Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet gf-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Gyatt; hull DD-712 (later DDG-712, then DDG-1, back to DD-712);
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-gyatt-dd712-pkt-gf-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Gyatt (DD-712)', Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2016-04-27; live history.navy.mil page returns 404 - verbatim text verified via Wayback capture 2024-01-18; identical text also carried by Tin Can Sailors destroyers.org labeled 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016') [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry spec block + namesake paragraph + service narrative (paragraphs 1-7)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 15 April 1945 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearney [Kearny], N.J., sponsored by Mrs. Hilda Morrell (mother of the namesake); commissioned 2 July 1945 at the New York Navy Yard, Comdr. A. D. Kaplan in command. Spec block: displacement 2,425; length 390'6"; beam 41'4"; draft 18'6"; speed 35 k.; complement 336; armament 6x5", 16x40mm, 20x20mm, 5x21" tt, 2 dct, 6 dcp; class Gearing. Service: Caribbean shakedown; Norfolk-based East Coast operations and carrier training in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean; January-March 1947 Uruguayan presidential-inauguration visit (Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Port of Spain); first 6th Fleet deployment 20 November 1947 - 2 March 1948; six subsequent Northern Europe/Mediterranean deployments; operations to Nova Scotia and Iceland. Entered Boston Naval Shipyard 26 September 1955 and decommissioned 31 October for conversion to the Navy's and the world's first guided missile destroyer; hull classification changed to DDG-712 on 1 December 1956; recommissioned two days later. Hull number changed to DDG-1 on 23 May 1957. First guided missile destroyer to deploy overseas (6th Fleet, 28 January - 31 August 1960); new home port Charleston. Project Mercury nose-cone recovery stations 5-10 November 1960 and 24-26 April 1961; Berlin-crisis Mediterranean deployment 3 August 1961 - 3 March 1962. Entered Charleston Naval Shipyard 29 June 1962 for overhaul removing the missile system and installing Operational Test and Evaluation Force equipment; reverted to DD-712 on 1 October 1962; arrived Norfolk 1 January 1963; operated Atlantic coast/Caribbean into 1967. Namesake Pvt. Edward Earl Gyatt, USMC, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, killed in action on Tulagi 7-8 August 1942, posthumous Silver Star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1967
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding (Kearny) construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1969 (design complement 336); Boston and Charleston naval shipyard trades 1955-56 and 1962
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, and service history, not materials or asbestos content. This entry's narrative ends in 1967 - decommissioning, striking, and disposal are not covered by DANFS and rest on secondary compilations (see ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-04). Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture of the NHHC page cited. DANFS's reclassification sequence (DDG-712 on 1956-12-01; DDG-1 on 1957-05-23; DD-712 on 1962-10-01) conflicts with NavSource's sequence (DDG-1 on 1955-12-01; DDG-712 on 1956-12-30) - DANFS carried, conflict logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-01
-
[3]Destroyer History Foundation, 'USS Gyatt (DDG-712 and DDG-1)' page (conversion scope detail, sourcing Friedman and NHHC DANFS) + DANFS conversion paragraph [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org Gyatt page, conversion section (bullet list); DANFS paragraph 5 (Boston Naval Shipyard entry and decommissioning)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documented yard period at Boston Naval Shipyard, September 1955 - December 1956: the ship decommissioned 31 October 1955 for conversion into the world's first guided missile destroyer. Scope of work per the Destroyer History Foundation: the after twin 5-inch/38 mount was removed and a twin-arm Terrier launcher installed with hull strengthening in way of the launcher; horizontal storage for 14 missile reloads immediately forward; a modified Mk 25 Mod. 7 beamrider radar fitted atop the gun director; the Navy's first Denny-Brown retractable-fin stabilization system installed amidships; four 3-inch/50 twin mounts replacing the after 40mm quads; two stacked triple torpedo tube mounts and improved radar added. A 13-month naval-shipyard conversion that stripped the after half of the ship - under era practice such work disturbed machinery-space and topside insulation in the affected areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1955-1956
- Population
- Boston Naval Shipyard trades, September 1955 - December 1956
- Limitations
