Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet fo-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-metcalf-dd595-pkt-fo-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Metcalf (DD-595)' entry - official NHHC page (published 2016-04-04); live page returned 404 on 2026-09-27, text verified via Wayback Machine capture 2025-12-09 and the verbatim hazegray.org DANFS transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Metcalf (DD-595)', specifications block + full narrative (NHHC canonical URL via web.archive.org capture 20251209190808; mirror https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd595txt.htm via Wayback 2024-12-09)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Fletcher-class destroyer (dp. 2,050; l. 376'4"; b. 39'8"; dr. 17'9"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 273; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 8 21" tt.); named for James Metcalf (also spelled Medcalf), an Enterprise seaman and one of 84 volunteers in Decatur's 16 February 1804 Tripoli harbor raid on the captured frigate Philadelphia. Laid down by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., 10 August 1943; launched 25 September 1944 (sponsored by Mrs. Harold C. Pound); commissioned 18 November 1944, Comdr. David L. Martineau in command. Shakedown off San Diego; departed Bremerton 19 February 1945 for the Carolines via Pearl Harbor, arriving Ulithi 16 March; operated with Escort Carrier Group 3 furnishing close air support for Kerama Retto (26 March) and Okinawa (1 April) landings and raids on neighboring islands through 20 April, rescuing half a dozen downed carrier airmen and performing radar picket and screen duty; reported to 7th Fleet at Leyte 30 April; May-June convoy duty for the Borneo buildup; Brunei Bay patrol and shore bombardment supporting the Australian landing 9-10 June; Miri-Lutong action 19-21 June; Balikpapan/TF 74 operations ahead of the 1 July landing; Philippine Sea Frontier convoy escort from 4 August (at sea with Convoy 10K-204 at the capitulation); North China Force - led TU 78.1.15 into Jinsen, Korea, 8 September for the Army occupation landing; China-coast occupation calls (Darien, Chingwangtao, Taku, Chefoo, Shanghai, Hong Kong); returned early 1946 via Pearl Harbor to San Diego; decommissioned March 1946 into the Pacific Reserve Fleet; berthed Long Beach 1 July 1951 into 1960, then Stockton, in reserve through 1969. Three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, service history, and awards - it contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information and supports no asbestos claim for this hull. Entry is the 1969 DANFS text ('remains in reserve through 1969'); striking (1971-01-02) and sale (1972-06-06) come from the NavSource record (ev-02). Live NHHC page 404'd at access; content verified via Wayback capture 2025-12-09 and hazegray mirror (hazegray reads 'Convoy 10R-204' vs NHHC '10K-204' - transcription variant, immaterial).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-595 USS Metcalf (navsource.org/archives/05/595.htm) - via Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-27 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-595 index page: 'CLASS - FLETCHER As Built' spec block; 'Operational and Building Data' block; photo caption list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index record for DD-595: class Fletcher (as built); displacement 2,924 tons (full); 376'5"(oa) x 39'7" x 13'9" (max); machinery 60,000 SHP, Westinghouse turbines, 2 screws; 38 knots; crew 273; radio call sign NIMY. Building data: laid down Puget Sound Navy Yard 10 August 1943; launched 25 September 1944; commissioned 18 November 1944; decommissioned March (?) 1946; stricken 2 January 1971; sold 6 June 1972 and broken up for scrap. Photo captions document christening and commissioning ceremonies at Puget Sound Navy Yard and December 1945 presence on the Whang-Poo River, Shanghai, with USS Shields - consistent with the DANFS narrative.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Crew 1944-46; reserve-fleet caretakers 1946-1971
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive transcribing Navy registry data; the stricken and sale dates are consistent across NavSource and Wikipedia's DANFS-derived infobox but were not verified against a primary NVR extract. Decommissioning day marked '?' by NavSource. Records the hull was broken up but does not name the scrapping site or describe disposal-condition materials handling.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' Vol. I DD design data (Fletcher/DD-445 class machinery block) + Fletcher-class profile member table + NavSource machinery line for DD-595 (Westinghouse turbines) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com SDB1945v1.pdf DD section (per fletcher-class profile ev-fletcher-class-02); navsource.org 05/595 machinery line; shipyards.json record 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull carried the Fletcher-class machinery plant - a four-boiler, 60,000-shp, 2-shaft geared steam-turbine design (class design: 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers; NavSource records Westinghouse turbines on this hull) - built 1943-44, squarely inside the Navy's documented peak asbestos-use era. A destroyer of this plant and era would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard (Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset at evidence tier 1.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Puget Sound Navy Yard construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No specification, material schedule, hull survey, or abatement record located for DD-595; nothing here establishes that specific asbestos products were installed aboard this hull or that any individual was exposed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy industrial-health study of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (DTIC AD0715808, 1970) as carried in the Atlas shipyards.json record 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard' (evidence_tier 1); EPA Superfund listing WA2170023418 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'puget-sound-naval-shipyard' (ev-puget-sound-naval-shipyard-01/-02/-03/-09); DTIC citation AD0715808
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Builder-yard documentation: the Atlas shipyard dataset records Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at evidence tier 1 - a 1970 Navy study (AD0715808) documented pulmonary abnormalities in 21% of ~7,000 surveyed employees (pipe coverers and insulators) and measured 40-150 fibers/cc during insulation rip-out operations, with mesothelioma mortality increased 4-fold at moderate exposure; documented products include thermal insulation, gaskets, electrical systems, deck tiles, fireproofing and refractory materials; the yard is an EPA Superfund site (WA2170023418) ranked among the most toxic sites in 1993. This is the yard that built DD-595 in 1943-44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1970 study; yard period relevant to hull 1943-44
- Population
