Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Irwin (DD-794) (specifications, builder, launch, commissioning, service narrative, awards; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (ibiblio HyperWar transcription; NHHC live URL 404 verified 2026-09-27, Wayback capture 2024-07-18 matches)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 31 October 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. Charles A. Lockwood Jr. (daughter of Admiral Irwin, wife of Vice Admiral Lockwood); commissioned 14 February 1944, Comdr. Daniel B. Miller in command. Departed San Diego 26 April 1944; escort-carrier screen for Saipan (shot down a torpedo bomber during the 19-21 June attacks); Saipan bombardment 21-29 June; Tinian 23 July; Guam; fast-carrier strikes on the Palaus, Luzon, Okinawa, Formosa (plane kill 14 October); escorted damaged Houston and Canberra; Leyte landings 20 October. On 24 October 1944 went alongside burning USS Princeton (CVL-23), fought fires, and rescued 646 men - Navy Unit Commendation. Overhaul at San Francisco Navy Yard 17 November 1944-23 January 1945; Iwo Jima 19-23 February; Okinawa March-August 1945 (three torpedo boats repelled 30 March; Ie Shima 16 April; Twiggs survivor rescue 16 June); Tokyo Bay 31 August; San Diego 15 November 1945; decommissioned 31 May 1946, Pacific Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 26 February 1951 at Long Beach; Philadelphia Navy Yard overhaul from 12 May; Newport base; Mediterranean January-June 1952; Korean service 1953 via Panama; Boston 2 October 1953 via Suez; NATO exercises January 1955; Long Beach base from 1956; Seventh Fleet tours 1956-57; returned 24 August 1957 for inactivation; decommissioned 10 January 1958, Pacific Reserve Fleet at Mare Island. Navy Unit Commendation + six WWII battle stars + one Korean battle star. Spec block: Fletcher class; 2,050 tons; 376'6" x 39'8" x 17'9"; 35 kt; complement 320; 5 x 5", 10 x 40mm, 7 x 20mm, 2 dct, 6 dcp, 10 x 21" tt.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 320); yard workers at San Francisco, Philadelphia, Long Beach navy yards
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. It records no laid-down date (DPHDM and NavSource give 2 May 1943 - carried with that flag) and no stricken or transfer date (entry predates the 1968 Brazilian transfer). Contains an internal typo: Newport base shift '16 December 1952' is impossible given the immediately following January-June 1952 Mediterranean deployment - the Brazilian DPHDM history reads 16 December 1951, which is carried. Verbatim transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 (Wayback capture confirmed identical text).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-01
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[2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), IRWIN (DD 794) detail record (UIC 03894), via Wayback capture 2017-01-09 - live NVR detail page not populated for pre-1987 disposals [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail DD-794, status block + Stricken Date field (Wayback 2017-01-09 capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR record for this hull: class DD 448 (Fletcher); status 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned'; date status changed 04/01/1973; stricken date 03/15/1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1968-1973 (disposal); record capture 2017
- Limitations
- NVR confirms the strike date and SAP disposal channel, not materials or asbestos content; milestone dates (keel/launch/commission) are blank in this record. The 1968 Brazil transfer was a loan - the hull stayed on the register until the 1973 strike/sale, consistent with the DPHDM record of outright incorporation 11 April 1973.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-02
-
[3]Marinha do Brasil, Diretoria do Patrimonio Historico e Documentacao da Marinha (DPHDM), 'Historico do Navio Contratorpedeiro Santa Catarina D32' (official 14-page ship history PDF, Departamento de Historia da DPHDM, 2026) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPHDM repository handle 123456789/849732, PDF 'Contratorpedeiro_Santa_Catarina.pdf' (datas block; historico; sinking coordinates)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Brazilian Navy history of this hull: built by 'Estaleiro Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division, Long Beach, San Pedro, California'; keel laid 2 May 1943; launched 31 October 1943 (sponsor Mrs. Charles A. Lockwood Jr.); USN service narrative matching DANFS (Princeton rescue; San Francisco Navy Yard repairs 17 November 1944-23 January 1945; recommissioning at Long Beach Naval Base 26 February 1951; Philadelphia Navy Yard modernization from 12 May 1951; Newport transfer 16 December 1951; Korea 1953 with DesRon 24; Long Beach arrival 15 April 1956 