Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet he-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-davis-dd937-pkt-he-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Davis IV (DD-937), NHHC long-form ship history by Robert J. Cressman (published 2007/2017 page) - live NHHC URL serves 404; Wayback capture of official page cited [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Davis IV' entry: spec block; construction/commissioning paragraphs; 1969-70 conversion passage; home-port assignments; final decommissioning/disposal paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 1 February 1955 at Quincy, Mass., by Bethlehem Steel Co.; named Davis 5 December 1955; launched 28 March 1956 (sponsor Mrs. George F. [Shelagh J.] Davis, widow of Comdr. George Fleming Davis, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient); commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard 6 March 1957; spec block: displacement 3,807, length 418'5", beam 45'1", draft 14'2", speed 33 knots, complement 311, armament 3 5"/4 3"/4 21" tt./1 dct., class Forrest Sherman. Home port Newport, R.I.; Atlantic/Mediterranean/Caribbean service incl. Black Sea 'special assignment' August 1960 (with Harlan R. Dickson, third and fourth U.S. warships to enter the Black Sea since WWII), Cuban quarantine line November 1962, assistance to USS Liberty June 1967, three Vietnam naval-gunfire-support deployments (1966, 1968-69, 1972). Repeated Boston Naval Shipyard overhauls incl. 'extensive work on her engineering plant' from September 1966; decommissioned at Boston 30 October 1969 for ASW modernization (ASROC, variable-depth sonar, AN/WSA-1C); recommissioned 17 October 1970. Home port Charleston, S.C., effective 15 March 1974; Charleston Naval Shipyard regular overhauls December 1974 - December 1975 and 28 September 1979 - 10 December 1980 (drydocked 8 November 1979). Decommissioned 20 December 1982; accepted for lay-up at Inactive Ship Facility, Philadelphia, 27 January 1983; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 27 July 1990; disposed of by sale for scrapping by DRMS 30 June 1994.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1994
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel / Fore River construction trades 1955-57; crews 1957-1982 (design complement 311); Boston and Charleston Naval Shipyard workers during documented yard periods
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, yard periods, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. Yard-period entries establish machinery-disturbance events but no work-package detail. Live NHHC page returns 404; archived capture of the official page cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-01
-
[3]Naval Vessel Register, Ship Details - DAVIS (DD 937), UIC 52197 (live page retrieved 2026-09-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR getHull.htm?shipId=4845 detail record (vessel status + milestone dates blocks)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR detail record for this hull: class DD 931 (Forrest Sherman lead hull); builder 'BETHLEHEM STL/QCY'; award date 3 February 1954; keel 1 February 1955; launch 28 March 1956; delivery 28 February 1957; decommission 20 December 1982; status 'disposed of, by navy sale', date status changed 30 June 1994; custodian 'SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES'; last updated 9 March 2001.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1954-2001
- Limitations
- NVR 'Commission Date' field prints 28 February 1957 - that is the delivery date; DANFS commission of 6 March 1957 at Boston Naval Shipyard is carried (conflict in gaps). NVR lists no stricken date and no buyer identity for the 1994 sale. Physical-characteristics block suppressed on the live page. Does not address asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-02
-
[4]NARA Still Pictures record 6490445 (Department of Defense, American Forces Information Service, Defense Visual Information Center, 1994-08-25; operator Marty Goppert) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog ID 6490445; DPLA item d96af146fc7a2a7dc94fadb051e8a202 (same NAID)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-captioned official aerial photograph places this hull at the Baltimore Fairfield Marine Terminal on 25 August 1994 awaiting scrapping, nested with sister destroyers: 'the destroyer on the right is the DAVIS (DD-937)' alongside ex-Blandy (DD-943), ex-Forrest Sherman (DD-931), ex-Lawrence (DDG-4), ex-Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5), and ex-Bigelow (DD-942).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1994-08-25
- Population
- Ship-breaker/staging workforce, Baltimore Fairfield Marine Terminal, 1994
- Limitations
- Documents the disposal-staging location of this hull two months after the DRMS sale - not the dismantling site and no asbestos content. Metadata verified via NARA catalog ID 6490445 and its DPLA mirror; the photograph contains no materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-03
-
[5]McIsaac v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 19-10282-NMG (D. Mass.), Memorandum & Order, ECF No. 470 (Gorton, J., filed 7 July 2023) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 470, Background section (pp. 2-3: Navy archive records sentence; Buffalo asbestos window sentence)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Federal summary-judgment opinion recites product-identification evidence for this hull: 'According to United States Navy archive records produced by plaintiff, Buffalo pumps were installed aboard the USS Wasp and the USS Boston, Forrest-Sherman-class ships (including the USS Decatur, the USS Barry and the USS Davis) and Mitscher-class ships.' The same order records that 'between 1955 and 1985 and during at least some periods of time prior to 1955, gaskets and packing supplied in certain original pumps manufactured by Buffalo contained asbestos.' Summary judgment was granted to the defendant; the decedent's alleged exposure was rigger work at Boston Naval Shipyard on USS Boston and USS Albany - not Davis.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1985 (product window); 2023 (opinion)
- Population
- John T. McIsaac, rigger at Boston Naval Shipyard 1965 and 1967-1970s (exposure alleged on other hulls); class-level relevance to Davis crew 1957-1982
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage product identification recited in a defense summary-judgment win: the court recites plaintiff-produced Navy archive records; it does not adjudicate that asbestos-containing pumps were aboard this hull, makes no exposure or causation finding for Davis, and the underlying archive records were not independently retrieved. A merits-level negative for that plaintiff - not affirmative exposure evidence; classified down accordingly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-04
-
[6]Donson v. Air and Liquid Systems, Inc. et al., complaint (13th Jud. Cir. Hillsborough Co., Fla.), removed to M.D. Fla. as No. 8:16-cv-03022-SDM-MAP, filed as ECF No. 2 on 2016-10-26 (CCH-hosted filing copy) [court_record]
- Locator
