USS RODGERS (DD-254)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]research packet ej-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Rodgers (DD-254); laid down as Kalk; later HMS Sherwood (I80)

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-rodgers-dd254-pkt-ej-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Rodgers III (DD-254) (builder, dates, transfer, RN service narrative; verbatim transcription - no live NHHC page and no Wayback capture of the Rodgers III entry located) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull (Rodgers III, DD-254): laid down as Kalk 25 September 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass.; renamed Rodgers 23 December 1918; launched 26 April 1919, sponsored by Miss Helen T. Rodgers, granddaughter of Commodore John Rodgers; commissioned 22 July 1919, Lt. Comdr. A. M. Steekel in command. Served with Division 28, Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet, until spring 1922, then steamed to Philadelphia for inactivation; decommissioned 20 July 1922 and held in reserve. Recommissioned 18 December 1939 after the outbreak of war in Europe; served briefly with the Atlantic Fleet; October 1940 moved to Halifax to join the 'four stackers' being transferred to the United Kingdom in exchange for bases. Decommissioned and transferred 23 October 1940; commissioned into the Royal Navy the same day as H.M.S. Sherwood (I.80), 4th 'Town' Flotilla. RN service per DANFS: HX 84 survivor search and the Admiral Scheer hunt, returning to Canada for repairs; Belfast 18 November; Portsmouth overhaul; 12th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command (Londonderry); Iceland April 1941; Bismarck hunt May 1941; assisted rescue of H.M.S. Mashona (F.59) survivors 28 May 1941; summer Clyde repairs; 2d then 22d Escort Groups into 1942; carrier trials February-March 1942; yard period then April-August 1942 target ship for RNAS Fearn training aircraft; Newfoundland Command autumn 1942-February 1943; Tunisia convoy escort March-April 1943; major repairs needed by May; paid off at Chatham, stripped, towed to the Humber and beached in shallow water as an aircraft target; hulk scrapped 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1918-1943

   Population

   Bethlehem Shipbuilding/Fore River construction trades 1918-19; U.S. Navy crews 1919-1940 (DANFS design complement 131); RN crew 1940-43

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and design specifications (1,190 t; 314'5"; 31'; 9'10"; 34.4 k; cpl. 131; 4x4", 1x3", 12x21" tt), not materials or asbestos content. The live NHHC Rodgers III page returned 404 on 2026-09-27 and no Wayback capture exists in the CDX index checked - the verbatim hazegray transcription of the DANFS Vol. III text is cited. Commissioning commanding-officer detail conflicts with NavSource's compiled CO list - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-01

3. [3]NavSource Naval History - Destroyer Photo Archive, USS Rodgers (DD-254) page (spec block, operational/building data, CO list, contributed RN narrative; NARA photo IDs 19-N-3383, 19-N-2863) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DD-254 page: 'As Built' specification block, Operational and Building Data table, 'On British Service' narrative, Commanding Officers list

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Naval History DD-254 page (compiled from official records): call sign NWT; as built 1,215 tons; 314'5" (oa) x 31'8" x 9'10" max; armament 4 x 4"/50, 1 x 3"/23AA, 12 x 21" tt; machinery 26,500 shp, geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 knots; crew 114. Operational data: laid down Bethlehem Steel, Quincy 25 Sep 1918; launched 26 Apr 1919; commissioned 22 Jul 1919; decommissioned 20 Jul 1922; recommissioned 18 Dec 1939; decommissioned and transferred to Britain 23 Oct 1940 as HMS Sherwood (I80); stricken 8 Jan 1941; header fate line reads 'Sunk as target in 1945'. Compiled commanding-officer list (Hechler & Reeves): LCDR Norman Reeve Van Der Veer 22 Jul 1919-9 Apr 1920; LCDR Abner Moyer Steekel 9 Apr 1920-15 Sep 1921; LT Smith Dykins Atkins Cobb 15 Sep 1921-1 Jun 1922; CDR Arthur Curtiss Stott 1 Jun-20 Jul 1922; LT Hunter Wood Jr. 18 Dec 1939-23 Oct 1940. Contributed RN service narrative (Robert Hurst): defects forced return to St. John's 7 Nov 1940; Portsmouth refit from 26 Nov 1940; air-raid near miss 11 Mar 1941, completed at Devonport by 8 Apr; 12th Escort Group Iceland; Bismarck search; supported HMS Tartar after HMS Mashona's sinking; NEF allocation July 1941 replaced by two-month Clyde refit; 2nd Escort Group Londonderry; 22nd Escort Group Nov 1941; weather damage 27 Jan 1942; Formidable and Illustrious trials Feb-Mar 1942; boiler retubing at Liverpool to 25 Aug 1942; air target ship Cromarty area to mid-Oct 1942; Newfoundland Command/MOEF at St. John's; C2 Group March 1943; UK-North Africa convoy; laid up defective at Londonderry; surveyed April 1943 and found beyond economic repair; stripped at Chatham; left 28 Sep 1943 in tow of tug Sea Giant with convoy FN1640 for the Humber; removed from the effective list 30 Sep 1943; beached 3 Oct 1943 (position given as 58.37.07N 00.05.05W 'in the Humber Approaches') as a target for rocket-equipped RAF Beaufighters; wreck dispersed post-war under the RN wreck dispersal programme.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1918-1946

