Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, Saufley (DD-465) (specifications block, construction data, full service narrative, 16 WWII battle stars; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page serves 404; text via hazegray Wayback capture 2024-05-25) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (hazegray.org Wayback capture 2024-05-25)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 27 January 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 19 July 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Helen O'R. Scruggs; commissioned 29 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. Bert F. Brown in command. Specifications: dp. 2,050; 376'6"; 39'8" beam; 17'9" draft; 37 kt; cpl. 319; 5 x 5-inch, 10 x 40mm, 7 x 20mm, 10 x 21-inch tt.; Fletcher class. WWII: Guadalcanal campaign from December 1942; Operation Cleanslate (Russells) February 1943; New Georgia; sank submarine RO-101 15 September 1943 in company with Montgomery (DD-121) and a Catalina; anti-barge patrols (four barges sunk); 1 October 1943 aerial bomb damage - 2 killed, 11 wounded; Bougainville reinforcement; Green Islands and Emirau; sank submarine I-2 7 April 1944; Marianas (Saipan 16 June, Guam 20 July, Tinian 24 July); San Francisco overhaul into October 1944; Leyte Gulf - 28 November 1944 multi-destroyer sinking of a Japanese submarine off Pilar Point with Renshaw (DD-499) and Waller (DD-466), hull damage and one killed 29 November; Lingayen January 1945 (two aircraft splashed); Nasugbu; Manila Bay/Mindoro; Sanga Sanga and Jolo flagship duty; Balikpapan 1 July 1945; Yangtze delta minesweeping support September-November 1945. Repairs at New York Naval Shipyard February 1946; inactivation at Charleston; decommissioned 12 June 1946. Redesignated DDE-465 on 15 March 1949; recommissioned 15 December 1949, CortDesRon 2, Atlantic Fleet; June 1950 rescue of 36 airliner passengers; reclassified EDDE-465 on 1 January 1951 - experimental escort destroyer, Operational Development Force, DesDiv 601, homeported Key West for twelve years of sonar/ASW weapons test and evaluation; redesignated DD-465 on 1 July 1962; PT-109 filming July 1962; Cuban Quarantine patrols October-20 November 1962 and the 26 November Presidential review; Thresher (SSN-593) search spring 1963; decommissioned at Norfolk 29 January 1965; continued experimental use - 1967 instruments installed to register strain and stress of successive explosions; sunk off Key West in February 1968 as a result of the tests. Sixteen WWII 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 (DANFS complement 319)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative sequence contains an apparent transcription anomaly ('departed Norfolk on 9 September' against a 2 December 1942 Noumea arrival after a full shakedown); the departure date is not carried. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-01
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-465/DDE-465/EDDE-465 USS Saufley - operational and building data sheet plus NARA BuShips photo captions (Wayback capture; direct fetch blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-465 page, 'Operational and Building Data' block + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Building and disposition data for this hull: laid down at Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny NJ 27 January 1942; launched 19 July 1942; commissioned 29 August 1942; decommissioned 12 June 1946; reclassified DDE-465 (NavSource reads 26 March 1949 - DANFS reads 15 March, conflict logged); recommissioned 15 December 1949; reverted to DD-465 (NavSource and a NARA photo caption read 30 June 1962 - DANFS reads 1 July, conflict logged); decommissioned 29 January 1965; stricken 1 September 1966; sunk as target off Key West, FL, 20 February 1968. NARA BuShips photo captions via NavSource document two yard periods DANFS does not name: 'updated to the standard five twin 40mm and 7-20mm AA configuration at Hunters Point NY, October 15 1944' (the San Francisco overhaul) and 'being prepared for conversion to the DDE configuration' at Charleston NY January 1949, 'shortly after conversion ... 23 February 1950' (the Charleston Navy Yard DDE conversion).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1968
- Population
- Crew 1942-1965; test-hulk instrumentation workers 1967
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable photographic/history archive, not an official record - carried for the designation/disposal dates and yard-photo captions DANFS does not reach. Designation-date conflicts with DANFS (DDE 15 vs 26 March 1949; DD reversion 1 July vs 30 June 1962) are logged in gaps rather than reconciled. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-02
-
[3]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, Photo # NH 107433 - USS Saufley (DD-465) underway, circa 1943 (official U.S. Navy photograph, NHHC collections; ibiblio mirror) + NAVFAC official Saufley Field page (namesake record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library picture data page NH 107433 (ibiblio mirror); navfac.navy.mil Saufley Field environmental page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USN/NHHC photo record for this hull: NH 107433, USS Saufley (DD-465) underway at very slow speed circa 1943 - noted as retouched by wartime censors to remove radar antennas and the Mark 37 gun director. Official Navy namesake record: NAVFAC's Saufley Field page confirms the field - and by extension this hull - was 'named in honor of Lieutenant Richard Caswell Saufley, a Naval Aviator who lost his life in 1916 while attempting to set a flight endurance record.' Confirms hull identity, namesake, and wartime configuration.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- circa 1943
- Population
- Wartime crew
- Limitations
- Photographic and namesake-identity records only - no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-03
-
[4]Simonetta v. Viad Corp., 165 Wn.2d 341, 197 P.3d 127 (Wash. 2008); Simonetta v. Viad Corp., 137 Wn. App. 15, 151 P.3d 1019 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007) [court_record]
- Locator
- 197 P.3d 127 opinion paragraph 1 (service/exposure recital) and paragraph 11 (SJ posture/reversal); 151 P.3d 1019 opinion paragraphs 3-4 (insulation detail); Washington Supreme Court docket 80076-6
