USS BRINKLEY BASS (DD-887)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet hd-packet.md (9 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Brinkley Bass

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-pkt-hd-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Brinkley Bass (DD-887) (Raymond A. Mann, 2 December 2005; published 2015-06-29) - live NHHC page 404s; Wayback capture of the official NHHC page cited [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry (specifications block + full service narrative, R.A. Mann 2005-12-02)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 20 December 1944 at Orange, Tex., by Consolidated Steel Corp.; launched 26 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Verna Maulding Bass; commissioned 1 October 1945, Comdr. Philip W. Winston in command; namesake Lt. Comdr. Harry Brinkley Bass (1916-1944), naval aviator killed 20 August 1944 over southern France. Spec block: 2,425 t; 390'6" x 40'10" x 18'6"; 34.6 kt (trial); cpl. 345; class Gearing. Yard periods of record: post-shakedown availability Charleston, S.C. (facility unnamed); Hunters Point Naval Shipyard summer-November 1947; Mare Island Naval Shipyard April 1949; Hunters Point 16 August-8 October 1950; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard September 1952-late January 1953; Hunters Point early 1954; an 'extensive fleet rehabilitation and modernization (FRAM) overhaul' occupying 1961 (yard not named); Hunters Point April-August 1964; Long Beach Naval Shipyard repairs May-June 1966 (bow damage from collision with USS Waddell 4-5 February 1966); Long Beach overhaul 17 October 1967-13 January 1968; Long Beach overhaul 10 September-10 December 1970. Korea: two combat tours with TF-77/TF-95 incl. Wonsan bombardment; hit by shore battery 20 May 1951 (one killed, nine wounded) and amidships hit 25 March 1952 (three injured); seven battle stars. Vietnam: deployments 1965-1971 incl. SAR, plane guard, gunfire support (Operations Beacon Hill and Pang Ma Tao); nine battle stars. Naval Reserve training ship from 1 July 1972, homeport Tacoma. Decommissioned San Diego 3 December 1973, stricken same day, simultaneously transferred to Brazil (commissioned Mariz E. Barros, D 26).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1973

   Population

   Consolidated Steel construction trades 1944-45; U.S. Navy crews 1945-1973 (design complement 345); yard workers at five documented naval shipyards

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the FRAM yard is not named in the entry. Live NHHC page (history.navy.mil/.../brinkey-bass-i.html - note NHHC's 'brinkey' typo in the canonical slug) returned 404 on 2026-09-28; Wayback capture of 2025-02-01 cited as the verbatim text of the official entry.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-01

3. [3]Andrews v. Foster Wheeler LLC, 138 Cal. App. 4th 96, 41 Cal. Rptr. 3d 229 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., Div. 2, Mar. 30, 2006) (No. A108911) - published opinion [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion 'BACKGROUND' and 'DISCUSSION' sections (interrogatory recitals, expert declarations, re-entrainment analysis), pp. 96-107 (138 Cal. App. 4th)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published appellate opinion naming this hull in asbestos litigation: plaintiff Paul Andrews (then 70, asbestos-related disease) alleged exposure during work as a laborer, deckhand, and gunner's mate over 20 years at naval facilities and vessels including USS Brinkley Bass. Discovery responses recited verbatim: 'Plaintiff ... served aboard the USS BRINKLEY BASS, which he boarded at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, California. Plaintiff recalls asbestos-containing pipe covering on the steamlines. Plaintiff visited shipmates in the boiler room. Plaintiff recalls that the boiler was insulated inside and out with asbestos-containing material.' Plaintiffs contended exposure to 're-entrained' fibers from Foster Wheeler condenser gaskets during a 1966-1968 Long Beach overhaul. Disposition: trial court granted summary judgment for Foster Wheeler; Court of Appeal AFFIRMED - no triable issue of fact on causation; the re-entrainment theory was 'unacceptably speculative.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Service aboard alleged 1966-1968; litigation 2003-2006

   Population

   Paul Andrews (USN laborer/deckhand/gunner's mate, aboard DD-887 from 1966); asbestos litigation

