Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet zbv-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-flatley-ffg21-pkt-zbv-packet-md
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register, FLATLEY (FFG 21), UIC 20974 (record last updated 2004-07-14; verbatim record via Wayback capture 2012-02-24) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail page, all fields; Wayback 2012-02-24 capture
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR record for this hull: class FFG 7; builder Bath Iron Wks Corp.; award 28 February 1977; keel 13 November 1979; launch 15 May 1980; delivery 8 May 1981; commission 20 June 1981; decommission 11 May 1996; stricken 10 October 2001; status 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned' with date status changed 10/10/2001; custodian Turkey. Characteristics: 445 ft overall / 408 ft waterline, 47 ft extreme beam, 25 ft maximum navigational draft; 2,887 t light / 3,768 t full; steel hull, aluminum superstructure; propulsion type Gas Turbines, 1 propeller; accommodations 17 officers + 195 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1977-2001 (US record)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1979-81; U.S. Navy crew 1981-1996 (berthing 17 officers + 195 enlisted); Turkish crew circa 1998-present
- Limitations
- NVR documents construction, characteristics, and disposal — not materials or asbestos content. Page no longer served at nvr.navy.mil; verbatim Wayback capture cited. 'Gas Turbines' propulsion type confirms no boiler/steam plant but does not itself establish presence or absence of asbestos-containing components. Unlike sister-hull records, Flatley's NVR entry carried no remark line naming the Turkish transfer date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-01
-
[3]NHHC Naval Aviation appendix 12, 'Ships Named for Naval Aviators' ('Flatley (FFG 21) VADM James H. Flatley, Jr., USN 20 Jun 1981'); Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum biographical page, James H. Flatley Jr. [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.navy.mil app12.pdf line 'Flatley (FFG 21)'; patriotspoint.org biographical pages for James H. Flatley Jr.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's appendix of ships named for naval aviators records 'Flatley (FFG 21) VADM James H. Flatley, Jr., USN' with commissioning 20 Jun 1981. Namesake: Vice Admiral James Henry Flatley Jr. (1906-1958), USNA class of 1929, naval aviator 1931 — XO of VF-42 at the Battle of the Coral Sea (Navy Cross), formed VF-10 'Grim Reapers' for Guadalcanal, and as Commander Air Group Five in USS Yorktown (CV-10) introduced the F6F Hellcat to combat in August 1943; postwar he helped establish the Naval Aviation Safety Center and commanded NAS Olathe (later Flatley Field), NAS Norfolk, and USS Lake Champlain (CV-39). FFG-21 was the first U.S. Navy ship of the name; no DANFS entry exists for this hull (post-coverage construction).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1906-1958; 1981
- Limitations
- Documents namesake and commissioning only — no materials or asbestos content. NHHC appendix PDF returned 404 on direct fetch at record date; line text verified via search-indexed content and a verbatim USCS reproduction of the appendix. Day of the namesake's death varies by source (9 vs 21 July 1958) — carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-02
-
[4]Ship operational history (former official Navy ship-history text) via secondary mirrors globalsecurity.org / navysite.de; NavSource FFG-21 archive (U.S. Navy photo captions, DVIC VIRINs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/ffg-21.htm; navysite.de/ffg/FFG21.HTM; NavSource 0721xx photo captions incl. VIRINs DN-ST-88-02118 (1987-09-14 Gulf of Oman), DN-SC-85-04xxx (1980 launch), DN-SC-92-04769 (1992 Mayport)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Service record for this hull: commissioned 20 Jun 1981 at Bath ME, Cmdr. Andrew J. Combe in command; assigned Destroyer Squadron Eight, homeported Naval Station Mayport FL from July 1981; completed three deployments and numerous special operations (underway in the Gulf of Oman 14 September 1987 per U.S. Navy photo DN-ST-88-02118; refueled by USS Iowa (BB-61) at sea 11 August 1984; operating with nuclear-powered carriers April 1985 per NavSource photo captions); joined the Naval Reserve Force, Atlantic, at Mayport 30 November 1987; Fleet Week New York (Staten Island) June 1990 with VAdm. Donnell embarked; took part in Operation Restore Democracy July 1994 transporting Haitians to Guantanamo Naval Station, and per the official-history text spent more time off Haiti during Operation Support Democracy in 1994 than any other ship, rescuing more than 1,500 Haitians at sea; Caribbean counter-narcotics operations in 1995; photographed at Pascagoula MS February 1996 tied up with USS Antrim (FFG-20) and USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29); decommissioned at Mayport May 1996 (NVR 11 May; NavSource reads 8 May).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1981-1996
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew 1981-1996 incl. Naval Reserve training cohorts 1987-1996; Haitian migrants embarked 1994
- Limitations
- Narrative text is the ship's former official history surviving on secondary mirrors (no DANFS entry; NHHC ship command operation reports not located at patterned URLs); U.S. Navy photo captions in the NavSource archive independently corroborate several dated events. Operational-detail gaps (which deployments, which operations) are unresolved. None of this addresses materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-03
-
