Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS entry, McCaffery (DD-860) - verbatim transcription via hazegray dd860txt.htm (Wayback capture 2022-09-10); live NHHC page returns 404 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray dd860txt.htm transcription (Wayback capture) - specifications block + full narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: spec block reads dp. 2,425; l. 390'6"; b. 41'1"; dr. 18'6"; s. 34.6 k.; cpl. 367; a. 6 5", 4 40mm., 5 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Gearing. Narrative: laid down 10 October 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Division, San Pedro, Calif.; launched 4 April 1945, sponsored by Miss Patricia McCaffery (niece of Lt. Col. Joseph P. McCaffery, USMC, killed at Cape Torokina 1 Nov 1943, posthumous Navy Cross); commissioned 26 July 1945, Comdr. Benjamin B. Cheatham in command. WestPac 1946-48 ($6 million NavGroupChina delivery to Shanghai; Tsingtao operations; 18 Ming Sing survivors rescued 1 Feb 1948). Mare Island Naval Shipyard conversion to escort destroyer, 2 Jan - Aug 1949; designated DDE-860 1 April 1950; rerouted to Far East, Formosa Strait patrol, then TF 77 plane guard/screening off Korea Nov 1950 - Feb/Mar 1951 (two battle stars). Seven years alternating 2d/6th Fleet; Task Group Bravo hunter-killer group Nov 1958; DesLant engineering school ship fall 1960; seven-month FRAM overhaul at New York, 1961, adding Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter equipment; reclassified DD-860 30 June 1962; Cuban missile-crisis quarantine; Mercury-shot communications relay May 1963; Gemini IX and XII recovery missions 1966; Vietnam deployment Feb - Aug 1967 (naval gunfire support, Enterprise plane guard, Sea Dragon, Gulf of Tonkin ASW patrols).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1969 (narrative coverage)
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro construction trades 1944-45; commissioning-to-decommission crew 1945-1973 (complement 367 per spec block)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Build-date conflict with NVR-derived compilations (NavSource, navypedia, Wikipedia read laid down 1944-10-01 and launched 1945-04-12) is documented in gaps. The printed DANFS narrative ends with service 'into 1969'; post-1969 events and disposal dates in this record come from NavSource/registry data, not the DANFS entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History destroyer index, USS McCaffery (DD-860 / DDE-860) - 'Operational and Building Data' (registry-derived) + photo archive (Wayback capture 2024-02-20) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-860 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Registry-derived operational and building data for this hull: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, San Pedro, 1 October 1944; launched 12 April 1945; commissioned 26 July 1945; FRAM upgrade completed November 1961; decommissioned and stricken 30 September 1973; sold 11 June 1974 to Northern Metals, Philadelphia, and broken up for scrap. Call sign NBFK. Machinery line reads '60,000 SHP; Westinghouse Turbines, 2 screws.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1974
- Population
- Crew 1945-1973
- Limitations
- NavSource is a photographic-history compilation presenting NVR/registry-derived data - reputable secondary, not a scanned primary document. Its laid-down/launch dates (1 Oct 1944 / 12 Apr 1945) conflict with the DANFS narrative (10 Oct 1944 / 4 Apr 1945); the DANFS values are carried and the conflict is documented in gaps. Turbine maker ('Westinghouse') conflicts with other secondary spec tables (GE) - also carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-02
-
[3]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), 'Bethlehem Los Angeles, San Pedro CA' yard table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Bethlehem San Pedro page, hull table row 9029
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard record for this hull: Bethlehem San Pedro yard hull no. 9029 = DD 860 McCaffery, US Navy destroyer, 2,425 tons, 390 ft, delivered/commissioned 26 July 1945, scrapped 1974. Yard history: site established by Western Pipe & Steel as Southwestern Shipbuilding for USSB cargo ships; leased to Bethlehem as a repair yard after WWI, sold to Bethlehem in 1925; WWII shipbuilding reactivation with employment peaking near 6,000.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (build); yard history 1917-1983
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro yard workforce (peak ~6,000, WWII)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of builder-yard records - confirms builder identity, yard number, and delivery date but not materials or asbestos content. The Atlas shipyard dataset has no dedicated Bethlehem San Pedro entry; the 'western-pipe-steel' slug is the same physical site under its WWI-era operator name - site linkage only, see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-03
