Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]DANFS, Dortch (DD-670) entry - namesake biography, construction, WWII and postwar service narrative, awards, transfer and striking (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry for DD-670, namesake paragraph + specification block + service narrative + bracketed transfer note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Captain Isaac Foote Dortch (Naval Academy 1905; commanded Warrington DD-30 and Wadsworth DD-60; fitted out and commissioned Talbot DD-114; Navy Cross; naval attache in Argentina and Chile 1922-25; died on active duty 4 June 1932). DD-670 launched 20 June 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Miss M. C. Dortch, daughter of the captain; commissioned 7 August 1943, Lieutenant Commander R. C. Young in command. Plane guard/screen for Langley (CVL-27) at Trinidad Oct-Nov 1943; Pearl Harbor 28 December 1943; TF 58 fast-carrier screen through the Marshalls, Truk (16-17 Feb 1944), Marianas, Emirau, Palau/Yap/Ulithi/Woleai, Hollandia, repeat Truk raid, Saipan and the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Guam (lifeguard/fighter-director), Bonins raids (4-5 Aug 1944), Peleliu, Nansei Shoto/Formosa/Luzon/China-coast strikes, and the Battle for Leyte Gulf (24-25 Oct). On 17 February 1945 she and Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) seriously damaged an enemy picket vessel, taking 14 casualties; Iwo Jima 19 February; Tokyo raids 25 February; Okinawa strikes 1 March; west-coast overhaul arriving San Francisco 21 April; underway 9 July; Wake Island bombardment 8 August; entered Tokyo Bay 27 August; occupation duty until sailing home 5 December 1945; out of commission in reserve at Charleston, S.C., 19 July 1946. Recommissioned 4 May 1951, Atlantic Fleet (Newport); NATO Operation Mainbrace Aug-Oct 1952; TG 77 off Korea April-October 1953; round-the-world cruise returning December 1953; 6th Fleet Mediterranean 1954-55 and 1957 (Gaza Strip patrol during the latter). Out of commission in reserve 13 December 1957. Eight battle stars WWII, one Korea. Bracketed note: transferred to Argentina as Espora 1 August 1961; struck from the Navy list 1 September 1975. Spec block: 2,050 tons; 376'6" x 39'8" x 17'9"; 35 knots; complement 336; five 5-inch, ten 21-inch tt, six dcp, two dct; class Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1975
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service, awards, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. The entry gives no laid-down date (2 March 1943 comes from NavSource and consistent secondary sources), does not name the 1945 San Francisco overhaul yard, and does not state the 1957 decommissioning location. DANFS prints the picket-boat companion as 'Clarence K. Brandon' - a transcription error for Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668), confirmed by the CINCPAC Tokyo Bay list. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing defect per BATCH-01-REPORT); verbatim ibiblio/HyperWar transcription cited. The DANFS transfer date (1 Aug 1961) differs from the Argentine acquisition date (16-19 Aug 1961) in secondary sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index page for USS Dortch (DD-670) - operational/building data, machinery block, CO roster, disposal record, photo captions (Wayback capture 2024-05-27; live navsource.org does not answer automated fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-670 destroyer index page - 'Operational and Building Data', 'Machinery', 'Commanding Officers', photo captions (Wayback 2024-05-27 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 2 March 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ; launched 20 June 1943 (a double launching with sister USS Gatling DD-671 - launch souvenir button and photo captions); commissioned 7 August 1943; decommissioned 19 July 1946; recommissioned 4 May 1951; decommissioned 13 December 1957; stricken 1 September 1975; to Argentina 16 August 1961, renamed Espora; stricken and broken up for scrap in 1977. Machinery block: 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws, 38 knots, range 6,500 NM at 15 kt, crew 273; call sign NKFN. Commanding-officer roster: LCDR Robert Cummings Young (Aug 1943 - Oct 1944); CDR Richard Edwin Myers (Oct 1944 - Apr 1945); CDR Paul Gress Adams Jr. (Apr - Sep 1945); LT Phillip L. Williams (- Jul 1946); CDR Douglas Francis Chamberlain (May 1951 - ?1953); CDR Jonathan Frederick Rice (?1953 - ?); CDR Raymond Francis DuBois (?1955 - Jun 1956); CDR Francis Egar Kinne (Jun 1956 - ?). Photo captions document the hull as ARA Espora (D-21) in Argentine service (UNITAS III 1962, UNITAS XI 1970, a 1969 Argentine official photo) and 'awaiting scrapping' at Puerto Belgrano in December 1979. NARA still-photo 19-N-49104 is cataloged for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1979
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crews; reserve-fleet custodial personnel 1946-1951 and 1957-1961; Argentine crew 1961-1977; scrapping workforce circa 1977-1980
