Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]Lannes ex rel. Estate of Lannes v. Flowserve U.S., Inc., 628 F. App'x 957 (9th Cir. Oct. 14, 2015) (unpublished memorandum; Nos. 13-56391, 13-56393, 13-56397), affirming Lannes v. Flowserve U.S., Inc., No. 2:12-cv-01876-PA-AJW (C.D. Cal., Anderson, J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- Memorandum disposition pp.2-6 (threshold-requirement discussion; Lowell and McCaffery expert record); D.C. No. 2:12-cv-01876-PA-AJW
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Merits-stage federal appellate disposition naming this vessel in an asbestos exposure claim: the Ninth Circuit recites that decedent Vernon P. Lannes 'was exposed' to 'asbestos-laden gaskets, packing, or insulation ... when he worked on the USS Fletcher and the USS Duncan during his naval service,' and that plaintiffs' expert Captain William Lowell 'could conclude only that Lannes was exposed to replacement parts that contained asbestos.' The panel affirmed summary judgment for Flowserve U.S. Inc. (successor-in-interest to Edward Valve, Inc.), Jerguson Gage & Valve Co., and Warren Pumps LLC because plaintiffs could not show these defendants 'manufactured, sold, or supplied' the asbestos parts (O'Neil v. Crane Co. threshold); Lowell conceded that due to overhaul schedules there would have been no original insulation on the ships when Lannes came aboard. Hull attribution: the opinion names 'USS Fletcher' without hull number or service dates; the pairing with 'USS Duncan' (the only postwar Duncan, DD-874, in commission 1945-1971) and the no-original-insulation framing point to the steam-powered DD-445 (stricken 1969) rather than the gas-turbine DD-992 (commissioned 1980).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- naval service era (dates not stated in opinion; postwar per record framing); 2012-2015 (litigation)
- Population
- Estate of Vernon P. Lannes (U.S. Navy service aboard USS Fletcher and USS Duncan); plaintiffs Jeffrey J. Lannes and Kristi Johnson
- Limitations
- Affirmed DEFENSE summary judgment - a merits-level negative for these plaintiffs, not an adjudicated finding of exposure or of asbestos conditions aboard: the exposure was recited and testified (plaintiffs' expert), never tried to a finding, and the appeal resolved only whether the three appellees supplied the parts. Opinion omits service dates and hull number; attribution to DD-445 is reasoned (postwar-era pairing with DD-874; 'no original insulation' concession fits a repeatedly-overhauled 1942 steam hull) but not explicit. Unpublished memorandum (9th Cir. R. 36-3); underlying district-court order not located in public sources. Does not quantify or locate asbestos aboard, does not establish causation for any individual, and does not speak to legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-01
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[2]DANFS, Fletcher (DD-445) (specifications block, service narrative, striking/sale; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed striking note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 3 May 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., sponsored by Mrs. F. F. Fletcher; commissioned 30 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. M. Cole. Solomons/Guadalcanal incl. the 13 November 1942 surface action and Tassafaronga (rescued Northampton CA-26 survivors); sank Japanese submarine RO-102 11 February 1943; Gilberts, Marshalls, New Guinea, Leyte and Philippine liberation; hit by shore battery off Corregidor 14 February 1945 (8 killed, 3 wounded). Out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947; recommissioned 3 October 1949 as an ASW specialist; Korea (Valley Forge group, Inchon); atomic tests in the Marshalls (Sep-Nov 1952); annual Far East deployments 1954-1962. Bracketed note: 'struck from the Navy list 1 August 1969 and sold on 22 February 1972.' Fifteen WWII and five Korean battle stars. Spec block: dp. 2,100; 376'3" x 39'8"; s. 36 k.; cpl. 273; cl. Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1972
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription's 'reclassified DDE-446 on 26 March 1949' is a documented error - DD-446 was Radford; this hull was DDE-445 (ship's own command history and reunion record). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-02
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[3]USS Fletcher (DD-445) Command History for 1969 (1 JAN - Decommissioning), declassified U.S. Navy document transcribed by the USS Fletcher Reunion Group [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussfletcher.org/history/1969.html - cruise summary chronology (8 May-1 Aug 1969), Part II Narrative History, and decommissioning ceremony program
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own declassified 1969 command history: final WestPac deployment under DesRon 11 (Market Time patrol, NGFS for 101st Airborne and ROK Marines, rescue-destroyer duty with carriers) after the Project 693 crew swap with USS Philip (DD-498); ammunition offloaded at Port NAD, Oahu 22 May 1969; Pre-Inactivation Material Inspection by the Sub-Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific (10-11 June 1969) found FLETCHER 'unfit for further service' and recommended she be stricken; sea trials 15 July; out of commission and out of service at San Diego 1 August 1969, custody delivered to the Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, San Diego - 'Twenty-Seven Years and Two Months after she was first commissioned.' The narrative records her 1949 recommission as an ASW escort (DDE) and states 'In 1960 FLETCHER was redesignated as a destroyer (DD).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1968-11-22 to 1969-08-01
- Population
- Crew of USS Fletcher, 1968-69 deployment (Project 693 crew swap, majority from USS Philip DD-498); Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility San Diego staff
- Limitations
- Reunion-site transcription of an official declassified command history (primary document, secondary host). The June 1969 Pre-Inactivation Material Inspection is a material/seaworthiness finding - it does not mention asbestos and is not an ACM survey. The 'redesignated 1960' statement conflicts with secondary compilations reading 1962-06; carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-03
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[4]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 36 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record incl. Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944); NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (toxicdocs.org survey scan); NARA RG19 lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-42 with a four-boiler/60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; builder Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset, including the 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey documenting insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipboard spaces at the yard. 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
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1941-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; crew 1942-1969
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's May 1942 launch and documents yard practice, not materials installed aboard DD-445. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-04
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[5]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-445's construction (1941-42) and entire commissioned service (1942-1969) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- 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) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-05
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[6]Batch-100 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror; declassified 1969 command history (ussfletcher.org); destroyerhistory.org; 9th Cir. official datastore; GAO HRD-80-2; reunion-group site; CourtListener (blocked); NARA RG19 (not digitized); law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fletcher-dd445-01 through sl-uss-fletcher-dd445-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, materials inventory, or hazmat disclosure located for DD-445 in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was stricken and sold for scrap in 1969-72 - before modern asbestos documentation practice - and never became a museum, so the museum-disclosure channel that produced ship-specific records for preserved hulls does not exist here. The only litigation record naming the hull (Lannes) recites exposure without adjudicating it and resolved in affirmed defense summary judgment; no affirmative adjudicated exposure finding located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level and the Lannes record recites asbestos-containing parts aboard. The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original 1942 insulation survived into the service era is undocumented (the Lannes plaintiffs' own expert assumed it did not).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fletcher-dd445-06