Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet crew-manus-a-packet.md (9 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Steele
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-steele-de8-pkt-crew-manus-a-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Steele (DE-8) (namesake, builder, full service narrative, decommission/striking, battle stars; live NHHC page verified serving complete text 2026-09-29, published 2016-04-05; Wayback capture 20240718105921 corroborates) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + namesake paragraph + service narrative (history.navy.mil live page; Wayback capture 20240718105921)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Steele (DE-8), ex-BDE-8, laid down 'on 27 January 1942' by the Navy Yard, Boston, Mass. - date contradicted by both the NPS Charlestown yard table and the BuShips Ships' Data 1945 roster (row 316), which read keel laid November 27, 1942 (see ev-02, ev-03; 1942-11-27 carried). Launched 9 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. John Steele; commissioned 4 May 1943, Lt. Cmdr. Mark E. Dennett in command. Shakedown Bermuda (departed Boston 25 May, returned 27 June); departed 6 July 1943 for the Pacific via Society and Tonga islands; Noumea 10 August; escorted merchant ships and transports among the New Hebrides, Fiji, and Solomons until 13 December 1943; repairs at Mare Island, Calif., arrived 3 January 1944, departed for Hawaii one month later; Pearl Harbor 9 February; Marshalls escort/patrol (Majuro from 22 February) including a fueling rendezvous with TF 58 carriers striking Marcus and Wake; bombarded Lele Harbor, Kusaie Island, 5 June; escorted Chandeleur (AV-10) to the Marianas, antisubmarine screen off Saipan 26 June; hunter-killer group centered on Hoggatt Bay (CVE-75) in Halsey's Western Carolines Forces from 21 August; supported the Peleliu assault patrolling Peleliu-Mindanao; 3 October assisted Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) in the attack that sank Japanese submarine I-364 (Miles's hedgehog patterns killed it; Steele made runs but could not regain contact); Manus 9-13 October; on 20 October rendezvoused with damaged Houston (CL-81) and Canberra (CA-70) off Formosa and protected them two days; Ulithi 27 October; Palau operations to 8 January 1945; Pearl Harbor one month; escorted among Eniwetok, Saipan, Ulithi, and Guam, Apra Harbor from 5 May to 18 September 1945; San Pedro 5 October; inspection 23 October recommended scrapping; decommissioned 21 November 1945; struck from the Navy list 5 December 1945; two battle stars for WWII. Specs block: 1,140 tons; 289'5"; 35'2"; 11'; cpl 198; 3x3", 4 40mm, 9 20mm, 2 dct, 8 dcp, 1 dcp(hh); class Evarts. Namesake Pvt. John M. Steele, USMC (b. Bruno, Minn., 24 August 1920; enlisted 29 December 1941), Marine Detachment aboard Lexington (CV-2), killed Battle of the Coral Sea 8 May 1942, commended for remaining at his antiaircraft battery and extinguishing an ammunition fire.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 198)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, namesake, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Its 'laid down on 27 January 1942' conflicts with two contemporaneous official records (NPS yard table and Ships' Data roster, both 1942-11-27) and is treated as a documented defect, not reconciled silently. Decommissioning reads 21 November 1945; NavSource's 19 November conflicts and is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-01
-
[3]NPS / Boston National Historical Park, Stephen P. Carlson, 'Ships Built by the Charlestown Navy Yard' (2005) - ships-built table entry for USS Steele (DE-8) and appendix cross-reference 'No Name (BDE-8), see Steele' [nps]
- Locator
- Ships Built table, Steele row (DE-8), and appendix listing 'No Name (BDE-8), see Steele' (transferred-vessel names section)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NPS Boston NHP publication, ships-built table: 'Steele / Escort Vessel / DE-8 / Keel Laid 1942 Nov 27 / Launched 1943 Jan 9 / Commissioned 1943 May 4 / Ex-BDE-8 (1943); sold 1946.' Establishes the official laid-down date 27 November 1942 - correcting DANFS's '27 January 1942' - confirms the builder yard and the BDE-8 Lend-Lease provenance (laid down for Britain, retained by the United States), and records sale in 1946. Appendix cross-reference: 'No Name (BDE-8), see Steele.' The author's note states the table derives from Records of the Boston Naval Shipyard and the Charlestown Navy Yard Photograph Collection as well as DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43
- Limitations
- Yard-history table confirms builder, official build dates, BDE-8 provenance, and sale year; carries no materials or asbestos information. Its 'sold 1946' is consistent with NHHC Online Library's 'sold for scrap in December 1946' and conflicts with NavSource's 1947 - gap carried. PDF served via GPO PURL (the original nps.gov parkhistory URL now redirects to a generic page).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010, issued 15 April 1945; downgraded Restricted 5 Jan 1946, declassified 28 Sept 1967) - Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE) roster, row 316, internal pp. 260-261 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-010 Vol. I, 'Destroyer-Escort Vessels (DE)' roster, internal pp. 260-261, row 316 (STEELE); shipscribe.com image scan
