Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 753-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-foss-de59-pkt-753-packet-md
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[2]Hipwell v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 1:20-cv-00063-JNP-JCB (D. Utah), Memorandum Decision and Order denying Foster Wheeler's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 208 (Aug. 31, 2022); 2022 WL 3999949 [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 208 (SJ order, Aug. 31, 2022) Background section and analysis; companion MIL order same date; complaint ECF No. 2
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Federal court order in qualifying asbestos wrongful-death litigation names this hull: decedent Keith W. Hipwell 'served in the United States Navy as a boiler tender on the U.S.S. Foss' 1951-1953, operating and maintaining 'the two boilers on the ship, which were manufactured by Foster Wheeler.' Recited in the light most favorable to plaintiff (SJ posture): 'The Foster Wheeler boilers contained approximately 250 pounds of asbestos, and Foster Wheeler specified that asbestos millboard, asbestos rope, folded woven asbestos tape, and asbestos gaskets be used in the boilers.' Deposition evidence cited (ECF 202-3): the decedent entered fireboxes through an access door surrounded by asbestos-containing materials, scraped tubes, and replaced 'clay mixed with asbestos' on firebox walls; during a six-week drydock in Long Beach, California, he stood fire watch ~25 feet from the boilers inhaling dust from shipyard workers' tube overhaul. Hipwell died of mesothelioma January 3, 2020. The court DENIED summary judgment on all four Foster Wheeler grounds (substantial-factor causation, duty to warn under Air & Liquid Systems v. DeVries, government-contractor defense, warning-causation) - genuine disputes of material fact found; companion order same day denied all three plaintiff motions in limine. DE-59 is the only USS Foss ever commissioned.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1951-1953 (alleged exposure); 2020-2022 (litigation)
- Population
- Keith W. Hipwell (USN boiler tender aboard USS Foss 1951-1953; mesothelioma, d. 2020-01-03); shipmate deponent 'Burch'; shipyard workers at the Long Beach drydock
- Limitations
- Summary-judgment-denial stage: the asbestos recital is the plaintiff's evidence construed in the light most favorable to her - a genuine-dispute finding, not an adjudicated fact. The order does not quantify remaining material, does not adjudicate that exposure occurred or caused the death, and covers boiler plant only. Case terminated 2023-04-20; post-SJ disposition (settlement or trial) not located in public sources. Order text reviewed via aggregator reprint (cetient.com / brownsims.com client-update PDF); RECAP copy is ECF No. 208 on the CourtListener docket.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-01
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[3]In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL-875 (J.P.M.L. master docket), ECF No. 6993-1 (filed 2011-04-14) - notice of potential tag-along with 393-page docket-sheet + complaint attachment for Adams et al v. 3M et al., No. 2:11-cv-00900 (N.D. Ala.) [court_record]
- Locator
- MDL-875 master docket ECF No. 6993-1 (CourtListener docket_id 1245688)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Second CourtListener hit for the exact string 'USS Foss': a 393-page tag-along attachment filed in the MDL-875 master docket containing the complaint in Adams et al v. 3M et al. (N.D. Ala. 2:11-cv-00900). The string match locates the hull name somewhere in that attachment - a multi-plaintiff asbestos complaint - but the context of the mention (exposure-site list vs. other reference) is unverified because the attachment was not retrieved.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2011 (litigation)
- Population
- Unverified from index
- Limitations
- Unverified string match inside a 393-page pleading attachment; at most a pleading-stage allegation if it is an exposure-site reference. Not an independent finding; retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-02
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[4]DANFS, Foss (DE-59) (namesake, builder, dates, service narrative, striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Buckley-class destroyer escort named for Ensign Rodney Shelton Foss, killed in action at NAS Kaneohe 7 December 1941; launched 10 April 1943 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Hingham, Mass., sponsored by Mrs. George R. Foss; commissioned 23 July 1943, Lt. Cmdr. J. J. Jordy, USNR; tanker-convoy escort to the Netherlands West Indies and across the Atlantic to Dakar, Oran, and Algiers (Sept-Dec 1943); seven New York-Londonderry convoy voyages 26 December-9 October 1944; then six years of antisubmarine-warfare operational development out of Washington, New London, Charleston, Norfolk, and Florida ports - NRL equipment tests under the Fleet Sonar School, Antisubmarine Development Detachment, and Operational Development Force; fitted 1946 with ship/shore power-conversion equipment and supplied emergency electric power to Portland, Maine, winter 1947-48; Cape Canaveral rocket experiments August 1950; Pacific Fleet from September 1950 - shore power at Chinnampo, Inchon, and Hungnam and Army-unit power at Ulsan Man, Korea, 25 December 1950-18 August 1951; Pearl Harbor homeport from September 1951, Pacific Trust Territory surveillance cruises, two Far East tours incl. 1956 Hong Kong station ship; decommissioned and placed in reserve at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 30 October 1957; struck from the Navy list 1 November 1965, 'subsequently scrapped.' One battle star for Korean war service. Specifications: 1,400 t, 306 ft, 37 ft beam, 24 kt, complement 186.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1966
