Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet ie-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. — real identity: USS Robert E. Peary; hull DE-132; destroyer escort, Edsall class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-robert-e-peary-de132-pkt-ie-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Robert E. Peary II (DE-132) - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (Edsall class): laid down 30 June 1942 by Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Tex.; launched 3 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Robert Edwin Peary; commissioned 31 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. Kerfoot B. Smith in command. Shakedown off Bermuda; first convoy-escort run to North Africa arriving Casablanca 13 August 1943; two more Casablanca runs by year's end. Early 1944 crossed with a hunter-killer group, then northern sealanes: between 28 March 1944 and 7 June 1945 escorted 10 convoys to the United Kingdom and, after June 1944, to France. On 2 March 1945 she and Hammann (DE-131) were diverted to aid two collided merchant ships; after the escorts rescued survivors, Hammann stood by SS Lone Jack while Peary escorted SS Frontenac Victory to New York, arriving 6 March. Ordered to the Pacific Fleet after her last Atlantic run 7 June 1945; overhauled and en route to the Pacific when the war ended; redirected to New London for Medical Research Department binocular experiments; arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla. 11 January 1946; decommissioned 13 June 1947; transferred to the Norfolk berthing area 1959; struck from the Navy list 1 July 1966; sold to Lipsett, Inc., New York, 6 September 1967.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1967
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1942-43; wartime and reserve crew (design complement 216)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Verbatim transcription cited by mirror because the live NHHC DANFS page (history.navy.mil .../danfs/r/robert-e-peary-de-132.html) returns 404; mirror text cross-checked against a second DANFS reproduction (historycentral.com).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-01
-
[3]USS Robert E. Peary (DE-132), Commanding Officer's submission 'History of USS ROBERT E. PEARY (DE132)', letter DE132(PMG)/A7-2 Serial 31 to Secretary of the Navy (Director of Public Information), 3 December 1945 - scan hosted by NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-132 page, image 06132wh.jpg (3-page letter + CO roster)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own submitted war history (signed by Lt. Comdr. Donald McKinlay Jr., received by SecNav Public Information 7 December 1945): commissioned at Orange, Texas 31 May 1943; expressly named for the destroyer USS Peary (DD-226, sunk at Darwin 19 February 1942); fitted out at Galveston and New Orleans; Bermuda shakedown; Casablanca arrival 13 August 1943 'marked the first appearance of destroyer escorts in active service'; hunter-killer group built around USS Card early 1944; convoy-by-convoy North Atlantic record through her last convoy arriving New York 7 June 1945; repeated Navy Yard availabilities in New York between crossings; two weeks of repairs at Charleston, South Carolina en route to the Pacific, reaching Guantanamo Bay 4 August 1945; then New London Medical Research Department duty and the Albany Navy Day trip. Enclosure lists commanding officers: LCdr. Kerfoot B. Smith (31 May-9 Nov 1943), LCdr. Leslie S. Bennett USNR (9 Nov 1943-31 Aug 1944), LCdr. Donald McKinlay Jr. USNR (31 Aug 1944-); McKinlay received a letter of commendation from Admiral Ingram for the 2 March 1945 Lone Jack rescue.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Ship-submitted narrative; consistent with DANFS and adds detail (fitting-out locations, USS Card hunter-killer task group, Navy Yard availabilities, Charleston repairs, CO roster). The letter says only 'Navy Yard' (after New York arrivals - read as the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn) and 'Charleston, South Carolina ... for repairs' without naming the yard; identifications are reasonable inference, not explicit. Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010, April 1945; declassified 1967), Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE) roster, row 257 - shipscribe.com scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf, book pp. 256-257 (DE roster), row 257 = PDF p. 138
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official April 1945 BuShips roster row for this hull: 'PEARY, ROBERT E. ... DE132', group design FMR, built by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; contract price of hull and machinery $1,088,000; contract signed 16 January 1942; keel laid 30 June 1942; ship launched 3 January 1943; contract date of completion 5 May 1943; date of preliminary acceptance 31 May 1943; date of first commission 31 May 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945 edition
- Population
- BuShips program record
- Limitations
- Confirms official build dates, builder, contract price, and the FMR (geared Fairbanks-Morse diesel) group design - it does not describe installed materials and says nothing about asbestos. OCR-by-eye of a textless 2-up scan; values read directly off the page image.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Robert E. Peary (DE-132) page - operational data, spec block, awards, commanding officers, and namesake lineage (secondary compilation; used for corroboration and leads) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/132.htm - spec block, 'Building and Operational Data', awards bar
