Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet hs-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-hooper-de1026-pkt-hs-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (1968) Vol. 3, pp. 357-358, Hooper (DE-1026) - namesake biography, builder, sponsor, commissioning, service narrative through 1966, bracketed striking/sale note citing Bauer & Roberts Register p.239 (verbatim transcription; no dedicated live NHHC page located - NHHC DANFS URLs return 404, standing link-rot issue) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry DE-1026, specification block + service narrative + bracketed disposal note (print Vol. 3, pp.357-358)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull (spec block lists 'Class: EVANS'): namesake Rear Admiral Stanford Caldwell Hooper (b. Colton, Calif., 16 Aug 1884; USNA 1905; Fleet Radio Officer 1912; Navy Cross for WWI convoy command of USS Fairfax (DD-93); Director of Naval Communications 1928-1935; retired 1943, retained on active duty to 1945; died 6 April 1955). Ship originally named GATCH, renamed 19 July 1956; launched by Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel Corp., San Francisco, 1 August 1957; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth Hooper; commissioned at San Francisco 18 March 1958, Lt. Comdr. J. K. Leslie. Service: shakedown out of San Diego; deployed with 7th Fleet (Nov 1958), hunter-killer group operations and Formosa Patrol, returned 9 April 1959; 7th Fleet/San Diego operations through 1961; Jan 1962 two-month ASW school-ship assignment at San Diego; March 1962 yard period at Hunter's Point - after 3-inch mount replaced with a helicopter flight deck and newest sonar installed; SEATO maneuvers spring 1963; Hawaiian waters then Far East July 1964, Taiwan Strait patrol November, San Diego 16 December, coastal ops through 1965; 6 January 1966 with Bridget (DE-1024), Evans (DE-1023), Bronstein (DE-1037) escorted Yorktown (CVS-10) to Hawaii; Pearl Harbor 7 February, Yokosuka 17 February; Formosa Strait 21 February-18 March; following six months operations off Vietnam; departed Yokosuka 15 July, assisted search for downed Royal Thai Army DC-3 carrying Brig. Gen. Joseph Stillwell Jr.; San Diego 22 July; West Coast into 1967. Bracketed postscript: stricken from the Navy Register 6 July 1973; sold 20 February 1974. Spec block: 1,450 t.; 314'6"; 36'9"; draft 13'9"; 25 k.; cpl. 170; armament 4 3", Weapon Alfa, 2 21" torpedo tubes, 1 depth-charge track, 8 depth-charge projectors.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1956-1966 (DANFS narrative); 1973-1974 (disposal note)
- Population
- Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel construction trades 1956-58; crew (design complement 170) 1958-1973
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The published entry does not record the keel-laying date and its narrative ends in 1966/1967; the NRF (1968-1973) phase is absent from DANFS and rests on secondary compilations. Stricken date here (6 July 1973) conflicts with secondary sources reading 6 June 1973 - carried in gaps. Class designation 'EVANS' differs from NavSource's 'Courtney' grouping and the umbrella 'Dealey class' used elsewhere - noted in gaps. Live NHHC page 404; verbatim hazegray/losthistory transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-01
-
[3]Collins v. Plant Insulation Co., 185 Cal. App. 4th 260, 110 Cal. Rptr. 3d 241 (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., Div. One, 2010), Appeal No. A124268 (Justia 2010 Cal. App. index confirms case and docket) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at 185 Cal. App. 4th 264 (facts) and 260 (disposition); Alameda County Super. Ct. No. RG04143303
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion documenting the asbestos environment at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard in the window surrounding this hull's March 1962 availability there: welder Ulysses Collins worked at Hunter's Point 1960-1973 'extensively with asbestos and asbestos-containing products,' died of mesothelioma 8 May 2005; the jury found Plant Insulation Co. negligent and strictly liable; the Court of Appeal reversed only the exclusion of the U.S. Navy from Proposition 51 fault apportionment and remanded for retrial on apportionment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1960-1973 (exposure); 2008-2010 (litigation)
- Population
- Hunter's Point NSY yard workers 1960-1973 (welders, shipfitters, insulation trades)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation, not a hull finding - the opinion does not name DE-1026 or address materials aboard; it establishes that the yard where this ship underwent a 1962 conversion availability had a documented asbestos-exposure environment for yard trades during 1960-1973. Trial-level exposure finding for Collins stands (fault apportionment reversed and remanded on the Navy-exclusion issue only); outcome after remand not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-02
-
[4]U.S. National Archives Catalog, file unit 'Hooper (DE-1026) - December 1965' (NAID 174522796), RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy Deck Logs, digitized under the VA Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project; held National Archives at College Park, MD [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog API search 'deck logs hooper DE-1026' (2,110 partial-match hits; first file unit NAID 174522796, container 2059, with digital objects)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized deck logs for this hull exist at NARA: the catalog returns file units for 'Hooper (DE-1026)' by month (example: December 1965, NAID 174522796, with scanned page images online). Deck logs record underway periods, port and yard entries, and muster-level events - a primary-source path to reconstruct yard availabilities and maintenance periods relevant to any exposure window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1958-1973 (log coverage; example unit Dec 1965); digitization via VA NDL project
- Population
- Crew of record 1958-1973
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the logs were confirmed to exist in the catalog but were not individually reviewed; deck logs document movements and events, not asbestos content, and do not themselves establish exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-03
-
