USS O'Callahan (DE-1051)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet hv-packet.md (10 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-callahan-de1051-pkt-hv-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, O'Callahan (DE-1051) (NHHC, published 2015-08-17; verbatim text via Wayback capture - live page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specification block + service narrative; Wayback captures 20160407071150 and 20251208 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/o-callahan.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: specification block (DE-1051: dp. 3,403; l. 414'6"; b. 44'; dr. 24'2"; s. 20+ k.; cpl. 220; a. 2 5-in., 4 tt., 1 ASROC, 1 DASH; cl. Garcia). Namesake Captain Joseph T. O'Callahan (1905-1964), Chaplain Corps USNR, Medal of Honor for heroism aboard carrier Franklin in 1945. Laid down 19 February 1964 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.; launched 20 October 1965, sponsored by Sister Rose Marie O'Callahan of the Philippines Maryknoll College (the chaplain's sister, first nun to sponsor a U.S. Navy ship); commissioned 13 July 1968 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Captain Robert L. Brown in command. Fitted out at Boston; underway 16 August 1968 for homeport San Diego via Norfolk, Charleston, Fort Lauderdale; electronics/weapons tests off Pacific Northwest 25 days from 1 October; shakedown from San Diego 4 November; training off Hawaii 6-17 February 1969; Long Beach Naval Shipyard post-shakedown availability 4 March through mid-May 1969; training operations out of San Diego into 1970 in preparation for first WestPac deployment.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1963-1970

   Population

   Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1964-68; commissioning crew and early crew 1968-1970 (DANFS design complement 220)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends in 1970 - no post-1970 service, Pakistan lease, or disposal coverage. Spec block complement (220) and speed ('20+ k.') differ from secondary compilations - flagged in gaps. CO rank reads 'Captain'; NavSource roster reads 'Cmdr.' Live NHHC page serves 404; Wayback captures (2016, 2025) carry identical verbatim text.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-01

3. [3]Willis v. Buffalo Pumps Inc., 34 F. Supp. 3d 1117 (S.D. Cal. 2014), No. 12cv744 BTM (DHB), Moskowitz, C.J. - Order granting in part and denying in part defendant Foster Wheeler's motion for summary judgment (filed 2014-07-21) [court_record]

   Locator

   34 F. Supp. 3d 1117 at 1120-1125 (Background; I. Threshold Exposure; II. Substantial Factor; III-VII); CourtListener opinion 7225703 (cluster 7307800)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published federal merits-stage opinion names this hull as an alleged asbestos-exposure site. Decedent Donald Willis served in the U.S. Navy 1959-1980; the court recites evidence (plaintiff's 'Federal Report' service analysis) that he was assigned to USS O'Callahan from May 1968 to 3 October 1969 - 'part of its pre-commission crew and ... its first crew' - and to USS Brooke November 1974-August 1977, working as a boiler tender in the boiler rooms with defendant Foster Wheeler's boilers on both ships. Willis was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2012 and died 5 May 2013; his widow was substituted as plaintiff. Evaluating Foster Wheeler's summary-judgment motion the court held: (1) threshold exposure - plaintiff 'carried her burden' via deposition testimony that the O'Callahan and Brooke boilers were Foster Wheeler units, that Foster Wheeler provided the original gaskets and specified/provided replacement gaskets, and (on the Brooke leg) that Foster Wheeler personnel supervised removal and replacement of the original boiler refractory; (2) O'Neil third-party-component defense inapplicable where Willis's service dates on the newly built O'Callahan support the inference he was exposed to the original asbestos gaskets shipped with the boilers; (3) substantial-factor causation satisfied as a triable issue on Dr. Jerrold Abraham's opinion; (4) government-contractor, sophisticated-user, intentional-failure-to-warn, and punitive-damages grounds denied. Summary judgment was granted ONLY on the false-representation cause of action.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1968-1969 (alleged exposure aboard this hull); 2012-2014 (litigation)

   Population

   Donald Willis (USN boiler tender 1959-1980; aboard O'Callahan 1968-05 to 1969-10-03 covering pre-commissioning, commissioning, shakedown, and the Long Beach NSY post-shakedown availability; aboard Brooke 1974-1977); boiler-room and engineering ratings as the alleged exposure population

