Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, Davis III (DD-395), NHHC official ship-history entry (published 2017-01-19; live URL returns 404 as of 2026-09-27 - Wayback capture 2025-02-07 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Davis III (DD-395)', specification block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 28 July 1936 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched 30 July 1938, sponsored by Miss E. Davis (granddaughter of Rear Adm. Davis); commissioned 9 November 1938, Cmdr. T. Dewitt Carr in command. Spec block: displacement 1,850; length 390'11"; beam 36'11"; draft 11'4"; speed 38 knots; complement 235; armament 8 5-inch, 8 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Sampson. Service: Neutrality Patrol North Atlantic from Sep 1939; Nov 1939 Boston to Galveston, Gulf of Mexico patrol and training; west-coast patrol 11 Mar 1940 - 26 Apr 1941; Caribbean patrol/escort; South Atlantic escort and patrol off Recife, Brazil; 19 Jul 1942 rescued 10 men from torpedoed British sailing ship Glacier; sailed from Recife 19 Dec 1943 for blockade runner Burgenland (7 Jan 1944), transferred to authorities at Recife 9 Jan 1944; arrived New York 15 Apr 1944 escorting Franklin (CV-13); Plymouth 25 May 1944; Normandy Baie de la Seine 7 Jun 1944; repulsed enemy torpedo-boat attack 12 Jun; heavily damaged 21 Jun 1944 by explosion on port quarter, probably a mine; emergency repairs, then Portland, England; Charleston, S.C. arriving 11 Aug 1944 for permanent repairs; returned to convoy escort 26 Dec 1944; four New York - England voyages to 21 Jun 1945; Norfolk 10 Jul 1945; decommissioned 19 Oct 1945; sold 24 Nov 1947; one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1947
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1936-38; wartime crew (design complement 235)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Stricken date is not stated in the DANFS entry. DANFS class label reads 'Sampson'; modern convention is Somers class - carried in gaps. Torpedo-armament figure differs between this NHHC version (8 tubes) and the print-DANFS transcription (9) - carried in gaps. Live NHHC URL returns 404; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd395-01
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[2]DANFS print-edition transcription (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'bath-iron-works' (1942 Drinker pipe-covering shop study, OSHA/NIOSH findings, NARA RG19 General Information Books lead), 'charleston-naval-shipyard', 'norfolk-naval-shipyard' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and service narrative (Charleston/Norfolk yard periods); shipyards.json records 'bath-iron-works', 'charleston-naval-shipyard', 'norfolk-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Somers-class (DANFS 'Sampson') destroyer built 1936-38 at Bath Iron Works with a high-pressure superheated-steam plant (the class was the Navy's first 600-psi/850-degree-F destroyer installation, per secondary consensus) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation on boilers, turbines, and steam lines, plus gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (evidence_tier 2): a 1942-era Harvard/Drinker industrial-hygiene study recorded serious dust risk in pipe-covering shops, and later OSHA (1987) and NIOSH HHE (1989-90) records document asbestos in yard operations. The hull underwent permanent repairs at Charleston, S.C. Aug-Dec 1944 and inactivated at Norfolk Jul-Oct 1945 - both documented asbestos-era naval yards in the Atlas dataset. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1936-1945
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1936-38; crew 1938-45; Charleston and Norfolk yard workers 1944-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding for this hull. Yard-level documentation does not establish what was installed aboard DD-395. The 1944 Charleston repair availability and 1945 Norfolk inactivation are documented events (DANFS names the cities; facility identification as the naval shipyards is inferential), but their asbestos scope for this hull is undocumented. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd395-02
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[3]Batch-3380 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; Wayback capture); print-DANFS transcription (ibiblio HyperWar); NARA digitized deck-log index; CourtListener opinion and docket sweeps; general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-davis-dd395-01 through sl-uss-davis-dd395-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, repair-disclosure, or museum hazmat disclosure exists in the public sources searched, and no published opinion on CourtListener contains 'USS Davis' or 'DD-395' at all (three type=o queries, zero hits). Four asbestos personal-injury dockets do contain 'USS Davis' in indexed RECAP docket text (see ev-uss-davis-dd395-05) - unverified leads only, role and hull attribution unresolved. The hull was sold 24 November 1947 and does not survive; no museum or preservation record exists.
