Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet io-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-thomason-de203-pkt-io-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Thomason (DE-203) (builder, dates, service narrative, striking and disposal; verbatim text captured from the NHHC page via Wayback Machine - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Thomason (DE-203)', specifications block + service narrative + namesake note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 5 June 1943 at Charleston, S.C., by the Charleston Navy Yard; launched 23 August 1943, sponsored by Miss Sara Jeanette Thomason; commissioned 10 December 1943, Lt. Comdr. Charles B. Henriques, USNR. Shakedown Bermuda; escort Newport, R.I. to Panama; transited the Panama Canal 21 March 1944; Espiritu Santo 18 April; 3d Fleet antisubmarine duty, Indispensable Strait; 7th Fleet New Guinea operations (Wakde, Sarmi, Noemfoor); Palaus harbor-entrance control ship at Kossol Passage; Leyte Gulf 15 November 1944; Lingayen operation with TG 78.1 San Fabian Attack Force; on 7 February 1945, with USS Neuendorf (DE-200), sank Japanese submarine RO-55 off the west coast of Luzon by hedgehog attack; Philippine-Palau-Hollandia escort through August 1945; two Luzon-to-Okinawa convoys in September; San Diego inactivation; decommissioned 22 May 1946; struck from the Navy list 30 June 1968; sold June 1969 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Long Beach, Calif., for scrap. Three battle stars for World War II service. Namesake: Sgt. Clyde Thomason, USMC, killed at Makin Island 17 August 1942, posthumous Medal of Honor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 213)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Disposal text reads 'In June 1969, she was sold' - secondary sources (NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum) give 30 June 1969. Live NHHC page returns 404; the cited URL is a Wayback capture (2024-12-04) of the NHHC DANFS page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-01
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[3]NARA photo captions BS 60777 / BS 60778 (National Archives and Records Administration, College Park) as transcribed on the NavSource DE-203 page; inactivation detail (Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, completed 8 August 1946; 120,000 miles steamed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 'Thomason (DE 203) Building and Operational Data' + photo caption block (BS 60777/60778); Wayback capture 2023-09-23
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA-captioned official photos place this hull back at its builder's yard post-commissioning: 'From 07 to 16 February [1944] Thomason had been in the Charleston Navy Yard for repairs,' photographed 17 February 1944 passing under the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge on the Cooper River in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 16D, then underway for Davisville, R.I. NavSource's chronology adds: decommissioned at San Diego 22 May 1946 after 2 years 5 1/3 months and ~120,000 miles steamed; inactivation completed 8 August 1946; assigned to Submarine Group Two, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the NVR 30 June 1968; sold for scrap 30 June 1969 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard repair workforce, February 1944; crew aboard during availability
- Limitations
- The underlying photographs are NARA primary records, but the transcribed captions and chronology come through NavSource, a secondary volunteer compilation - individual items not re-verified against the NARA prints. NavSource's same list mis-dates the RO-55 sinking '07 February 1944' (DANFS narrative places it 7 February 1945); that error is carried in gaps. The repair scope and materials worked during the February 1944 yard availability are not described - this establishes a yard period at a documented asbestos yard, not that asbestos work occurred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-02
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[4]Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Collection #19, 'Papers of the USS Thomason DE-203' finding aid (compiled Derek Kendall, September 2003; curator Marifrances Trivelli) [museum_official]
- Locator
- LAMM finding aid, Collection #19 - scope note, biographical details, container list (box 1, vols. 1-8)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Los Angeles Maritime Museum holds this hull's papers: 1 cubic foot, 8 volumes - incoming and outgoing registered mail logs (1943-45), sonar charts (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific), and Department of Navy deck log books (odd/even rough logs and smooth logs, January-May 1946). The finding aid notes the volumes 'were probably donated by National Metals of Terminal Island, where the ship was taken for scrapping.' Collection confirms hull identity and chronology (keel 6-5-43, commissioned 12-10-43, decommissioned 5-22-46, struck 6-30-68, scrapped 1969).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1969 (records span)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Administrative logs and sonar charts - not material specifications; nothing in the finding aid speaks to asbestos. The collection is not digitized and is accessible only under curator supervision; whether the volumes contain any materials/maintenance detail bearing on asbestos is unknown until examined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-03
