USS Willmarth (DE-638)

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet le-packet.md (9 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-willmarth-de638-pkt-le-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Willmarth' (DE-638) entry (live NHHC page returns HTTP 404; verbatim text via hazegray DANFS mirror retrieved through Wayback capture 2001-01-26) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Willmarth' entry incl. spec block and full service narrative; canonical NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/willmarth.html returned HTTP 404 (standing NHHC link-rot per Batch-01); no Wayback capture of the canonical URL exists - hazegray verbatim DANFS transcription used via its own Wayback capture

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'Willmarth' (DE-638): namesake Ens. Kenneth Willmarth (b. 13 Feb 1914, Cleveland Township, Chippewa, Wis.; killed aboard Vincennes CA-44 at Savo Island 9 Aug 1942); spec block (dp. 1,400; l. 306'; b. 37'; dr. 9'5" mean; s. 23.5 k; cpl. 205; a. 3 3", 4 1.1", 10 20mm, 3 21" tt, 1 dcp (hh), 2 dct, 8 dcp; cl. Buckley); laid down 25 June 1943 at San Francisco by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Shipbuilding Division; launched 21 November 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Eva Willmarth); commissioned 13 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. James G. Thorburn, Jr., USNR. Shakedown out of San Diego; post-shakedown availability at builder's yard; CortDiv 40; departed San Francisco 31 May 1944 screening Convoy 2410 to Pearl Harbor (arrived 9 June); screened Convoy 4212-A to Eniwetok with Donaldson DE-44 and McCoy Reynolds DE-42 (arrived ~21 June); Treasury Islands, Blanche Harbor 26 June; Solomons/Treasury escort July-Sept incl. Dreger Harbor convoy 1-5 Aug and Milne Bay port-propeller repairs; 25 Aug night encounter with unidentified 8,000-10,000-ton freighter that fired 3-inch guns (no damage, shells no closer than 1,000 yards); escorted Stratford AP-41 to Green Island/Emirau/Torokina 29 Aug. TU 77.7.1 sortie 12 Oct (Ashtabula, Saranac, Chepachet, Salamonie, Mazama, SS Pueblo; escorts Witter DE-636, Bowers DE-637, Whitehurst DE-634); Kossol Passage 14 Oct; Leyte Gulf refueling-group screen 23-27 Oct under repeated air attack (Ashtabula torpedoed 24 Oct; floating mine sunk by gunfire; glide-bombing attacker driven off 25 Oct); TG 77.4 refueling screen 28 Oct; Kossol Roads 31 Oct. TG 78.4/HMS Ariadne escort to Mapia/Asia Islands 7-11 Nov; Pegun Island bombardment 15 Nov with Shaw DD-373, Caldwell DD-605, PC-1122; Igi Island bombardment 19 Nov; Morotai 22 Nov; CortDiv 40 to Manus/ServRon 4 from 1 Dec 1944, three months local escort. Reported to 5th Fleet 4 Mar 1945; Palaus ASW patrols 5-18 Mar; TF 54 sortie screen from Ulithi 21 Mar; screened Colorado BB-45 in FS areas 4-5 on 26 Mar; Kerama Retto refuel 30 Mar; circular-screen station 16 around TU 54.3.2 (Idaho BB-42) 1 Apr; screening Arkansas BB-33 when Japanese shore battery straddled (shell over bridge at 1323, splashes 150 yd and 15 yd; one boiler secured for leaking-gasket repair); 'Val' kamikaze attack ~1535 6 Apr spun into sea 20 yd off port side; LST-447 kamikaze fire/explosions ripped waterline gashes in Willmarth's hull and holed a fuel tank; rescued LST-447 survivors, transferred to Crescent City APA-21; screening Able-60 7 Apr; departed Okinawa 10 Apr screening 12 transports to Guam (arrived 14 Apr). Boiler trouble at Guam - repairs May through most of June; departed 28 June for Ulithi (sonar hunt with Trippe DD-403); 3 Jul screened 3d Fleet logistics force; planeguard Steamer Bay CVE-87; rescued TBF crew 20 Jul; planeguard Gilbert Islands CVE-107 early Aug; at sea for 15 Aug surrender; Tokyo Bay availability mid-Sept, storm 18 Sept; departed Tokyo Bay 24 Sept via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Panama Canal; Norfolk overhaul until late Oct; St. Johns River, Fla. inactivation, Florida Group 16th (Reserve) Fleet; decommissioned Green Cove Springs 26 April 1946; struck from the Navy list 1 December 1966; sold 1 July 1968 to North American Smelting Co. of Wilmington, Del., broken up for scrap. Four battle stars WWII.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1968

