Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet hm-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-conyngham-ddg17-pkt-hm-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Conyngham III (DDG-17)' (builder, launch, sponsor, commissioning, spec block; live NHHC page serves 404 - Wayback capture 2023-02-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Conyngham III (DDG-17)' - specs block and build paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; launched 19 May 1962; sponsored by Mrs. Carl B. Albert, wife of Representative Albert of Oklahoma, House Majority Leader; commissioned 13 July 1963, Commander Edwin P. Smith USN in command. Spec block: fldp. 4,500; l. 432'; b. 47'; dr. 20'; sp. 35 k.; cpl. 354; a. 1 twin Tartar, 1 single Tartar launcher, 2 5"x54 dual purpose, 1 ASROC 8, 2 triple torpedo launchers. Third ship named for Continental Navy Captain Gustavus Conyngham.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1961-1963
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1961-63; commissioning-era crew (cpl. 354)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, launch, commissioning, and design specifications - not materials, insulation, or asbestos content. The entry ends at commissioning: laid-down date (1 May 1961, from NavSource/association), decommissioning, striking, and disposal are not covered by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-01
-
[3]U.S. Navy Damage Control and Fire Protection Engineering (DC Museum) case study, 'USS Conyngham (DDG 17) - 8 May 1990 Class Bravo Fire in the #1 Fire Room' (dcfp.navy.mil, archived 2010-01-16; live domain defunct) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DC Museum Conyngham case page - 'Summary of Events and Causal Factors'; 'Survivability Principles Applied'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy training account of this hull's 8 May 1990 mass conflagration: catastrophic failure of the wiper assembly on a commercially reworked fire-safe fuel-oil strainer in fire room 1 during boiler 1A light-off; Class Bravo fire spread up the main access through a non-balanced aluminum joiner door on the DC deck into the passageway, moved vertically through machinery-space ventilation exhausts into the uptakes, swept the main deck using the cableways for fuel into CIC and toward the bridge; ship dead in the water ~60 minutes; ~3-hour fight with assistance from USS Normandy (CG-60) and USS Briscoe (DD-977); 1 dead (officer found in stateroom, no EEBD used), 18 injured; recorded 'COST TO USN: Ship decommissioned and stricken from the Navy.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1990-05-08
- Population
- Fire-room and engineering watchstanders; fire parties; assisting ships' crews, 8 May 1990
- Limitations
- Documents the casualty's mechanics and spread path through the fire room, uptakes, cableways, main deck and CIC of a 1963-built steam plant. The source does not mention asbestos, insulation composition, or post-fire hazmat disposition - involvement of era insulation materials in the burn and cleanup is inference, not a documented finding. Early press injury counts (12) were superseded by the official 18.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-02
-
[4]UPI, 'Fire kills one aboard USS Conyngham' (1990-05-08); corroborating: New York Times 1990-05-09, Los Angeles Times 1990-05-08/09, AP via Roanoke Times 1990-05-11 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- UPI Archives story 2441642139200; LAT la-xpm-1990-05-08-mn-422 and la-xpm-1990-05-09-mn-86; NYT 1990-05-09; AP via scholar.lib.vt.edu Roanoke Times 1990-05-11
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous reporting: the fire broke out about 5:30-5:35 a.m. in the No. 1 boiler/fire room as the boiler was being lit, about 80 miles off North Carolina; spread to the combat information center; captain evacuated CIC and bridge, leaving the ship without communications and dead in the water; towed toward Norfolk by salvage ship USS Opportune; the dead was Lt. Algernon Pope Gordon Jr., 34, the operations officer, killed by smoke inhalation after re-entering berthing spaces to rouse shipmates; about 12 injured in initial reports; the 27-year-old ship had been scheduled for decommissioning in about a year.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1990-05-08 to 1990-05-11
- Population
- Crew (variously reported 354-383); one fatality (Lt. Gordon)
- Limitations
- Day-of/next-day reporting - the injury count (12) was superseded by the official 18; crew figures vary across stories (360 crew + 20 officers; 380; 383). Press coverage does not address asbestos or materials composition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-03
-
[5]MARAD Vessel History Database, CONYNGHAM (DDG-17), record 1090, incl. scanned Reserve Fleet - Ship Particulars card (Form MA-383) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1090; status card image vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/1090_1978AF.jpg
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD record identifies this hull as a Navy DDG guided missile destroyer built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation (437 ft length, 47 ft beam), fate 'Sold - Scrap.' The scanned reserve-fleet particulars card records James River Reserve Fleet entry 5/11/93 at 1300 and withdrawal 8/24/94 at 1020 EDT, reason 'Sold for Scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1993-1994 (fleet entry/withdrawal)
- Population
- James River Reserve Fleet custody-period workers; commercial scrapping workforce 1994-95
- Limitations
- Disposal-chain record only - no hazmat, asbestos, or abatement content. The MARAD page's 'Year Built 1960' conflicts with DANFS (launched 19 May 1962) - carried in gaps. The buyer (J&L Metals, Wilmington NC, per NavSource) and sale date (15 April 1994, secondary sources) do not appear on the card.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-04
-
[6]USS Conyngham Association ship-history page (service narrative, CO roster, motto 'Ready to Serve', Battle Efficiency 'E' list); corroborating date summaries: NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DDG-17; NavalCoverMuseum CONYNGHAM DDG-17 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussconynghamassoc.org/DDG17.htm; navsource.org/archives/05/01017.htm (Wayback capture 2024-05-24); navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/CONYNGHAM_DDG_17
