Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 750-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-wagner-de539-pkt-750-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Wagner (DER-539) entry, NHHC (published 2016-05-10; verbatim text via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 - live NHHC page returns 404; mirror transcription also at hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/der539.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text (namesake bio + DER-539 spec block + ship history paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for S2c William Daniel Wagner, USNR (Navy Armed Guard, SS Steel Navigator, sunk by U-610 1942-10-19). Laid down 8 November 1943 at Boston, Mass., by the Boston Navy Yard; launched 27 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Alfred Thomas. Construction suspended 17 February 1947 at 61.5 percent complete; mothballed at Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard, Boston, until 1 July 1954; chosen for completion as radar picket escort ship (DER); towed to Boston Naval Shipyard (formerly Boston Navy Yard), construction resumed; redesignated DER-539; commissioned 22 November 1955 (Lt. Cmdr. Edward A. Riley). Departed Boston 4 January 1956 for shakedown out of Roosevelt Roads, P.R.; joined Escort Squadron 18, Newport, R.I.; radar picket duty on seaward extension of DEW line (Eastern Contiguous Radar Coverage System / Atlantic Barrier) into late 1959. 'In commission, in reserve' 31 March 1960; Sabine Pass, Texas, 1 April for lay-up; decommissioned June 1960; Atlantic Fleet Reserve until stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 November 1974; sold 1 September 1977. Spec block: displacement 1,350; length 306'0"; beam 36'8"; draft 9'5"; speed 24 knots; complement 210; class John C. Butler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard/Boston Naval Shipyard construction trades (1943-47, 1954-55); crew 1955-1960
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Launch year stated as 1944 (conflicts with navypedia/Wikipedia 1943 - carried in gaps). Disposal stated as 'sold on 1 September 1977' (conflicts with 'sunk as target' secondary reports - carried in gaps). Live NHHC page 404s; citation_url is the 2025-12-09 Wayback capture of the canonical page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Index, DE-539 USS Wagner (building/operational data chronology; NHHC photo captions NH 79810, NH 79811; Heilenday Collection photo III 0424A) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/539.htm 'Building and Operational Data' block + photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary compilation consistent with DANFS and adding operational detail: keel laid 8 November 1943 at Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown; launched/christened 27 December 1944; construction suspended 17 February 1947 (61.5% complete), mothballed at Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard Boston; construction resumed at Boston Naval Shipyard 19 October 1953 (DANFS dates the tow there 1 July 1954), redesignated DER-539; commissioned 22 November 1955 (Lcdr. E.A. Riley); decommissioned 24 June 1960 at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Orange, Texas, custody to Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; stricken from NVR 1 November 1974. NHHC-captioned photographs document the mothballed hull at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Inactive Ship Basin in March and October 1973, nested with mothballed DERs Chambers (DER-394), Otterstetter (DER-244), Mills (DER-391), Rhodes (DER-384).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- Atlantic Reserve Fleet inactive-facility workforce (Orange TX 1960; Philadelphia 1973)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled secondary source, not a primary record - dates here corroborate DANFS; its 'sunk as a target, date unknown' fate note conflicts with DANFS's 'sold 1 September 1977' and appears to conflate sister DER-540 Vandivier (documented sunk as target off Florida 7 February 1975). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-02
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[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) + Navy insulation-spec suite identified in Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec exhibit list (NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) ch.39 Thermal Insulation, 1945; Navy spec 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos,' 1945) + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group 6 row; class profile ev-john-c-butler-class-04 (spec suite identifications); GAO HRD-80-2 product page (full text HTTP 403 to automated fetch)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a steam-plant destroyer escort built across two asbestos-era windows (1943-47 partial construction; 1954-55 radar-picket completion): the John C. Butler class carries BuShips design group 6 (WGT) - 2 'D' express boilers (435 psi/750F), 2 Westinghouse geared turbines, 12,000 shp, 24.3 kt - a full steam plant with the period-standard asbestos applications in boiler and turbine lagging, steam-line insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, fireproofing, deck coverings, and accommodation insulation. The era's controlling Navy insulation specifications (NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) Thermal Insulation; asbestos-felt spec 32F3a) are identified in the class profile's litigation record. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that Navy asbestos removal policy until the 1970s was remove-only-if-damaged - consistent with original materials remaining through this hull's two reserve-fleet periods and 1977 disposal.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-47; Boston Naval Shipyard conversion trades 1954-55; crew 1955-60; reserve-fleet maintenance/inactivation workforce 1960-77
