Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 750-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-rizzi-de537-pkt-750-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Rizzi (DE-537) - namesake biography, builder, dates, service narrative, striking (live NHHC page serves 404; verbatim text via Internet Archive capture of the NHHC page, 2024-05-24) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture 2024-05-24)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Rosalio Mario Rizzi, Seaman First Class, born 4 February 1924 at Nesquehoning, Pa., who served in Texas (BB-35) and Duncan (DD-485), was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism during Wasp (CV-7) rescue operations 15 September 1942, and was lost with Duncan off Savo Island 12 October 1942. Laid down 3 November 1943 by the Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Mass.; launched 7 December 1943; christened by Mrs. Theresa Rizzi, mother of the namesake; commissioned 26 June 1945, Lt. Comdr. E. K. Winn, USNR, in command. Completed shakedown the day following the cessation of hostilities; steamed to Norfolk as training ship for student officers of the Destroyer School; sailed south in January 1946 and reported to Commander, 16th (inactive) Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 23 January 1946; decommissioned 18 June 1946. Recommissioned 28 March 1951 as Naval Reserve training ship, 3d Naval District, New York - weekend and two-week East Coast and Caribbean cruises, summer cruises to Europe 1953 and 1955 and to South America 1954. Decommissioned 28 February 1958; berthed at Philadelphia in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; surveyed in spring 1972 and found unfit for further service; stricken from the Navy list 1 August 1972.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-45; ship's company 1945-46 and 1951-58 (design complement 277); reservist trainees 1951-58
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; Internet Archive capture of the NHHC page cited. Final decommissioning date conflicts with NavSource (28 vs. 25 February 1958) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-01
-
[3]USS Rizzi (DE-537), Commanding Officer to Secretary of the Navy, 'History of Vessel - submission of,' file DE 537/A7-1/(fm), serial 6-46, 15 January 1946 (ship's own war-history report; scan hosted by NavSource, image 06537wh) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource-hosted document scan 06537wh.jpg (cover letter + history page; doc no. 158300); retrieved via Internet Archive capture of navsource.org/archives/06/537.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous ship-submitted war history (received by the Secretary of the Navy routing office 21 January 1946): commissioned in the Boston Navy Yard 26 June 1945; departed 10 July for a one-month shakedown at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; returned to Boston 14 August 1945 'the day after the war was over.' Assigned to a Pacific destroyer-escort group, but the war's end changed her orders to Norfolk, Va., as training ship giving afloat training to Destroyer School student officers, her last week there spent training the crew of DE-538. Ordered to NAS Quonset Point, R.I., as carrier plane guard (services found not needed on arrival); then to the Boston Navy Yard via a five-day New York recreation period, where 'the RIZZI underwent an overhaul, preparing her for inactive status. Preservation measures were undertaken to prepare her for the inactive fleet.' Sailed 15 December 1945 for New York.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Ship's company and Boston Navy Yard inactivation workers, December 1945
- Limitations
- Primary contemporaneous record documenting a December 1945 Boston Navy Yard inactivation overhaul and preservation (mothballing) work aboard this hull; it does not describe materials removed or installed - any asbestos disturbance during that availability is plausible but is not documented in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Rizzi (DE 537) - building/operational data table, commanding officers, and mothball-fleet photo documentation (secondary compilation; retrieved via Internet Archive capture 2025-05-13) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DE-537 page, 'Building and Operational Data' block + photo captions 0619104, 0653706, 0615005, 0641917
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Operational-data compilation for this hull: keel laid 3 November 1943 by the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Mass.; launched and christened 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Teresa Rizzi, mother of Seaman First Class Rizzi; commissioned 26 June 1945; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 18 June 1946; recommissioned 28 March 1951 and assigned to Naval Reserve training, 3rd Naval District, homeported at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn; decommissioned 25 February 1958 at the U.S. Naval Supply Depot, Bayonne, N.J., with custody transferred to CO, New York Group, U.S. Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 August 1972; sold for scrapping 5 February 1974. Contributed photographs place this hull in the Inactive Ship Basin at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in winter 1972-73, 25 May 1973, and October 1973.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Atlantic Reserve Fleet preservation and survey crews, Green Cove Springs 1946-51 and Philadelphia 1958-74
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - its 25 February 1958 decommissioning date and Bayonne location conflict with DANFS (28 February 1958; Philadelphia berth); carried in gaps. The 5 February 1974 scrapping sale is documented here only; buyer and scrapyard unidentified. Photo evidence independently confirms the hull's presence in the Philadelphia inactive-ship basin through at least October 1973.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-03
-
[5]Clayton v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. et al., No. 1:13-cv-00847 (W.D.N.Y.), Order on Motion to Remand to State Court, ECF No. 72 (filed 2013-12-12, Arcara, J., adopting R&R of Scott, M.J.) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF No. 72 order, jurisdictional-facts recital (p. 1-2 of 3-page order); CourtListener RECAP document 17995525, docket 5116376
