USS O'BANNON (DD-987)

Evidence

12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).

1. [1]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (Oct. 1979), Enclosure I: Department of the Navy letter to GAO, Ser 4542/318054, 5 January 1979, Attachment 1 (ship insulation table) [gao]

   Locator

   HRD-80-2 PDF pp. 11-12 of 26 (Enclosure I, Attachment 1 destroyer table + Note 1); letter narrative at pp. 9-10

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   The Navy's per-hull table names O'BANNON, hull number 987, with construction start 3/76 and delivery 4/80, positioned inside the contiguous group headed 'Asbestos-free thermal insulation' spanning DD-974 (Comte de Grasse) through DD-992 (Fletcher); the 'Asbestos thermal insulation' label covers DD-963 through DD-973. The letter's narrative corroborates the boundary: 'the first eleven of our new DD 963 class ships' continued through to delivery 'as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation' (DD-973 John Young delivered May 1978). The same letter identifies sister hull USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) as carrying 87,634 pounds of thermal insulation - the contrast that makes this hull's asbestos-free listing significant.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1973-1979 (letter data); hull listed with construction start 3/76, delivery 4/80

   Population

   Ships under construction or delivered since 1973; construction and repair workforces

   Limitations

   Scope is thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping - 'the major application of asbestos' per the letter - not all asbestos-containing materials. Note 1 to the table states asbestos also remained 'in shipboard applications for which no suitable (asbestos-free) substitutes have as yet been designated, i.e., gaskets and pipe hanger liners.' The entry is the Navy's own statement to GAO rather than an independent hull survey; it does not itemize this hull's ACM inventory, does not address quantity, does not establish or defeat individual exposure or causation, and does not speak to legal eligibility. Block boundary verified visually: a horizontal rule divides the table after DD-973 and each label is centered on its contiguous hull group.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-01

2. [2]GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct. 1979), Enclosure I: Navy letter Ser 4542/318054, 5 January 1979 - narrative response on residual asbestos applications and policy chronology [gao]

   Locator

   HRD-80-2 PDF pp. 8-10 of 26 (Enclosure I letter body); residual-applications note at p. 12 (Note 1)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The Navy's letter states: 'Each ship has several types of asbestos containing materials installed; however, thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos,' and 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' It names the residual applications lacking asbestos-free substitutes: piping-system gaskets and packing, electrical resistors (including Navy electronic equipment), deck and floor tile, galley-range electrical cable insulation, and equipment brakes and clutches, concluding it is 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' Policy chronology: insulation specifications changed to 'little or no asbestos' as early as 1971 and to asbestos-free by late 1973; the Navy-wide no-asbestos policy was formalized as NAVSEAINST 5100.2 on 24 October 1975.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1979 (letter); policy chronology 1971-1975

   Population

   U.S. Navy ships delivered since 1973 or under construction; shipbuilders and repair workers

   Limitations

   Fleet-level statements, not a per-hull itemization for DD-987; whether each named residual application was installed aboard this hull is undocumented. The letter predates O'Bannon's delivery (April 1980 in the table; commissioned December 1979), so its 'ships presently in service' framing covers the fleet she was joining rather than this hull individually. Does not quantify asbestos, establish individual exposure or causation, or speak to legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-02

