Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]DANFS, Sturtevant I (DD-240), NHHC (verbatim transcription via hazegray DANFS mirror; live NHHC page returns 404; canonical history.navy.mil/danfs/s19/sturtevant-i.htm text confirmed against a 2004-05-04 Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Sturtevant I (DD-240)', specifications block and opening paragraph; Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/20040504181326/history.navy.mil/danfs/s19/sturtevant-i.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: first ship named Sturtevant, honoring Ensign Albert Dillon Sturtevant (First Yale Unit naval aviator, killed 15 February 1918 in a North Sea escort action, posthumous Navy Cross); Clemson class; specifications dp. 1,215; l. 314'4.5"; b. 30'10.5"; dr. 9'4"; s. 33.82 k. (trial); cpl. 122; armament 4 x 4-inch, 1 x 3-inch, 12 x 21-inch torpedo tubes. Laid down 23 November 1918 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Co.; launched 29 July 1920, sponsored by Mrs. Curtis Ripley Smith; commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 21 September 1920; Lt. Comdr. Ewart G. Haas assumed command 4 November 1920.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1920
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-20; commissioning crew (design complement 122)
- Limitations
- Documents identity, builder, class, and design specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page 404s (standing link rot); the hazegray verbatim transcription is the working citation, with text verified against the Wayback capture of the canonical NHHC page. NavSource's operational block reads 'launched July 29 1919' - the 1920 launch is carried per DANFS and NHHC-dated construction photos (still on the ways 1 June 1920); the conflict is in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-01
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[2]DANFS, Sturtevant I (DD-240), service narrative (European Waters, Black Sea relief, interwar fleet, two inactivations) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, paragraphs 2-9
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS service narrative for this hull: departed New York 30 November 1920 for U.S. Naval Forces European Waters; Adriatic base Spalato December 1920-June 1921; Constantinople detachment with Black Sea operations; flew Admiral Bristol's flag 25 October-28 November 1921; surveyed American Relief Administration relief ports in southern Russia (Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Theodosia, Yalta) February-April 1922 and ran Black Sea relief voyages; overhauled at the New York Navy Yard July-October 1922; seven further months in the eastern Mediterranean; back at the New York Navy Yard 12 June 1923; flagship of Division 41, Squadron 14, Scouting Fleet from late December 1923; Panama Canal transits 1924, January 1925, January 1926; joint Army-Navy war problem off Oahu April-June 1925; Atlantic Fleet DesDiv 41/DesRon 14 routine 1926-1931 (summers Atlantic coast, winters Caribbean/Gulf; Charleston assigned home port fall 1930); decommissioned Philadelphia 30 January 1931; recommissioned Philadelphia 9 March 1932; Special Service Squadron, Coco Solo, April 1932-early 1934 supporting Marines ashore in Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba; Scouting Force destroyers homeported Norfolk from 1934; reassigned to the Battle Force (Pacific) latter half of 1935; decommissioned 20 November 1935 after operating out of San Diego.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1920-1935
- Population
- Interwar crew, 1920-1935 (design complement 122); yard trades during documented overhauls/inactivations
- Limitations
- Documents service history and the documented yard periods (New York Navy Yard overhaul July-October 1922; Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation/recommissioning 1931-32). DANFS does not describe materials removed or installed in any yard period and does not establish asbestos work or exposure. Decommissioning location for 20 November 1935 is implied as San Diego by the narrative sequence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-02
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[3]DANFS, Sturtevant I (DD-240), final narrative (1939 recommissioning, escort duty, sinking, striking) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, final paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS final narrative for this hull: recommissioned 26 September 1939; by mid-1940 in the Atlantic escorting convoys and conducting neutrality patrols out of Norfolk until early March 1942; escorted a convoy New York to the Canal Zone, then reported to Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, screening convoys between Caribbean ports until late April. On 26 April 1942, departing Key West in company with a convoy, a violent explosion lifted her stern about two hours out of port; believing herself under submarine attack she dropped two depth-charge barrages; a second detonation rocked the ship about a minute after the second barrage and she settled rapidly on an even keel; a third burst ripped her keel apart beneath the after deckhouse. The midships section sank immediately, the stern soon after; the bow remained above water several hours. 'Probably the victim of a mine,' she went down off Key West about eight miles north of Marquesas Key; fifteen of her ship's company were lost. Struck from the Navy list 8 May 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1939-1942
- Population
- Final crew - 15 lost; survivors' count unstated in DANFS (dive literature reads 152 survived, implying ~167 aboard - unverified)
- Limitations
- Documents the loss and striking; not materials or asbestos content. DANFS is deliberately qualified ('probably the victim of a mine'); the finding that the field was American-laid rests on NavSource and secondary literature. No battle stars are listed in this DANFS entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-03
