Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Sturtevant II (DE-239) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative, DER conversion, striking and sale; live NHHC page returns 404 - Wayback capture 2024-05-25 cited; verbatim transcription corroborated by Tin Can Sailors destroyers.org, citing DANFS September 2015) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, namesake paragraph + service narrative (Wayback capture 2024-05-25 of history.navy.mil sturtevant-ii.html; destroyers.org/ships/de-239/ transcription citing DANFS Sept. 2015)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second Sturtevant, named for Ens. Albert D. Sturtevant, First Yale Unit naval aviator killed 15 February 1918 over the North Sea (posthumous Navy Cross); laid down 15 July 1942 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 3 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. William North Sturtevant; commissioned 16 June 1943, Lt. Comdr. Frederick W. Hawes in command. Shakedown off Bermuda; 21 months Atlantic convoy escort from 24 September 1943 - first convoy to Casablanca and Gibraltar, then five voyages to Londonderry, two each to Liverpool and Cardiff, one to Southampton, 13 round-trip crossings in all; repaired and overhauled at the New York Navy Yard between crossings, trained at Casco Bay and Montauk Point. New York Navy Yard post-voyage availability 9 June 1945 for 38 days, antiaircraft defenses strengthened; trained Guantanamo, stopped San Diego; war ended before she reached Hawaii. Returned via San Pedro to Charleston, S.C. (25 September 1945) for inactivation; decommissioned Green Cove Springs 24 March 1946. Recommissioned 3 August 1951, Comdr. R. B. Redmayne; Atlantic coast and Caribbean operations to Labrador and Cuba with the Fleet Sonar School (Key West) and Hunter-Killer Forces; midshipman cruises to northern Europe (1955) and Panama/Guantanamo (1956). Entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 31 October 1956 for radar picket conversion; recommissioned as DER-239 5 October 1957; departed 7 February 1958 for the Pacific via Newport, San Juan, Rodman, Acapulco, San Diego; arrived Pearl Harbor 18 March; original ship of the Pacific Early Warning Barrier until June 1960 decommissioning; berthed with the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; found unfit by inspection and survey board fall 1972; stricken 1 December 1972; hulk sold 20 September 1973 to National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Calif., for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crew; reserve-fleet caretakers 1946-51 and 1960-72
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Decommissioning-berthing location conflicts with NavSource (San Diego Group vs. Long Beach Group) - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture and verbatim Tin Can Sailors transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-01
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945), Destroyer-Escort Vessels roster row 323 for STURTEVANT, DE-239 (shipscribe.com scan; OCR of book pp. 260-261) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 roster row 323, STURTEVANT DE-239 (book pp. 260-261; shipscribe scan PDF p. 140)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official BuShips roster row for this hull: STURTEVANT, official number DE-239, design group FMR; builder Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; contract price $2,921,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee; contract signed 18 January 1942; keel laid 15 July 1942; launched 3 December 1942; contract date of completion 15 February 1943; first preliminary acceptance 16 June 1943; commission 16 June 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding Co. construction trades, Houston, Tex., 1942-43
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous build roster - documents identity, builder, contract, and dates; contains no insulation or materials information and says nothing about asbestos. OCR'd from a scanned two-page spread (name/builder table p. 260, dates table p. 261); all read values corroborated by DANFS and NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-02
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[3]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Sturtevant (DE-239) page (specs, building/operational data, awards, flag hoist NHAO, CO list; Wayback capture - live fetch failed; navsource.net mirror also carries the page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/239.htm specifications block + building-and-operational-data block + CO list (Wayback capture; live page moved to navsource.net)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: class Edsall, type FMR (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive); 1,200 t light / 1,590 t full; 306 ft oa; 4 Fairbanks-Morse model 38D8-1/8 geared diesel engines, 4 diesel-generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws; 21 kt; 9,100 nm at 12 kt; armament 3 x 3 in/50, twin 40 mm, 8 x 20 mm, 3 x 21 in TT, Hedgehog Mk10, 8 DCP, 2 DCT; complement 8 officers / 201 enlisted. Chronology: keel 15 July 1942 Brown Shipbuilding; launched 3 December 1942; commissioned 16 June 1943; decommissioned 24 March 1946 Green Cove Springs (2 yrs 9 mos); recommissioned 3 August 1951, homeport Newport, R.I., Escort Squadron 14; reclassified DER-239 1 November 1956; decommissioned 30 November 1956 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion; recommissioned 5 October 1957 as DER-239, Lcdr. J. K. Jobe, homeport Pearl Harbor, Escort Squadron 7; reassigned Escort Squadron 5 February 1959; decommissioned 23 June 1960 at U.S. Naval Station Long Beach, custody to Long Beach Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; stricken from NVR 1 December 1972 (10 yrs 9 mos total); sold 20 September 1973 to National Metal & Steel Co., Terminal Island. Awards: American Campaign Medal; European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal; WWII Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal. Eleven commanding officers listed 1943-1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crew (complement 8 officers/201 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a contemporaneous record - dates concur with DANFS/BuShips where they overlap except the June 1960 reserve-group location (Long Beach vs. DANFS San Diego - in gaps) and the exact conversion decommissioning date (30 November vs. NavalCoverMuseum 11 November - in gaps). No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-03