into DesDiv 231; decommissioned 10 January 1958 into Pacific reserve at Mare Island). Towed to Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1967 for reactivation and modernization; transferred on loan and commissioned into the Brazilian Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Arsenal 10 May 1968 under Aviso n. 1243 of 23 April 1968 (CF Nelson de Albuquerque Wanderley commanding); departed Philadelphia 25 August 1968 for Rio de Janeiro. Incorporated outright into the Brazilian Navy 11 April 1973 after being struck from the U.S. Navy. Decommissioned 28 December 1988 after twenty years and seven months (1,380 days at sea; 379,000 nautical miles) per Portaria n. 1027 of 12 December 1988, disarmament review at Rio de Janeiro Naval Base. Hull used as target 31 August 1989 for the Brazilian Navy's first live BAe Sea Skua launch (SAH-11 Lynx, hit at ~18 km); sunk off Rio de Janeiro 20 March 1990 at 23 deg 46'S, 042 deg 56'30"W. Brazilian-era characteristics: 310-man crew (17 officers); 4 B&W boilers 39.8 kg/cm2 at 454 C; 2 GE turbines 60,000 shp; SPS-6C/SPS-10 radars; Mk-32 ASW torpedo tubes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1990
- Population
- Brazilian Navy crew ~310 (1968-1988); Philadelphia Naval Arsenal workforce 1967-68
- Limitations
- Official Brazilian Navy historical documentation - authoritative for the Brazilian service phase, transfer ceremony, and sinking coordinates. No asbestos or materials content. Two minor deviations from DANFS are logged in gaps (USN incorporation dated 12 vs 14 February 1944; Newport shift 16 December 1951, which resolves a DANFS typo). Post-USN material history (any Brazilian-era abatement or material changes) is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-03
-
[4]Fletcher-class design and member-table data (navypedia us_dd_fletcher.htm; BuShips 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' class block) + NARA RG 19 General Information Books archival lead + GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos substitution timing) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia Fletcher class page (specs + member row for DD-794); gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 product page (full text HTTP 403 to automated fetches)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built May 1943-February 1944 at Bethlehem Steel, San Pedro, with the class's uniform four-Babcock & Wilcox-boiler, two-shaft, 60,000-shp General Electric geared steam-turbine plant, would have carried the period-standard insulated fit - boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets and packing, fireproofing, bulkhead/compartment insulation, and deck coverings. The construction window sits squarely inside the Navy's documented peak asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2: the Navy did not begin substituting asbestos-free materials until the early 1970s - after this hull's entire U.S. commission and during its Brazilian service). NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships General Information Books, holding per-vessel material specifications, are the archival lead for hull-level confirmation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1990 (construction/service/sinking); GAO program review to 1980
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro construction trades 1943-44; USN crew 1944-58; Brazilian crew 1968-88
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding; no source documents an asbestos product aboard DD-794. The GAO report is program-level (Navy-wide policy timing), not a survey of this hull or class. NARA GIB retrieval was not performed. Brazilian-service material state (1968-1990) is undocumented and the 1967-68 Philadelphia reactivation work scope is not specified in the sources located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-04
-
[5]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json, 37 yard_ids): 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record (tier 3, corporate-level, tagged Quincy MA; aliases Fore River/Sparrows Point/Union Iron Works) - Bethlehem Steel's San Pedro yard is NOT separately enumerated in the dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record (evidence rows); dataset scan for 'San Pedro'/'Terminal Island' yard slugs (only western-pipe-steel, a different company, exists for San Pedro)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context with explicit limitation: the Atlas yard dataset carries a corporate 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record documenting extensive era asbestos product use (85% magnesia block, Marinite, Transite, Unibestos, lagging, gaskets, packing, asbestos cement, cloth) - but its verified findings all concern Bethlehem's eastern facilities (Baltimore shipyard worker cohorts; Sparrows Point EPA Superfund/RCRA records). The builder of this hull - Bethlehem Steel Co., San Pedro (the former Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock yard on Terminal Island) - is not separately enumerated in the 37-yard dataset, and no San-Pedro-yard asbestos documentation was located. Sibling-hull convention (uss-callaghan-dd792, uss-cassin-young-dd793, same builder) maps San Pedro-built Bethlehem hulls to the corporate 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' slug; carried identically here.