Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet is-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Twiggs (first of that name); hull Destroyer No. 127 / DD-127; type destroyer, Wickes class
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-twiggs-dd127-pkt-is-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Twiggs I (Destroyer No. 127) (namesake biography + specifications block + service narrative; live NHHC entry, published 2015-10-19 - verified in full via browser-UA fetch; standard tool fetches receive a WAF 404, the behavior documented in batch-3110/3113) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Twiggs I (Destroyer No. 127)', specifications block + service narrative (live NHHC page, verified 2026-09-26)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: (Destroyer No. 127: dp. 1,306 (f.); l. 314'4.5"; b. 30'11.5" (wl.); dr. 9'9.5" (aft); s. 35.04 k.; cpl. 122; a. 4 4", 2 3", 12 21" tt., 2 dct.; cl. Wickes). Laid down 23 January 1918 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched 28 September 1918, sponsored by Miss Lillie S. Getchell, granddaughter of Major Twiggs; commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 July 1919, Comdr. Isaac C. Johnson, Jr. Joined Division 16, Squadron 4, Pacific Fleet, late October 1919; operated out of San Diego on training cruises through spring 1922; classified DD-127 on 17 July 1920; decommissioned at San Diego 24 June 1922. Recommissioned 20 February 1930; flagship DesDiv 14, then flagship DesDiv 7 out of Charleston, S.C. to spring 1933; Battle Force DesDiv 6/DesRon 2; Rotating Reserve DesRon 20 1 November 1933 to 1 July 1934; DesDiv 4, DesRon 2 to late 1936; decommissioned 6 April 1937 at San Diego. Recommissioned 30 September 1939 (Comdr. Lyman K. Swenson); flagship DesDiv 64, DesRon 32; Panama Canal transit December 1939; Key West neutrality patrol (shadowing HMS Hereward; the HMAS Perth/liner Columbus surveillance episode); neutrality patrols and Naval Reserve training through summer 1940. Arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia, 16 October 1940; decommissioned and turned over to the Royal Navy 23 October 1940 under the 'destroyers for bases' agreement; struck from the Navy list 8 January 1941. As HMS Leamington (G.19), Comdr. W. E. Banks DSO: 4th 'Town' Flotilla from St. John's 4 November 1940; passed through the scene of the HX-84/Jervis Bay action; Plymouth 15 November; 2d Escort Group, Western Approaches, Londonderry; teamed with HMS Veteran to sink U-207 off Greenland 11 September 1941; with three other destroyers sank U-587 on 27 March 1942 while it threatened a troop convoy; screened the Iceland leg of ill-fated convoy PQ-17 (summer 1942); refitted at Hartlepool August-November 1942; rescued 17 survivors of SS Buchanan (torpedoed 12 November); transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy October 1942 for Western Local Escort Force work; iced bridge-to-foc'sle reaching Halifax 22 January 1943; collision with Albatross (AM-71) 14 May 1943, Halifax repairs then permanent repairs at Norfolk from 27 June into the autumn; returned to Britain December 1943, reverted to Royal Navy control; service at Rosyth; reserve at the Tyne; on 16 June 1944 the British loaned the ship to the Russians, who renamed her 'Jgoochyi or Zhguchi' ('scorcher') - the loan date reads 16 July 1944 in British sources, see gaps; served under the Russian flag through 1949 and returned to Great Britain in 1950; DANFS closes 'broken up for scrap at Newport, England, on 26 July 1951' - a conflation of the BISCo sale date, since British records place her Cashmore's-yard arrival 3 December 1951 after 'Gift Horse' film duty (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1951
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-19; USN crews 1919-22, 1930-37, 1939-40 (design complement 122); RN crew 1940-44; RCN crew 1942-43; Soviet crew 1944-50
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The verified live entry carries several apparent errors/discrepancies logged in gaps: it dates the Soviet loan 16 June 1944 (16 July 1944 per NavSource/naval-history.net/uboat.net, consistent with the JW 59 sailing), reads the U-207 convoy 'SC-48' (SC-42 per NavSource and convoy histories), reads the U-587 convoy 'WS-27' (WS-17 per NavSource/historyofwar), and gives 'broken up for scrap ... 26 July 1951' (the BISCo sale date - Cashmore arrival 3 December 1951 per British sources). An earlier hazegray transcription rendered the Buchanan attacker 'U-24'; the canonical text correctly reads U-224.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-01
-
[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Twiggs (DD-127) page (class note, specifications, operational/building data, commanding-officer list, Robert Hurst RN-service summary, photo credits) - Wayback capture 2024-11-27; live navsource.org fetch refused [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/127.htm via Wayback 2024-11-27: class/spec block, operational data, 'On British Service' section, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource build, machinery, and post-USN record for this hull: Wickes (Tattnall) class, 'built to Bath plans by New York Shipbuilding,' yard number 212; displacement 1,211 t; 314'5" (oa) x 31'8" x 9'10" (max); armament 4 x 4"/50, 2 x 3"/23AA, 12 x 21" tt.; machinery 24,900 shp, direct-drive turbines with geared cruising turbines, 2 screws; 35 kt; crew 101. Dates as DANFS (laid down 23 January 1918; launched 28 September 1918; commissioned 28 July 1919; decommissioned 24 June 1922, 6 April 1937, 23 October 1940; recommissioned 20 February 1930 and 30 September 1939); stricken from the US Naval Register 8 January 1941. British service (summary credited to Robert