USS CONE (DD-866)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]DANFS, Cone (DD-866) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative through the 1960s; live NHHC page, published 2016-03-08) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, namesake paragraph + specifications block + service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: named for Rear Admiral Hutch Ingham Cone (1871-1941), Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering 1909-1913; launched 10 May 1945 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., sponsored by Mrs. H. I. Cone; commissioned 18 August 1945, Comdr. W. C. Butler, Jr., in command; reported to the Atlantic Fleet. First cruise Portsmouth, England, 12 February-9 April 1946, then a goodwill tour of northern and southern European ports returning to Newport 24 October 1946; east-coast/Caribbean operations from home port Norfolk; midshipman cruise to northern Europe summer 1947; first Sixth Fleet Mediterranean tour 1948 including the United Nations Palestine Patrol; Mediterranean 1949 and Arctic Circle crossing on maneuvers; Sixth Fleet tours 1950, 1951 (Winston Churchill visit at Venice 9 September; transport of U.S. and British ambassadors to Greece for a diplomatic call on the Mount Athos monasteries), 1952; round-the-world cruise 28 August 1953 - 9 April 1954 via Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Yokosuka to TF 77 patrol off Korea, returning via Hong Kong, Bahrein, Port Said, Naples, Villefranche, Lisbon; NATO antisubmarine training off Ireland and Operation 'Blackjack' September-November 1954; air-defense exercises and carrier plane guard 1955; Mediterranean NATO exercises 1956 and Suez Crisis standby; Sixth Fleet 1958 and 1959-60; then Caribbean exercises, local operations from new home port Charleston, S.C., and northern-European NATO maneuvers through the remainder of 1960s narrative coverage. Specifications block: dp. 2,425; l. 390'6"; b. 41'1"; dr. 18'6"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 367; a. 6 5", 5 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Gearing.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1960s (narrative coverage)

   Population

   Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1982 (design complement 367)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative ends in the 1960s - Vietnam-era deployments, the 1962-63 FRAM conversion, decommissioning (1982), and Pakistan transfer are not covered by this source. Laid-down date is not in the DANFS text (carried from consistent secondary indexes - see ev-02 and gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-01

2. [2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-866 USS Cone (operational/building data table, photo captions with NARA identifiers, commanding-officer list; secondary compilation) - consistent with Wikipedia infobox and Tin Can Sailors (destroyers.org) DD-866 page [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DD-866 index 'Operational and Building Data' table + captioned photo series (Wayback capture 2025-02-12)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Secondary vessel index record for this hull: contract NObs-1110 awarded 14 June 1943; laid down 30 November 1944 by Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island, NY; launched 10 May 1945; commissioned 18 August 1945; completed FRAM upgrade January 1963; decommissioned and stricken 1 October 1982; transferred to Pakistan the same day, renamed PNS Alamgir (D 160); decommissioned 4 December 1998 and scrapped. Photo captions with National Archives identifiers document: refit at Charleston, S.C., 21 April 1955 (new tripod, upgrades; NAID 24745103/24745105/24745107); the ship at Charleston in April 1966 showing FRAM I changes, one caption reading 'completing FRAM I refit' (NAID 24745081/83/85/87/89; the Commons copy of NAID 24745081 is dated June 1966); Cone among the escorts in the Enterprise/Oriskany formation photographed at the Vietnam cease-fire, 28 January 1973; and the ship at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, October 1980. Call sign NBGG.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1943-1998

   Population

   n/a

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation, not a primary document: contract/keel dates, the January 1963 FRAM completion, the 1982 transfer mechanics, and Pakistani-service dates rest on index consistency and captioned official photos rather than cited documents. The April-vs-June 1966 caption variance and the 'completing FRAM I refit' wording at Charleston vs. the January 1963 completion are unresolved (see gaps). Pakistani pendant printed 'D 160' here; Tin Can Sailors prints 'D-169'.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-02

3. [3]Official U.S. Navy photograph NH 107101, Naval History and Heritage Command collections (Wikimedia Commons hosting): 'USS Cone (DD-866) underway off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii (USA), with her crew paraded at quarters on 31 May 1968', PHCM/AC Louis P. Bodine, USN [other_primary]