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster entry for this hull (DE section alphabetical roster, row 316): 'STEELE | DE8 | GMT | Navy Yard, Boston | 1,824,300 | Nov. 1, 1941 | Nov. 27, 1942 | Jan. 9, 1943 | -- | -- | May 4, 1943' - i.e., DE-8, propulsion group GMT (General Motors Tandem diesel-electric drive designation), built by Navy Yard Boston, contract price $1,824,300 signed 1 November 1941, keel laid 27 November 1942, launched 9 January 1943, no contract-completion or preliminary-acceptance date entered, and 'Date of first commission' recorded as 4 May 1943. Independently confirms the NPS keel date against DANFS's error.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (publication); contract data 1941-43
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous record documents propulsion GROUP (GMT = diesel-electric), builder, contract data, and build/commission dates - no materials or asbestos information. The volume is an image-only scan (OCR'd locally for this read); the GMT group designation is official, but the specific engine model (4xGM 16-278A, ~6,000 shp) still rests on secondary compilations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-03
-
[5]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USN Ships - USS Steele (DE-8), 1943-1946, picture-data page (verbatim Naval Historical Center transcription, dated 14 March 1999; live NHHC photo pages generally serve 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library 'USN Ships - USS Steele (DE-8)' picture-data page incl. photo 80-G-K-5987 caption (ibiblio mirror)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Naval Historical Center summary of this hull: 'a 1140-ton Evarts class escort ship, ... built at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts. Commissioned in May 1943 ... operated in the south and central Pacific on escort and anti-submarine duties. She was present when USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) sank a Japanese submarine on 3 October 1944. ... decommissioned in November 1945. She was sold for scrap in December 1946.' Sole NHHC image: photo 80-G-K-5987 (color), 'Loss of USS Indianapolis, July 1945 - USS Tranquillity (AH-14) arrives at Guam, carrying survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 8 August 1945. The bow of USS Steele (DE-8) is in the foreground. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew at Guam, August 1945
- Limitations
- NHC summary and photo caption document identity, service summary, disposal statement ('sold for scrap in December 1946'), and the hull's presence at Guam on one date - no materials, machinery, or asbestos information. The December 1946 sale month is an official-source statement but names no buyer; NavSource's 1947 sale year conflicts and is carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited; the page notes this is the NHC's only view of the ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-04
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[6]DANFS build record (Navy Yard Boston) + Ships' Data 1945 GMT designation + Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945 escort-vessel compilation (diesel-electric tandem-motor drive, 6,000 h.p.) + Atlas shipyard dataset: boston-naval-shipyard record (tier-3 asbestos-era yard) and mare-island-naval-shipyard record (tier-2 yard; January 1944 repair touchpoint) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS narrative + Ships' Data row 316 + Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45 DE-8 page; shipyards.json records 'boston-naval-shipyard' and 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: an Evarts-class destroyer escort completed 1942-43 in a U.S. Navy yard would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-electric ship - exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck/bulkhead coverings - but no boilers or steam-line lagging, the largest asbestos categories of steam ships; builder Boston Naval Shipyard is documented as a tier-3 asbestos-era yard in the Atlas dataset (yard-level John Crane gasket/sealing litigation record; 1943 peak employment 50,128), and the 3 January-February 1944 Mare Island repair period adds a second documented yard touchpoint (tier-2 yard with extensive yard-level ACM product documentation: Unibestos, Kaylo, Marinite, Transite, Careytemp, gaskets, packing, refractories).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1942-43; Mare Island repair workforce 1944; wartime crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No primary source names asbestos materials aboard this hull; the diesel-electric GMT ('short hull') plant designation is official via Ships' Data row 316, while the engine model detail (4xGM 16-278A, ~6,000 shp, 2 screws) rests on secondary compilations (see gaps). Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-05
-
