Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Roy O. Hale (DE-336) - live NHHC page returns 404 today; Wayback capture 2024-05-24 of the canonical page cited, corroborated by verbatim hazegray transcription (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/escorts/de336.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS title/specifications block, namesake biography, and service narrative (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil danfs/r/roy-o-hale; hazegray mirror escorts/de336.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: first ship named for Lt. (j.g.) Roy Orestus Hale, Jr. (born Monroe, La., 10 May 1916; USNA, commissioned ensign 2 June 1938; Scouting Squadron 2 aboard Lexington CV-2; missing in action and presumed killed in the Battle of the Coral Sea 7-8 May 1942; posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross). Laid down 13 September 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 20 November 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Roy O. Hale, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Hale; commissioned 3 February 1944, Lt. Comdr. William W. Bowie, USNR. Shakedown Bermuda; training ship for escort crews in Chesapeake Bay and New York-Norfolk escort; seven transatlantic convoys 1 July 1944-3 June 1945 (first 24 ships to Taranto, Italy; then UK/France); after overhaul departed Norfolk 13 July 1945 for the Pacific, refresher training off Cuba and out of San Diego; arrived Pearl Harbor 2 September for a month of escort and plane-guard duty; returned to San Diego 17 October with veterans awaiting discharge; back at Norfolk 3 November; decommissioned 11 July 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Entered Boston Navy Yard December 1955 for radar-picket conversion; redesignated DER-336 on 7 December 1955; recommissioned 29 January 1957, Atlantic Barrier Patrol based at Newport, R.I., picket stations Newfoundland-Azores into the 1960s; 26 February 1959 boarding of Soviet trawler Novorossisk under the 1884 cable treaty (no hostile indications). 'Decommissioned in April 1963,' berthed Reserve Fleet Philadelphia; struck from the Navy list 1 August 1974; sold for scrap to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. 1 April 1975. Spec block: 1,200 t; 306 ft; beam 36 ft 7 in; draft 12 ft 3 in; 21 kt; cpl 216; 3x3in, 2x40mm, 8x20mm, 2 dct, 8 dcp, 1 hedgehog, 3x21in tt; class Edsall.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime USNR-officered Navy crew (design complement 216); DER crew 1957-63
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Its 'April 1963' decommissioning conflicts with NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/NARA-catalog July 1963 - carried in gaps; its 7 December 1955 redesignation conflicts with NavSource/uboat.net 21 October 1955 - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot); Wayback 2024-05-24 capture of the canonical URL cited, corroborated by the verbatim hazegray transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-01
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[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row 144 for HALE, ROY O., DE-336 (shipscribe.com scan; verified by local OCR of book pp. 246-247) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 roster row 144, HALE ROY O. DE336 (book pp. 246-247; shipscribe scan PDF p. 133)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull: HALE, ROY O., official number DE-336, design group FMR; builder Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; contract price $1,539,000 (cost-plus-fixed-fee per the table's footnote marker); contract signed 7 August 1942 (ditto from preceding rows); keel laid 13 September 1943; launched 20 November 1943; contract date of completion 12 February 1944; date of preliminary acceptance 31 January 1944; date of first commission 3 February 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Corp. construction trades, Orange, Tex., 1943-44
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. Page is an image scan read by OCR; keel/launch/commission dates corroborate DANFS and NavSource exactly. The 'Feb. 12, 1944' contract-completion and 'Jan. 31, 1944' preliminary-acceptance columns are OCR-read on a clean render but were treated as secondary to the commission date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-02
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[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 4 / FMR (shipscribe.com scan; verified by local OCR of book pp. 234-235) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 DE design-group table, group-4 row (book pp. 234-235; shipscribe scan PDF p. 127)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design-group table: design group 4 (symbol FMR - Fairbanks-Morse diesel reverse-gear drive) - 306 ft oa, 300 ft wl, beam 36 ft 7 in; 1,200 t standard / 1,590 t full load; trial speed 21.2 kt; machinery 'F. M. diesel model 38D8-1/8', 6,000 shp, 2 propellers; boilers 'None'; main reduction gears single, F.B.; ship's-service generators 2 diesel 100 kW 450V A.C. plus 2 diesel 40 kW 120V D.C.; accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted; armament 3 x 3 in/50 cal. D.P. Documents that the 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 (publication)
- Population
- FMR-design crews (design accommodations 15 officers + 201 enlisted)
- 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. Table OCR'd from a scanned page; individual cell values may be partially garbled. NavSource's compiled figure '4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 engines, 4 diesel-generators' reconciles with the SDB generator block read as 2 AC + 2 DC units.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-03
-