   Population

   Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943-44; wartime ship's company (design complement 205); Green Cove Springs inactivation/mothballing workers 1945-46

   Limitations

   DANFS establishes identity, construction, service history, and disposal; it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. Two in-text machinery events (boiler secured for a leaking gasket off Okinawa, April 1945; boiler trouble repaired at Guam May-June 1945) are historical facts about work aboard, not evidence that the gasket or boilers contained asbestos. The 25 Aug 1944 'stranger' engagement and the Japan-shore-battery straddle are carried as DANFS narrates them.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-01

3. [3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (January 1945), Destroyer-Escort (DE) construction table, row 366 WILLMARTH DE-638 + TE design-group machinery table (shipscribe.com scan, OCR text-extracted) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v1 DE construction table (printed p. 264ff): row 366 left block 'WILLMARTH DE638 | TE | Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif. | 2,368,950 | (ditto Aug. 7, 1942)'; matching right block 'June 25, 1943 | Nov. 21, 1943 | Jan. 15, 1944 | Mar. 13, 1944 | Mar. 13, 1944'; TE design-group machinery table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official BuShips Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. I (1945) carries per-hull construction-table rows for WILLMARTH (row 366 of the Destroyer-Escort section): official number DE-638, machinery design group 'TE' (turbo-electric), builder 'Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.', ship contract price $2,368,950, contract signed 7 August 1942 (ditto chain from the explicit WHITEHURST/WILLETT block entries); date row 'June 25, 1943 | Nov. 21, 1943 | Jan. 15, 1944 | Mar. 13, 1944 | Mar. 13, 1944' under columns keel laid / date launched / date of preliminary completion / date of first acceptance / commission. The TE design-group table for this class records two 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 deg F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp, 306 ft oa, 1,400/1,450 t, 23.6 kt, accommodations ~213-215.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1945 (publication); construction 1942-1944

   Population

   Ship's company accommodations per TE design group (~213-215); Bethlehem SF construction trades

   Limitations

   Contemporaneous official Navy data naming this hull - strongest identity/construction source in the file. Source PDF is image-only scans; rows were OCR text-extracted (tesseract) - digit-level OCR noise possible though all four key dates and the price corroborate DANFS and NavSource exactly. The document establishes the steam-plant type (TE, two 'D' express boilers) but contains no asbestos or insulation-material statements and supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-02

4. [4]USS Willmarth (DE-638), 'Factual History of the U.S.S. Willmarth (DE-638)', CO to SECNAV letter, serial DE(TE)638/A12 No. 001, 11 January 1946 (ship-generated official record; image scan hosted on NavSource) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DE-638 photo archive, 'View the official War History of USS Willmarth' link - 3-page letter scan (2452x1112 montage), read directly as image; header block, 7 numbered paragraphs, signature W. T. Clark

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's own official 'Factual History of the U.S.S. WILLMARTH (DE-638)' survives as a scanned primary document (3-page letter, serial DE(TE)638/A12, Serial No. 001, dated 11 January 1946 on Inactive Fleet Berthing Area, Green Cove Springs, Florida letterhead, classified CONFIDENTIAL [struck]; from the Commanding Officer to the Secretary of the Navy (Public Information Section), reference CinCLant dispatch 200352 of November 1945, signed W. T. Clark). Content includes: 'The WILLMARTH was built at Bethlehem shipyard in San Francisco, California and was one of the twelve turbine electric drive three inch destroyer escorts built there'; commissioning 13 Mar 1944 and DesPac/CortDiv-40 assignment; Leyte Gulf period 23-27 Oct 1944 'under numerous attacks by enemy torpedo planes' with 'an assist in shooting down' one; the Asia/Mapia operation 'from 7 to 28 November' with 'forty-five minutes of shore bombardment'; Manus/ServRon duty; TF 54 Okinawa screening; 'On V day (April 1) while screening the U.S.S. ARKANSAS off Yontan peninsula, this vessel was taken under fire by a Japanese shore battery. An estimated twelve salvoes were fired with several shells falling close aboard but no damage was sustained'; 'on 6 April came within fifteen yards of being a victim of a suicidal Val dive bomber' and the LST-447 firefighting/hull-damage episode; departure 10 April 'to Guam to repair sustained battle damage' where 'boiler trouble developed'; TG 30.8 logistics screening to VJ-day; 'On 10 September WILLMARTH entered Tokyo Bay with Task Unit 30.8.5'; homeward 24 Sept via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Panama Canal to Norfolk overhaul; 'On 29 October after overhaul we departed for St. Johns River Florida and arrived on 25 November and the long hard work of decommissioning began.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Ship's company (war-history reporting period, 1944-1946)