   Limitations

   Summary-judgment posture affirmed on appeal - a merits-level negative for this plaintiff's Foster Wheeler product claim, not an adjudicated finding of exposure or asbestos content aboard. All ship-specific asbestos statements are allegation/discovery-stage recitals (interrogatory answers, expert declarations), never adjudicated. The court expressly noted plaintiffs did not establish that Foster Wheeler condensers contained asbestos or that any work on them released fibers. Subsequent history beyond the 2006 affirmance not reviewed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-02

4. [4]Andrews v. Foster Wheeler LLC, 138 Cal. App. 4th 96 (2006) - recital of plaintiffs' 1950 Navy document and expert declaration re: condensers aboard [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion pp. 103-105 (138 Cal. App. 4th), recitals of the 1950 Navy document and the Ay declaration

   Finding type

   litigation_product_id

   Finding

   The opinion recites that plaintiffs 'submitted a 1950 Navy document, which stated that, in 1945, some 21 years before Andrews had begun his service on the Brinkley Bass, four Foster Wheeler condensers had been installed in the ship's boiler room. The document indicated that the ship had been overhauled, was soon due for another overhaul, and referred to an inspection of the condensers.' Plaintiffs' expert Charles Ay (a shipyard insulator 1960-1981 who declared he 'performed work onboard this ship' at Long Beach Naval Shipyard) declared the main condensers were located under the high-pressure turbines and that their inlet areas and tube nests 'contained asbestos gaskets.' A Navy record identifying original equipment aboard this specific hull thus exists in the litigation record.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1945 (document subject); 1950 (document); 2003-2006 (litigation)

   Population

   Boiler-room/engineering crews and yard workers aboard DD-887, 1945-1973

   Limitations

   The 1950 Navy document and Ay's declaration are litigation submissions recited in the opinion - the underlying document was not independently retrieved, and the court found plaintiffs never established the condensers contained asbestos or that gasket work released fibers. The equipment-identification recital is of record; the asbestos content of the gaskets is not adjudicated. Ay's ship-specific work history is his own declaration, not a verified personnel record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-03

5. [5]Wright v. A.W. Chesterton Company, Inc., N.D. Cal. No. 3:07-cv-05403 (RECAP docket 4169855; suit nature 'P.I. : Asbestos', filed 2007-10-23, terminated 2008-03-06) - Doc 48, Order Denying Motion to Remand (Jenkins, J., filed 2008-02-25) [court_record]

   Locator

   RECAP docket 4169855; Doc 48 Order Denying Motion to Remand, p. 2 n. 2 (recap-document 1706778; plain_text verified 2026-09-28)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Verified court-order naming of this hull in asbestos litigation: the Order Denying Motion to Remand (Doc 48, filed 25 February 2008, Judge Martin J. Jenkins) recites in footnote 2: 'Mr. Wright worked aboard various Navy vessles including, but not limited to, the USS Midway, USS Enterprise, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Coral Sea, USS Oriskany, USS Constellation, USS Mount Hood, USS John F Kennedy, USS Hancock, USS Ticonderoga, USS Providence, USS Mount Baker, USS Mauna Kea, USS Pigeon, USS Pyro, USS Guitarro, USS Drum, USS Pintado USS Hawkbill, USS Permit, USS Swordfish, USS Halibut, USS Grayback, USS Brinkley Bass, USS Trigger, and USS Wahoo' - a 26+ vessel list drawn from the complaint's exhibit. The action alleged lung cancer from exposure to defendants' asbestos products during plaintiff's Navy work as a machinist and flange turner; defendants included Foster Wheeler and Leslie Controls. The order adjudicates only 28 U.S.C. sec. 1442 federal-officer removal jurisdiction (removal upheld).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Service era alleged mid-20th century; litigation 2007-2008

   Population

   Albert Wright Jr. (Navy machinist/flange turner; 26+ vessels claimed incl. DD-887)

   Limitations

   Pleading-stage material recited in a jurisdictional order - the vessel list derives from the complaint's exhibit (the complaint itself was not independently retrieved) and the order decides only removal jurisdiction, not exposure, asbestos content, or product identification. No asbestos product, mechanism, or work event is tied specifically to DD-887; the ship is one of 26+ vessels in the plaintiff's claimed work history. No adjudicated exposure finding exists; the case terminated 6 March 2008, about two weeks after the remand denial.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-04

