Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet ev-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-o-bannon-dd450-pkt-ev-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, O'Bannon II (DD-450) (specifications block, service narrative through 1967, awards; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; NHHC web edition text verified via Wayback capture 2023-11-16, published 2019-06-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative + awards line; NHHC web edition via web.archive.org capture 2023-11-16
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Me., 3 March 1941; sponsored by Mrs. E. F. Kennedy, descendant of Lt. O'Bannon; commissioned at Boston 26 June 1942, Comdr. E. R. Wilkinson in command. South Pacific from August 1942: Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 13 November 1942 (close-range attack on battleship Hiei); year of Solomon Islands operations earning the Presidential Unit Citation incl. firing on surfaced submarine RO-34 on 5 April 1943, Battles of Kula Gulf (6 July 1943) and Kolombangara (a week later), Battle of Vella Lavella 6 October 1943 (collision with torpedoed sister Chevalier DD-451 while rescuing survivors); battle repairs Tulagi then west-coast overhaul; New Guinea, Leyte reinforcement (arrived 24 October 1944), Philippines invasions (Ormoc, Mindoro, Lingayen - submarine assessed postwar as RO-115 sunk with three other destroyers 31 January 1945 - Bataan, Corregidor, Palawan, Zamboanga, Cebu, Caraboa), Tarakan fire support; Okinawa and carrier escort against Honshu/Hokkaido; escorted Missouri (BB-63) into Tokyo Bay 27 August 1945; decommissioned at San Diego 21 May 1946 after overhaul. Converted to escort destroyer at Long Beach Naval Shipyard 17 January 1949 - 10 February 1950; redesignated DDE-450 26 March 1949; recommissioned 19 February 1951, homeported Pearl Harbor; Korea November 1951 - June 1952 (carrier screening, flagship of the Wonsan Element East Coast Blockade and Escort Group, shore bombardment); AEC operations off Eniwetok 1952; Taiwan Patrol and Far East deployments with 'necessary overhauls at Pearl Harbor'; Johnston Island atomic tests 1962; Vietnam service 1964-1968 (plane guard for Kitty Hawk CVA-63 and Constellation CVA-64, Yankee Station; shore bombardment Da Nang and south of the DMZ); Gemini 11 contingency recovery force 1966. Awards per NHHC web edition: Presidential Unit Citation and 17 battle stars WWII, 3 battle stars Korea. Spec block: dp. 2,700; 376'4" x 39'9"; 13' draft; s. 35.5 k.; cpl. 273; 5 5" guns, 10 21" tt; cl. Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1967
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1941-42; wartime and postwar crew (DANFS design complement 273; BuShips-designed 34 officers + 295 enlisted)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative ends with 1967 operations (entry reflects in-commission status) - the 1970 striking and disposal are not covered. The entry's 'launched 19 February 1942' is a documented error (that date is sister Nicholas DD-449's launch; NavSource building data and BuShips-derived specs read 14 March 1942) - carried in gaps. WWII battle-star count: NHHC web edition reads 17; the print-derived verbatim transcriptions read 11 - carried in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404; NHHC web text verified via Wayback 2023-11-16 capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-01
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[3]NavSource Naval History, USS O'Bannon (DD-450/DDE-450) page - Operational and Building Data block plus NARA-derived photo captions documenting yard availabilities (live fetch failed; Wayback capture 2024-12-12 used) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-450 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block, 'Fate' line, and photo captions (Darryl Baker / Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum / NARA 80-G series)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource building/disposition record for this hull: laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME, 3 March 1941; launched 14 March 1942; commissioned 26 June 1942; decommissioned 21 May 1946; reclassified DDE-450 26 March 1949 and reverted to DD-450 30 June 1962; recommissioned 19 February 1951; decommissioned and stricken 30 January 1970; 'Fate: Sold June 6 1970 to Union Minerals & Alloy, New York and broken up for scrap.' Machinery line: 60,000 SHP, Westinghouse turbines, 2 screws. Photo-caption yard timeline for this hull: in overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 19 November 1943 - 11 January 1944 (after the Vella Lavella collision; 'overhaul and weapons upgrades'); photographed 'being removed from mothballs for conversion to the DDE configuration at Long Beach NY, 17 January 1949'; joint recommissioning with Nicholas (DD-449) at Mare Island 19 February 1951 after a further Mare Island availability captioned 19 February - 24 March 1951; photographed at the Mare Island Inactive Ship Facility in May 1972 'prior to her towing to the scrap heap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1972
