Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet ev-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-la-vallette-dd448-pkt-ev-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, La Vallette II (DD-448) (specifications block + service narrative; verbatim OCR transcription - live NHHC page returns 404 and the canonical URL is unlocated; the HyperWar/ibiblio DANFS mirror does not carry DD-448) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'La Vallette II', specifications block + full service narrative (historycentral transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 27 November 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp., Kearny, N.J.; launched 21 June 1942 (sponsor Mrs. Lucy La Vallette Littel); commissioned 12 August 1942, Lt. Cmdr. H. H. Henderson. Caribbean/Atlantic escort; departed New York 16 December 1942 for the Pacific; TF 18 screen off Guadalcanal - splashed three planes 29 January 1943; torpedoed 30 January 1943 while guarding Chicago (six Bettys downed; 22 dead); temporary repairs Espiritu Santo, then Mare Island Navy Yard (arrived 1 April); returned August 1943 (Marcus Island strike; sank four troop barges off Kolombangara 1-2 October); Gilberts, Kwajalein/Wotje strikes, brief San Francisco repairs; Roi bombardment 1 February 1944; Aitape April; Noemfoor 2 July; Philippines escort (kamikaze splashed in Surigao Strait 5 December); five more Philippine landings Dec-Jan; screening minesweepers clearing Manila Bay, mined in Mariveles Harbor 14 February 1945 (6 dead, 23 wounded) - Subic Bay drydock, then Hunters Point Navy Yard complete repair; sailed for San Diego 7 August 1945; decommissioned 16 April 1946 into the Reserve Fleet ('where she remains into 1969'). Ten battle stars. Spec block: dp. 2,100; 376'3" x 39'8"; dr. 13'; s. 35.5 k.; cpl. 273; cl. Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends 'remains into 1969' and does not cover the 1974 striking/disposal. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; the historycentral copy is an OCR transcription containing scanning artifacts (e.g., 'vith', 'flve', '1,a Vallette') - wording verified in substance, not character-exact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, 'Destroyer Report - Torpedo, Mine Damage and Loss in Action' (NHHC Online Reading Room; Wayback capture 2024-04-08 - live page now 404), dedicated USS LA VALLETTE (DD448) case narrative [other_primary]
- Locator
- Destroyer Report case-history section for LA VALLETTE (DD448), pp. 19-21 (paras 4-1 to ~4-16) + summary discussion paras 2-13, 2-23, 2-25
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous BuShips technical report carries a dedicated case narrative for this hull (case-history pp. 19-21, paras 4-1 ff.): on 30 January 1943, 34 miles west of Rennell Island, a torpedo struck the port side at frame 94 about 8.5 feet below the waterline 'in way of the forward engineroom'; forward engineroom and fireroom flooded immediately, after fireroom partially; shell plating opened over ~26 feet between frames 87-102; keel hogged 14 inches; practically all port-side machinery in the forward engineroom destroyed; No. 3 boiler brickwork broken by shock; bulkhead 110 deflected 18 inches and wedged against the No. 3 boiler steam line. She proceeded 7 knots on the port (after) engine for over 4 hours until feed water was exhausted. References cited include the C.O.'s action report and war damage reports (Feb-Apr 1943), the ARD-5 docking report (11 March 1943), and the Mare Island Navy Yard supplementary war damage report (18 November 1943). Report coverage: 17 October 1941 - 7 December 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943 (damage and repair documentation)
- Population
- Crew of USS La Vallette, 30 January 1943 (22 dead); ARD-5 Espiritu Santo and Mare Island Navy Yard repair trades, Feb-Nov 1943
- Limitations
- Engineering damage-assessment document - it never mentions asbestos; it documents the physical destruction and repair scope of machinery spaces (lagged boilers, steam lines, turbines) that in this era involved asbestos materials, but establishes no fiber content and no exposure. Its coverage ends 7 December 1944, so the February 1945 Mariveles mine damage - the hull's second major machinery-space reconstruction (Hunters Point) - is outside this report. Wayback capture cited; live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-448 USS La Vallette (Wayback capture 2024-05-25 - live navsource.org unreachable during session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-448 page, 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' lines; commissioning photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data for this hull: laid down by Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, NJ, 27 November 1941; launched 21 June 1942; commissioned 12 August 1942 (photo documentation places the commissioning at Brooklyn Navy Yard); decommissioned 16 April 1946; stricken 1 February 1974; sold 26 July 1974 to Peru - 'cannibalized for spare parts and hulk scrapped.' Machinery listed as General Electric geared turbines, 60,000 shp, 2 screws. Page also documents a BuShips 'War Torpedo Damage Diagram and Report No. 50' image for the 30 January 1943 hit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1974
