USS SOMERS (DD-381)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]research packet jl-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-somers-dd381-pkt-jl-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Somers V (DD-381)' (September 2015 edition) - verbatim transcription via Tin Can Sailors / destroyers.org; corroborating specs via HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' DD-381 page (live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 under every tested URL pattern) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS September 2015 entry, complete service narrative; HyperWar DD-381 summary page for specifications (displacement 1850, length 381'0", complement 294, high-pressure geared turbines 52,000 h.p. twin screws)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS identifies the fifth Somers (DD-381) as lead ship of the Somers class of five 1,850-ton destroyer leaders: laid down 27 June 1935 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 13 March 1937, co-sponsored by Miss Marie Somers and Miss Suzanne Somers; commissioned at the New York Navy Yard 1 December 1937, Comdr. James E. Maher in command. Service: February 1938 shakedown (Gulf of Mexico, east coast of South America); Atlantic Fleet operations ~20 months; Neutrality Patrol western Atlantic from fall 1939 for over two years; 6 November 1941 with Omaha (CL-4) intercepted and saved German blockade runner Odenwald (posing as 'Willmoto, Philadelphia'), brought into San Juan, P.R. - 1947 salvage award to crews by U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico; 1942 South Atlantic patrols Brazil-Trinidad; 21 November 1942 investigated 'SS Skjilbred' - actually German blockade runner Anneliese Essberger, which sank after scuttling explosions (survivors to Milwaukee, CL-5); January 1943 screened Memphis (CL-13), President Roosevelt's flagship at the Casablanca Conference, Bathurst, Gambia, 10-27 January; then Dakar rendezvous escorting French ships Richelieu and Montcalm, detached to Philadelphia arriving 10-11 February; two weeks' availability Charleston navy yard February 1943; South Atlantic patrols/convoy escort through 1943; evening 2 January 1944 gunfire stopped German blockade runner Westerland, which sank (probably scuttling charges) - took 17 officers and 116 men to Recife; six-week Charleston navy yard overhaul early 1944; Casco Bay training to 14 May; Plymouth, England, convoy duty, Channel escort to Normandy beaches through mid-July; joined TF 86 at Naples 31 July; Operation Dragoon - 15 August 1944 pre-dawn radar engagement sank German corvettes Comascio and Escabort south of Port Cros; two days' fire support south of Ile de Port Cros; relieved Rodman (DD-456) off Port de Bouc; 22 August duel with shore batteries, shrapnel damage; Mediterranean ports to 28 September; New York arrival 8 October; Brooklyn Navy Yard overhaul to 8 November; four transatlantic convoy voyages ending combat service 12 May 1945; eastern seaboard plus July midshipman Caribbean cruise; Charleston overhaul 4 August-11 September 1945; reported to Commandant 6th Naval District for disposal; decommissioned Charleston 28 October 1945; struck from Navy list 28 January 1947; removed by purchaser Boston Metals of Baltimore 16 May 1947. DANFS records two World War II battle stars.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1935-1947

   Population

   Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1935-37; wartime crew 1937-1945 (complement ~294)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, specifications, service, and disposal; it does not describe machinery insulation, asbestos content, or materials. Live NHHC DANFS page 404s; verbatim transcriptions cited (destroyers.org Sept-2015 text; ibiblio HyperWar specs page). DANFS 'two battle stars' conflicts with secondary compilations claiming ten - carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-01

3. [3]U.S. Naval Historical Center (NHHC predecessor), Online Library of Selected Images, USS Somers (DD-381) photo page - verbatim via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror [other_primary]

   Locator

   Photo index page narrative and cataloged photographs NH 98021, NH 98022, NH 49935

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The U.S. Naval Historical Center / NHHC Online Library of Selected Images holds a dedicated page, 'USS Somers (DD-381), 1937-1947': built at Kearny, N.J.; commissioned December 1937; Neutrality Patrol from September 1939; Odenwald capture 6 November 1941; Annelise Essberger sinking 21 November 1942; Richelieu escort January-February 1943; Westerland interception at the beginning of 1944; Normandy Channel escort June-early July 1944; southern France invasion August 1944 including sinking two German corvettes on 15 August and a 22 August shore-battery duel; trans-Atlantic convoys until May 1945; decommissioned October 1945; sold for scrapping May 1947. Cataloged photographs: NH 98021 (at the Charleston Navy Yard, S.C., 16 February 1942, wearing Measure 12 modified camouflage) - an official U.S. Navy photo documenting a Charleston yard period not narrated in DANFS; NH 98022 (underway circa 1944, Measure 32 Design 3d); NH 49935 (the Odenwald with boarding party, photographed from USS Somers, 6 November 1941).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1937-1947

   Population

   Wartime crew; Charleston Navy Yard workers February 1942

   Limitations

   An official photo-catalog page confirming identity, service outline, and a 16 February 1942 Charleston Navy Yard presence; 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-dd381-02

4. [4]National Archives, Special List 44, Named Vessels, 'Somers (DD-381)' row [other_primary]

