Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet hp-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-pkt-hp-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) (NHHC; live page 404 - Wayback capture 2016-03-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5)', lifecycle-date block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (online entry is a stub marked 'History Pending'): 'Commissioned 5 May 1962. Decommissioned 31 October 1989. Strike Date: 1 June 1990. Disposed of by scrapping on 8 November 2002.' Confirms the four lifecycle dates for this hull under its final name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-2002
- Population
- Crew 1962-1989
- Limitations
- Stub entry - no narrative, specification block, or builder data; documents lifecycle dates only, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-01
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, CLAUDE V. RICKETTS (DDG 5) (ex-BIDDLE), UIC 04671 (Wayback capture 2011-01-27; live record removed after disposal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship-details page for DDG 5, status/characteristics blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR record for this hull: class DDG 2; builder 'NEW YORK SB CORP'; award date 03/28/1957; keel date 05/18/1959; launch 06/04/1960; delivery 05/02/1962; commission 05/05/1962; decommission 10/31/1989; stricken 06/01/1990; status 'Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling' with date status changed 11/08/2002; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; light displacement 3,982 tons; overall length 437 ft; two propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-2002
- Population
- Crew 1962-1989; NISMF Philadelphia custodial/inactive-ship workforce 1989-2002
- Limitations
- NVR snapshot (page last updated 01/03/2003, captured 2011-01-27) documents status, dates, and material characteristics, not asbestos content; NVR is carried as authoritative for all lifecycle dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-02
-
[4]NHHC Online Library, 'USN Ships by Hull Number: DDG - Guided Missile Destroyers' (ibiblio HyperWar transcription); DANFS, Biddle III (DDG-5) stub (Wayback 2019-01-29); NHHC H-Gram 078; NHHC photo data page NH 106744 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ddg-no.htm lead section + DDG-5 list entry; danfs/b/biddle-iii.html stub; H-Gram_078.pdf; photo data page NH 106744
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official designation and naming chain for this single hull: planned destroyer designation DD-955; designated DDG-955 with the first eight new-construction guided-missile destroyers in August 1956; placed in the new DDG series as DDG-5 in 1957 ('about a month' after Gyatt resumed DDG-1 in May 1957); commissioned as USS Biddle in 1962; renamed Claude V. Ricketts in 1964 - per H-Gram 078, 'the most recent example of renaming a U.S. Navy ship while in commission,' after Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Claude V. Ricketts died in office in 1964. CORRECTIONS: the DANFS Biddle III stub misprints the rename date as '28 July 1968' - NHHC's own hull-number list ('renamed Claude V. Ricketts in 1964'), photo caption NH 106744 ('renamed Claude V. Ricketts in July 1964'), H-Gram 078, the ship's cruise books, and NavSource all carry July 1964 (28 July 1964), consistent with the Admiral's death 6 July 1964. DD-955/DDG-955/DDG-5 and the names Biddle/Claude V. Ricketts are stages of ONE hull; TB-26, DD-151, and DLG-34/CG-34 are different USS Biddles.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1956-1964
- Population
- Crew 1962-1964 (as Biddle); crew 1964-1989 (as Ricketts)
- Limitations
- Establishes designations and naming, not materials. The exact renumbering date within 1957 is unresolved - NavSource reads 23 April 1957 while the NHHC narrative implies ~June 1957 (MaritimeQuest, secondary, reads 26 June 1957); the conflict is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-03
-
[5]USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) ship-published cruise books - 1965 Mixed Manning Demonstration cruise book (navysite.de scan index), 1968 cruise book ship's-history page, 1980 cruise book ship's-history page (e-yearbook scans of official ship publications) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 1968 cruise book p.7 (ship's history); 1965 Mixed Manning cruise book (memorandum terms, participating nations); 1980 cruise book p.5 (ship's history + dedication)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-published history for this hull: built by New York Shipbuilding; commissioned USS BIDDLE at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 5 May 1962, sponsored by Mrs. Fred A. Bantz (wife of the former Under Secretary of the Navy), Commander Paul Roth commanding; fourth ship of the DDG-2 class and third named for Continental Navy captain Nicholas Biddle (predecessors TB-26 and DD-151); fitted out at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and put to sea 19 June 1962 for Atlantic Fleet exercises and qualification trials; Second Fleet Atlantic/Caribbean operations through 1963 and participated in the Cuba Quarantine; first Mediterranean deployment end of 1963 returning March 1964; designated March 1964 for the NATO Mixed Manning Demonstration (MOU February 1964); renamed and recommissioned USS CLAUDE V. RICKETTS 28 July 1964 in memory of the late Vice Chief of Naval Operations; demonstration June 1964-1 December 1965 with personnel from the UK, West Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Greece and Turkey - 10 U.S. officers and 164 U.S. enlisted with the balance allied (~50% non-U.S.), 50,000+ miles steamed, ending with ceremonies at Norfolk Naval Station 1 December 1965; 1980 cruise book records a Middle East deployment including 72 continuous days underway in the Persian Gulf with USS LaSalle support.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-1980
- Population
- Crew 1962-1965 incl. allied mixed-manning complement; New York Shipbuilding trades 1959-62; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard fitting-out workforce
- Limitations