   Population

   U.S. Navy crews 1919-1940; RN crews and RN/RAF training establishment 1940-43; Liverpool/Clyde/Portsmouth/Devonport/Chatham dockyard workers 1940-43

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled transcription of official records plus contributed photographs and a contributed foreign-service narrative - not an official Navy publication. Internal conflicts carried in gaps: header fate 'Sunk as target in 1945' vs. narrative beaching 3 Oct 1943; the narrative's beaching coordinate (58.37.07N 00.05.05W, open North Sea east of Orkney) contradicts its own 'Humber Approaches' text; convoy FN1640 vs. naval-history.net's FN160; crew 114 vs. DANFS complement 131; 35 kt vs. DANFS 34.4 kt; 1,215 t vs. DANFS 1,190 t; CO list vs. DANFS 'Lt. Comdr. A. M. Steekel in command' at commissioning. Contains no asbestos or hazardous-material statement.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-02

4. [4]Destroyers for Bases Agreement, 2 September 1940 (executive agreement; NHHC FAQ transcription via Wayback) + FDR Message to Congress (3 Sep 1940) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NHHC FAQ faq59-24 (full text of exchanged notes); FDR message to Congress text

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement of 2 September 1940 (exchange of notes, British Ambassador Lothian and Secretary of State Hull; FDR message to Congress transmitting the notes and the Attorney General's 27 Aug 1940 opinion) is the legal instrument under which this hull was transferred at Halifax on 23 October 1940 - Rodgers was among the 50 'overage' flush-deck destroyers exchanged for 99-year leases on British base sites in the Western Hemisphere.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1940

   Limitations

   Documents the transfer instrument and program, not this hull's material condition; the agreement contains no ship-by-ship condition survey. Hull-level transfer detail comes from DANFS (ev-01) and NavSource (ev-02).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-03

5. [5]DANFS/NavSource machinery data (geared turbines, 26,500 shp, four-stacker arrangement); Atlas shipyards.json records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'fore-river-shipyard' (yard-level asbestos findings) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource machinery block; shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'fore-river-shipyard' records

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference: a Clemson-class destroyer built 1918-19 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. at the Fore River yard, Quincy, Mass., with a four-boiler geared-turbine steam plant (26,500 shp per NavSource) would have carried period-standard insulating materials - boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing - in which asbestos fiber was common in U.S. naval construction of the era. The builder yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas shipyards dataset under both yard_id 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'fore-river-shipyard' (the same Quincy physical plant; evidence_tier 3 each): the bethlehem-shipbuilding record documents era asbestos products at yard level (85% magnesia block, marinite, transite and aircell pipe covering, lagging, gaskets and packing), and the fore-river-shipyard record carries asbestos-disease litigation by a 1967-70 pipefitter's apprentice. Both yard findings post-date this hull's 1918-19 construction by decades. NARA RG 19 holdings for this hull (Alphabetical Ship Drawings NAID 53484873; microfilm NAID 175670492) and the class Booklet of General Plans are the archival route to hull- or class-level insulation specifications.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1918-1943

