Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet fn-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bell-dd587-pkt-fn-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bell II (DD-587), Vol. I alphabetical entry + destroyer appendix (verbatim transcriptions - live NHHC page serves 404; cited via HazeGray Wayback capture and the Internet Archive scan of DANFS Vol. I, 1959/1970) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. I, Bell II alphabetical entry (specs block + service narrative) and destroyer appendix (DD 587 BELL: 'Built at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S. C. Authorized 7/19/40, Keel laid 12/30/41, Commissioned 3/4/43')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second ship named for Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell (1808-1868); authorized 19 July 1940; keel laid 30 December 1941; built at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. (destroyer appendix); launched 24 June 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Clea Cooke Hulse; commissioned 4 March 1943, Cdr. L. C. Peatross in command. Specs: Fletcher class; 2,050 t; 376'5" x 39'7" x 17'9"; 35 kt; complement 329; 5x5" guns, 10x21" torpedo tubes. North Atlantic patrol/escort to November 1943; Pacific from 27 November 1943; TF 58 operations (Kavieng, Kwajalein, Truk, Marianas, Carolines, Hollandia, Saipan, Philippine Sea, Bonins, Guam, Palau, Philippines, Formosa); escorted torpedoed cruisers Houston (CL-81) and Canberra (CA-70) to Ulithi October 1944; with O'Bannon (DD-450) and Ulvert M. Moore (DE-442) sank Japanese submarine RO-115 late evening of 31 January 1945 at 13 deg 20' N., 119 deg 20' E.; repairs at Puget Sound Navy Yard, arriving 27 February 1945, departed west coast 22 April; Leyte 29 May; Brunei Bay and Balikpapan landings; Philippines patrol/escort to war's end; occupation duty Okinawa, China, Korea to 14 December 1945; out of commission in reserve 14 June 1946, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; twelve battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946 (construction and service); entry printed 1959/1970
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew (DANFS design complement 329); Puget Sound Navy Yard repair workforce Feb-Apr 1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, construction dates, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. The print entry predates the 1972 strike and 1975 sinking, so disposal facts come from NavSource and the Navy disposition record (ev-02, ev-03). Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404; verbatim transcriptions cited (HazeGray via Wayback 2024-09-10; archive.org DANFS Vol. I scan).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-587 USS Bell (operational/building data, machinery line, photo captions, commanding officers) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/587.htm - 'Operational and Building Data' block, machinery line, photo captions (Wayback capture 2024-05-07; live host did not resolve 2026-09-27)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: 'CLASS - FLETCHER As Built'; laid down by Charleston Navy Yard 30 December 1941; launched 24 June 1942; commissioned 4 March 1943; decommissioned 14 June 1946; stricken 1 November 1972; fate: sunk as target 11 May 1975. Machinery line: 60,000 shp, Allis-Chalmers turbines, 2 screws, 38 kt, crew 273; call sign NAWX. Photo documentation places the hull under construction at Charleston in May 1942 in a double building program with USS Stevens (DD-479), both launched 24 June 1942 (NHHC photos NH 104666, 19-N-58158), and places Bell at Mare Island 23 January 1946 (Navy photos 270-46/272-46) during the inactivation window. Commanding officers: Cdr. Lynn C. Peatross (4 Mar 1943 - 9 Apr 1944), LCDR John S. C. Gabbert (9 Apr 1944 - 10 Apr 1945), Cdr. Burton H. Shupper (10 Apr 1945 - 14 Jun 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1975
- Population
- Construction trades Charleston 1941-43; crew 1943-46; Mare Island workforce Jan 1946
- Limitations
- NavSource is a photographic/index archive (secondary), not an official record; dates corroborated by DANFS where overlapping (launch, commissioning, builder, keel date). Disposal detail and the pre-decommission Mare Island presence derive from photo captions; no asbestos or materials data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-02
-
[4]ub88.org, 'Wreck identification - Fletcher-class destroyer off San Clemente Island' project page and companion table 'square-bridge-fletchers.pdf' (disseminates the official Navy disposition record received 27 April 2011) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ub88.org identification page - 'UPDATE: APRIL 27, 2011' paragraph and square-bridge-fletchers.pdf table row 587
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal detail for this hull: per the official Navy disposition record received by the project on 27 April 2011, USS BELL (DD-587) was 'sunk by aircraft 40 NM west of San Clemente Island on 11 MAY 1975.' The project additionally records that Bell and Burns (DD-588) were approved for transfer from San Diego to Point Mugu in 1972 for disposal as part of the Harpoon missile test program, that Bell's forward torpedo tubes had been removed by July 1969 and her No. 5 gun mount by March 1973 at the San Diego reserve anchorage (Larry Cote photos), and attributes the sinking to MK-82 bombs delivered by A-7 aircraft (project table). The San Clemente wreck itself was positively identified as USS Burns (DD-588), sunk 29 June 1976 during USS Hull's Mk 71 gun tests - Bell eliminated on sink date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1972-1975 (disposal); page updates 2010-2011
- Population
- Pacific Missile Range / target-service personnel 1972-75
