USS CHARLES S. SPERRY (DD-697)

Evidence

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

1. [1]research packet gd-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-pkt-gd-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) (verbatim transcription via hazegray/Wayback 2006-09-27 capture; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry DD-697, specifications block + service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: launched 13 March 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Miss M. Sperry; commissioned 17 May 1944, Commander H. H. McIlhenny in command; Pacific Fleet. Screened TF 38/58 from Ulithi 28 Dec 1944 through war's end: Formosa/Luzon/Indochina/Okinawa strikes for Lingayen Gulf; Tokyo raids 16-17 Feb 1945; Iwo Jima support; Okinawa operation 14 Mar-1 Jun 1945 (Minami Daito Shima bombardment 27 Mar; screened carriers during 7 Apr Yamato sinking; kamikaze defense 11/14/16/29 Apr and 11 May; stood by Hancock CV-19 and Bunker Hill CV-17 aiding damage control and rescue); San Pedro Bay 1 Jun-1 Jul; final home-island strikes; Tokyo Bay for 2 Sep 1945 surrender. Far East to 30 Dec 1945; Baltimore 19 Feb 1946; Boston reduced crew; New Orleans Naval Reserve training ship Mar 1947-Jul 1950; Norfolk overhaul; Korea 14 Oct 1950-Jun 1951 (Songjin bombardment; Kojo/Wonsan/Hungnam redeployments; hit by three shore-battery shells 23 Dec 1950, no casualties, minor damage repaired Sasebo; Wonsan harbor interdiction from 17 Jan 1951; Songjin siege to 6 Jun); Norfolk 2 Jul 1951; Destroyer Force Atlantic; Sixth Fleet Mediterranean cruises 1953/1955/1956/1958/1959 (1956 Suez evacuation escort); NATO and midshipmen cruises; extensive rehabilitation-and-modernization overhaul began late 1959, continued through 1960. Four WWII and four Korean War battle stars. Spec block: dp 2,200; 376'6"; 40' beam; 15'8" draft; 34 k; cpl 336; 6x5", 10x21" tt; class Allen M. Sumner.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Population

   Federal Shipbuilding Kearny construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry predates the ship's post-1960 service (Vietnam deployment, decommissioning, Chilean transfer not covered). Hazegray transcription artifacts: 'July 1960' and '14 October 1960' read 1950 in context (Korean War chronology); '81 August' reads 31 August. Live NHHC DANFS page 404s; mirror transcription cited per standing practice.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-01

3. [3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-697, USS Charles S. Sperry - Operational and Building Data block [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/05/697.htm - CLASS/As Built block and Operational and Building Data block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource data block for this hull: built by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, NJ (YN 382); laid down 19 October 1943; launched 13 March 1944; commissioned 17 May 1944; completed FRAM upgrade June 1960; decommissioned 15 December 1973; stricken 15 December 1973; to Chile 08 January 1974, renamed Ministro Zenteno (D 16); stricken and scrapped 1990. Machinery 60,000 SHP, turbines, 2 screws; speed 36.5 knots; crew 336. Commanding-officer list runs to LCDR Vilbert Hillis Davis, Sep 1973 - Dec 15 1973.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1943-1974

   Population

   crew 1944-1973

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photographic archive, not an official Navy publication; its data block supplies the laid-down date DANFS omits and the FRAM completion month. Turbine make listed as Westinghouse conflicts with class-level sources (General Electric) - carried unresolved in gaps. FRAM yard not named here.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-02

4. [4]Department of Veterans Affairs (VBA), 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' ships list (2021 edition) [other_primary]

   Locator

   VA ships list (2021), Category II entry (PDF p.10) and Category III entry (PDF p.21)

   Finding type

   regulatory

   Finding

   The VA's official Vietnam ships list (maintained by VBA from deck logs, official histories, and similar documents for Agent Orange presumption eligibility under 38 CFR 3.307) names this hull twice: 'USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) operated on Saigon River during December 1965' (Category II - ships operating temporarily on Vietnam's inland waterways) and 'USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) docked at Da Nang during January 1966' (Category III - ships that docked to shore or pier in Vietnam). Establishes deck-log-documented Vietnam service, including an inland-waterway transit.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1965-1966 (operations); list current 2021

