USS Swenning (DE-394)

Evidence

6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).

1. [1]research packet kl-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-swenning-de394-pkt-kl-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Swenning (DE-394) (NHHC page published 2016-04-18; live URL returns 404 - Wayback capture 2024-12-11 cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + namesake biography + service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 17 July 1943 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched 13 September 1943 (sponsor Miss Hertha Rhode); commissioned 1 December 1943, Lt. Richard E. Peek, Jr., USNR. Shakedown Bermuda; post-shakedown availability Charleston Navy Yard. Atlantic service with Bogue hunter-killer groups (TG 21.11, TG 22.2, TG 22.3) and CortDiv 51: screening role in the 13 March 1944 sinking of U-575; rescued eight RAF Halifax crew 8 June 1944; New York Navy Yard availability 20 April-3 May 1944 and overhaul June-July 1944; final barrier-patrol duty April-May 1945; Boston Navy Yard overhaul May-June 1945 (torpedo tubes removed, twin 40mm fitted); Pacific transit July 1945; Saipan/Okinawa; submarine training at Guam to 10 January 1946; return via San Diego and Boston to Mayport; placed out of commission, in reserve, 18 June 1946; Charleston yard availability September-December 1946; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Mayport; struck 1 July 1972; sold to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, for scrap. Spec block: dp. 1,200; l. 306'; b. 36'7"; dr. 12'3"; s. 21.2 k.; cpl. 216; cl. Edsall.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1972

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 216)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. It gives no sale date (NavSource/secondary sources carry 17 January 1974). Live NHHC page returns 404; the 2024-12-11 Wayback capture of the official page is cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-swenning-de394-01

3. [3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Swenning (DE-394) page (specifications, building/operational data, captioned USN photos, CO list, ship-submitted war history image) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DE-394 page: 'Building and Operational Data' block; photo captions 0639405 and 0615005/0615006; 'Swenning History' links

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource archive page for this hull: keel laid 17 July 1943, launched 13 September 1943, commissioned 1 December 1943; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. 18 June 1946 'after 2 years and 6-2/3 months of service'; struck from the NVR 1 July 1972; sold for scrapping to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, 17 January 1974. Specifications: Edsall class, FMR type (geared diesel, Fairbanks-Morse reverse gear drive) - 4 Fairbanks-Morse Mod. 38D8-1/8 diesel engines, 4 diesel generators, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 21 kt; complement 8 officers/201 enlisted. Captioned U.S. Naval Historical Center photos: 1 May 1944 at anchor off New York Navy Yard completing a ten-day availability (photo L45-272.02.01); 25 May 1973 nested among mothballed escorts at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Inactive Ship Facility (photos 0615005/0615006). Page image-hosts the ship's own end-of-war history submission (06394wh.jpg).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1974

   Population

   Crew (1943-46); mothball-fleet and Philadelphia ISF personnel (1946-74)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photo archive, not an official Navy publication - dates and specs there are secondary, though the captioned items reproduce official USN photo data. Documents disposal location (Philadelphia ISF, May 1973) and sale date but nothing about materials or asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-swenning-de394-02

4. [4]NPS National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS Stewart (DE-238), NRHP ref. 07000689 (listed 2007-07-12) - Edsall-class sister built at the same yard (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston) [nps]

   Locator

   NRHP 07000689 nomination, Section 7 (Description) continuation sheets 7-5 through 7-9; Texas Historical Commission Atlas record 2007000689

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Federal nomination for the closest preserved comparator: USS Stewart (DE-238) is an Edsall-class destroyer escort built by Brown Shipbuilding at Houston (keel 15 July 1942, launched 22 November 1942, commissioned 31 May 1943). The nomination's Section 7 documents class construction: welded steel hull and superstructure throughout; propulsion by 'four eight cylinder, opposed piston Fairbanks Morse Reversible diesel engines, with two engines connected in tandem to each of the two propellers'; a sealed muffler compartment above the engine spaces; interior arrangement by deck and compartment. No boiler or steam plant - the Edsall class's FMR diesel drive differs from the steam plants of contemporary destroyers.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1943 (construction); nomination circa 2006-2007

   Population

   WWII destroyer-escort construction workforce, Brown Shipbuilding Houston

   Limitations

   Class documentation for a sister hull, not DE-394 - establishes design and construction method (welded steel, diesel plant) but contains no asbestos or insulation-content discussion whatsoever. Cannot establish presence or absence of ACM aboard Swenning.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-swenning-de394-03

5. [5]Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, 'Shipbuilding' (Robert H. Peebles) - Brown Shipbuilding Corp. of Houston escort-vessel contracts; companion TSHA entries document the yard as a 1942 Brown & Root subsidiary that built 359 ships with ~25,000 peak workers [other_primary]

   Locator

   TSHA Handbook 'Shipbuilding' entry (contract figures); DANFS spec block; NavSource spec block; NARA/Fold3 war-diary index record

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference: this hull was built 1943 at an emergency wartime yard producing escort vessels under $100M in Navy contracts (plus $200M in August 1942 supplements) with a peak workforce of ~25,000. WWII-era naval construction of the period standardly incorporated asbestos in thermal insulation, exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets, packing, and deck coverings; for this diesel-driven class the boiler/steam-line insulation typical of steam ships was absent, but other era-standard applications are plausible. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' and hull-specific building specifications are the archival lead for any hull-level material list; the ship's WWII war diary is digitized (Fold3, NARA WWII War Diaries 1941-1945 collection, entries incl. 4/19/44-7/3/44) but was not reviewed for materials content.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding. The diesel plant means no boiler insulation, but this does not establish absence of other ACM (exhaust lagging, gaskets, deck tile). No material inventory, survey, or abatement record for DE-394 has been located; builder Brown Shipbuilding is not an entry in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-swenning-de394-04

6. [6]Batch-4293 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC (via Wayback), NavSource archive, NPS/THC nomination for sister hull DE-238, TSHA Handbook, VA/BVA decision indexes, CourtListener API v4 sweeps (opinion + RECAP docket, name and hull number), general litigation web search [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-swenning-de394-01 through sl-uss-swenning-de394-08

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: CourtListener opinion search for 'Swenning' returned 18 hits, all surname collisions (no USS Swenning, no Navy, no asbestos content); 'DE-394' returned 13 hits, all docket-number/token collisions; RECAP docket search for 'Swenning' returned 41 dockets (personal bankruptcies, criminal, tax - all name collisions, zero vessel content). No BVA decision naming the ship surfaced in VA-indexed searches; general web litigation search returned no qualifying litigation; no asbestos survey, abatement, or disposal hazmat record exists publicly - the hull was scrapped at Philadelphia in 1974, before routine abatement documentation.

   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 or absence of exposure - WWII-veteran asbestos claims frequently name the ship type rather than the hull, and RECAP docket coverage is incomplete (docket sweep covered page 1 of 41 name hits by relevance). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-swenning-de394-05