- The yard period and its scope are documented; the presence, disturbance, or removal of asbestos-containing material during the conversion is NOT documented for this hull - insulation-disturbance is an era-practice inference only. DHF is a reputable secondary foundation source; its shipyard entry date (16 September) conflicts with DANFS (26 September) - DANFS carried. No conversion work package, ship's force availability record, or insulation schedule for DD-712 was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'Historic Fleets' column (April 1999), USS Gyatt profile; DANFS paragraph 7 (Charleston Naval Shipyard 1962) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- DANFS paragraph 7 (Charleston Naval Shipyard entry 29 June 1962; DD-712 reversion 1 October 1962; Norfolk 1 January 1963); USNI Naval History April 1999 Historic Fleets column (missile system removed June-October 1962; OpTevFor; Naval Reserve training ship)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Second documented yard period: Gyatt entered Charleston Naval Shipyard 29 June 1962 for an overhaul that removed the Terrier missile system and fitted a mast atop the old missile magazine plus electronics for Operational Test and Evaluation Force radar/electronic-warfare trials; missile system removal occurred June-October 1962 (USNI) and the classification reverted to DD-712 on 1 October 1962 (DANFS). She then served as an OpTevFor trials ship out of Norfolk (1963-1967) and ended the decade as a Naval Reserve training ship homeported at Washington, D.C. (1968).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1962-1968
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard trades, June-October 1962; crew 1963-1968
- Limitations
- Yard period and mission change documented by DANFS and USNI's Naval History column; asbestos disturbance during missile-system removal is era inference only - no work package or hazmat record located. The reserve-training-ship stint and 1968 Washington homeport detail come from USNI and secondary compilations (the 2016 DANFS narrative ends in 1967); the USNI page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch and was verified via search-index excerpt.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, DD-712 operational and building data block; Tin Can Sailors (National Association of Destroyer Veterans) destroyers.org DD-712 ship page disposition line; Destroyer History Foundation Gyatt page; USNI Naval History April 1999 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-712 'Operational and Building Data' block and 'Fate' line; destroyers.org DD-712 'Disposition' line (37-20 N, 73-52 W); destroyerhistory.org Gyatt page final paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Disposition: the hull developed cracks from amidships aft under the accumulated stress of missile launches and stabilization loads and was judged cheaper to dispose of than to repair (Destroyer History Foundation). Decommissioned and stricken 22 October 1969 (NavSource, Tin Can Sailors, Wikipedia infobox); DHF reads decommissioned 26 September 1969, stricken 22 October. Sunk as a target off the Virginia Capes 11 June 1970; Tin Can Sailors records the sinking position as 37deg20'N, 73deg52'W.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1968-1970
- Population
- Decommissioning/Stricken crew 1969; target-towing and disposal personnel 1970
- Limitations
- The 2016 DANFS entry ends in 1967 - all disposition facts rest on reputable secondary compilations (NavSource, Tin Can Sailors, USNI, DHF), consistent on striking and sinking but split on the decommission date (carried in gaps). No official disposal/sinking report was located; the 1970 sinking predates the MPRSA ocean-dumping permit regime (1972) and no pre-sinking hazardous-material removal record was located. Tin Can Sailors position is a veterans'-association data line, not a charted wreck record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-04
-
[6]In re Asbestos Litigation: Esser (Edna S. Esser a/k/a Edna Tallman, Executrix of the Estate of Charles Tallman) v. CBS Corp. et al., Civ. No. 15-395-SLR-SRF (D. Del.), Report and Recommendation, ECF No. 61 (Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon, Feb. 5, 2016); CourtListener docket 5128570 (Tallman v. CBS Corporation, 1:15-cv-00395, D. Del., filed 2015-05-18, terminated 2017-09-28) [court_record]
- Locator
- R&R pp. 1-2 (Background paragraph, exposure recital at para. citing D.I. 1, Ex. A); pp. 17-18 (recommendation to deny remand); official PDF from ded.uscourts.gov
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull, at pleading stage: the R&R recites that the complaint alleges decedent Charles Tallman 'was exposed to asbestos through personal automotive work from the 1940's to 2000, while serving as a Boiler Tender in the U.S. Navy from 1947 to 1967 aboard ships including the USS Caloosahatchee, USS Gyatt, and USS Independence, and while working at the Metro Machine Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia from 1967 to 1972,' and that he developed malignant pleural mesothelioma. Boiler Tender is an engineering rating associated with machinery-space work. The opinion resolves only federal-officer removal/remand (recommendation: deny remand - Foster Wheeler and Westinghouse established federal-officer jurisdiction); it does not adjudicate exposure. During 1947-1967 the only USS Gyatt in service was DD-712 (DDG-1/DDG-712 after 1955-56).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1947-1967 (alleged exposure window); 2015-2017 (litigation)
- Population
- Charles Tallman (USN Boiler Tender 1947-1967; pleural mesothelioma, deceased); estate plaintiff Edna Tallman
