/El Coston rescue, and the Kusaie occupation duty; commanding officers Rollins, Sudnik (27 June 1944), and Lt. Uriah H. Leach Jr. (5 September 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Primary wartime document naming this hull, but a service-history narrative - contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. 'Twenty-one crossings' vs. DANFS '12 escort voyages' reflects legs-vs-round-trips counting, not a contradiction; carried in gaps. Scan hosted on a private archive site; the underlying document is an official Navy submission (NARA RG 38 war-history series).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-04
-
[6]NHHC photo-index machinery line (geared-diesel, Fairbanks-Morse) + DANFS specifications block (Edsall class; 1943 Brown Shipbuilding build) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC photo-index DE-254 machinery line; DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json check (Brown Shipbuilding absent)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: an Edsall-class destroyer escort built March-October 1943 at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston - during the period when asbestos was standard in naval construction - would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a geared-diesel ship: exhaust-system and engine-space insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings (winches/windlass), deck coverings, and bulkhead/living-space insulation and fireproofing. The diesel plant means the largest steam-ship asbestos categories (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply. Builder Brown Shipbuilding is NOT a record in the Atlas shipyard dataset - yard-level asbestos documentation for this builder is absent.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; crew 1943-46
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule, material specification, or asbestos survey names this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure; the diesel propulsion profile materially narrows (does not eliminate) plausible applications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-05
-
[7]The (Galveston) Daily News, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement' (2020-07-27, Keri Heath) + Galveston Naval Museum (Cavalla Historical Foundation) financial document ('Removed and mitigated asbestos in the USS [Stewart]') [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article 2020-07-27; galvestonnavalmuseum.com FY2022 financial-statement PDF
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Class-sibling abatement record: USS Stewart (DE-238) - an Edsall-class destroyer escort built by the same yard (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, laid down July 1942, eight months before DE-254's March 1943 keel) - underwent documented professional asbestos abatement at Seawolf Park, Galveston, in 2020-21: 'abatement of the asbestos found in the public areas of the USS Stewart and USS Cavalla' by Separation Systems Consultants, after a U.S. Navy inspection recommended an asbestos survey; the museum's financial records confirm 'Removed and mitigated asbestos in the USS [Stewart]'. Demonstrates that original-era asbestos-containing material persisted aboard a sibling Edsall-class hull of the same builder into museum service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2020-2021
- Population
- Museum abatement crews 2020-21 (Stewart); visitors/staff pre-abatement
- Limitations
- Sister-hull record, NOT ship-specific to DE-254: a same-class/same-builder finding corroborates the era inference but cannot establish materials aboard this hull, which was scrapped in 1974 and never passed through museum custody. Scope of the Stewart work was public areas; no survey document or ACM inventory is public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos-insulation use and its 1975/1979 insulation-removal and substitution policies - the program-level backdrop for a hull built at peak wartime asbestos use in 1943. Ricketts spent the substitution era in reserve (Green Cove Springs 1946-61; Orange, Tex. 1961-74) and was sold for scrap before the Navy's abatement programs matured, so original-era material, if present, was never subject to in-service Navy remediation on this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; does not establish what was installed aboard or retained on this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated helper, fleet-paced): opinions "USS Ricketts" = 0; opinions "DE-254" = 22 all identifier collisions; dockets "USS Ricketts" = 0; dockets "DE-254" = 319, docket-entry-number noise ('DE 254' filing citations), no asbestos/vessel context in result review [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ricketts-de254-08 through sl-uss-ricketts-de254-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Exact-name and hull-number litigation sweep: no published opinion or docketed case names USS Ricketts or DE-254 as a vessel. Zero 'USS Ricketts' opinion or docket hits. All 22 'DE-254' opinion hits are identifier collisions - S.D. Fla. PACER '[DE]' docket-entry citations and unrelated civil/criminal/state matters (Smart v. City of Miami Beach, Bartholomay v. Plains Grain, Motors Liquidation v. Allianz, et al.); none asbestos, none naval. The 319 'DE-254' docket hits are dominated by 'DE 254' docket-entry-number citations (criminal, civil rights, trademark, securities, labor); reviewed snippets show the string used only as a filing reference - no asbestos or vessel context surfaced. No adjudicated or pleading-stage exposure finding naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is CourtListener's opinion + RECAP indexes; state-court filings, PACER-only records, VA BVA decisions, and trust claims are outside it. 'DE-254' hits were classified at index level (case names, nature-of-suit codes, snippets) rather than document-level review. A negative sweep means no qualifying record located in these indexes, not that none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-08
-
[10]Batch-4175 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC transcription (Haze Gray); NHHC ship photo index; official USCG war history; ship's war-history submission (NavSource scan); Naval Vessel Register; Atlas shipyard dataset check; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ricketts-de254-01 through sl-uss-ricketts-de254-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-254: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure exists in the public record searched, and none can exist post-1974 (hull sold for scrapping to Andy International, Brownsville; never a museum or NDRF asset). The Naval Vessel Register carries no record (redirects; pre-1987 disposals not listed). No published opinion or verified pleading names this hull as an exposure site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era materials would have gone to the Brownsville breakers with the hull in 1974-75, and scrapping-yard exposure documentation for Andy International was not located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-09
-
[11]NARA, Records of the Bureau of Ships (RG 19): ship plans and booklets of general plans; Ship General Information Books 1921-61 (Accession 61A2191); Specification Development Files Pertaining To Ships And Ships' Machinery 1942-65 (Accession 62A3207). Sister-hull digitization precedent: DE-238 USS Stewart Booklet of General Plans (1958) circulated from NARA RG19 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov ship-plans and RG19 guides; archive.org de238bogp1958 item page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival pathway for hull-level material specifications: NARA RG 19 holds per-vessel booklets of general plans, ship engineering drawings, and Ship General Information Books spanning 1921-61 (covering DE-254's era) plus specification development files 1942-65. A same-class Booklet of General Plans (DE-238, 1958 revision) exists in circulation - indicating Edsall-class plan sets survive and may itemize insulation materials by hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Lead only - no DE-254 document was retrieved; these holdings are not digitized online and may or may not contain per-hull insulation schedules naming this vessel. Class plan sets (e.g., DE-238's 1958 booklet) would reflect later configuration, not necessarily as-built 1943 materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ricketts-de254-10