   Population

   crew, Dec 1965-Jan 1966 Vietnam operations

   Limitations

   Documents deck-log-derived operations, not asbestos. Establishes Vietnam-area presence Dec 1965-Jan 1966 at minimum; does not bound the full deployment or describe other activity. Agent Orange eligibility categories are unrelated to asbestos exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-03

5. [5]Armada de Chile (official site), 'Destructor Ministro Zenteno 2°', Unidades Historicas [other_primary]

   Locator

   armada.cl - Tradicion e historia / Unidades Historicas / Destructor Ministro Zenteno 2°

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Chilean Navy unit page: ex-'USS DD 697 Charles S. Sperry'; destroyer built at the Federal SB & DD yard, Kearny, New Jersey; purchased by Chile on 8 January 1974 and joined the fleet that year; 'Allen M. Sumner modernizada' class; Chilean-era armament included Exocet missile launchers, Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes, and a helicopter; decommissioned (dada de baja) by Resolucion C.J.A. (R) N 4520/A-257 of 23 April 1990; alienation authorized by Decreto Supremo N 15 of 20 May 1991.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1974-1991

   Population

   Chilean Navy crew 1974-1990; ASMAR shipyard personnel

   Limitations

   Official Chilean record confirms acquisition, foreign service, and disposal chain; gives no scrapping date/site (NavSource and secondary sources carry 'scrapped 1990'/'1991' - unresolved year in gaps). Says nothing about material condition or asbestos.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-04

6. [6]Revista de Marina (official Chilean Navy journal), Ano CXXXIV Vol. 135 No. 966 (23 Oct 2018): Onofre Torres Colvin, 'El gran desafio de incorporar dos destructores a la Armada' - first-crew account, DD-16 Ministro Zenteno [other_primary]

   Locator

   revistamarina.cl article - sections 'Primer contacto con los buques' and 'Transferencia del buque'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   First-person account by a member of the first Chilean crew: DD-697 and DD-779 (Douglas H. Fox; to Chile as DD-17 Ministro Portales) were stricken from the USN list in late 1973 and lay unmanned, without steam/water/electric power, at the Philadelphia naval base. The ships were transferred 'as is' at low cost after removal of items considered valuable; transfer ceremony 8 January 1974 at 10:00, delivered by USN Rear Admiral Coleman, received by VADM Luis Eberhard Escobar. No technical documentation was handed over ('no hubo entrega de cargos') - Chilean personnel inventoried equipment and material state themselves; first commanding officer of DD-16 was Capitan de Navio Francisco Johow Heins.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1974

   Population

   first Chilean crews + ASMAR personnel, Jan 1974 (Philadelphia)

   Limitations

   Memoir-style essay in the official service journal; establishes undocumented 'as is' transfer condition (material state passed to foreign custody without inventory), not asbestos content. Does not mention asbestos.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-05

7. [7]DANFS specifications block (Allen M. Sumner class; 34 k; 60,000 shp steam plant) + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey, Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny NJ, Aug 30-Sep 2 1944) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); NavSource FRAM date

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference: a Sumner-class destroyer built Oct 1943-May 1944 with a four-boiler geared-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The builder yard is documented at yard level (Atlas tier 2): an Owens-Illinois industrial health survey of Federal Shipbuilding Kearny conducted Aug 30-Sep 2, 1944 - during the wartime destroyer program that included this hull's fitting-out era - documented asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex), boiler insulation (Owens-Illinois Kaylo), fireproofing (W.R. Grace Monokote), and Garlock gaskets in use. A pre-substitution-era FRAM II modernization (completed June 1960 per NavSource) would have disturbed original insulation. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications remain an unretrieved archival lead.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Population

   Federal Kearny construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-1973; FRAM yard workers 1959-60

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's May 1944 commissioning and documents the yard's wartime practice, not materials installed aboard DD-697 specifically. Not a ship-specific finding; no hull-level material schedule located.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-06

8. [8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - DD-697's 1943-44 construction, its 1950 Norfolk overhaul, and its 1959-60 FRAM II modernization all predate substitution and fall 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

   Limitations

   Program-level era context only; does not name this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch); content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-07

9. [9]Batch-3671 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource data block; VA ships list; Armada de Chile unit page; Revista de Marina; ship association site and secondary references (leads only); CourtListener ship-name/hull-name/alias sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-01 through -10

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hull material schedule, insulation specification, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).

