Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Benham III (DD-796) (builder, launch, commissioning, WWII service narrative, reserve/recommissioning, transfer addendum, battle stars; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed addendum (ibiblio HyperWar transcription; identical text at hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd796txt.htm via Wayback)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: the third Benham (DD-796), Fletcher class; dp. 2,050; l. 376'5"; b. 39'7"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 329; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt. Launched 30 August 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Mrs. H. Benham, wife of a grandson of Rear Admiral Benham; commissioned 20 December 1943, Comdr. E. V. Dennett in command. Pacific Fleet - arrived Pearl Harbor 27 March 1944; screened CVEs during landings/occupation of Saipan, Tinian, Guam (14 Jun-10 Aug 1944); fleet carriers in southern Palaus (6 Sep-14 Oct), Philippine Islands raids (9-24 Sep), Okinawa raid (10 Oct), northern Luzon and Formosa raids (13-14 Oct), Luzon and Visayas raids (Oct-Dec), Formosa and Luzon raids and China coast raids (Jan 1945), Nansei Shoto raid (22 Jan), Iwo Jima invasion/occupation (15 Feb-1 Mar), Honshu/Nansei Shoto raids, 3rd and 5th Fleet raids supporting Okinawa (17 Mar-11 Jun), 3d Fleet raids on Japanese home islands (22 Jul-15 Aug 1945). Occupation duty in Japanese waters until departing 31 October 1945; out of commission in reserve at San Diego 18 October 1946. Recommissioned 24 March 1951, Atlantic Fleet; one northern-Europe cruise, two Mediterranean, one Far East (1 Jun-18 Dec 1954) circling the globe. Bracketed addendum: transferred to Peru 15 December 1960 as Villar; struck from the Navy List 15 January 1974. Eight battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1943; wartime crew (design complement 329 per DANFS spec block; NavSource reads 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. No laid-down date is stated in the entry. The bracketed transfer/stricken addendum postdates the base entry; the base text was written while the ship remained in service ('has made one cruise'). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link-rot defect since batch-01); identical verbatim text confirmed at the hazegray Wayback mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-01
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[2]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-796 USS Benham - operational/building data block, call signs, Peruvian-service photo captions, fate line [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-796 page, 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' lines; 'On Peruvian Service' caption block (NH 87840; Jane's 1961-62)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource index data for this hull: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island NY 3 April 1943; launched 30 August 1943; commissioned 20 December 1943; decommissioned 18 October 1946; recommissioned 24 March 1951; decommissioned 15 December 1960; stricken 15 January 1974; to Peru 15 December 1960, renamed Villar; fate - stricken and broken up for scrap in 1980. Machinery: 60,000 shp General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; 38 kt; crew 273. Call sign NHLD; tactical voice call SPARKPLUG (circa 1945). Photo captions document the Peruvian transition: NH 87840 (official U.S. Navy Photograph, Naval Historical Center collections) shows Villar's crew saluting the flag of Peru as the ship is placed in commission, probably 15 December 1960; a Jane's Fighting Ships 1961-62 caption reads 'Almirante Villar (D 76, ex-USS Benham, DD-796)' circa 1961; later captions carry pennant 71, 1971 and 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1980
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island trades 1943; crews 1943-46 and 1951-60; Peruvian Navy crew 1960-80
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary compilation indexing official records, not a primary document; its laid-down date (3 Apr 1943) fills the gap left by DANFS and conflicts with the 23 April 1943 read in Wikipedia/helis.com - flagged in gaps. Its 'decommissioned 15 December 1960' merges decommissioning with the Peru transfer; the secondary expanded narrative reads decommissioned at Boston 30 June 1960 - conflict flagged in gaps. Pennant variation (DD-71 vs. D 76) carried from photo captions. Does not establish materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-02
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[3]Destroyer History Foundation photo page, USS Benham (DD-796), edited from NARA photo 19-N-57784 [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org Fletcher-class DD-796 photo page, caption citing NARA photo 19-N-57784
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy photograph (NARA 19-N-57784, presented by the Destroyer History Foundation) captioned 'Benham (DD 796) stands off New York Navy Yard, 7 January 1944' - documents this hull present at the New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) during her January 1944 fitting-out/shakedown window, three weeks after commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-01
- Population
- New York Navy Yard trades January 1944 (fitting-out window)
- Limitations
- A single dated photograph caption; documents presence at the yard on one date, not the scope or duration of any work performed and not materials content. Secondary expanded narrative (not DANFS) places post-shakedown availability and later overhauls at New York, Boston, and Philadelphia navy yards - carried in related_shipyards and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-03
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[4]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 2,050-ton destroyer) + Fletcher class profile machinery data (4 B&W boilers; 2 GE geared steam-turbine sets; 60,000 shp; class design per navypedia + BuShips Ships Data 1945) + NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; fletcher-class.class.json machinery/asbestos rows; shipyards.json yard_id list (37 entries); NARA RG19 archival lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1943 with the class-standard four-boiler/60,000-shp geared steam-turbine plant (General Electric turbines per NavSource ship-specific) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Builder-yard level: Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island (Port Richmond/Mariners Harbor) is NOT present in the Atlas shipyard dataset (37 yard_ids; the only Bethlehem entries are the Quincy, Mass. divisions) - no yard-level documentation is asserted for the builder; the absence is carried in gaps. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1980