   Limitations

   Dispositive-motion-stage record, not a trial finding or affirmed judgment: the court evaluated evidentiary sufficiency ('a reasonable jury could conclude'), did not adjudicate that asbestos exposure actually occurred aboard, did not quantify material, and did not identify non-Foster-Wheeler products aboard. Exposure allegations recited from plaintiff's service analysis and deposition exhibits. Subsequent merits history (trial/settlement/disposition) not located - a pretrial conference was impending at the order date.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-02

4. [4]Willis v. Buffalo Pumps Inc., 34 F. Supp. 3d 1117 (S.D. Cal. 2014) - product identification exhibits recited in the opinion [court_record]

   Locator

   34 F. Supp. 3d 1117 at 1122-1123 (Threshold Exposure analysis); exhibits at Doc. 272-10 through 272-18 per opinion recital

   Finding type

   litigation_product_id

   Finding

   The Willis opinion recites exhibit-level product identification for this hull: (a) Foster Wheeler boilers aboard O'Callahan (decedent's deposition Vol. I 61:2-25, 90:1-7; Vol. II 202:21-24 - corroborating the class's documented 2 x Foster Wheeler 1,200-psi boiler plant); (b) asbestos-containing original boiler gaskets plus replacement gaskets Foster Wheeler specified/provided, evidenced by Willis deposition Vol. V and the boiler technical manual's Navy stock numbers ('Description, Operation and Maintenance Instructions' exhibit); (c) asbestos-containing boiler refractory provided by Foster Wheeler (and, on the Brooke, removed/replaced under Foster Wheeler supervision), with an invoice showing Foster Wheeler billed the Navy for 'a Harbison Walker Lightweight Castable Refractory'; (d) manufacturer invoices Bates-stamped to the hull itself - Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. invoices stamped 'U.S.S O'CAL-LAHAN00000030', '00000168-00000172', and '00000274', alongside Flexitallic Gasket Co. and Garlock Inc. invoices (Brooke Bates series) and Harbison-Walker interrogatory answers from Amato v. Johns-Manville. A Department of the Navy correspondence item dated 12 November 1965 is cited in the record for the Brooke-side refractory replacement supervision.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1968-1969 (products aboard); 2013-2014 (exhibits)

   Population

   Boiler-room personnel (boiler tenders) aboard O'Callahan 1968-1969

   Limitations

   Product identifications are plaintiff's exhibits recited by the court at the summary-judgment sufficiency stage - held triable, not adjudicated true. Bates-stamped invoices tie Foster Wheeler product supply to this hull specifically; the Flexitallic/Garlock invoices and the 1965 Navy correspondence sit in the record's Brooke series, so their applicability to O'Callahan is asserted-by-analogy rather than hull-stamped. Asbestos content of the gaskets/refractory rests on plaintiff's evidence (expert service report; Lowell deposition; Harbison-Walker interrogatory answers).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-03

5. [5]MARAD Vessel History database, O'CALLAHAN (FF-1051), Detail 6131 + Record of Ship Sales status card (Form MA-20, image 6131_AF.jpg) [marad_nrc]

   Locator

   MARAD Vessel History Detail 6131; status card image https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/6131_AF.jpg

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   MARAD primary record for this hull: Record of Ship Sales (Form MA-20) documents the vessel (Frigate, Navy Design; year built 1968; length 415', breadth 44', depth 30'; 2,677 light-ship tons; located at Singapore) AWARDED to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd. on 3-9-94 for $602,100.00 under contract MA-12866; acquisition pursuant to Section 510(i) of the Merchant Marine Act 1916 as amended by Public Law 101-595 (enacted Nov. 16, 1990); remarks record offer under IFB No. EXC-8630 dated 11-30-93, amended 12-17-93, IFB withdrawn 12-29-93. MARAD detail page: shipyard Defoe Shipbuilding Company; fate 'Sold - No Further Info.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1993-11-30 to 1994-03 (record window); disposal completed 1994

   Population

   Vessel-disposal workforce 1993-94 (locations not documented aboard the hull)

   Limitations

   Sale record only - documents buyer, price, contract, and vessel location (Singapore) at disposal; does not document pre-sale hazardous-material survey, asbestos removal, or final breaking location. NavSource and secondary references record the consummated sale as 29 March 1994 and scrapping at Hong Kong - the card itself ends at the award/sale.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-04

