Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet fu-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (details mirror-sourced; primary DANFS slug 500)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (details mirror-sourced; primary DANFS slug 500)
- Evidence ID
- uss-gherardi-dd637-pkt-fu-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Gherardi (DD-637) (builder, dates, full service narrative, DMS-30 redesignation, decommissioning; verbatim NHHC text via Wayback capture - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 12 February 1942 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. Christopher Robinson; commissioned 15 September 1942, Lt. Cmdr. J. W. Schmidt in command (laid down 16 September 1941 per NHHC construction record). Ten transatlantic convoy-escort voyages 1943; Sicily landings with Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force July 1943 (one plane credited, 11 near bomb misses); night surface action off Cape Calava 3-4 August 1943 with USS Rhind vs. a German convoy. Normandy: Utah Beach fire support in Moon's Assault Force 'U' on D-Day 6 June 1944; Cherbourg bombardment 25 June. Southern France carrier screening August 1944. Reached New York 16 September 1944 and converted to a high-speed minesweeper - redesignated DMS-30 on 15 November 1944. Okinawa minesweeping from 25 March 1945 ahead of the 1 April invasion; flagship of Mine Division 60; China Sea sweeping, Tokyo Bay clearance, then southern Kyushu/Korea sweeping to 5 December 1945. Postwar Mine Division 6 Atlantic Fleet, Charleston homeport; Med tours 1949 and 1952; NATO Operation Mainbrace 1952; redesignated DD-637 15 July 1955; preinactivation overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard; decommissioned 17 December 1955; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, berthed Philadelphia. Five battle stars for WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1973
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 275); New York conversion yard workers 1944; Charleston Naval Shipyard workers 1955
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The published NHHC page heading misprints the hull number as 'DD-367' while the specifications block and URL correctly read DD-637 - noted for accuracy. The conversion yard at New York is not named in the entry. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim text verified via the 2025-12-09 Wayback capture of the canonical NHHC URL.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-01
-
[3]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Gherardi (DD-637, later DMS-30), 1942-1973 + Construction, 1941-1942 pages (ibiblio HyperWar mirror of Naval Historical Center pages) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio mirror, usnsh-g/dd637.htm and dd637-v.htm (construction page)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photograph catalog for this hull: built at Philadelphia Navy Yard in tandem with sister USS Butler (DD-636) on adjacent slipways - both keels laid 16 September 1941, both launched 12 February 1942, Gherardi commissioned one month after Butler. Photographed at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, circa June-September 1943 (National Archives photos 80-G-K-3859, 80-G-K-3860) and off Philadelphia Navy Yard 29 October 1942 (19-N-40021). Service summary matches DANFS; disposition given as stricken from the Naval Vessel Register at the beginning of June 1971 and 'sunk as a target two years later.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1943 (construction/photos); 1942-1973 (summary)
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; New York Navy Yard workers mid-1943
- Limitations
- NHHC photo pages document construction, presence at New York Navy Yard in mid-1943, and disposal as a target - they contain no materials or asbestos information. The mid-1943 New York Navy Yard photographs document presence at the yard but do not state what work was performed there.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register, 'Ships, Both Coasts, Disposed' listing - 'DD 637 GHERARDI', UIC 04037 (Wayback capture of nvr.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR 'Ships, Both Coasts, Disposed' page (alphabetical DD section)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Naval Vessel Register disposed-ships list carries 'DD 637 GHERARDI' (UIC 04037), corroborating stricken 1 June 1971 and disposal as a target in June 1973. NavSource (drawing on NVR entries) reads 'Disposed of as a target 1 June 1973'; secondary sources (uboat.net, dday-overlord) read sunk as a target off Puerto Rico 3 June 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1971-1973
- Limitations
- The NVR list line confirms registry disposal but does not state date, method, or location - the Puerto Rico location and the 1 vs 3 June 1973 date discrepancy rest on secondary sources (carried in gaps). The NVR list gives no materials information; disposal by sinking pre-dates modern hazmat-removal disclosure practices and no pre-sinking environmental record was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-03
-
[5]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Gherardi (DD-637/DMS-30) specifications and designation chronology + Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json), Philadelphia Naval Shipyard record (tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DMS-30 specifications block and designation chronology; shipyards.json 'philadelphia-naval-shipyard'; destroyerhistory.org DMS conversion page (conversion cohort context)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Gleaves-class ('Bristol' group) destroyer built 1941-42 with four Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers and geared turbines would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Builder Philadelphia Naval Shipyard is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 3: named-product litigation identifications incl. Kaylo, Unibestos, Johns-Manville pipe insulation). Three Navy-yard work periods documented for this hull: Philadelphia new construction (1941-42); the September-November 1944 DMS conversion begun on arrival at New York (yard not named in DANFS); Charleston Naval Shipyard preinactivation overhaul (1955).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1955
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades 1941-42; conversion yard workers 1944; Charleston Naval Shipyard workers 1955; crew 1942-55 (design complement 275)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding is asserted from this row. NavSource is a reputable volunteer-compiled secondary source (used for specifications and disposition corroboration, not as an asbestos source). DMS-conversion asbestos scope is inference; the Ellyson-class conversion removed the after mount and torpedo tubes and added sweep gear, a yard-period disturbance event consistent with but not proof of insulation work.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-04
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[6]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated, type=o and type=r): "USS Gherardi" exact phrase; "Gherardi" docket text; "DD-637"/"DMS-30" hull numbers [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API results, queries of 2026-09-27
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep: 'USS Gherardi' returned zero hits in both CourtListener opinion search (type=o) and RECAP docket search (type=r) on 2026-09-27. Bare 'Gherardi' returned 323 docket hits that are personal-name collisions (bankruptcy and civil matters - e.g., In re Susan Lynn Gherardi, njb 2017; Gherardi v. Milhorat, nyed 2008; Christian S. Gherardi v. Citigroup, ca11 2020) with no vessel reference in the reviewed results. Hull-number queries '"DD-637" OR "DMS-30"' returned 26 docket hits and 242 opinion hits, all collisions on 'DMS' clerk initials and corporate names (Dealer Management Systems, Digital Media Solutions, Deer Management Systems) - no match referenced a ship. No qualifying asbestos litigation - or any litigation - naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (sweep date)
- Limitations
- Name-collision discipline applied: 'Gherardi' is a surname and 'DMS'/'DD' collide with PACER clerk initials and corporate abbreviations, so bare hits are non-vessel matches; only the exact phrase 'USS Gherardi' or a vessel-referencing hull-number hit would qualify, and none was found. Queries were authenticated through the fleet-paced helper; pacing delays (HTTP-pacing exit 2) interrupted the sweep twice and it was completed after budget refill - no query abandoned mid-run.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-05
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[7]Batch-3610 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS, NHHC Online Library, NVR disposed list, NavSource, Destroyer History Foundation, Atlas class profile benson-gleaves-class, CourtListener sweeps, and general-web asbestos searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-gherardi-dd637-01 through sl-uss-gherardi-dd637-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Gherardi (DD-637/DMS-30) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sunk as a target in June 1973 - before Navy-wide asbestos-abatement and pre-sinking environmental-disclosure programs - so no abatement-era documentation is expected to exist. Law-firm marketing listicles (mesothelioma.com, asbx.org, asbestosnavy.com, mesotheliomahelp.org) name the hull in generic destroyer lists; they cite no ship-specific record and are excluded as non-authoritative.
- 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 - 1941-42 Navy-yard construction and two documented yard availabilities are era-consistent with installed asbestos. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gherardi-dd637-06