- Population
- Mare Island and Long Beach Naval Shipyard workers during the documented availabilities; construction trades at Bath 1941-42
- Limitations
- NavSource is a photographic-history archive (contributor captions on NARA photo files), not the Naval Vessel Register itself - day-level dates rest on captions; an internal inconsistency (a photo captioned 'departing Mare Island on 1 March 1951' vs. the '19 Feb. to 24 March 1951' overhaul caption) is carried in gaps. Documents the hull's presence at these yards; the asbestos content of the work is not addressed by the source. Sale date is the standard NVR-derived disposition record; the breaking site is not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-02
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[4]Destroyer History Foundation (destroyerhistory.org), USS O'Bannon (DD-450, DDE-450) pages: BuShips-derived specifications block; DANFS reproduction with editorial correction; Presidential Unit Citation text; service-stars tabulation; hosted 13 November 1942 action report [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussobannon section: Specifications (pid 45003), Operations (pid 45005 = Nov. 1942 action report), DANFS History (pid 45004), Service Stars (pid 45009), Citation (pid 45008)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Foundation's specification record for Bath Iron Works hull 191: authorized 17 May 1938; ordered 28 June 1940; keel laid 3 March 1941; launched 14 March 1942 (its DANFS reproduction annotates the printed '19 February 1942' as '[sic; actual date 14 March 1942]'); first commissioned 26 June 1942; decommissioned 21 May 1946; redesignated DDE-450 26 March 1949; recommissioned 19 February 1951; decommissioned 30 January 1970; disposition 'Scrapped' ('retired in 1970 and scrapped two years later'). Designed complement 34 officers + 295 enlisted; 60,000 shp; 36 knots; 2 screws; endurance 4,800 nm at 15 kt. Hosts the ship's own 17 November 1942 action report for the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (CO to CominCh via CTG 67.4 senior officer) and the full Presidential Unit Citation text signed by SecNav Frank Knox: 'outstanding performance in combat against enemy Japanese forces in the South Pacific from October 7, 1942, to October 7, 1943.' Tabulates 17 Asiatic-Pacific service stars - 'the leading total among all American destroyers in World War II.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1970
- Population
- Crew of USS O'Bannon 1942-1970
- Limitations
- Secondary host (Destroyer History Foundation); spec block sourced to 'Friedman Bath Iron Works plans for hull no. 190 and crewmembers' - hull 190 is sister Nicholas, whose specs O'Bannon shared. Documents history and characteristics, not asbestos content. The 'Maine Potato Episode' is hosted as crew first-person lore (Ernest A. Herr) - the RO-34 engagement itself is DANFS-documented but the potato detail is not in official records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-03
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[5]DANFS spec block (Fletcher class; 35.5-36 kt, 60,000-shp steam plant) + Atlas shipyard dataset records: bath-iron-works (incl. Drinker 1942 Harvard pipe-shop dust study, PMID 21016030), long-beach-naval-shipyard, mare-island-naval-shipyard, pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard; NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; shipyards.json records 'bath-iron-works', 'long-beach-naval-shipyard', 'mare-island-naval-shipyard', 'pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard'; NARA RG19 lead
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-42 with a 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. Builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including the 1942 Drinker/Harvard industrial-hygiene study recording 'fairly serious dust risk' (exposures ~10x the safe threshold) in the yard's pipe-covering shops - contemporaneous with this hull's March 1941 - June 1942 construction - plus 1987 OSHA asbestos citations and yard-documented products (Kaylo pipe covering, Foster Wheeler gaskets, asbestos felt, loose packing, vinyl floor tile, adhesives). All documented yard periods for this hull (Mare Island 1943-44 and 1951; Long Beach NSY DDE conversion 1949-50; Pearl Harbor overhauls 1951-69; Mare Island Inactive Ship Facility layup to 1972) are at yards with their own Atlas asbestos documentation. 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