- Official ship publications as scanned by third-party hosts (e-yearbook, navysite.de); the underlying texts are authoritative for the ship's own chronology but contain no materials or asbestos content. Post-1965 deployment detail beyond the 1980 dedication summary rests on secondary compilations (carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-04
-
[6]Official U.S. Navy photo captions as transcribed on the NavSource DDG-5 page: DN-SN-87-07337 and DN-SN-87-07336 (Ionian Sea, 22 November 1975); NN33300514 (Standing Naval Force Atlantic, 1 July 1982); 330-CFD-DN-ST-82-11098 (Norfolk Naval Shipyard drydock, 1 September 1982) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 05/01005 photo-caption entries (DN-SN-87-07337/-07336; NN33300514; DN-ST-82-11098; Zeebrugge, Kiel Canal, CV-67 alongside captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy imagery documents specific operations for this hull: 22 November 1975, Ionian Sea - 'firefighters aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG 5) direct spray from their hoses onto a fire aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG 26)' after Belknap collided with USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) during night operations, including 'a view of damage sustained by the guided missile destroyer USS CLAUDE V. RICKETTS (DDG 5) while fighting a fire aboard' Belknap; 1 July 1982 - underway in Standing Naval Force Atlantic formation with HMS Norfolk, HNLMS De Ruyter and FGS Braunschweig; 1 September 1982 - in drydock at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. Additional captions place the ship at Zeebrugge 13 March 1981, in the Kiel Canal at Wilhelmshaven 2 October 1987, and alongside USS John F. Kennedy May 1988.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1988
- Population
- Crew at the 1975 casualty response and 1982 yard period; Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhaul workforce
- Limitations
- Caption-level official records documenting events and locations; no materials or asbestos content. The 1975 firefighting sequence establishes the ship's alongside-firefighting role but does not quantify Belknap damage or Ricketts damage extent; secondary accounts' 'rescue unit' and 'seven hours' details are not in the captions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-05
-
[7]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-955/DDG-5 USS Biddle / USS Claude V. Ricketts (volunteer photographic archive), operational and building data block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 05/01005 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Building and disposal data for this hull: originally classified DD-955, 'classification changed to DDG-5 April 23 1957'; laid down by New York Shipbuilding 18 May 1959; launched 4 June 1960; commissioned 5 May 1962; renamed Claude V. Ricketts 28 July 1964; decommissioned 31 October 1989; stricken 1 June 1990; moved to Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility Philadelphia 3 November 1989; sold to NR Acquisition, Wilmington (Bid #310-4313 Item #15, $183,361.40), contract terminated 1 October 1996, hull repossessed 8 October 1996, removed 2 November 1996, arrived NISMF 5 November 1996 under Moran Towing; sold to Metro Machine Corp., Philadelphia, 18 December 2001 ($183,361.40), delivered 11 January 2002, scrapping complete 8 November 2002.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-2002
- Population
- Crew; inactive-ship custody workforce 1989-2002; scrapping workforce 1994-1996 and 2001-2002
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer archive, not an official record: its DDG-5 classification-change date (23 April 1957) conflicts with the NHHC hull-number narrative (~June 1957) and with MaritimeQuest's 26 June 1957; its Metro Machine sale date (18 December 2001) conflicts with MaritimeQuest's 18 November 2001. Lifecycle dates here agree with NVR/DANFS; disposal-chain details (bid number, towing, dates) have no official corroboration located beyond the NVR status date of 11/08/2002.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-06
-
[8]GAO HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (18 October 1979), incl. Navy enclosure Ser 4542/318054 (5 Jan 1979) and Ser 454D/318571 (8 Feb 1979) (product page + full-text PDF verified via Wayback; live gao.gov 403 to automated fetch) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 enclosure I (5 Jan 1979 letter + cost table, pp. ~1-4 of enclosure); enclosure II (8 Feb 1979 insulation-weight letter)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Navy program-level record covering the era in which this hull served: the Navy's 5 Jan 1979 enclosure states 'each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed' and 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' citing deck tiling, galley-range cabling, piping gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches, and judging it 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' Its reinsulation-cost table groups in-service 'DESTROYER: DD & DDG' - a category including the Charles F. Adams class then in service - among frigates and submarines in a $965.13 million tentative fleet estimate for thermal-insulation removal/reinsulation (about half the fleet). The report documents the 1973 asbestos-free specification change, contract-by-contract transition, and asbestos-insulated deliveries continuing to May 1978; the Navy's 1975 policy removed/replaced asbestos insulation only when damaged or removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to add selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - under which 'implementation ... will result in the removal of all shipboard thermal asbestos except that 30 to 50 percent which is normally untouched during the life of the ship.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1978-1979 (review period); policy through ~1984
- Population
- Navy ship crews and shipyard repair workers, 1970s
- Limitations
- Program-level: names no individual hull and gives no DDG-2-class insulation quantity - the report's only per-class thermal-insulation weight (87,634 lbs) is for the Spruance DD-963 class. The DD & DDG line is a grouped cost category, not a per-hull finding. Establishes that in-service destroyers of this era carried asbestos-containing applications, not what was aboard DDG-5 specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-07
-