3. [3]DANFS, O'Bannon III (DD-987) - Naval History and Heritage Command ship history (Wayback capture 2025-04-18; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (single page)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: third U.S. naval vessel named for Lt. Presley O'Bannon, USMC (First Barbary War). Laid down 24 June 1977 at Pascagoula, Miss., by Ingalls Shipbuilding; launched 25 September 1978, sponsored by Mrs. Patricia H. Barrow; commissioned 15 December 1979, Cmdr. Marshall R. Willenbucher in command. Spec block: displacement 7,800 tons; length 563'4"; beam 55'; draft 29'; speed 32.5 knots; complement 373; armament two 5-inch Mk 45 mounts, Mk 112 ASROC, two Mk 32 torpedo launchers, Sea Sparrow, eight Harpoon missiles; class Spruance. Homeport Charleston 1979 (DesRon 4, then DesRon 6); retrofit availability at Pascagoula 21 April-18 July 1980 (Harpoon canisters, AN/SLQ-32(V)2); first Mediterranean/North Atlantic deployment 1981 (Libya FON exercise 18-19 Aug); West African Training Cruise 1982; Persian Gulf deployment Oct 1986-Apr 1987; Mediterranean/Middle East Dec 1988-Jul 1989; Severomorsk port visit with Yorktown (CG-48) 5 July 1992 - first U.S. naval port call in post-Soviet Russia; Battle Efficiency 'E' 1992; Charleston Naval Shipyard drydock 1 Jan-7 Jul 1993; regular overhaul 1 Jan-1 Apr 1994; homeport shift to Mayport 1 Oct 1994; Mediterranean deployment Mar-Aug 1995 (DesRon 24); Operation Southern Watch Dec 1998; SouthCom counter-narcotics deployment Dec 2000-Feb 2001; Atlantic Dry Dock emergent repairs Mar 2001 and repairs Oct-Dec 2001; Caribbean counter-narcotics Feb-Jul 2003; Mediterranean deployment Nov 2004 (one of five Spruance-class hulls remaining); decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register 19 August 2005.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1977-2005

   Population

   Ingalls Shipbuilding construction trades 1977-79; crew complement 373 (design); shipyard workers at documented availabilities

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and design specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Yard periods are named without work scope - none is documented as asbestos work. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link rot); the 2025-04-18 Wayback capture of the same URL is cited. Spec-block figures conflict with secondary compilations (complement 373 vs 296/334; laid-down 24 Jun 1977 vs 21 Feb 1977) - conflicts carried in gaps, DANFS figures carried in fields.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-03

4. [4]DANFS, Spruance (DD-963) lead-ship entry - class design and propulsion description (Wayback capture 2025-02-12) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS Spruance entry, design paragraph + upgrade narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS describes the class design: 'a first for the U.S. Navy by utilizing four General Electric LM2500 marine gas turbine power plants for the main propulsion, and three additional gas turbines, built by Detroit Diesel Allison division of General Motors, drove generators for her electrical power.' Spruance's later upgrade 'included removing all three waste heat boilers, both steam distilling plants, and all of the steam using equipment.' The class's main propulsion is all-gas-turbine - no fossil-fired boilers - with limited auxiliary steam/waste-heat equipment in the early configuration, removed in service on the lead ship.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1973-2003 (lead ship narrative)

   Population

   Spruance-class crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Lead-ship/class description, not a per-hull machinery record for DD-987; whether O'Bannon retained the early-class waste-heat boilers and steam auxiliaries through her service life is not itemized per hull. Relevant only as context: the Navy's 'major application' of asbestos (thermal insulation for machinery and piping per HRD-80-2) is reduced in a plant with no fired boilers - an era/design inference, not a ship-specific finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-04

5. [5]Naval Vessels Transfer Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-134, sec. 3(3) (20 Dec. 2005), govinfo.gov [other_primary]

   Locator

   PL 109-134 sec. 3(3); Chile request via globalsecurity.org ship-transfer compilation (June 2004 Presidential request text)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Enacted statute authorizes the President 'to transfer vessels to foreign recipients on a sale basis under section 21 of the Arms Export Control Act,' including '(3) Turkey.--To the Government of Turkey, the SPRUANCE class destroyer ship O'BANNON (DD-987).' The sale was never executed - the hull was sunk as a target in October 2008. An earlier Presidential vessel-transfer request of 9 June 2004 listed O'Bannon as a grant transfer to Chile under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (located via public transcription; no enacted authorization located for that grant path).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2004-2005 (authorizations); hull sunk 2008

