Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Arnold J. Isbell' (DD-869) entry (live NHHC DANFS pages return HTTP 404; verbatim text via Wayback capture 2021-04-15 of the hazegray DANFS transcription; corroborated by the identical transcription at globalsecurity.org) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Arnold J. Isbell' entry incl. spec block; canonical NHHC page patterns (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/arnold-j-isbell*.html) returned 404 on 2026-09-28 - standing NHHC link rot per Batch-01 report; corroborating mirror http://globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-869.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for this hull: laid down 14 March 1945 at Staten Island, N.Y., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 6 August 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Arnold J. Isbell, widow of Capt. Isbell; commissioned 5 January 1946, Comdr. Carlton B. Jones in command. Spec block: dp. 2,425; l. 390'6"; b. 40'10"; dr. 18'6"; s. 34.6 k.; cpl. 345; a. 3 5", 12 40mm., 8 20mm., 2 dct., 6 dcp., 10 21" tt.; cl. Gearing. Service: Atlantic Fleet 1946; Pacific Fleet from January 1947, San Diego; WestPac 1947; Naval Reserve training ship 1948; two months upkeep at Bremerton February 1949; 1949 Far East cruise incl. evacuation of the American consul and family from Tsingtao. Korea: DesDiv 52 November 1950, TF 77 screen, Taiwan display, escort of 45th Army Division transports to Hokkaido; TF 95 bombardments of Songjin, Chongjin, Wonsan May 1951; second deployment 19 February - 10 August 1952 (TF 77, TF 95 hunter/killer, Taiwan Strait patrol, Songjin bombardment with St. Paul CA-73); three-month overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton. Third deployment from 21 July 1953 (TF 95 patrols, escorted New Jersey BB-62 into Pusan, Nationalist Chinese training ship at Kaohsiung, Pusan fire rescue/communications ship, DesDiv 112 POW escort to Keelung January 1954). Mare Island Naval Shipyard overhaul from February 1954 (six and a half months yard work and refresher); Tachen Islands evacuation January 1955; WestPac 27 September 1955 - 11 March 1956; Mare Island repairs completed July 1956; eighth WestPac September 1956 - March 1957 (Samoa, Wellington, Manus, Guam, Yokosuka, TF 77); operations with Nautilus SSN-571; Brisbane passage; Mare Island overhaul June - September 1958; tenth WestPac 18 December 1958 - 29 May 1959; eleventh from 6 February 1960 (rescue of 104 people from a sinking merchant vessel 20 April 1960; Hong Kong station ship). FRAM: entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard June 1961, emerged in new configuration 4 May 1962; new home port Long Beach. WestPac October 1962 - June 1963 (DesRon 11; Operations Red Wheel, Glass Door, Sea Serpent; TF 77 hunter/killer); twelfth WestPac January - May 1964; regular overhaul Long Beach Naval Shipyard August - November 1964; DASH system received March 1965. Vietnam: deployed 19 October 1965; relieved Brinkley Bass DD-887 on northern SAR station Gulf of Tonkin 30 December 1965; TF 77 until relieved 31 March 1966; Mare Island Naval Shipyard overhaul from 31 July 1966. Deployed 15 July 1968; gunfire support off Vietnam from 12 August 1968; returned Long Beach 31 January 1969. Deployed 13 February - 29 August 1970 (Yankee Station SAR, gunfire support, escort for five carriers; Sydney, Auckland, Pago Pago). Long Beach Naval Shipyard yard period February - May 1971; final WestPac from 9 September 1971 (carrier escort, naval gunfire support off Vietnam; Devonport, Tasmania); San Diego 7 April 1972. Reserve training ship from 16 June 1972 until 1 February 1974, when she was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list and transferred to Greece as Sachtouris (No. 214). Six battle stars Korean service; two for Vietnam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1974
- Population
- Ship's company ~345 (DANFS spec block); construction trades at Bethlehem Steel Staten Island 1945-46; yard workers at Puget Sound, Mare Island, and Long Beach Naval Shipyards 1949-1971
- Limitations
- DANFS establishes identity, construction, service history, and awards; it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim. DANFS compresses the end-of-service chronology to 'decommissioned and struck ... 1 February 1974' and 'then transferred' to Greece, while NavSource dates decommissioning and transfer 4 December 1973 - conflict carried in gaps and in the NavSource row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-01