Hurst): transferred at Halifax 23 October 1940 as HMS Leamington (G 19); refitted at Devonport 15-29 November 1940; worked up at Scapa Flow 15 December 1940-5 January 1941; 2nd Escort Group North Atlantic; collided with and sank the Norwegian tramp Thyra 27 May 1941 (repair at Liverpool to mid-July); shared the sinking of U-207 with HMS Veteran during the convoy SC-42 battle 11 September 1941; sank U-587 27 March 1942 while covering troop convoy WS-17; UK-Iceland escort for PQ-17, June 1942; long refit at Hartlepool July-November 1942; transfer to Halifax for RCN Western Local Escort Force, arriving January 1943; collision with USS Albatross (AM-71) under repair 15 April-3 June 1943 and a lesser collision with SS Mortimer repaired at Norfolk, Va., late June-October 1943; returned to Britain December 1943; laid up in reserve February 1944; refitted and transferred to the Soviet Navy as Zhguchiy 16 July 1944; Northern Fleet; returned to Rosyth 15 November 1950; sold to BISCo 26 July 1951; used in the film 'The Gift Horse' as HMS Ballantrae (GH-19) - 'the last Town class DD steaming'; arrived Newport for breaking up by J. Cashmore & Sons Ltd. 3 December 1951.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1952
- Population
- Construction trades (Camden, 1918-19); USN crews; RN/RCN escort crews 1940-44; Devonport and Hartlepool refit workforces; Norfolk repair workforce 1943; Soviet Northern Fleet crew 1944-50; Cashmore breaking workforce 1951-52
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official records (its spec block derives from Ships' Data/BuShips-type sources); dates agree with DANFS except where flagged in gaps. 'Direct drive turbines' wording differs from the class machinery table's 'Parsons geared turbines' (see propulsion_summary and gaps). Asbestos content is not addressed by these records. The Devonport (November 1940) and Hartlepool (July-November 1942) refits are documented yard events; their materials scope is not stated in the source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-02
-
[4]Rushworth, 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal (2005); Franke et al., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: a state of the science evaluation (1900-1970)' (2011); Atlas shipyard dataset, new-york-shipbuilding record (tier 1); Wickes-class machinery table (naval-encyclopedia.com, Conway's-derived class attribution for the DD-125-130 group) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 2005 (doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x); Franke 2011 state-of-science review; shipyards.json record 'new-york-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference: peer-reviewed reviews of U.S. Navy asbestos practice document shipboard asbestos thermal insulation in use from the 1880s through the 1950s - spanning this hull's 1918-19 construction and every subsequent commission, refit, and foreign service period. A Wickes-class destroyer built at Camden in 1918 with a saturated-steam plant (four White-Forster boilers and Parsons turbines per the class machinery table for the DD-125-130 group) would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Builder New York Shipbuilding (Camden) is documented in the Atlas yard dataset as a tier-1 yard with asbestos products documented across insulation block (including 85% magnesia), cement panels, gaskets, packing, and wire insulation - though the yard's dated findings are World War II-era and later, decades after this hull's 1918 construction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1952 (vessel); 2005-2011 (era reviews)
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1918-19; USN crews 1919-40; RN/RCN crews 1940-44; Soviet crew 1944-50
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The cited reviews are state-of-the-science literature covering 1900-1970 era practice and do not name this hull; the yard dataset's dated product identifications postdate this hull's construction. No insulation specification, survey, or material test for this hull was located; nothing quantifies material or establishes any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-03
-
[5]NARA RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), Alphabetical Series of Ship Engineering Drawings - 'USS Tattnall (DD-125), USS Badger (DD-126), USS Twiggs (DD-127), USS Babbitt (DD-128), USS DeLong (DD-129), USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), USS Dickerson (DD-157), USS Leary (DD-158), USS Schenck (DD-159) and USS Herbert (DD-160): Booklet of General Plans' (NAID 120547168, 1919, digitized); NHHC photograph catalog (NH 67822, NH 69510, NH 42539); NARA deck-log holdings (RG 24 Entry 118 / Special List 44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120547168 (resolves, digitized); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy (RG 24 Entry 118, Special List 44); ibiblio.org NH-photo mirror pages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: NARA holds a digitized 1919 Booklet of General Plans for the New York Shipbuilding destroyer block explicitly covering DD-127 (NAID 120547168, Record Group 19 - as-built plan sheets that typically include insulation/section details); NARA RG 19 General Information Books hold per-vessel material specifications (not retrieved); NARA holds pre-1941 deck logs (RG 24 Entry 118, itemized in Special List 44; the 1939-40 neutrality-patrol logs would cover this hull's final USN commission); NHHC photographs include NH 67822 (Twiggs at anchor, circa 1930s), NH 69510 (USS Birmingham leading Twiggs and Chauncey out of a west-coast harbor, circa 1919-22), and NH 42539 (reserve destroyers at San Diego, 29 December 1926, Twiggs identifiable).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1940 (record subjects)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - the Booklet of General Plans is digitized but its sheets were not examined for insulation callouts, and none of these sources is stated to contain asbestos or materials data. Deck logs record events, not materials; the RG 19 General Information Books are the standard path for hull-level material specifications and were not pulled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-04
