Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Rich II (DD-820) (builder, dates, designations, service narrative, battle stars; verbatim transcription via hazegray Wayback capture 2006-09-27 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Rich II', specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 16 May 1944 [sic - 1945, see limitations] by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; launched 5 October 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Ralph McM. Rich; commissioned 3 July 1946, Comdr. R. C. Houston in command; converted to a specialized antisubmarine ship at the New York Naval Shipyard spring 1947; hunter-killer group based Key West 1948-49; redesignated escort destroyer DDE-820 March 1950; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard February 1951; 6th Fleet rotations; Suez Crisis 1956; Lebanon landings support 1958; SAR group for Senator Kennedy's 1960 South America flight; Project Mercury participation 1962; Cuban Quarantine Force 25 October-25 November 1962; ten-month FRAM I modernization 1963; Gemini recovery ship March and May 1965; Vietnam 1968 - Gulf of Tonkin escort/plane guard 13 May-20 July, search and rescue off North Vietnam into September, naval gunfire support I Corps 21 September-1 October; Apollo X recovery May 1969; Middle East Force deployment July-December 1969; Sixth Fleet cruise February-July 1971; Subic Bay deployment returning 23 March 1973; awarded three battle stars for Vietnam service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1977
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1945-46; New York Naval Shipyard workers 1947 and 1963; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard workers 1951 and 1977; crew (design complement 350)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription reads 'laid down on 16 May 1944' - a documented error; every other source (NavSource, uboat.net, the USS Rich Association's own data table, the Orange-yard sibling build sequence DD-817 through DD-825 laid April-July 1945) gives 16 May 1945. Mirror transcription cited because live NHHC DANFS pages return 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-01
-
[2]Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (shipscribe.com mirror of NHC photo catalog), USS Rich (DD-820) photo captions: NH 86114/86113/99736-99738/86115 (off New York Naval Shipyard 17 September 1947 after ASW conversion); NH 92296/99766/99767 (off Philadelphia Navy Yard 19 May and 15 August 1951 as DDE-820); NH 99802/99803/99804 (inclining experiment at New York Naval Shipyard 15 September 1963, 'nearing the end of her modernization to a FRAM I type destroyer') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHC photo catalog captions NH 86113-86115, NH 99736-99738, NH 99869-99870 (1947 NYNS); NH 92296, NH 99766-99767 (1951 PNSY); NH 99802-99804 (1963 NYNS FRAM)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photographs in the Naval Historical Center collections document three yard availabilities of this hull: the 1947 New York Naval Shipyard conversion to a specialized ASW destroyer (removal of the number-two 5"/38 mount, added mainmast and integrated sonar), the 1951 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul (photographed off the yard as DDE-820 with trainable hedgehog and tripod foremast), and the 1963 FRAM I modernization at the New York Naval Shipyard nearing completion that September.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1947; 1951; 1963
- Population
- New York Naval Shipyard workers 1947 and 1963; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard workers 1951
- Limitations
- Photo captions establish that the yard periods occurred aboard this hull - they do not describe materials disturbed, insulation content, or abatement practice during those availabilities. Asbestos disturbance during the conversions and FRAM is era-consistent inference, not a documented fact for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-02
-
[3]USS Rich Association, 'Disaster at 19.32.3N 64.56.3W' - reproduces verbatim the unclassified COMNAVSURFLANT Norfolk press-release message of 13 July 1977 on the Caloosahatchee/Rich collision; NavSource operational/building data (disposal entries) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ussrich.org/about/disaster.htm (Navy message text); ussrich.org/about/keel.htm (15 Dec 1977 ceremony); navsource.org/archives/05/820.htm (fate line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 12 July 1977, completing underway replenishment with fleet oiler USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98) off Puerto Rico, Rich lost steering control (later attributed to reversed polarity in the after-steering trick switch), turned into the oiler's path, and was struck fourteen times - superstructure, ASROC magazine, helo deck, hull and port-screw damage, no personnel injuries. The Navy press-release message identifies her as 'a Naval Reserve Force ship homeported in Philadelphia' under CDR George Stefencavage. She steamed to Mayport under her own power, failed her INSURV (inactivation) inspection, and was judged beyond economical repair; decommissioned November-December 1977; stricken 15 December 1977; sold to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., New York, in December 1979 and broken up at Kearny, NJ.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1977-1980
- Population
- Naval Reserve Force crew 1977; Mayport repair personnel; Union Minerals & Alloys scrapping workers, Kearny NJ 1979-80
- Limitations
- The association page self-describes as 'in no way an official accounting' but reproduces the verbatim UNCLAS Navy message; decommissioning date conflicts across sources (10 November vs 15 December 1977) and scrap-sale day (5 vs 17 December 1979) are carried in gaps. Nothing in the collision or disposal record speaks to asbestos content or disturbance.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-03