[5]DANFS specification block (DE-1026; 'Class: EVANS'; 25 kt; cpl. 170) + class machinery particulars from secondary compilations (NavSource: SCB-72/1954-55, 'Courtney' class of 10, DE-1021-1030; 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 De Laval geared turbine, 20,000 shp, 1 shaft) + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard' (both tier-3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block (DE-1026); NavSource DE-1026 class data (leads only); shipyards.json records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding', 'hunters-point-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Dealey-family (SCB-72) destroyer escort built 1956-58 with a single-shaft geared steam-turbine plant would have carried era-standard asbestos applications - boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets and packing, machinery and bulkhead insulation, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Both yards documented against this hull carry tier-3 asbestos documentation in the Atlas dataset: builder Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel Corp., San Francisco (mapped to 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' - documented products include block/cement insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, welding blankets and rods) and Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard (site of the March 1962 conversion availability; Superfund-listed, documented products include boiler/pipe thermal insulation, turbine/pump mechanical insulation, gaskets, hull/bulkhead fireproofing).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1956-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel construction trades 1956-58; Hunter's Point yard trades 1962; crew 1958-1973
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding; no ship-specific asbestos evidence was located for DE-1026. Steam-plant particulars rest on secondary class compilations; the DANFS spec block for this hull publishes dimensions, speed (25 k), and complement (170) only. Yard asbestos records document the work environment at those yards in the era, not materials aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-04
-
[6]NavSource DE-1026 photo index, image 0602102616 - U.S. Naval Historical Center photo KN-1961, USS Hooper (DE-1026) alongside USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) receiving fuel, circa 1960 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-1026 page: 'Building and Operational Data' chronology; photo index entries 0602102616 (KN-1961) and 0602102619 (Kearny 1974)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official USN/NHHC cataloged photograph (KN-1961) documents this hull in service alongside USS Kearsarge circa 1960; NavSource's building/operational chronology for DE-1026 (not separately citable under batch source rules) records the NRF phase: CortRon 3 disestablished 1 February 1968 and transfer to DesRon 31; assignment to Naval Reserve Force, 11th Naval District, Long Beach (ResDesRon 27) 30 August 1968; replaced as NRF training ship by USS Hollister (DD-788) 2 July 1973; decommissioned/stricken 6 June 1973 in their chronology; sold for scrapping 20 February 1974; 1974 photo places the hull at the former Federal Shipbuilding site, Kearny, N.J., awaiting scrapping.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1968-1974
- Population
- Crew 1968-1973 (NRF period); Long Beach reserve units trained aboard
- Limitations
- The NHHC image is authentic documentation of the hull but contains no materials information. The NavSource chronology is a volunteer-compiled secondary source carried as a lead only - the post-1967 service and disposal dates it supplies are not verified against primary sources, and its 6 June 1973 decommissioning/striking date conflicts with the DANFS bracketed striking date of 6 July 1973 (final CO tenure also ends 6 July 1973) - carried in gaps. Scrapping-location photo provenance is Reddit-sourced; Kearny disposal is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep: exact-name and hull-number opinion queries and name-variant docket query completed; hull-number docket query blocked by fleet pacing budget (see search_ledger sl-uss-hooper-de1026-05 through -07) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hooper-de1026-05 through sl-uss-hooper-de1026-07b
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep for this hull: opinion-index query "USS Hooper" returned 0 results; RECAP docket-index query "USS Hooper"/"aboard the Hooper"/"USS Gatch" returned 0 results; opinion query "DE-1026" returned 2 hits, both name collisions unrelated to the vessel (Philip v. Ford Motor Co., 328 F.3d 1020 (8th Cir. 2003) - ADA employment case; Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Ry. v. Grant, 505 F.3d 1013 (10th Cir. 2007) - environmental case; the string matched non-vessel document/parcel identifiers in each). Hull-number docket query ("DE-1026"/"DE 1026", type=r) was not completed - the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent at session time (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Near-complete negative: exact-name coverage in both indexes is zero and the hull-number opinion hits are unrelated name collisions. Uncovered remainder: hull-number matches inside RECAP docket text (type=r), state-court filings, and unindexed records. Absence of indexed hits is not proof no case ever named the vessel; it establishes that no published opinion or indexed docket retrieved names this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-06
-
[8]Batch-3958 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NVR (no record - pre-1987 disposal); NARA Catalog (digitized deck logs confirmed); Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener partial sweep; secondary compilations as leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hooper-de1026-01 through sl-uss-hooper-de1026-10 (incl. -07b)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DE-1026: no hull ACM survey, no abatement or hazmat disclosure (the hull was sold for scrap February 1974 - no museum or extant hull exists to survey), and the completed portion of the CourtListener sweep returned no qualifying asbestos litigation naming the vessel. Open-web hits naming the ship are law-firm and marketing pages (asbestos-ships.com, navyshipexposure.com, gorilaw.com, shepardlawfirm.com), excluded as non-authoritative; none supplies a primary document. Ship-specific holdings that could resolve this - NARA RG 24 deck logs (confirmed digitized, ev-03), RG19 General Information Books, and NHHC command operation reports - were identified as archival leads but not retrieved.
- 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 - a 1956-58 steam-driven escort is an era-typical asbestos environment and both documented yards are asbestos-documented; this finding means 'not documented ship-specifically', nothing more. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hooper-de1026-07