Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet gd-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-english-dd696-pkt-gd-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, English (DD-696) (specifications block + full service narrative; verbatim hazegray transcription via Wayback capture - live NHHC page serves 404, hazegray.org unreachable at fetch time) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (Wayback capture 20210418003642 of hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd696txt.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Allen M. Sumner class; 2,200 tons; 376'6"; 34 knots; complement 336; six 5-inch guns, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes. Launched 27 February 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Ensign Eloise W. English, USNR(W), daughter of the namesake Rear Admiral English; commissioned 4 May 1944, Comdr. J. T. Smith in command. WWII: arrived Hawaii 3 September 1944; joined TF 38 screen at Ulithi 28 December; Formosa/Luzon/Okinawa/Indo-China strikes in coordination with the Lingayen invasion; TF 58 screen for the Iwo Jima operation; screened damaged Franklin (CV-13) 19 March 1945; Okinawa fire support from 1 April; bombarded Minami Daito Shima 10 May; alongside damaged Bunker Hill (CV-17) 11 May, embarking Vice Admiral Mitscher and staff; San Pedro Bay repairs 1 June-1 July; final TF 38 strikes on the home islands; Sagami Wan/Nojima Saki sweep 18 July; Tokyo Bay 10-19 September; occupation duty, then Boston 26 April 1946. Postwar: Naval Reserve training out of Boston, Charleston, New Orleans; Norfolk homeport from 23 April 1949; first 6th Fleet tour September 1949-26 January 1950. Korea: departed Norfolk 6 September 1950 via Panama/San Diego/Pearl Harbor/Midway to Yokosuka (5 October); Hungnam withdrawal support; destroyed grounded Thai corvette HMTS Prase 7 January 1951; fire support at Kanson, Kosong, Kangnung from 20 January; Chongjin and Wonsan blockade - 20 consecutive days on the firing line silencing 20 shore-battery attacks; Norfolk return 9 June 1951. Cold war: Newfoundland/Nova Scotia cold-weather exercises winter 1952; NATO operations and Mediterranean tour August 1952-5 February 1953; Lisbon visit fall 1954; collided with Wallace L. Lind (DD-703) 31 October 1954, losing 50 feet of bow with no casualties, repaired in time for Caribbean exercises early 1955; northern Europe goodwill cruise May-August 1955; Mediterranean 28 July 1956-4 December including Suez Crisis evacuation and Bahrain; ASW exercise program 1959-1960. Four battle stars for World War II and four for Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1960 (entry narrative horizon)
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 336)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. The published entry's detailed narrative ends in the 1956-1960 window and carries no decommission/stricken/transfer lines; disposal is covered by ev-02 and ev-03. The narrative has a seam between the December 1956 Mediterranean return and 'Returning to Norfolk in April' (1959-1960 activity) - the 1957-58 deployments are not narrated (a 28 July 1957 Genoa photograph places her in the Mediterranean). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (standing defect since 2026-09-14) and hazegray.org failed DNS resolution at fetch time; the 2021-04-18 Wayback capture of the hazegray transcription is the citable text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History DD-696 page (Wayback capture 2025-01-08; operational/building data block and photo captions incl. National Archives and NHHC-cataloged images); corroborated by globalsecurity.org DD-696 DANFS reproduction [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-696 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + namesake biography caption + 'May 17 1944 at New York Navy Yard' photo caption (Wayback capture 20250108222235; direct navsource.org fetch failed at session time)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USN disposition and namesake record for this hull: laid down 19 October 1943 at Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ (date absent from the DANFS text); decommissioned 15 May 1970; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 15 May 1970; transferred to Taiwan 11 August 1970 and renamed Huei Yang. Namesake Rear Admiral Robert Henry English (1888-1943): USNA 1911, submariner, Navy Cross (1917 O-5 rescue), commanding officer of Helena (CL-50) during the Pearl Harbor attack, Commander Submarines U.S. Pacific Fleet from 14 May 1942, killed in an airplane accident 21 January 1943, posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Photograph of the ship at New York Navy Yard 17 May 1944 (two weeks after commissioning).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1970
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photographic history; its operational/building data compiles official records but is not itself a government publication - the decommission/stricken/transfer dates it gives agree with the Republic of China Navy digital archive (ev-03) and general secondary sources, and no primary disposal instrument was located (NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals). New York Navy Yard presence 17 May 1944 is photo-caption level only - no repair/availability record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-02
-
[4]Republic of China Navy museum digital archive (NMDA/TELDAP), Huei Yang (DDG-906) ship history page; corroborated by Central News Agency wire via globalsecurity.org (1999-08-16, 'Two ROC Warships Decommissioned') [museum_official]
- Locator
