Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Walter S. Brown (DE-258), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (1981) Vol. 8, pp. 79-80 (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full record (specifications block + service narrative), DANFS Vol. 8 pp. 79-80
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 10 January 1943 at Boston, Mass., by the Boston Navy Yard; launched 22 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Garth Thomas; commissioned 25 June 1943, Lt. Comdr. W. L. Harmon in command. Shakedown Casco Bay; joined Escort Division (CortDiv) 5 escorting convoys to Gibraltar and North African ports - four round-trip voyages by spring 1944. Sailed 23 April 1944 in the screen of convoy UGS-40 (some 65 merchantmen; screen commander Comdr. Jesse C. Sowell in USCGC Campbell, WPG-32); on 11 May 1944 off Cape Corbelin/Cape Bengut took six attacking Luftwaffe planes (Ju-88s, He-111s, Do-217s) under fire in a seven-minute engagement, laid smoke, scored hits - convoy unscathed, Sowell singled the ship out for praise. Continued convoy escort through the end of the war in Europe; summer 1945 training exercises with submarines off the northeast coast. Decommissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard 4 October 1945; struck from the Navy list 24 October 1945; scrapping by the New York Naval Shipyard completed by 12 July 1946. One battle star for World War II service. Spec block: class Evarts; 1,140 t; 289'5"; 35'1"; draft 8'3"; 21 k.; complement 156; 3 3", 4 1.1", 9 20mm, 2 dct, 8 dcp, 1 hedgehog.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 156)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Scattering of spec/figure conflicts with secondary sources (complement 156 vs. 198; scrapping complete July 1946 vs. February 1946) is carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC DANFS page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-01
-
[2]NavSource Online, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Walter S. Brown (DE-258) - spec block, building/operational data, commanding-officer list, captioned photo archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-258 page: spec block, 'Building and Operational Data', photo caption 0625730, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled archive record for this hull: GMT-type Evarts-class escort - 4 GM Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp, 2 screws, 19 kts, complement 15 officers / 183 enlisted; decommissioned while moored at the 35th St. pier, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 4 October 1945 after 2 years 3 months service; struck from the NVR 24 October 1945; scrapping completed at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, 'February 1946'. Captioned photo record documents a scheduled yard period at the New York Navy Yard Annex, Bayonne, N.J., 4-14 April 1944, followed by New London training, arrival NOB Norfolk 21 April, and departure with convoy UGS-40. Four commanding officers listed (Harmon; Whitney; Burdett; Connolly).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew; New York Navy Yard Annex work force April 1944; New York Naval Shipyard scrapping work force 1945-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive - secondary, not an official record; used here for operational detail absent from DANFS (Bayonne yard period, 35th St. pier, CO roster). Its 'February 1946' scrapping date conflicts with DANFS ('completed by 12 July 1946') and its complement (198) conflicts with the DANFS design figure (156) - carried in gaps. Documents history only; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-02
-
[3]History Nebraska (state historical society), 'Nebraska and Navy Ships' (1995) - USS Walter S. Brown (DE-258) namesake entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- Nebraska History publication, 'USS Walter S. Brown (DE-258)' entry (p. 72 of PDF)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- State historical-society record identifying the namesake: Aviation Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Walter Scott Brown, USN, of North Loup, Nebraska - enlisted 9 January 1940; assigned to Patrol Squadron 24 (VP-24) maintaining PBY Catalina seaplanes at NAS Kaneohe Bay, Oahu; killed in action 7 December 1941 participating in the defense of the base during the Japanese attack; posthumously commended by the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, for selfless bravery. Confirms ship built at the Boston Navy Yard in 1943, Atlantic Fleet convoy-escort service, UGS-40 defense in May 1944, decommissioning October 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1916-1945 (namesake life and ship service)
- Limitations
- Namesake identification and corroborating history only - no asbestos or materials content. The source reads 'sold for scrap three years later' (~1948), conflicting with DANFS (scrapping by the Navy yard completed by 12 July 1946) - carried in gaps. A Kansas legislative testimony (KS SB309, 2022) claims the namesake for Pleasanton, Kansas - the home-state discrepancy is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-03
-
[4]DANFS spec block (class Evarts) + NavSource spec block (GMT diesel-electric, 4x GM 16-278A, 6,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for builder/disposal yards + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-258 spec block; DANFS spec block; shipyards.json records 'boston-naval-shipyard' and 'brooklyn-navy-yard'; GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered destroyer escort built at a Navy yard in 1943, the peak asbestos-construction era: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation/cable, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and windlass equipment. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin systematic asbestos substitution until the early 1970s - a quarter-century after this hull was scrapped, so any original 1943-era materials would have remained in the era-standard configuration until dismantlement.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943; New York Navy Yard Annex work force April 1944; wartime crew; New York Naval Shipyard scrapping work force 1945-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey exists in the public record for this ship. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM that was aboard. The diesel plant eliminates the boiler-lagging pathway but does not eliminate era-standard uses in exhaust lagging, gaskets, electrical, deck, and accommodation materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-04
-
[5]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): records 'boston-naval-shipyard' (tier 3; John Crane gaskets/sealing litigation, Tex. App. 2003) and 'brooklyn-navy-yard' / New York Naval Shipyard (tier 3; Kaylo/Owens-Illinois product documentation; In re Eastern & Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation, 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991); Fleischer et al. 1946 pipe-covering survey context) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json records 'boston-naval-shipyard' and 'brooklyn-navy-yard'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Both yards that handled this hull are litigation-documented asbestos sites at the yard level in the Atlas dataset: the Boston Naval Shipyard (builder, Jan-Jun 1943) and the New York Naval Shipyard/Brooklyn Navy Yard incl. its Bayonne annex (April 1944 availability; decommissioning October 1945; scrapping completed 1946). Yard-level documentation establishes asbestos use and exposure at these facilities during the war years - including pipe-covering operations documented in the 1945-46 Fleischer/Drinker multi-yard industrial-hygiene survey - but does not establish materials aboard or exposure specific to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard work force 1943; New York Naval Shipyard and Bayonne annex work forces 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - the cited litigation and survey records document the yards, not DE-258. The Fleischer 1946 survey anonymized its four yards and does not name either facility. No work-order, job, or hull-level record ties yard asbestos activity to this specific ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-05
-
[6]Batch-4179 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource DE-258 archive; CourtListener opinion and docket sweeps; Nebraska state history namesake record; general web sweep for surveys/abatement/litigation; NARA digitized holdings check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-01 through -08 (incl. -03b)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, MARAD/NDRF record, or docketed case naming USS Walter S. Brown or DE-258 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion sweeps returned zero qualifying hits: exact-phrase "USS Walter S. Brown" = 0 results; unquoted name query = 24 results, all name collisions (defendants/parties named Walter or Brown, incl. asbestos cases about other vessels - Madden v. Able Supply, S.D. Tex. 2002, concerns USS Wren); "DE-258" = 17 results, all '(DE 258)' docket-entry-number citations in non-maritime cases; RECAP docket sweeps returned 0 exact-phrase dockets and 323 '(DE 258)' docket-entry collisions, none asbestos- or vessel-related. The hull was scrapped by the Navy itself in 1945-46 - never a museum ship, reserve-fleet hulk, or MARAD disposal - so the record types that document surviving WWII hulls do not exist for this ship. Only asbestos mentions located are law-firm marketing pages, excluded per source rules.
- 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 diesel-powered escort is consistent with era-standard materials, and the hull was dismantled before asbestos regulation, survey, or abatement regimes existed. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-walter-s-brown-de258-06