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull, at pleading stage: the W.D.N.Y. order adopting the report and recommendation on plaintiffs' motion to remand recites that 'plaintiff Edward Clayton was exposed to asbestos while working with Crane Co. valves and pumps while serving in the United States Navy Reserves aboard the USS Rizzi from 1953 to 1957 and in the United States Marine Corps aboard the USS Breckinridge from 1957 to 1959.' The case was removed by Crane Co. under federal-officer removal, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1442(a)(1), and remanded to New York State Supreme Court, Erie County, 12 December 2013. The 1953-57 window coincides with this hull's Naval Reserve training service out of New York (recommissioned 28 March 1951); the only USS Rizzi ever in service is DE-537, so hull attribution is unambiguous.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1953-1957 (alleged exposure); 2013 (removal and remand)
- Population
- Edward Clayton (USNR reservist aboard USS Rizzi 1953-57; USMC aboard USS Breckinridge 1957-59)
- Limitations
- Removal/remand order - the exposure allegation is recited, not adjudicated; classified at pleading-allegation stage per batch litigation discipline. Establishes that a plaintiff alleged asbestos exposure aboard this hull via Crane Co. valves and pumps 1953-57; does not establish causation, asbestos quantities, or the outcome of the remanded state-court action (not located).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-04
-
[6]Class/era documentation: Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 1 (Jan 1945), DE design-group 6 (WGT) table; navypedia WGT boiler-block map; Atlas john-c-butler-class class profile; Atlas shipyards.json record 'boston-naval-shipyard' (tier 3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v1 pp. 234-235 design-group table row 6; navypedia us_de_tev_wgt; shipyards.json 'boston-naval-shipyard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: DE-537 is a John C. Butler-class WGT destroyer escort built 1943-45 at the Boston Navy Yard with a two-boiler superheated steam plant - BuShips design group 6: 2 'D' express boilers at 435 psi/750 deg F, 2 Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 12,000 shp, 24.3 kt; the navypedia WGT block map assigns Babcock & Wilcox boilers to the DE-531-554 group. A ship of this plant and build era would have carried period-standard asbestos applications: boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing - the categories consistent with the valve-and-pump product allegation in the Clayton litigation (ev-04). The builder yard is a tier-3 asbestos-documented yard in the Atlas dataset (litigation product identification: John Crane gaskets and sealing materials).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Boston Navy Yard construction trades 1943-45; ship's company and reservist trainees 1945-58
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific finding for this hull is ev-04 (Clayton, allegation-level); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. Boiler-block map unverified against contract documents; establishes no quantities and no individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-05
-
[7]Jack v. Borg-Warner Morse Tec LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:17-cv-00537 - praecipe/pretrial-order materials, ECF 738 att. 1 (asbestos litigation naming John C. Butler-class sister hull USS Brannon, DE-446) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF 738.1 pp. 12, 26-27 + exhibit list (items Honeywell-160 through -167)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level litigation context: pretrial materials in a W.D. Wash. asbestos case name sister hull USS Brannon (DE-446, identified in the docket's Jane's Fighting Ships exhibit) and recite that Griscom-Russell supplied the ship's evaporator to Navy specifications 'without insulation,' with proposed testimony that 'asbestos was a critical material during WWII when the Navy installed the distiller' - while conceding that aboard DE-446 'this could have included fiberglass, mineral wool or other non-asbestos insulation.' The exhibit list identifies the controlling Navy insulation-spec suite relied on in DE-era asbestos litigation: BuShips Manual ch. 39 Thermal Insulation NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) (24 August 1945); Navy Dept Specification 32F3a 'Felt, Insulating, Asbestos' (15 October 1945); BuEng ch. 13 (1933/1939); BUMED Code-55 memo (9 June 1977).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (document era); 2017-2019 (litigation)
- Population
- Machinist's mate aboard USS Brannon DE-446 (class context)
- Limitations
- Pretrial/exhibit-list level material naming a classmate hull, not DE-537 - establishes the litigation theory and identifies the era's controlling insulation specs (the correct next-pull targets for hull-level material documentation), nothing more. Unadjudicated; the source itself concedes non-asbestos insulation was possible aboard the class.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation of the Navy's asbestos-protection policy: a 1975 standing policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation on ships of this vintage typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Relevant to this hull's 1958-74 reserve-fleet mothball period: era materials, if present, would not have been systematically removed under the program policy then in effect.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not ship- or class-specific; full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403) - content via GAO product-page description. Establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-07
-
[9]Batch-4369 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Internet Archive; ship-submitted war history scan; NavSource photo/operational archive; Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries across opinion and RECAP indexes; web sweep for asbestos-specific records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-rizzi-de537-01 through sl-uss-rizzi-de537-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific materials record located for DE-537: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no disposal hazmat disclosure, and no Navy insulation-spec or material schedule naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. The litigation sweep located one qualifying ship-specific allegation (Clayton, ev-04) and nothing else: 'USS Rizzi' returns zero CourtListener opinions, and all 'DE-537' hits reviewed across the docket and opinion indexes are identifier collisions in unrelated cases. The vessel appears on law-firm and marketing 'asbestos ship' list pages, which carry no primary documentation and are not citable here.
- 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 prove absence of asbestos aboard - class/era inference remains reasonable but is not ship-proven; the Clayton allegation is documented but unadjudicated. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rizzi-de537-08
