Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, McCord (DD-534) (specifications line, full service narrative, reserve berth and striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; text mirrored at globalsecurity.org and hazegray.org (hazegray via Wayback capture 2024-05-25, which carries the pre-update text ending 'into 1969')) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications line + service narrative, final paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 17 March 1942 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., San Francisco, Calif.; launched 10 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Frank C. McCord, widow of Commander McCord; commissioned 19 August 1943, Comdr. W. T. Kenny in command. Departed San Diego 27 November 1943 for Pacific Fleet operations in the Marshalls and Marianas; continuous action through Palau, Philippine, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa campaigns (Kwajalein/Flintlock, Eniwetok/Catchpole, Emirau, Tinian, Peleliu; TU 77.4.1 under constant air attack 25 October 1944 as the Battle off Samar raged 100 miles north - escaped damage, protected carriers, rescued pilots; TF 38/TF 58 Formosa-Indochina-China coast strikes and Tokyo/Iwo Jima/Okinawa operations). Departed Leyte Gulf 17 June 1945 for navy-yard overhaul; arrived Puget Sound 8 July 1945 and was docked at the Japanese surrender; reported to San Diego Inactive Fleet 15 September 1945. Decommissioned 15 January 1947; recommissioned 1 August 1951; Atlantic Fleet (ComDesRon 28, Norfolk); Korean deployment January-June 1953 (TF 95 Yellow Sea, TF 77 east-coast bombardment, TG 96.7 Okinawa); decommissioned Norfolk 9 June 1954; berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 'until stricken 1 October 1972' (updated text; earlier text reads 'into 1969').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1972
- Population
- Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crews (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, and disposition, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 - verbatim mirrors cited; the globalsecurity mirror carries the post-1972 updated clause 'stricken 1 October 1972' while the hazegray Wayback capture ends 'has remained into 1969' (1969 edition text). Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccord-dd534-01
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[2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-534 USS McCord (operational/building data, namesake biography, commanding officers, fate; accessed via Wayback capture 2024-05-24 - direct navsource.org fetch failed in session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/05/534.htm - 'Operational and Building Data' block, 'Fate' line, namesake caption, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled record for this hull: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco, 17 March 1942; launched 10 January 1943; commissioned 19 August 1943; decommissioned 15 January 1947; recommissioned 1 August 1951; decommissioned 9 June 1954 at Norfolk; stricken 1 October 1972; 'Sold January 2 1974 to Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans, LA for $139,377.60 and scrapped.' As-built machinery line: 60,000 shp, Westinghouse turbines, 2 screws; crew 273. Namesake block: Comdr. Frank C. McCord, USN (b. Vincennes, Ind., 2 August 1890; midshipman 5 July 1907; reported aboard dirigible Akron 30 June 1932, commanding from 3 January 1933; died in the Akron crash off the New Jersey coast 4 April 1933). Photo caption documents McCord at Mare Island 23-24 November 1943 only.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1974
- Population
- scrapping workers, Southern Scrap Material Co., New Orleans, 1974
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled secondary record of official data (dates corroborate DANFS); the sale price and buyer details and the Westinghouse turbine attribution are NavSource-only and not independently verified against a primary document. Does not address materials or asbestos content aboard the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccord-dd534-02
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[3]Destroyer History Foundation, 'Destroyer Squadron 47' squadron history (Bethlehem San Francisco builder block; DesRon 47 composition; Taffy 1 assignment at Samar) and 'Bethlehem San Francisco' builder page (Union Iron Works lineage; Risdon facility used for destroyer construction) [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/desron47/ (operations section) and /destroyers/bethsf/
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Squadron history confirms McCord (DD-534) as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 47 (DesDiv 93: Trathen, Hazelwood, Heermann, Hoel, McCord flag; DesDiv 94: Franks, Haggard, Hailey, Johnston), the squadron of the 25 October 1944 Battle off Samar; McCord screened Task Unit 77.4.1 ('Taffy 1' - carriers Sangamon, Suwannee, Chenango, Santee, Saginaw Bay, Petrof Bay) under Admiral Sprague, corroborating the DANFS narrative. The foundation's builder page documents Bethlehem San Francisco as the ex-Union Iron Works plant (sold to Bethlehem Steel 1906) whose Risdon Iron Works facility was used for destroyer construction - the yard that built this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- DesRon 47 crews, 1943-45
- Limitations
- Corroborates construction yard and wartime assignment only; documents no materials or asbestos information. Squadron/yard histories compiled by the Destroyer History Foundation, a recognized destroyer-history project, not an official record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccord-dd534-03
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' Vol. I (official BuShips publication, shipscribe.com scan) + Atlas shipyard dataset, 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' record (corporate asbestos-products documentation incl. block insulation, pipe coverings, gaskets, packing; Quincy/Sparrows Point-centric evidence) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1.pdf DD section; shipyards.json record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 with the class's 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. The corporate builder (Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset for asbestos-containing products (85% magnesia block, Marinite board, Transite and Aircell pipe covering, Unibestos products, asbestos cloth, lagging, gaskets, packing), though that record aggregates Bethlehem's yards and does not isolate the San Francisco destroyer plant. 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
- 1942-1954
- Population
- Bethlehem San Francisco construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-1954
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-corporation inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Atlas yard record's product list is documented chiefly from Bethlehem's Quincy/Sparrows Point facilities and does not prove the San Francisco yard's inventory or installation aboard DD-534. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccord-dd534-04
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[5]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-534's construction (1942-43) and entire commissioned service (1943-1954) 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-mccord-dd534-05
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[6]Batch-3510 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirrors (hazegray Wayback capture; globalsecurity); NavSource (Wayback); destroyerhistory.org DesRon 47 + Bethlehem SF pages; NVR (out of scope); GAO HRD-80-2 product page; CourtListener authenticated sweep; OSHRC decision 94-3393 and GAO B-401059 for the scrapping buyer; ussmccord.com (parked); law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules); NARA RG19 (not digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mccord-dd534-01 through sl-uss-mccord-dd534-12
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-534: no hull ACM survey, abatement record, materials inventory, or hazmat disclosure was found, and a completed authenticated CourtListener sweep (exact-name and hull-number queries, opinions and dockets) returned no litigation naming this vessel - all raw hits were name collisions (numeric-token matches; attorney/party surnames; McCord Corporation asbestos cases unrelated to the ship). The ship was stricken 1 October 1972 and sold for scrap 2 January 1974 - before modern asbestos documentation practice - and never became a museum, so the museum-disclosure channel that produced ship-specific records for preserved hulls does not exist here.
- 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) and the hull was scrapped before documentation was routine. See search_ledger for the CourtListener sweep disposition and scope of sources searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mccord-dd534-06