6. [6]Marinha do Brasil, Diretoria do Patrimonio Historico e Documentacao da Marinha (DPHDM), 'Mariz e Barros - Contratorpedeiro' ship history (official Brazilian Navy archival publication) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DPHDM PDF pp. 1-4 (incorporation block, machinery description) and p. ~13 (decommissioning paragraph, 1 Sep 1997; 51-year service; target selection)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Brazilian Navy record for this hull: 'Contratorpedeiro da Classe Gearing FRAM' built at Consolidated Steel Corporation of Orange, Texas - keel laid 20 December 1944, launched 26 May 1945, incorporated into the U.S. Navy 1 October 1945 as USS Brinkley Bass DD887; FRAM I modernization 1961; acquired by Brazil under Ministerial Notice No. 0108 of 23 November 1973, delivered 3 December 1973 at San Diego with pennant D 26 (third Brazilian ship named Mariz e Barros). Machinery of record: four Babcock & Wilcox 'delta'-type express boilers with economizers and integral inter-bank superheaters (superheat control to 850 degrees F); three General Electric Cross-Curtis-Rateau turbine groups (high-pressure cruise and low-pressure with astern) totaling 60,000 HP; Falk double-reduction gears; two shafts; two 500 kW turbogenerators and two 100 kW emergency diesel generators; complement 18 officers + 283 enlisted (peacetime). Left active service 1 September 1997 at Rio de Janeiro Naval Base - 51 years combined service, the last classic WWII-era destroyer still in service (1,638 days at sea; 424,362.1 nautical miles); then a pierside training ship, then selected as a gunnery target; formal administrative 'baixa' 21 November 2016.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-2016

   Population

   Brazilian Navy crews 1973-1997 (peacetime complement 18 officers + 283 enlisted)

   Limitations

   Foreign-service official record; documents machinery fit and Brazilian disposition in ship-specific detail but says nothing about asbestos content, abatement, or exposure. Does not itself date the December 2000 target sinking (secondary compilations supply that date). Portuguese-language PDF; figures transcribed verbatim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-05

7. [7]NavSource Naval History, 'FRAM - Fleet Rehabilitation And Modernization' destroyer special feature (ship/yard/date table) + USS Brinkley Bass (DD-887) ship page (archives/05/887.htm) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource FRAM special-feature table row for 887; navsource DD-887 page operational/building data + 1956 Mare Island photo caption

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource FRAM feature table entry: '887 | Brinkley Bass | Puget Sound | 05/62' - the ship's FRAM conversion was performed at Puget Sound (Naval Shipyard, Bremerton), completed May 1962, corroborating the DANFS narrative's unnamed 1961 FRAM overhaul and consistent with the Brazilian DPHDM record's 'FRAM I ... 1961' notation. NavSource DD-887 ship page also carries a photo caption recording a Mare Island availability 1 March-25 May 1956 (photo courtesy Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum) not listed in DANFS, and gives machinery as 60,000 SHP with two screws.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1956-1962

   Population

   Shipyard workers, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard FRAM 1961-62; Mare Island availability 1956

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer photographic archive/secondary compilation, not a primary record - the FRAM yard assignment (Puget Sound, completed 05/62) is corroborated by a participant's published memoir describing the ship in drydock at Bremerton in 1961 but is not independently documented in DANFS or the Brazilian official history. NavSource's 'Westinghouse turbines' machinery line conflicts with the Brazilian official record (GE turbines) and is treated as erroneous - carried in gaps. The 1956 Mare Island dates rest on a museum photo caption.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-06

8. [8]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 engineering-drawing and tonnage recitals (per Gearing class profile ev-gearing-class-04) [court_record]

   Locator

   Goodrich omnibus opinion ECF 171 pp. 12, 19, 31 (via Gearing class profile); DANFS yard-period narrative

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era context for this hull: the Goodrich omnibus opinion (E.D. Va. 2018) recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' As a 1944-45 Gearing-class destroyer with a four-boiler Babcock & Wilcox superheated steam plant and GE geared turbines, Brinkley Bass falls within the design the recitals address; era-standard asbestos applications for such a plant include boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation insulation. FRAM and repeated overhauls (1961-62 Puget Sound; five other documented naval-shipyard periods) are the kind of yard events that disturbed machinery-space insulation under era practice.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1973

   Population

   Construction trades 1944-45; engineering crews 1945-1973; FRAM/overhaul yard workers 1947-1970