   Locator

   Named-vessel table, Somers rows - the DD-381 row is hull-numbered in the index

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA's named-vessel deck-log index (Special List 44) lists 'Somers (DD-381)' covering 12/1/1937 through 10/26/1945 - a hull-numbered row matching this ship's commissioned service window (commissioned 1 December 1937, decommissioned 28 October 1945; the log run ends two days before decommissioning). Adjacent Somers index rows (1910-1911, 1914, 1920-1930) belong to other vessels of the same name.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1937-1945

   Population

   Crew of USS Somers (DD-381), December 1937 - October 1945

   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.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-03

5. [5]National Archives, Ship Plan Index, SOMERS DD-381 rows [other_primary]

   Locator

   Ship Plan Index, SOMERS / DD-381 rows (NAIDs 12451237, 53487349, 153714472, 175670748)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA's ship-plan index lists four SOMERS DD-381 holdings: RG 38 Trial Curves (NAID 12451237); RG 19 Alphabetical Ship Drawings (NAID 53487349); RG 19 Hull series of Ship Engineering Drawings (NAID 153714472); RG 19 Microfilm (NAID 175670748). Separate index rows exist for SOMERS DD-301, 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

   Study period

   1935-1945 (construction and service era of indexed records)

   Limitations

   Catalog entries establish potentially relevant holdings only. None of the drawings, trial curves, or microfilm was retrieved; their contents, including any construction, machinery, or insulation specification, remain unknown.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-04

6. [6]The Omaha, The Somers, The Willmoto, Philadelphia, 71 F. Supp. 314 (D.P.R., Apr. 30, 1947), aff'd sub nom. Hamburg-American Line v. United States, 168 F.2d 47 (1st Cir. 1948) [court_record]

   Locator

   71 F. Supp. 314 opinion caption ('THE SOMERS') and factual recital; 168 F.2d 47 at 48-49 (libel on behalf of officers and crew of U.S.S. Omaha and U.S.S. Somers; decree figures)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published admiralty litigation names this hull in a non-asbestos posture: on 6 November 1941 USS Somers and USS Omaha (CL-4) intercepted the German blockade runner Odenwald (disguised as 'Willmoto, Philadelphia') on neutrality patrol; the United States filed a salvage libel in rem on behalf of the ships' officers and crews. The District Court of Puerto Rico's final decree (Judge E. C. Cooper) in The Omaha / The Somers / The Willmoto, Philadelphia, 71 F. Supp. 314 (D.P.R. 1947), found the vessel value $500,000 and cargo $1,860,000 and awarded aggregate salvage of $397,424.06 with costs; the First Circuit affirmed in Hamburg-American Line v. United States, 168 F.2d 47 (1st Cir. 1948). During November 1941 the only commissioned USS Somers was DD-381 (DD-301 scrapped 1931; DD-947 not launched until 1959), so the hull attribution is firm.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1941 (capture); 1947-1948 (litigation)

   Population

   Officers and crew of USS Somers (DD-381), November 1941

   Limitations

   Admiralty salvage litigation, not asbestos litigation - classified 'other litigation' in the sweep. Final-decree posture (affirmed on appeal), the most final stage available. It establishes the vessel's participation in the Odenwald capture and the crews' salvage award; it says nothing about materials aboard the hull, asbestos, or exposure. Reporter text cited via Justia mirror.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-05

7. [7]Atlas shipyard dataset record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey, Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny NJ, Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944; introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Brazoria County TX 1990); DANFS/HyperWar machinery summary [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny', flagship evidence ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944; HyperWar DD-381 machinery line

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/yard inference only: a Somers-class destroyer built 1935-37 with a high-pressure four-boiler geared-steam plant would have carried period-standard insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing. The builder yard - Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J. - carries an Atlas yard-level record (tier 2): an Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of the Kearny yard (30 August - 2 September 1944) documented insulator work with Johns-Manville Superex asbestos pipe covering and Kaylo boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces, plus Monokote fireproofing (W.R. Grace) and Garlock gaskets among yard-documented products. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   1935-1937 (build); 1944 (yard survey)

   Population

   Federal Shipbuilding construction trades (1935-37 build; 1944 survey era); crew 1937-45

   Limitations

   Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a ship-specific finding. The Kearny survey is dated August-September 1944, seven to nine years after this hull's 1935-37 construction, and documents wartime yard product usage rather than the products installed on DD-381 at build. No ship-specific asbestos record for this hull was located; yard-level wartime documentation does not establish what was installed on this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-06

8. [8]Batch-3366 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via mirrors; NHHC Online Library photo page; NARA Special List 44 and Ship Plan Index; NARA asbestos research guide; Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-somers-dd381-01 through -06

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   In the authoritative sources reviewed for this record (NHHC DANFS and NHHC photo catalog via verbatim mirrors, NARA Special List 44 and Ship Plan Index, NARA asbestos research guide, Atlas shipyard dataset), no document identifies asbestos or a specific asbestos-containing product aboard DD-381. 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

   Study period

   1935-1947

   Population

   Wartime crew (complement ~294); construction and shipyard workers

   Limitations

   A bounded search result, not proof the hull was asbestos-free. A 1935-37 steam destroyer plausibly carried period insulation materials, but no reviewed source identifies them. NARA drawings, microfilm, deck logs, and RG 19 correspondence were not inspected; absence from digitized summaries cannot establish absence aboard.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-07