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995, Appendix 12: Ships Named for Naval Aviators (PDF p. 601-) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 12 table row 'Isbell, Arnold J. (DD 869) | CAPT Arnold J. Isbell, USN | 5 Jan 1946' (downloaded and read 2026-09-28)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC official publication 'United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995', Appendix 12 'Ships Named for Naval Aviators', lists 'Isbell, Arnold J. (DD 869)' named for 'CAPT Arnold J. Isbell, USN', commissioned 5 Jan 1946 - authoritative confirmation of the hull's namesake (a naval aviator) and commissioning date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Confirms namesake identity and commissioning date only; contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Destroyer Photo Index, 'DD-869 USS Arnold J. Isbell' (navsource.net/archives/05/869.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block; 'Operational and Building Data' timeline; fate line; photo caption (Souda Bay 1995, contributor Anthony J. Vrailas)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index entry for DD-869: call sign NBGR; class Gearing 'As Built'; machinery line '60,000 SHP; Westinghouse Turbines, 2 screws'; timeline - laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island NY March 14 1945; launched August 6 1945; commissioned January 5 1946; 'Completed FRAM upgrade May 1962'; decommissioned December 4 1973; stricken February 1 1974; 'To Greece December 4 1973. Renamed Sachtouris (D-214). Stricken in 1993.'; fate 'Removed 8 April 2002 from Souda Bay, Crete to be towed to Turkey where she will be scrapped.' Photo caption documents the hull laid up at Souda Bay, Crete, summer 1995 alongside former sisters USS Corry (DD-817), USS Aulick (DD-569), and USS Ingraham (DD-694) 'waiting to be scrapped.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-2002
- Population
- Hellenic Navy crew of Sachtouris D-214, 1973-1992
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive; timeline consistent with DANFS except the end-of-service chronology (NavSource: decommissioned and transferred to Greece 4 December 1973, stricken 1 February 1974 - the finer sequence adopted over DANFS's compressed wording, both carried). Turbine maker 'Westinghouse' conflicts with class-level compilations reading General Electric - unresolved, in gaps. Crew figure 336 conflicts with DANFS 345 - DANFS controls. Greek-service decommissioning (October 1992) rests on secondary compilations. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-03
-
[4]VA Compensation Service, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (2019 edition text; document mirrored at vfwfl.org, file dated 2021) - DD-869 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- Category II/IV list entry alphabetized between USS Steinaker (DD-863) and USS John R. Craig (DD-885); document header lines 1-9 ('intended to provide VA regional offices with a resource for determining whether a particular US Navy or Coast Guard Veteran ... is eligible for the presumption of Agent Orange herbicide exposure')
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation Service ships list 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (July 1, 2019 edition text; 2021 file) carries the ship-specific entry: 'USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) sent small boat ashore while anchored in Da Nang Harbor on April 12, 1970' - an official federal adjudication document naming this hull on a veterans' exposure-presumption list (Agent Orange herbicide, not asbestos).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1970
- Population
- Crew aboard April 12, 1970 (Da Nang anchorage; small-boat party ashore)
- Limitations
- This is an Agent Orange/herbicide presumption list, not an asbestos document - it establishes that a federal adjudication record names this hull for an exposure-related purpose and corroborates the 1970 Vietnam deployment (consistent with DANFS's Feb-Aug 1970 combat-zone cruise), but says nothing about asbestos materials aboard. Da Nang Harbor is offshore water under the list's own framework; the entry rests on the documented small-boat transit ashore.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-04
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - DANFS spec block and documented yard periods for this hull + Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) class-drawing recital (via gearing-class class profile ev-gearing-class-04) + GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block (machinery) and yard-period events; Goodrich omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (as recited in class-profile row ev-gearing-class-04); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Gearing-class destroyer with a 60,000-shp high-pressure superheated steam plant, built at Bethlehem Steel's Staten Island yard in 1945 at the peak of Navy asbestos use - the machinery configuration and construction era for which boiler and fireroom insulation, main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, turbine and reduction-gear lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, accommodation insulation, and deck coverings were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber. Class-level litigation corroboration of the design group's materials exists: the omnibus opinion in Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (E.D. Va. 2018) recites a Navy engineering drawing for insulation and lagging of forced-draft blower turbines for the DD-692 (Allen M. Sumner) class design group 'within which' Gearing machinery fell, specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths, and recites an expert partial tally of 30.3 tons of asbestos thermal insulation/lagging in fire and engine rooms of Sumner/Gearing destroyers. Documented yard periods that under era practice disturbed insulation: Bremerton upkeep 1949; Puget Sound NSY overhaul 1952-53; Mare Island NSY overhaul 1954 and repairs/overhauls 1956, 1958, 1966; FRAM I modernization at Puget Sound NSY June 1961 - May 1962; Long Beach NSY overhauls 1964 and 1971.