   Locator

   Commons file page for NH 107101 (image metadata and NHHC attribution)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC-cataloged official photograph places this hull underway off Oahu on 31 May 1968 with crew at quarters - consistent with the Western Pacific transit leg of a Vietnam-era deployment. Combined with the NavSource-captioned 28 January 1973 cease-fire formation photograph (USS Enterprise 1972-73 WestPac cruise book, naming Cone among five escorts), this documents WestPac/Vietnam-theater service for a hull whose DANFS narrative ends in the 1960s.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1968; 1973

   Population

   Crew aboard, May 1968 WestPac transit

   Limitations

   Documents the ship's Pacific presence on the captioned dates only; does not establish specific operations (Sea Dragon/Market Time/naval gunfire support claims appear in secondary summaries such as the Wikipedia lead, not in the DANFS entry - carried in gaps), materials aboard, or asbestos content. Live NHHC photo page returned 404; NHHC attribution via the Commons file description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-03

4. [4]McAfee v. 20th Century Gove Corp. of Texas, No. 5:13-cv-06856-ER (E.D. Pa.), consolidated under MDL Docket No. 875: 'Defendant Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc.'s Initial Disclosures,' ECF No. 231 (filed 2014-11-21; 17 pp.; RECAP doc id 7856640, gov.uscourts.paed.484721.231.0.pdf) [court_record]

   Locator

   ECF 231 pp. 4-6 (Capt. Wasson disclosure section, USS Cone passages); docket metadata via CourtListener docket 4370980

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Docketed asbestos personal-injury action naming this hull as the plaintiff's service vessel. Defendant Crown Cork & Seal's Rule 26 initial disclosures preview anticipated expert testimony by Capt. Charles D. Wasson, USN (Ret.), concerning USS Cone specifically: he may testify 'as to the history of the USS Cone including its employments, maintenance and overhauls'; describe the steam plant, living quarters, and after steering area as 'areas which were frequented by plaintiff and in which he was exposed to large amounts of asbestos from friable asbestos-containing insulation products'; opine that ship overhauls 'involved the disturbance of friable asbestos-containing insulation products'; discuss 'the various asbestos-containing products aboard the USS Cone, including friable insulation'; and testify that 'asbestos-containing gaskets and packing may have been specified for some of the pumps on the USS Cone' while 'non-asbestos gaskets and packing were used on many other pumps.' The case (Kenneth E. and Shirley McAfee v. Crown Cork & Seal; NOS 368 P.I.: Asbestos, diversity) was filed 2013-11-25 and terminated 2020-01-23.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Litigation 2013-2020; alleged exposure period unstated in this document

   Population

   Plaintiff Kenneth E. McAfee (crew member); crew of USS Cone during plaintiff's service period (dates not stated in this filing)

   Limitations

   Discovery-stage defense disclosure of proposed expert testimony - classified at the less-final stage: unadjudicated, anticipatory ('may testify'), and hedged on product attribution (the filing contends Crown was not an exclusive supplier of asbestos gaskets/packing aboard and that some products plaintiff serviced may not have contained asbestos). No court found exposure, product identity, dose, or causation aboard this hull; the document is not a ship materials survey and does not establish remaining ACM or legal eligibility. Case terminated 2020-01-23 - disposition (settlement/dismissal) not stated in the docket index reviewed.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-04

5. [5]Consolidated era inference - DANFS specifications block (Gearing class, 2,425 t, 35 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset bethlehem-shipbuilding record (corporate-level Bethlehem asbestos-products documentation) + destroyerhistory.org Bethlehem Staten Island yard history and Gearing-class FRAM documentation [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'; destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/bethsi/ (yard history); destroyerhistory.org/sumner-gearingclass/gearingclass/ (FRAM program)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 at Bethlehem Steel's Staten Island (Mariners Harbor) yard with a four-boiler superheated steam plant and 60,000-shp General Electric geared turbines would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings - boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets/packing, and accommodation insulation. Builder Bethlehem Steel is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset only at corporate level (bethlehem-shipbuilding record, centered on Quincy/Sparrows Point/San Francisco yards - no Staten Island-specific slug exists). Documented yard periods for this hull - the 1955 Charleston refit, the 1962-63 FRAM I conversion, the April 1966 Charleston availability, and October 1980 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - are machinery-disturbance events under era practice.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1944-1982