[9]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (military-records research guide) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page, 'Bureau of Ships ... Correspondence' and series accordions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide for documenting whether a particular U.S. naval vessel carried asbestos: directs researchers to RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) general/confidential correspondence 1940-1961, filed under the Navy Filing Manual by hull designation (this hull would appear under 'DDG5', 'DD955' and 'DDG955' as designations shifted) and by class correspondence under the namesake hull's filing code, with private-yard correspondence filed under 'QM' (QM/New York Shipbuilding); also covers plans, specifications and related series. This hull's construction period (contract 1957, build 1959-1962) intersects the guide's 1940-1961 coverage window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (records scope)
- Population
- Researchers; NARA reference staff
- Limitations
- A research guide, not a record: it documents where hull-level material specifications would be found but contains no DDG-5 content. No DDG-5 file from RG 19 was examined in this batch; the last ~1 year of construction (1962) falls outside the guide's stated coverage window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-08
-
[10]NavSource specification block (as built: 4,526 t full, 437' x 47' x 15'; Tartar SAM Mk 11 twin-arm; 2 x 5-inch/54; ASROC 1x8; 6 x 12.75-inch Mk 32 TT; 70,000 shp geared turbines, 2 screws; 33 kt; 4,500 NM @ 20 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, New York Shipbuilding Corporation record (yard tier 1; documented asbestos products and cohort data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 05/01005 specification block; shipyards.json record 'new-york-shipbuilding'; GAO HRD-80-2 enclosure I
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a steam-plant guided-missile destroyer built 1959-1962 - four ~1,275-psi boilers (secondary data read Foster-Wheeler) feeding two geared turbines (Westinghouse per secondary data), 70,000 shp - would have carried period-standard asbestos applications: thermal insulation on boilers, turbines, machinery, piping and ventilation ducting, gaskets and packing, deck coverings, and fireproofing - consistent with the Navy's own 1979 statements (ev-07) that all in-service ships contained asbestos in multiple applications. Builder New York Shipbuilding (Camden, NJ; open 1899-1967) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset at tier 1, with named asbestos product lines (85% magnesia and Caltemp block insulation, Bakelite/Transite panels, asbestos gaskets and packing, asbestos-coated welding rods, ebonized asbestos lumber, 75-85% chrysotile wire insulation, felt insulation) and cohort findings (mesothelioma SMR ~16x expected among electricians; ~86% asbestosis prevalence in a ship-repair-worker cohort).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-2002
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1959-62; crew 1962-1989; NISMF/scrapping workforces
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding. The Navy's 'all ships' statement is fleet-level; the yard's documented products describe New York Shipbuilding's operations generally, not this hull's bill of materials. Whether and where ACM remained aboard at decommissioning (1989) or through scrapping (1994-2002) is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 opinion search (type=o), authenticated via cl-auth-search.py fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py type=o queries; pacing stand-down (exit 2) logged repeatedly; one HTTP 400 on malformed query syntax
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- PARTIAL litigation sweep: the completed query '"Claude V. Ricketts" OR "USS Ricketts" OR "DDG-5"' returned 0 opinions - no published opinion names this hull under its final name or hull number. Queries for the Biddle name and designations ('USS Biddle', 'DD-955', 'DDG-955') could not be completed: the fleet-wide CourtListener pacing budget (shared ~114 req/hr across all concurrent sessions) stood the helper down (exit 2) on repeated attempts across ~35 minutes of session time; the single attempt that reached the server was rejected HTTP 400 for query syntax before pacing blocked the corrected retry.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-present (opinion corpus)
- Limitations
- The completed Ricketts/DDG-5 opinion sweep is a clean no-result under the final name; it does NOT cover the Biddle name (1962-1964 service + high-collision surname), 'DD-955'/'DDG-955' designations, or RECAP dockets (type=r), none of which were executed. Sweep is logged as pending, not as a negative finding - Biddle-name litigation exposure is unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-10
-
[12]Batch-3939 research record (search ledger rows sl-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-01 through -11); VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions index (va.gov/vetapp full-text search) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger; va.gov vetapp full-text results (no hull match)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos materials documentation was located for DDG-5: no ACM survey, asbestos abatement record, environmental monitoring record, donation-condition hazmat disclosure, or ship-specific industrial-hygiene finding names this hull in reviewed authoritative sources. VA BVA full-text search surfaced no decision naming 'Claude V. Ricketts,' 'USS Ricketts,' or this hull in an asbestos-related claim; asbestos pages naming the hull exist only on law-firm/marketing sites (excluded as non-authoritative).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-2002
- Population
- Crew and construction/repair/scrapping workforces (unresolved exposure population)
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is a research finding, not proof of absence: NARA RG 19 hull files and Navy/industrial-hygiene records were not pulled, and the Biddle-name litigation sweep is pending (ev-10). Ship-era and builder-yard evidence (ev-07, ev-09) makes asbestos-containing construction probable but documents no hull-level material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-claude-v-ricketts-ddg5-11