Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ek-packet.md (8 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS THORNTON DD-270 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-thornton-dd270-pkt-ek-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Thornton II (Destroyer No. 270)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Service narrative, 1941-1957 paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records Thornton's operations from Pearl Harbor through the South Pacific and Alaska; extensive repairs on the U.S. west coast after arrival at Mare Island on 17 February 1944; and collision with Ashtabula and Escalante on 5 April 1945. Thornton was towed to Kerama Retto on 14 April, beached and decommissioned on 2 May, struck on 13 August 1945, and its abandoned hulk donated to the Government of the Ryukyu Islands in July 1957.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- DANFS documents repair and disposition events, not the scope of insulation work, asbestos content, or later fate of the hulk. Its Escalante hull number AO-71 is erroneous; see correction row ev-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-02
-
[3]USS Thornton (AVD-11), report of engagement, 17 December 1941, Serial 520, reproduced by NHHC from NARA CINCPAC action report Serial 0479 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Commanding officer's report, paragraphs 1-8
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The commanding officer's report dated 17 December 1941 places Thornton (AVD-11) at berth S-1, Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, on 7 December. It reports 85 percent of the crew aboard, antiaircraft fire beginning at 0758, one attacking aircraft downed by combined Thornton and Hulbert fire, and no material or personnel casualties on Thornton.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The 85 percent figure is an attendance share, not a crew count. The report contains no asbestos, insulation, material, or exposure finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-03
-
[4]NHHC, photograph 80-G-328469, 'USS Thornton'; NHHC DANFS, 'Escalante' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Photograph caption; compare https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/escalante.html, specifications block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's caption for official Navy photograph 80-G-328469 identifies the second oiler in Thornton's 5 April 1945 collision as Escalante (AO-70), correcting the AO-71 designation printed in Thornton's DANFS entry. NHHC's separate Escalante DANFS entry also identifies that ship as AO-70.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Corrects a hull-number transcription in the Thornton DANFS entry; the photograph and captions do not identify asbestos or any material exposed by collision damage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-04
-
[5]NHHC, H-064-2, 'Close Quarters Antisubmarine Warfare (Part 2)' (Clemson-class description) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Paragraph beginning 'The Clemson-class destroyers displaced about 1,200 tons'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC describes the Clemson class as twin-screw destroyers with geared turbines and an original crew complement of about 122. This supplies class-era propulsion context for Thornton, which DANFS identifies as Clemson class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Class description is not a Thornton machinery survey. Neither turbines nor construction era establish asbestos aboard this hull, product identity, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-05
-
[6]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Research steps and sections 'General Information Books,' 'Board of Inspection and Survey Reports,' and 'Cartographic Branch'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's guide to researching asbestos aboard Navy vessels identifies RG 19 ship-specific correspondence and General Information Books, RG 38 inspection reports, and RG 19 ship engineering drawings, including filing code S39 for insulation and lagging, as possible records to request for DD-270/AVD-11. None was retrieved or reviewed for this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a repository guide, not a Thornton record. It establishes where to research possible material evidence, not that any record or asbestos product exists for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-06
-
[7]Documented source review: NHHC Thornton DANFS; Thornton action report; NHHC photograph 80-G-328469; NARA asbestos research guide [other_primary]
- Locator
- Sources listed in search_ledger sl-01 through sl-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The reviewed NHHC DANFS history, Thornton's 1941 action report, NHHC collision photograph caption, and NARA repository guide did not provide a ship-specific identification of asbestos-containing material aboard Thornton. Ship-specific asbestos presence and exposure remain unknown from these sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- A bounded negative finding for documents actually reviewed, not proof that Thornton contained no asbestos or that no ship-specific record exists elsewhere. Archival design and repair files remain unreviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated search, type=o, q="USS Thornton"; raw response preserved in research/cl-uss-thornton-opinion.json [court_record]
- Locator
- Search response count=0; search ledger sl-06
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- An authenticated CourtListener v4 opinion search for the exact phrase 'USS Thornton' returned count 0 on 27 September 2026. No opinion hit from this query could be classified as qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, or name collision.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- One exact-name opinion query only. CourtListener indexing is incomplete; docket and hull-number queries were blocked by the shared pacing limiter before HTTP requests. This does not prove absence of asbestos litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-08
-
[9]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Thornton II (Destroyer No. 270)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Specifications block and first four service paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS identifies Thornton (DD-270) as a Clemson-class destroyer built at Squantum by Bethlehem Shipbuilding: laid down 3 June 1918, launched 2 March 1919, commissioned 15 July 1919, and decommissioned 24 May 1922. Recommissioned in ordinary 24 June 1940, converted at Bethlehem's San Francisco yard, redesignated AVD-11 on 2 August 1940, and placed in full commission 5 March 1941. DANFS gives an original complement of 122.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The complement is the DANFS destroyer-era specification, not a verified wartime tender complement. Conversion is documented as an event; its material scope and asbestos content are not documented here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thornton-dd270-01