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - the drawing and 30.3-ton figure are litigation-record recitals (expert materials) covering the Sumner/Gearing design, never adjudicated and not specific to DD-887; the Goodrich opinion treated related exposure conclusions as speculative. No ship-specific finding may be drawn from this row; the ship-specific litigation material is in ev-02/-03. FRAM/overhaul asbestos scope is inference from era practice - the underlying work packages are undigitized (NARA RG 19 lead).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-07

9. [9]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; product-page description)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program as it stood during this ship's final service years: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Brinkley Bass's documented 1967-68 and 1970 Long Beach overhauls fell under this policy regime.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; the report's fieldwork yards were elsewhere. Supports era/policy context for this ship's late-service yard periods only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch); content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-08

10. [10]This record's search ledger (sl-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-01 through -08) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-01 through -08

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated exposure finding was located for this hull in the public sources searched. The CourtListener opinion index contains exactly one published opinion naming 'Brinkley Bass' (Andrews) and zero hits on hull-number variants. Three docket-level matches exist: Wright v. A.W. Chesterton (verified remand-order footnote recital, ev-04), Davis v. General Electric (verified complaint-exhibit naming, ev-10), and the MDL-875 master docket (name match in consolidated-text index, context not isolated). The Brazilian Navy official history contains no asbestos or abatement material. No NPS/HAER/NRHP or MARAD record exists for this hull (transferred to Brazil 1973; expended as target 2000).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    2026-09-28

    Population

    n/a

    Limitations

    Absence of a located record does not prove absence - BuShips contract specifications, per-ship FRAM work packages, and yard correspondence for this hull likely sit in undigitized NARA RG 19 series and NAVSEA records. No qualifying litigation produced an adjudicated exposure finding for this hull: Andrews ended in an affirmed defense summary judgment, Wright terminated about two weeks after a jurisdiction-only remand ruling, and Davis ran to 2016 with no published merits opinion naming the hull. All litigation hits are pleadings/discovery-stage material.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-09

11. [11]Davis v. General Electric Company, N.D. Cal. No. 3:08-cv-00228-JSW (RECAP docket 4171164; suit nature '368 P.I. : Asbestos', diversity product liability, filed 2008-01-14, terminated 2016-06-13) - Doc 1, Complaint for Asbestos Personal Injury/Products Liability (multi-plaintiff, Brayton Purcell LLP) [court_record]

    Locator

    RECAP doc 1748182 (docket 4171164, Doc 1 with exhibits); Pierce work-history exhibit, 'Long Beach Naval Shipyard Shop 64 (later became Shop 56)' entry and source-vessel list

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Verified complaint-stage naming of this hull in asbestos litigation: the multi-plaintiff complaint (Doc 1, filed 14 January 2008) contains plaintiff James Pierce Sr.'s work-history exhibit alleging employment as an insulator at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Insulation Shop 64 (later Shop 56), 8 November 1976-3 January 1994. The exhibit recites that 'the Navy was mandated to replace all asbestos insulation pads on ships with fiberglass insulation pads'; that plaintiff 'used old asbestos insulation pads that came directly off of the ships,' opened them, and removed the asbestos filling with an electric knife to replicate the pads in fiberglass; that 'the asbestos insulation pads were from all parts of ships, including boilers, pumps, valves, pipes, and furnaces'; and that he replicated pads 'off of existing asbestos insulation pads from various ships including' a list of ~50 hulls - among them 'BRINKELY BASS (DD-887)' [sic].

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    Alleged pad-handling 1976-1994 (vessel service 1945-1973); litigation 2008-2016

    Population

    James Pierce Sr. (LBNSY insulator, Shop 64/56, 1976-1994); LBNSY insulation-shop workers

    Limitations

    Pleading allegation only - a complaint work-history exhibit naming dozens of source vessels; no element was adjudicated, and the docket (terminated 2016-06-13) produced no published merits opinion naming this hull (opinion-corpus sweep on name and hull number = 0 beyond Andrews). Internal tension: Pierce's stated LBNSY insulation-shop employment began in November 1976, nearly three years after DD-887's December 1973 transfer to Brazil - the alleged pads would have been residual yard stock from earlier events (DD-887's last documented Long Beach overhaul ended December 1970) or the recollection is imperfect. 'BRINKELY' spelling sic in the complaint text.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-brinkley-bass-dd887-10