USS DOUGLAS H. FOX (DD-779)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]DANFS, 'Douglas H. Fox' (DD-779) - builder, dates, service narrative through 1960, battle stars (verbatim transcription via Wayback capture 2004-03-14; live NHHC page serves 404; hazegray transcription cross-checked) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture 20040314192134)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: launched 30 September 1944 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Wash., sponsored by Mrs. J. T. Boone, commissioned 26 December 1944 (CDR R. M. Pitts). Specs: 2,220 t; 376'6" x 41'1" x 15'8"; 34 kt; cpl. 336; 6x5", 10x21" tt, 6 dcp, 2 dct; cl. Allen M. Sumner. Service: Okinawa radar picket 5 May 1945 - 7 planes accounted for, hit by kamikaze and bomb, 7 killed/35 wounded, Kerama Retto temporary repairs then San Francisco permanent repairs (arrived 23 Jun 1945); 1947 Mediterranean - struck WWII mine 29 Sep bound for Trieste, stern severely damaged, 3 killed/12 injured, towed Venice then Boston (arrived 5 Dec 1947) for repairs; Charleston reserve decommissioning 21 Apr 1950; recommissioned 15 Nov 1950; Korea TF 77 screen, Wonsan bombardment 13 Mar 1952; 1959-60 Mediterranean/Red Sea/Persian Gulf then Norfolk overhaul; 1960 NATO Arctic + Caribbean. One WWII and one Korean battle star.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1960

   Population

   Todd-Pacific construction trades 1944; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content; the entry narrative ends at 1960 and does not cover FRAM, Vietnam, decommissioning, or transfer. Live NHHC URL returns 404 - Wayback capture cited; hazegray transcription (web.archive.org capture 2021-04-18) agrees.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-01

2. [2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-779 USS Douglas H. Fox - operational and building data block + NHHC photo captions (Wayback capture 2020-11-12; live navsource.org unresolvable, navsource.net returns 406 to automated fetch) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DD-779 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + photo captions (NH 99976, NH 99977; Gompers tender photo May 1969)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource operational/building record for this hull: laid down by Todd Shipyards, Seattle, 31 January 1944; launched 30 September 1944; commissioned 26 December 1944; decommissioned 21 April 1950, recommissioned 15 November 1950; 'Completed FRAM upgrade October 1961'; decommissioned 15 December 1973; stricken 15 December 1973; to Chile 8 January 1974, renamed Ministro Portales; 'Sunk as a target by Chilean Armed Forces on November 11 1998.' Spec block adds 3,218 t full, 40'10" beam, 60,000 shp, 'Allis Chalmers Turbines, 2 screws,' 36.5 kt, crew 336. A 1969 photo caption places DD-779 alongside tender USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) 'probably in Subic Bay, Philippines' May 1969, corroborating the WestPac deployment.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1998

   Population

   Crew 1944-1973 (NavSource figure 336)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer transcription/photo archive - an accepted DANFS-mirror and registry-style source in this project, but not a government document. 'Completed FRAM upgrade October 1961' conflicts with the NHHC photo caption dating the FRAM modernization to 1962 and with the secondary narrative's March-November 1962 Norfolk Naval Shipyard yard period - carried in gaps. Contains no materials or asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-02

3. [3]Armada de Chile, official unit history 'Destructor Ministro Portales' (armada.cl, Tradicion e historia - Unidades Historicas) [other_primary]

   Locator

   armada.cl unit page, 'Destructor Ministro Portales' - 'Nombres anteriores: USS DD 779 Douglas H. Fox' paragraph block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Chilean Navy record for this hull's post-USN phase: built 1944 at 'Todd Pacific, Tacoma' [sic - see correction row]; purchased by Chile 8 January 1974; 'Clase Allen M. Sumner modernizada'; armament listed as 3 twin 5"/38 mounts, 2 Exocet launchers, 2 triple Mk 32 and 2 Mk 25 torpedo tubes, 2 hedgehogs, 1 helicopter; decommissioned by Resolucion C.J.A. (R) N 4281/C-186 of 14 December 1990 and removed from the naval list 15 January 1991; assigned June 1991 to the Beagle Naval District, towed Talcahuano to Puerto Williams 11-18 September 1991 (1,400 miles), moored as support/mother ship for torpedo boats then missile boats; sunk 11 November 1998 at 15:47 after serving as a target for naval artillery and Chilean Air Force bombing.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1974-1998