- 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 - the ship's 1936-38 construction era is consistent with standard asbestos use, and pre-1970s disposal predates hazmat documentation requirements. The docket-text references are pleading-stage artifacts whose match context is not retrievable from the public index (see ev-05). Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd395-03
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[4]NARA Special List 44, Named Vessels (deck-log index); NARA Ship Plan Index (RG19 holdings by hull); NARA digitized deck-log index (archives.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Special List 44 'Davis (DD-395)' row (11/9/1938-10/19/1945); archives.gov Ship Plan Index DAVIS DD-395 rows (NAIDs 53483999, 175668847); NARA RG24 NAID 581208
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level documentation, verified at index level: (1) NARA Special List 44 (Named Vessels) carries a hull-numbered row 'Davis (DD-395)' with deck-log coverage 11/9/1938 - 10/19/1945, the full commissioned span; adjacent rows for other Davis-named vessels (DD-65, DE-136, DE-357) confirm the index distinguishes hulls - the DD-395 logs are not in the digitized online set (the only digitized 'Davis' logs are DD-937, 1957-82); (2) NARA Ship Plan Index lists two DAVIS DD-395 holdings: RG19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53483999) and RG19 Microfilm (NAID 175668847) - plan holdings that may carry machinery/insulation arrangement detail; (3) Bureau of Ships records (RG19), including any war-damage report for the 21 June 1944 Normandy explosion damage and the Aug-Dec 1944 Charleston repair file; (4) the vessel's General Information Book (RG19, per Atlas bath-iron-works record) which details per-vessel material specifications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1938-1945 records; indexes checked 2026-09-27
- Population
- Crew of USS Davis (DD-395), November 1938 - October 1945; NARA researchers
- Limitations
- Index-level verification only - the logs, drawings, and microfilm were not retrieved; their contents (including any insulation schedule) are unknown. Existence of a DD-395-specific GIB volume and any war-damage report is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd395-04
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[5]CourtListener RECAP docket index: four asbestos personal-injury dockets contain 'USS Davis' in indexed text - Krik v. BP America Inc., 2:11-cv-63473 (E.D. Pa., filed 2011-02-24, terminated 2013-05-14; MDL-875 transferee docket); McIsaac v. General Electric Co., 1:19-cv-10282 (D. Mass., filed 2019-02-13); Glaze v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 1:20-cv-00374 (D. Del., filed 2020-03-17, terminated 2022-07-11); Hale v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 4:22-cv-00853 (N.D. Cal., filed 2022-02-09, terminated 2022-03-07) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener type=r search 'USS Davis' - dockets 2:11-cv-63473 (E.D. Pa.), 1:19-cv-10282 (D. Mass.), 1:20-cv-00374 (D. Del.), 4:22-cv-00853 (N.D. Cal.)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Four docketed asbestos personal-injury cases carry the string 'USS Davis' in indexed CourtListener docket text (complaint vessel lists, service histories, or exhibit references - the match context is not returned by the search index). All four dockets are nature-of-suit '368 P.I.: Asbestos' (or D. Mass. equivalent). Hull attribution is unresolved: three commissioned USS Davises existed (DD-65, 1916-1933; DD-395, 1938-1945; DD-937, 1957-1982), and asbestos plaintiffs' vessel lists routinely span a veteran's whole service record. Krik is the same litigation in which 'USS Laffey' appeared only as a materials-sampling exhibit reference (see uss-laffey-dd724 record) - demonstrating that a name string in these dockets does not imply the plaintiff's exposure site.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2011-2022 (litigation)
- Population
- Asbestos plaintiffs in four federal dockets; vessel role unverified
- Limitations
- Unadjudicated pleading-stage artifacts; the vessel's role (exposure site vs. list or exhibit reference) and hull identity (DD-395 vs DD-65 vs DD-937) are unverified from the public index. Establishes nothing about materials aboard DD-395, causation, quantities, or legal eligibility. Underlying docket documents not retrieved this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd395-05