Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet ki-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-rolf-de362-pkt-ki-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Rolf (DE-362) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative, reserve-fleet lay-up, striking, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Lt.(jg) Robert Walter Rolf, USNR (CO of an LCI(L), killed in a Japanese bombing raid 6 September during the Lae, New Guinea landing; posthumous Navy Cross). Laid down 20 March 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 23 May 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Martha M. Rolf); commissioned 7 September 1944, Lt. Comdr. Lester E. Hubbell, USNR. Shakedown off Bermuda; Norfolk to San Diego 30 Nov-5 Dec 1944; convoy escort Hollandia to Leyte Gulf; Philippine Sea Frontier; May-Aug 1945 hunter-killer group at Subic Bay; search for enemy midget submarines northeast of Casiguran Bay, Luzon; post-surrender Jinsen, Korea occupation support and occupation of China. Decommissioned 3 June 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego, until stricken from the Navy list 1 December 1972; '[d]isposed of by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping 1 September 1973.' Spec block: dp. 1,745 (f.); l. 306'; b. 36'7"; dr. 13'4"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 223; cl. John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944; wartime crew (design complement ~223)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Spec-block complement (223) differs from class design figures (15 off/207 enl per SDB; 156 per navypedia) - carried in gaps. Disposal date reads 1 September 1973 where NavSource/Wikipedia/uboat read 11 September 1973 - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-362 USS Rolf (building/operational data, CO table, photographs incl. laid-up San Diego 5 June 1972) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/362.htm building/operational data block + 1972 photo caption; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1694.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating photo-index record for this hull: keel laid 20 March 1944 Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched/christened 23 May 1944; commissioned 7 September 1944 (Lcdr. Lester E. Hubbell, USNR); decommissioned at San Diego 3 June 1946 'after 1 year and 9 months of service'; struck from the NVR 1 December 1972; sold for scrapping 11 September 1973. A 5 June 1972 photograph documents the hull laid up at San Diego in the reserve fleet months before striking. uboat.net independently corroborates the same dates and lists Hubbell in command 7 Sep 1944-12 Nov 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Reserve-fleet lay-up maintenance personnel, San Diego (1946-1972); 1973 breaking-yard workers
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source - used for corroboration and for the laid-up photo evidence; consistent with DANFS on every shared date except the disposal-day figure (NavSource 11 Sep 1973 vs DANFS 1 Sep 1973), carried in gaps. NavSource's namesake block dates Rolf's death '06 September 1942' - a transcription error; the Lae operation and the Navy Cross citation place it in September 1943 (NavSource's own LCI(L)-341 page reads 6 Sep 1943).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan, OCR) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table row 6; navypedia us_de_tev_wgt boiler block map
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips design reference for this hull's design group: John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts are BuShips design group 6 (WGT, geared-turbine drive) - 306 ft oa, 1,350 t standard, 24.3 kt, 2 shafts, 12,000 shp, 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 deg F, accommodations 15 officers/207 enlisted. The class profile's navypedia block map assigns Combustion Engineering boilers to the DE-339-372 builder block covering this hull (DE-362), Westinghouse geared turbines throughout.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a (design reference)
- Limitations
- Design-group table, not a per-hull row - describes the class design this hull was built to, not an as-built survey of DE-362. The boiler-builder block map is navypedia-sourced and unverified against contract documents. OCR transcription of table cells may contain digit-level errors.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-03
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v1 design-group-6 machinery data + Consolidated Steel Orange construction era (1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 design-group table row 6; DANFS service record (duty stations)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried a twin-screw geared-turbine steam plant (two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 deg F; two Westinghouse geared turbines; 12,000 shp) built March-September 1944 - the peak of WWII asbestos usage - at a Maritime Commission-era contract yard. The machinery configuration is the one for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbine and machinery lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, evaporator/distilling-plant insulation, deck coverings, and accommodation joiner insulation of the period were commonly asbestos-containing. Disturbance-phase pathways for this hull: 1944 construction; wartime engineering-space operation and battle-damage-level maintenance; 1946-1972 Pacific Reserve Fleet lay-up at San Diego (26 years mothballed, undocumented preservation materials); 1973 sale and breaking.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades, Orange TX (1944); wartime crew; reserve-fleet lay-up personnel 1946-1972; 1973 breaking-yard workers
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, material schedule, or asbestos-specific document naming DE-362 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The boiler-builder attribution (Combustion Engineering) is secondary-source, unverified against contract documents.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-04
-
[6]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Consolidated Steel Orange was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-05
-
[7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this John C. Butler-class destroyer escort was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-06
-
[8]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - pretrial/exhibit-list materials naming USS Brannon (DE-446), a John C. Butler-class sibling of this hull [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener docket 6100500; ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list (per class-profile verification 2026-09-16)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation landscape: pretrial materials in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec name USS Brannon (DE-446, John C. Butler class per the docket's own Jane's Fighting Ships exhibit entry) and recite that 'Griscom-Russell supplied the Navy with the evaporator on Mr. Jack's ship in conformity to detailed precise specifications... without insulation. The Navy did not consult it about the type of insulation it planned to use' - with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller on Mr. Jack's ship' while conceding 'on the USS BRANNON this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' Documents that asbestos-vs-substitute insulation aboard this class's Navy-specified distilling plant was a live question in litigation against a class sibling - not about this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- Service era WWII/postwar; litigation 2017-2019
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon DE-446 (class sibling)
- Limitations
- Pleading/expert-recital stage in a case about a different hull (DE-446, not DE-362); unadjudicated, and the document itself concedes non-asbestos insulation was possible. Class context only - establishes nothing about materials aboard Rolf, exposure, causation, or eligibility. Identified via the John C. Butler class profile (ev-john-c-butler-class-03); underlying exhibits not re-retrieved this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-07
-
[9]Batch-4267 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via ibiblio transcription; NavSource 06/362; uboat.net ship/1694; BuShips SDB 1945 v1 design-group table; CourtListener (status noted in ledger); NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-rolf-de362-01 through sl-uss-rolf-de362-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or court finding naming USS Rolf or DE-362 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener name/hull sweeps could not be completed - the fleet-shared pacing bucket was continuously drained by concurrent sessions for the duration of this session (eight spaced attempts over ~60 minutes, each exhausting the 60s acquire window); residual negative litigation coverage therefore rests on indexed-web checking, which surfaced only excluded-class law-firm pages and no qualifying case.
- 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 - a 1944 geared-turbine steam destroyer escort is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her 26-year reserve-fleet lay-up and 1973 breaking are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-08
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs, 1941-1959 series NAID 594258) and RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships); DRMS disposal records (1973 scrapping sale) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /research/military/logbooks/navy-deck-logs-1941-1959
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Rolf Sep 1944-Jun 1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park; digitization status for this hull unverified in the National Archives Catalog); WWII war diary for this hull (RG 38 series, digitized on Fold3 under NARA partnership - subscription access, not checked); BuShips construction/acceptance records for the DE-339-372 Consolidated Steel contract block (RG 19); Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service sale contract for the September 1973 scrapping disposal - the most promising disposal-era hazmat lead; Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego preservation records 1946-1972.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rolf-de362-09