Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet fs-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: Nelson | Hull: DD-623 | Designation: destroyer, only Navy ship of the name
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-nelson-dd623-pkt-fs-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Nelson (DD-623) (builder, dates, full service narrative, striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; hazegray.org live host unreachable, Wayback capture 2024-12-03 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Nelson (DD-623)', specifications block + full service narrative (hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd623txt.htm, Wayback capture 2024-12-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: spec line (DD-623: displacement 1,630; length 348'3"; beam 36'1"; draft 13'6"; speed 37.4 knots; complement 276; armament 4 5-inch, 4 40mm, 6 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Gleaves). Laid down 7 May 1942 at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 15 September 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Nelson Stewart, daughter of Rear Admiral Charles Preston Nelson; commissioned 26 November 1942, Lt. Comdr. M. M. Riker in command. Atlantic Fleet convoy duty as Destroyer Squadron 17 flagship January-May 1943 (Bermuda, Trinidad, Dakar, Aruba, Casablanca, Gibraltar); flagship of Commander Task Force 81 for the Sicily landings at Gela, July 1943 (splashed aircraft 12 July and 1 August); North Atlantic convoys winter 1943-44. Normandy staging May 1944 - port screw and shaft removed after fouling a buoy at Plymouth 24 May; crossed on one screw to the assault area by 8 June. Torpedoed on the 'Dixie Line' E-boat screen off Omaha Beach at 0105 on 13 June 1944 - torpedo struck just aft of the No. 4 gun mount, blowing off the stern; 24 killed or missing, 9 wounded; Maloy (DE-791) stood by; emergency repairs at Londonderry; towed to Boston where she received a new stern; repairs completed 23 November 1944. Atlantic patrol/convoy and plane-guard duty for Card (CVE-11) into 1945; Panama Canal 1 August 1945; Pearl Harbor; Tokyo Bay 3-14 September; Okinawa, Korea, Singapore; home via Colombo and Capetown, arriving New York 6 December 1945; to Charleston 29 January 1946. 'By directive dated January 1947, Nelson was placed out of commission, in reserve, U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet, and berthed at Charleston.' Struck from the Naval Register 1 March 1968; sold July 1969. Two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 276); 24 killed/missing and 9 wounded in the 13 June 1944 torpedoing
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and the spec line, not materials or asbestos content. Decommissioning is given only as a January 1947 directive ('placed out of commission, in reserve') - NavSource reads 6 May 1946; the conflict is carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 and hazegray.org is unreachable to direct fetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-01
-
[3]NARA catalog record NAID 38329779, 'Torpedo-Damaged USS Nelson (DD-623)' - photograph record, series 'Administrative History of the First Naval District in World War II' (creator: Department of the Navy, First Naval District, Boston Navy Yard; organizational entity 'Nelson (Destroyer), 11/26/1942-1/1/1947') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog item NAID 38329779 (description block; creator and organizational-entity fields)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NARA record for this hull: a 1944 photograph record in the First Naval District's administrative history (Boston Navy Yard) whose catalog description states that on the night of June 12, 1944, anchored in position No. 13 on the 'Dixie Line' anti-submarine and E-boat screen around the Omaha beachhead, USS Nelson was struck by an E-boat torpedo which blew off her stern and No. 4 gun mount; that she was towed to Londonderry for emergency repairs and then to Boston Navy Yard, 'where permanent repairs, including replacement of her stern, were completed on November 23, 1944'; and that she earned two battle stars. The organizational authority record bounds the hull's activity 11/26/1942-1/1/1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard repair workforce, 1944; wartime crew
- Limitations
- Photograph-record catalog description, not a materials or asbestos record - it documents the damage event, the Boston Navy Yard stern replacement, and the hull's activity window (ending 1/1/1947, consistent with the DANFS January 1947 directive and against NavSource's May 1946 date). No work-package, material schedule, or insulation content for the rebuild is documented in this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-02
-
[4]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, USS Nelson (DD-623) - operational/building data block, namesake biography, commanding-officer list, fate line, and official U.S. Navy photo captions (Wayback capture 2024-05-27; live host unreachable to fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-623 page: 'Operational and Building Data' block, machinery line, commanding-officer list, photo captions 80-G-245431 and 19-N-100503