   Limitations

   Ship-generated primary record and the evidentiary basis for much of the DANFS narrative; operational content only - contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials statements. Image-only scan; full page images were read directly. Internal date typos ('May 29th 1945' and 'December 1, 1945' for 1944 events) logged in the correction row. Signed W. T. Clark though dated 11 Jan 1946, three days after the NavSource CO list ends Clark's command on 8 Jan - signature/date nuance logged. Documents a boiler gasket repair and Guam boiler repairs aboard this hull without establishing the materials involved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-03

5. [5]NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, 'USS Willmarth (DE 638)' (navsource.net/archives/06/638.htm) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Specifications block; building/operational data; commanding officers table (Hechler & Reeves compilation); photo captions incl. Guam officer group (30 May-7 Jun 1945) and Green Cove Springs mothballing/decommissioning series (April 1946)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Archive entry for DE-638: call sign N-T-K-S; compiled specifications (Buckley TE: 1,400 t light/1,740 full; 300' wl/306' oa; 36'9" extreme beam; 10'6" draft limit; 2 'D' Express boilers, G.E. turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 2 screws; 24 kts; 6,000 nm at 12 kt; 3 x 3"/50 Mk22, 1 twin 40mm Mk1, 8 x 20mm, 3 x 21" TT, Hedgehog Mk10, 8 Mk6 DCP, 2 Mk9 DCT; complement 15/198); timeline matching DANFS (keel 25 Jun 1943 by 'Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco'; launched/christened 21 Nov 1943 Mrs. Eva Willmarth; commissioned 13 Mar 1944 Lcdr James G. Thorburn, Jr., USNR; decommissioned 26 Apr 1946 Green Cove Springs 'after 2 years and 1 month of service'; struck 1 Dec 1966; sold 1 Jul 1968 to North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.); ribbons incl. Asiatic-Pacific w/ 4 stars and Philippine Liberation; commanding officer list (Thorburn 13 Mar 44-1 Jun 45; Lt. John F. Burditt 1 Jun-22 Nov 45; Lcdr William T. Clark 22 Nov 45-8 Jan 46; Lt.(jg) George Xavier Connor 8 Jan-1 Apr 46, decomm. CO); photo documentation: wartime MS32/10D camouflage views; officer-group photo at Guam between 30 May and 7 June 1945 (during the boiler-repair period, with Samuel S. Miles DE-183 alongside); April 1946 Green Cove Springs mothballing views incl. empty 20mm/40mm gun tubs; 26 Apr 1946 decommissioning-ceremony photo.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1968

   Limitations

   Volunteer-compiled secondary archive; spec block and timeline corroborate DANFS, the SDB 1945 row, and the ship's factual history but are not themselves official documents - verification marked partial. Its 'Struck from the NVR' wording is loose (the NVR does not cover ships disposed before 1987; the Navy-list strike of 1 Dec 1966 is the operative event per DANFS). Post-war-fit armament list differs from DANFS's as-built block (twin 40mm replacing the 1.1" mounts). Page contains no asbestos statement.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-04

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v1 TE design-group table + per-hull row 366 (group TE) + navypedia TE boiler-block map (secondary) + DANFS/factual-history yard periods (post-shakedown availability at builder's yard 1944; Guam boiler repairs May-June 1945; Norfolk overhaul Sept-Oct 1945; Green Cove Springs inactivation 1945-46) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v1 DE construction-table row 366 and TE design-group table (printed pp. 234-235 region for group data); navypedia us_de_te block map; DANFS yard-period events

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull carried a full steam plant - the Buckley TE design group fitted two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750 deg F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 TE group table; per-hull row assigns WILLMARTH group TE; navypedia's boiler block map assigns Combustion Engineering boilers to the DE-633-644 Bethlehem-San Francisco block - unverified against contract documents). Built June 1943-March 1944 at the peak of WWII asbestos usage, at a builder yard on the WAST California site list - the machinery configuration for which boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine/generator lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, and deck coverings of the era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1943-1968