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1945-46; ship's company 1946-1973; yard workers at PSNS (1949, 1952-53, 1961-62), MINSY (1954, 1956, 1958, 1966), LBNSY (1964, 1971)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull record. The Goodrich drawing recital covers the Sumner/Gearing machinery design group, is an unadjudicated litigation document, and the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not a ship inventory; the underlying drawing and expert report were not retrieved. No survey, specification, material schedule, or abatement contract naming DD-869 was located. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-05
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked to automated fetch, HTTP 403 per standing Batch-01 note; content via product-page description)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program for the period covering this hull's late service: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - i.e., original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Program-level context for the 1966 and 1971 overhauls this hull underwent.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers 1970s (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific; the report's fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Long Beach serviced this hull in 1964 and 1971 but no per-hull finding exists. Full text not retrieved (HTTP 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-06
-
[7]Fleischer et al., J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (1946), PMID 21016030; Corn & Starr, Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed abstracts; article pages
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era scholarship (two records): (a) the Maritime Commission-commissioned wartime industrial-hygiene survey documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' (Fleischer et al., J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16, Jan 1946); (b) Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987) documents extensive asbestos fireproofing/insulation use in WWII shipbuilding - the program and era in which this hull was built (March-August 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s era; articles 1946/1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard pipe coverers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval-vessel construction generally; neither source names this hull, class, or builder yard and neither establishes that asbestos was aboard DD-869, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-07
-
[8]Naval Vessel Register (nvr.navy.mil), SHIPSDETAIL_DD_869 page + NVR coverage note [other_primary]
- Locator
- SHIPSDETAIL_DD_869.HTML (generic shell, no vessel record); NVR main page coverage note ('Ships and service craft disposed of prior to 1987 are currently not included')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register check: the NVR ship-detail page for DD-869 returns only the generic NVR navigation shell - no register entry exists for this hull. The NVR states that ships disposed of prior to 1987 'are currently not included' though data is being added; this hull was transferred to Greece in 1973 and has no NVR record, so end-of-service dates rest on DANFS and NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (checked)
- Limitations
- Absence from the NVR is a coverage artifact (pre-1987 disposal), not evidence about the ship or its materials; noted to document that the official register contains nothing for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-08
-
[9]NavSource DD-869 timeline (disposal dates) + Basel Convention (1989/1992), IMO Hong Kong Convention (2009, in force 2025), EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 - regulatory timeline only [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource fate line (Souda Bay tow 2002-04-08); Basel/HKC/EU regime dates
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Disposal-context record: the hull was transferred to Greece (4 December 1973 per NavSource), served the Hellenic Navy as Sachtouris (D-214) to 1992, was stricken in 1993, and lay at Souda Bay, Crete until towed to Turkey for scrapping in April 2002. Turkish shipbreaking yards (Aliaga) dismantled numerous former NATO asbestos-era warships in this period; the 2002 disposal predates the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (2013) and the IMO Hong Kong Convention (in force 2025), and postdates only the Basel Convention (in force 1992) - under which no inventory-of-hazardous-materials record for this hull was located. No pre-scrapping materials survey or abatement record was found in the sources searched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-2002
- Population
- Turkish shipbreaking workforce (2002, context); Hellenic Navy crew 1973-1992