   Population

   Chilean Navy crew 1974-1990; Beagle District support personnel 1991-1998

   Limitations

   Documents Chilean custody, disposal method (live-fire target sinking), and Chilean-era fit - contains no asbestos, materials, or environmental-remediation information. The 'Tacoma' builder location deviates from DANFS/NavSource 'Seattle' - carried in gaps. Does not establish what ACM remained aboard at sinking or what pre-sinking preparation was done.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-03

4. [4]NHHC official photo caption (photo NH 99977), via Wikimedia Commons: 'USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) underway circa the 1960s, following her FRAM II modernization. Douglas H. Fox was modernized at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia (USA), in 1962' [other_primary]

   Locator

   Wikimedia Commons file page, NHHC photo NH 99977 description text

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   An official U.S. Navy photograph in the Naval Historical Center collection (captioned by NHHC) documents that this hull underwent FRAM II modernization at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, 'in 1962.' Confirms the FRAM II yard event: modernization included DASH facilities and VDS per the NavSource FRAM program description (FRAM II = 5-year life extension, DASH + Mk 32 torpedo tubes + VDS, retaining the three 5"/38 mounts).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1961-1962 (modernization); photo 1960s

   Population

   Norfolk Naval Shipyard trades during the FRAM II conversion

   Limitations

   Caption documents the modernization event and yard, not its material scope - FRAM-era disturbance of original insulation is inference, not documented here. The caption's '1962' conflicts with NavSource's 'Completed FRAM upgrade October 1961' and with the secondary narrative's March-November 1962 yard period - the conflict is carried unresolved in gaps and the correction row.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-04

5. [5]Department of Veterans Affairs / VBA, 'Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents' (ships list; VFW Department of Florida mirror of the VA adjudication document) [other_primary]

   Locator

   VA ships list PDF, DD-section category II/V entries (USS De Haven DD-727 / USS Rowan DD-782 surrounding entries)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The VA ship list - an adjudication resource for the Agent Orange herbicide presumption under 38 C.F.R. 3.307(a)(6)(iii) - names this hull: 'USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) operated on Ganh Rai Bay and Rung Sat Special Zone during March 16-20, 1969.' Documents official recognition of in-country Vietnam operations during the ship's February-September 1969 deployment.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1969-03

   Population

   Crew aboard during 16-20 March 1969 in-country operations

   Limitations

   Herbicide-exposure adjudication document, not asbestos - relevant here only as an official ship-specific record of 1969 Vietnam operations; the list draws on deck logs and official ship histories (per its own methodology note). Placement on the herbicide list has no bearing on asbestos exposure. Live VA-hosted URL not located; mirror PDF text-extracted and verified verbatim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-05

6. [6]United States Navy Memorial, Navy Log entry 'BURKHALTER-WILLIAM': 'KILLED IN 9/7/1968 FIRE ON USS DOUGLAS H. FOX DD-779' [museum_official]

   Locator

   Navy Log entry, 'BURKHALTER-WILLIAM', service record block

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The U.S. Navy Memorial's Navy Log records a crew member killed in a 7 September 1968 fire aboard USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779), confirming the fatal aft-fireroom fire event reported in secondary narrative (fire while en route to Vietnam, ~323 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C., followed by repairs at Charleston Naval Shipyard). An engineering-space fire followed by naval-shipyard repairs is a disturbance-pathway event whose material scope is undocumented.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1968-09

   Population

   Engineering/crew casualties of the 7 Sep 1968 fire; Charleston Naval Shipyard repair trades

   Limitations

   Memorial registry entry (crew/family-submitted record hosted by the Navy Memorial) - confirms the fire and its date and one fatality by name, but casualty figures in secondary sources conflict (3 killed/5 injured vs. a low-quality mirror claiming 9 killed/35 injured) and the Charleston Naval Shipyard repair detail rests on uncited secondary narrative. No asbestos information in the source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-06

7. [7]DANFS specifications block (Allen M. Sumner class; 34 kt) + class-file profile allen-m-sumner-class.class.json (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp class standard) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Todd Shipyards record (tier 2) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS specifications block; class profile ev-allen-m-sumner-class-01/-02; shipyards.json record 'todd-shipyards'

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference: a Sumner-class destroyer built in 1944 with a four-boiler high-pressure steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing throughout machinery spaces; the class profile's BuShips-era technical block documents the machinery type. Builder Todd-Pacific Shipyards (Seattle) maps to the Atlas 'todd-shipyards' record (tier 2, documented yard-level asbestos litigation history); NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' holding per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1944-1973