6. [6]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS O'Callahan (DE 1051) page - building/operational chronology (NVR/DANFS-derived), official Navy photo captions, decommissioning booklet cover [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/06/06021051.htm 'Building and Operational Data' block; transfer-ceremony photo caption 0602105114/0602105115; supplemental page 06021051a.htm (decommissioning booklet scans)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Volunteer-maintained photo archive transcribing NVR/DANFS data and hosting official U.S. Navy photographs for this hull: building contract awarded 21 March 1963 to Defoe Shipbuilding Co.; Panama Canal transit 31 August 1968; assigned Pacific Fleet, DesRon 33 (CruDesFlot 9), homeport San Diego; reclassified frigate FF-1051 on 30 June 1975; decommissioned at San Diego 20 December 1988 after 20 years 5 months; leased/transferred to Pakistan 8 February 1989 and renamed PNS Aslat - the official Navy transfer-ceremony photo caption (Naval Station San Diego, 8 Feb 1989) identifies pennant F-265, while NavSource's own chronology header prints F-267 (ex-Koelsch/Siqqat's number - typo flagged); struck from the NVR 14 November 1993; returned to U.S. possession at Singapore 11 December 1993; sold to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd. (Jacques Pierot Jr. & Sons, New York) 29 March 1994 for $602,100. Award list: Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Battle 'E' (2), National Defense Service Medal w/star, Vietnam Service Medal w/3 stars, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/4 stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Scanned decommissioning booklet cover independently confirms 'Decommissioning Book, 20 December 1988.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1963-1994

   Population

   Crew 1968-1988; Pakistan Navy crew 1989-1993

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation, not an official record - but its stricken date (14 Nov 1993) is NVR-derived and concurs with navysite.de and the Naval Cover Museum, and its sale price/date concur with the primary MARAD card. Wikipedia's infobox reads 29 November 1993 for striking - conflict flagged in gaps. Award list and post-1970 operational detail are unverified against official award registers.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-05

7. [7]Bowling Green State University, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes - vessel registry entry, DE-1051 (USS O'CALLAHAN) [other_primary]

   Locator

   HCGL item 434657 registry fields (rig, dimensions, hull number, build info, vessel history, disposition)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Academic maritime-archive registry record for this hull: U.S. registry, destroyer escort, steel hull, Defoe yard hull number 00439; dimensions 414.5 ft x 44 ft x 24.16 ft; built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, MI, 1968; documents the Great Lakes-to-sea transit - 'Passed downbound at Port Colborne, June 18, 1968' (Lake Erie/St. Lawrence outbound before commissioning) - and commissioned July 13, 1968; disposition summary 'Decommissioned, 1988. Leased to Pakistan, 1989. Returned to U.S. and struck from Naval Register, 1993. Scrapped, 1994.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1968-1994

   Population

   Defoe Shipbuilding workforce 1964-1968

   Limitations

   Registry-level record - confirms construction identity, the unusual Great Lakes-built transit, and the broad disposition timeline; it does not document materials or asbestos content, and its compressed disposition summary does not resolve the 14-vs-29 November striking-date conflict.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-06

8. [8]Garcia-class machinery specification (NavSource specs block; DANFS class designation; era construction standard) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 'Specifications' block (Foster Wheeler boilers, Westinghouse turbine, single shaft); DANFS spec block (cl. Garcia)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/class inference: a Garcia-class ocean escort built 1964-1968 to SCB 199A with two Foster Wheeler 1,200-psi boilers and a Westinghouse geared steam turbine on a single shaft (35,000 shp, ~27 kt) was constructed in the period when Navy steam plants carried asbestos-containing boiler casing/drum insulation, steam-main and auxiliary steam-line lagging, gaskets and packing, refractory and fireproofing, and deck coverings as standard. For this hull specifically, the Willis litigation record (ev-02/-03) independently documents Foster Wheeler boilers with asbestos-containing original/replacement gaskets and refractory aboard; this row supplies only the surrounding material family that the litigation record does not individually enumerate (piping lagging, packing, fireproofing, deck tile).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1964-1993

   Population

   Defoe construction trades 1964-68; engineering ratings 1968-1988; Pakistan Navy 1989-93

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - the ship-specific findings are ev-02 and ev-03. This row does not establish a hull-level material inventory; quantities, locations, and any post-commissioning abatement are undocumented. Mid-1960s construction predates the Navy's asbestos-material phaseout but no era specification sheet for DE-1051 was retrieved.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-07