[7]Batch-4541 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live page; NPS Charlestown yard history; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 roster (locally OCR'd); NHHC Online Library picture-data page; Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45 compilation; NARA catalog API; National Museum of the Pacific War ArchivesSpace; NVR detail page; NavSource compilation review; CourtListener exact-name, phrase-variant, asbestos-context, and hull-number queries (type=o and type=r) via cl-auth-search.py [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-steele-de8-01 through sl-uss-steele-de8-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-8: no hull ACM survey, abatement contract, disposal hazmat disclosure, museum document, or docketed case naming USS Steele (DE-8) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrapping in December 1946 - decades before the Navy's asbestos-control programs and before modern hazmat documentation existed - so this negative finding is expected rather than probative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 Navy-yard build is era-consistent with asbestos use, but no primary source names materials on this hull. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-06
-
[8]Center for Pacific War Studies / National Museum of the Pacific War, ArchivesSpace record: 'U.S.S. Steele (DE-8) Unit Histories, 1945' (Box AR00059, Folder 9, Robert C. Horch Collection 000083) - manuscript and printed copy of 'Pacific Odyssey: A History of USS Steele (DE-8)' by Lt. (jg) Frank W. Bates, plus scrapbook and 'Brief History of U.S.S. Steele (DE-8)' cruise book; open for research + NARA holdings leads: RG 24 WWII deck logs; RG 19 BuShips General Information Books / plan records [other_primary]
- Locator
- ArchivesSpace record AR00059 Folder 9 (pacificwarmuseum.libraryhost.com); NARA RG 24 / RG 19 series descriptions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level records: a verified, cataloged collection exists for this hull - the Robert C. Horch Collection (National Museum of the Pacific War) holds the original manuscript and printed copy of 'Pacific Odyssey: A History of USS Steele (DE-8)' written by ship's officer Lt. (jg) Frank W. Bates, plus a Steele cruise book and scrapbook (1945, open for research). Not yet retrieved and contents unexamined; a crew-authored unit history is a plausible source for shipboard work/condition detail. Separately: DE-8's wartime deck logs should sit in NARA RG 24; per-hull material and machinery specifications may exist in RG 19 General Information Books or BuShips plan files.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- The NMPW collection's existence is catalog-verified but its contents are unexamined - it may or may not carry materials-relevant detail; NARA series existence is documented but DE-8-specific content within them is unconfirmed. NARA catalog API returned the JS catalog shell (key-gated) during this session, so RG 24 item-level identification was not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search, 2026-09-29, via fleet-authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py: "USS Steele" type=o (0); "USS Steele" type=r (0 dockets/0 docs); "aboard the Steele" OR "aboard USS Steele" type=o (0); Steele asbestos type=o (4,078); Steele asbestos type=r (8,935 dockets/21,291 docs); "DE-8" type=o (2,527); "DE-8" type=r (12,127 dockets/14,904 docs) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-steele-de8-06 through sl-uss-steele-de8-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep for this hull completed 2026-09-29: zero published opinions, zero RECAP dockets, and zero 'aboard'-phrase hits for the exact ship name "USS Steele". The 4,078 'Steele asbestos' opinion hits and 8,935 'Steele asbestos' dockets are surname/text collisions - the returned sets are generic asbestos litigation (MDL-875 member cases, trust/coverage disputes, state PI suits) where 'Steele' matches a litigant, attorney, or judge; the top asbestos-PI docket hits are plaintiffs surnamed Steele (e.g., Lester Steele v. Owens-Corning Fiberg, D. Colo. 1:87-cv-01486, filed 1987, terminated 1990 - a person-name case against insulation manufacturers, no vessel reference). Hull-number queries return pure identifier noise: the 2,527 '"DE-8"' opinion hits are Puerto Rico docketing/document-code collisions and the 12,127 '"DE-8"' dockets are PACER docket-entry numbering noise (e.g., 'DE-8' as a defense-exhibit label). NO asbestos case and no vessel reference of any kind names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep establishes only what CourtListener indexes on 2026-09-29 - state-court pleadings and unadjudicated matters are incompletely indexed; MDL-875 member-docket text is not hull-searchable in all cases; the multi-thousand-count surname and 'DE-8' sets are pattern-verified by caption/result-type review of the returned sets, not audited end-to-end. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Fleet-wide pacing delayed queries ~65 minutes (04:53-06:02); all seven queries landed via the authenticated helper on a paced retry driver (5-minute spacing).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-steele-de8-08