- Complaint para. 3 (ECF No. 2 p.2) and sworn 774.205 form (ECF No. 2 pp. 53-54, PageID 1799-1800)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage asbestos allegation naming this hull: complaint paragraph 3 and the plaintiff's sworn Fla. Stat. 774.205 information form state that Ralph Donson served in the U.S. Navy circa 1970-76 'aboard the USS Wasp, USS Davis, and in Charleston navy shipyard in 1975, and again during dates in 1980,' and that 'throughout these timeframes and at these locations, Mr. Donson routinely and according to his job duties as a Boiler Tender removed and replaced asbestos gaskets, block, refractory, castable, pipe insulation' and similar materials. The sworn form lists 'asbestosis' as his disease.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1970-1976, 1980 (alleged exposure); 2016 (filing)
- Population
- Ralph Donson, USN boiler tender circa 1970-76; alleges asbestos exposure aboard USS Wasp and USS Davis and at Charleston Naval Shipyard 1975 and 1980
- Limitations
- Unadjudicated pleading allegation only - a complaint's vessel list is an allegation, not a finding; no discovery record, trial finding, or judgment on exposure aboard this hull was located, and the case's disposition was not traced. Establishes nothing about quantities, product identity, or legal eligibility. Document retrieved from a legal-publisher file host (CCH), not the court's own server; ECF header verifies filing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-05
-
[7]DANFS spec block (Forrest Sherman class, steam plant) + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'fore-river-shipyard' (Quincy, Bethlehem Steel era; tier-3 yard with documented asbestos product list) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'fore-river-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer built 1955-57 with a four-boiler 70,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; builder Fore River Shipyard (Quincy) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 3) with asbestos products including boiler/pipe/turbine insulation, gaskets, packing, and asbestos cement.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1955-1982
- Population
- Fore River construction trades 1955-57; crew 1957-1982
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding; does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull. Ship-specific asbestos documentation for this hull is limited to the litigation records at ev-04 and ev-05.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-06
-
[8]GAO HRD-80-2, 'The Navy's Program to Ensure Safe Removal of Asbestos Insulation From Its Ships' (program-level documentation) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (summary/abstract text)
- 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 1978; the report describes Navy-wide asbestos-removal practice during this hull's second career - era context for the documented Boston and Charleston yard periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1975-1980
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - fieldwork and findings were yard/program level (Long Beach and Norfolk naval shipyards), not this hull; establishes no materials aboard Davis. gao.gov serves HTTP 403 to automated fetches; product-page description used, full text not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-07
-
[9]House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, 'Ship Scrapping Activities of the United States Government' (105-59), hearings of 18 March and 4 June 1998 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hearing transcript pp. 19-21 (Heeter testimony, Wilmington operation); Baltimore/Coral Sea and DRMS program discussion passim
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Congressional testimony documents asbestos and worker-safety violations in the 1994-96 Navy ship-scrapping chain through which this hull's disposal flowed: North Carolina Assistant AG David Heeter testified the Wilmington, N.C., operation 'run on a daily basis by a Wilmington Resources, Incorporated and then a Sigma Recycling' scrapped some 20 Navy ships and one MARAD ship, incurred violations of the state's NESHAP (asbestos) rules and other environmental laws, drew Coast Guard and OSHA penalties, and left roughly three acres of asbestos- and petroleum-contaminated soil; 14 unscrapped ships were towed to other ports. Secondary compilations (NavSource; vessel-history mirrors of NVR data) report Davis was sold to N.R. Acquisition Corp. and dismantled by Wilmington Resources at Wilmington.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1994-1998
- Population
- Ship-scrapping workers, Wilmington Resources/Sigma Recycling, Wilmington, N.C., 1994-1996
- Limitations
- Context only: the hearing record does not name USS Davis, and the Wilmington Resources dismantling attribution rests on secondary sources, not a primary record - carried in gaps. Establishes documented asbestos-violation conditions at the site reported as this hull's dismantling yard; establishes nothing about materials aboard the hull itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-08
-
[10]Batch-3863 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (Wayback), NVR detail page, NARA catalog/DPLA, govinfo USCOURTS, House hearing transcript, CourtListener opinion sweep, secondary cross-checks [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-davis-dd937-01 through sl-uss-davis-dd937-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying non-litigation ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-937: no hull asbestos survey, no abatement or remediation contract, no hazmat or disposal-condition disclosure, and no hull materials specification was found in the public authoritative sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - the litigation records (ev-04, ev-05) are consistent with era-typical materials but are unadjudicated/discovery-stage. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py fleet helper): name and hull-number queries across opinion and docket indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py runs 2026-09-28: type=o '"USS Davis"' (count 0), type=o '"DD-937"' (count 0); type=r queries returned fleet pacing notices
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep: '"USS Davis"' opinions = 0; '"DD-937"' opinions = 0 - the McIsaac opinion (which names this hull) is not indexed by CourtListener and was located via govinfo's USCOURTS collection; the Donson complaint was located via a legal-publisher file host. Docket-level (type=r / RECAP) queries for '"USS Davis"' and '"DD-937"' were attempted but blocked by fleet-wide request pacing; the docket sweep is incomplete.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Partial sweep: opinion index fully queried (zero hits under name and hull number); docket index unqueried under fleet pacing - logged honestly rather than retried into throttling. A zero-hit opinion index does not mean no litigation: both Davis-naming documents were found outside CourtListener. Other-vessel collisions (three earlier USS Davises; 'Davis' surname) are possible in unqueried docket text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-davis-dd937-10