   Population

   Bethlehem SF construction trades 1943-44; ship's company 1944-46; workers at the Guam repair period (May-June 1945), Norfolk overhaul (1945), and Green Cove Springs inactivation/mothballing (1945-46)

   Limitations

   Inference from the documented machinery plant, construction era, and builder - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, material schedule, or abatement contract naming DE-638 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Every listed application is 'typical of the type/era,' not 'installed on this hull.' The DE-633-644 boiler-maker assignment (Combustion Engineering) is navypedia-sourced and unverified against contract documents.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-05

7. [7]Western Asbestos Settlement Trust, California Land Site List (April 2018), wastrust.com - entry 'BETHLEHEM STEEL SHIPBUILDING--SAN FRANCISCO, CA'; corroborating Atlas shipyards.json yard_id bethlehem-shipbuilding [other_primary]

   Locator

   WAST California Land Site List April 2018, 'B' entries (line ~929 of text extraction); shipyards.json yard_id bethlehem-shipbuilding (aliases incl. Union Iron Works)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Builder-yard documentation: the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust (W.A. Simons Trust) California Land Site List carries 'BETHLEHEM STEEL SHIPBUILDING--SAN FRANCISCO, CA' as a listed jobsite (April 2018 edition, verified from the list PDF this session) - a federal asbestos-trust administrative designation of this hull's builder yard (the Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Division yard at San Francisco, ex-Union Iron Works, where DANFS, SDB 1945, and the ship's factual history all place construction and where DANFS places the post-shakedown availability). The Atlas shipyards dataset carries the parent corporation record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (evidence_tier 3, incl. Union Iron Works among its aliases).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1940s era; site list 2018

   Population

   Bethlehem San Francisco construction and repair workforce (WWII era)

   Limitations

   Builder-yard documentation, not a hull record - a trust site-list designation is an administrative claims-facility determination about the yard, not a finding about this hull's materials; it establishes the yard's recognized asbestos-exposure environment, not that asbestos went aboard DE-638, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The Atlas yard record is corporate-scope (Quincy/Sparrows Point evidence); the San Francisco yard resolves to it via the Union Iron Works alias rather than a dedicated yard_id.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-06

8. [8]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]

   Locator

   Abstract and article, J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at Navy yards and Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era and type.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   Survey wartime; article 1946

   Population

   WWII shipyard pipe coverers and nearby trades (class context)

   Limitations

   Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Bethlehem San Francisco was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. Per the Atlas shipyards record, C&EN (July 2026) reported a retraction call for this paper alleging understatement of asbestos hazards - noted for transparency; the amosite-standard finding is corroborated independently by the WAST yard designation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-07

9. [9]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this Bethlehem-built TE destroyer escort was produced in 1943-44 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-29

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-willmarth-de638-08

10. [10]Basel Convention (1989/1992); IMO Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (2009, in force 26 June 2025); EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 - regulatory timeline only; disposal chain per DANFS [other_primary]

    Locator

    Basel Convention overview (adoption/entry-into-force dates); IMO HKC status; EU Reg. 1257/2013; DANFS disposal sentence

    Finding type

    regulatory

    Finding

    Disposal-context record: the hull was sold by the Navy on 1 July 1968 to the North American Smelting Co., of Wilmington, Delaware, and broken up for scrap soon thereafter - predating every modern regime governing hazardous-materials handling in end-of-life vessels: the Basel Convention on transboundary movements of hazardous wastes (adopted 1989, in force 1992), the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (2013), and the IMO Hong Kong Convention (adopted 2009, entered into force 26 June 2025), under which inventory-of-hazardous-materials documentation for end-of-life ships became standard. No pre-scrapping hazardous-materials survey or abatement record for this hull was located in the sources searched.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1968 scrapping; 1992/2013/2025 regimes

    Population

    North American Smelting Co. scrapping workforce, Wilmington, Del. (1968-, class context)

    Limitations

    Regulatory timeline only - no source documents what materials were aboard or removed before this hull's 1968 scrapping. The absence of a contemporaneous inventory regime means any asbestos-containing material aboard was most plausibly handled under 1960s domestic scrap practice with no surviving public record located; nothing in this row establishes that asbestos was present or that any exposure occurred.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-willmarth-de638-09