   Population

   Bethlehem/Fore River construction trades 1918-19; U.S. Navy engineering crews 1919-1940; RN engineering crew 1940-43 (inference only)

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no source inspected names the insulation products fitted aboard this hull, and the hull's 1943 beaching plus 1945-46 scrapping forecloses later survey or abatement records. The yard-level asbestos documentation post-dates this hull's construction (yard litigation finding concerns 1967-70 exposure; product lists reflect WWII-and-later operations). Does not establish asbestos presence, quantity, location, or any individual exposure aboard DD-254.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-04

6. [6]National Archives Ship Plan Index (RODGERS DD-254 rows); NARA guided topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961'; archive.org item ddflushdeckersbogp1919 (NARA-derived class plan set) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Ship Plan Index RODGERS DD-254 rows (NAIDs 53484873, 175670492); NARA asbestos guided topic (S39/S48 drawing codes); archive.org/details/ddflushdeckersbogp1919

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA Ship Plan Index (archives.gov) lists RODGERS DD-254 in Record Group 19 under 'Alphabetical Ship Drawings' (NAID 53484873) and 'Microfilm' (NAID 175670492) - confirmed existence of ship-specific engineering drawings. The same index carries RODGERS TB-4 rows (a different, earlier hull - see ev-09). NARA's guided asbestos-research topic ('Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961') identifies S39 insulation-and-lagging and S48 piping drawings within RG 19 Cartographic holdings as the useful records for hull-level asbestos research. A class-level primary artifact is digitized: 'USA - DD Wickes & Clemson Class Booklet of General Plans (1919)' (Navy Yard Newport News, 1 Oct 1919; NARA file unit 'Plans for Flush Deckers, 1789-1967') at archive.org. 1919-1940 deck logs for this ship would be held under RG 24 logbooks indexed by name.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Limitations

   Index-level confirmation only - the drawings' contents, including any insulation specification, were not retrieved or inspected (College Park pull required, no spend authorized). NARA's asbestos guide covers 1941-1961 correspondence; this hull's build (1918-19) and U.S. career (to 1940) largely predate the guide's correspondence window, so RG 19 drawing files and earlier bureau records are the applicable leads. UK refit, repair, survey, and disposal records (Portsmouth, Devonport, Clyde, Liverpool, Chatham, disposal/dispersal files) are at The National Archives (ADM series), not searched this session.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-05

7. [7]naval-history.net, 'HMS Sherwood, destroyer' (xGM-Chrono-11US-Sherwood, Kindell transcription of RN movement records); corroborated by uboat.net HMS Sherwood (I 80) page and britainsnavy.org.uk HMS Sherwood (1940) page [other_primary]

   Locator

   naval-history.net Sherwood entry, Sep-Oct 1943 chronology and disposal note; uboat.net/allies/warships/4335.html (end service 20 Sep 1943); britainsnavy.org.uk Sherwood (1940) page

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Royal Navy disposal chronology (naval-history.net, Don Kindell's compiled RN service chronology, consistent with DANFS and the NavSource contributed narrative): Sherwood was placed on the Disposal List for use as a static target for aircraft rocket attacks; in September 1943 she joined convoy FN160 in tow of the tug Sea Giant for passage to the Humber; in October she was beached in the approaches to the Humber for use as a target; and the hulk was disposed of by the RN in 1946 as part of the Wreck Disposal Programme. Corroborating British compilations: uboat.net gives RN end of service 20 Sep 1943 (paid off at Chatham); britainsnavy.org.uk records removal from the effective list 30 Sep 1943 and beaching 3 Oct 1943 in the Humber Estuary as a rocket-armed-Beaufighter target.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Chatham dockyard stripping crew (1943); RAF target-range operations; post-war wreck-dispersal workers

   Limitations

   Compiled chronologies consistent with DANFS but not official publications; disposal-year conflict (1945 DANFS and hmscavalier.org.uk vs. 1946 naval-history.net and historyofwar.org) is carried in gaps rather than resolved. No asbestos, hazmat, or material-safety statement in any source - the stripped hulk's material condition was not surveyed in the records inspected.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-06