9. [9]CourtListener search API v4 results: opinion/8662183 (United States v. Batteas, 5 M.J. 625, 1978, snippet names 'USS SOMERS (DDG 34)'); opinion/8666920 (United States v. Maresca, 28 M.J. 328, 1989); docket/61611125 (Cochran); docket/5940700 (Hukkanen); docket/1245688 (MDL-875) [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener type=o result sets for 'USS Somers', '"USS Somers" asbestos', 'aboard USS Somers', 'DD-381'; type=r result set for 'USS Somers' (retrieved firsthand after pacing waits); Cochran service-era resolution via publicly filed order, Grant Cochran v. Air and Liquid Systems, No. 2:21-cv-09612-MEMF-PD (C.D. Cal.), ECF No. 102 (Oct. 13, 2022), Justia mirror

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweeps 2026-09-27. Exact-name opinion search ('USS Somers', type=o) returned 8 hits, all name collisions: United States v. Batteas, 5 M.J. 625 (Court of Military Review, 1978) - courts-martial for attempted damage to boiler-room machinery aboard 'USS SOMERS (DDG 34)', the later namesake (ex-DD-947); United States v. Maresca, 28 M.J. 328 (Court of Military Appeals, 1989) - Navy CWO speedy-trial appeal whose Somers reference can only be DDG-34, the sole commissioned Somers of that era; Bae Systems Norfolk Ship Repair v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2022, Judge Zachary N. Somers), United States v. Fischbach & Moore (3d Cir. 1984/1985, antitrust), Pesaplastic v. Cincinnati Milacron (11th Cir. 1985), Terry v. Terry (Ala. 2013), and Reader v. Grossman (Conn. 1922, attorney Lewis J. Somers) - person/place surname collisions, none naval. Combined 'USS Somers' + asbestos opinion query and 'aboard USS Somers' opinion query each returned zero hits. Hull-number opinion search ('DD-381', type=o) returned ~800 hits, an identifier-string collision set (docket/exhibit/page identifiers); the 20 top-ranked results reviewed are all unrelated civil matters with no naval or asbestos content. Exact-name docket search ('USS Somers', type=r) returned 3 asbestos dockets carrying 'USS Somers' in indexed docket text: Grant Cochran v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp., 2:21-cv-09612 (C.D. Cal., asbestos PI, filed 2021-12-10); John Hukkanen v. Air and Liquid Systems Corp., 2:17-cv-02227 (C.D. Cal., notice of removal - asbestos, filed 2017-03-22); and the MDL-875 consolidated master docket (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), JPML). Hull attribution resolution: the Cochran vessel is CHRONOLOGICALLY EXCLUDED from this hull - a publicly filed October 2022 order in that case (ECF No. 102) recites that decedent DeFord Cochran served in the U.S. Navy 1967-1983 aboard various ships in the 1960s-1980s, so the 'USS Somers' on his list can only be DDG-34 (ex-DD-947, in service 1959-1982), not DD-381 (scrapped 1947). For Hukkanen and the MDL-875 master-docket text the referent is unresolved - this hull's 1937-1945 service era does not exclude it, but DDG-34 is the likelier namesake for modern filings and docket-entry context was not retrievable. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull specifically was located; the Odenwald salvage litigation (ev-05) is the only verified published case naming the hull, and it is non-asbestos.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-27

   Study period

   2017-2025 (docket filings); 1941-1948 (Odenwald litigation)

   Population

   Indexed asbestos plaintiffs whose dockets mention 'USS Somers' (hull attribution unresolved)

   Limitations

   No opinion names DD-381; the only 'USS Somers' opinion hits are DDG-34 courts-martial collisions or surname collisions. Docket-level resolution is open: three asbestos dockets carry 'USS Somers' in indexed text and this hull's 1937-1945 service era does not exclude it - WWII-veteran exposure allegations could plausibly name DD-381, though DD-947/DDG-34 (1959-1982) is the more common asbestos-era namesake; individual docket-entry context was not retrievable under fleet pacing, so the hull named is unresolved and no qualifying hit is asserted. The ~800 'DD-381' opinion hits are identifier-string collisions (top-20 reviewed, none naval). Absence from the index is not proof no filing ever named the hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-somers-dd381-08

10. [10]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/Confidential/Secret correspondence 1940-1961 filed by hull designation (e.g., 'DD381'), class (namesake hull), and type ('DD'), plus General Information Books, engineering drawings, deck logs, and muster rolls - as the paths to vessel-specific material evidence. Unlike flush-deck hulls scrapped before 1940, this hull's entire wartime service (1940-1945) falls inside the cited correspondence window, so the standard inspection-report path reaches it.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-27

    Study period

    1940-1945 (hull service overlap with indexed series)

    Limitations

    The guide is research-method context, not evidence about this hull. No RG 19 correspondence, General Information Book, drawing, or deck-log content for DD-381 was retrieved or inspected; the guide establishes only that a path to hull-level records exists for this vessel's era.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-somers-dd381-09