Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet iu-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-walker-dd163-pkt-iu-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Walker I (Destroyer No. 163) (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page 404s 2026-09-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Walker I entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 19 June 1918 at Quincy, Mass., by the Fore River Shipbuilding Co. under contract from Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 14 September 1918 (sponsor Mrs. Francis Pickering Thomas); commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard 31 January 1919, Lt. Comdr. Harold A. Waddington. Spec block: Wickes class; dp. 1,284; 314'4.5" x 30'11"; dr. 9'2" mean; 34.92 kt; cpl. 101; armament 4 x 4", 2 x 1-pdrs., 12 x 21" tt. Service: escorted George Washington returning President Wilson Feb 1919; Division 18, Destroyer Force; West Indies exercises Mar-Apr 1919; NC-boat transatlantic-flight picket duty May 1919; Panama Canal transit 24 Jul 1919; San Diego based; Reserve Destroyer Flotilla; reservist indoctrination cruise 27 Oct 1920; rotating reserve with Mare Island overhauls; decommissioned 7 Jun 1922 (austerity); reserve at San Diego ('Red Lead Row') into the 1930s. Struck 28 Mar 1938 for disposal by sale; reinstated for water-barge conversion; redesignated YW-57 1 Apr 1939 while undergoing conversion at Mare Island Navy Yard; redesignated DCH-1 (damage control hulk) 11 Jul 1940, based at the Destroyer Base, San Diego, 'used for training exercises in formulating and evolving new damage control techniques'; propulsion machinery stripped during the initial YW-57 conversion; redesignated IX-44 17 Feb 1941; scuttled at sea 28 Dec 1941; struck from the Navy list 24 Jun 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1942
- Population
- Fore River/Bethlehem construction trades 1918-19; commissioned crew 1919-1922 (design complement 101); reserve caretakers 1922-1938; Mare Island conversion workers 1939-40; damage-control trainees and caretaker personnel at Destroyer Base San Diego 1940-41
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, dates, designations, service, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. It records that propulsion machinery was removed in the 1939-40 conversion but gives no materials detail for the stripped hulk. Transcription mirror cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. The scuttle passage gives 28 Dec 1941 but names no tow vessel or position; the Neches/coordinate detail comes from secondary sources (see search_ledger sl-04/sl-05 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-01
-
[3]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - USS Walker (Destroyer #163, later DD-163), later YW-57 and DCH-1 (IX-44) photo-history page (ibiblio HyperWar mirror of history.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library ship page + photo captions NH 99161, NH 85033, 80-G-427583
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHC photo-history page for this hull: 'a 1060-ton Little class destroyer' built at Quincy in the WWI construction program, commissioned end of January 1919, Atlantic/Caribbean until mid-year then Pacific; served West Coast until decommissioned at San Diego June 1922; stricken March 1938 after nearly sixteen years in reserve, reinstated, redesignated YW-57 April 1939, renamed DCH-1 July 1940 (later IX-44), 'employed at San Diego until December 1941, when she was scuttled at sea.' Documents NHC-held photographs NH 99161 (Boston, 1 Feb 1919) and NH 85033 (with Cuyama at Acapulco, c.1919), and NARA-held 80-G-427583 ('as built' configuration, c. 1919-22).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1941
- Population
- Commissioned crew (photographic context)
- Limitations
- Corroborates the DANFS arc independently; the 'Little class' label and the 1,060-ton figure differ from DANFS's Wickes-class / 1,284-ton spec block - a subclass-vs-class and loading-condition distinction, logged in gaps rather than blended. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-02
-
[4]The National WWII Museum, 'Sacrifice and Survival: A Tale of Two Wickes' - documents sister flush-decker USS Taylor (DD-94) designated Damage Control Hulk 40 on 11 July 1940, the same date as this hull's DCH-1 designation, 'training damage control parties' at Philadelphia Navy Yard [museum_official]
- Locator
- nationalww2museum.org article (Taylor/DCH-40 passages); NAVPERS 16191 title page/preface (PDF mirror: https://www.usna.edu/Sailing/_files/documents/1045_Damage_Control.pdf)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Program context for this hull's DCH-1 role: the Navy designated retired flush-deck destroyers as damage-control hulks beginning mid-1940 - Walker's DCH-1 designation of 11 July 1940 coincides with Taylor's DCH-40 designation the same day; the WWII-era damage-control curriculum such hulks supported is codified in NAVPERS 16191, Handbook of Damage Control (1945), written by the Naval Damage Control Training Center, Philadelphia with the Bureau of Ships and the Naval Training School (Damage Control), San Francisco.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Navy damage-control trainees (program context)
- Limitations
- Documents the damage-control hulk program and its 1945 codified practice - not this hull's specific evolutions, materials, or condition. NAVPERS 16191 postdates IX-44's loss; it illustrates what hulk-based training taught, not what was aboard this hulk.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-03
-
[5]Rushworth, Denis H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48; abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed engineering-journal history documents U.S. Navy use of asbestos-containing thermal insulation on shipboard steam-plant piping and machinery - the fleet material environment within which this 1918 steam destroyer was built (4 boilers, geared turbines) and within which her 1939-41 conversion/hulk periods fell.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- era documented through mid-century; article 2005
- Population
- Navy engine-room personnel and shipyard/insulation workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Fleet/era-level documentation; does not name this hull or the Wickes class and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this vessel, its quantity, location, or any individual exposure. Applied to Walker only as era-consistent inference; note the hull's steam plant was removed in 1939-40, bounding the inference for the hulk interval.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-04
