Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet lw-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED. Queue name/hull match; consistent with DANFS-incorporating article and hullnumber.com — real identity: USS Norfolk (second ship of the name); hull: DL-1
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-norfolk-dl1-pkt-lw-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Norfolk II (DL-1), NHHC (verbatim via 2025-02-20 Wayback capture - live NHHC page serves 404; hazegray mirror host is DNS-dead) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Norfolk II (DL-1)', specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: projected as hunter-killer ship (CLK-1); laid down 1 September 1949 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; launched 29 December 1951, sponsored by Miss Betty King Duckworth; commissioned 4 March 1953, Capt. Clarence Matheson Bowley in command. Specs: dp. 5600; l. 540'; b. 54'; dr. 26'; s. 32 k.; cpl. 411; armament 8x3-in, 16x20mm, 8x21-in tt.; class Norfolk. First major U.S. warship built since WWII, authorized 1947 as an all-weather ASW hunter-killer on a light-cruiser-derived hull. Caribbean shakedown Feb 1954; Atlantic Fleet; flagship successively for Commander Destroyer Flotillas 2, 4, 6 (1955-57); flagship ComDesLant 1956-57; flagship for ADM Jerauld Wright at the June 1957 International Fleet Review. By 1959 her 3-in/70 guns were replaced by 3-in/50s and the 20mm battery removed; ASROC launcher added 1960. Harassed by an 83-ft Cuban vessel in the Florida Straits 10 May 1960 (with The Sullivans DD-537). UNITAS II fall 1961 flagship for ComCruDesFlot 2, repeated over the next five years (flagship ComSoLant except 1962). LANTFLEX 66 flagship 28 Nov-16 Dec 1966, shadowed by Soviet trawlers Repiter and Teodolit; UNITAS VIII flagship fall 1967. Flagship Commander Middle East Forces 17 Apr-15 Oct 1968 (Bahrain, French Somaliland, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, Malagasy Republic, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Mexico, Panama Canal Zone). Returned to Norfolk Oct 1968; decommissioned 15 January 1970; entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1970
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1949-53; commissioned crew (design complement 411) 1953-70
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, specifications, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends at Atlantic Reserve Fleet entry and does not record the stricken date or disposal; those rest on USNI, NavSource, and the archived NVR record. DANFS is silent on the 1954-55 engineering casualty documented in association histories - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404; cited via Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-01
-
[3]A.D. Baker III, 'Historic Fleets,' Naval History Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute), Vol. 11 No. 3, June 1997 - Norfolk (DL-1, ex-CLK-1) entry (via Wayback capture; live page 403s to programmatic fetch) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History Magazine June 1997, 'Historic Fleets' Norfolk (DL-1) text and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI account: ordered under the Fiscal Year 1948 Shipbuilding Program, the first U.S. Navy ship ordered after WWII, conceived as 'the ultimate antisubmarine vessel'; sister CLK-2 (to be named New Haven) deferred 1949 and canceled outright 1951 because such large ships could not be afforded in useful numbers. 6,980 tons full load; 540 ft x 53.5 ft beam; 33.23 knots on trials; four boilers feeding turbines producing 80,000 shaft horsepower driving low-r.p.m. six-bladed screws; 'Nightshirt' air-bubbling noise-reduction system, first of its kind in a Navy ship. Rerated destroyer leader while building; an 'E' prefix (EDL-1) added shortly after commissioning 4 Mar 1953 to mark trials use. First fully operable AN/SQS-23 sonar in 1958; trials with AN/SPS-26 three-dimensional radar (ancestor of SPS-48/SPS-52). DL meaning changed to frigate in 1956. Completed with four twin 3-in/50 Mk 33 mounts in place of planned 3-in/70 Mk 37 mounts; eight twin 20mm; four Mk 108 Weapon Alfa launchers (88 rockets); eight Mk 24 torpedo tubes (30 torpedoes). By 1964: prototype Mk 16 ASROC launcher replaced the after Weapon Alfa pair; AN/SPS-37 air-search radar; EW antennas. From 1968 the forward Weapon Alfas and their structure removed. A 1963 plan to convert her to a guided-missile destroyer under the FY1966 budget was shelved. Five UNITAS cruises to Latin America. Decommissioned 14 January 1970; stricken from the Navy List 1 November 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1947-1974
