Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, Somers VI (DD-947) - specifications block and service narrative (verbatim official text recovered via Wayback capture 2025-02-03; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Somers VI (DD-947)' entry - namesake paragraph, DD-947 specifications block, service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 4 March 1957 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched 30 May 1958; sponsored by Mrs. Charles E. Wilson; commissioned 3 April 1959, Comdr. Edward J. Cummings, Jr., in command. Maiden voyage to northern Europe June-July 1959; home port San Diego; four 7th Fleet deployments 1959-1965 incl. Tonkin Gulf planeguarding for Coral Sea (CVA-43), Hancock (CVA-19), and Ranger (CVA-61). Decommissioned at Hunters Point 11 April 1966 and converted at San Francisco Naval Shipyard through February 1968: 90% of superstructure replaced, Tartar SAM and ASROC installed, engineering equipment completely overhauled; recommissioned 10 February 1968 as DDG-34; conversion completed 16 May 1968; new home port Long Beach. WestPac deployments Nov 1969-Apr 1970 (gunline, planeguard Hancock and Constellation, SEATO 'Sea Rover'), Dec 1970-May 1971 (six planeguard assignments, three NGFS missions, northern SAR station), Apr-Nov 1972 (five carrier cruises, three NGFS, south Talos and PIRAZ stations) after regular overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard 9 Aug-3 Dec 1971 plus restricted availability through 3 Jan 1972; last documented deployment Oct 1973-May 1974. Spec block (post-conversion): dp. 4,200 (f.); l. 418'; b. 45'; dr. 20'; s. 33 k. (tl.); cpl. 324; a. 3 5", 4 3", ASROC, 2 21" tt., 2 dcp.; cl. Hull. Five battle stars, Vietnam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-1974 (DANFS text)
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1957-59; crews 1959-1966 and 1968-1982 (design complement 324); San Francisco Naval Shipyard (Hunters Point) conversion trades 1966-68; Long Beach Naval Shipyard overhaul trades 1971
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The narrative text ends mid-October 1974 - decommissioning (1982), striking (1988), and sinking (1998) come from the Naval Vessel Register and DoD/secondary sources (ev-02, ev-03). Spec block reflects post-conversion DDG-34 configuration and lists 'cl. Hull' (DD-945) - the as-built armament (3x5"/54, 4x3"/50, 2 Hedgehog, torpedo tubes) per USNI class profile differs. No live NHHC page; verbatim text cited via Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-01
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), SOMERS (DDG 34) ex-DD 947, UIC 04663 - official lifecycle record (captured via Wayback 2024-07-26; live NVR detail page renders ship data via script not retrievable in text fetch) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL_DDG_34: vessel status, milestone dates, program characteristics blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register record for this hull: class DDG 31 (Decatur-class conversion group); builder Bath Iron Works Corp.; keel date 03/04/1957; launch 05/30/1958; delivery 04/01/1959; commission 04/03/1959; decommission 11/19/1982; stricken 04/26/1988; status 'Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise' with date status changed 07/22/1998; propulsion type 'Steam Turbines'; custodian US NAVY; last updated 07/03/2000.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-1998
- Population
- Crew 1959-1982
- Limitations
- NVR confirms lifecycle dates and steam-turbine propulsion for this hull but documents no materials, hazardous content, or exposure information. Commission date 04/03/1959 agrees with DANFS and resolves NavSource's 9 April 1959 variant (conflict logged in gaps). Physical-characteristics fields on the NVR page are blank.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-02
-
[3]Air Force News Service release (Barksdale AFB), 'B-52s fire missiles at Navy ship during RIMPAC exercise,' July 1998 (verbatim mirror at fas.org) + NavSource DD-947/DDG-34 index fate line [other_primary]
- Locator
- AFNS release n19980727_981102 (Barksdale AFB dateline); NavSource DD-947 index 'Fate' line; USNI Naval History Apr 1998 'Historic Fleets' caption (Port Hueneme, 30 Dec 1997)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- DoD-documented disposal of this hull: on 21 July 1998 during RIMPAC 98, two B-52s of the 20th Bomb Squadron (Barksdale AFB) each fired an AGM-142 Have Nap missile at ex-Somers, adrift about 30 miles northwest of Kauai; exercise officials redirected the crews to strike the bridge rather than sink the hull so other aircraft could continue using the target. Per the NavSource index (corroborated by USNI), an EOD team scuttled the hull 22 July 1998 at 22 21'N 160 58'W, ~30 miles north of Kauai. NVR records the disposal as 'Fleet training exercise' 07/22/1998 (ev-02). USNI Naval History photographed the ex-hull at Port Hueneme 30 December 1997 awaiting the RIMPAC sinking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1998
- Population
- EOD/scuttling team and exercise participants 1998
- Limitations
- Documents the sinking event and location; contains no hazardous-material or asbestos content for the hull. NavSource/secondary accounts give the scuttling detail, coordinates, and ~2,800-fathom depth - not independently verified against a Navy source beyond NVR's disposal status/date. Hull-specific SINKEX preparation records (hazmat removal extent) are not public; see ev-04 for the permit framework.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-03
-
[4]U.S. EPA, MPRSA general permit 'Transport of Target Vessels,' 40 C.F.R. 229.2 (SINKEX program permit framework); EPA program page + 'Determination by the EPA and Agreement between the Navy and the EPA' (January 2014) [federal_register]
- Locator
- EPA marine-protection page 'Transport of Target Vessels for Ocean Disposal'; 40 C.F.R. 229.2; 78 FR 20639 (Apr. 5, 2013); EPA/Navy Determination & Agreement (Jan 2014) PDF