   Population

   Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1982; New York Naval Shipyard and Charleston Naval Shipyard trades at documented availabilities

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-specific survey, contract, or work package establishes asbestos content aboard this ship. The ship-specific findings are the litigation sweep (ev-04) and the documented service record (ev-01 through ev-03); this row adds context, not a ship-specific finding. FRAM yard attribution (Brooklyn) rests on secondary sources; FRAM asbestos scope is undocumented for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-05

6. [6]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]

   Locator

   Omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (per class-profile review of ECF 171 OCR)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   A published federal omnibus opinion recites class-level material evidence covering this hull's design family: 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)' specifying 'amosite felts and asbestos cloths,' and an expert report's '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' of 30.3 tons. DD-866 is a Gearing-class member, so the recited class evidence brackets its design family; the case itself names other hulls (USS Harlan R. Dickson DD-708, USS Corry DD-817) and not this ship.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1940s design era; opinion filed 2018-09-28

   Population

   Destroyer fire/engine-room crews (class context); litigation expert materials

   Limitations

   Litigation-record recital, not an adjudicated classwide finding: the drawing covers the Sumner DD-692 design group whose machinery the Gearing lengthening retained, and the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms - not a whole-ship inventory and not specific to this hull. The opinion treated some related exposure conclusions as speculative; underlying exhibits (drawing, expert report) not retrieved from RECAP. Establishes no materials aboard, and no exposure to any person aboard, this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-06

7. [7]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 to automated fetch)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy from 1975 removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Context for this hull's 1962-63 FRAM I conversion and pre-1982 service era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; Navy asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch); content via product-page description. Supports era context only - establishes nothing about materials aboard this ship.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-07

8. [8]Batch-3831 search ledger (this record): NHHC live DANFS; NavSource/destroyers.org/Wikipedia secondary indexes; NARA-captioned photo identifiers; Wikimedia Commons NHHC photo record; CourtListener v4 opinion + RECAP sweeps; GAO product page [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-cone-dd866-01 through -10

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or museum/curatorial record naming USS Cone (DD-866) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos documentation is the litigation record (ev-04), which is discovery-stage and unadjudicated.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era construction and documented yard periods (1955 Charleston refit; 1962-63 FRAM I; 1966 Charleston; 1980 Philadelphia) make era-consistent insulation likely but ship-unproven outside the litigation record. Does not establish that asbestos is or was present; establishes or defeats no claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-08

9. [9]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-28 (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py; opinion type=o, RECAP docket type=r, and document type=rd indexes) [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-cone-dd866-04 through -06; raw results in session sweep files

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Completed authenticated sweep with per-hit classification. Opinions: '"USS Cone"' 0; '"U.S.S. Cone"' 0; '"DD-866"' 0; '"aboard the Cone"' 0; '"aboard USS Cone"' 0; 'Cone asbestos DD-866' 9 hits, all name collisions (Texas appellate and other matters - no vessel or asbestos relevance). Dockets: '"USS Cone"' 1 hit - McAfee v. 20th Century Gove Corp. of Texas (E.D. Pa. 5:13-cv-06856), qualifying asbestos litigation (see ev-04); '"DD-866"' 9 hits, all string collisions (docket-number/text fragments; no vessel-related case metadata). Document-level: '"USS Cone"' (type=rd) returned 1 hit - McAfee ECF No. 231, the disclosure analyzed at ev-04.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28 (index coverage to date)

   Population

   n/a

   Limitations

   Absence of a located opinion does not prove no claim was ever filed or adjudicated: CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets, not all state-court complaints or settled MDL-875 claims. 'Cone' is a high-collision term (common surname and ordinary noun); hull-number 'DD-866' also matches docket-number fragments. Only the docketed McAfee action qualified; no published opinion names this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cone-dd866-09