- Limitations
- Secondary research publication relaying an official Navy disposition record; the underlying record itself is not reproduced on the page. MK-82/A-7 method detail and the Harpoon-program transfer statement are the project's own table claims, carried here as unverified detail. No hazmat-removal or materials condition statement exists for the 1975 sinking - pre-dating modern SINKEX environmental review regimes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-03
-
[5]DANFS specs block (HazeGray Wayback capture) + Atlas shipyard dataset records: charleston-naval-shipyard (tier 2), puget-sound-naval-shipyard (tier 1, DTIC AD0715808 / PMID 1065583), mare-island-naval-shipyard (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specs block; shipyards.json records 'charleston-naval-shipyard', 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard'; NavSource photo captions 270-46/272-46 (Mare Island, 23 Jan 1946)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-43 with a four-boiler Babcock & Wilcox steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. All three yards with documented hull presence are Atlas-listed with yard-level asbestos documentation: builder Charleston Naval Shipyard, S.C. (tier 2 - documented products incl. magnesia pipe insulation, asbestos cement, boiler external coatings ~15% asbestos, spray-on insulation for ship interiors, gaskets/packing; 1988 OSHA inspection record); Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (tier 1 - 1945 repair period Feb-Apr 1945 per DANFS; DTIC AD0715808 cohort documents pulmonary abnormalities in 21% of surveyed workers and 40-150 f/cc during rip-out; peer-reviewed follow-up PMID 1065583 documents amosite/chrysotile exposure incl. ~15%-asbestos magnesia block insulation, asbestos cements and cloth); Mare Island Naval Shipyard (tier 2 - documented products incl. Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp; hull photographed there 23 January 1946 during inactivation processing).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; Puget Sound Navy Yard repair workforce Feb-Apr 1945; Mare Island workforce Jan-Jun 1946; wartime crew (329)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder/repair-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. Yard documentation establishes conditions at the yards, not materials installed aboard or disturbed on DD-587; no per-hull material schedule or GIB sheet was retrieved. The Mare Island presence (Jan 1946) is a photo-documented port call during inactivation - the scope of any yard work on this hull there is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-04
-
[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, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this hull's entire construction (1941-43), wartime service (1943-46), and reserve-fleet layup (1946-72) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-05
-
[7]Batch-3559 search ledger (this record): DANFS (HazeGray Wayback + archive.org Vol. I); NavSource DD-587 index; ub88.org disposition publication; Atlas shipyard dataset; NPS NRHP/NHL; museum/abatement disclosure searches; CourtListener opinion and RECAP queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bell-dd587-01 through sl-uss-bell-dd587-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-587: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or hazmat disclosure (the hull was expended as a weapons target in 1975 and has no museum phase), and no asbestos case naming this hull was located. CourtListener: '"USS Bell" asbestos' and '"DD-587"' opinion queries returned zero hits; '"USS Bell"' RECAP docket query returned zero; the single '"DD-587"' docket hit is an identifier collision in an unrelated bankruptcy (sl-05, sl-06). The only asbestos mentions found by web search are law-firm/SEO list pages (mesotheliomahelp.org, shepardlawfirm.com, navyshipexposure.com) using generic era language - not citable and asserting no ship-specific record. Class-level research for the Fletcher class (class-c profile) likewise located no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record for any Fletcher hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - 1941-43 construction inside the documented peak Navy asbestos era is consistent with era-standard insulated fit. Two lower-value sweep queries (unqualified '"USS Bell"' opinions - high-collision surname noise - and '"aboard the Bell"') remained pacing-blocked at session end; all asbestos-qualified and hull-number queries completed at zero. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-06
-
[8]NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships 'General Information Books' (per-vessel material specifications) and RG 24 WWII deck logs for DD-587 - archival leads, retrieval not performed [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19 (BuShips General Information Books); RG 24 (deck logs), College Park
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Per-vessel archival leads exist but were not retrieved: NARA RG 19 General Information Books may carry this hull's as-built material/insulation specifications, and RG 24 holds WWII-era deck logs for DD-587 (the standard repository confirmed by the ub88 project's 2010 NARA retrieval of USS Hull's deck logs for the same target program). Neither was queried in this pass.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946 holdings
- Limitations
- Lead only - holding existence inferred from standard NARA record groups and the documented Hull deck-log retrieval in the same program; no DD-587 document was examined. If retrieved, GIB material specs could elevate the record to ship_specific documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bell-dd587-07