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary compilation corroborating DANFS and adding operational data: type FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive); 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kt; commissioned at the Orange City Dock; 27 October 1945 Navy Day at Albany, N.Y. with Picuda, Sirago, Alecto, LST 519 and 2 PT boats; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs 13 June 1947; 1959 Atlantic Reserve Fleet James River (Va.) Group; struck NVR 1 July 1966; sold for scrapping to the Lipsett Co., Inc., New York 6 September 1967. Ribbons: Combat Action, American Campaign, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign with 1 star, WWII Victory. Lineage: second ship of the name, preceded by DD-226 (1920-1942), succeeded by DE-1073 (1972-1992) and T-AKE-5.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1967
- Population
- Crew 1943-1947
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer photo/data archive - a corroborating compilation, not an official record; its dates agree with DANFS and the BuShips roster. Awards and the Orange City Dock commissioning detail rest on this secondary source. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-04
-
[6]BuShips Ships' Data group design FMR + NavSource spec block (diesel plant) + Atlas house model (era-inference categories for non-steam DEs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf DE roster (FMR design code, row 257); navsource.net/archives/06/132.htm spec block; archives.gov asbestos research guide
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/plant inference narrowed by machinery type: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1942-43 ran four Fairbanks-Morse geared diesel engines with diesel generators - no boilers and no steam system - so the heavy asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler insulation and steam-line lagging) do not apply. The era-standard asbestos applications expected on a wartime diesel-drive escort are engine/exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake/clutch linings, and deck coverings, consistent with Navy-wide asbestos use in 1941-1961 materiel (NARA asbestos research guide).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1967
- Population
- Construction trades (Orange, Tex., 1942-43); crew 1943-47
- Limitations
- Class/era and plant-type inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No drawing, bill of materials, survey, or abatement record naming this hull was located; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. The FMR geared-diesel design materially narrows the expected categories versus steam-driven escorts (TE/GMT/WGT designs).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-28 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 search API via cl-auth-search.py - see search_ledger sl-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-05*
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in the completed portion of the authenticated sweep: 'Robert E. Peary' type=o returned 6 opinions, all name collisions (NYC DOE special-education cases referencing the Robert E. Peary school, plus education and Maryland tax opinions - none vessel-related); 'Peary' AND (asbestos OR mesothelioma) type=o returned 0 results; 'DE-132' type=o returned 52 hits, all '(DE 132)' ECF docket-entry collisions - the 20 top-ranked results reviewed contain zero ship/Navy references; 'Robert E. Peary' type=r returned 11 dockets, all name collisions (school-district and person-name cases). Root-name and hull-number RECAP docket queries were attempted repeatedly and blocked by fleet pacing - see search_ledger.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Partial sweep honestly bounded: opinion-level coverage is complete for exact name, asbestos-keyword, and hull number; docket-level coverage is complete for exact name only - the 'Peary'/'DE-132' RECAP docket queries remained unrun after repeated pacing blocks (hourly/burst throttle, not daily quota). A completed-sweep negative finding does not prove no suit was ever filed (state-court complaints and unindexed dockets are outside corpus). Name-lineage collision is real: unqualified 'USS Peary' or 'Robert E. Peary' references may belong to DD-226, DE-1073/FF-1073 (1972-1992 service - the prime asbestos-litigation-era hull), or T-AKE-5; only hull-number-specific or date-consistent references can qualify for DE-132.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-06
-
[8]NARA research guide 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' + NARA Ship Plan Index (DE-132 entry) + deck-log series [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov asbestos guided topic (RG 19 correspondence, GIB Entry P 9, S39/S48, deck logs sections); archives.gov Ship Plan Index row 'ROBERT E. PEARY DE-132 / 19 / Microfilm / 175670481'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's asbestos research guide identifies the record path for this hull: RG 19 Bureau of Ships general correspondence filed under hull designation DE132 (Edsall-class correspondence under the DE129 class file; DE type as last resort); the Destroyer, Destroyer Escort, and Frigate General Information Books (RG 19 Entry P 9) which go deck by deck through systems arrangement; and ship engineering drawings - S39-Insulation and Lagging and S48-Piping - in the Hull series (19-Hull) and the microfilm series (19-Micro, 1945-1955). The NARA Ship Plan Index lists ROBERT E. PEARY DE-132 in RG 19 Microfilm, NAID 175670481. Deck logs for 1943-1947 sit in the Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations 1941-1978 series (NAID 594258) at Archives II, College Park; yard availabilities documented in the war history make the deck-log and yard-correspondence series the most promising leads.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1967 records
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - none of the underlying records was retrieved or reviewed; the Ship Plan Index confirms a DE-132 microfilm file unit exists but its drawing content (whether it includes S39/S48 sheets) is unverified. Deck-log digitization status for this hull unverified (NARA prioritizes Vietnam-era logs).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-robert-e-peary-de132-07
