Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet fs-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Jeffers | Hull: DD-621, later reclassified DMS-27 (destroyer-minesweeper) 15 Nov 1944 | Designation: destroyer / destroyer-minesweeper, only Navy ship of the name
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-jeffers-dd621-pkt-fs-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Jeffers (DD-621) (builder, launch/commissioning, service narrative, decommissioning, battle stars; verbatim transcription via hazegray Wayback capture 2025-02-22 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (hazegray mirror dd621txt.htm, Wayback 2025-02-22)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., 25 March 1942; launched 26 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Lucie Jeffers Lyons, great-granddaughter of Commodore William N. Jeffers; commissioned 5 November 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. G. McGarry in command. Spec block: dp. 1,630; l. 348'4"; b. 36'1"; dr. 17'5"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 270; a. 4 5", 4 40mm., 5 20mm., 5 21"tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Gleaves. Service: Casco Bay shakedown; Casablanca convoy Feb-Apr 1943; TF-65 Oran; Sicily assault at Gela Jul 1943 (downed bomber in 6 Jul Bizerte raid); repairs at New York Aug 1943; five convoy voyages East Coast-Scotland Sep 1943-Apr 1944 (rescued Murphy DD-603 survivors 21 Oct 1943, assisted stern salvage); Utah Beach D-Day and support to 29 Jun 1944; southern France escort-carrier screen Aug-Sep 1944; converted to destroyer-minesweeper at New York, reclassified DMS-27 15 Nov 1944; Pacific Jan 1945; Okinawa preliminary minesweeping from 24 Mar 1945; air attacks 6 and 12 Apr (one twin-engine bomber downed; near-miss by Baka bomb; assisted Mannert L. Abele DD-733 survivors); repairs Kerama Retto/Guam; minesweeping off Okinawa to Aug 1945; Tokyo Bay 29 Aug, surrender 2 Sep 1945; postwar sweeping Japan/Tsushima Strait/Yellow Sea to Dec 1945; Norfolk 9 Jan 1946; Charleston homeport; Mediterranean deployments 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953-54; decommissioned Charleston 23 May 1955 into Charleston Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet as DD-621 (entry reads reclassified 15 January 1955); 'at present berthed at Orange, Tex.' Seven battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 270)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Entry ends at Orange, Tex. reserve berthing (pre-1971 text); stricken and disposal dates are outside it. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. 'At New York' for the 1943 repairs and 1944 conversion is not yard-specific.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jeffers-dd621-01
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[3]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DD-621/DMS-27 USS Jeffers - class/machinery line and operational/building data block (Wayback capture 2024-10-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-621 page (05/621.htm), 'CLASS - GLEAVES' + 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource index data for this hull: Gleaves class; machinery 50,000 shp, Westinghouse geared turbines, 2 screws; crew 208 (as-designed figure); laid down Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ 25 March 1942; launched 26 August 1942; commissioned 5 November 1942 (photo credit: New York Navy Yard, Third Naval District PR; a page-indexed souvenir button documents a dual launching with Glennon DD-620 on 26 August 1942); converted to High Speed Minesweeper DMS-27 15 November 1944; decommissioned 23 May 1955 at Charleston SC, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Charleston Group; reverted to DD-621 (this page reads 'July 15 1955'; NavSource's DMS-27 page reads '15 June 1955'; DANFS reads '15 January 1955' - conflict carried in gaps); moved to Atlantic Reserve Fleet Texas Group, Orange TX; stricken 1 July 1971; sold to Southern Scrap Material Corp., New Orleans, for $93,888.88 on 25 May 1973 and broken up for scrap.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding trades 1942; reserve-fleet maintenance crews 1955-71; Southern Scrap Material workforce 1973
- Limitations
- NavSource is a secondary compilation indexing official records, not a primary document; its stricken/disposal data fill the gap left by DANFS (entry predates them) and its DD-621-vs-DMS-27 pages disagree with DANFS on the DD-621 reversion date. Live navsource.org fetch fails automated retrieval - Wayback capture used. Does not establish materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jeffers-dd621-02