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation recited in a jurisdictional Report & Recommendation - the exposure claim is alleged, never adjudicated; the opinion establishes no causation and attributes exposure jointly to multiple vessels plus a shipyard; the R&R does not state which years of the 1947-1967 window were spent aboard this hull; the case's merits history after the 2017 termination was not located. Confirms only that a claimant alleged exposure aboard this hull, not that asbestos products aboard caused disease.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweep, 2026-09-27 (cl-auth-search.py, fleet-paced): opinion queries "Gyatt" (count 1), "USS Gyatt" (count 1, same hit), "Gyatt" asbestos (0), "DDG-712" (0), "DD-712" (0), "USS Gyatt" asbestos (0); RECAP docket queries "Gyatt" (11), "USS Gyatt" (1), "DDG-1" Gyatt (0); "DD-712" docket query not completed (fleet pacing withheld requests across 6 attempts) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search responses, 2026-09-27 (see search_ledger sl-uss-gyatt-dd712-02 through -04). Coverage note: the type=r 'DD-712' hull-number docket query never completed (paced through all retries); the type=o 'DD-712' opinion query returned zero, and the qualifying Tallman docket was already located via exact-name queries
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results for this hull: the sole qualifying asbestos-litigation hit naming this hull is In re Asbestos Litig. (Esser/Tallman) v. CBS Corp., D. Del. 1:15-cv-00395 (see ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-05). One non-asbestos opinion hit: United States v. S.S. Malden, 224 F. Supp. 705 (E.D. Va. 1963), an admiralty collision/limitation-of-liability action concerning USS Gearing (DD-710) and 'other naval vessels steaming in the same formation' - 'Gyatt' appears in the indexed full text (formation-vessel context; non-asbestos, classified other litigation). Ten further 'Gyatt' docket hits are surname/incidental collisions (trademark, copyright, criminal, contract, civil rights, bankruptcy, and the social-media-MDL product-liability docket - none asbestos, none naming a vessel). All opinion-index hull-number queries returned zero.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes are not comprehensive for pre-PACER federal and pre-electronic state filings; absence of further hits does not prove no litigation naming this hull exists elsewhere. The Malden opinion's 'Gyatt' substring was classified from the opinion's indexed caption/context without a full-text pull (CourtListener requests are fleet-paced; the opinion is a 1963 admiralty case regardless of the substring's referent). The ten collision dockets were classified from captions and suitNature fields without full-text review.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-06
-
[8]Atlas shipyard dataset record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (evidence row ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944): Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944 (introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Brazoria County TX 1990); Atlas shipyard dataset records for boston-naval-shipyard and charleston-naval-shipyard; Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) (CourtListener docket 6360247) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944 + product rows pd-federal-kearny-01/02); Goodrich omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 per class-profile extraction
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era and builder-yard inference for this hull: (1) A Gearing-class destroyer built September 1944 - July 1945 with a four-boiler 60,000-shp superheated steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation - boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine and pipe lagging, gaskets and packing, fireproofing, deck coverings. (2) Builder-yard contemporaneity: the Owens-Illinois industrial health survey at Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, conducted 30 August - 2 September 1944 - the week this hull's keel was laid there (7 September 1944) - documents insulators cutting and fitting asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces with dust counts measured during those operations. (3) Class-level litigation context: the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites a Navy engineering drawing for 'the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class)' specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths on forced-draft blower turbines - machinery common to the Sumner/Gearing design line - and quotes an expert partial tally of 30.3 tons of asbestos-containing thermal insulation/lagging in the fire and engine rooms of a Sumner/Gearing-class destroyer.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding (Kearny) insulators/pipefitters 1944; Gearing-class machinery-space crews
- Limitations
- Yard-level and class-level evidence only - none of it establishes that asbestos was installed in, or present aboard, this specific hull. The 1944 Owens-Illinois survey documents materials worked at the builder's yard during the week construction began, not the hull's as-built inventory. The Goodrich drawing and 30.3-ton figure are litigation recitals (expert report and drawing quoted in an opinion), not adjudicated findings and not specific to DD-712. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' (per-vessel material specifications) and RG 24 deck logs are the archival leads for hull-level material data - retrieval not performed (NARA catalog API unreachable at research date).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-gyatt-dd712-07