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[5]Lowcountry Digital Library (College of Charleston), record lcdl:416, 'USS Thomason' - Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs collection, contributing institution Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum [museum_official]
- Locator
- LCDL catalog record lcdl:416 (Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum holds an official U.S. Navy photograph of this hull in the Charleston Naval Shipyard Photographs collection; the print bears 'USS Thomason (DE 203). Photo released by Public Relations Office to Ship's Crew - Not for Publication.' Confirms the hull appears in the builder yard's official photo program and that a Patriots Point original print exists.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (shipyard photo era)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Photographic record only - documents the hull's presence in the yard collection, not materials or asbestos conditions. Single catalog record located; other frames of DE-203 within the collection were not individually checked.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-04
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[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table, groups 2-3 (shipscribe.com scan) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Charleston Naval Shipyard record (tier 2; documented asbestos litigation incl. Whalen v. John Crane 2014 verdict) + NARA RG 19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table; shipyards.json record 'charleston-naval-shipyard'; NavSource DE-203 chronology
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-203 is a Buckley (TE) hull - BuShips design groups 2-3 - carrying a full steam plant (2 'D' express-type boilers, 435 psi/750F superheat, GE turbo-electric machinery, 12,000 shp; per-block boiler-manufacturer map assigns the DE-199-213 block to Combustion Engineering). As one of only two DE classes with a steam plant, the Buckley design is the most asbestos-relevant DE type: a 1943 Charleston-built unit would have carried period-standard boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line and turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Charleston Navy Yard is a tier-2 yard in the Atlas dataset with documented asbestos litigation at yard level, and the hull returned to that yard for repairs 7-16 February 1944.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1943 and repair workforce Feb 1944; crew 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos finding exists for this hull. The per-block boiler-manufacturer assignment is navypedia-sourced and unverified against the contract documents. Yard-level litigation at Charleston documents the workplace, not this vessel. NARA RG 19 contract/GIB files for DE-203 were not retrieved; they are the lead for hull-level material specs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-05
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[7]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated): "USS Thomason" type=o; "DE-203" type=o; "USS Thomason" type=r; "Thomason" + asbestos term sweep [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-thomason-de203-06 through sl-uss-thomason-de203-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located on CourtListener. The exact-name query "USS Thomason" returned zero results in both the opinion index (type=o) and the RECAP docket index (type=r). The hull-number query "DE-203" (type=o) returned 36 opinions, all reviewed - every hit is a string collision ('DE-203'/'203' tokens in unrelated indexed text: insurance, criminal, election, and mortgage cases); none names USS Thomason or any vessel. The surname-collision survey 'Thomason asbestos' (type=o) returned 69 opinions, all reviewed - every hit keys on a person or attorney named Thomason (e.g., Thomason v. Piedmont Products, N.C. Indus. Comm. 2007, a worker's-compensation asbestos claim by an employee surnamed Thomason; the Thomason, Hendrix law firm appears as counsel in others); none names the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is not all of PACER; a sweep returning no hits establishes only that no indexed opinion/docket names the hull - it does not prove no asbestos claim ever named DE-203. 'Thomason' is a common surname, so any future hit requires hull-attribution review (DE-203 vs a person-name collision).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-06
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[8]Batch-4120 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; Wayback capture), NavSource/NARA photo captions, LA Maritime Museum finding aid, LCDL/Patriots Point catalog, NARA RG 24 deck-log series NAID 594258, CourtListener API v4, Naval Vessel Register [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-thomason-de203-01 through sl-uss-thomason-de203-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, crew-exposure study, or docketed case naming USS Thomason (DE-203) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1969 - predating the Navy's 1975 standing asbestos-removal policy - so there is no modern in-service remediation record to locate.
- 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 - a 1943 steam-plant escort built and repaired at a documented asbestos yard is era-consistent with ACM insulation. This row records that nothing ship-specific was found, not that nothing exists; NARA RG 19 contract/GIB files and the undigitized LAMM collection remain open leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thomason-de203-07