Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, Harold J. Ellison II (DD-864), April 2016 NHHC edition (verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404); corroborating transcription at globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-864.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry narrative (destroyers.org DD-864 ship page; globalsecurity dd-864.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y., 14 March 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Audrey Ellison, widow of the namesake; commissioned 23 June 1945, Comdr. J. C. South in command. Completing shakedown when Japan surrendered 15 August 1945; homeported at Norfolk; Atlantic/Caribbean Naval Reserve training and ASW exercises 1945-47; periodic Sixth Fleet Mediterranean cruises from November 1947; participated in the search for lost British submarine Affray (April 1951 - the destroyers.org transcription reads 1951; the globalsecurity OCR reads 1961, a transcription artifact); Caribbean/northern Europe 1953; East Coast tactical training 1954-56; Suez-crisis peacekeeping 1957; screened Saratoga and Des Moines during the Lebanon landing July-September 1958; Task Group Alfa ASW work September 1958-April 1959; homeport Charleston 1960; tenth Sixth Fleet tour 1961 incl. Persian Gulf during the Kuwait crisis; Project Mercury recovery unit January 1962; 1962 New York Naval Shipyard FRAM overhaul, rejoining the fleet early 1963; departed Norfolk 29 September 1965 with DesRon 24 via Panama Canal for Vietnam service (rescue destroyer, carrier screening, >1,000 rounds of five-inch fire on Viet Cong targets); returned Norfolk April 1966 via Suez completing a round-the-world cruise; Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhaul July-end of 1966; rejoined Atlantic Fleet early 1967. Five Battle Efficiency 'E' awards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1967 (DANFS narrative coverage)
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-1983
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and yard periods, not materials or asbestos content. The April 2016 edition ends its narrative in 1967 - post-1967 history is carried from the ship's official history transcription (ev-03) and NavSource (ev-02). Mirror transcriptions cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-01
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[2]NavSource Destroyer Archive, USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864) - Operational and Building Data [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-864 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block and 'Fate' line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building and disposition record for this hull: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island NY, 3 October 1944; launched 14 March 1945; commissioned 23 June 1945; FRAM upgrade completed January 1963; decommissioned and stricken 1 October 1983 at Philadelphia, PA; transferred to Pakistan 1 October 1983, renamed Shah Jahan; fate: stricken, cannibalized, and sunk as a missile target in 1994. Class spec block: 3,460 tons full; 390'6" x 40'10" x 14'4"; 60,000 shp General Electric geared turbines, two screws; 36.8 kt; crew 336 as built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1994
- Population
- Crew 1945-1983; Pakistan Navy crew 1983-1993
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable secondary compilation (DANFS-adjacent), not a primary document; its dates corroborate DANFS/association sources. 'Cannibalized and sunk as a missile target in 1994' is the most specific public disposition statement located; Pakistani Navy records are not public. Documents events, not materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-02
-
[3]USS Harold J. Ellison DD-864 association site - transcription of the ship's official history pamphlet (circa 1983, written pre-transfer) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usshjellisondd864.org History page (full narrative transcription)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship's official-history transcription documents this hull's overhaul sequence: a Navy Yard overhaul at Boston in 1948 (after return from the Mediterranean, before Guantanamo refresher); Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, Virginia (Norfolk Naval Shipyard) three-month overhaul beginning June 1950; an unspecified yard period into November 1952; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Virginia) repairs from 9 March 1953; Norfolk Naval Shipyard overhaul beginning late 1954 (completed January 1955); INSURV inspection December 1972 followed by a six-month overhaul 'in her homeyard of Portsmouth, Virginia' (Norfolk Naval Shipyard) in 1973; transfer to the Naval Reserve Force 1 July 1972 (DesRon 34); transfer to DesRon 30 with homeport change to Philadelphia 30 November 1974; decommissioning/transfer to Pakistan 1 October 1983 as PNS Shah Jahan (D-164). The pamphlet states 'twelve shipyard overhauls' across the career, approximately 3,000 cumulative crew over 38 years, and that she was the U.S. Navy's oldest destroyer in active service at that date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1983
- Population
- Crew and Navy-yard workers at documented overhaul periods 1948-1973
- Limitations
- Association transcription of the ship's official history - a ship-produced document, not an independent audit; its named overhaul events are consistent with DANFS. Documents yard events aboard this hull, not their insulation or asbestos scope - FRAM-era and routine-yard insulation disturbance is era inference, not hull documentation. The 'twelve shipyard overhauls' figure is not individually enumerated; only seven are described in the narrative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-03
-
