Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet iy-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-whipple-dd217-pkt-iy-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Whipple II (Destroyer No. 217) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, service narrative paragraphs 13-24 (World War II through disposal)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS World War II narrative for this hull: dispatched to Balikpapan 25 November 1941; ABDA service in the Netherlands East Indies; glancing collision with Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter in fog off Java 12 February 1942, drydocked at Tjilatjap; rescued 308 survivors of Langley (AV-3) on 27 February 1942 and fired 4-inch rounds and torpedoes to scuttle her; rescued 231 survivors of Pecos (AO-6); Melbourne 23 March 1942; west coast via Pearl Harbor June 1942; Mare Island yard availability removed topside weight and replaced two torpedo-tube banks with 20-mm guns; seven west coast-Hawaii convoy round trips; New York Navy Yard voyage repairs mid-1943; Guadalcanal (CVE-60) hunter-killer group January 1944 (U-544 sunk 16 January); Boston Navy Yard voyage repairs; UGS-36 Mediterranean convoy (30-plane air attack repelled 1 April 1944); redesignated AG-117 at New London June 1945; New York Navy Yard conversion to high-speed target vessel from 9 July 1945; Pearl Harbor target duty to 21 September 1945; decommissioned Philadelphia 9 November 1945; stricken 5 December 1945; sold for scrap 30 September 1947 to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia. Two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Documents service history and named yard availabilities (Mare Island 1942; New York Navy Yard 1943 and 1945; Boston Navy Yard 1944); DANFS does not describe materials removed or installed in those yards and establishes no asbestos work or exposure. AG-117 redesignation date is narrated at the 6 June 1945 New London arrival; secondary indexes read 30 June 1945 - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-02
-
[3]NHHC, H-Gram 067, 'The Loss of USS Edsall' (official NHHC H-Gram series PDF) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- H-Gram 067 text - DESDIV 57 composition paragraph; De Ruyter collision paragraph; Langley scuttling and Pecos rescue passages (pp. 7-13)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC H-Gram 67 (official NHHC publication on the loss of USS Edsall) identifies Whipple (DD-217) as a member of DESDIV 57 with Edsall, John D. Edwards (DD-216), and Alden (DD-211); records Whipple's earlier collision with the Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter and a temporary 'soft bow' fitting that left her unfit for combat duty; confirms Whipple picked up 308 Langley survivors, fired nine 4-inch rounds and two torpedoes into the derelict, and rescued Pecos survivors after that oiler's sinking (H-Gram reads 232; DANFS reads 231).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Official NHHC operational history corroborating events, not materials. Conflicts with the DANFS transcription on the division number (57 vs 68) and Pecos survivor count (232 vs 231) are carried in gaps. The 'soft bow' detail documents battle-damage repair but not the materials involved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-03
-
[4]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, WHIPPLE DD-217 entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- WHIPPLE DD-217 rows, RG 19, Alphabetical Ship Drawings and Microfilm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Ship Plan Index lists WHIPPLE, DD-217, in Record Group 19 under Alphabetical Ship Drawings (catalog ID 53490176) and Microfilm (catalog ID 175671141). These collections are leads for examining ship-specific plans, including any available insulation and piping drawings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The index establishes holdings, not the contents of individual drawings. No Whipple drawing or material schedule was retrieved or reviewed; the index is not evidence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-04
-
[5]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; General Information Books; Cartographic Branch; Other Records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA's research guide describes potential asbestos-relevant Navy record groups for the 1941-1961 period, including RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull designation, destroyer General Information Books, and S39 insulation/lagging and S48 piping drawings. It states that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly show asbestos aboard ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a research guide, not a Whipple material record; it establishes where to search, not that this ship contained asbestos. Its 1941-1961 scope postdates Whipple's 1919-1920 construction but covers her 1942-1945 yard availabilities (Mare Island, New York Navy Yard, Boston Navy Yard).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-05
-
[6]U.S. GAO, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (1979) [gao]
- Locator
- Highlights, paragraphs 1-2 (product-page description; gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The 1979 GAO review documents asbestos insulation policy and exposure concerns across Navy shipbuilding and repair, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. This is program-level context only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- GAO studied policy decades after Whipple's 1945 decommissioning and did not examine this hull; its fieldwork yards (Long Beach, Norfolk) are not among Whipple's documented yards. It cannot establish this ship's materials, exposures, or repair work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-06
-
[7]Negative result from DANFS, NARA Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, GAO HRD-80-2, and CourtListener sweep; see search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger sl-01 through sl-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official sources and catalog entries reviewed for this record did not yield a ship-specific asbestos survey, product schedule, abatement record, or material finding for Whipple (DD-217). Asbestos presence aboard this hull remains unknown. Asbestos-marketing web content for 'USS Whipple' was reviewed for leads and refers to the later frigate FF-1062 (ex-DE-1062), a different hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- This is a bounded search result, not proof that asbestos was absent. A 1919-1920 steam-powered destroyer of this class is within the era in which asbestos insulation was common in naval construction, but that is an era inference, not a ship-specific finding. Underlying NARA plans, GIBs, and yard work packages were not obtained.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-07
-
[8]CourtListener authenticated API v4 search responses via fleet helper; Leighton v. Peters opinion text (names 'USS WHIPPLE (DE-1062)' explicitly) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion-search count 1 (collision); 'DD-217' opinion-search count 0; ledger sl-06 through sl-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Authenticated CourtListener API v4 search: exact-name opinion query '"USS Whipple"' returned count 1 - Leighton v. Peters, 356 F. Supp. 900 (D. Haw. 1973), a non-asbestos military-immunity tort opinion naming USS Whipple (DE-1062), the later frigate; classified NAME COLLISION, not this hull. Hull-number opinion query '"DD-217"' returned count 0. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming DD-217 was located. Exact-name and hull-number docket queries were blocked by the fleet pacing guard at report time.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The 'USS Whipple' opinion universe is dominated by the later frigate (DE-1062/FF-1062); the single hit is classified down to name collision on the opinion's own text. Docket-level and AG-117 queries were not completed under fleet pacing - absence of a docket finding is not proof none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-08
-
[9]DANFS, Whipple II (Destroyer No. 217) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative paragraphs 1-12
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second ship named for Commodore Abraham Whipple; laid down 12 June 1919 at Philadelphia by William Cramp and Sons; launched 6 November 1919; commissioned 23 April 1920 (Lt. Richard F. Bernard); specification block reads Clemson class, 1,308 tons, 314'4", 35.0 knots, complement 101. Classified DD-217 on 17 July 1920. Service: U.S. Naval Detachment in Near Eastern Waters 1920-21 (Sevastopol evacuation of White Russians, November 1920); Asiatic Fleet at Cavite 1921-25; Norfolk and Nicaraguan landings 1925-27; European cruise 1927-28; San Diego to August 1929; second Asiatic Fleet tour through the 1930s; 14 April 1936 collision with Smith Thompson (DD-212) in Subic Bay, received that ship's bow as replacement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity and service history, not materials or asbestos content; complement 101 is a design figure, not a wartime muster. Live NHHC DANFS page 404s; verbatim hazegray transcription (confirmed against a 2025 Wayback capture) is cited. The transcription reads 'DesDiv 68' where NHHC H-Gram 67 reads 'DESDIV 57' - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-whipple-dd217-01