Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet jz-packet.md (26 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS *Stadtfeld* — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Stadtfeld (loaded page, L20), https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/6547911/ (loaded DANFS-text mirror, L8)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-stadtfeld-de29-pkt-jz-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Stadtfeld (DE-29), Vol. 6 p.597 (namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, striking and disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Stadtfeld' (DE-29), namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: namesake Lt. Sanford Stadtfeld, USNR (b. San Francisco 18 June 1917; ensign USNR 10 July 1939; Naval Reserve Training Base San Francisco; yacht ARGUS PY-14; salvage ship CRUSADER ARS-2; heavy cruiser PENSACOLA CA-24; promoted lieutenant 15 June 1942; killed in action at the Battle of Tassafaronga 30 November 1942). Specifications: dp. 1,140; l. 289'5"; dr. 8'3"; s. 21.5 k.; cpl. 198; a. 3 3", 4 40mm, 9 20mm, 8 dcp, 2 dct, 1 hedgehog; cl. Evarts. Laid down for the United Kingdom as BDE-29 on 26 November 1942 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.; launched 17 May 1943; Royal Navy assignment cancelled and redesignated DE-29 on 16 June 1943; commissioned 26 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Sigurd Hansen, USNR, in command. Service: sailed 31 October 1943 for Hawaii (Pearl Harbor 10 November); screened fueling units to Funafuti and Espiritu Santo; Gilbert Islands operation; departed Funafuti for Tarawa 18 December 1943, rerouted en route to Pearl Harbor; sortied 16 January 1944 as a screening unit of TU 58.2.1 for the Marshall Islands conquest, operating out of Majuro until 12 February; departed Pearl Harbor 2 March for Funafuti, rerouted to Guadalcanal; escort duty between the Solomons and the Admiralty, Russell, and New Hebrides Islands until 1 May (Emirau 30 March; Green Island 13 April); tender availability at Espiritu Santo; resumed Solomons escort duty; routed to Manus 22 September 1944; Palau Islands October-mid-November; Guam; convoys to Kossol Roads, Manus, and Eniwetok; 12 February 1945 escort for an Eniwetok-Iwo Jima convoy, arrived Iwo Jima 13 March, returned via Saipan; Marshall-Caroline escort duty until 6 July; routed via Pearl Harbor to Mare Island for overhaul, availability beginning 20 July; all work stopped 16 August 1945 after the termination of hostilities; decommissioned at Mare Island 15 November 1945; struck from the Navy list 28 November 1945; sold for scrap July 1947. Four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 198); yard workers at Mare Island (1945 availability) and Kwajalein (1945 drydocking)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (standing link-rot note from BATCH-01); losthistory.net/hazegray verbatim transcription (Vol. 6, p.597, transcribed by Michael Hansen) cited. DANFS spec figures conflict with class data elsewhere (draft 8'3" vs 11'0"; speed 21.5 vs 19 kt) - carried in gaps. Decommissioning date (15 November 1945) conflicts with NavSource building data (10 November) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-01
-
[3]USS Stadtfeld (DE-29) war-end history submission to the Secretary of the Navy, 'HISTORY OF U.S.S. STADTFELD (DE-29)' (letter serial DE29/A12/jef, 26 September 1945, ref Alpac 202; routing stamp received 4 October 1945; signed by direction, A.D. Skillman, Jr.) - scan of the official document hosted by NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-29 page, 'War History' scan (06029wh.jpg) - forwarding letter (DE29/A12/jef, 26 Sept 1945) + two-page enclosure narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary ship-submitted history for this hull: 'U.S.S. STADTFELD (DE-29) was built at Mare Island Navy Yard, Mare Island, California, and was commissioned there on August 26, 1943 with Lt. Comdr. Sigurd HANSEN, USNR, Commanding.' Sailed for Pearl Harbor 31 October 1943 (arrived 10 November); screened fueling units Pearl Harbor-Funafuti-Espiritu Santo; Gilbert Island operation (departed Funafuti for Tarawa 18 December 1943, rerouted, returned to Pearl Harbor 23 December); Hansen relieved 31 December 1943 by Lt. C.D. Feak; assigned TU 58.2.1 for the Marshall Island Operations 16 January 1944, Majuro until 12 February 1944; routed toward Funafuti 2 March 1944, orders changed en route to Guadalcanal; escort duty Solomons-Admiralty-Russell-New Hebrides (Emirau 30 March; Green Island 13 April 1944); six-day overhaul period at Espiritu Santo; Lt. H.V. Richard relieved Feak 16 April 1944; convoy escort out of Port Purvis, Florida Island; assigned T.F. 11 on 14 June 1944; routed to Manus 22 September 1944, reassigned to the Third Fleet; operational control to C.T.F. 57 on 15 October 1944; Palau Islands until 16 November 1944 (escorting Peleliu-Kossol Roads, screening off Peleliu and Angaur); via Ulithi Atoll to Guam; C.T.U. 94.6.7 convoys Guam-Eniwetok-Manus-Kossol Roads; transferred to C.T.G. 96.3 at Eniwetok 12 February 1945 and sent to Kwajalein Atoll for drydocking for repairs to the starboard shaft and main engine bearings; designated escort for Eniwetok-Iwo Jima convoy No. 2, arrived Iwo Jima 13 March, returned via Saipan to C.T.G. 96.3; Richard relieved 13 June 1945 by Lt. Comdr. A.E. Allen, Jr.; Marshalls-Western Carolines escort until 6 July 1945; routed via Pearl Harbor to Mare Island Navy Yard for overhaul, scheduled availability beginning 20 July 1945; all yard work ceased 16 August 1945; moved to the Sperry Flour Mill docks, Vallejo, 4 September 1945 for disposition by C.N.O.; to U.S. Naval Advanced Base Personnel Depot, Tiburon, 12 September 1945; Allen relieved 24 September 1945 by Lt. A.D. Skillman, Jr.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew during operations described; yard workers at Kwajalein (February 1945 drydocking) and Mare Island (July-August 1945 availability)