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workers (1970 study); construction trades 1943-44 implied for this hull's build period
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record - the 1970 study postdates this hull's 1943-44 construction by ~26 years and documents worker conditions at the yard, not materials installed aboard DD-595. It establishes era/yard plausibility only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text HTTP 403 to automated fetch)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program context: 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-595's entire commissioned life (1944-1946) inside the documented asbestos-use era. Her 25-year reserve-fleet layup (1946-1971) and 1972 breaking all predate the modern ship-recycling hazmat regime.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- 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, consistent with its use across the Atlas dataset.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-05
-
[7]NavSource disposal entry (stricken 1971-01-02; sold 1972-06-06, broken up for scrap) + general regulatory timeline (OSHA asbestos PEL era began 1971-72; NESHAP asbestos 1973) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-595 'Fate' line; ub88.org square-bridge-fletchers.pdf fate table (secondary)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Disposal-context record: the hull was stricken 2 January 1971 and sold 6 June 1972 for breaking - a domestic 1972-73 shipbreaking that falls at the very start of the federal asbestos regulatory era (OSHA initial asbestos standard 1971; NESHAP asbestos emission standard 1973). No source documents what materials were aboard, what was removed before scrapping, or where the breaking occurred. A secondary compilation (ub88.org Fletcher-class identification project) reports the buyer as Union Minerals and Alloys Corp. - unverified against a primary record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1971-1973
- Population
- Shipbreaking workers, 1972
- Limitations
- Regulatory timeline plus documented disposal facts only - establishes that disposal predated modern hazmat-disposal documentation, not that asbestos was or was not aboard. Buyer attribution rests on a non-authoritative research compilation and is carried in gaps, not asserted as fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 searches (2026-09-27, authenticated, fleet-paced): '"USS Metcalf"' type=o count 0; '"USS Metcalf" OR "U.S.S. Metcalf" OR "aboard the Metcalf"' type=o count 0; '"DD-595" OR "DD 595" OR "DD595"' type=o count 0; '"Metcalfe" "DD-595"' type=o count 0; '"USS Metcalf"' type=r count 0; '"Metcalf" "DD-595"' type=r count 1 docket (In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875, J.P.M.L.) with 2 matching RECAP documents - both Notice of Potential Tag-Along filings attaching the Turner v. General Electric Co. complaints (N.D. Cal. 3:10-cv-05932-JSW filed 2011-01-04 as doc 6548-2; heirs' wrongful-death complaint 3:12-cv-01600-EMC filed 2012-04-02 as doc 8596-2) [court_record]
- Locator
- CL API v4 type=o queries (0 hits each); type=r '"Metcalf" "DD-595"' -> MDL-875 docket 1245688, recap_documents ids 386409514 (doc 6548-2, 23pp) and 386429969 (doc 8596-2, 22pp), both 'Complaint' attachments in Turner tag-along notices
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep completed (6 queries): zero opinion-index hits and zero exact-name docket hits for the ship; zero hits for the 'Metcalfe' spelling variant. One docket-level match - the MDL-875 tag-along notices attach complaints whose indexed text contains both 'Metcalf' and 'DD-595' (Turner v. General Electric, N.D. Cal. 3:10-cv-05932; successor heirs' complaint 3:12-cv-01600). The match indicates the complaints reference Metcalf DD-595 - almost certainly an exposure-vessel list entry in the pleading (the exact phrase 'USS Metcalf' does not appear, so the hull is likely styled differently in the list, e.g. 'Metcalf (DD-595)') - but the attached complaint full text was not retrieved at research time; the role of the hull in those pleadings is classified as an unresolved pleading-stage reference pending full-text review.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2010-2012 (litigation filings)
- Population
- George W. Turner (plaintiff/decedent) - vessel role unresolved pending complaint text
- Limitations
- RECAP index match only: the matched text sits inside attached complaints (pleading stage at most - an allegation list, never adjudicated exposure). Even if the complaint names DD-595 as an exposure vessel, a complaint's ship list is an allegation, not a finding; no merits disposition for Turner was located. Docket-index coverage is incomplete for pleadings predating RECAP availability. Complaint full text not yet pulled - classified down to unresolved index reference accordingly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-07
-
[9]Batch-3567 search ledger (this record), rows sl-uss-metcalf-dd595-01 through -08: DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, NVR, CourtListener, Atlas shipyards, class-profile cross-check, general web, NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-metcalf-dd595-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-595: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat/disposal-condition disclosure, museum record (hull scrapped 1972), court finding, or adjudicated case names this hull. The only asbestos-themed web mentions are law-firm marketing ship-list entries (shepardlawfirm.com, asbestos-ships.com, mesolawcenter.com, duboselawfirm.com) - non-authoritative by batch rules and excluded. The single CourtListener docket hit (MDL-875 Turner tag-along complaints containing 'Metcalf' + 'DD-595' in indexed text) is an unresolved pleading-stage reference, not a finding of exposure.
- 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 1943-44 Fletcher-class steam destroyer built at an asbestos-documented yard is era-consistent with standard insulated fit, but that is class/era inference only. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-08
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships, incl. General Information Books), RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 181 (naval shipyard records incl. Puget Sound) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Guide to Federal Records group entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order): (a) NARA RG 19 BuShips 'General Information Books' and class design files may hold hull-level material specifications for DD-595; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs for the commissioned period 1944-11-18 to 1946-03 would document availabilities and repair events; (c) NARA RG 181 Puget Sound Navy Yard construction/outfitting records for the 1943-44 build and any 1971-72 disposal work; (d) the Navy's 1972 sale documentation would identify the buyer and scrapping site and any disposal-condition disclosures.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Record-group/collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for DD-595 is unknown until surveyed in person.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-metcalf-dd595-09