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archival compilation, not a primary government source - dates concur with DANFS where they overlap (launch, commission, both decommissionings, striking). Conflicts carried in gaps: crew 273 vs DANFS 336; speed 38 kt vs DANFS 35; Argentine-service date 16 Aug 1961 vs DANFS transfer 1 Aug 1961; 'broken up 1977' vs the Dec 1979 'awaiting scrapping' photo caption. No asbestos, materials, or abatement information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-02
-
[3]Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945 - Naval Historical Center listing compiled from CINCPAC/CINCPOA A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395 (11 February 1946), Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan [other_primary]
- Locator
- Destroyers (DD) section of the CINCPAC-derived list - 'USS Dortch (DD-670)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official list of Allied ships present in Tokyo Bay for the 2 September 1945 surrender ceremony includes USS Dortch (DD-670) in the destroyer section - affirmatively confirming the hull's presence at the surrender following her 27 August 1945 entry into Tokyo Bay per DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-09-02
- Population
- Ship's company present in Tokyo Bay, August-September 1945
- Limitations
- The list covers ships physically present in Tokyo Bay for the ceremony; it does not address materials, asbestos, or crew exposure. Transcription hosted at usswestvirginia.org (USS West Virginia memorial association site) sourced to the CINCPAC report - the same compilation previously published by the Naval Historical Center (faq69-1).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-03
-
[4]Republica Argentina, Decreto S 2216/1961 (22 March 1961), Boletin Oficial (published 2013-03-08) - authorization to contract the loan of three Fletcher-class destroyers and one floating dock from the United States [other_primary]
- Locator
- Decreto S 2216/1961 full text, Articulo 1 (argentina.gob.ar normativa)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Argentine decree (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, 22/3/1961) authorizing the Secretaria de Estado de Marina to contract with the United States the loan ('prestamo') of three Fletcher-class destroyers and one floating dock under the national fleet-renewal plan, plus the purchase of two ATF seagoing tugs. This is the legal instrument under which this hull was transferred: the three-hull loan comprised ex-USS Dortch (DD-670, as ARA Espora D-21), ex-USS Heermann (DD-532, Almirante Brown D-20), and ex-USS Stembel (DD-644, Rosales D-22) per NavSource and Argentine secondary records; DANFS's bracketed note dates the U.S. transfer 1 August 1961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1961 (instrument); transfer execution 1961-08
- Population
- Argentine Navy personnel receiving and operating the transferred hull, 1961-1977
- Limitations
- The decree names the class and hull count, not individual hulls - DD-670's inclusion in the three-ship loan is established by DANFS, NavSource, and Argentine secondary compilations, not by the decree text itself. The decree authorizes a loan; later purchase (NavSource/helis record a 1975-09-01 purchase coincident with U.S. striking) is not covered by this instrument. Documents the transfer framework only - no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-04
-
[5]U.S. General Accounting Office, HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page abstract, gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reports Navy-wide that thermal insulation was the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships and that the Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this hull's 1943 construction and her entire 1943-1957 U.S. commissioned service squarely inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); Navy-wide practice described spans earlier decades
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers, 1970s (report population; not this hull's population)
- Limitations
- gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the finding is drawn from the GAO product-page abstract, not the full PDF text (standing defect per BATCH-01-REPORT). The report's fieldwork covers Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards in the 1970s and does not name USS Dortch or the Fletcher class. Navy-wide institutional context only; establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-05
-