- Population
- Commissioned crew 1953-70; flagship staffs embarked
- Limitations
- Reputable professional press (USNI, A.D. Baker III), not a government record - corroborates and extends DANFS. Its decommissioning date (14 Jan 1970) conflicts with DANFS's 15 January - carried in gaps. Its sentence 'her final deployment, in 1961, was as flagship for Commander, Middle East Force' conflicts with DANFS's dated 17 Apr-15 Oct 1968 Middle East Force flagship assignment - apparent USNI error; DANFS carried, conflict in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register, NORFOLK (DL 1) (ex-CLK 1), type 'FRIGATE', UIC 03649 (archived NVR ship detail page via 2001-11-09 Wayback capture - the live nvr.navy.mil is now a SPA redirect and its public files exclude pre-1987 disposals) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR ship detail page DL1.htm fields: status, date status changed, UIC, class, type
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NVR record for this hull (archived): 'NORFOLK (DL 1) (ex-CLK 1), FRIGATE, UIC 03649'; status 'Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping'; date status changed 09/01/1974; Force MARAD; custodian 'SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES'; record note 'No changes to this information were reported since 09/06/2000.' Most field cells (keel/launch/commission/decommission/stricken dates, displacement, propulsion) are blank in this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1970-1974
- Population
- DRMS/breaker workforce at disposal 1974 (unidentified yard)
- Limitations
- Government record of final disposition only - the archived page's stricken-date cell is blank; the 1 Nov 1973 stricken date rests on USNI/NavSource. The status-change date (1 Sep 1974) and NavSource's sale date (22 Aug 1974) are reconcilable (contract vs effective disposal) but not identical - noted. Says nothing about materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-03
-
[5]Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton Co. et al., E.D. Pa. No. 2:18-cv-3622 (consolidated under MDL-875): Amended Complaint ECF No. 100 (filed 2019-02-25, RECAP gov.uscourts.paed.546546.100.0.pdf); Order granting CBS Corp. summary judgment, ECF No. 412 (filed 2022-04-01, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno); Order Dismissing Case - 41(b), 2023-03-08 [court_record]
- Locator
- Amended Complaint ECF 100 p.10 (service history items b-e); Order ECF 412 p.1 n.1 (Westinghouse-turbine admission and ship list) and pp.2-5 (DeVries bare-metal analysis); feed entry 'Order Dismissing Case - 41(b)' 2023-03-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull explicitly by hull number. The amended complaint pleads that decedent John L. Sullivan entered the Navy 18 Oct 1967 'and was assigned to USS Norfolk, DL-1, 1/7/68-9/27/68,' then USS Biddle (DLG-34) and USS Lexington; that '[t]hroughout this period he was assigned to the fire rooms and engine rooms of the ships and rose to the rank of E5 as a machinist mate'; and that his asbestos inhalation caused lung cancer. (The complaint's ship-specific asbestos-release narratives attach to other vessels - repairs aboard Biddle at Philadelphia Navy Yard; residual dust aboard Saratoga; hands-on asbestos removal aboard Charles F. Adams - while the Norfolk allegation is the fire-room/engine-room assignment itself.) The court's 1 April 2022 order recites that '[f]or the purpose of summary judgment, CBS admits that Westinghouse manufactured turbines were installed on certain ships aboard which Mr. Sullivan served, specifically the USS Norfolk, the USS Lexington, the USS Saratoga, and the USS Charles F. Adams,' and GRANTED CBS's motion under the bare-metal defense of Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 139 S. Ct. 986 (2019). The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute (Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b)) on 8 March 2023.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1968 (alleged aboard-service window on DL-1); 2018-2023 (litigation)
- Population
- John L. Sullivan, USN machinist's mate (E5), fire rooms/engine rooms aboard DL-1 1968-01-07 to 1968-09-27; Navy service overall 1967-1980
- Limitations