   Population

   Todd-Pacific construction trades 1944; crew 1944-1973

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific asbestos finding for this hull; this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific record. NavSource credits Allis-Chalmers turbines to this hull vs. the class-standard GE attribution - vendor detail carried in gaps. NARA GIB retrieval not performed. Atlas 'todd-shipyards' record carries a Houston, TX location line while this hull's builder was the corporation's Seattle wartime yard - mapping follows the DD-724 precedent and is noted in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-07

8. [8]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, HTTP 403)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - this hull's 1944 construction and 1961-62 FRAM II modernization both fall inside the documented asbestos-use era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers

   Limitations

   Program-level era context only; GAO fieldwork yards were elsewhere and this hull is not named. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches); content via product-page description, same as prior batches.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-08

9. [9]Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950) [court_record]

   Locator

   340 U.S. 135 (1950)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Doctrinal context only: this hull was Navy-crewed 1944-1973, so servicemember claims against the United States for service-connected asbestos exposure run into the Feres bar; WWII-era Navy-ship asbestos claims characteristically proceeded against product manufacturers rather than naming hulls - a structural reason hull-named opinions are sparse for this class.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1950 (decision)

   Limitations

   Doctrine, not a case about this hull; explains the litigation-surface shape. Reporter citation only - CourtListener sweep blocked at research date (see search ledger).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-09

10. [10]Batch-3750 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback), hazegray, NavSource, Armada de Chile, VA ship list, Navy Memorial Navy Log, Wilde memoir PDF (OCR-negative), GAO product page, NVR, indexed-web litigation check; CourtListener API pending/blocked [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-01 through sl-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-13

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum statement, or docketed case naming USS Douglas H. Fox / DD-779 / Ministro Portales was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Indexed-web litigation checks returned only law-firm marketing pages (banned source class) and name collisions - no case naming this hull.

    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 - a 1944 steam destroyer sunk with her material intact is consistent with retained era materials. The CourtListener API sweep was fleet-rate-limited at research date and is a logged pending/blocked check, not a verified negative - re-run required. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-10

11. [11]Cross-source conflict register: NavSource FRAM-completion date vs. NHHC photo caption vs. secondary narrative; Armada de Chile 'Todd Pacific, Tacoma' vs. DANFS/NavSource 'Seattle'; NavSource 'Allis Chalmers Turbines' vs. class-standard GE; secondary casualty figures for the 1968 fire [other_primary]

    Locator

    ev-02, ev-03, ev-04, ev-06 source texts as cited

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Conflicts documented rather than silently reconciled: (1) FRAM II date - NavSource operational data and FRAM table read 'completed October 1961'; the NHHC photo caption reads 'modernized at Norfolk Naval Shipyard ... in 1962'; secondary narrative describes entry March 1962 and departure November 1962. Yard (Norfolk NSY) is consistent across all sources; dates conflict and are carried unresolved. (2) Builder location - Armada de Chile reads 'Todd Pacific, Tacoma'; DANFS and NavSource read Seattle (the Todd-Pacific wartime yard). Seattle carried per DANFS. (3) Turbine vendor - NavSource's hull-specific block reads Allis-Chalmers; the class design lists GE. (4) 1968 fire casualties - Navy Memorial confirms the 7 Sep 1968 fire and one named fatality; secondary casualty counts conflict (3 KIA/5 WIA vs. a tertiary mirror's 9 KIA/35 WIA). (5) Decommissioning venue - secondary narrative reads Philadelphia Navy Yard; NavSource gives the date without a place.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1961-1998

    Limitations

    This row records discrepancies; it does not resolve them. The FRAM work package (Norfolk NSY 1961-62) and Chilean naval records are the likely resolution sources and are unretrieved.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-11

12. [12]Archival leads (unretrieved - no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 deck logs 1944-1973; NARA RG 19 BuShips records incl. General Information Books / class material specs; NHHC command histories (OPNAV 5750-1) post-1963 if extant; Charleston Naval Shipyard 1968-69 fire-repair work package; Chilean Navy target-exercise/disposal records for the Nov 1998 sinking [other_primary]

    Locator

    NARA record-group guides; NHHC archives command-operation-reports series

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Hull-level material and event records that would resolve open items are held in archives not digitized at retrieval date: DD-779 deck logs (RG 24); BuShips per-vessel material specifications (RG 19 General Information Books); annual command histories for the 1963-1973 period (which would confirm the Vietnam deployment narrative and the 1968 fire); the Charleston NSY repair package for the September 1968 aft-fireroom fire; and Armada de Chile records for the 1998 target sinking, including any pre-sinking preparation.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Limitations

    Leads only - nothing in this row establishes ship-specific asbestos content or exposure; each is a repository description of where such records would live.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-douglas-h-fox-dd779-12