[5]DoD Memorandum for Correspondents No. 182-M, 'Foreign Military Sale to Turkey — FFG-7 PERRY and FF-1052 KNOX Class Frigates' (November 18, 1998, DefenseLINK; verbatim via FAS mirror); DSCA July 2001 report (via ship-history text) that Flatley 'may be leased or sold to Turkey' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DoD memo No. 182-M full text via FAS mirror of defenselink.mil/news/Nov1998; DSCA July 2001 reference in the official-history text (ev-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program context for this hull's Turkish transfer: the 18 November 1998 DoD correspondents memo announced the possible sale to Turkey of three FFG-7 Perry-class frigates (plus eight leased Knox-class), describing 'cold ship' transfer reactivations for a 'safe to steam' condition — and states 'Turkey already has three U.S. Navy PERRY class frigates in its Navy fleet' as of that date, a set that includes this hull as TCG Gemlik (F-492) per the transfer record. The ship-history text adds that DSCA in July 2001 reported Flatley may be leased or sold to Turkey — consistent with the NVR recording formal stricken/status change 10 October 2001 as a cash-sale FMS case while the hull was already in Turkish service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1997-2001
- Population
- Turkish Naval Forces crews; NAVSEA contract crews performing cold-ship reactivation
- Limitations
- Program-level document — no Perry-class hull is named in the memo, so it cannot by itself date this hull's physical transfer; secondary sources conflict (12 Jan 1998 to 27 Aug 1998, with NavSource/maritime sources also carrying a 27 Aug 1997 variant). The exact handover date is carried in gaps. The memo's scope is the subsequent three-ship sale, not Flatley.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2; Navy response letter text (attachment) via indexed excerpts
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Era context into which this hull was built: the Navy advised GAO that product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to require asbestos-free materials, but asbestos materials 'had already been purchased and in some cases installed in ships under construction,' so 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.' The Navy's response letter states 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' listing piping-system gaskets and packing, deck/floor tiling, galley-range cabling, equipment brakes and clutches, and electrical resistors as continuing applications after thermal insulation. Flatley was under contract (awarded 28 February 1977) but her keel was not laid until 13 November 1979 — one month after the report date — and she was delivered 8 May 1981, nearly three years after the documented May 1978 end of asbestos-insulation deliveries; the report therefore does not support inferring asbestos thermal insulation aboard this hull, while the continuing-applications list remained operative in her construction era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1973-1981
- Population
- Navy ships in service; construction/repair trades
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not a hull-specific survey. Whether FFG-21 is enumerated in attachment #1 (ships delivered since 1973 or under construction at the report date) is doubtful — the keel post-dates the report by a month — but unverified because the full text is blocked to automated fetch (gao.gov HTTP 403); contents via product page and indexed excerpts. Neither establishes nor defeats asbestos aboard this hull; the delivery-date nuance cuts against the usual era inference for thermal insulation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-05
-
[7]Grant v. Foster Wheeler, LLC, 2016 ME 85 (Me. 2016); In re All Maine Asbestos Litigation (BIW Cases), 589 F. Supp. 1563 (D. Me. 1984); Davis v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 338 A.2d 146 (Me. 1975); Douglass v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., BCD-CV-13-35 (Me. Bus. & Consumer Ct. 2015) [court_record]
- Locator
- 2016 ME 85 paras. 2-3 (employment windows, asbestos use recital) and disposition; 589 F. Supp. 1563 at 1565-66; 338 A.2d 146; Douglass order, Material Facts; shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works' ev-bath-iron-works-05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard asbestos record for the yard that built this hull: published Maine and federal opinions document asbestos in use at Bath Iron Works across windows overlapping this hull's 1979-81 construction. Grant v. Foster Wheeler (Me. 2016) records that during the decedent's second BIW employment, 1978-1994, asbestos was a common component of insulation and other materials at Bath 'including for the construction and renovation of ships' — while affirming summary judgment for the product defendants on product-nexus grounds (a merits-level defense outcome). In re All Maine Asbestos Litigation (BIW Cases) (D. Me. 1984) consolidated roughly fifty actions by BIW employees alleging injury from asbestos products during employment at the yard. Davis v. BIW (Me. 1975) records a 1944-1966 employee's asbestosis claim. Douglass (2015 trial order) recites asbestos use in naval-ship construction at BIW over a 1958-1990s employment window. The Atlas yard record adds Lawrence v. BIW-era workers' compensation records documenting a cleaner exposed to asbestos dust at the yard 1981-1982.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-2016 (litigation windows)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction/repair trades, 1944-1990s
- Limitations
- Builder-yard litigation only — no opinion names FFG-21 or ties any product to this hull. Grant is a defense summary-judgment win affirmed on appeal: the yard-level factual recital stands in the published opinion, but the case is not an exposure finding as to any ship. Coverage windows bracket but do not isolate this hull's 1979-81 build.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-06
-
[8]OSHA Inspection 101450294, Bath Iron Works health inspection, with asbestos Chemical Exposure Health Data entries (Labs B24809 bulk, B24801 personal, 20 May 1987); Atlas shipyards.json yard record bath-iron-works (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSHA IMIS inspection detail 101450294; shipyards.json 'bath-iron-works' evidence row ev-bath-iron-works-01