-
[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; 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 for the FMR design group (symbol: 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. DE-239 is group FMR per the same volume's roster row. The compiled Navypedia class roster corroborates the design group and enumerates the two builders - Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex. (47 of 85 hulls) and Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Tex. (38 of 85: DE-238 through DE-255 and DE-382 through DE-401) - listing Sturtevant DE-239 as Brown yard no. 10, reclassified DER-239 11.1956, stricken 12.1972.
- 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. Table OCR'd from a scanned page; individual cell values (e.g., limiting draft) partially garbled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-04
-
[5]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 (cf. uss-edsall-de129, uss-stewart-de238) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 group-4 row (machinery, 'None' in boiler columns); cf. cannon-class and Edsall-class sibling records (same diesel-DE application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: an Edsall-class (FMR) destroyer escort built 1942-43 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
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-46, 1951-56, 1957-60; reserve-fleet maintenance 1946-51, 1960-72
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation schedule or material list for DE-239 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-sturtevant-de239-05
-
[6]DANFS-documented naval-shipyard work periods aboard this hull: New York Navy Yard availabilities 1943-45 (incl. 38-day post-voyage availability from 9 June 1945) + Philadelphia Naval Shipyard DER conversion October 1956 - October 1957 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (convoy-duty and 1945 availability paragraphs; 1956-57 conversion paragraph); NavSource operational-data block (reclass/decommission dates at PNSY)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS documents repeated repair and overhaul periods at the New York Navy Yard between Atlantic convoy crossings (1943-45), a 38-day post-voyage availability there from 9 June 1945 that 'strengthened considerably' the antiaircraft fit, and entry into the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 31 October 1956 for an eleven-month conversion to radar picket escort DER-239 (decommissioned at the yard 30 November 1956 - NavSource - recommissioned there 5 October 1957). Both yards are asbestos-era naval industrial facilities; the conversion in particular involved major structural and equipment changes (reclassification work under way November 1956 - October 1957).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Population
- New York Navy Yard and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard trades working this hull, 1943-45 and 1956-57
- Limitations
- The yard events are documented for this hull; any asbestos-handling scope within them (insulation disturbance or installation during overhaul, AA-fit work, or DER conversion) is NOT documented by the cited sources and remains inference. No work package, material schedule, or industrial-hygiene record for DE-239's availabilities was located. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and New York (Brooklyn) Naval Shipyard are covered yards in the Atlas dataset; yard-level records describe the facilities, not this hull's work scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-06
-
[7]Keri Heath, 'World War II-era vessels in Galveston to undergo asbestos abatement', Galveston Daily News, 27 July 2020 (citation re-verified in Atlas record uss-stewart-de238, clbackfill-batch15); corroborated by museum operator audited financial statements listing 'Removed and mitigated asbestos in the USS [Stewart]' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- galvnews.com article_c2c77857, 27 Jul 2020; uss-stewart-de238.atlas.json ev-01/ev-02 (clbackfill-batch15)
- Finding type
- abatement_record
- Finding
- Documented asbestos aboard a same-yard 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. The Atlas record for DE-238 adds the museum operator's audited financial statements listing asbestos removal/mitigation aboard Stewart. USS Stewart is a Brown Shipbuilding-built Edsall-class hull whose keel was laid at the same yard on the same day as DE-239's (15 July 1942) - the closest-possible class-level corroboration that this hull's construction cohort 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 builder and same keel date but a museum-hull lifecycle DE-239 never had (DE-239 was scrapped 1973). Documents asbestos aboard one Edsall-class ship as delivered/preserved; establishes nothing about DE-239's materials, quantity, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-07
-
[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-239 (built 1942-43, overhauled/converted through 1957) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy ship construction and repair.