[4]NavSource FRAM program index (Ed Zajkowski compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net FRAM index, DD-864 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- FRAM program index records '864 | Harold J. Ellison | New York | 01/63' - this hull's Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM I) conversion at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, completed January 1963. Corroborates DANFS ('In 1962 she entered New York Naval Shipyard for a Fleet modernization and rehabilitation overhaul... rejoined the fleet in early 1963') and navysite.de (FRAM I conversion shipyard: New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn; period 1962-January 1963).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-1963
- Population
- New York Naval Shipyard workers and ship's crew, 1962-1963
- Limitations
- Documents the FRAM I yard event at this hull - FRAM overhauls gutted and rebuilt machinery and weapons spaces, disturbing installed insulation under era practice, but the asbestos scope for this specific availability is inference, not documentation. Index row carries yard and completion month only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-04
-
[5]Carpenter v. General Electric Co. et al., No. 3:11-cv-00481-MEJ (N.D. Cal.), Complaint for Asbestos Personal Injury/Products Liability with Exhibit A (filed 2011-02-01; NOS 368 P.I.: Asbestos) - read via the complaint's attachment to the MDL-875 tag-along notice, ECF No. 6695-1, In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI) (J.P.M.L., filed 2011-02-03) [court_record]
- Locator
- Complaint Exhibit A (MDL-875 ECF 6695-1): DD-864 exposure entries at complaint pp. 19-20 (1973-74 millwright weekends) and p. 21 (1982-83 boilermaker supervisor, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard); steam-trap product passage p. 23 (of the attachment scan); N.D. Cal. docket sheet pp. 1-2 (caption, NOS 368, filing date)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Asbestos personal-injury complaint naming this hull by hull number in three exposure entries. Plaintiff Harry Carpenter (Navy boilermaker/millwright 1960-1986; lung cancer) alleges: (1) 'US Navy Reserves HAROLD J. ELLISON (DD-864), Millwright (Supervisor) (Weekends) 1973-1974, local cruise, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA' - 'Plaintiff lived and worked on the HAROLD J. ELLISON on weekends both while it was at sea and while it was at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard... supervised repair work on valves and pumps, working in proximity to machinists who were replacing packing, installing new JOHN CRANE packing. Plaintiff disturbed pile of insulation that had been torn off pipes and left on deck'; (2) 'US Navy HAROLD J. ELLISON (DD-864), Boilermaker (Supervisor) 4 or 5/1982-10/1/1983, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA' - 'Plaintiff supervised crews recommissioning this ship for sale to Pakistan... overhauled the Number 4 FOSTER WHEELER LLC boiler, using pneumatic tools to tear out all old refractory materials, including firebrick, mortar, insulating cement and insulating block,' plus gasket and John Crane packing replacement on pumps and valves; (3) product identification - 'four thermodynamics high-pressure steam traps per boiler coming off the super heated header on the three destroyers, the HAWKINS (DD-873), HAROLD J. ELLISON (DD-864), and the RICHARD E KRAUS (DD-849), that he served on.' The alleged windows match this hull's documented timeline (Naval Reserve Force training ship from July 1972; Portsmouth VA overhaul early 1973; Philadelphia homeport November 1974-October 1983; transferred to Pakistan 1 October 1983). Defendants include General Electric, Bath Iron Works, Foster Wheeler, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, and Todd Shipyards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1974 and 1982-1983 (alleged exposure aboard); 2011 (complaint)
- Population
- Harry Carpenter, USN/USNR boilermaker and millwright aboard DD-864 1973-74 and 1982-83; lung cancer
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE allegation - a complaint reciting exposure, never adjudicated; no trial finding, no adjudicated product identification against equipment aboard this hull, no causation finding, no asbestos quantification. Hull attribution is explicit (DD-864 named with hull number) and internally consistent with the documented timeline, but the plaintiff's 'recommissioning this ship for sale to Pakistan' phrasing describes transfer preparation his way - the ship was decommissioned and transferred 1 October 1983, not recommissioned in US service. Disposition after the MDL-875 tag-along was not located in public RECAP metadata. Verified this session by OCR of the 32-page scanned complaint attachment (Internet Archive RECAP mirror gov.uscourts.jpml.375294.6695.1.pdf); the same document is cited in the DD-849 record (batch-3816).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-05
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[6]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]
- Locator
- Omnibus opinion pp. 12, 19, 31 (per gearing-class.class.json ev-gearing-class-04)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class-level litigation recital for the Sumner/Gearing machinery plant this hull carried: the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites that 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' Gearing was the lengthened-hull derivative of the Sumner design with the same machinery type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1940s design era; opinion filed 2018-09-28
- Population
- Destroyer fire/engine-room crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Litigation-record recital of an expert report (McCloskey) and a Navy engineering drawing - class-level context only. The drawing covers the Sumner-class DD-692 group machinery carried over to Gearing; the 30.3-ton figure is an expert partial tally for fire/engine rooms, not a classwide inventory and not an adjudicated finding. Underlying exhibits not retrieved from RECAP (class-profile search_ledger sl-gearing-class-07). Not a finding about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-06