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Regulatory record for this hull's builder: OSHA's 1987 health inspection of Bath Iron Works recorded asbestos-standard citations; the linked asbestos sample data include an 80-percent bulk result (Lab B24809) and a 1.71-f/cc personal-sample result (Lab B24801), both dated 20 May 1987 — six years after this hull's delivery but within the yard's documented asbestos era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1987
- Population
- Bath Iron Works establishment, 1987
- Limitations
- Yard-level regulatory record only; postdates this hull's 1981 delivery and identifies no ship, product, or task. Establishes asbestos handling at the builder in the era, not conditions aboard FFG-21.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-07
-
[9]The War Zone (TWZ), 'Project GENESIS: How Turkey Resurrected Its Secondhand Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigates' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- TWZ article, GENESIS program sections on TCG Gemlik
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Turkish-service record for this hull: TCG Gemlik (F-492) was the first Gabya/G-class frigate modernized under the GENESIS combat-system program — in 2006 her legacy C2 and associated systems were dismantled and the GENESIS combat management system was recreated by ARMERKOM at Gölcük Shipyard over approximately ten months, with delivery back to the Turkish Navy on 19 May 2007; the remaining seven G-class ships followed during overhauls, and 2012-2014 upgrades added Mk 41 VLS and Smart-S Mk 2 radar to the class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2006-2007
- Population
- Turkish shipyard workers at Gölcük Shipyard, 2006-07; Turkish crew
- Limitations
- Reputable defense-trade press, not an official record; documents a major interior modernization period aboard this hull (2006-07) without any statement on hazardous materials or asbestos handling during that work. Does not establish or defeat asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-08
-
[10]Hürriyet Daily News, 'Family compensated after Turkish admiral dies of asbestos on US ship' (reporting a Turkish court compensation ruling on asbestos aboard ex-U.S. warships) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Hürriyet Daily News article; companion list reproduced at nationalturk.com and asbesttazminat.blogspot.com (Turkish)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Turkish litigation context: a Turkish court ordered a U.S. shipbuilder to compensate the family of a Turkish admiral who died of cancer after service aboard the asbestos-containing ex-U.S. destroyer Adatepe (D-353), per Habertürk reporting relayed by Hürriyet; the report lists 25 ex-U.S. warships 'built using asbestos' in Turkish service. The list includes 'Gemlik D 347' — an earlier ex-U.S. destroyer of that name (the D-3xx series are WWII-era hulls transferred 1949-1987), NOT TCG Gemlik (F-492), the ex-Flatley frigate. This hull is therefore not named in the Turkish asbestos-ship record located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-2012
- Population
- Turkish sailors aboard ex-U.S. warships (D-3xx destroyer era)
- Limitations
- Press account of a court ruling; neither the ruling text nor the expert evidence underlying the 25-ship list was located. The 'Gemlik D 347' / 'Gemlik F-492' collision matters for database hygiene: the listed hull is the earlier destroyer. Nothing in this report documents asbestos aboard FFG-21/F-492.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep (batch helper), 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-flatley-ffg21-04 through sl-uss-flatley-ffg21-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in CourtListener. 'USS Flatley' opinions: 0 results. 'USS Flatley' dockets: 0 results. '"Flatley" asbestos' opinions: 10 results, all name collisions — attorney Lawrence E. Flatley (Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay) in W. Va./Pa. asbestos-insurance opinions, Judge Patrick M. Flatley (Bankr. N.D.W. Va.), and a Judge Flatley on a Mass. appellate panel; none reference the vessel. Hull-number queries ('FFG-21', 'FFG 21') opinion- and docket-level: pending at record close — the shared fleet pacing limiter was saturated; see search_ledger for the exact statuses.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a docketed case does not prove absence of exposure aboard; unlitigated claims, trust-fund filings, and state-court matters below CourtListener coverage are not captured. Queries blocked by the pacing limiter are listed honestly in the ledger rather than retried into a throttle.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-10
-
[12]NARA, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel (guided research path: BuShips/NAVSEA correspondence, ship specifications, command histories) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided-topic page 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's guide identifies the archival path for hull-level asbestos documentation: Bureau of Ships/NAVSEA correspondence and ship-specification files plus command histories and yard work packages. No FFG-21 file from those series was examined in this batch; the documented yard/maintenance periods (Bath Iron Works construction 1979-81; Mayport NRF homeporting 1987-1996; the 2006-07 GENESIS dismantling at Gölcük, Turkey) are where hull material records would exist. GAO HRD-80-2 attachment #1 (ships under construction at the October 1979 report date) likely predates this hull's keel but is the most promising single document to confirm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Guide-level pointer only; the guide's title coverage ('up through 1961') predates this hull by nearly two decades, and no ship-specific file was retrieved. Does not establish or defeat any ship-specific asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-flatley-ffg21-11