- nmda.teldap.tw/page_book01_13_ddg906.htm (English-glossed ship history); globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/taiwan/1999/e-08-16-99-26.htm (CNA wire)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official ROC Navy digital archive record for this hull's Taiwan career: ex-USS English (DD-696), Sumner-class; laid down by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, NJ, 19 October 1943; launched 27 February 1944; commissioned 4 May 1944; transferred to the ROC Navy in 1970 and re-commissioned as Huei Yang (naming/flag ceremony 14 February 1971, Gen. Lai Ming-Tang presiding), assigned to Squadron 12, Destroyer Flotilla; in 1978 became the ROC Navy's first Wu-Chin I combat-system modernization destroyer; 28 years of ROCN service under 20 commanding officers (Taiwan Strait patrol, offshore-island convoy escort, joint exercises); decommissioned 16 August 1999 at Kaohsiung (CNA wire corroborates the ceremony and 28-year service). NavSource and Wikipedia date the target sinking 14 October 2003 (off Hualien).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1970-2003
- Population
- ROCN crew 1971-1999; Wu-Chin I modernization yard workers 1978 (yard not named)
- Limitations
- Official-source ROC service summary; the page renders in Big5 Chinese with partial English glosses - dates and the modernization line are carried from the English-translated portions. No materials, insulation, or hazmat content: the ROCN modernization (Wu-Chin I, 1978) and any Taiwan-era overhaul work are documented as events only, with no asbestos characterization. Sinking location rests on secondary compilations (Hualien) versus a Taipei Times report placing the 2003-10-14 torpedo test off Pingtung - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-03
-
[5]Naval Historical Center FAQ 90-3, 'U.S. Navy Ships and Units Which Received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Participating in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962' (history.navy.mil via Wayback); NHHC photo NH 107179 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC FAQ 90-3 ship list, 'English (DD 696), 24 Oct - 24 Nov 62' (Wayback capture 2000-04-22); ibiblio HyperWar Online Library photo data page NH 107179
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHC award-eligibility list names this hull: 'English (DD 696), 24 Oct - 24 Nov 62' among the ships receiving the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for the 1962 Cuban quarantine. NHHC photo NH 107179 (PHCS J. Stead) shows USS English underway in the Atlantic on 20 October 1962 during the crisis; a second official photograph (National Archives 428-N-1063264, published in Utz, 'Cordon of Steel,' Naval Historical Center 1993, p. 23) shows her refueling from Independence (CVA-62) en route to the Caribbean. The published DANFS entry ends before 1962, so quarantine service is sourced to these official records rather than the narrative.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1962-10-20 to 1962-11-24
- Population
- Crew, October-November 1962 quarantine period
- Limitations
- Award list documents eligibility dates for the quarantine operation, not duties or locations beyond the operation window; the Wikipedia claim that she served 'over 30 days without replenishment' as plane guard for Independence and Enterprise is not carried (unverified detail). No asbestos content - vessel-history documentation only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-04
-
[6]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 22069605, Docket No. 18-51 270 (decision dated Dec. 17, 2022, Veterans Law Judge Caroline B. Fleming) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BVA decision text, Reasons and Bases section (MOS note; November 2021 hearing testimony; concession; October 2022 addendum rationale; order denying service connection)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A federal administrative adjudication names this hull in an asbestos exposure claim decided on the merits: the veteran served honorably in the U.S. Navy March 1964-December 1967, with a military occupational specialty of machinist's mate aboard USS English (DD-696 is the only U.S. Navy ship named English). He testified at the November 2021 Board hearing that 'he served in the engine room on the USS English where the pipes were covered in asbestos'; medical evidence included bilateral calcified pleural plaques (VA examiner: 'by far the most common indication of significant asbestos exposure, which the Veteran is known to have due to his MOS in-service') and private-provider diagnoses of asbestosis. The Board expressly CONCEDED 'the Veteran's in-service exposure to asbestos and his diagnosis of lung cancer' (Shedden elements 1 and 2 satisfied), after a March 2022 remand and September 2022 second remand for adequate examinations. FINAL DISPOSITION: service connection for lung cancer DENIED on the third Shedden element - VA examiners found adenocarcinoma less likely than not caused or aggravated by the conceded asbestos exposure or asbestosis (adenocarcinoma is smoking-associated; veteran smoked ~1 pack/day 1961-2013; mesothelioma, which he did not have, is the asbestos-associated cancer).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1964-1967 (service/exposure window); 2016-2022 (adjudication)
- Population
- USN machinist's mate aboard USS English 1964-1967; lung adenocarcinoma + asbestosis diagnoses
- Limitations