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1943; crews 1943-46, 1951-60
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding; no asbestos survey, material schedule, or abatement record for DD-796 is located. The Fletcher class profile's class-level negative finding stands: no class-level insulation specification or BuShips material schedule located, and no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for any Fletcher hull. NARA GIB retrieval not performed. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-04
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[5]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page + report summary (published Oct. 18, 1979; publicly released Oct. 22, 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level era context: GAO documented that the Navy's major asbestos use aboard ships was thermal insulation, that substitution of alternative materials did not begin until the early 1970s - after this hull had already left U.S. custody on loan to Peru (15 December 1960) - and that the October 1975 policy was remove-and-replace only when insulation was damaged or had to be removed for repairs. Benham remained Peruvian until scrapped abroad in 1980; no Navy asbestos-removal program ever touched this hull, and no documented asbestos handling attaches to its Peruvian service or breakup in the sources searched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); 1943-1980 (hull life)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews, program-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Program-level findings, not a survey of this hull; GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing defect since batch-01); product-page description and published summary used. Does not establish what was aboard DD-796, its condition at transfer, or Peruvian-custody material handling.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-05
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[6]CourtListener API v4 sweeps: opinion search "USS Benham" (2 hits, both name collisions); opinion search "DD-796" (502 raw identifier-match hits, no vessel references; refined '"DD-796" asbestos' = 0); docket search "USS Benham" (57 hits, all name collisions on review); docket search '"DD-796"' (blocked - see limitations) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4: type=o q="USS Benham" -> count 2 (collisions); type=o q="DD-796" -> count 502 (identifier collisions); type=o q='"DD-796" asbestos' -> count 0; type=r q="USS Benham" -> 57 dockets (collisions); type=r q='"DD-796"' -> pacing-blocked
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result for this hull: no qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Benham (DD-796) located. 'USS Benham' opinion index returned 2 hits, both name collisions - Jamie Lee Bledsoe v. State, No. 06-14-00138-CR (Tex. Crim. App. 2015, OCR/PDF text match in a criminal appeal) and Terrell v. Porter, 189 Ga. App. 778 (1989), where 'Benham' is the authoring judge (Judge Robert Benham). 'USS Benham' docket index returned 57 dockets / 173 documents, all name collisions on review - criminal defendants and parties named Benham (United States v. Benham, W.D. Mich. 1:07-cr-00094, defendant Daniel Doyle Benham), Benham Constructors LLC (El Dorado Ammonia v. Benham Constructors, W.D. Ark. 1:18-cv-01006), Baron Benham election-affidavit parties, Judge Benham-authored materials. 'DD-796' opinion index returned 502 raw identifier-style matches (docket numbers, exhibit and page references) with no vessel reference observed; the refined '"DD-796" asbestos' opinion query returned 0. 'DD-796' docket-level query was blocked by the fleet-wide pace limiter.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- sweep date 2026-09-27
- Population
- Unverified
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is index-limited: RECAP text indexing is partial, unindexed complaint exhibits are common in asbestos filings, and pre-PACER state-court filings are largely uncovered. The '"DD-796"' docket-level (type=r) search was blocked by the fleet-wide pace limiter across spaced attempts and remains an open coverage gap - logged honestly rather than retried into a ban. A name match is not evidence of exposure; conversely, absence of additional hits does not prove no other claim ever named this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-06
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[7]This record's search ledger (NHHC DANFS live + mirrors; NavSource; uboat.net; destroyerhistory.org/NARA photo; NPS NRHP/NVR; Atlas shipyard dataset; NARA catalog; GAO; CourtListener opinion + docket sweeps; Peruvian-service secondary compilations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-benham-dd796-01 through sl-uss-benham-dd796-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No non-litigation ship-specific asbestos documentation was located for this hull in any source searched: no hull survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, insulation-material record, or government materials inventory names USS Benham (DD-796). MAP transfer to Peru in 1960 and 1980 scrapping abroad foreclosed the U.S. museum-phase and MARAD-disposal documentation channels that produced ACM records for preserved or domestically scrapped hulls (e.g., Laffey DD-724's 2009 drydock record, Hart DD-594's Zidell site record). 'No qualifying ship-specific materials record located' is recorded as a result, not papered over.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1980
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof of absence: undigitized NARA series (RG24 deck logs, RG 19 General Information Books), Peruvian naval records, and unindexed litigation exhibits could still hold hull-level material. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-benham-dd796-07