Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Philip II (DD-498) (builder, dates, specifications block, service narrative, designations, striking; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J., 7 May 1942; launched 13 October 1942 (sponsor Mrs. Barrett Philip); commissioned 21 November 1942, Comdr. Thomas C. Ragan. WWII service: Shortland Islands bombardment (1943-06-30); Vella Lavella screening (1943-08-15) under repeated air attack; collision with USS Waller (DD-466) under smoke cover; Blanche Harbor, Treasury Island (1943-10-27); Bougainville/Choiseul Bay (1944-01); Empress Augusta Bay (1944-03-14); near-daily Saipan/Tinian bombardment 1944-06-17 through end of July; Mindoro assault 1944-12-12/15; Lingayen Gulf 1945-01-09/12 (destroyed an explosive-laden suicide boat 20 yards off the port side); Zamboanga, Sanga Sanga, Jolo (1945-03/04); Borneo landings - Tarakan, Brunei Bay (Miri-Luton minesweeping), Balikpapan (through 1945-07-19); postwar China mine-destruction duty. Placed out of commission in reserve at Charleston, S.C. by directive dated January 1947 (Atlantic Reserve Fleet). Reclassified DDE-498 on 26 March 1949; recommissioned at Charleston 30 June 1950; homeported Pearl Harbor; plane-guard for President Truman's Wake Island conference aircraft (autumn 1950). Korea: TF 77 screening in the Sea of Japan (from 1951-06-15); UN blockade on the west coast; Typhoon Ruth transit; TF 78 shore-bombardment patrol incl. Wonsan Harbor with USS Los Angeles (CA-135) 1952-12-05; intensive three-month overhaul at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard beginning late June 1953; further overhauls 1954 (one month) and 1955 (comprehensive). DesRon 25 / DesDiv 252 WestPac deployments through the late 1950s; Vietnam-area cruises incl. Yankee Station 1965; redesignated DDE to DD effective 1 July 1962; decommissioned 30 September 1968; struck from the Navy List 1 October 1968. Nine WWII and five Korean battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1968
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 273); Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers during the 1953 overhaul
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, dates, and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not state post-striking disposal (entry predates the 1972 sinking - see ev-04 for disposal). Yard names: 'Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard' is named for the 1953 overhaul; the 1954 and 1955 overhauls say 'the yard'/'a month's overhaul' without a yard name (Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is the probable site given homeport but is not named - see gaps); Charleston is named for reserve berthing and the 1950 recommissioning but no yard is named. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-01
-
[2]Seguine v. Ajax Boiler Inc et al., No. 2:11-cv-10316-JAK (C.D. Cal.; removed from Los Angeles Superior Court BC472894); complaint via Notice of Potential Tag-Along attachment, In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (J.P.M.L.), Document 8227-3 (filed 2011-12-16); district docket terminated 2012-09-20 [court_record]
- Locator
- MDL-875 docket, Document 8227-3 pp.34-35 (complaint Exhibit A exposure table: 'U.S. Navy USS Philip (DD/DDE-498), Boiler tender, 1955-1959'; Exhibit B diagnosis date); district docket /docket/12924806/ (terminated 2012-09-20, suitNature 368 Asbestos personal injury - Prod. Liab.)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- QUALIFYING asbestos pleading naming this hull: the complaint in Seguine v. Ajax Boiler Inc et al. alleges plaintiff Ronald Seguine developed malignant pleural mesothelioma (diagnosed on or about 10 October 2011, per Exhibit B) from exposure to defendants' asbestos-containing products; complaint Exhibit A lists 'U.S. Navy USS Philip (DD/DDE-498)' as an exposure location with job title 'Boiler tender' and exposure dates 1955-1959 (also listing USS 'Henry Lee Tucker' (DD-875) [sic - USS Henry W. Tucker], Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, and Long Beach Naval Shipyard). During 1955-1959 the only commissioned USS Philip was DD-498 (the first, DD-76, was scrapped in 1937). The case was removed to C.D. Cal. 14 December 2011, noticed as a potential MDL-875 tag-along by defendant Foster Wheeler 16 December 2011, and the district docket terminated 20 September 2012; no merits adjudication located in CourtListener-indexed records.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1955-1959 (alleged exposure); 2011-2012 (litigation)
- Population
- Ronald Seguine (USN boiler tender 1955-1959, mesothelioma diagnosed 2011); crew of USS Philip 1955-1959 (design complement 273)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegation only - the complaint asserts exposure aboard this hull as a boiler tender 1955-1959 but nothing was adjudicated; the docket terminated without an indexed merits ruling (ordinary settlement/dismissal is consistent with the 2012-09-20 termination but the disposition itself is not in the indexed record). Does not establish that exposure occurred aboard, causation, which products aboard were asbestos-containing, or legal eligibility. Hull attribution is explicit ('DD/DDE-498' named with hull number).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-02
-
[3]NPS NHL nomination machinery data for Fletcher-class USS Kidd (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2-shaft GE geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp) + NavSource DD-498 data block (Wayback capture 2024-05-24: 60,000 SHP GE geared turbines, 2 screws) + Atlas shipyard dataset, federal-shipbuilding-kearny record (1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of insulation work at the yard) + GAO HRD-80-2 era documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NPS NHL nomination 83000502 item 7 (Fletcher-class machinery); NavSource USS Philip (DD-498) data block (Wayback 2024-05-24); shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny'; gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built in 1942 with the class-standard four-Babcock-&-Wilcox-boiler, GE geared-turbine, 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing - GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s, placing this hull's entire construction and service life inside the documented asbestos-use era. Builder Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including an Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey of the yard (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944) documenting asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex), boiler insulation (Kaylo), fireproofing (Monokote), and gaskets (Garlock) in yard insulation work.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1972