11. [11]Cross-source reconciliation: ship's factual history (11 Jan 1946) vs. DANFS narrative sequencing and figures; NavSource timeline vs. NVR coverage scope; complement figures across DANFS/NavSource/SDB 1945; CO list vs. letter signature date; navypedia boiler block map [other_primary]

    Locator

    Factual-history paragraphs 5-6 vs. DANFS Okinawa sequence; NavSource timeline/spec block/CO table vs. DANFS and NVR scope note; SDB 1945 TE group accommodations

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Source discrepancies resolved or logged: (a) Arkansas shore-battery straddle date - the ship's factual history states 'On V day (April 1) while screening the U.S.S. ARKANSAS off Yontan peninsula, this vessel was taken under fire'; the DANFS narrative places the Arkansas screening and straddle immediately after the 1 April circular-screen assignment without stating the date - consistent but looser; the ship document's explicit 1 April is carried. (b) 'Val' kamikaze miss distance - ship document reads 'within fifteen yards'; DANFS reads '20 yards off the ship's port side'; both carried; immaterial. (c) Ship-document internal year typos - 'May 29th 1945 the ship reported for duty to DesPac' and 'On December 1, 1945 entire division reported to Commander Naval Base, Manus' both read 1945 where the sequence and DANFS require 1944; logged as the document's own typos, not reconciled silently. (d) 'Struck from the NVR' wording - NavSource uses it; the Naval Vessel Register excludes ships disposed before 1987, so the operative record is the 1 Dec 1966 Navy-list strike per DANFS. (e) Complement - DANFS spec block 205; NavSource 15 officers + 198 enlisted; SDB 1945 TE group accommodations ~213-215 (class-level); all carried. (f) Command signature - the factual history is dated 11 Jan 1946 and signed W. T. Clark while the NavSource CO list ends Clark's command 8 Jan 1946 (Connor through 1 Apr 1946); signature/date nuance unresolved. (g) Boiler manufacturer - navypedia's block map assigns Combustion Engineering to DE-633-644; secondary compilation, unverified against contract documents. (h) Armament block - DANFS as-built '4 1.1"' vs. NavSource post-war fit '1 twin 40mm Mk1' - both carried per vintage.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1943-1968

    Limitations

    Resolves publication-level discrepancies among primary and secondary sources; none affects identity or the disposal chain materially. None of the underlying sources contains asbestos information.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-willmarth-de638-10

12. [12]Batch-4430 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback-hazegray capture; BuShips SDB 1945 v1 per-hull row; NavSource DE-638 incl. ship's factual-history scan; NVR coverage check; MARAD ShipHistory check; WAST California site list; general-web asbestos-mention check; CourtListener name/hull searches [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-willmarth-de638-01 through sl-uss-willmarth-de638-10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Willmarth or DE-638 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). 'Willmarth' is a moderate-collision name for litigation search (surname litigation unrelated to the ship exists; the hull number DE-638 is distinctive). CourtListener opinion/docket searches were attempted but blocked all session by the shared fleet pacing limiter (ledger rows sl-uss-willmarth-de638-07/08) - the litigation sweep is incomplete, not negative.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    2026-09-29

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-44 Bethlehem-built steam-plant escort is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and a 1968 domestic scrapping predates modern end-of-life inventory regimes. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-willmarth-de638-11

13. [13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); NHHC operational archives; DPDS surplus-sale records; Bethlehem SF yard record repositories [other_primary]

    Locator

    https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS Willmarth's commissioned period, March 1944 - April 1946, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (NAID 594258), Archives II, College Park; (b) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) contract file, machinery specifications, and work packages for DE-638 (contract signed 7 Aug 1942, $2,368,950) incl. the 1944 post-shakedown availability at the builder's yard, the Sept-Oct 1945 Norfolk overhaul, and the 1945-46 Green Cove Springs inactivation; (c) NHHC photographic and operational archives (the ship's wartime war diaries/action reports that underlie the factual history; NavSource hosts only the January 1946 summary letter); (d) Defense Property Disposal Service / surplus-sale records for the 1 July 1968 sale to North American Smelting Co. (buyer's contract and any materials declarations); (e) Bethlehem Steel/Union Iron Works yard records for the DE-633-644 block (San Francisco; corporate archives largely uncollected - SF Maritime NHP and regional repositories are the check points).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-29

    Study period

    1942-1968 records

    Limitations

    Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DE-638 is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-willmarth-de638-12