Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet crew-fi-packet.md (13 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-franks-dd554-pkt-crew-fi-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Franks (DD-554) - NHHC ship-history page (live URL returns 404; verbatim via Wayback capture 2025-02-02; hazegray transcription dd554txt.htm cross-checked, verbatim) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS page for Franks (DD-554), spec block + namesake paragraph + service narrative (Wayback capture 2025-02-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 7 December 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash.; sponsored by Mrs. Martha F. W. Carr, cousin of the namesake; commissioned 30 July 1943, Lt. Cmdr. N. A. Lidstone in command. Pacific service: Pearl Harbor arrival 25 Oct 1943; Tarawa escort-carrier screen Nov-Dec 1943; Pearl Harbor repair period; Kwajalein Southern Attack Force 22 Jan 1944; Solomons convoy/patrol; reconnaissance-bombardment of Mussau, Kapingamaringi, Bougainville; with Haggard (DD-555) sank Japanese submarine I-176 in Buka Passage 16 May 1944; Guam preinvasion bombardment from 12 Jul; Palaus screen/fighter-director Sep; Ulithi occupation 23 Sep; Philippines escort-carrier screen from 1 Oct incl. Leyte landings and the Battle off Samar 25 Oct 1944; fast-carrier strikes Dec (Mindoro) and 16-17 Feb 1945 (Japanese home islands); Okinawa operation Mar-Apr 1945. On 2 April 1945 'badly damaged and her commanding officer was fatally injured in a collision with New Jersey'; temporary repairs at Ulithi, departed 13 Apr for overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard; back in the western Pacific 17 Aug; Tokyo Bay 13 Sep; out of commission in reserve at San Pedro 31 May 1946. Nine battle stars for World War II. Spec block: dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'8"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not state a laid-down date (carried from NavSource) and does not carry the 1972 striking or 1973 sale - disposition from NavSource/Encyclopedia of Arkansas. DANFS prints the collision partner as 'New Jersey (BB-63)' - the parenthetical is a typographical error in the official entry (BB-63 is Missouri; New Jersey is BB-62), documented in gaps rather than silently corrected. Live NHHC URL returns 404 (standing NHHC link rot); Wayback capture of the NHHC page cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-554 USS Franks - operational/building data block, machinery line, and commanding-officer list (live navsource.org unreachable to automated fetch; content via Wayback capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/554.htm - Operational and Building Data block; commanding-officer list; fate line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down by Seattle Tacoma Shipbuilding March 8 1942; launched December 7 1942; commissioned July 30 1943; decommissioned May 31 1946; stricken December 1 1972; sold for scrapping August 1 1973. Machinery: 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws; 38 knots; crew 273; full displacement 2,924 tons. Commanding officers: LCDR Nicholas Adair Lidstone (Jul 30 1943 - Jun 30 1944); CDR David Richard Stephan (Jun 30 1944 - Apr 2 1945, listed KIA); LT Gerald Frederick Case (Apr 2 - Apr 22 1945, acting); LCDR Eugene Baker Henry Jr. (Apr 22 1945 - May 31 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Construction trades 1942-43; USN crew 1943-46; reserve custody 1946-72
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary photographic-history compilation citing official data - not itself a primary source. CO list independently corroborates the DANFS collision narrative (Stephan's term ends at the 2 Apr 1945 collision). No post-decommissioning employment is listed - consistent with continuous reserve custody 1946-1972.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-02
-
[4]Navios de Guerra Brasileiros (naval.com.br NGB), CT Parana D-29 ship record (Brazilian naval reference) + NavSource DD-554 fate line + Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry 15396 (CALS) [other_primary]
- Locator
- naval.com.br NGB P034 Paraná D-29 record ('ex- USS Cushing - DD 797'); navsource.org DD-554 fate line; encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/uss-franks-15396
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposition of this hull: continuous U.S. Navy reserve custody from decommissioning at San Pedro 31 May 1946 until stricken 1 December 1972; sold for scrapping 1 August 1973 (NavSource; Encyclopedia of Arkansas concurs). PUBLISHED-SOURCE ERROR corrected: globalsecurity.org's DD-554 page and uboat.net ship record claim Franks was loaned to Brazil 20 July 1961 and renamed Parana (D-29), stricken/scrapped 1982. Brazilian naval reference NGB identifies CT Parana D-29 as ex-USS Cushing (DD-797), built by Bethlehem Steel at Staten Island, loaned to Brazil at Norfolk 20 July 1961 - a different Fletcher-class hull. The Brazil claim for DD-554 is a hull-identity error (the 'sold ... 1 August 1973' date coincides with Cushing's outright sale to Brazil the same date); not adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1946-1973
- Population
- Reserve-fleet custody 1946-72; scrapping workforce 1973 (location unverified)
- Limitations