[6]DANFS specification block (Fletcher class) + Fletcher-class profile machinery data (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 geared steam-turbine sets, 60,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Kearny) record (yard-level industrial-hygiene survey and product documentation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specification block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (Owens-Illinois IHS 1944, ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); Fletcher class profile (class-c worktree)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, Kearny, N.J., in 1943 with a four-boiler 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - boiler and steam-line lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The builder yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2): an Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of the Kearny yard (30 August-2 September 1944) records insulators cutting and fitting asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined spaces during wartime peak production, and the yard record lists documented asbestos products (Superex pipe covering, Kaylo pipe/boiler insulation, Monokote fireproofing, Garlock gaskets).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1979
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; crew 1943-1957; reserve-fleet custodial 1946-1951 and 1957-1961; Argentine crew 1961-1977; scrapping workforce late 1970s
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No ship-specific record establishes asbestos products aboard DD-670. The yard survey (Aug-Sep 1944) postdates this hull's construction window (March-August 1943) though it documents the same yard at wartime peak; yard-level findings attest yard conditions and products used at the yard, not materials installed aboard any one hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-06
-
[7]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (guided research topic) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided research topic, opening + Bureau of Ships correspondence sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA describes the use of asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel during 1941-1961 as a frequently requested research topic and outlines the record series relevant to documenting whether a particular naval ship carried asbestos material. Dortch's entire U.S. commissioned service (August 1943 - December 1957) falls within the guide's stated window. The guide's own worked example is a Fletcher-class destroyer (USS Kidd, DD-661), filed under hull code 'DD661' with class correspondence under 'DD445 Class'; the equivalent filing codes for this hull are 'DD670' and 'DD445 Class'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide scope); this hull's U.S. service 1943-1957
- Population
- WWII-era Navy personnel and shipyard workers (guide's subject population)
- Limitations
- Era-level Navy materiel context and research guidance only. The guide does not identify asbestos aboard Dortch, the Fletcher class, or Federal Shipbuilding output; it cannot establish a product, quantity, location, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-07
-
[8]National Archives asbestos research guide - record series for hull-level material documentation (RG 19 Entry P 9 Destroyer/DE/Frigate General Information Books [Item S-68], 1907-1961; RG 38 Entry P 1-D Destroyer/DE/Frigate InSurv material inspection reports, 1940-1978; RG 19 correspondence filed under hull code 'DD670', class code 'DD445 Class', and private-yard code 'QM/Federal Shipbuilding') + NARA still-photo holding 19-N-49104 for the hull (per NavSource caption) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided research topic, GIB + InSurv + correspondence sections; NavSource DD-670 page (19-N-49104 photo credit)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA identifies record series capable of holding hull-specific material specifications for this destroyer: RG 19 Entry P 9 destroyer General Information Books (deck-by-deck space/systems arrangement, can list insulation and machinery materials; series 1907-1961 covers this 1943 hull), RG 38 Entry P 1-D Board of Inspection and Survey destroyer material reports (1940-1978, covering her pre-commissioning trials, 1946 inactivation survey, and 1957 deactivation survey if extant), and Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull designation ('DD670'), by class ('DD445 Class'), and by builder yard code ('QM' private-contractor series for Federal Shipbuilding - a commercial yard, not a public 'NY' yard). WWII war diaries and deck logs for the hull are in the National Archives (wartime deck-log series digitization in progress per archives.gov). A NARA still-photo record for the hull exists (19-N-49104, per NavSource caption). None retrieved in this pass.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- record series spans 1907-1978
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Series-level descriptions only; NARA cautions GIB coverage is incomplete by hull, and no Dortch-specific volume or report was inspected or established to survive. catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and returned no static result for a hull-specific search this session. Research leads, not evidence of any material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-08
-