- Non-precedential single-claimant adjudication (38 C.F.R. 20.1303): the Board's concession of in-service asbestos exposure aboard this hull binds only that veteran's claim - it is an adjudicated acceptance of his exposure history (machinist's mate MOS + lay testimony of asbestos-covered engine-room pipes + pleural-plaque findings), not a materials survey and not proof any product aboard was asbestos-containing. The merits outcome is a nexus denial - the claim failed on causation, not on exposure. Does not quantify material, generalize to other crew, or establish tort liability of any manufacturer.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-05
-
[7]Atlas shipyard dataset 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' record (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944 - flagship evidence ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944 - documenting Johns-Manville Superex amosite pipe covering, Owens-Illinois Kaylo boiler insulation, W.R. Grace Monokote fireproofing, and Garlock gaskets in confined shipyard spaces) + DANFS specifications block + Allen M. Sumner class profile [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944); NARA RG19 archival lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer built at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny, NJ (laid down October 1943, commissioned May 1944) with a four-boiler/60,000-shp geared-turbine steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The builder yard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2): Owens-Illinois's August 30-September 2, 1944 industrial health survey measured dust counts during asbestos pipe-covering cutting/fitting at Kearny - the same wartime production period and yard that built this hull (the survey postdates DD-696's May 1944 delivery by roughly four months). NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an unretrieved archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1970 (USN custody)
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-70 (USN) and 1971-99 (ROCN)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT an independent hull-specific finding. The 1944 survey documents yard-wide insulation practice, not materials installed aboard DD-696 specifically, and postdates her delivery; no hull material schedule or insulation survey was located. The ship-specific findings for this hull are ev-05 (BVA conceded exposure) only. Does not quantify material aboard or establish any individual's exposure beyond the adjudication in ev-05.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing DD-696's construction (1943-44) and her entire U.S. Navy commissioned service (1944-1970) inside the documented asbestos-use era. Her Republic of China Navy career (1971-1999), including the 1978 Wu-Chin I combat-system modernization, falls outside USN documentation channels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing defect re-confirmed this batch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced), 2026-09-27: "USS English" type=o and "DD-696" type=o (opinion index), each count 0 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint: type=o q='"USS English"' -> count 0; type=o q='"DD-696"' -> count 0; pending queries logged in search_ledger sl-uss-english-dd696-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-index searches returned zero results for both the exact phrase 'USS English' and the hull number 'DD-696'. No published tort or appellate opinion naming this vessel was located in the completed portion of the sweep. RECAP docket-index queries and name-variant queries remained pending when the shared fleet request budget was spent; the search ledger records the blocked queries. The located asbestos adjudication for this hull is administrative (VA BVA, ev-05), outside CourtListener's coverage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Partial sweep: zero opinion hits on exact name and hull number are genuine negatives for published opinions, but docket-index and variant queries are unrun - absence of a located case is not proof none exists. 'English' is a common word and surname (judges, attorneys, litigants), so any future hits require name-collision review against DD-696; DD-696 is the only U.S. Navy ship named English, which simplifies attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-08
-
[10]Batch-3670 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror (Wayback/hazegray); NavSource; NHHC AFEM list + photo NH 107179; ROC Navy NMDA/TELDAP archive; CNA wire; VA BVA decisions index; GAO HRD-80-2; NARA RG19 (not digitized); NVR (out of coverage); CourtListener (partial); law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-english-dd696-01 through sl-uss-english-dd696-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull materials documentation located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, or hazmat disclosure for USS English (DD-696) exists in the public sources searched (see search_ledger), and no tort-litigation opinion naming the hull was located (the single ship-specific exposure record is the administrative BVA adjudication at ev-05). The vessel was transferred to the Republic of China Navy in 1970 and sunk as a target in 2003 - the museum-custody and domestic-scrapping channels that produced ship-specific material records for preserved or U.S.-scrapped hulls do not exist here, and no Taiwan-era materials documentation was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located materials record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level (ev-06), the builder yard's wartime asbestos insulation work is documented (ev-06), and a BVA adjudication conceded one veteran's in-service exposure aboard this hull (ev-05). The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original insulation survived 26 years of USN service, the 1978 Wu-Chin I modernization, and ROCN custody is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-english-dd696-09