- NGB (naval.com.br) is a secondary Brazilian naval reference, not an official service record - but it positively identifies Paraná's U.S. hull (DD-797) with builder and transfer detail, and DANFS/NavSource/EoA unanimously carry DD-554 in reserve to scrapping with no foreign service. Scrapper identity and breaking site not located in sources searched. The erroneous Brazil claim is flagged so downstream users do not inherit it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945, Vol. I (Fletcher-class design section) + NavSource DD-554 machinery data + Atlas Fletcher-class profile (class-c worktree); MOHAI/University of Washington Digital Collections, 'Facts and History of Todd Shipyards Corporation and its Seattle Division' (builder-yard identity) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf DD design section (shipscribe.com scan); navsource.org DD-554 machinery block; shipyards.json yard_id list; digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu item 2023.36.102_1 (MOHAI Todd history)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: this hull is a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 with the class-standard four-boiler Babcock & Wilcox, two-shaft General Electric geared-steam-turbine plant (60,000 shp). Ships of this design and era carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; GAO documents Navy-wide asbestos insulation use through the era with substitution not begun until the early 1970s. Builder Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Harbor Island, Seattle - the expanded Todd Dry Docks yard, renamed Todd Pacific Shipyards June 1944; the largest West Coast destroyer producer, 45 hulls) is not represented in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset (37 yard_ids checked) - yard-level asbestos documentation for the builder is unavailable; NARA RG 19 General Information Books per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-46
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No Fletcher-class material schedule or hull-specific asbestos record is located for this or any class member (per the class profile's negative finding). Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-04
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[6]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 this hull's 1942-43 construction, 1943-46 commissioned service, and 1946-72 reserve custody entirely inside the documented asbestos-use era; the 1973 scrapping predates OSHA-era asbestos regulation of demolition work.
- 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 in this session (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing issue per Batch-01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-05
-
[7]Batch-3525 search ledger (this record): DANFS via NHHC/Wayback; NavSource photo index via Wayback; hazegray DANFS transcription via Wayback; Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry 15396; naval.com.br NGB Parana D-29 record; NVR hull lookup; MARAD vessel-history database; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number searches; Fletcher-class profile (class-c worktree) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-franks-dd554-01 through sl-uss-franks-dd554-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material inventory, or docketed case naming USS Franks (DD-554) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). This is consistent with the Fletcher-class profile's class-wide negative finding - no ship-specific asbestos record has been located for any Fletcher 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 - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level. The hull was scrapped in 1973, so no museum-condition, donation-condition, or residual-ACM documentation can exist. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-06
-
[8]NARA - U.S. Navy deck logs (RG 24) covering this hull's 1943-1946 commissioned period (hull appears in a private research-service deck-log holdings list); WWII Action Reports and War Diaries (NARA College Park); BuShips 'General Information Books' (RG 19) hull-level material specifications; vessel status card for reserve custody 1946-1972 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-log research page; RG 19/24 series descriptions; goldenarrowresearch.com deck-log holdings list naming USS Franks DD-554
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet pulled: (1) NARA deck logs for DD-554, 1943-1946 (post-1941 logbooks, Archives II - a private research-service list of NARA-held ship logs includes USS Franks DD-554) - the December 1943-January 1944 Pearl Harbor repair period and the 1945 Puget Sound overhaul would name the yards and scope of work; (2) WWII Action Reports and War Diaries may detail the 2 April 1945 collision damage and repair scope; (3) NARA RG 19 General Information Books may carry hull-level material specifications including insulation; (4) the vessel's status card documents reserve-fleet berthing 1946-1972 and the 1973 disposal buyer.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Unpulled leads only; contents unverified. Deck-log, war-diary, GIB, and status-card retrieval was not performed in this batch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-07
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[9]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (type=o opinions and type=r dockets), 2026-09-27 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-franks-dd554-04 through sl-uss-franks-dd554-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Franks / DD-554 located. Authenticated CourtListener v4 searches on "USS Franks" returned zero hits in both opinions (type=o) and RECAP dockets (type=r); "aboard the Franks" opinions returned zero hits. A "DD-554" docket sweep returned count 1 twice but the result detail could not be re-fetched through fleet pacing throttling (logged pending, unasserted). Known collision surfaces screened: 'Franks' is a common party/judge/attorney surname in litigation; DD-554 is the only U.S. Navy vessel to carry the name, so any vessel-naming hit would attach to this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Litigation coverage is limited to CourtListener-indexed state/federal opinions and federal dockets; unindexed state trial-court filings and settled MDL-875 claimant records are not covered. No search can prove the absence of all possible litigation. Several sweep queries ran into the fleet-wide hourly pacing budget on 2026-09-27 - per-query results are logged in search_ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-franks-dd554-08