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: 'CLASS - GLEAVES As Built'; displacement 2,395 tons full; 348'4" x 36'1" x 13'2" max; armament 4 x 5"/38AA, 6 x 0.5" MG, 10 x 21" tt (2x5); machinery 50,000 SHP, Westinghouse geared turbines, 2 screws; 35 knots; range 6,500 NM at 12 knots; crew 208; call sign NBXD. Building/ops data: laid down Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ, 7 May 1942; launched 15 September 1942; commissioned 26 November 1942; 'Decommissioned May 6 1946'; stricken 1 March 1968; 'Sold July 18 1969 and broken up for scrap.' Photo captions add: commissioned at Brooklyn Navy Yard (25 November 1942 PR photo); at Belfast Lough 14 May 1944; No. 2 mount and torpedo tubes landed at Londonderry as a weight-saving/stability measure; under tow toward Boston 26 August 1944 (USN photo 80-G-245431); in drydock at Portsmouth mid-1944 (USN photo 19-N-100503).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Construction trades 1942; crew 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Volunteer-edited secondary archive, not an official record - its 'Decommissioned May 6 1946' conflicts with DANFS ('directive dated January 1947') and the NARA activity window (to 1/1/1947), and its crew figure (208, as-designed) conflicts with the DANFS wartime complement (276); conflicts carried in gaps. Machinery figures, fate date, and photo-caption details are corroboration-level. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Gleaves class; 37.4 kt) + NavSource machinery line (Westinghouse geared turbines, 50,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset records 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2; incl. Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard, Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) and 'boston-naval-shipyard' (tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; NavSource machinery line; shipyards.json records 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' and 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/plant/yard inference: a Gleaves-class destroyer built in 1942 with a four-boiler (Babcock & Wilcox) / Westinghouse geared-turbine plant at 50,000 shp would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder-yard context: the Atlas dataset documents Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock (Kearny) at yard level (tier 2), including a 30 August - 2 September 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey recording asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation work at the yard during wartime production. Repair-yard context: the 1944 stern replacement was performed at Boston Navy Yard (documented at yard level, tier 3, in the Atlas dataset).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942 (yard-level); Boston Navy Yard repair workforce 1944 (yard-level); crew 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder/repair-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 Kearny survey postdates this hull's September 1942 launch and documents yard practice, not materials installed aboard DD-623; the Boston Navy Yard documentation likewise documents the yard, not this hull's rebuild materials. No materials schedule, survey, or hull-specific document was located; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-04
-
[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
- Program-level context: GAO HRD-80-2 documents that Navy asbestos-exposure control actions - including the 1975 policy limiting asbestos use aboard vessels and 1979-era shipyard industrial-hygiene measures - postdate this hull's entire service life and its 1969 disposal. Nelson was stricken 1 March 1968 and sold for scrap in July 1969, before any documented Navy asbestos-removal program applied to the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report); hull disposed 1969
- Population
- Navy shipyard and shipboard workforce (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level report; not hull-specific and names no vessels. Establishes the timeline context only (the hull left Navy custody before documented asbestos program actions); does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard DD-623. gao.gov blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403) - product-page metadata cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweeps (authenticated via fleet helper, 2026-09-27): "USS Nelson" type=o; "USS Nelson" asbestos type=o; "USS Nelson" type=r; "DD-623" type=o; "DD-623" type=r [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results (5 queries completed, 1 blocked)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep: 'USS Nelson' opinion index 0 hits; 'USS Nelson' + asbestos opinion index 0 hits; 'USS Nelson' RECAP docket index 0 hits; 'DD-623' opinion index 0 hits; 'DD-623' RECAP docket index 4 hits, all identifier collisions in unrelated dockets (Arapahoe Surgery Center v. CIGNA, D. Colo. 1:13-cv-03422; In re Arch Coal, Bankr. E.D. Mo. 16-40120; CFTC v. Walczak, W.D. Wis. 3:20-cv-00075; In re Lyondell Chemical, Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 09-10023) - the token 'DD-623' appears as a docket/exhibit identifier, not a vessel reference. No qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation, and no docketed case names this hull. The punctuation-variant 'U.S.S. Nelson' opinion query was attempted but could not be completed - the fleet CourtListener pace budget was repeatedly spent during the session (blocked, see ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes do not cover unindexed complaints or state-court records; absence of hits does not prove no one ever sued - it establishes that no qualifying published/docketed record names this hull in the indexes searched. 'Nelson' is a high-collision surname; all exact-name and hull-number results were reviewed and classified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-06
-
[8]Batch-3596 search ledger (this record): DANFS verbatim transcription (hazegray/Wayback); NARA catalog NAID 38329779; NavSource index (Wayback); NVR; Atlas shipyard dataset; NARA deck-log/war-diary series; general web sweep; CourtListener sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-nelson-dd623-01 through sl-uss-nelson-dd623-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-623: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no museum or disposal hazmat disclosure (hull scrapped 1969), and no docketed case naming this hull found in the sources searched. The only web-visible asbestos claims about this hull are law-firm marketing listicles (Shepard O'Donnell, MesotheliomaHelp, Throneberry, Belluck & Fox) with no citations - excluded per source policy.
- 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 1942 four-boiler steam destroyer is era-consistent with period-standard asbestos materials, but that is inference at class/era level only (ev-04). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nelson-dd623-07