- Litigation-stage discipline applied: the complaint's naming of DL-1 is a pleading allegation; CBS's turbine admission was expressly 'for the purpose of summary judgment'; the order is a merits-level defense win (summary judgment granted to defendant on DeVries bare-metal grounds), not an exposure finding - nothing here adjudicates that asbestos was present aboard DL-1 or that Sullivan was exposed aboard her. The order names no hull number; the complaint supplies 'DL-1' explicitly, so attribution is direct, not inferred. Subsequent merits history beyond dismissal not located. The complaint PDF is a 45-page scan (no text layer); quoted text is OCR of ECF 100 p.10.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-04
-
[6]Holdren v. Buffalo Pumps, Inc., 614 F. Supp. 2d 129 (D. Mass. 2009) (Judge Nancy Gertner), CourtListener opinion 2141677 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion footnote 4 (plaintiff's ship list), citing Pl. Disclosures at 5; holding at end (remand granted)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal asbestos opinion naming the vessel in the plaintiff's service list: footnote 4 recites 'Mr. Holdren worked onboard Navy ships including the USS Ault, USS Sierra, USS Norfolk, and USS Pawcatuck, as well as at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.' Plaintiff Franklin Holdren was a Navy boiler technician aboard various ships and in Navy shipyards 1957-1979; he alleged asbestos-caused malignant mesothelioma. The opinion resolves federal-officer removal under 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1): the Navy-contractor defendants' federal-contractor showing was found insufficient and the plaintiffs' motion to remand to Massachusetts state court was GRANTED. Within Holdren's 1957-79 service window the only commissioned USS Norfolk was DL-1 (SSN-714 commissioned 1983); the opinion prints no hull number.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1957-1979 (service window); 2009 (opinion)
- Population
- Franklin D. Holdren, USN boiler technician 1957-1979; also worked at Fore River Shipyard
- Limitations
- Removal/remand opinion - the vessel name appears only in a recital of the plaintiff's disclosures; no exposure aboard any specific vessel is adjudicated, and the opinion identifies no products or materials aboard this hull. Hull attribution is an inference from the service window (1957-79; DL-1 decommissioned Jan 1970 is the only USS Norfolk then in commission) - noted rather than assumed. Post-remand merits history not located (the case returned to Middlesex Superior Court; outside federal docket coverage).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-05
-
[7]DANFS spec block (5,600 t, 540 ft, 32 kt) + secondary class references for the plant: globalsecurity.org CLK-1 page ('a twin 80,000 SHP powerplant that resembled the Atlanta's except that it was 1200 psi'), destroyers.org/Tin Can Sailors DL-1 page ('4 Boilers 2 General Electric Turbines: 80,000 horsepower'), destroyerhistory.org DL page [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/clk-1.htm machinery paragraph; destroyers.org DL-1 spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a 1949-53 steam-propelled destroyer leader built at New York Shipbuilding on an Atlanta-derived cruiser hull: period-standard asbestos applications for a high-pressure steam plant are boiler insulation, turbine and steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, deck coverings, and bulkhead insulation. The plant is described in secondary references as an experimental ~1,200-psi installation - higher-pressure steam implies heavier thermal-insulation loading than a 600-psi wartime destroyer plant, but that description rests on secondary compilations (globalsecurity.org, mdc.idv.tw), not a pulled BuShips specification; turbine manufacturer is given as GE by destroyers.org yet the Sullivan order's SJ-purpose admission lists Westinghouse turbines for the ship set - unresolved in gaps.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1974
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1949-53; engine-room and repair-force crew 1953-70
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-era inference only - not a ship-specific finding. No hull material schedule was retrieved; nothing here establishes asbestos content aboard DL-1. The 1,200-psi figure and boiler/turbine manufacturer attributions are secondary-source level; BuShips Ships' Data / NARA RG 19 are the primary leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-06
-
[8]Destroyer Leader Association ship history for USS Norfolk (destroyerleaderassociation.org/ships/norfolkhistory.asp - member-written association history; live site now parked, text recovered via search-index snippets) corroborated in outline by destroyers.org ('Tin Can Sailors') and naval-encyclopedia.com DL-1 entries; NavSource destroyer index 05/0201.htm via Wayback 2025-05-12 [other_primary]