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[4]DANFS specifications block (Gleaves class; 1,630-ton destroyer) + class machinery data (4 Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers; 2-shaft Westinghouse geared turbines; ~50,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny) record [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944, Owens-Illinois IHS Aug-Sep 1944)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Gleaves-class destroyer with a four-boiler superheated steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; builder Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny NJ is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including an Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of the Kearny yard (Aug 30-Sep 2, 1944) recording insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces, with documented product set Superex, Kaylo, Monokote fireproofing, and Garlock gaskets. The October-November 1944 DMS conversion 'at New York' was a documented yard period of the type that disturbed machinery-space insulation. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942 (survey window 1944); New York conversion yard workforce Oct-Nov 1944; crew 1942-55
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The yard survey postdates this hull's 1942 construction by two years and documents wartime yard practice, not materials aboard DD-621. DMS-conversion asbestos scope is inference; the converting yard within New York is unconfirmed (New York Navy Yard likely but not explicit in DANFS). NARA GIB retrieval not performed. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jeffers-dd621-03
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[5]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page + report summary (published Oct. 18, 1979; publicly released Oct. 22, 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level era context: GAO documented that the Navy's major asbestos use aboard ships was thermal insulation, that substitution began only in the 1970s, that the October 1975 policy was remove-and-replace only when insulation was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, and that a one-time removal program was rejected on ~$2 billion estimated cost. Jeffers was stricken 1971 and sold for scrapping 1973 - before the 1975 removal policy existed - so the hull entered commercial breakup with no documented Navy asbestos-handling step.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); 1942-1973 (hull life)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews, program-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Program-level findings, not a survey of this hull; GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing defect since batch-01); product-page description and published summary used. Does not establish what was aboard DD-621 or its condition at scrapping.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jeffers-dd621-04
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[6]CourtListener API v4 searches (2026-09-27): 'USS Jeffers' type=o (0 hits); 'DD-621' type=o (0 hits); 'DMS-27' type=o (0 hits); 'Jeffers' + asbestos type=o (59 hits, all surname/firm-name collisions, 0 qualifying); 'USS Jeffers' type=r (0 dockets) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, type=o, queries as listed
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-27): 'USS Jeffers' (type=o) returned zero hits; 'DD-621' (type=o) zero; 'DMS-27' (type=o) zero; 'Jeffers' + asbestos (type=o, first 20 of 59 hits reviewed) produced only surname and firm-name collisions - e.g. Penn. Nat. Mut. Casualty Ins. v. Jeffers (Md. insurance-allocation), Jeffers v. Derwinski (Fed. Cir. 1992, veteran-surname VA benefits appeal, no vessel named), counsel/firm names (Benjamin W. Jeffers; J. Peter Jeffers of Brayton Purcell; Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward) - no hit names a vessel; 'USS Jeffers' (type=r) returned zero dockets. DANFS indexes a single Jeffers entry (no Jeffers II+ namesake hull), so name-collision risk is limited to surname hits rather than a later-hull collision. Classification: no qualifying asbestos litigation for DD-621 located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- sweep 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep result, not a merits finding: opinion-index coverage supports 'no published opinion names this hull', but pleadings naming the hull without a published opinion would not surface at type=o; type=r docket coverage is limited to RECAP-indexed text (0 hits). The surname sweep was reviewed on the first 20 of 59 ranked hits - deeper hits could not be document-level ruled out this session but none surface a vessel in returned metadata.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jeffers-dd621-05
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[7]Batch-3594 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live + mirrors); NavSource index; Naval Vessel Register ship-detail pages; NPS NRHP/NHL; Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket indexes; MARAD/NDRF public records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-jeffers-dd621-01 through sl-uss-jeffers-dd621-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material schedule, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Jeffers (DD-621/DMS-27) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 1942 steam destroyer is era-consistent with period-standard insulation. 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-jeffers-dd621-06