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[4]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index, 'DD-240 USS STURTEVANT' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-240 index page, specs/operational-data block, fate line, CO list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource photo/data index for this hull: Clemson class 'As Built'; displacement 1,215 tons; dimensions 314'5" oa x 31'8" x 9'10" max; armament 4 x 4"/50, 1 x 3"/23AA, 12 x 21" torpedo tubes; machinery 26,500 SHP, geared turbines, 2 screws; speed 35 knots; crew 114; flag hoist NUJP; laid down by New York Shipbuilding 23 November 1918 (yard hull 229 per NHHC photo caption); launched July 29 (listed 1919 in the operational block - a conflict); commissioned 21 September 1920; decommissioned 30 January 1931 / recommissioned 9 March 1932; decommissioned 20 November 1935 / recommissioned 26 September 1939. Fate line: 'Struck mine and sank off Key West Fla. April 26 1942. It was an American-laid minefield and no one on board was notified of the field's location in the area. 15 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on duty.' Commanding-officer list ends with LT Claude Lee Weigle (9 December 1941 - 26 April 1942). Photo captions identify NHHC images NH 43000, NH 43003, NH 43005, NH 43007, NH 43008 (construction at New York Shipbuilding through 1 June 1920), NH 72403, NH 64549.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1942
- Population
- Crew 1920-1942
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained compilation of official data, not a primary record - corroborated by DANFS on class, dates, and fate; machinery detail, the NYSB yard-hull number, the CO list, and the American-minefield determination rest on NavSource/secondary. 'Crew 114' conflicts with DANFS 122. The block's 'launched July 29 1919' conflicts with DANFS and with NavSource's own NHHC-dated captions showing the ship still under construction 15 November 1919 and 1 June 1920 - carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-04
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[5]NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch mandate (management of Navy sunken military craft) + secondary dive literature on the wreck site (Barnette, Florida's Shipwrecks 2008, as cited in reference listings; regional dive-site databases) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS final paragraph (loss position); secondary dive-site listings (coords ~24.764 N, -82.020 W); NHHC UAB program description
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Wreck status for this hull: the ship went down about eight miles north of Marquesas Keys off Key West (DANFS) and the wreck is documented in secondary dive literature as lying in two sections in approximately 60-65 ft of water at roughly 24 deg 45.9' N, 82 deg 01.2' W, a recognized dive and fishing site. As a sunken U.S. Navy vessel it remains Navy property under the Sunken Military Craft Act framework administered by NHHC's Underwater Archaeology Branch. Fifteen crew remain entombed with the wreck ('lost with the ship... remain on duty' per NavSource).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-present
- Population
- 15 crew lost with the ship (war grave); contemporary divers/fishers
- Limitations
- Wreck condition, section count, depth, and coordinates come from secondary dive literature, not a government survey - NOAA's AWOIS service is retired and no official wreck-survey record for this hull was located. SMCA/NHHC status is a general legal framework for all Navy sunken craft, not a hull-specific instrument; no disturbance, salvage, or hazmat survey of this wreck is documented in reviewed sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-05
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[6]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, STURTEVANT entries (RG 19) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index, STURTEVANT rows (NAIDs 53487903, 175670821; 153715000, 175670822, 153715135)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists STURTEVANT DD-240 in Record Group 19 under Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53487903) and Microfilm (NAID 175670821) - leads for hull-specific plans that may carry insulation and piping callouts. The index separately lists the second Sturtevant under DE-239 (Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings, NAID 153715000; Microfilm, NAID 175670822) and DER-239 (Hull series, NAID 153715135).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- holdings; not yet retrieved
- Limitations
- The index establishes holdings, not the contents of individual drawings; no Sturtevant drawing or material schedule was retrieved or reviewed, and the index is not evidence of asbestos aboard. DD-240 and DE-239/DER-239 are distinct hulls and must not be conflated in retrieval.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-06
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[7]U.S. Navy, 'USA - DD Wickes & Clemson Class Booklet of General Plans' (Navy Yard, Newport News, Virginia; booklet dated 1 October 1919; NARA File Unit 'Plans for Flush Deckers, 1789-1967'; digitized via ship-design-drawings collection on Internet Archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org item ddflushdeckersbogp1919 (PDF, 18 pp., 400 ppi)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Booklet of General Plans covering the Wickes and Clemson destroyer classes, dated 1 October 1919 - issued while this hull was on the building ways at Camden. An 18-page drawing set (outboard/inboard profiles, deck and platform plans) produced at Newport News Navy Yard; class-level general-arrangement documentation for the flush-deck design this hull was built to.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1919
- Population
- Navy Yard Newport News drafting trades, 1919 (document production)
- Limitations
- Class-level, not hull-specific: the booklet covers the Wickes/Clemson design generally and was produced at a different yard than Sturtevant's builder (New York Shipbuilding). Drawing sheets are image scans not OCR'd for material callouts; any insulation notes require sheet-level review not performed. No asbestos content was extracted or confirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-07
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[8]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; General Information Books; Cartographic Branch (S39/S48); Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA's research guide describes the asbestos-relevant Navy record series for the period: RG 19 Destroyer, Destroyer Escort, and Frigate General Information Books (Entry P 9, 1907-1961) and S39 insulation/lagging and S48 piping drawings among Ship Engineering Drawings; it states that deck logs and muster rolls provide no direct evidence of asbestos aboard ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- records coverage 1907-1961