9. [9]GAO NSIAD-99-18, Federal Surplus Ships: Government Efforts to Address the Growing Backlog of Ships Awaiting Disposal (Oct. 1998); see also GAO-05-264 (Mar. 2005) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO NSIAD-99-18 pp. 2-5 (Table 1, overseas-scrapping shares; PCB export constraint); GAO-05-264 highlights page (hazardous-materials statement)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Program-level context for this hull's 1994 disposal channel: GAO documents that from 1983 through 1994 MARAD sold almost all surplus government ships for overseas scrapping (1990-94: 81 ships sold, ~99 percent for overseas scrapping), while the Navy had not directly sold ships overseas since 1982 - surplus Navy combatants like this hull went to MARAD for sale. GAO's successor report (GAO-05-264) records that such obsolete government ships 'contain hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and residual oils.' O'Callahan's MARAD sale under Section 510(i) to Trusha Investments (Singapore-located hull, reported Hong Kong breaking) ran through exactly this overseas-scrapping channel in March 1994 - months before the PCB-export legal constraints that later suspended overseas scrapping took hold.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1983-1994 (program window); sale 1994-03

   Population

   Overseas shipbreaking workforce, 1994 (Hong Kong per secondary sources)

   Limitations

   Program-level reporting, not hull documentation - the GAO reports do not name O'Callahan, do not inventory this hull's hazardous materials, and do not establish that asbestos abatement did or did not occur before breaking. 'Typically found' hazmat language is generic to the disposal cohort.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-08

10. [10]ShipIndex.org citation index - 'O'Callahan (DE/FF-1051) (digitized deck logs for 1968 to 1970)'; NARA RG 24 deck-log series; NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records [other_primary]

    Locator

    shipindex.org/ships/ocallahan entry list; Willis v. Buffalo Pumps Doc. 272 exhibits (S.D. Cal. 12cv744)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads not mined this pass: (a) NARA-digitized deck logs for this hull covering 1968-1970 exist per ShipIndex's citation entry - the deck logs document locations, yard periods, drills and (occasionally) casualty/remediation events and are the richest surviving crew-era record; (b) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships General Information Books / Booklet of General Plans for DE-1051 would itemize construction-era insulation and machinery specifications; (c) Defoe Shipbuilding records (Bay County Historical Society, Bay City, MI; BGSU HCGL holds Defoe-related collections) may hold hull-439 material specifications; (d) the Foster Wheeler and gasket-manufacturer invoices Bates-stamped 'U.S.S O'CALLAHAN' cited in Willis (Doc. 272-16/-17 exhibits) exist in the 12cv744 docket record at S.D. Cal. for direct retrieval.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1968-1970 (deck-log window); 1964-1968 (build records)

    Limitations

    Leads only - NARA catalog is JS-rendered/API-gated and was not queried at record level this session; deck-log digitization extent per ShipIndex (secondary index). The Willis docket exhibits were characterized from the published opinion's recital, not retrieved from RECAP.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-09

11. [11]CourtListener API v4 opinion + RECAP sweep (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py fleet helper) [court_record]

    Locator

    cl-auth-search.py type=o queries '"USS O'Callahan"', '"O'Callahan" asbestos', '"FF-1051"' (2026-09-28)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Litigation sweep result: '"USS O'Callahan"' (type=o) returned 1 hit - Willis v. Buffalo Pumps Inc. (S.D. Cal. 2014), QUALIFYING asbestos litigation naming this hull (ev-02/-03). '"O'Callahan" asbestos' (type=o) returned the same single hit. '"FF-1051"' (type=o) returned 0. Ship name is low-collision (no other USS O'Callahan exists; no non-naval 'O'Callahan' vessel collisions in results).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    opinion corpus through 2026-09-28

    Limitations

    PARTIAL sweep: '"DE-1051"' (type=o) and '"USS O'Callahan"' RECAP-docket (type=r) queries were outstanding at drafting due to fleet pacing stand-down (exit 2) - see search_ledger for final state; unpublished dockets and state-court filings outside RECAP coverage cannot be excluded. The lone qualifying opinion covers Foster Wheeler products only - other defendants' exhibits in the 12cv744 record may name the hull without appearing in published opinions.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-o-callahan-de1051-10