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, survey, or abatement record exists in the public record for this ship. Construction-era asbestos use is era-consistent inference, not ship-proven; the underlying spec documents are identified via a litigation exhibit list (Jack v. Borg-Warner, sister hull DE-446), not retrieved for this hull. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM, and does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-03
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[5]In re John Crane, Inc., No. 01-03-00698-CV (Tex. App. 1st Dist. 2003), as indexed in Atlas shipyards.json record 'boston-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 3) [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json 'boston-naval-shipyard' record; NavSource DE-539 photo captions (NH 79810, Heilenday III 0424A)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard-level documentation: this hull was partially built (1943-47) and completed/converted to DER (1954-55) at Boston Navy Yard / Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown - a facility the Atlas shipyard dataset carries at evidence tier 3, including litigation product identification that a worker alleged exposure to John Crane gaskets and sealing materials at Boston Naval Shipyard. NHHC-captioned photos also place the mothballed hull at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard's inactive basin in 1973. These establish where hull construction, conversion, and lay-up occurred at yards with documented asbestos-era exposure records; they do not document ACM aboard this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard workforce; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactive-facility workforce
- Limitations
- Yard-level and photo-caption evidence, not hull evidence - the John Crane allegation is about shipyard work generally, not this vessel; the appellate posture is not an adjudicated exposure finding for this hull. Presence of the hull at Boston and Philadelphia naval shipyards is documented; asbestos conditions aboard the hull itself remain inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-04
-
[6]National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, 'The Boston Navy Yard and Destroyer Escorts (DEs)' (with Boston NHP photo BOSTS 14588-1601) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS BNY-DE article, 'Fair Winds, Following Seas' section + photo caption BOSTS 14588-1601; program-scale details from 'Boston Navy Yard Gets Busy' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS documents this hull's completion setting: 'The last two DEs built in the Boston Navy Yard became specialized radar picket ships in 1955 and served until 1960' - a Boston National Historical Park photograph shows USS Vandivier and USS Wagner 'nearing completion in 1955 in Dry Dock #5' at the yard. The same article documents the yard's WWII DE program at scale: 62 DEs built at Boston Navy Yard (31 USN, 31 Royal Navy), prefabricated construction on Shipways #1/#2 and Dry Dock #5 (built 1942 specifically for DE construction, four hulls at once), ~50,000 employees including ~8,000 women in 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard/Boston Naval Shipyard workforce (1943-47 build; 1954-55 completion)
- Limitations
- NPS interpretation documents yard and hull location, not materials - contains no asbestos content. It does establish that this hull's 1954-55 radar-picket completion occurred inside Boston Navy Yard Dry Dock #5, i.e. yard trades worked on and inside this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-05
-
[7]Batch-4371 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture + hazegray mirror); NavSource photo index; CourtListener name + hull-number sweeps; shipyards.json cross-check; class-profile background [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-wagner-de539-01 through sl-uss-wagner-de539-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material schedule, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Wagner / DE-539 / DER-539 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener sweeps: 'USS Wagner' zero hits on opinion and RECAP docket indexes; 'DER-539' zero hits on both; 'DE-539' produced 13 opinion and 118 docket hits, all classified as docket-entry/citation token collisions ('D.E. 539') with no naval or asbestos naming - no qualifying litigation for this hull.
- 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 steam-plant hull built and converted inside the asbestos era is consistent with era materials, and her two long reserve-fleet lay-ups were consistent with materials left in place. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wagner-de539-06