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Program-level regulatory frame for this hull's 1998 sinking: Navy SINKEX disposals occur under EPA's MPRSA general permit at 40 C.F.R. 229.2, which requires that before sinking 'appropriate measures be taken to remove to the maximum extent practicable all materials that may degrade the marine environment' and that vessels be sunk at least 50 nautical miles from land in at least 1,000 fathoms. EPA's subsequent PCB-focused interpretations (1999 Wayland letter; January 2014 Determination/Agreement) show the program's hazmat-removal emphasis was on PCBs in solid shipboard materials (insulation, wires, felts, gaskets); asbestos is not a named removal category in these documents. Somers was sunk under this regime in July 1998.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1977-2014 (permit framework); 1998 (this hull's sinking)
- Population
- SINKEX preparation crews (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - no hull-specific hazmat manifest, survey, or PCB/asbestos removal record for ex-Somers is public. The reported sinking point (~30 nmi off Kauai, ~2,800 fathoms) meets the depth criterion; the 50-nm distance criterion as stated in the 2013 Federal Register notice postdates the sinking. Nothing in the permit record documents what hazardous materials remained aboard or were removed from this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-04
-
[5]Fleischer W.E., Viles F.J. Jr., Gade R.L., Drinker P., 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030; U.S. Public Health Service, published by permission of the U.S. Navy) + DANFS DD-947 specifications/service record + Atlas shipyard dataset (bath-iron-works, hunters-point-naval-shipyard, long-beach-naval-shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030 (bibliographic); DANFS service narrative (Hunters Point 1966-68, Long Beach NSY 1971); shipyards.json yard records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: Somers was built 1957-59 at Bath Iron Works to the Forrest Sherman-class design - a four-boiler geared-turbine steam plant rated 70,000 shp (NVR: 'Steam Turbines'; class data: four 1,200-psi Foster-Wheeler boilers, GE geared turbines, 33 kt). U.S. Navy steam-vessel insulation practice documented for the era cohort: the USPHS/Navy 1946 survey of pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction states amosite asbestos felt and pipe covering is an important ingredient of pipe covering on U.S. Navy vessels, with much asbestos cloth and asbestos cement likewise used. Typical applications for a steam destroyer of this type: boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, electrical insulation. Documented yard periods on this hull sit at documented asbestos yards in the Atlas dataset: 1966-68 DDG conversion at San Francisco Naval Shipyard/Hunters Point (90% of superstructure replaced, engineering equipment completely overhauled per DANFS) and 1971 regular overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1957-1982
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1957-59; Hunters Point conversion trades 1966-68; Long Beach NSY overhaul trades 1971; engineering crews 1959-1982
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No primary source documents asbestos installed aboard, disturbed aboard, or removed from this hull. The Fleischer survey addresses 1940s Navy-yard pipe-covering practice; it corroborates the era's material norms (which continued into the 1950s-60s) but does not name this vessel, this class, or the 1966-68 conversion. The two yard periods are ship-specific events whose asbestos scope is inference, not documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-05
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 sweeps (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): opinion index queried by exact ship name and hull numbers; RECAP docket index queried by exact ship name and hull numbers [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint results (type=o: 'USS Somers' count=2, 'DD-947' count=0, 'DDG-34' count=1)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located. Opinion index 'USS Somers' (2 hits), both U.S. Navy courts-martial naming USS SOMERS (DDG-34), this hull, in non-asbestos UCMJ contexts: United States v. Batteas, 5 M.J. 625 (Army CMR 1978) - boiler technician fireman apprentice convicted of attempting to damage boiler-room machinery aboard USS SOMERS (DDG 34); United States v. Maresca, 28 M.J. 328 (C.M.A. 1989) - speedy-trial (RCM 707) ruling, appellant a Navy chief warrant officer attached to this hull (opinion matched 'USS Somers' in full text). Opinion index 'DD-947': no results. Opinion index 'DDG-34': 1 hit, the same Batteas opinion. RECAP docket sweeps ('USS Somers', 'DD-947', 'DDG-34', type=r): blocked - fleet pacing budget spent through the session; retried on spaced cadence and logged rather than forced (search_ledger sl-07/08/09).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (sweep)
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener indexed opinions and RECAP dockets only - PACER-level pleading text, state-court filings, and settled/unreported claims are outside its coverage. 'Somers' is a collision-prone token (surname of plaintiffs; the famous 1842 USS Somers mutiny brig generates naval-law references) - both opinion hits were read to confirm they name DDG-34 and are non-asbestos. Absence of docketed asbestos claims does not prove no exposure claims were ever made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-06
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[7]Batch-3872 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (via Wayback capture of official page); Naval Vessel Register; AFNS RIMPAC 98 release; USNI Naval History 'Historic Fleets' (Apr 1998); NavSource DD-947 index; NARA deck-log and still-picture holdings; EPA MPRSA permit documents; PubMed era literature; CourtListener/PACER ship-name and hull-number sweeps; VA BVA decisions index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-somers-dd947-01 through sl-uss-somers-dd947-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-947/DDG-34: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, no donation/museum condition report (the hull was sunk as a target in 1998, ending any custodian's disclosure trail), and no qualifying asbestos case naming the vessel was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - the 1957-59 steam-plant construction era and the documented 1966-68 engineering overhaul are consistent with era-standard asbestos materials, and a sunk hull produces no post-service survey or abatement record. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-somers-dd947-07