Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]DANFS, Witter (DE-636) (namesake, builder, dates, full WWII service narrative, kamikaze hit, disposition; verbatim HyperWar transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (de636)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Ens. Jean Carter Witter, USNR (killed aboard USS San Francisco CA-38 off Cape Esperance, night of 12-13 Nov 1942); laid down 28 April 1943 at San Francisco by Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 17 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Jean C. Witter; commissioned 29 December 1943, Comdr. Alan C. Davis, USNR. Shakedown off San Diego; post-shakedown repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard; escort duty Gilberts/Solomons/New Guinea (Hollandia, Toem-Wakde-Sarmi, Biak resupply convoys) Mar-Jul 1944; screened 7th Fleet Service Force oilers (TU 77.7.1) for the Leyte operation Oct-Nov 1944; Manus-Ulithi escort runs into early 1945; joined TF 54 for Okinawa, screening minesweepers and Oldendorf's bombardment group from 25 Mar 1945. On 6 April 1945 at ~1611 off southeastern Okinawa, a kamikaze crashed the waterline starboard side at frame 57; its bomb exploded in the No. 1 fireroom, opening that and several other compartments to the sea; proceeded under own power at 10 knots and reached Kerama Retto ~2130 assisted by Morris (DD-417), Richard P. Leary (DD-664), Gregory (DD-802), and Arikara (ATF-98); temporary repairs at Kerama Retto until 25 June; San Diego 24 July; Philadelphia Navy Yard 16 Aug 1945; had been designated a fast transport the day before arrival; conversion 'hardly begun was ordered stopped' 22 Aug; Atlantic Reserve Fleet Philadelphia 1 Sep; decommissioned 22 Oct 1945; struck from Navy list 16 Nov 1945; hulk sold 2 Dec 1946 to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia. Two battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 213); Kerama Retto repair crews Apr-Jun 1945; Philadelphia Navy Yard workers Aug-Oct 1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription carries no casualty figure for the 6 April 1945 hit (secondary compilations report six killed - unverified, carried in gaps). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-witter-apd58-01
-
[2]DANFS, Witter (DE-636) disposition paragraph (fast-transport designation and cancelled conversion); NavSource DE-636 operating data ('Scheduled conversion to APD 58 never carried out') [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS disposition paragraph; https://www.navsource.net/archives/06/636.htm operating-data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Designation correction for consolidation: this hull is DE-636 throughout. DANFS records she 'had been so designated' a fast transport the day before arriving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 16 Aug 1945 (i.e., ~15 Aug 1945), immediately began permanent repairs and conversion, and on 22 Aug 1945 'the work, hardly begun was ordered stopped' - she was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 1 Sep 1945 and decommissioned as a DE on 22 Oct 1945. NavSource corroborates: 'Scheduled conversion to APD 58 never carried out.' APD-58 is an assigned-but-unimplemented designation, not a completed conversion or a separate hull; the single canonical hull is DE-636.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Designation mechanics (exact NVR effective date for APD-58) not verified against a digitized NVR extract; 'the day before her arrival' yields ~15 Aug 1945 per DANFS. Decommissioning date conflict (DANFS 22 Oct vs NavSource/secondary 29 Oct 1945) carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-witter-apd58-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (groups 2-3 TE rows: 2 'D' express boilers 435 psi/750F, GE turbo-electric 12,000 shp, 2 shafts, 23.6 kt); navypedia TE block map (Combustion Engineering boilers, DE 633-644); Atlas shipyard dataset 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' (aliases incl. Union Iron Works) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table; navypedia us_de_te member table; shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: Witter's plant was the Buckley TE design - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design groups 2-3 carry 2 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750F superheat feeding GE turbo-electric machinery at 12,000 shp; navypedia's per-block boiler map assigns Combustion Engineering boilers to the DE 633-644 block (this hull). A superheated steam plant of 1943 construction implies period-standard asbestos applications - boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine/generator lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, deck coverings. The 6 Apr 1945 bomb detonated inside the No. 1 fireroom (ev-01) - the machinery space where such insulation would have been concentrated - but the physical disturbance of any ACM is inference, not documentation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1943; crew 1943-45 incl. Kerama Retto and Philadelphia repair workforces
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. Establishes what the class design called for, not what was installed aboard this hull, and establishes no quantities and no individual exposure. Boiler-manufacturer block map is navypedia-sourced, unverified against contract documents. Builder maps to Atlas yard 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' via its Union Iron Works alias (that yard record centers the Quincy MA facilities).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-witter-apd58-03
-
[4]Batch-2444 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP sweeps; NavSource archive page; buckley-class.class.json (class-f) independent class sweep 2026-09-16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-witter-apd58-03 through -05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-636: CourtListener 'USS Witter' returned zero hits in both opinion and docket search; 'DE-636' (69 docket, 6 opinion) and 'APD-58' (5 docket, 0 opinion) hits are all identifier collisions in unrelated litigation; 'asbestos'+'Witter' docket sweep produced surname collisions and generic asbestos-docket noise, none naming the ship. No hull ACM survey, preservation record, or abatement disclosure exists (hull scrapped 1946-47, never preserved). The Buckley-class profile's independent CourtListener sweep (2026-09-16) likewise located no asbestos docket naming any Buckley-class hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2026-09-25
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era materials would have been standard at build; crew-era exposure is undocumented rather than disproven. CourtListener coverage excludes non-indexed state-court dockets and asbestos trust claims; scrapping predates asbestos litigation by decades, which plausibly suppresses hull-naming litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-witter-apd58-04
-
[5]NavSource Online, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Witter (DE-636) page (specifications, operating data, commanding-officer list, NHHC photo NH 69111 caption) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/06/636.htm - specifications block, building/operating data, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary archive record for this hull: NavSource carries specifications (TE, 2 'D' Express boilers, GE turbines with electric drive, 12,000 shp, 24 kts, complement 15/198), the operating-data line 'Scheduled conversion to APD 58 never carried out', decommissioned 29 October 1945 (vs. DANFS 22 October), struck 16 November 1945, sold 2 December 1946 to Northern Metals Co.; commanding officers Comdr. Alan C. Davis USNR (29 Dec 1943 - 6 Jul 1944) and Lt. George Herrman III USNR (6 Jul 1944 - 29 Oct 1945); and NHHC photo NH 69111 (9 Apr 1945, Kerama Retto: Witter and Rodman DMS-21 receiving repairs after kamikaze hits of 6 April).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-25
- Study period
- 2019 (page last updated); underlying events 1943-1946
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation used for corroboration and archival leads (NARA photo numbers, NHHC NH 69111), not as a primary finding source; its 29 Oct decommissioning date conflicts with DANFS's 22 Oct - DANFS carried, conflict logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-witter-apd58-05