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[7]DANFS-derived specification block (ibiblio HyperWar DD-864 page: 'High-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines with twin screws, 60,000 h.p.') + NavSource machinery line (60,000 shp GE geared turbines) + Destroyer History Foundation class page (FRAM program 1958-1964) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio DD-864 spec block; NavSource DD-864 machinery line; destroyerhistory.org Gearing class page; shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 with a four-boiler 60,000-shp superheated steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; the documented FRAM I reconstruction (New York Naval Shipyard 1962-63) and six other Navy-yard overhaul periods (Boston 1948; Norfolk/Portsmouth VA 1950, 1953, 1954-55, 1966, 1973) are events where installed insulation was disturbed under era practice. Builder Bethlehem Steel is documented at corporation level in the Atlas shipyard dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding, Quincy/Sparrows Point-anchored); the specific Staten Island (Mariners Harbor) build yard has no dataset record. The overhaul yards are documented asbestos-relevant sites in the dataset (brooklyn-navy-yard, norfolk-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard, philadelphia-naval-shipyard).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1983
- Population
- Bethlehem Staten Island construction trades 1944-45; crew and yard workers 1945-1983
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific asbestos findings for this hull are the Carpenter complaint allegations (ev-05); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. Yard-level dataset records document the yards, not this hull's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 sweep via cl-auth-search.py (authenticated, fleet-paced): '"Harold J. Ellison"' type=o; '"Harold J. Ellison"' type=r; '"DD-864"' type=o; '"DD-864"' type=r - plus the Carpenter complaint located via Internet Archive RECAP mirror identified from the batch-3816 DD-849 record [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-04 through -07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result: opinion-level search for the exact name '"Harold J. Ellison"' returned zero hits. Docket-level search for hull number '"DD-864"' returned 16 hits resolving to one qualifying case - the Carpenter complaint's MDL-875 tag-along attachment (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875, ECF 6695-1) - and 15 name collisions on unrelated tokens (civil rights, bankruptcy, contract, malpractice, and products dockets containing '864' strings; none references this ship). One qualifying pleading-stage asbestos complaint naming this hull by hull number was therefore located (Carpenter v. General Electric, N.D. Cal. 3:11-cv-00481 - ev-05, verified by OCR of the scanned complaint this session). No published opinion, appellate decision, or verdict naming 'Harold J. Ellison' or 'DD-864' was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage is partial - the name-level docket query ('"Harold J. Ellison"' type=r) and the hull-number opinion query ('"DD-864"' type=o) were repeatedly blocked by the fleet-wide CourtListener pace limiter this session and are logged as coverage gaps. Sweep result records what was found and where; it is not proof no other dockets name this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-08
-
[9]Batch-3829 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (404; destroyers.org and globalsecurity.org verbatim transcriptions used); NavSource destroyer archive + FRAM index; ship association official-history transcription; CourtListener authenticated sweep; NVR (pre-1987 disposals not loaded); Internet Archive RECAP mirror (Carpenter complaint, OCR'd) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull asbestos survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, government material record, or merits-stage litigation record naming DD-864 was located in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was sunk as a target in 1994 after transfer to Pakistan - no museum custody, no NRD/NSY disposal hazmat file, and no US-side abatement record exists in public sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1944-45 build era, the superheated steam plant, and the documented overhaul history are consistent with retained era materials, and the Carpenter complaint alleges disturbed insulation aboard. 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-harold-j-ellison-dd864-09
-
[10]NARA Record Group 24 deck logs (DD-864, 1945-1983); BuShips RG 19 General Information Books (per-hull material specifications); Staten Island Shipbuilding Company Collection (Staten Island Museum, builder plans); NHHC command operations reports; Pakistan Navy disposal records for PNS Shah Jahan [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-08, -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved: NARA deck logs would document the ship's daily locations including yard periods; BuShips RG 19 General Information Books hold per-vessel material specifications that could confirm insulation types aboard this hull; the Staten Island Museum's Staten Island Shipbuilding Company Collection (~204 cubic feet of builder plans) covers the predecessor yard's records; the Pakistan Navy holds Shah Jahan custody/disposal records. No NHHC command operations report for this hull was located.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1994
- Limitations
- Leads only - none retrieved this session. The builder collection covers the predecessor Staten Island Shipbuilding plant's records; whether Bethlehem-era (1944-45) hull files are present is unverified. Pakistani records are not public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harold-j-ellison-dd864-10