-
[6]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json) records for fore-river-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard; DANFS spec block (Wickes class, steam plant, 34.92 kt) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json entries fore-river-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard; DANFS specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: builder Fore River Shipyard (Quincy) is a tier-3 yard in the Atlas dataset with documented asbestos products spanning boilers, pipes, turbines, fireproofing materials, gaskets, packing, asbestos wire insulation, asbestos cement, and asbestos-containing paint; Mare Island Naval Shipyard (site of her reserve-period overhauls and the 1939-40 YW-57/DCH-1 conversion) is a tier-2 yard with documented Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, packing, gaskets, and refractory materials, including 1998 EIS ACM documentation. A WWI flush-decker's four-boiler geared-steam plant is the type that carried period-standard asbestos lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1918-1941
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1918-19; Mare Island yard workers 1939-40; Boston Navy Yard 1919 (commissioning)
- Limitations
- Yard- and era-level inference only - the dataset's Fore River litigation window (1967-70 apprentice exposure) postdates this hull's 1918 build by decades, and no hull-level material list or 1939-40 conversion work package was located. The ship-specific findings for this hull are the DANFS/NHC service records (ev-01, ev-02); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 searches (2026-09-26): '"USS Walker" asbestos' type=o; '"USS Walker"' type=o; '"DD-163"', '"YW-57"', '"DCH-1"' type=o - completed; '"USS Walker"' type=r (dockets) and '"IX-44"' type=o - attempted repeatedly, blocked by the shared fleet pacing limiter (logged honestly as blocked, not as no-result) [court_record]
- Locator
- API result sets; 'DD-163' cluster examples: 7560384 (Centers), 6356332 (In re Yan Ping Z.), 6127554 (In re Yolanda D.) - all classified name collision; 'DCH-1' cluster examples: 2316058 (Alford v. DCH Foundation), 214263 (Moore v. Reese)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-26): '"USS Walker"' returned 0 opinions; '"USS Walker" asbestos' returned 0; '"YW-57"' returned 0; '"DD-163"' returned 18 opinion hits, all name collisions (docket-number and initials tokens - e.g., Centers v. Florida First National Bank, Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977, docket No. DD-163; a run of N.Y. family-court 'In re' matters), none vessel-related and none asbestos litigation; '"DCH-1"' returned 7 opinion hits, all name collisions (DCH Foundation insurance litigation, Georgia Dept. of Community Health 'DCH' acronym matches - e.g., Alford v. DCH Foundation Group, C.D. Cal. 2001; Georgia Dept. of Community Health v. Medders), none vessel-related and none asbestos litigation. '"USS Walker"' type=r (docket index) and '"IX-44"' type=o were attempted across ~45 minutes and repeatedly blocked by the shared fleet pacing limiter - a coverage gap logged honestly, NOT a 'no result' finding. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in the completed queries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- Index coverage through 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Search coverage limitation: 'USS Walker' is collision-prone - the second USS Walker (DD-517, Fletcher class, in commission 1943-1969) served through the peak-asbestos era, so any asbestos claim naming 'USS Walker' requires hull attribution before being credited to DD-163; none was found. Cases in which the ship appears only in pleadings (not opinions) would not surface in type=o results, and the RECAP docket query ('USS Walker' type=r) plus the 'IX-44' opinion query were blocked by fleet pacing - RECAP coverage is incomplete for this hull. Absence of a located case is a search result, not proof that no claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-06
-
[8]Batch-3169 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (hazegray transcription), NHC Online Library photo-history (ibiblio HyperWar mirror), DANFS IX index and DANFS Neches (AO-5) entry, NavSource photo index, National WWII Museum, NAVPERS 16191, NARA catalog/record-group guides, Atlas shipyards.json, CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-walker-dd163-01 through sl-uss-walker-dd163-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull under any designation (Walker, DD-163, YW-57, DCH-1, IX-44) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). None is expected to exist: the hull was scuttled at sea in December 1941, so no modern survey, donation, or abatement interval ever applied.
- 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 saturated-steam destroyer plant is era-consistent with asbestos-containing lagging, gaskets, and packing, and residual material aboard the 1940-41 hulk is undocumented either way. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-07
-
[9]NARA record groups: RG 24 (Navy deck logs) for USS Walker DD-163 (1919-1922) and USS Neches AO-5 (December 1941 - the tow/scuttle voyage); RG 181 (11th Naval District / Destroyer Base San Diego) damage-control training records 1940-41; RG 19 (BuShips) conversion work records, Mare Island 1939-40; NARA still-photo holding 80-G-427583 (noted on the NHC photo page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military ; photo identifier 80-G-427583 per NHC caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires NARA research room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Walker deck logs 1919-22; Neches deck log for the Dec 1941 tow voyage (would resolve the 8-Dec vs 28-Dec scuttle-date conflict between NavSource/memoir and DANFS); 11th Naval District / Destroyer Base San Diego records for DCH-1 training operations; BuShips/Mare Island conversion papers for the 1939-40 machinery-strip and hulk conversion; NARA photo 80-G-427583. Any may document repair, conversion, or materials detail bearing on asbestos.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1919-1942 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any asbestos-specific document exists for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walker-dd163-08