8. [8]Batch-3253 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, NARA Ship Plan Index + guided asbestos topic, RN service compilations (naval-history.net, uboat.net, britainsnavy.org.uk, hmscavalier.org.uk), Destroyers-for-Bases treaty record, Royal Navy official site (name-collision check) [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-rodgers-dd254-01 through sl-uss-rodgers-dd254-08

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the non-litigation repositories searched: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum condition report, or official material record naming DD-254, USS Rodgers, or HMS Sherwood (I80) was found (see search_ledger). The hull was stripped, beached as an RAF rocket target in October 1943, and scrapped/dispersed 1945-46 - all predating asbestos survey practice and the litigation era, so no postwar hull record is expected to exist.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   2026-09-27

   Limitations

   Absence of a located record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era construction practice is consistent with asbestos-containing insulation in machinery spaces, but nothing inspected establishes it for this hull. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-07

9. [9]CourtListener API v4 search endpoint (type=o and type=r), all queries executed via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced) [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-rodgers-dd254-05, sl-uss-rodgers-dd254-06

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener sweep executed in full via the required authenticated fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-27: (a) '"USS Rodgers" asbestos' (opinion index) - 0 results; (b) '"USS Rodgers"' unqualified (opinion index) - 0 results; (c) '"USS Rodgers"' (docket index) - 0 results; (d) '"HMS Sherwood"' (opinion index) - 0 results; (e) '"DD-254"' (opinion index) - 4 results, all name collisions: Tyrrell v. Tyrrell (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1978, matched on docket number 'DD-254'), Alisud-Gesac Handling-Servisair 2 Scarl v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2022), Mvs USA, Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2013), and LTV Aerospace & Defense v. Thomson-CSF (In re Chateaugay Corp.) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1995) - the three federal cases are government-contract disputes in which 'DD-254' denotes DD Form 254, the DoD Contract Security Classification Specification, not the hull; (f) '"DD-254"' (docket index) - 51 results, all defense-contractor and contract-security litigation (L-3 Communications, Georgia Tech Research, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Omniplex World Services, et al.) referencing DD Form 254 - none maritime and none asbestos. Classification: no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation naming the hull; all DD-254 hits are form/docket-number collisions.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   2026-09-27

   Limitations

   The indexed-federal-record sweep is complete for the exact-name, hull-number, and RN-name surfaces and returned no qualifying hit. CourtListener does not cover every state-court filing or pleading-stage MDL-875 reference naming a hull; 'Rodgers' as a bare surname is ubiquitous in litigation and was not a useful query surface. Zero hits here does not exclude an unindexed or unpleaded reference elsewhere.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-08

10. [10]Royal Navy official site, HMS Sherwood RNR unit page (royalnavy.mod.uk); NARA Ship Plan Index (RODGERS TB-4 vs. DD-254 rows); CourtListener DD-254 sweep results [other_primary]

    Locator

    royalnavy.mod.uk Sherwood unit page; archives.gov Ship Plan Index RODGERS rows; ev-08 sweep

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Name-collision surfaces for this hull: (1) 'USS Rodgers' also designates USS Rodgers (TB-4), an 1898-1920 Foote-class torpedo boat whose separate RG 19 drawing files appear alongside the DD-254 rows in the NARA Ship Plan Index, and - with different spelling - USS Rogers (DD-876), a Gearing-class destroyer (1945-1981); USS John Rodgers (DD-983), a Spruance-class destroyer (1979-1998), is a further near-name hull in the asbestos-litigation era. (2) 'HMS Sherwood' is an active Royal Naval Reserve shore establishment at Chilwell, Nottingham (commissioned 1984, per royalnavy.mod.uk), so post-1984 UK 'HMS Sherwood' records refer to the stone frigate, not the ex-DD-254 I80 hulk. (3) 'DD-254' in federal litigation text denotes DD Form 254 (DoD Contract Security Classification Specification) - confirmed across the CourtListener sweep.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Limitations

    Disambiguation row only - prevents misattribution of later 'Rodgers'/'Rogers' hulls, the active RNR 'HMS Sherwood', or DD Form 254 contract documents to this hull. Establishes nothing about materials aboard DD-254.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-rodgers-dd254-09