- Limitations
- Official ship-submitted summary (a SecNav filing) - a primary source for this hull's movements, availabilities, and command history; it does not discuss materials or asbestos. It independently documents the Kwajalein drydocking (starboard shaft and main engine bearings, February 1945) and the Mare Island inactivation sequence (work ceased 16 August; Sperry Flour Mill docks 4 September; Tiburon personnel depot 12 September) that DANFS compresses. Scan hosted on a private archive site (NavSource); the underlying document is an official government submission.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010, April 1945; declassified 28 September 1967), Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE) roster, entry 314: STADTFELD [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf, Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE) roster spread, book pp. 260-261, entry 314 (STADTFELD)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous BuShips roster entry for this hull (book pp. 260-261, roster entry 314): 'STADTFELD....DE29 | GMT | Navy Yard, Mare Island | contract price of hull and machinery 1,649,400 dollars | contract signed Nov. 1, 1941 | keel laid Nov. 26, 1942 | ship launched May 17, 1943 | date of first commission Aug. 26, 1943.' Independently confirms the GMT (diesel-electric tandem) design group, builder, contract date and price, keel date, launch date, and first-commission date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1943 (data); April 1945 (publication)
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43
- Limitations
- Confirms design group, builder, contract data, and key dates - the roster carries no materials or insulation data. Contract-signed and contract-price fields describe the Mare Island Navy Yard DE block, not a commercial contract. Volume cited via shipscribe.com mirror of the declassified 1945 edition; image-only scan (no text layer) - entry verified by page-level inspection.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-03
-
[5]NavSource DE-29 class/specification block (Evarts class, GMT type: 'diesel-electric tandem motor drive, short hull'; propulsion '4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws') + Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol. 1946;28(1):9-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-29 specifications block; Fleischer et al. 1946 (bibliographic citation; digitized copy not fetched)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: this hull was an Evarts-class destroyer escort built 1942-43 with a diesel-electric plant (four GM 16-278A diesels with electric drive, 6,000 shp - no boilers or steam system). A WWII Navy diesel-electric escort would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to that plant type - exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and deck coverings - while the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply. The contemporaneous Fleischer/Viles/Gade/Drinker survey (WWII-era naval-vessel construction, published 1946) documented asbestos pipe-covering operations across Navy and contract yards as standard practice.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (construction/operations); 1942-46 (era hygiene literature)
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45 (DANFS design complement 198)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. Machinery specifics are class-design data (NavSource; the DANFS spec block for this hull carries dimensions, speed, complement, and armament only). The 1946 survey anonymized its yards and does not name this hull; it establishes era practice, not installation aboard DE-29. Does not quantify asbestos, establish crew exposure, or speak to legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-04
-
[6]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' (evidence tier 2) - documented asbestos products include Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, Gold Bond, Super 66, pump/valve packing, gaskets, bonnet insulation, refractory materials; Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260 (2010) documents a Mare Island welder's mesothelioma (exposure 1976-1994) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Yard-level documentation for the yard where this hull was built and inactivated: builder and 1945-overhaul/inactivation yard Mare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo) is a tier-2 asbestos-documented yard in the Atlas dataset. DE-29's construction (contract signed November 1941, keel November 1942) and 1945 availability fall within the documented asbestos era for the yard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard workers during 1942-43 construction and July-August 1945 availability