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's association narrative for this hull: keel laid 1 May 1961; launched 19 May 1962; commissioned 13 July 1963 as the sixteenth ship of the Charles F. Adams class; 27 years Atlantic Fleet service - 15 Mediterranean, 3 Persian Gulf, 7 Northern Europe, 11 Caribbean deployments; Cyprus crises 1964/1974; air cover for Amman evacuation 1970; Yom Kippur contingency operations 1973; escort for Beirut evacuation 1976; Black Sea freedom-of-navigation 1979; off Libya 1982; Navy Expeditionary Medal for Beirut naval gunfire support 1983; Nicaragua patrol 1983; USS America battle group for Grenada 1983; four drug interdictions and Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation 1986; Earnest Will escort and assistance to USS Stark after the Iraqi missile attack 1987 (Navy Unit Commendation); Norway/Northern Europe 1988; fifteenth Med deployment and fourth Battle 'E' 1989 (also 1964, 1965, 1969); 8 May 1990 fire (operations officer killed, 18 injured); decommissioned 30 October 1990 at Norfolk. NavSource and NavalCoverMuseum corroborate: stricken 31 May 1991; sold 15 April 1994; broken up by J&L Metals, Wilmington NC, 1995.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1961-1995
- Population
- Crew across 27 commission-years (complement ~354)
- Limitations
- Association, NavSource and NavalCoverMuseum are secondary compilations (apparently transcribing ship booklets/official summaries) - day-level conflicts with other sources on decommissioning (29 vs 30 Oct) and striking (30 vs 31 May) are carried in gaps, not silently reconciled; NavSource's 'commissioned June 13 1963' conflicts with DANFS's 13 July 1963 and is not carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-05
-
[7]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 1979-10-18; released 1979-10-22) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (highlights/summary); report body gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf (fetch-blocked)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's asbestos-protection program with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards: the 1975 policy removed and replaced asbestos insulation only when damaged or when removal was needed to accomplish repairs; the 1979 modification added selective replacement in high-maintenance areas ahead of a ship's next operating cycle; a one-time $2 billion fleet-wide removal program was rejected on cost. A Navy letter in the record states 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' identifying thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems as the major application - a fleet-wide statement made while this hull was in commissioned service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policies); 1979 (report)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and fleet-wide shipboard crews
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation: fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not this vessel, and 'all ships in service' is a fleet statement, not a hull-level finding for DDG-17. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - the product-page description and a search-index excerpt of report text were used; full-text pull remains the open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-06
-
[8]NavSource DDG-17 machinery block (70,000 shp; geared turbines; 2 screws) + class propulsion references (4 Combustion Engineering 1,275-psi boilers, 2 GE geared turbines) + Atlas shipyards.json builder record 'new-york-shipbuilding' (documented asbestos product inventory) + GAO HRD-80-2 fleet statement [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource machinery block; shipyards.json record 'new-york-shipbuilding'; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a 1961-63 steam-plant guided missile destroyer would have carried period-standard asbestos thermal insulation on boilers, turbines, steam piping, valves, gaskets and packing, plus fireproofing and deck coverings consistent with the Navy's own 1979 fleet-wide statement. Builder New York Shipbuilding (Camden, NJ, open 1899-1967) is documented in the Atlas yard dataset with an enumerated asbestos product inventory (thermal/block insulation incl. Ehret magnesia and Pabco products, Transite asbestos-cement panels, gaskets, packing, electrical/wire insulation, asbestos-coated welding rods).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1961-1995
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1961-63; crew 1963-90; post-fire repair/decommission workers 1990; J&L Metals scrapping workforce 1994-95
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no hull-specific material list exists in the sources searched; the yard dataset's documented products derive principally from earlier (WWII-era) records and do not prove what was installed on this 1963 hull. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an unretrieved lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-07
-
[9]Batch-3919 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback), hazegray (fetch-blocked), NavSource (Wayback), MARAD vessel history + status card, Navy DC Museum fire case study (Wayback/damagecontrolmuseums.org mirror), contemporaneous press (UPI/NYT/LAT/AP), GAO HRD-80-2 description, ship association site, NARA deck-log catalog, USNI Proceedings (snippet-level), CourtListener sweep [status per ledger] [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-conyngham-ddg17-01 through sl-uss-conyngham-ddg17-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum or donation hazmat disclosure, and no published opinion naming the ship was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Indexed RECAP docket text contains the phrase 'USS Conyngham' in 8 dockets (5 asbestos P.I.) whose document-level role is unverified - archival leads only (ev-10). The documented 1990 engineering/uptake/cableway conflagration and the 1994-95 commercial scrapping are exposure-relevant events whose asbestos content is undocumented.