- Limitations
- This is a research guide, not a Sturtevant material record. It establishes where to search and why service records are insufficient; it does not show that a Sturtevant GIB exists or that this ship contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-08
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[9]U.S. GAO, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (1979) [gao]
- Locator
- Product-page description (full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 1979 GAO review documents asbestos insulation policy and exposure concerns across Navy shipbuilding and repair, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. Program-level context for the Navy asbestos era generally.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- report 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workforce (program-level)
- Limitations
- GAO studied policy decades after this hull was lost in 1942 and did not examine this ship. It cannot establish this hull's materials, exposures, or repair work. gao.gov blocked automated full-text fetches in prior batch work; the product-page description is the working citation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-09
-
[10]NavSource machinery specifications for Sturtevant (26,500 SHP, geared turbines, 2 screws) + DANFS Clemson-class identification + Atlas shipyard dataset, New York Shipbuilding record (tier-1 yard with documented asbestos products) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-240 specs block; DANFS spec line; shipyards.json record 'new-york-shipbuilding' (yard_id verified 2026-09-27)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a 1918-20 New York Shipbuilding-built Clemson-class steam-plant destroyer with four boilers and geared turbines, overhauled at the New York Navy Yard (July-October 1922) and inactivated/recommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard (1931-32) and again inactivated 1935, was built and maintained in the period when asbestos thermal insulation on boilers, steam piping, and turbines and asbestos gaskets, packing, and fireproofing were standard Navy practice. Builder-yard corroboration exists: New York Shipbuilding is a tier-1 entry in the Atlas shipyard dataset with documented asbestos products (85% magnesia insulation, Pabco Caltemp block, Transite panels, gaskets, packing, asbestos-coated welding rods, wire insulation, felt insulation).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1918-1942
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-20; navy-yard overhaul/inactivation trades 1922, 1931-32, 1935; crew 1920-1942
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos finding exists for this hull, and none can postdate her April 1942 sinking. Construction-era materials inference for a 1918-20 hull is weaker than for WWII-built classes, and the yard dataset's product documentation derives largely from later-era findings that do not name this hull. Boiler type/count specifics beyond 'four boilers' are unverified for this hull; turbine manufacturer unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-10
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[11]CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep, 2026-09-27, via the fleet pacing helper (cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API type=o and type=r result sets
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener sweep complete: opinions 'USS Sturtevant' = 0 (no published opinion names the ship); dockets 'USS Sturtevant' = 0 (no indexed RECAP docket names the ship); opinions 'DD-240' = 0 and 'DD-240' + asbestos = 0; dockets 'DD-240' = 30, all name collisions on nature-of-suit metadata review across both result pages (document/Bates/exhibit identifiers in patent, contract, civil-rights, forfeiture, securities, bankruptcy, and habeas matters - no asbestos, admiralty, or maritime docket). Collision-control queries confirm the pattern: opinions 'Sturtevant' + asbestos = 14 (the B.F. Sturtevant Co. industrial-equipment defendant, carried as a CBS/Westinghouse successor-in-interest in MDL-875-era opinions - e.g., Constantinides v. CBS Corp., E.D. Pa. 2010, itself a USS Iowa exposure case - or party surnames; none references a vessel); opinions 'Sturtevant' + ship = 356 (company, surname, and Sturtevant-Wisconsin town collisions); dockets 'Sturtevant' + Navy = 198 (the same company-defendant surface). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull is findable by exact name or hull number in CourtListener's indexed opinion or RECAP docket text.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- Absence of indexed litigation does not prove no claim was ever filed - only that none is retrievable by name or hull number. 'Sturtevant' has a dual collision surface: the B.F. Sturtevant Co. asbestos defendant throughout the MDL-875 corpus, and the second USS Sturtevant (DE-239/DER-239, in service 1943-1960) for any post-April-1942 exposure window; a bare-name hit alleging exposure after mid-1943 would attach to DE-239/DER-239, not this hull. Docket-text matches are indexed strings; all 30 'DD-240' docket matches were classified by nature-of-suit metadata as non-maritime/non-asbestos and none required document-level pull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-11
-
[12]Batch-3238 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (hazegray mirror transcription + Wayback canonical check), NavSource, NARA Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, GAO HRD-80-2, Internet Archive class BoGP, Atlas shipyards cross-reference, NOAA wreck-database check, CourtListener API v4 sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sturtevant-dd240-01 through sl-uss-sturtevant-dd240-23
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case alleging exposure aboard DD-240 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was lost to mine action 26 April 1942, foreclosing post-service surveys, preservation records, or demolition/abatement documentation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1918-20 construction era is consistent with standard asbestos thermal insulation, but that is inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-dd240-12