Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet je-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: **VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-somers-dd301-pkt-je-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Somers IV (DD-301)' - verbatim transcription via hazegray DANFS mirror (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Specifications block and complete service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS identifies the fourth Somers (DD-301) as a Clemson-class destroyer: laid down 4 July 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif.; launched 28 December 1918, sponsored by Miss Anna Maxwell Jayne; commissioned 23 June 1920, Comdr. H. G. Gearing, Jr., in command. Specifications: displacement 1,215, length 314'4", beam 30'11", draft 9'4", speed 34 knots, complement 122, armament 4 4-inch, 1 3-inch, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes. Service: San Diego base with the Battle Fleet; reserve divisions October 1920 to March 1922; Fleet Problem I off Panama 1923; carried President Harding's staff officers Seattle to Vancouver 25-26 July 1923; Honda Point disaster 8 September 1923 - escaped with an emergency turn, grazed a rock, moderate bow damage, rescued survivors of Fuller (DD-297) and Woodbury (DD-309) with fishing vessel Bueno Amor de Roma; Mare Island repairs 31 October to 5 December 1923; Fleet Problems II and III 1924; Hawaii and the 1925 Southwest Pacific goodwill cruise (Melbourne, Dunedin, Wellington, American Samoa); August 1927 search for aircraft lost on the U.S.-Honolulu flight; Fleet Problem VIII 1928; Bremerton repairs December 1928 to February 1929; towed Buchanan (DD-131) to her buoy 25 September 1929; decommissioned 10 April 1930 (Buchanan commissioned in her place); stricken 18 November 1930; scrapped at Mare Island 1930-1931; materials sold 19 March 1931.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, specifications, service, and disposal; it does not describe machinery insulation, asbestos content, or materials. Live NHHC DANFS page for this hull returned 404 on 2026-09-27; the verbatim transcription mirror is cited. Mirror transcription contains OCR artifacts ('Iaunched').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List 44, Named Vessels, Somers entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- Named-vessel table, Somers rows (no hull number printed on the 1920-1930 row; dates match DD-301 only)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's named-vessel deck-log index (Special List 44) lists Somers covering 6/23/1920 through 4/10/1930 - dates matching this hull's commissioned service window exactly (commissioned 23 June 1920, decommissioned 10 April 1930). Adjacent Somers index rows (1910-1914 ranges; DD-381 12/1/1937-10/26/1945) belong to other vessels of the same name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- An index entry establishes that deck logs exist covering the interval, not that any individual log was reviewed, is digitized, or describes materials, overhauls, asbestos, or exposure. The index row prints no hull number; attribution to DD-301 rests on the exact date-range match with the DANFS service window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-02
-
[4]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, SOMERS DD-301 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship Plan Index, SOMERS / DD-301 row (NAID 175670747)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's ship-plan index lists SOMERS (DD-301) in Record Group 19 under the Microfilm series (catalog identifier 175670747). Separate index rows exist for SOMERS DD-381, DDG-34, TB-22, and the brig, confirming NARA distinguishes the hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- A catalog entry establishes a potentially relevant holding only. The microfilm was not retrieved; its contents, including any construction, machinery, or insulation specification, remain unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-03
-
[5]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Guide sections: RG 19 correspondence series; General Information Books; deck logs and muster rolls
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's guide to researching asbestos aboard Navy vessels identifies RG 19 Bureau of Ships records - General Information Books, correspondence by hull and class designation, engineering drawings, deck logs, and muster rolls - as the paths to vessel-specific material evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- The guide is research-method context, not evidence about this hull. Its primary scope is 1941-1961 and its cited RG 19 correspondence series begin in 1940 - after DD-301 was scrapped - so most of the listed series cannot contain hull-specific records for this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-04
-
[6]U.S. Naval Historical Center (NHHC predecessor), Online Library of Selected Images, USS Somers (DD-301) photo page - verbatim via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror [other_primary]
- Locator
- Photo index page narrative and cataloged photographs NH 98020, NH 42193, NH 98019, NH 82564
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The U.S. Naval Historical Center / NHHC Online Library of Selected Images holds a dedicated page, 'USS Somers (Destroyer # 301, later DD-301), 1920-1931': it states she was built at San Francisco, commissioned June 1920, given the hull number DD-301 a few weeks later, lightly damaged in the 8 September 1923 Honda Point disaster, made the 1925 Southwest Pacific cruise, decommissioned April 1930, and scrapped at Mare Island Navy Yard in 1930-31. Cataloged photographs include NH 98020 and NH 42193 (ship underway circa 1923-1930), NH 98019 (destroyers at Culebra Bay, 1920s), and NH 82564 (Pearl Harbor 1925 with Farragut, John Francis Burnes, Percival, and Stoddert).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- An official photo-catalog page confirming identity and service outline; it contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information. Live NHHC photo pages returned 404; the verbatim mirror is cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-05