   Limitations

   Documents authorized disposition paths, not asbestos content; no public record located stating why neither transfer executed, and no asbestos-related reason is documented. The 2004 Chile request is carried from a transcription of the Presidential request (globalsecurity.org reproduction) - the underlying communication is authentic government material but the transcription is a secondary host; statutory Turkey authorization is primary (enrolled act text).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-05

6. [6]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index DD-987, fate section and transcribed official U.S. Navy photo captions (VIRIN series 081006-N-9911M, 6 Oct. 2008) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource DD-987 page, fate line + transcribed USN captions (081006-N-9911M series)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Ex-O'Bannon was sunk as a target on 6 October 2008 in a SINKEX exercise conducted by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. Official Navy photo captions transcribed at NavSource credit ships of the strike group - including USS Vicksburg (CG-69), USS Stout (DDG-55), USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), and USS Halyburton (FFG-40) - firing missiles and gunfire at the ex-O'Bannon hulk. NavSource carries the fate entry 'Sunk as target 6 October 2008.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2008-10-06

   Limitations

   The event and date are documented by official Navy photo captions; the captions' dateline reads 'Pacific Ocean' while secondary accounts (destroyer veterans' site, encyclopedic compilations) place the sinking off the Virginia coast - discrepancy carried in gaps, not resolved. NavSource is a transcription host for the official captions, not the issuing archive (VIRIN records at defenseimagery.mil are the primary repository; individual image pages not independently retrieved). Says nothing about materials aboard or pre-sinking preparation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-06

7. [7]EPA Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) permitting pages on transportation of target vessels for ocean disposal (SINKEX), incl. the 2014 EPA-Navy SINKEX agreement [other_primary]

   Locator

   EPA MPRSA permitting page 'Transporting Target Vessels for Ocean Disposal'; 2014 SINKEX agreement PDF (epa.gov)

   Finding type

   regulatory

   Finding

   SINKEX disposal of ex-Navy vessels operates under EPA's MPRSA general permit regime (40 CFR 229.2): target vessels must have materials of environmental concern removed to the maximum extent practicable and be cleaned of loose debris and readily detachable material before sinking. EPA's January 2014 agreement with the Navy governs SINKEX vessel preparation with emphasis on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); asbestos is not enumerated in the agreement's material lists.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   Program regime; hull sunk 2008

   Limitations

   Program-level regulatory context for this hull's 2008 sinking; the 2014 agreement postdates ex-O'Bannon's sinking and applies to the ongoing program. Does not document what materials were removed from or remained aboard this hull; no public hull-specific SINKEX preparation inventory for ex-O'Bannon was located. Asbestos absence from the permit material lists is a gap in public documentation, not evidence of presence or absence aboard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-07

8. [8]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json), Ingalls Shipbuilding record (yard_id: ingalls-shipbuilding, Tier 2) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json entry 'ingalls-shipbuilding' (Pascagoula MS)

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   The Atlas yard dataset carries Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula MS - this hull's builder and 1980 retrofit yard - as a Tier-2 yard with documented asbestos products, worker-cohort study citations, and litigation history at the yard level. O'Bannon was under construction and fitting out there 1977-1979 and returned for a retrofit availability April-July 1980.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1977-1980 (this hull's yard periods)

   Population

   Ingalls Shipbuilding construction and repair workforce, era including 1977-1980

   Limitations

   Yard-level documentation only: it establishes asbestos conditions and litigation history at the facility during the construction era, not that this hull contained or exposed crew to asbestos aboard. Does not itemize materials installed in DD-987, does not establish individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility. Internal dataset cited as locator for the underlying yard documentation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-08

9. [9]Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, No. 93-7077 (5th Cir., opinion filed 30 Mar. 1994); Jackson v. Johns-Manville Corp., 727 F.2d 506 (5th Cir. 1984) [court_record]

   Locator

   5th Cir. No. 93-7077 opinion (ca5.uscourts.gov PDF); 727 F.2d 506 (published opinion)