- Locator
- destroyerleaderassociation.org norfolkhistory.asp (casualty narrative paragraphs); destroyers.org/ships/dl-1; navsource.org 05/0201.htm building-data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Association-history account of the 1954-55 engineering casualty, a documented disturbance pathway for era insulation: in late 1954/early 1955, stationed at Newport, R.I., on sea trials the port propeller shaft split and the screw was lost; the runaway port turbines shed blades through the engine room, 'rupturing steam lines and tearing off the packing on the pipes,' and four engine-room crewmen were burned by steam. She returned on one engine, was drydocked at Charlestown (Boston Naval Shipyard) where a section of the port side was opened and the engine - one of only two of its kind - removed for factory replacement; in 1955 a Norfolk, Va. drydock installed the new engine and screw and swapped the gun mounts for twin 3-in/70s. The investigation attributed the failure to metal fatigue from shaft misalignment; the other four DLs were inspected for the same defect. Wikipedia carries a stub 'A boiler on the ship blew up in late 1955' flagged [citation needed]; destroyers.org reads 'she suffered a casualty in 1955 when her boiler blew up.' DANFS does not mention the casualty.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1954-1955
- Population
- Engine-room crew (four burned by steam); Charlestown and Norfolk yard workers on the 1954-55 repairs
- Limitations
- Member-written association history and secondary compilations only - no official casualty report, yard record, or DANFS corroboration was located; details (Charlestown drydock, four burned, fatigue finding, fleet inspection) are plausible but unverified against primary records. The 'torn pipe packing' detail is asbestos-relevant in mechanism only; fiber content of the packing is unstated and unproven.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-07
-
[9]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): new-york-shipbuilding (tier 1; documented products incl. Pabco Six-Ply Caltemp block 15% chrysotile, Ehret 85% magnesia insulation, Johns-Manville Transite panels 10-30%, gaskets, packing, asbestos-coated welding rods, wire insulation 75-85% chrysotile, felts), norfolk-naval-shipyard (tier 2, EPA Superfund-listed; extensive thermal-system product list), boston-naval-shipyard (tier 3; gaskets/sealing materials), newport-naval-station (tier 3, Superfund-listed; thermal system insulation, ACM waste) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json records: new-york-shipbuilding, norfolk-naval-shipyard, boston-naval-shipyard, newport-naval-station
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Yard-level asbestos documentation context: the builder yard - New York Shipbuilding, Camden (Atlas tier 1; documented asbestos products list plus a cited study reporting 16x mesothelioma risk for yard electricians) - and the yards where this hull had documented or association-reported availabilities - Boston Naval Shipyard/Charlestown (tier 3; 1954-55 casualty drydock), Norfolk Naval Shipyard (tier 2, Superfund-listed; 1955 drydock plus homeport availabilities at Norfolk), and Naval Station Newport (tier 3, Superfund-listed; 1954-55 stationing) - each carry yard-level asbestos documentation in the Atlas dataset.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1970
- Population
- Shipyard workers at the named yards during 1949-53 construction and 1954-55 availabilities
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings only. They establish that these yards used asbestos products during the periods of this hull's construction and availabilities; they do not establish that work aboard DL-1 disturbed asbestos, nor do they quantify it. Hull attribution would require the yard work packages in ev-09. Boston/Norfolk/Newport yard contacts for this hull rest on the association history (ev-07) plus Norfolk homeport status, not on official yard logs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-08
-
[10]NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships contract specifications / General Information Books) and RG 24 (deck logs) for CLK-1/DL-1; Booklet of General Plans; New York Shipbuilding surviving plan collection (Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia); 1954-55 casualty repair work packages at Boston NSY and the 1955 Norfolk drydock work package; Atlantic Reserve Fleet inactivation records 1970; DRMS disposal file 1974 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19 / RG 24 series descriptions (archives.gov); Independence Seaport Museum NYS collection