   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 - a 1943-44 steam destroyer that passed to Chile 'as is' with no documented material inventory is consistent with retained era materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-08

10. [10]Ship's association site (usscharlesssperrydd697.com, crew-contributed history reproducing a welcome-aboard pamphlet) + navysite.de DD-697 page + NavalCoverMuseum entry - secondary leads for post-1960 history [other_primary]

    Locator

    usscharlesssperrydd697.com/history.html; navysite.de/dd/dd697.htm; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CHARLES_S_SPERRY_DD_697

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Secondary sources agree on the post-1960 outline not covered by DANFS: FRAM II modernization at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Dec/Nov 1959 - Jun 1960 per navysite/association), Cuban Missile Crisis operations Oct 1962, Gemini recovery-team duty 1965, Vietnam deployment late 1965 - Apr 1966 (naval gunfire support, Da Nang harbor defense, plane guard for USS Enterprise CVAN-65; circumnavigation completed April 1966 - partially corroborated at ship-specific level by the VA ships list's Dec 1965 Saigon River and Jan 1966 Da Nang entries, ev-03), Boston Naval Shipyard overhaul May 1966, further WestPac/Mediterranean-Indian Ocean deployments 1967, decommissioned Philadelphia 15 Dec 1973.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1960-1974

    Population

    crew 1960-1973

    Limitations

    Crew-contributed and secondary compilations, not official records - carried as archival leads only. Verification path: OPNAV 5750 command histories (NHHC) and NARA deck logs (the VA list entries derive from deck logs). NavalCoverMuseum additionally asserts a 1948-1950 decommission/recommission cycle (decommissioned 15 Mar 1948, recommissioned 1 Jul 1950) that conflicts with the DANFS 'training ship until July 1950' framing - unresolved, carried in gaps.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-09

11. [11]CourtListener search API v4, authenticated sweep via cl-auth-search.py (fleet-paced): queries "Charles S. Sperry" (o=0, r=0), "DD-697" (o=0, r=1), "USS Sperry" (o=2), "Ministro Zenteno" (o=0). Sole docket hit: Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., No. 1:07-cv-04771 (S.D.N.Y., filed 2007-06-05, terminated 2007-10-23; transferred into MDL-875) [court_record]

    Locator

    Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton, docket 4331985, recap doc gov.uscourts.nysd.306984.17.20 (Exhibit 12 pt 2, PDF pp. 11, 19 OCR)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    CourtListener sweep completed 2026-09-27: no qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Exact-name queries returned zero opinions and zero dockets ('Charles S. Sperry' o=0/r=0; 'DD-697' o=0; 'Ministro Zenteno' o=0). The single 'DD-697' docket hit is Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton (S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771), an asbestos personal-injury case by a Brooklyn Navy Yard shipfitter/inspector (1951-1996) - the hull number occurs once, inside a scanned expert-exhibit attachment (ECF 17-20, Block declaration Exhibit 12 part 2): OCR of the reproduced Navy periodical pages shows 'Charles S. Sperry (DD 697)' only in photo/news captions (6th Fleet repairs alongside Cascade AD-16; offloading the John Barry statue at Wexford, Ireland). Collateral exhibit-level mention, not a pleading-stage exposure allegation against this hull - classified non-qualifying per the less-final-stage rule. 'USS Sperry' opinion hits are both Court of Military Appeals court-martial opinions (U.S. v. Hendrickson, 1983; U.S. v. Henderson, 1985) aboard/at the submarine tender USS Sperry (AS-12, San Diego) - name collision with a different hull, not asbestos.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    search conducted 2026-09-27

    Limitations

    Sweep covered CourtListener's indexed opinion and RECAP docket text only; state-court filings and PACER-only documents are not covered. The Gitto mention is exhibit-level OCR inside a reproduced Navy magazine - it does not verify or allege exposure aboard this hull. Absence of a located docket does not prove no claim ever named the vessel.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-charles-s-sperry-dd697-10