-
[4]Consolidated era inference - DANFS spec block (4-boiler superheated steam plant, 60,000 shp) + Destroyer History Foundation Gearing-class page (FRAM modernization program applied to surviving class members beginning late 1950s) + Atlas shipyards.json yard-level records (mare-island-naval-shipyard; brooklyn-navy-yard = New York Naval Shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; destroyerhistory.org Gearing class page (FRAM section); shipyards.json records 'mare-island-naval-shipyard' and 'brooklyn-navy-yard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: a Gearing-class destroyer built October 1944 - July 1945 with four high-pressure superheated boilers and 60,000-shp geared steam turbines - the peak Navy asbestos era - would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. Two shipyard events are documented for this hull that under era practice disturbed machinery-space insulation: the Mare Island Naval Shipyard DDE conversion (January - August 1949) and the seven-month FRAM II overhaul at New York Naval Shipyard (1961, completed November). Both yards carry yard-level asbestos documentation in the Atlas dataset (Mare Island: Unibestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Careytemp, packing/gaskets; New York Naval Shipyard: Kaylo).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem San Pedro construction trades 1944-45; Mare Island yard trades 1949; New York Naval Shipyard trades 1961; crew 1945-1973
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder/overhaul-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No document states asbestos was installed aboard or removed from DD-860; the yard datasets document yard practice, not this hull's materials. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-04
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweeps (type=o opinions and type=r RECAP dockets): "USS McCaffery", "DD-860", "McCaffery" [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mccaffery-dd860-07 through sl-uss-mccaffery-dd860-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep result: authenticated queries returned zero hits for "USS McCaffery" (opinions and RECAP dockets) and "DD-860" (opinions). The "DD-860" docket query returned 7 dockets - all token collisions (the string matched Bates/document identifiers inside criminal, bankruptcy, and pharmaceutical dockets incl. W.R. Grace ch. 11 and In re Seroquel MDL; none references the vessel). The "McCaffery" asbestos opinion sweep returned 39 hits - all surname collisions (principally Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery on the panel in asbestos appeals, and unrelated litigants). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. Gearing-class litigation exists for sister hulls (USS Gearing DD-710, USS Corry DD-817, USS Dennis J. Buckley DD-808, USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. DD-850) - class context only, not evidence about DD-860.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Index coverage limits apply: RECAP dockets are incomplete for pre-e-filing eras and non-digitized courts, and full-text opinion search does not reach complaint documents never captured in RECAP. Absence of an indexed hit is a research result, not proof that no case or claim ever named this hull. 'McCaffery' is also a common surname (including sitting judges), so bare-name hits would require individual classification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-05
-
[6]Batch-3825 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (hazegray/Wayback); ibiblio HyperWar spec page; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; destroyerhistory.org class page; Tin Can Sailors ship page; CourtListener authenticated sweeps; Atlas shipyards.json; NARA catalog; archive.org DANFS Vol. IV scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mccaffery-dd860-01 through sl-uss-mccaffery-dd860-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-860: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or disclosure, no museum hazmat documentation (hull scrapped 1974 - no preservation-custody track exists), and no qualifying docketed case naming this hull in the sources searched. Web search surfaced only law-firm/marketing pages (e.g., mesothelioma.net) making uncorroborated claims about this ship - all excluded as sources per batch rules.
- 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 1944-45 steam destroyer of this class is era-consistent with standard asbestos fit (see ev-04), but that is not a ship-specific documentation finding. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Archival leads that could produce hull-level records are listed in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccaffery-dd860-06