- 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 - a 1963 steam-plant destroyer is era-consistent with significant ACM, and neither the fire casualty account nor the MARAD disposal record addresses materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Docket-text references are unverified as to hull and role - see ev-10.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 sweeps (authenticated, 2026-09-28): opinions "USS Conyngham" count 0; opinions "DDG-17" count 0; opinions "Conyngham" count 331 (all name collisions); RECAP dockets "USS Conyngham" count 8 dockets/14 documents [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 search API results; matching documents: Laughlin ECF 261, 445; Redman ECF 4, 11; Holck ECF 69-3; Yoder ECF 40-1; McCrossin ECF 44-1; Skelton ECF 66/79/91; Hornsby ECF 159-3, 165-9; DI LISCIA ECF 26
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No published opinion names this ship: exact-name opinion search "USS Conyngham" returned zero results, and "DDG-17" returned zero. Broad "Conyngham" opinion search (331 hits) returns only name collisions on the first page - Conyngham Township/Borough PA municipal cases and parties surnamed Conyngham; no vessel reference located in opinion text. RECAP docket sweep for the exact phrase "USS Conyngham" returns 8 dockets/14 documents whose indexed filing text contains the phrase: five asbestos P.I. dockets - Laughlin (E.D. Va. 4:18-cv-00132, matching ECF 261 re designation of CDR Andrew Ott and ECF 445 re second amended complaint), Redman v. A.W. Chesterton (N.D. Cal. 3:08-cv-03013, ECF 4/11), Holck v. Carrier (W.D. Wash. 3:13-cv-05905, ECF 69-3), Yoder v. CBS (W.D. Wash. 2:14-cv-00006, ECF 40-1), McCrossin v. A.W. Chesterton (W.D. Wash. 3:14-cv-05382, ECF 44-1) - plus three non-asbestos collisions (Skelton v. Navy Personnel Command, D.S.C. 3:10-cv-01958, veterans-benefits; Hornsby v. United States, E.D. Va. 2:22-cv-00427, marine; DI LISCIA v. Austin, D.D.C. 1:21-cv-01047, civil rights). In all three W.D. Wash. dockets the matching document is CBS Corporation's recurring 103-page Master Exhibit List, so the reference may be an exhibit-list entry rather than a plaintiff exposure allegation.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2008-2025 (docket span); 2026-09-28 (sweep date)
- Population
- Unverified from index
- Limitations
- Classified at index/docket-text level per litigation-stage discipline: these are NOT verified exposure allegations against this hull - the phrase's role inside each document (alleged exposure vessel vs. exhibit/service-record reference vs. veterans' service history) is unresolved without full-text review, and even where a vessel is meant, DD-371 vs DDG-17 hull attribution cannot be resolved from the index alone. Fetching RECAP PDF full text was not performed (all CourtListener traffic routed through the paced helper, which serves API JSON only). A later session with document access can resolve each hit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-10
-
[11]National Archives Catalog, 'Conyngham (DDG-17) - January 1966' deck log, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (Bureau of Naval Personnel records), National Archives at College Park [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/219040813 (DPLA item f0bcf31e59eb1e2f5b61c012451bcb8e)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's deck logs survive in the NARA Bureau of Naval Personnel logbook series at College Park; at least the January 1966 volume is digitized in the National Archives Catalog (ID 219040813, mirrored via DPLA). Deck logs chronologically record ship operations, casualties and yard availabilities - a retrievable primary source for the 1990 fire and the repair/decommission timeline, and the per-hull starting point for locating maintenance periods that disturbed insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1963-1990 (series); 1966-01 (digitized item)
- Limitations
- Deck logs record events and availabilities, not material composition - asbestos-specific content is unlikely but maintenance and casualty entries may corroborate dates. Retrieval beyond the catalog hit was not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conyngham-ddg17-09