-
[4]Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [court_record]
- Locator
- Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171 (drawing and tonnage recitals)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The Goodrich omnibus opinion recites 'an engineering drawing for the insulation and lagging of forced draft blower turbines for the class of destroyers (DD 692, USS Allen M. Sumner class), within which the USS Harlan Dickson fell, specifies the use of amosite felts and asbestos cloths' and quotes an expert report estimating 'a partial tally of the weight of the asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging products in the fire ... and engine rooms of a ship belonging to the USS Allen M. Sumner (DD 692) and USS Gearing (DD 710) classes of destroyers is 30.3 tons.' DD-820 is a Gearing-class hull within the design family the recital covers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2018 (opinion); class construction era 1944-49
- Population
- Gearing/Sumner-class crews and yard workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level litigation recital only - the drawing and the 30.3-ton tally are quoted from expert/record materials in another plaintiff's case, are not adjudicated quantities, were not produced for this hull, and the opinion treated some related exposure conclusions as speculative. Underlying exhibits not retrieved; does not establish asbestos aboard DD-820 specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-04
-
[5]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, with standing policy (1975, modified 1979) to remove asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs - placing DD-820's construction (1945-46) and entire commissioned service (1946-1977) inside the documented asbestos-use era, and meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place unless a yard period disturbed it.
- 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-rich-dd820-05
-
[6]Batch-3786 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror (Wayback/hazegray); Naval Historical Center photo catalog via shipscribe/NavSource; USS Rich Association; CourtListener API v4; Naval Vessel Register; GAO HRD-80-2; NARA RG19 (not digitized); VA BVA decision corpus; law-firm/aggregator ship pages (excluded per sourcing rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-rich-dd820-01 through sl-uss-rich-dd820-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-820: no hull survey, abatement contract, materials inventory, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case/opinion naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The ship was stricken 1977 and scrapped 1979-80 - 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.
- 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 level and the Goodrich recital covers her design family. The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original 1946 insulation survived the 1947 conversion, 1951 overhaul, and 1963 FRAM is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-06
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated, 2026-09-27): opinion queries "USS Rich", "DD-820", "DDE-820", "DD-820"+asbestos (0 hits each); docket queries "USS Rich" and "DDE-820" (0), "DD-820" (18 name/metadata collisions); see search_ledger [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-rich-dd820-02 through sl-uss-rich-dd820-05
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result: no qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Rich (DD-820) located. Opinion queries "USS Rich", "DD-820", "DDE-820", and "DD-820"+asbestos each returned zero; docket queries "USS Rich" and "DDE-820" returned zero, and "DD-820" returned 18 hits all resolving as name/metadata collisions (docket-number and suit-nature fragments - patent, credit, civil-rights cases with no vessel or asbestos nexus). No ship-naming complaint, opinion, or exhibit entry located for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- A name match is not automatically an asbestos case: 'USS Rich' also denotes DE-695 (sunk 1944-06-08), and 'Rich' is a high-collision surname; any pre-1946 service reference would belong to the destroyer escort. Absence of a CourtListener hit does not exclude unreported, settled, or state-court-only matters, nor non-indexed complaint exhibits.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-07
-
[8]Consolidated class-era inference - navypedia Gearing-class technical data + ussrich.org keel data + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context + Goodrich drawing recital [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia Gearing-class table; ussrich.org keel data; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull: DD-820's four Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers and 60,000-shp geared steam-turbine plant places her in the peak Navy asbestos-use era; typical applications for the type - boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, fireproofing, and accommodation insulation. Three documented yard availabilities (NYNS 1947 conversion, PNSY 1951 overhaul, NYNS 1963 FRAM I) plus the 1977 collision-damage assessment are the maintenance-disturbance pathways of record.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1980
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades 1945-46; yard workers at three availabilities; crew 1946-77
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no source located states that asbestos was installed in, or disturbed aboard, this specific hull; the ship-specific evidence record for DD-820 contains no asbestos finding at all (ev-06). Turbine vendor is contested (association keel data reads 'G.E.C.' geared turbines; NavSource reads Westinghouse) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rich-dd820-08