- Limitations
- No source documents what materials were aboard or removed before the 2002 scrapping; Greek-service refit records and the disposal contract are unlocated (Hellenic Navy archive is the unsearched lead). Nothing in this row establishes asbestos was present or that any exposure occurred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-09
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); archives.gov navy-online deck-log digitization program page; USS Arnold J. Isbell crew-association site (ussarnoldjisbell.wordpress.com) deck-log and cruise-book references [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 ; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (NARA-VA digitization program); https://ussarnoldjisbell.wordpress.com/site-map/ and /2009/09/08/1968-1969-cruise-book/ (crew reports of obtaining deck logs from NARA)
- 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 DD-869, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' at Archives II, College Park - the NARA/VA Vietnam-era deck-log digitization program is actively processing Navy logs; crew-association sources report obtaining Isbell deck logs from NARA (1965-1967 Vietnam-era logs referenced by former crew) and a 1971-72 WestPac log set underpins the association's cruise map; (b) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) construction-contract correspondence and FRAM I work package for the 1961-62 Puget Sound modernization, plus overhaul records for the documented Mare Island (1954/1956/1958/1966), Puget Sound (1952-53), and Long Beach (1964, 1971) availabilities; (c) NAVSEA/NHHC inactive-ship files for the December 1973 transfer documentation and any pre-transfer material surveys; (d) Hellenic Navy records for the Sachtouris (D-214) period 1973-1992 and the 2002 Turkish disposal contract.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-2002 records
- Limitations
- Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DD-869 / Sachtouris D-214 is unknown until surveyed in person. The crew-association site is a veterans' source, not an official record - used only to establish that deck logs for this hull are obtainable, not for any claim about content. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-10
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py - six attempts (opinion search '"Arnold J. Isbell"'), all refused by fleet pacing before reaching the API [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py stderr: 'COURTLISTENER PACING: the fleet-wide request budget is momentarily spent' (six spaced attempts across ~01:50-02:22 local; helper instructs no retry loop)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep status at report time: six authenticated attempts at the fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py) for '"Arnold J. Isbell"' type=o (opinion) were turned away by the fleet-wide pacing budget (~114 requests/hour shared across all batch sessions) - not a query result. No opinion or docket search could be executed this session; the sweep is genuinely unrun, not negative. Classification: NOT COMPLETED - see search_ledger rows sl-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-07/08.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Honest limitation: no litigation conclusion can be drawn - the sweep did not execute. 'Arnold J. Isbell' is a distinctive two-name string (low collision expected if it ever appears), and 'DD-869' hull-number queries remain untried; both should be run when the fleet budget recovers. A known class-level precedent exists (Goodrich omnibus, Corry DD-817; Scott FAC naming Gearing DD-710) but neither names this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-11
-
[12]Batch-3834 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray Wayback transcription + globalsecurity mirror; NHHC Appendix 12 PDF; NavSource DD-869; NVR register check; VA ships list (VFW mirror); GAO HRD-80-2 product page; era scholarship (Fleischer 1946 PMID 21016030; Corn & Starr 1987); NARA deck-log program; general-web asbestos-mention check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the sources searched this session: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials inventory, or located court filing naming USS Arnold J. Isbell, DD-869, or Sachtouris (D-214). The only exposure-related federal document naming the hull is the VA Agent Orange (herbicide) ships-list entry - not an asbestos record. Litigation sweep not completed this session (fleet pacing; see ev-11) - the negative finding is therefore stated on the non-litigation sources and is provisional as to litigation.
- 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 1945 Bethlehem-built steam destroyer FRAM-modernized in 1961-62 is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the 2002 Turkish scrapping left no public materials inventory. The litigation arm of the sweep is expressly unfinished (fleet pacing); this row's negative finding covers non-litigation sources only and should be upgraded if the deferred CourtListener queries return qualifying hits. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-arnold-j-isbell-dd869-12