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings only - no work order, specification, or survey ties Mare Island asbestos products to this hull's specific construction or availabilities; the Collins exposure dates (1976-1994) postdate this hull by three decades. Yard tier reflects the dataset's yard-level documentation, not conditions aboard DE-29. Establishes builder/inactivation context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - all GMT-design hulls (built 1942-45) fall inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only. Full text not retrieved (HTTP 403); content via product-page description. Does not name this hull or any specific vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-06
-
[8]NARA holdings for this hull: the war-end history submission itself (DE29/A12/jef file, 26 September 1945, received 4 October 1945 - the document scanned at NavSource 06029wh.jpg); Navy photographs 80-G-70709 (launch, 17 May 1943) and Mare Island series DE-29-3633-43 and DE-29-4843-43 (launch guests; outfitting berth, July 1943); RG 24 deck logs for DE-29; RG 19 Bureau of Ships 'Booklet of General Plans' per-hull series [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (deck logs, RG 24); archives.gov/research/cartographic/ship-plans (RG 19 plans); NavSource photo captions citing U.S. Navy Photo 80-G-70709 (National Archives) and Mare Island yard numbers
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material/work documentation: (a) DE-29 deck logs (RG 24, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations) document availabilities and yard periods including the February 1945 Kwajalein drydocking and July-August 1945 Mare Island availability; (b) the ship's war history submission exists in the Secretary of the Navy files (DE29/A12/jef), already located in scan form via NavSource; (c) Navy launch/outfitting photographs (80-G-70709; DE-29-3633-43; DE-29-4843-43) are cataloged to NARA; (d) a per-hull Booklet of General Plans or Evarts-class engineering drawings in RG 19 would record machinery and insulation-spec callouts. NARA catalog search was inconclusive in-session; retrieval not performed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945 records
- Limitations
- Leads only - deck logs log events and yard periods but rarely identify materials; plan-booklet existence for DE-29 specifically is unverified. No asbestos content is asserted from these holdings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py) - opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) searches for '"USS Stadtfeld"', '"Stadtfeld"', and '"DE-29"' [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-stadtfeld-de29-05 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation naming this hull located in completed queries. CourtListener opinion index: '"USS Stadtfeld"' = 0 hits. '"Stadtfeld"' = 2,297 opinion hits, all surname collisions on review of the result set (Stadtfeld v. Stadtfeld, 920 P.2d 662 (Wyo. 1996) - a divorce/relocation-custody precedent driving most hits - plus People v. Stadtfeld (Mich. 2007), Stadtfeld v. Illinois cert denials (SCOTUS 1998), Commonwealth v. Stadtfeld (Pa. Super. 1995), Stadtfeld Estate (Pa. 1948), Stadtfeld v. Huntsman (Pa. 1880)); none vessel-related or asbestos-capable. '"Stadtfeld"' docket index = 58 dockets / 354 documents, all surname collisions (Ch. 7/13 bankruptcies, Stadtfeld v. Barnhart SSID review (W.D. Pa. 2008), Stadtfeld v. Janssen R&D (pharma)); none vessel-related. Hull-number '"DE-29"' queries and residual phrasing variants remained blocked by fleet-wide request pacing at record time (see ledger sl-08).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep partially completed 2026-09-28 under intermittent fleet pacing: both 'Stadtfeld' name indexes (opinions + RECAP dockets) and '"USS Stadtfeld"' opinions completed with no qualifying hit; the '"DE-29"' hull-number queries (high-collision by nature) and phrasing variants did not complete. Not a trial-level finding for any vessel - it establishes only that no docketed opinion or indexed RECAP docket surfaced naming USS Stadtfeld or Stadtfeld as a vessel. Absence of a docket hit does not prove no claim was ever asserted; asbestos lawsuits naming hulls are a small subset of filed cases.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-08
-
[10]Batch-4207 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; hazegray/losthistory transcription Vol. 6 p.597); ship's war-end history submission (NavSource scan of SecNav filing DE29/A12/jef); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. I DE roster entry 314 (shipscribe mirror); NavSource building/specification data; Atlas shipyards.json yard records; CourtListener sweep (see ledger); law-firm ship-list pages (excluded by source rule) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-stadtfeld-de29-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-29: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, or confirmed docketed litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrapping in July 1947, so no museum-phase or layberth hazmat record can exist. A generic asbestos claim for 'USS Stadtfeld' exists on at least one law-firm marketing page (asbestos-ships.com) - boilerplate ship-list content with no cited source, excluded per source rules.
- 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 are consistent with a 1942-43 diesel-electric escort, and the hull's 1947 destruction forecloses modern survey evidence. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stadtfeld-de29-09