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published Washington Supreme Court asbestos opinion names this hull: plaintiff Joseph Simonetta served in the U.S. Navy 1954-1974 and, as a fireman and machinist's mate in 1958-59, maintained a Griscom Russell evaporator (distilling plant) aboard the USS Saufley. The opinion recites that the evaporator was shipped from the manufacturer in 1941 or 1942 while the Saufley was under construction and was then 'insulated with asbestos products manufactured by another company and installed by the navy or another entity' - the Court of Appeals specifies block insulation, asbestos mud, and asbestos cloth - and that to service the unit Simonetta 'pried or hacked away' the asbestos insulation with a hammer and reinsulated it afterward; he alleged the exposure caused his lung cancer. Procedural posture is controlling: King County Superior Court No. 04-2-02874-4 granted Viad summary judgment; the Court of Appeals reversed, holding a duty to warn under negligence and strict liability; the Washington Supreme Court REVERSED the Court of Appeals, holding a manufacturer owes no duty to warn of the hazards of another manufacturer's product - the defense prevailed on duty grounds, so the exposure recitals were never adjudicated on the merits. USS Saufley (DD-465, then EDDE-465) was the only commissioned vessel of that name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1958-1959 (alleged exposure); 1941-1942 (equipment installation); 2004-2008 (litigation)
- Population
- Joseph Simonetta (USN fireman/machinist's mate aboard USS Saufley 1958-59, lung cancer)
- Limitations
- Summary-judgment-posture recital - the exposure facts are the plaintiff's allegations taken as true on review, not adjudicated findings; the defendant ultimately prevailed on duty grounds (a merits-level negative for this plaintiff, not affirmative exposure proof). Documents that a litigant placed asbestos-insulation work aboard this hull in a published appellate record; does not establish causation, does not quantify asbestos aboard, and does not address the vessel's full materials picture. Post-remand history not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-04
-
[5]Atlas Fletcher-class profile (ev-fletcher-class-03) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Federal Shipbuilding-Kearny record (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 class machinery block [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny'; fletcher-class.class.json ev-03; BuShips Ships Data 1945 DD section (shipscribe scan)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built in 1942 with a four-B&W-boiler, 60,000-shp geared-turbine plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; the builder yard (Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock, Kearny) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset - the 1944 Owens-Illinois industrial-health survey documents insulators cutting and fitting Johns-Manville Superex pipe covering and Kaylo boiler insulation in confined yard spaces, and documents Garlock gaskets and W.R. Grace Monokote fireproofing among yard products. The Simonetta record (ev-04) independently recites that at least one shipboard system - the evaporator - was asbestos-insulated during this hull's 1941-42 construction window.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942 construction; 1944 yard survey
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; crew 1942-1965
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding for construction-era materials generally. The yard survey postdates this hull's July 1942 launch by two years and documents 1944 yard practice, not materials installed aboard DD-465 in 1942. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-05
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2, Navy asbestos program documentation (product page description - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated full-text fetch) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level context: GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - after this hull's 1965 decommissioning and 1968 sinking. Saufley's documented yard periods (Kearny construction 1942; Hunters Point overhaul 1944; New York Naval Shipyard repairs 1946; Charleston inactivation 1946 and DDE conversion 1949-50; Norfolk decommissioning 1965) all fall inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1980 (report); asbestos-use era through early 1970s
- Population
- U.S. Navy fleet (program level)
- Limitations
- Fleet-level program documentation, not a hull record; does not establish asbestos aboard this hull beyond the litigated evaporator recital, and does not address any individual exposure. Full text not retrievable (HTTP 403); product-page description relied upon.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-06
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep: "USS Saufley" (type=o and type=r); "DD-465" (type=o and type=r); VA BVA decision search; full-text review of matched RECAP documents [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-saufley-dd465-04 through sl-uss-saufley-dd465-07
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation surface for this hull, resolved: 'USS Saufley' opinion search returns 6 hits across 2 cases - Simonetta v. Viad Corp. (Wash. Sup. Ct. 2008 + Wash. Ct. App. 2007 versions) is QUALIFYING (hull named as the exposure platform; carried as ev-04); Merrill v. Leslie Controls (Cal. Ct. App. 2009, two versions - 177 and 179 Cal.App.4th) is NON-QUALIFYING (the hull appears only in the opinion's doctrinal recital of the Simonetta record; Merrill's exposure was aboard cruisers). 'USS Saufley' RECAP docket search returns 2 asbestos-PI dockets - Wineland v. Air & Liquid Systems, 2:19-cv-00793 (W.D. Wash.), and Redman v. A.W. Chesterton, 3:08-cv-03013 (N.D. Cal.): full-text review of the Wineland hit resolves it as NON-QUALIFYING (Crane Co.'s SJ motion cites the Simonetta precedent - 'an evaporator that was installed on a Navy vessel, the USS SAUFLEY' - doctrinal citation, not an exposure site); the Redman hit (90-page plaintiffs' declaration, Doc 31) is index-level only - the RECAP file 404s on storage pull and its 'USS Saufley' reference role is unverified (candidate roles: plaintiffs' vessel list vs. Simonetta citation). 'DD-465' opinion search returns 1 name collision (Boyette v. State, Professional Practices Council, Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977 - docket number DD-465, not the ship); 'DD-465' docket-index search returns 10 hits, all docket-number/string collisions (bankruptcy and civil docket numbers and in-document codes - none asbestos, none ship-related). No BVA decision naming this hull located. Law-firm destroyer lists name this hull by rote - excluded as sources per batch rules.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The sweep's one qualifying hit is a defense-prevailed appellate record (see ev-04 limits). The Redman docket reference is unresolved (file not retrievable); if it mirrors the Wineland/Merrill pattern it is a Simonetta citation. Absence of further located records does not prove absence of exposure or claims.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-saufley-dd465-07