- 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-sturtevant-de239-08
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps for 'USS Sturtevant' / 'DE-239' / 'DER-239' / 'Sturtevant asbestos' (via fleet-paced authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results 2026-09-28: 'USS Sturtevant' type=o count=0, type=r count=0; 'DE-239' type=o count=22 (all entry/page-number false positives); 'DER-239' type=o count=0; 'Sturtevant asbestos' type=o count=14 (non-vessel 'Sturtevant' references only)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion sweep '"USS Sturtevant"' (type=o): 0 hits - no opinion contains that exact name. Hull-number sweeps '"DE-239"' (type=o): 22 hits, all document-entry-number/page-cite false positives inside unrelated opinions (Nature's Products v. Natrol, In re Deutsch, Florida Key Deer v. Brown, Philip Wharton v. Carl Danberg, and similar across federal, bankruptcy, state appellate, and 19th-century courts) - zero vessel or asbestos references in returned case names; '"DER-239"' (type=o): 0 hits. Docket sweep '"USS Sturtevant"' (type=r): 0 hits - no docketed case names the ship. Supplemental 'Sturtevant asbestos' (type=o): 14 hits including two asbestos-docket opinions (Ann Finch v. Covil Corp., 4th Cir. 2020; Constantinides v. CBS Corp., E.D. Pa. 2010) - 'Sturtevant' appears in full text only as a non-vessel reference (party surname or B.F. Sturtevant Co., the Hyde Park, Mass. blower/ventilation-fan manufacturer named in asbestos product lists); because the exact-name sweep returned 0, none of these references the warship - 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 docket names the hull. Two collision surfaces controlled: USS Sturtevant DD-240 (sunk 1942-04-26, before this hull's keel was laid) for ship references, and B.F. Sturtevant Co. (Navy boiler-room blower/fan manufacturer) for asbestos-product references.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-09
-
[10]NARA digitized Navy deck-log inventory, entry 'Sturtevant (DE/DER-239)' (archives.gov logbooks/navy-online) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online, vessel entry 'Sturtevant (DE/DER-239)', digitized years 1956-1960
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's digitized deck-log inventory carries an entry for Sturtevant (DE/DER-239) with digitized months for 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960 - covering the final months of the second commission, the Philadelphia DER conversion period, and the Pacific Barrier service through the June 1960 decommissioning. Commission/decommission dates in the inventory (June 1943/March 1946; August 1951/November 1956; October 1957/June 1960) corroborate the NavSource chronology. The 1943-46 and 1951-56 logs are not in the digitized set.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1956-1960 (digitized coverage)
- Population
- Crew during second/third commission periods
- Limitations
- Deck logs record operations and personnel, not materials - they are an archival lead for verifying crew-era activity (yard periods, conversion work sites) rather than asbestos evidence. The WWII and 1951-56 logs remain unsurveyed at Archives II (College Park, Md.).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sturtevant-de239-10
-
[11]Batch-4158 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback/Tin Can Sailors; NavSource archive page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 1 (OCR); Navypedia class roster; 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-sturtevant-de239-01 through sl-uss-sturtevant-de239-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-239: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or museum documentation exists for this hull - it was sold for scrapping in September 1973, pre-dating the museum-donation and hazmat-disclosure era that produced records for sister hull Stewart (DE-238). The only 'asbestos' hits naming USS Sturtevant (DE-239) in general web search are law-firm marketing listicles that enumerate every WWII hull - 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 - 1942-43 escort construction falls inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era, and same-yard sister-hull DE-238 carried documented asbestos. Deck logs (RG 24, partially digitized for 1956-60), the ship's WWII war diary (RG 38), and BuShips construction records (RG 19, incl. any General Information Book) at NARA 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-sturtevant-de239-11