[4]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Roy O. Hale (DE-336) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, flag hoist NHEG, CO list; Wayback capture 2024-11-07 - live page fetch failed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/336.htm building-and-operational-data block, CO list, and photo captions (Wayback 2024-11-07 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 13 September 1943 at Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched and christened 20 November 1943, sponsor Mrs. Roy O. Hale, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Hale; commissioned 3 February 1944, Lcdr. William W. Bowie, USNR; decommissioned 11 July 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 2 years 5.25 months; reclassified and converted to DER-336 at the Boston Naval Shipyard (21 October 1955 entry); recommissioned 29 January 1957, Atlantic Barrier Patrol based at Newport, R.I.; decommissioned 15 July 1963 after 6 years 5.5 months; stricken from the NVR 1 August 1974 (total 8 years 10.75 months); sold 1 April 1975 to Union Metals and Alloys Corp., Baltimore, Md. Awards displayed: Navy Expeditionary Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. CO list: Bowie (3 Feb 1944-22 Aug 1944), Pogue (22 Aug 1944-Nov 1945), Mietus (Nov 1945-Mar 1946), Verbofsky (Mar-11 Jul 1946, decomm.), Neal (29 Jan 1957-15 May 1958, recomm.), Korte (to 10 Oct 1959), Chokas (to 7 Sep 1961), Hayes (to 10 Jul 1963, decomm.). Photos document DER-336 at Newport between USS Rhodes (DER-384) and USS Hissem (DER-400), and a 4 June 1944 Hampton Roads photo (NHHC 80-G-241613). Complement 8 officers/201 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Wartime USNR-officered crew 1944-46; DER crew 1957-63 (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - its 21 October 1955 reclassification entry conflicts with DANFS/NavalCoverMuseum's 7 December 1955, and its 15 July 1963 decommissioning conflicts with DANFS 'April 1963' (NARA catalog metadata supports July) - carried in gaps. NavSource propulsion line '4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38d81/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators' reconciles with BuShips SDB's 2x100kW AC + 2x40kW DC generator block; beam 36 ft 10 in vs. DANFS/SDB 36 ft 7 in diverges - DANFS carried. Contributed photo captions are unattributed detail. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-04
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[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS Roy O. Hale (DE 336) - compiled service chronology, commander table, and convoy-event entries (compiled secondary reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1589.html summary block, commander table, 'Notable events' convoy entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Compiled record corroborating this hull's convoy-escort service: convoy UGF-12 departed Hampton Roads 1 July 1944 escorted by Task Force 68 with Roy O. Hale carrying the Commander, Escort Division 59 (T/Cdr. A.W. Slayden, USN, embarked) alongside Edsall, Stewart, Daniel, Dale W. Peterson, and Martin H. Ray - the same 1 July 1944 first-convoy departure DANFS narrates. Further entries place the ship in convoys CU-57 (departed New York 5 February 1945) and UC-57A (departed The Solent 21 February 1945). Commander table lists Lcdr. William Wurts Bowie, USNR (3 Feb 1944-22 Aug 1944) and Lt. Homer Coleman Pogue, Jr., USNR (from 22 Aug 1944) - matching NavSource's CO list. Summary block: ordered 7 August 1942 (matches the SDB contract-signing date), built by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange; reclassified DER-336 on 21 October 1955; end of service 15 July 1963; 'Sold 12 March 1975 and broken up for scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USNR/USN officers and crew, 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference, not a contemporaneous record - its 12 March 1975 sale date conflicts with DANFS/NavSource's 1 April 1975 (likely contract-vs-completion; carried in gaps). No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-05
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[6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row (no boilers; F.M. diesel) + documented 1955-57 DER conversion yard period at Boston Navy Yard + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Atlas class-pattern precedent for diesel-powered escorts [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-4 row (machinery, 'None' in boiler columns); cf. edsall-class sibling records uss-sellstrom-de255 ev-06 / uss-edsall-de129 (same diesel-DE application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1943 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. The December 1955-January 1957 DER conversion at the Boston Navy Yard (documented by DANFS and NavSource) is a second asbestos-use-era construction period for this hull; its materials scope is not public.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1963
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1943-44; USN crew 1944-46; reserve-fleet custody 1946-55; Boston Navy Yard conversion workforce 1955-57; USN crew 1957-63
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-336 or its DER conversion 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. Builder yard (Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.) is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos documentation is attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-06
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[7]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 (citation verified in batch-4037 uss-edsall-de129, accessed 2026-09-28) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article_c2c77857, 27 Jul 2020
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a preserved Edsall-class sister hull: the Galveston Daily News reported asbestos in public areas of USS Stewart (DE-238) and USS Cavalla (SS-244) at Seawolf Park, with contractor Separation Systems Consultants approved to proceed with abatement; the Galveston Park Board cited U.S. Navy inspection recommendations that an asbestos survey be conducted. USS Stewart is an Edsall-class hull (DE-238) - same class as DE-336, though built by a different yard (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, vs. Consolidated Steel, Orange) - class-level corroboration that Edsall-class construction carried asbestos-containing material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2020