[9]Naval Sea Systems Command, Standard Item 009-10, 'Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM); control' (FY24 issue, dated 25 October 2022) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSEA FY24 Standard Items package, item 009-10
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NAVSEA's current repair standard instructs that shipboard materials including insulation, lagging, gaskets, deck tile, underlayment, cabling, and mastic be treated as potential asbestos-containing material until reliable testing establishes otherwise - the material categories a hull-level record would need to address.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2022 (standard); not this hull's era
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- A modern precautionary repair standard issued decades after this hull left U.S. custody (1961) and was scrapped; identifies material categories for research, not products documented aboard this hull. navsea.navy.mil returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; document identity verified via indexed text, content not directly inspected this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced): opinion query 'USS Dortch'; docket query '"USS Dortch"'; opinion query '"DD-670"' [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search: type=o 'USS Dortch' -> Sanjines (cluster 1081732); type=r '"USS Dortch"' -> Smith v. MCIC (docket 5288827), Pezzo (docket 18733666, doc 61 remand opinion); type=o '"DD-670"' -> 0
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Executed sweep results (2026-09-27): (1) opinion search 'USS Dortch' (unquoted) returned 1 hit - Jorge Ariel Sanjines v. State of Tennessee, Tenn. Crim. App., 1999-03-02, a criminal post-conviction-relief appeal: NAME COLLISION, not asbestos litigation and not about the ship (the hit reflects a 'Dortch' surname or tokenization artifact in a state criminal opinion). (2) docket search '"USS Dortch"' returned 2 hits, both asbestos PI dockets in which 'USS Dortch' appears in indexed text: Smith v. MCIC Inc., D. Md. 1:16-cv-02484-CCB (Nature 368 P.I.: Asbestos), and Pezzo v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., S.D.N.Y. 1:20-cv-10433 (asbestos removal/remand). Pezzo's published remand opinion (Judge Oetken, 2021-07-08) identifies USS Wasp (CVS-18) - not Dortch - as the plaintiff's Navy vessel, so the Dortch reference in that docket is incidental (docket-text mention, not the plaintiff's exposure site). Smith v. MCIC is a large consolidated Baltimore asbestos docket; the 'USS Dortch' reference's context within it is unresolved (could be a plaintiff's vessel list, an exhibit, or background) - classified archival_lead, not exposure evidence. (3) opinion search '"DD-670"' returned 0 hits. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1999-2021 (litigation dates); sweep executed 2026-09-27
- Population
- None verified for this hull
- Limitations
- Search-index level: the two asbestos dockets match 'USS Dortch' in indexed docket text but the matching documents were not pulled from RECAP (docket queries against the fleet-paced API remained throttled for part of the session; see search_ledger). Pezzo is affirmatively non-qualifying as an exposure-site claim per its published opinion; Smith is unresolved - neither is treated as qualifying. An unexecuted 'DD-670' docket query remains pending in the ledger; a hull-number opinion query returned no results. Absence of located litigation does not prove absence of claims (state-court and trust-claim filings are largely outside CourtListener).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-10
-
[11]Batch-3645 search ledger (this record): DANFS (ibiblio mirror; live NHHC 404), NavSource (Wayback capture), CINCPAC Tokyo Bay list, Argentine Decreto S 2216/1961 (Boletin Oficial), NARA asbestos research guide, GAO HRD-80-2, NAVSEA Standard Item 009-10, Naval Vessel Register, CourtListener opinion and RECAP indexes, Atlas shipyards.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dortch-dd670-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull: no asbestos survey, material specification, sampling result, abatement contract, museum or hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming DD-670 as an exposure site was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull left U.S. custody in 1961, served Argentina to 1977, and was scrapped abroad - before hazmat-disclosure regimes - and left no museum or preserved-hull afterlife to generate modern ACM documentation. Generic 'Navy destroyer asbestos' list pages for this hull exist only on excluded law-firm/marketing domains.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Population
- None
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the ship's 1943 four-boiler steam plant and wartime construction at a documented asbestos-using yard are era-consistent with period insulation practice, but no hull-level material record was retrieved. Argentine-period (1961-1977) material condition and any abatement are undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dortch-dd670-11