-
[7]NHHC / Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Disaster at Honda Point,' USN History (navylive.dodlive.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article paragraph listing squadron outcomes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's official Navy history service coverage of the 8 September 1923 Honda Point disaster confirms the squadron composition and Somers' status: Farragut (DD-300) and Somers (DD-301) struck rocks but 'were able to back off with negligible damage,' while seven squadron-mates (Delphy, S. P. Lee, Young, Woodbury, Nicholas, Fuller, Chauncey) were lost; 23 sailors died.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Corroborates DANFS on the Honda Point event but describes the damage as 'negligible' where DANFS reads 'moderate damage to her bow' - the DANFS hull-specific wording is carried for damage severity. Contains no material or asbestos information. Full article text not re-fetchable at crawl time (URL verified via indexed content).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-06
-
[8]Batch-3293 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS mirror; NHHC Online Library photo page; NARA Special List 44 and Ship Plan Index; NARA asbestos research guide; NAVSEA FOIA reading room [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-somers-dd301-01 through -05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- In the authoritative sources reviewed for this record (NHHC DANFS and NHHC photo catalog via mirrors, NARA named-vessel and ship-plan indexes, NARA asbestos research guide, NAVSEA FOIA asbestos reading room), no document identifies asbestos or a specific asbestos-containing product aboard DD-301. Vessel asbestos content and any individual exposure aboard this hull remain unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- A bounded search result, not proof the hull was asbestos-free. A 1918-built steam destroyer plausibly carried period insulation materials, but no reviewed source identifies them. NARA drawings, microfilm, deck logs, and Mare Island disposal records were not inspected; absence from digitized summaries cannot establish absence aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-07
-
[9]CourtListener search API v4 results: opinion/8662183 (United States v. Batteas, 5 M.J. 625, 1978); opinion/8666920 (United States v. Maresca, 28 M.J. 328, 1989) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener type=o result set for 'USS Somers'; Batteas opinion snippet names 'USS SOMERS (DDG 34)'
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweeps 2026-09-27. Exact-name opinion search ('USS Somers', type=o) returned 2 hits, both name collisions on the later USS Somers (DDG-34, ex DD-947, in service 1959-1982), not this hull: United States v. Batteas, 5 M.J. 625 (Court of Military Review, 1978; Navy appellant) - courts-martial for attempted damage to boiler-room machinery aboard USS Somers (DDG-34), the hull named in the opinion text; United States v. Maresca, 28 M.J. 328 (Court of Military Appeals, 1989) - speedy-trial (RCM 707) appeal by a Navy chief warrant officer, in which the matched 'USS Somers' reference (context not retrieved under pacing) can only be DDG-34, the sole commissioned Somers of that era. Hull-number opinion search ('DD-301', type=o) returned zero hits. Exact-name docket search ('USS Somers', type=r) returned 3 hits, all asbestos dockets in which 'USS Somers' appears in indexed docket text: Grant Cochran v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp., 2:21-cv-09612 (C.D. Cal., asbestos PI, filed 2021, terminated 2025); John Hukkanen v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp., 2:17-cv-02227 (C.D. Cal., notice of removal - asbestos, filed/terminated March 2017); and the MDL-875 consolidated master docket (JPML, In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), 1991-2022). By chronology none can concern DD-301 - the hull was scrapped in 1931, roughly 90+ years before these filings, so the name reference belongs to a later namesake (DD-381 or DD-947/DDG-34) or is indeterminate from the index. Hull-number docket search ('DD-301', type=r) returned 14 hits, all string collisions on unrelated matter text (consumer-protection, criminal, contract, insurance, and bankruptcy dockets such as FTC v. Lifewatch, Lehman Brothers, Lyondell, Bed Bath & Beyond - 'DD-301' matching docket/exhibit identifiers, not the destroyer). No qualifying asbestos litigation or other litigation names this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- All four sweep paths completed: no opinion names DD-301; the only 'USS Somers' opinion hits name the later DDG-34. Docket hits are index-level only - 'USS Somers' appeared in docket text of three asbestos matters, but the named vessel is chronologically excluded as DD-301 (scrapped 1931; filings 2017-2025); individual docket-entry context for Cochran and Hukkanen was not retrievable under fleet pacing, and the MDL-875 master-docket mention is diffuse consolidated text. The 14 'DD-301' docket hits are identifier-string collisions unrelated to the vessel (no naval or asbestos content evident in the index). This is a complete four-path sweep with zero qualifying hits; it does not prove no litigation ever named the hull - only that CourtListener's indexes contain none.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd301-08