-
[6]Bartrip, P.W.J., '"Enveloped in fog": The asbestos problem in Britain's Royal Naval Dockyards, 1949-1999,' International Journal of Maritime History 26(4):685-701 (2014); A.W. Garrett (HM Chief Inspector of Factories) circular letter 'Asbestos Insulation aboard Ships,' August 1945 (transcribed at ibasecretariat.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Int. J. Maritime History 26(4), abstract; ibasecretariat.org transcription of the Garrett/TICA correspondence (August-September 1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Era context for this hull's British yard periods: asbestos was used extensively in Britain's Royal Naval Dockyards for fire protection and thermal insulation on warships, and although the 1931 Asbestos Regulations required precautions in asbestos factories, those precautions did not apply on ships under construction or undergoing refit or repair in HM Dockyards until the 1960s. Leamington's November 1940 refit was at HM Dockyard Devonport - the same yard later studied in the Devonport asbestosis research program. In August 1945 HM Chief Inspector of Factories A.W. Garrett circulated a letter headed 'Asbestos Insulation aboard Ships' to the thermal-insulation industry, warning that asbestos dust exposure in shipbuilding and ship repair could produce serious later effects and calling for dust suppression, ventilation, and respirators for workers fitting or removing asbestos insulation aboard ships - documenting that asbestos insulation work aboard ships in British yards was an acknowledged hazard domain within the period of this hull's wartime refits.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1931-1960s (era); 1940 and 1942 (this hull's refit windows)
- Population
- RN dockyard and commercial-yard refit workers, 1940-1945 (era context)
- Limitations
- Context only - neither source names this hull. Bartrip's documented focus period is 1949-1999, after this hull's Devonport refit (1940) and Hartlepool refit (1942); Hartlepool was a commercial repair yard, not an HM Dockyard. This row establishes era yard practice, not the presence of asbestos aboard HMS Leamington.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweeps, 2026-09-26: opinion index 'USS Twiggs' = 0 hits; docket index 'USS Twiggs' = 0 hits; 'DD-127' (o) = 4 hits, all identifier collisions [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-twiggs-dd127-05 through sl-uss-twiggs-dd127-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep for this hull: exact-name 'USS Twiggs' returns zero in both the opinion and docket (RECAP) indexes - no case naming the ship exists in the index. The hull-designator query 'DD-127' returned four opinions, all identifier collisions - New York Appellate Division family-court 'Matter of' matters (Angel P. 2017; Kaylene H. 2015; Lazeria F. 2021) in which 'DD-' is a docket designator, and Ellis v. State (Fla. DCA 1977), a criminal appeal in which the string is a docket/citation identifier. No qualifying asbestos litigation names DD-127. The plausible collision source for any future 'USS Twiggs' litigation hit is the second hull of the name - USS Twiggs (DD-591), a Fletcher-class destroyer in commission 1943-1945 and sunk at Okinawa - and law-firm asbestos ship lists that carry 'USS Twiggs' do not distinguish the two hulls (excluded as a source class regardless).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive of all courts and eras; absence of a hit does not prove no claim was ever filed. The 'Twiggs' + asbestos surname-collision control, the 'HMS Leamington' query, and the 'DD-127' docket-level query could not complete under fleet-wide pacing this session - they are logged 'blocked' in the search ledger and gaps rather than reported as negatives. Identifier-collision hits were classified from case names/courts without per-hit full-text review.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-06
-
[8]Batch-3134 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live entry (browser-UA fetch, verbatim); NavSource DD-127 page (via Wayback); uboat.net and naval-history.net RN-service corroboration; NARA catalog NAID 120547168; Atlas shipyards.json builder check; CourtListener name + hull-designator sweeps; Naval Vessel Register (not applicable - struck 1941) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-twiggs-dd127-01 through sl-uss-twiggs-dd127-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey exists or was generated (the hull was broken up at Newport in 1951-52, decades before shipbreaking asbestos documentation), no abatement contract or hazmat disclosure exists, and no qualifying asbestos case names DD-127. The hull left U.S. Navy custody in October 1940 - before the era that produced asbestos documentation or litigation - and passed through three more navies before scrapping, so the usual exposure-record pathways (postwar yard abatement records, museum hazmat disclosures, veteran litigation naming this hull) do not exist for it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1918-built steam destroyer consistent with era practice would have carried insulated steam plant materials, and her documented wartime refits are the type of event that disturbs such material. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-twiggs-dd127-07