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; crew 1942-1968
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The 1944 yard survey postdates this hull's 1942 construction and commissioning and documents yard practice, not materials installed aboard DD-498. Machinery details rest on class-level (NPS Kidd nomination) and secondary (NavSource) documentation; the DD-498 DANFS specifications block lists speed (35 k.) but not plant detail. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-03
-
[4]NavSource Naval History Destroyer Photo Index, USS Philip (DD-498/DDE-498) data block and fate entry (Wayback capture 2024-05-24; live navsource.org fetch blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-498 page 'Operational and Building Data' block, 'Fate' line, and launch-photo caption (dual christening with USS Renshaw DD-499, 1942-10-13)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal record (secondary compilation): sold 15 December 1971 to Chou's Iron and Steel Co., Taipei, for $148,800; while under tandem tow to Kaohsiung for scrapping with USS Sproston (DD-577), Philip sank on 2 February 1972 at 18 deg 58 min N, 169 deg 41 min E as a result of storm damage. Also lists: radio call sign NAUC; decommissioned 'February 1 1946' (conflicts with the DANFS directive dated January 1947 - see gaps); reverted to DD-498 30 June 1962 (DANFS reads effective 1 July 1962 - see gaps).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1946-1972
- Population
- Scrapping/tow workers 1971-72 (tow crew exposure undocumented)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photographic archive, a secondary compilation, not an official record - sale price, sinking date, and position are not confirmed against a primary disposal document; no pre-1987 disposal appears in the Naval Vessel Register (shell page only). The hull's sinking means no museum, reef, or extant-hull ACM record can exist; material condition at sinking undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-04
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 searches: 'USS Philip' type=o (0 hits) and type=r (1 hit - MDL-875 master docket tag-along notice attaching the Seguine complaint, resolved as qualifying - see ev-02); 'DD-498' type=o (0 hits) and type=r (3 dockets/4 docs, all non-vessel string collisions); 'aboard the Philip' type=o (0 hits); '"Philip" asbestos' type=o (2,092 hits, all person-name collisions in top-ranked results); '2:11-cv-10316' type=r (4 hits incl. the Seguine district docket); 'DDE-498' type=o (0 hits) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search results: 'USS Philip' (o: 0; r: 1 - MDL-875 docket 1245688, Doc. 8227-3); 'DD-498' (o: 0; r: 3 dockets, all collisions); 'aboard the Philip' (o: 0); '"Philip" asbestos' (o: 2,092, name collisions); '2:11-cv-10316' (r: 4, incl. docket 12924806); 'DDE-498' (o: 0; r: not run - pacing)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep classification for this hull: 'USS Philip' opinion search returned zero results; 'USS Philip' docket search returned a single hit - the MDL-875 (No. VI) JPML master docket, where 'USS Philip' appears inside the Seguine complaint attached to Foster Wheeler's potential tag-along notice (Doc. 8227-3) - resolved as QUALIFYING pleading-stage litigation (ev-02). The underlying district docket (Ronald Seguine v. Ajax Boiler Inc, C.D. Cal. 2:11-cv-10316, asbestos PI, filed 2011-12-14, terminated 2012-09-20) was located by docket-number search. 'DD-498' docket hits (3) are all string collisions: Andrews v. D'Souza (N.D. Ga. civil-rights conspiracy, exhibit numbering), SIPC v. Madoff (Bankr. S.D.N.Y., exhibit references), and NYT v. Microsoft (S.D.N.Y. copyright, exhibit E69 document-string). 'DDE-498' opinion search returned zero results. The dominant name-collision class is the surname/given-name 'Philip' (Philip Morris tobacco-asbestos fund litigation; plaintiff Philip Lavelle; attorney Philip A. Harley); also USS Philip (DD-76), a Wickes-class destroyer scrapped in 1937 that predates the asbestos-litigation era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Indexed-text classification only; docket-body references that never surfaced in indexed text cannot be excluded. The 'Philip'+asbestos opinion sweep (2,092 hits) was classified on the top-20 ranked results, all person-name collisions - a 'Philip' buried in a low-ranked opinion cannot be fully excluded, but the exact-phrase 'USS Philip' and hull-number 'DD-498'/'DDE-498' searches bound the sweep. The 'DDE-498' docket query could not be run (fleet pacing stood down) - marginal: the Seguine pleading naming 'DD/DDE-498' already surfaced via 'USS Philip'. Absence of further qualifying dockets does not establish that no other claim was ever filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-05
-
[6]Batch-3480 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror (HyperWar/ibiblio); NHHC live site; NavSource data block via Wayback; NVR ship detail; Destroyer History Foundation Fletcher-class page and DD-498 photo page; CourtListener exact-name, hull-number, and docket-number queries with RECAP document full text; Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-philip-dd498-01 through sl-uss-philip-dd498-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos MATERIALS record located for DD-498: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or disclosure, and no museum hazmat record can exist (the hull sank under tow to the scrappers 2 February 1972). The only ship-specific asbestos-adjacent record is the Seguine pleading (ev-02) - an unadjudicated allegation that does not document specific materials aboard.
- 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 Fletcher-class hull is era-consistent with extensive asbestos fit, but that is inference, not ship-proven documentation. The Seguine allegation is ship-specific but pleading-stage. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-philip-dd498-06