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   Published Fifth Circuit litigation documents the builder yard's asbestos environment: Ingalls sought to compel transfer of asbestos claims involving approximately 3,100 former Ingalls shipyard workers (No. 93-7077), and Jackson v. Johns-Manville records an Ingalls shipyard worker's daily asbestos exposure 1953-1971 (strict-liability verdict affirmed in part). The builder yard's asbestos litigation history spans the era in which DD-987 was constructed (1977-1979).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1984-1994 (opinions); exposure windows 1953-1980s

   Population

   Ingalls shipyard workforce (~3,100 claimants); individual worker 1953-1971

   Limitations

   Yard-level litigation context only. Neither case names or involves DD-987; Jackson's exposure window (1953-71) precedes this hull's construction. Establishes that the builder facility had documented asbestos-related worker claims, not materials aboard or exposure from this hull. Does not establish causation, products, or legal eligibility for anyone aboard this vessel.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-09

10. [10]'Sailor Says Navy Lax on Asbestos Peril,' Washington Post, 18 October 1979 [reputable_press]

    Locator

    Washington Post archive, 18 Oct. 1979 (paywalled; indexed excerpt reviewed)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Contemporaneous press coverage (October 1979 - the same window as O'Bannon's fitting-out and delivery) documents the Navy's asbestos abatement program on older ships and worker-protection criticism: a USS Towers sailor described civilian contractors hired 'to come in and rip the stuff out' of Navy ships with inadequate protection. Coverage coincides with GAO's HRD-80-2 inquiry period.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1979

    Population

    Navy crews aboard older ships undergoing asbestos removal, 1979

    Limitations

    Era context only - describes asbestos conditions and the abatement program on older in-service ships, not this newly constructed hull. Article body paywalled; content verified at headline/summary and indexed-excerpt level. Establishes nothing about materials aboard DD-987, individual exposure, or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-10

11. [11]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py), completed 2026-09-28: opinion + RECAP docket queries for exact name, hull number, and name variants [court_record]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-bannon-dd987-04 through -09

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. Completed queries: 'USS O'Bannon' opinions = 0 hits; 'USS O'Bannon' RECAP dockets = 0; 'DD-987' opinions = 0; 'DD-987' RECAP dockets = 2 hits, both name collisions (Purkey v. Barr, D.D.C. - execution-protocol docket reference; In re Seroquel Products Liability Litigation, M.D. Fla. MDL); 'O'Bannon asbestos' opinions = 16 hits, all surname collisions (predominantly the New Orleans firm Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon; includes unrelated O'Bannon parties); broad 'O'Bannon' opinion queries = 197 hits, reviewed as surname collisions and unrelated matters.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    2026-09-28 (sweep date)

    Limitations

    Sweep covers CourtListener's opinion and RECAP docket indexes; absence of indexed litigation does not prove no claim was ever filed (unindexed state-court and settled claims are invisible to this index). Zero qualifying hits means no docketed asbestos case naming USS O'Bannon/DD-987 was located - not a finding that no exposure occurred.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-11

12. [12]Batch-3902 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback capture), Naval Vessel Register, GAO HRD-80-2, EPA MPRSA SINKEX materials, govinfo PL 109-134, NavSource DD-987 index, NHHC command-operation-report path probes [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-o-bannon-dd987-01 through -14

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No hull-specific asbestos inventory, abatement contract, material survey, or hazmat disclosure for DD-987 was located in the public sources searched. The NVR ship-detail page for DD-987 did not render usable ship-specific content (disposed hull; register drops sunk targets). No NHHC command-operation reports for O'Bannon were located at probed archive paths. The GAO table entry (ev-01) is the only located public record making a per-hull materials statement for this ship.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    2026-09-28

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not establish the hull's material state either way beyond the GAO insulation finding. NARA RG19 General Information Books, RG24 deck logs, and command-operation reports are the open archival leads for any per-hull material detail. Does not establish or defeat exposure claims or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-o-bannon-dd987-12