- Population
- Museum staff/volunteers and Seawolf Park visitors; abatement crews
- Limitations
- Evidence about a sister hull (DE-238), NOT this hull: same class but a different builder and a museum-hull lifecycle DE-336 never had (DE-336 was scrapped 1975). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as delivered/preserved; establishes nothing about DE-336's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-07
-
[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 with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DE-336 (built 1943, DER conversion 1955-57) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction and conversion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this specific hull or any diesel-escort application specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-08
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[9]NARA National Archives Catalog - digitized Navy deck logs for 'Roy O. Hale (DE/DER-336)' [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online, 'R' list, Roy O. Hale (DE/DER-336) entry - monthly logs January 1957-July 1963
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Deck logs for the hull's entire second commission are digitized in the National Archives Catalog under 'Roy O. Hale (DE/DER-336)' (Commission February 1944; Decommission July 1963): January 1957 through July 1963 - the full DER-336 radar-picket period. World War II-era logs (1944-1946) are NOT in the digitized list. The catalog's 'Decommission: July 1963' metadata corroborates NavSource's 15 July 1963 against DANFS's 'April 1963'; the July 1963 log could document the final decommissioning, and the December 1955-January 1957 period the conversion completion; none have been surveyed for materials or exposure content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-1963
- Population
- DER-336 crew 1957-1963 (deck-log subjects)
- Limitations
- Existence of the digitized logs is verified from the NARA deck-log index page; log CONTENT is unsurveyed - this is a retrieval lead, not a finding. Deck logs record operational events, not insulation schedules - asbestos mentions are possible but unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion, docket, and hull-designation sweeps for 'USS Roy O. Hale' / 'DE-336' / 'DER-336' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'USS Roy O. Hale' type=o count=0, type=r count=0/documents=0; 'DE-336' type=o count=14 (all ECF/surname false positives); 'DER-336' and bare-name queries blocked by fleet pacing stand-down
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion sweep '"USS Roy O. Hale"' (type=o): 0 hits. Docket sweep '"USS Roy O. Hale"' (type=r): 0 hits, 0 documents. Hull-number sweep '"DE-336"' (type=o): 14 hits, all false positives - ECF document-entry citations ('[DE-111]', '(DE 280)' pattern) and 'De'-surname collisions inside non-maritime, non-asbestos cases (Municipio Autonomo De Caguas v. Rodriguez Aguayo P.R. App. 2024; People v. Lynch N.Y. 2015; In re Oceanografia S.A. v. Otto Candies Tex. App. 2014; Centro Medico del Turabo P.R. App. 1997; United States v. Burns 9th Cir. 1990; Boca Raton Community Hospital v. Tenet S.D. Fla. 2007; United States v. Hemingway 4th Cir. 2013; United States v. Bailey 6th Cir. 2020; Rich v. United States 8th Cir. 1968; United States v. Scott 6th Cir. 1977; Motors Liquidation v. Allianz Del. Super. 2017 x2; In re Christian & Porter Aluminum 9th Cir. 1978; United States v. MacDonald E.D.N.C. 2014) - zero vessel or asbestos references among them. Supplemental '"DER-336"' (type=o) and '"Roy O. Hale"' bare-name queries were NOT completed: the fleet-wide pacing budget reported stand-down on controlled attempts (helper exit 2); per helper guidance no retry loop or unauthenticated bypass was used.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is the CourtListener opinion + RECAP docket indexes for the exact ship name (both 0 hits) plus the hull-number opinion index (14 false positives only). The 'DER-336' designation query and bare-name supplement were pacing-blocked at session end - a residual coverage gap, not part of the no-litigation reading. State-court filings, PACER-only records, and settled claims are outside CourtListener regardless. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - it proves no indexed opinion or docket names the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-10
-
[11]Batch-4239 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions (Wayback NHHC + hazegray); NavSource archive page (Wayback); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (OCR); uboat.net compiled record; NavalCoverMuseum wiki; GAO product page; NARA digitized deck-log inventory; NHHC Mediterranean Convoys publication; BVA/web sweeps; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-04 through sl-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-01 through sl-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-336/DER-336: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was sold for scrap in 1975, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for sister hull Stewart (DE-238). The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Roy O. Hale (DE-336) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull (asbestos-ships.com dedicated page; freeasbestostesting.com, shepardlawfirm.com, mesotheliomahelp.org enumerations) - 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 and the 1955-57 DER conversion both fall inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and sister-hull DE-238 carried documented asbestos. Digitized DER-era deck logs (NARA, ev-09), WWII deck logs (RG 24, Archives II), and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book) are unsurveyed leads. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-roy-o-hale-de336-11