- 1941-1972
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1941-42; yard workers at documented availabilities; crew 1942-1970
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Drinker study documents 1942 yard shop conditions, not materials installed aboard DD-450; yard-level documentation establishes the yards' asbestos history, not the ACM content of work performed on this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-04
-
[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
- 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-450's construction (1941-42) and entire commissioned service (1942-46, 1951-70) 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-o-bannon-dd450-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 searches (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py fleet helper): '"USS O'Bannon"' type=o (0 hits); '"DD-450"' type=o (1 hit - docket-number collision); 'O'Bannon asbestos' type=o (23 hits, 0 qualifying - all surname/counsel collisions); '"USS O'Bannon"' type=r (pending - fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-bannon-dd450-05 (CourtListener legs); sl-uss-o-bannon-dd450-07 (independent web search)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-27): '"USS O'Bannon"' (type=o) returned zero hits - no published opinion names the ship in those words. '"DD-450"' (type=o) returned 1 hit, Florida Ins. Guaranty Ass'n v. Dolan, 355 So. 2d 141 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1978) - a NAME COLLISION in which 'No. DD-450' is the court's own docket number, not the ship. 'O'Bannon' + asbestos (type=o) returned 23 hits, every one a surname collision: the New Orleans asbestos-defense firm Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon appears as counsel of record across the Johns-Manville-era dockets (Woessner, Thompson, Ayo, Touchstone v. Land & Marine Applicators), and remaining hits are unrelated parties/judges/amicus authors surnamed Bannon/O'Bannon (Peerenboom, Lobato, Binette, INX, etc.) - no qualifying hit names this or any vessel. Classification: no qualifying asbestos litigation located for DD-450 in opinion coverage; the RECAP docket leg ('"USS O'Bannon"' type=r) remained fleet-paced at session end - pending, logged in the ledger.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Sweep result, not a merits finding: opinion-index coverage supports 'no published opinion names DD-450', but pleadings naming the hull without a published opinion would not surface at type=o; the type=r docket leg did not complete within fleet pacing and remains pending. 'O'Bannon' is also a live litigant/firm surname (incl. the O'Bannon v. NCAA antitrust line) and USS O'Bannon DD-987 (Spruance class, 1979-2005) shares the ship name - any future 'O'Bannon' hit requires hull discrimination. Independent web search located no qualifying court record either - only excluded law-firm/aggregator pages and a non-asbestos BVA herbicide claim naming the ship (sl-07).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-06
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[8]Batch-3434 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcriptions (ibiblio + hazegray) and NHHC web edition via Wayback; NavSource building data and photo-caption yard timeline; destroyerhistory.org spec/PUC/action-report pages; GAO HRD-80-2; ussobannon.us reunion site (Wayback); CourtListener API v4 (opinion legs complete - 0 qualifying; type=r docket leg fleet-paced at session end); NARA RG19 (not digitized); law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-bannon-dd450-01 through sl-uss-o-bannon-dd450-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, materials inventory, or hazmat disclosure located for DD-450 in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was stricken and sold for scrap in 1970 and broken up by ~1972 - 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. No qualifying litigation naming the hull was located (CourtListener opinion coverage complete: exact-name = 0 hits; hull-number = 1 docket-number collision; name+asbestos = 23 surname/counsel collisions; RECAP docket leg pending - see ev-06).
- 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 and every documented yard period for this hull sits at an asbestos-documented yard. The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original 1942 insulation survived into the service era is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-o-bannon-dd450-07