Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, Leary II (DD-879) (builder, dates, service narrative, strike/transfer note; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + bracketed transfer/strike note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 11 August 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 20 January 1945 (sponsor Mrs. Theodore S. Wilkinson); commissioned 7 May 1945 (Comdr. Ernest G. Campbell); Guantanamo shakedown completed 23 June 1945; overhauled and converted to a radar picket destroyer at Norfolk, reporting to TF 69 the day before Japan accepted surrender terms; presidential review New York 27 October 1945; occupation duty out of Kure, then Marianas/Ryukyus; return via Tsingtao and San Diego late 1946; first Mediterranean deployment Oct 1947-Feb 1948; near-annual 6th Fleet service incl. Suez 1956 and Lebanon 1958; Cuban missile quarantine 22 October-24 November 1962; Santo Domingo TF 128 peacekeeping 5-27 August (year unstated - 1965 per the historical operation); radar tripod removed early 1963; FRAM I overhaul April 1964-January 1965 (yard unnamed); DASH qualification 26 June 1965; Med deployment Mar-Aug 1966; Sonar School Ship Key West 3-17 March (1967); departed 5 July 1967 for Yankee Station carrier duty and Vietnam gunfire support, returned Norfolk 30 January 1968; entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 14 June 1968 through early September; bracketed note: 'transferred to Spain 31 October 1973 as Langara and struck from the Navy list 2 June 1975.' Specs: 2,425 t; 390'6"; 41'1"; 18'6"; 34.5 kt; cpl. 367; cl. Gearing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1944-1975
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades 1944-45; crew 1945-73 (design complement 367); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard workers 1968
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Yard facilities are unnamed for the 1945 radar-picket conversion ('Norfolk') and the FRAM I overhaul; the Santo Domingo and Sonar School Ship year values are unstated in the narrative and inferred from sequence. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-01
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945,' Vol. I (NAVSHIPS 250-010 / SHIPS-8(A)I, April 15, 1945), DD-879 table rows (shipscribe.com scan; image-only PDF, OCR'd) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. I, DESTROYERS (DD) tabulated data, book pp. 168-173, row 243 'Leary DD879' (shipscribe.com PDF pp. ~94-96)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous BuShips data book rows for this hull (row 243 of the alphabetical DD tabulations): dimensions/displacement - 390'6" overall, 383'0" waterline, 40'10" beam, 2,425 tons standard, 3,470 tons full load, trial speed 34.6 kt; machinery - 2 propellers, 'Westgh. turb.' (Westinghouse turbines), 60,000 shp, 4 boilers 'B.& W.' (Babcock & Wilcox), steam conditions 565 psi / 850 deg F, 'Dbl.'; builder/contract - 'Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.', contract price $7,600,000, authorizing act 19 July 1940, contract signed 14 June 1943, keel laid 11 Aug 1944, launched 20 Jan 1945, first commission May 1945. Primary-source resolution of a secondary-source conflict: the turbine maker is Westinghouse, not GE (navysite.de's 'General Electric' claim is contradicted).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1940-1945 (register compiled April 1945)
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades; engineering plant operators 1945-73
- Limitations
- BuShips Ships' Data is a characteristics/contract register - it documents machinery, builder, and contract data, not insulation or asbestos content. Scan is image-only; values extracted by OCR at 150-300 dpi and cross-checked against DANFS (dates agree). Boiler-maker cell confirmed 'B.& W.' on 300-dpi crop.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-02
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-879/DDR-879 USS Leary (volunteer-compiled vessel page; direct fetch refused - Wayback capture 2025-04-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/879.htm 'Operational and Building Data' + 'Fate' + class block (Wayback capture)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-compilation building/disposition record for this hull: laid down Consolidated Steel, Orange, Texas, 11 Aug 1944; launched 20 Jan 1945; commissioned 7 May 1945; completed FRAM upgrade January 1965; decommissioned 31 October 1973; loaned to Spain renamed Langara (D-64); stricken 2 June 1975; sold to Spain 17 May 1978; Spanish service - stricken 29 November 1991 and scrapped. Machinery block lists 60,000 shp Westinghouse turbines (consistent with the BuShips Ships' Data primary record, ev-02); radio call sign NBHS, tactical call 'Home Run' circa 1968. DDR-879 hull symbol in page title; navypedia class data dates the DDR-879 designation March 1949 and return to DD-879 June 1962.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1944-1994
- Population
- Crew 1945-73; Spanish Navy crew 1973-91; shipbreakers 1991-94
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable volunteer compilation, not a primary document - its dates agree with DANFS where both exist (build, commission, strike). The March 1949 / June 1962 re-designation dates are navypedia class-file values, not hull-verified; the Spanish 'stricken Nov 29 1991' date and 'sold May 17 1978' are carried on NavSource alone. navysite.de's conflicting GE-turbine claim rejected per ev-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-03
-
[4]NavSource, 'FRAM - Fleet Rehabilitation And Modernization' program page (conversion table + contemporaneous newspaper clipping; Wayback capture 2024-12-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org FRAM helper page - conversion table row '879 Leary Philadelphia 01/65'; FRAM I program description; Beacon clipping under USS Vesole (DD-878) entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Shipyard-event record for this hull: NavSource's FRAM conversion table lists '879 - Leary - Philadelphia - 01/65,' placing the FRAM I modernization (DANFS: April 1964-January 1965) at Philadelphia Navy Yard. An October 18, 1963 'Beacon' newspaper clipping reproduced on the page announces FRAM scheduling for Vesole, Leary, and William M. Wood together. Program description: FRAM I was restricted to Gearing-class units, a 'complete rehabilitation of all shipboard components in hull, machinery, ASW sensors and weapons systems' adding DASH, ASROC, SQS-23 sonar, VDS, and Mk 32 torpedo tubes, with removal of the 5"/38 Mount 52 - a months-long machinery-space-disturbing rebuild, the category of yard work GAO records as the era's principal insulation-disturbance event.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1963-1965
