Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet km-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced
- Evidence ID
- uss-stockdale-de399-pkt-km-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Stockdale II (DE-399), September 2015 edition (namesake, service narrative, one battle star; verbatim transcription via Tin Can Sailors destroyers.org - live NHHC page returns 404 and the HyperWar/ibiblio mirror lacks a de399 entry) + DANFS Stockdale I transcription via NavSource navsource.net/archives/09/86/86281.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Stockdale II (DE-399)', September 2015 edition, namesake paragraph + service narrative (destroyers.org/ships/de-399)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second ship named Stockdale (the DANFS 'second Stockdale' numbering reflects the Civil War predecessor documented in the same NavSource/DANFS archive - Tinclad No. 42, a sternwheel steamer purchased by the Navy 13 November 1863, commissioned as USS J. T. Stockdale 26 December 1863, renamed Stockdale, sold 24 August 1865); DE-399 named for Ens. Lewis Stevens Stockdale, USNR (born 20 September 1914 at Anaconda, Mont.; commissioned ensign 12 June 1941; reported to USS Oklahoma BB-37 19 July 1941; killed aboard Oklahoma in the Pearl Harbor attack 7 December 1941). Shakedown off Bermuda February [1944]; short yard period at Charleston, S.C., March; Norfolk; assigned Escort Division 58; sailed Norfolk 24 March with convoy UGS 37 (60 merchant ships, six LSTs) for North Africa - Luftwaffe bombing/torpedo attack 11 April off Algeria damaged no merchantman but torpedoed and badly damaged sister escort Holder (DE-401); two more Mediterranean convoys; returned with GUS 51 early October. From 22 October 1944 to May 1945, five round-trip convoy voyages to the United Kingdom and continent; last convoy ended at Brooklyn, N.Y., navy-yard overhaul for Pacific duty; Guantanamo gunnery exercises; Panama Canal 8 July; Pearl Harbor 25 July; training to end of August. Sailed for Honshu 1 September escorting carrier Matanikau (CVE-101); brief stay in Japanese waters; Guam weather-station ship; Admiralty Islands search for missing personnel; strategic bombing surveys at Rabaul; ordered east coast January 1946. Philadelphia 11 February for inactivation availability; Green Cove Springs 21 March, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; decommissioned 15 June 1946; struck from the Navy list 1 July 1972. One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted); Atlantic Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-1972
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription's build dates ('laid down 15 July 1942; launched 22 November 1942') duplicate sister hull Stewart's (DE-238) build dates and are contradicted by the contemporaneous BuShips Ships' Data 1945 roster and NavSource (keel 31 August 1943, launched 30 October 1943) - documented as a source error in ev-05 and gaps, correct dates carried. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim mirror transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels alphabetical roster, row 319 STOCKDALE (shipscribe.com scan; image page verified by direct read - book pp. 260-261) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 alphabetical DE roster, row 319 STOCKDALE DE399 (book pp. 260-261; shipscribe scan PDF p. 140)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull (alphabetical roster, row 319): STOCKDALE, official number DE399, design group FMR; builder shown by ditto marks under STEWART's 'Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.' entry; contract price $2,183,000; contract signed 7 August 1942; keel laid 31 August 1943; ship launched 30 October 1943; contract date of completion 12 February 1944; date of preliminary acceptance 31 December 1943; date of first commission 31 December 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding Co. construction trades, Houston, Tex., 1943
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. Builder cell is ditto-marked to the preceding Brown Shipbuilding entry rather than spelled out. Direct image read of the scanned spread used because OCR of the row drops fields.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels design-group table, group 4 / FMR (shipscribe.com scan; 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; 21 kt; machinery 4 Fairbanks-Morse model 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 6,000 shp, 2 shafts; boilers 'None'; 2 diesel ship's-service generators (100 kW, A.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 (85 hulls), not a per-hull material schedule - establishes plant type and accommodations, not insulation content or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-03
-
[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Stockdale (DE-399) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, flag hoist NHGV, photo captions; live navsource.org fetch failed - navsource.net mirror used) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/399.htm (fetched via navsource.net mirror) building-and-operational-data block + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: keel laid 31 August 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched and christened 30 October 1943, sponsor Mrs. L. C. Stockdale; commissioned 31 December 1943 at the Tennessee Coal and Iron Co. dock by Captain DeWitt C. Redgrave, representing Com8thND, Lcdr. R. W. Luther, USNR in command; arrived Philadelphia Navy Yard 11 February 1946 for inactivation availability; arrived Green Cove Springs 21 March 1946; decommissioned there 15 June 1946 after 2 years 6.5 months of service; struck from the NVR 1 July 1972; sunk as target off Florida 24 May 1974. Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star; World War II Victory Medal. Complement 8/201; call sign NHGV. Photo captions document: a 29 April 1945 war-diary excerpt (ammunition loading at Leonardo Piers, Earle, N.J.; moored alongside USS Vance DE-387 at Pier 36, Brooklyn - NARA photo 80-G-321857); hull nested in mothballs at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, winter 1972-spring 1973 (with ex-Hilbert DE-742, ex-Osberg DE-538, ex-Janssen DE-396); namesake biography noting the January 2016 DPAA identification of Ens. Stockdale's remains.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Wartime crew (NavSource complement 8 officers/201 enlisted); reserve-fleet and NISMF maintenance personnel 1946-1974
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS (except its build-date error) and the BuShips roster where they overlap. Contributed photo captions are unattributed detail (NISMF custody dates). No asbestos or materials information. Live navsource.org fetch failed; navsource.net mirror cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-04
-