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-57 (design complement 186-213 by source)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. It records launch, not keel-lay date (NavSource supplies 31 December 1942). The stricken-date disposition ('subsequently scrapped') conflicts with NavSource/Wikipedia (sunk as target 6 Sep 1966) - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-03
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[5]NavSource Destroyer Escort Photo Index, USS Foss (DE-59) - building and operational chronology transcribing official records; NARA photo 19-N-46534 caption (BuShips experimental sonar work, New York Navy Yard, December 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/059.htm - Building and Operational Data block; photo caption 0605905
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology for this hull (volunteer archive transcribing official records): keel laid 31 December 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Corp., Hingham, Mass.; launched and christened 10 April 1943 (Mrs. George R. Foss sponsor); commissioned 23 July 1943, Lcdr J. J. Jordy USNR; 27 October 1945 Navy Day at Fort Lauderdale with Clamagore (SS-343); homeport Norfolk-to-San Diego change 29 September 1950; Pearl Harbor homeport 21 September 1951; decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 30 October 1957 after 14 years 3 months service; struck from the NVR 1 November 1965; sunk as a target off the California coast near San Diego 6 September 1966, torpedoed by USS Sabalo (SS-302). NARA-photo caption: arrived New York Navy Yard 2 December 1944 for experimental sonar work by the Bureau of Ships.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1966
- Population
- Crew 1943-57
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained photo archive, not a government source; entries transcribe official records and NARA photo captions. Dates corroborated where they overlap DANFS; keel-lay (31 Dec 1942) and target-sinking details (Sabalo, 6 Sep 1966) are NavSource-unique here - consistent with Wikipedia but not confirmed against a primary record; target sinking contradicts the DANFS 'subsequently scrapped' note - conflict in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-04
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[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group table (shipscribe.com scan) - TE groups 2-3 - + navypedia per-block boiler-manufacturer map [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 DE design-group table; navypedia us_de_te block map
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-59 is a Buckley-class TE (turbo-electric) destroyer escort - one of only two DE types built with a full steam plant. BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design groups 2-3: two 'D' express-type boilers at 435 psi/750F superheat feeding GE steam turbine-generators and electric drive motors, 12,000 shp, 2 shafts, 23.6 kt; navypedia's per-block boiler map assigns Foster Wheeler boilers to the DE-51-98 block that includes DE-59 - independently corroborated by the Hipwell court order's recital that the ship's two boilers were Foster Wheeler products. A 1942-43 steam-plant escort would have carried period-standard asbestos beyond the boilers: steam-line and turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The ship's documented ship/shore power-conversion role (Portland 1947-48; Korean ports 1950-51) ran the turbo-electric plant hard at anchor - a duty profile, not an exposure finding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-57
- Limitations
- Class/era and design-type inference only for items beyond the boilers - NOT a hull-specific finding for piping/turbine/deck materials. Boiler manufacturer corroborated by the Hipwell recital (ev-01); the ~250 lb figure and component list remain litigation-posture recitals, not survey data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-05
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[7]NARA 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (catalog id 594258, RG 24 deck logs) + RG 19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/594258; NARA RG 19 GIB finding aids
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level primary material: NARA holds U.S. Navy deck logs (RG 24 series 594258, 1941-1978) covering DE-59's 1943-57 commissioned life - digitization status for this hull not confirmed; NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' hold per-vessel material specifications that would establish hull-level outfit (not retrieved).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1957
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - nothing retrieved or verified; deck-log digitization for DE-59 not confirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-foss-de59-06