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard trades April 1964-January 1965; crew during overhaul
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation hosting a contemporaneous press clipping - the Philadelphia yard assignment and 01/65 completion are NavSource tabular data (consistent with navysite.de); DANFS confirms the FRAM dates but names no yard. The clipping announces scheduling, not completed scope; no asbestos or insulation detail in the source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-04
-
[5]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 (OCR of scanned ECF 171), per class-profile verification 2026-09-16
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Published federal 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.' DD-879 is a Gearing (DD-710-class) destroyer sharing the Sumner machinery design - class-level context for the insulation products this hull's era/design implies.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1940s design era; opinion filed 2018-09-28
- Population
- Destroyer fire/engine-room crews, Sumner/Gearing classes; litigation expert materials
- Limitations
- Litigation-record recital of an expert report and a Navy engineering drawing - not an adjudicated classwide quantity, not a hull inventory, and not a finding about DD-879; the opinion treats some related exposure conclusions as speculative. Underlying exhibits not in RECAP index. Recital verified against the ECF 171 OCR text in the 2026-09-16 class-profile session (gearing-class.class.json ev-gearing-class-04); the docket was not re-pulled this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-05
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data machinery record for this hull (4 B&W superheated boilers 565 psi/850 deg F; Westinghouse turbines; 60,000 shp) + DANFS yard-period record + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context + Goodrich class-drawing recital [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 machinery row (ev-02); DANFS narrative (ev-01); NavSource FRAM table (ev-04); Goodrich ECF 171 recital (ev-05); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1944-45 at Consolidated Steel, Orange, with a four-boiler superheated steam plant at the peak of Navy asbestos use would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation fireproofing/deck coverings. Three documented yard periods - the 1945 Norfolk radar-picket conversion, the 1964-65 FRAM I rebuild at Philadelphia Navy Yard, and the 1968 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul - are the kind of machinery-space-disturbing work under which GAO records era insulation was removed only when damaged or required for repairs, making yard periods the era's principal disturbance events.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Consolidated Steel trades 1944-45; crew 1945-73; Philadelphia yard workers 1964-65 and 1968
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-event inference only - no ship-specific asbestos finding exists to anchor this to DD-879 (see ev-08 negative finding). Establishes no quantities and no individual exposure; the 1945 conversion facility is 'Norfolk' per DANFS (Norfolk Naval Shipyard inferred, not stated).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (description text)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Context for DD-879's original 1944-45 material set persisting through three documented yard periods to her 1973 transfer to Spain.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403) - content via product-page description. Does not document DD-879's materials; Spanish-service and scrapping material fate is unrecorded.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-07
-
[8]Search-ledger synthesis (see search_ledger): CourtListener exact-name sweeps zero at opinion and docket level; no BuShips material schedule, ACM survey, abatement record, or litigation naming DD-879 located; NVR unpopulated for pre-1987 disposal; NHHC live 404 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-01 through sl-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Negative finding recorded: no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located for DD-879 - CourtListener 'USS Leary' returned count 0 at both type=o (opinions) and type=r (RECAP dockets); 'DD-879' returned 7 coincidental document-number matches in unrelated dockets (criminal, Miller Act, contract, product-liability MDL, civil rights - none asbestos, none the vessel); a web-indexed sweep surfaced only name collisions (Delaware 'Leary Trial Group' asbestos trial-grouping label; parties/witnesses surnamed Leary). No BuShips material schedule or contract specification, no ACM inventory or survey, no abatement record, and no museum disclosure exists - consistent with the hull's loss to foreign transfer and scrapping (no museum/landmark documentation track). NVR does not populate pre-1987 disposals.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- Research date 2026-09-19
- Population
- n/a - negative finding
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is not evidence of absence aboard - it records the limits of this session's search, including a throttled CourtListener API (429; one variant RECAP query 'Leary + asbestos' not completed) and PACER/Spanish-language archives not searched. A competitor site (navyshipexposure.com, banned) claims a BuShips-derived DD-879 equipment manifest exists 'from asbestos litigation records' - unverified, carried as a research lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leary-dd879-08