[6]Source cross-check: DANFS Sept-2015 transcription (destroyers.org) vs. BuShips SDB 1945 roster row 319 (shipscribe.com scan) vs. NavSource operational data vs. Navypedia FMR class roster (navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_de_det_fmr.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 row 319 (PDF p.140) vs. destroyers.org/ships/de-399 DANFS text vs. navypedia FMR table row DE399
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Two documented source errors corrected by contemporaneous records. (1) The DANFS September 2015 transcription reads 'laid down on 15 July 1942; launched on 22 November 1942' - those are sister hull USS Stewart's (DE-238) build dates exactly (SDB roster row 318), and are contradicted for DE-399 by the contemporaneous BuShips roster row 319 (keel 31 August 1943, launched 30 October 1943), NavSource (31 August / 30 October 1943), and the Edsall-class roster (same dates); correct dates are carried in this record. (2) Navypedia's per-hull roster cell lists DE-399's builder as 'Consolidated, Orange' - contradicted by the BuShips roster ditto under 'Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.', DANFS, and NavSource, and by Navypedia's own page header block crediting Brown Shipbuilding with DE-382 through DE-401; Navypedia was not used for builder attribution. Navypedia's per-row fate cell ('stricken 8.1973') also diverges from the 1 July 1972 NVR strike date in DANFS/NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974 (events); 2026-09-28 (review)
- Limitations
- Correction rows document source discordance; they are not evidence of materials or asbestos conditions. The correct dates rest on the contemporaneous BuShips roster plus NavSource; the 1972-07-01 strike date on DANFS bracketed note + NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-05
-
[7]Brown Shipbuilding era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 design-group-4 machinery row (no boilers; F.M. diesel) + 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. uss-edsall-de129 ev-06 (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.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; crew 1943-46; reserve-fleet maintenance 1946-74
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-399 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 (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Tex.) is not in the Atlas shipyards dataset - no yard-level asbestos documentation is attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-06
-
[8]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 (citation verified in class-f gato-class profile and batch-4037 Edsall record, accessed 2026-09-16/28) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article_c2c77857, 27 Jul 2020
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a preserved Edsall-class sister hull built by the same yard: 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 a Brown Shipbuilding-built Edsall-class hull (DE-238) - class-level corroboration that Edsall-class construction from the same Houston yard 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: DE-238 is a museum ship with a museum-hull lifecycle DE-399 never had (DE-399 was sunk as a target in 1974). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as delivered/preserved; establishes nothing about DE-399's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-07
-
[9]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-399 (built 1943) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction.
- 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-stockdale-de399-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Stockdale' / 'DE-399' / 'Stockdale asbestos' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'USS Stockdale' type=o count=0, type=r count=1 (DDG-106 name collision); 'DE-399' type=o count=12 (all false positives); 'Stockdale asbestos' type=o count=10 (no vessel content)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion sweep '"USS Stockdale"' (type=o): 0 hits. Docket sweep '"USS Stockdale"' (type=r): 1 hit - California Marine Cleaning, Inc. v. United States, No. 3:22-cv-00741 (S.D. Cal., filed 2022-05-24, terminated 2025-01-14), a Suits in Admiralty Act personal-property action by a marine-cleaning contractor against the United States: the subject vessel is the San Diego-homeported USS Stockdale DDG-106 (commissioned 2009); DE-399 was sunk as a target in 1974 and cannot be the subject of a 2022 ship-cleaning dispute - name collision, non-qualifying. Hull-number sweep '"DE-399"' (type=o): 12 hits, all unrelated-case false positives ('DE 399'/'DE-399' docket-entry citations and number-string collisions inside unrelated opinions - Roberts v. Gordy (copyright), Boca Raton Community Hospital v. Tenet (antitrust), Hirras v. Amtrak (FELA), United States v. Mathur (criminal), two 1930s Puerto Rico Supreme Court opinions predating the hull's construction, and similar); zero vessel or asbestos references. Supplemental 'Stockdale asbestos' (type=o): 10 hits, none containing 'Stockdale' in returned case names or snippets - full-text surname/term collisions only - non-qualifying.
- Verification
- verified
- 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 only; state-court dockets not mirrored, PACER-only filings, and settled/undocketed claims are outside it. 'No result' does not prove no claim was ever filed - it proves no indexed opinion or qualifying docket names the hull. DE-399's out-of-service date (1946) predates the asbestos-litigation era, and the name collides with the 1863 tinclad, DDG-106 (the 2022 docket hit), and the Stockdale surname.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stockdale-de399-09
-
[11]Batch-4298 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource archive page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (image-verified); GAO product page; NARA digitized deck-log inventory; general web sweep; CourtListener sweeps (see sl-05 through sl-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-stockdale-de399-01 through sl-uss-stockdale-de399-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-399: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, museum documentation, or docketed asbestos claim exists for this hull - it was sunk as a target off Florida in May 1974, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for sister hull Stewart (DE-238), and the sunken wreck cannot be surveyed. The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Stockdale DE-399 in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull - non-authoritative and excluded by batch rules. No pre-sinking environmental or hazmat preparation record for the 1974 target sinking was located.
- 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 falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and same-yard sister DE-238 carried documented asbestos. Deck logs (RG 24) and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book) at NARA are unsurveyed leads; DE-399 logs are not in the digitized inventory. 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-stockdale-de399-10