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro construction trades 1943-44 (undocumented in dataset)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only, and weaker than for records whose builder yard has yard-specific asbestos findings: the corporate record's evidence does not touch the San Pedro yard. Establishes that Bethlehem-era shipbuilding used asbestos products generally - not that any went aboard this hull, and not that the San Pedro yard specifically is documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-05
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[6]Lemen RA, Landrigan PJ. 'Sailors and the Risk of Asbestos-Related Cancer.' Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8417. PMID 34444165 [other_primary]
- Locator
- IJERPH 18(16):8417, ship-construction material discussion
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review documenting that chrysotile and amphibole asbestos were used extensively in ship construction of the era - insulation, joiner bulkhead systems, pipe coverings, boilers, machinery parts, bulkhead panels - and that sailors both worked and lived at their exposure site. Establishes the era-level background against which a 1943 steam-plant destroyer must be read.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1940s era reviewed; publication 2021
- Population
- U.S. Navy sailors, WWII-era fleet
- Limitations
- Fleet-era epidemiology review; does not name this hull or class. Cannot be read as evidence of asbestos aboard DD-794 - included as background context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-06
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[7]Batch-3766 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404; ibiblio mirror), Naval Vessel Register (Wayback capture), Brazilian Navy DPHDM official ship history, navypedia class data, Tin Can Sailors registry, VA BVA decisions search, web sweep for asbestos/abatement/survey records, Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-irwin-dd794-01 through sl-uss-irwin-dd794-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS Irwin (DD-794) / Santa Catarina (D-32) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's disposal path - foreign loan 1968, sale 1973, Brazilian service to December 1988, target sinking 20 March 1990 - produced no U.S. survey-for-disposal or hazmat documentation.
- 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 - a 1943-built Fletcher inside the documented asbestos-use era carries a strong era inference. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Brazilian-era material records were not located and may exist only in Brazilian Navy technical archives.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated search sweep (opinion index type=o and RECAP docket index type=r) for this vessel's exact name and hull number [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-irwin-dd794-05 through sl-uss-irwin-dd794-08; collision hit https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4153845/paramount-pictures-corporation-v-axanar-productions-inc/ (ECF 72-61)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep completed 2026-09-27 via the authenticated fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py). Opinion index (type=o): 'USS Irwin' = 0 results; 'DD-794' = 0 results. RECAP docket index (type=r): 'USS Irwin' = 1 result - Paramount Pictures Corp. v. Axanar Productions, Inc., 2:15-cv-09938 (C.D. Cal., copyright; terminated 2017-01-20): 'USS Irwin' appears only inside a fan-fiction reference exhibit ('The Four Years War' booklet, ECF 72-61) in the Star Trek fan-film copyright case - a NAME COLLISION, not qualifying litigation and not a reference to the naval vessel in any litigated capacity; 'DD-794' = 0 results. NO qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in either index.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes opinions and PACER dockets, not state trial filings, VA claims, asbestos trust claims, or settled/unreported matters - absence here does not prove no claim was ever filed. The sole docket hit is a copyright-case exhibit collision; 'Irwin' is also a common surname and the namesake admiral generates biographical mentions - both screened as collision classes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irwin-dd794-08