Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet gd-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ault-dd698-pkt-gd-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Ault (DD-698) (builder, dates, service narrative, striking and disposal; verbatim HyperWar transcription; live NHHC page serves 404 - content verified against Wayback capture of https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/ault.html dated 2026-01-11) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 15 November 1943 at Kearny, N.J., by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.; launched 26 March 1944; commissioned 31 May 1944; screened fast carrier task groups 38.2/58.3 through the South China Sea raid, Iwo Jima, the Okinawa campaign, and strikes on Japan; anchored in Tokyo Bay for the 2 September 1945 surrender; Boston overhaul April 1946-March 1947; Naval Reserve training ship New Orleans 1947-49; placed out of commission in reserve 31 May 1950 at Charleston; recommissioned 15 November 1950; bow torn off at frame eight in collision with Haynsworth (DD-700) 20 December 1953, repaired at Yokosuka; Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhauls July-October 1955 and November 1957 (four months); FRAM overhaul at Boston Naval Shipyard completed February 1963 (DASH drone-helicopter conversion; 40mm/20mm mounts removed); first destroyer to carry DASH to Europe February 1964; Charleston Naval Shipyard April-September 1966; Vietnam deployment February-August 1967 (Operation Sea Dragon, over 6,000 rounds of 5-inch gunfire support); Naval Reserve training ship at Galveston, Texas, from January 1970; decommissioned 16 July 1973; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 September 1973; sold to Boston Metals Company, Baltimore, Md., and broken up for scrap. Five World War II and two Vietnam battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (DANFS complement 345); Naval Reserve trainees 1947-49 and 1970-73; Boston Metals scrapping workers 1973-74
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The FRAM overhaul at Boston Naval Shipyard (completed February 1963) is documented as an event; its asbestos scope is not stated and any disturbance of original insulation is inference. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; a Wayback capture (2026-01-11) verifies identical content including the 'Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1973' wording.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-01
-
[3]Holdren v. Buffalo Pumps, Inc., 614 F. Supp. 2d 129 (D. Mass. 2009), Civil Action No. 08cv10570-NG (Gertner, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at 614 F. Supp. 2d 129, 138 n.4 / Background section (Pl. Disclosures at 5); disposition at end ('Motion to Remand is GRANTED')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal opinion names this hull: plaintiff Franklin D. Holdren worked as a boiler technician aboard Navy ships and in Navy shipyards from 1957 to 1979, and 'Mr. Holdren worked onboard Navy ships including the USS Ault, USS Sierra, USS Norfolk, and USS Pawcatuck, as well as at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts' (Pl. Disclosures at 5). His asbestos exposure allegedly caused malignant mesothelioma. The opinion resolves a motion to remand - five removing defendants (Buffalo Pumps, Foster Wheeler, Viad, GE, Elliott Turbomachinery) claimed federal-officer removal under 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1); the court found no colorable federal-contractor defense on this record and GRANTED remand to state court. DD-698 is the only ship named USS Ault; Holdren's 1957-1979 service window overlaps this hull's commissioned period (1944-1973).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1957-1973 (alleged exposure aboard this hull); 2009 (opinion)
- Population
- Franklin D. Holdren, USN boiler technician 1957-1979; mesothelioma
- Limitations
- Removal/remand opinion - the exposure allegation is recited, not adjudicated; the court decided jurisdiction only. Does not establish causation, does not quantify asbestos aboard, and does not identify which products aboard were asbestos-containing. Remanded to Massachusetts state court; subsequent merits history not located. Hull attribution is unambiguous (DD-698 is the only USS Ault).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-02
-
[4]DANFS specifications block (Allen M. Sumner class; 34.2 kt) + Navypedia Allen M. Sumner class technical block (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; navypedia us_dd_a_m_sumner.htm class block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer built 1943-44 with a four-boiler steam plant (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp) was constructed entirely inside the Navy's documented asbestos era and would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Her February 1963 FRAM overhaul at Boston Naval Shipyard fell in the pre-substitution era when class-wide FRAM II modernizations disturbed original insulation; the asbestos scope of this hull's specific overhaul is undocumented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-73; Boston NSY FRAM workers 1962-63
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific material schedule located for DD-698. 'Period standard' does not establish what was installed aboard this hull. FRAM asbestos scope is inference from class-wide practice, not a documented event for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-03
-
[5]Owens-Illinois, Inc., Industrial Health Survey of the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey (August 30-31, September 1-2, 1944) - listed in Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit (Heathman v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Brazoria County TX 1990, exhibit #20); hosted at ToxicDocs industry document library [other_primary]
- Locator
- ToxicDocs doc 4ayjMMY2q6pqomB4eDk5Nq9op - interrogatory exhibit list, 'Industrial Health Survey of the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey, at 14 (August 30-31, September 1-2, 1944)'; Atlas shipyards.json 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Yard-level contemporaneous documentation of the builder: an Owens-Illinois industrial health survey of Federal Shipbuilding's Kearny yard, conducted 30 August-2 September 1944 - within weeks of this hull's commissioning and fitting-out period (launched 26 March 1944, commissioned 31 May 1944, departed for shakedown 10 July 1944) - documented insulators cutting and fitting Johns-Manville Superex asbestos pipe covering and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces, with dust counts measured during cutting and fitting operations. Ault was built and fitted out at this yard during the same wartime production program the survey describes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Shipyard insulators and pipefitters at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, NJ, August-September 1944
- Limitations
- Yard-level survey, not a hull-level document: the survey postdates this hull's departure from the yard by roughly seven weeks and documents yard operations, not materials installed aboard DD-698. Conducted by Owens-Illinois, a manufacturer with commercial interest; dust counts in mppcf (pre-fiber-count era). Known through its listing in an interrogatory exhibit; the full survey text was not independently retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 searches, 2026-09-27 (type=o): "USS Ault" (1 hit); hull-number queries incomplete - fleet pacing budget spent mid-session [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 type=o "USS Ault" - 1 result (opinion 2141677)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search for "USS Ault" returned a single hit - Holdren v. Buffalo Pumps (D. Mass. 2009), qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull (ev-02). No name collisions: DD-698 is the only ship named USS Ault, so any 'USS Ault' hit is this hull. Hull-number queries ("DD-698") and RECAP docket sweep ("USS Ault" type=r) were attempted but the fleet pacing budget was spent before they completed; no docket-only hit is asserted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- Opinion search complete; docket-level (type=r) and hull-number sweeps are pending/incomplete - a docketed case naming the hull that never produced an indexed opinion could exist and is not ruled out. Absence of additional opinion hits is a real negative at the opinion layer only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-05
-
[7]Composite negative finding: no hull-level asbestos record located across NHHC/DANFS, NVR, LOC/HAER, NPS, or museum sources (NARA RG 19 lead unretrieved) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search ledger sl-uss-ault-dd698-01 through -08
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos documentation located for DD-698 in public sources: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or hazmat disclosure for any yard period (Boston NSY FRAM 1962-63, Charleston NSY 1966, Norfolk NSY 1955/1957-58), no museum record (hull scrapped 1973-74, not preserved), and no NVR entry (pre-1987 disposals are not in the register). The only ship-specific asbestos-era record located is the Holdren litigation row (ev-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Limitations
- Negative finding at the public-record layer: NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships General Information Books and naval-shipyard work packages are undigitized leads not retrieved; absence of a public record is not proof no asbestos documentation exists in archives.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ault-dd698-06