- Population
- Peruvian Navy cannibalization/scrapping workforce, 1974+ (undocumented)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled photo-history archive (standard reference, not an official record). The striking date (1 Feb 1974) is corroborated by the class-profile navypedia row (1974-02) and standard references; destroyerhistory.org's narrative instead reads 'Reserve Fleet until 1972 when she was sold to Peru' - conflict carried in gaps. Peruvian-phase detail (parts-donor use, scrapping site/date) not further documented. Live site unreachable; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 35.5 kt) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record incl. Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944); NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (toxicdocs.org survey scan); NARA RG19 lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-42 with a four-boiler/60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings; builder Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset, including the 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey documenting insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipboard spaces at the yard. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an unretrieved archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; crew 1942-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's June 1942 launch and documents yard practice, not materials installed aboard DD-448. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing DD-448's construction (1941-42), commissioned service (1942-46), and reserve retention (1946-74) inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated; fleet-paced): "La Vallette" opinions (type=o); "DD-448"/"DD 448" opinions; "La Vallette"/"LaVallette" dockets (type=r); "La Vallette" asbestos dockets [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results, queries as cited (2026-09-27)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep located NO qualifying asbestos litigation naming this vessel: "La Vallette" opinion search returned 7 hits, all name collisions (19th/early-20th-century cases incl. Jones v. La Vallette, 72 U.S. 579 (1867); La Vallette v. United States, 59 Ct. Cl. 290 (1924); La Vallette v. Booth, 131 N.C. 36 (1902)); "DD-448"/"DD 448" opinions = 0 results; "La Vallette"/"LaVallette" docket search = 160 hits whose reviewed page was uniformly name collisions (Borough of Lavallette, N.J., municipal/civil-rights/FLSA suits; surname bankruptcy parties); "La Vallette" asbestos docket search = 0 results; "LaVallette" opinion search = 106 hits, all collisions (Lavallette NJ municipal litigation, NJ attorney-discipline cases, surname parties) with no asbestos/vessel reference in reviewed results.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep covers the CourtListener corpus only (federal + major state reporters/RECAP); unreported state-court asbestos dockets and MDL-875 filings not naming the hull in indexed text are invisible to exact-name queries. The "LaVallette" asbestos opinion combination and exhaustive review of all 160 docket hits were not completed (fleet pacing budget exhausted, 2026-09-27) - residual gap, though every examined hit was a name collision. The predecessor hull DD-315 (scrapped 1931) predates the asbestos-litigation era, so name-collision risk among ship references is low.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-06
-
[8]Batch-3432 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror (historycentral); BuShips destroyer war-damage report (NHHC ORR via Wayback); NavSource via Wayback; destroyerhistory.org; GAO HRD-80-2; NVR; CourtListener; Navy Memorial navylog; reunion/first-person material (destroyerhistory.org First Person pages, combatveteransofamerica.com); NARA RG19 (not digitized); law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-la-vallette-dd448-01 through sl-uss-la-vallette-dd448-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, materials inventory, or hazmat disclosure located for DD-448 in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was sold to Peru in 1974 for cannibalization and scrapped - before modern asbestos documentation practice - and never became a museum, so the museum-disclosure channel that produced ship-specific records for preserved hulls (e.g., Laffey's 2009 drydock field report) does not exist here. No qualifying litigation naming the hull was located (ev-06).
- 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 - era-standard applications are documented at class/era level (ev-04, ev-05). The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original 1942 insulation survived the two major machinery-space reconstructions (Mare Island 1943, Hunters Point 1945) is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-la-vallette-dd448-07