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material documentation not yet retrieved: (1) NARA RG 19 holds BuShips per-vessel specifications and General Information Books covering DL-1's 1949-53 construction at New York Shipbuilding - the authoritative source for the machinery plant (settling the 1,200-psi and GE-vs-Westinghouse-turbine conflicts) and insulation schedules; (2) NARA RG 24 deck logs cover the 1953-70 commissioned period; (3) the 1954-55 casualty repair work packages (Boston NSY Charlestown drydock; 1955 Norfolk drydock) would name disturbed materials including any pipe lagging/packing replaced; (4) Atlantic Reserve Fleet lay-up and DRMS 1974 disposal files document material condition at disposal; (5) the ship's Booklet of General Plans is the construction-document lead; (6) New York Shipbuilding's surviving plan/contract collection at Independence Seaport Museum is a collateral builder-side lead.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1974
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings were pulled or digitized in this session; contents unknown. They establish nothing about materials aboard. NARA catalog returns an SPA shell to programmatic fetch (search_ledger sl-11).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-09
-
[11]Batch-4567 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback, archived NVR record, USNI Naval History via Wayback, NavSource via Wayback, Atlas shipyard dataset, CourtListener partial sweep, Destroyer Leader Association history, general-web lead check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-norfolk-dl1-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No physical/material ship-specific asbestos record located: no ACM survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material-condition report, or museum documentation for this hull was found in the public sources searched. None can exist from a preservation era - the hull was sold by DRMS and scrapped in 1974, before the Navy's asbestos-control era and any public disposal-disclosure regime. The only ship-specific asbestos documentation is litigation-stage naming (ev-04, ev-05).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1949-1974 (service/disposal life); 2026-09-29 (search)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1949-53 high-pressure steam warship would ordinarily be expected to carry period-standard ACM, and the litigation pleadings are consistent with that expectation, but no hull survey or specification was located to prove it. Whether era materials were aboard is resolvable only through the archival specifications and work packages in ev-09. CourtListener component is partial per ev-11.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 sweep (opinion index type=o and RECAP dockets type=r) via cl-auth-search.py and metered API GETs (authenticated, fleet-paced): '"USS Norfolk" asbestos' (type=o) completed; '"Sullivan" "Chesterton" 18-cv-3622' (type=r) completed; hull-number and general-docket queries stood down by fleet pacing [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-norfolk-dl1-06 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- PARTIAL sweep. Completed: '"USS Norfolk" asbestos' opinion search returned 1 hit - Holdren v. Buffalo Pumps, 614 F. Supp. 2d 129 (D. Mass. 2009), opinion 2141677 - verified qualifying (hull in plaintiff's service list, fn.4); Sullivan v. A.W. Chesterton docket located by case-name search (E.D. Pa. 2:18-cv-3622, 428 docket entries) - verified qualifying (complaint names 'USS Norfolk, DL-1' explicitly). Pending at drafting: '"DL-1" asbestos' (type=o), '"USS Norfolk"' (type=r general docket text), '"Norfolk" "DL-1"' (type=o) - all returned the fleet-wide pacing 'momentarily spent' status across spaced retries during the session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep incomplete - no inference either way from the unexecuted queries. 'Norfolk' is a high-collision term (Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Norfolk Southern/N&W railroads, the city, SSN-714): every future hit needs collision classification before attribution to this hull; the two verified hits were so classified. The sweep does not cover state-court records (Holdren was remanded to Middlesex Superior Court), trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-norfolk-dl1-11