Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet ez-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Stevens | hull: DD-479 | designation: destroyer (DD) | class: Fletcher
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-stevens-dd479-pkt-ez-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Stevens II (DD-479) - verbatim transcription (HazeGray mirror, Wayback capture 2024-12-04; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Stevens II' - specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 30 December 1941 at Charleston, S.C., by the Charleston Navy Yard; launched 24 June 1942 (co-sponsored by Mrs. Roland Curtin and Mrs. Frederick Stevens Hicks); commissioned 1 February 1943 at Charleston, Comdr. Frank H. Ball in command. Atlantic shakedown spring 1943; Panama Canal transit 26 July; Pearl Harbor 9 August; TF 15 Gilbert Islands raids (Marcus 31 August, Tarawa 18 September); west coast late 1943; Operation Flintlock (Kwajalein) with TG 52.8 January-February 1944; South Pacific convoy screening; Kavieng bombardment with TF 37 (March 1944, with New Mexico, Mississippi, Tennessee, Idaho); Hollandia second echelon (TG 77.4, April 1944); Guam landings 21 July 1944 (TG 53.3); Morotai patrols September-October 1944; Leyte reinforcement convoys October-December 1944; Philippines operations December 1944-June 1945 (Mindoro resupply under air attack, Lingayen radar picket, Iloilo/Panay landings 18-20 March 1945, Subic Bay); Balikpapan June-1 July 1945. Postwar occupation duty Jinsen/Tsingtao/Taku/Chefoo September-October 1945; San Diego 7 November 1945; inactivation at San Pedro (19th Reserve Fleet); decommissioned 2 July 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet until stricken 1 December 1972; sold 27 November 1973 to Zindell [sic - Zidell] Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oreg. Nine battle stars for WWII. Spec block: 2,050 t, 376'5" x 39'7" x 17'9", 35.2 kt trial, cpl. 276, class Fletcher.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1973
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew (design complement 276); Pacific Reserve Fleet caretakers 1946-72
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Transcription mirror cited (Wayback capture of hazegray.org) because live NHHC and live hazegray fetches failed on 2026-09-27. DANFS does not state the west-coast yard for the late-1943 availability and does not mention the catapult installation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-01
-
[3]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, Photo # NH 107410 - USS Stevens (DD-479), official U.S. Navy photograph, collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Online Library picture-data page for NH 107410 (ibiblio mirror)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy photograph caption documents this hull's as-completed aircraft-handling configuration: 'Passing under the Cooper River bridge off the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina on 15 March 1943. She carries an aircraft catapult in place of her after torpedo tubes and 5"/38 mount 53.' Stevens was one of three Fletcher-class destroyers (with Pringle DD-477 and Halford DD-480) completed with a catapult for an OS2U Kingfisher floatplane.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- Wartime crew, aircraft-handling detachment, 1943
- Limitations
- Documents configuration only - no materials content. The three-ship catapult group identification is corroborated by NavSource captions and standard references; the NHHC caption itself covers only DD-479's configuration on the photo date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, USS Stevens (DD-479) page - Operational and Building Data block and captioned photo record (NARA photo numbers cited in captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-479 page - 'Operational and Building Data' block; photo captions (Mare Island overhaul 11 Oct-1 Dec 1943; catapult/Kingfisher series)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource data block and photo-caption record for this hull: built by Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston SC; laid down 30 December 1941; launched 24 June 1942; commissioned 1 February 1943; decommissioned 28 September 1946 [conflicts with DANFS 2 July 1946 - see gaps]; stricken 1 December 1972; sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, OR, and broken up for scrap 27 November 1973. As-built characteristics: Fletcher class, 2,924 t full, 4 x 5"/38AA, aircraft catapult, 60,000 shp, Allis-Chalmers turbines, 2 screws, 38 kt, crew 273. Photo captions (citing NARA photos incl. 80-G-299532/80-G-299540, 19-N-57496/19-N-57497, and a US Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum photo) document that six Fletchers (DD-476 through DD-481) were designated aircraft-handling destroyers for a modified cruiser-type catapult replacing the after torpedo tubes and No. 3 5-inch mount; three were completed with catapults (Pringle DD-477 with a flawed boom crane; Stevens and Halford DD-480 with a revised crane), the experiment proved impractical on the small destroyer and was cancelled in September 1943, and Stevens and Halford were refitted at Mare Island to standard Fletcher design - Stevens in overhaul there 11 October-1 December 1943 (inclining experiment at Charleston 12 May 1943 also documented).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1973
- Population
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard trades, October-December 1943 overhaul
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-curated photo archive - a reputable secondary compilation, not an official record; caption data cite NARA photo numbers. Its decommissioning date (28 September 1946) conflicts with DANFS (2 July 1946); DANFS carried, conflict in gaps. Turbine manufacturer (Allis-Chalmers) conflicts with class-level references listing General Electric; unresolved, carried in gaps. No materials or asbestos content documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-03
-
[5]Estate of Woodruff (Buckholtz, PR) v. Zidell Explorations, Inc. et al., Wash. Ct. App. Div. II No. 56257-0-II (unpublished, filed 2023-01-24); Pierce County Superior Court No. 20-2-08044-1; Wash. Supreme Court review petitioned as No. 101864-9 [court_record]
- Locator
- Wash. Ct. App. Div. II slip op. No. 56257-0-II (unpublished); Wash. Supreme Court No. 101864-9 petition and cross-petition filings (courts.wa.gov)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Disposal-pathway context for this hull's scrapping: DANFS and NavSource record the hull sold 27 November 1973 to Zidell Explorations, Inc. of Portland and broken up. Washington appellate records document that the Zidell corporate family's Navy-ship dismantling operation disseminated asbestos in the relevant era: a Pierce County jury awarded Dennis Woodruff $11,216,056 (August 2021) for asbestos exposure during 1970-73 dismantling of decommissioned Navy ships at Zidell Dismantling's Tacoma facility (a related but legally separate corporation from Portland-based Zidell Explorations). Division II held Zidell Explorations owed a duty as owner of at least one ship Woodruff worked (USS Philippine Sea), but reversed on spoliation/adverse-instruction grounds and remanded for a new trial. Briefing in the review petition states that ship lists identifying when and where particular Zidell vessels were dismantled were compiled for 1990s insurance-coverage litigation, and that the underlying source documents were destroyed in 2017.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1970-1973 exposure; 2021-2023 litigation
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking workers, Tacoma/Portland, 1970s; Woodruff (burner/laborer 1970-73, mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Context only - no record in this litigation names DD-479 or any specific vessel beyond USS Philippine Sea; the adjudicated exposure site was Zidell Dismantling's Tacoma yard, a separate corporation from the Portland-based Zidell Explorations that bought this hull. The Division II opinion is UNPUBLISHED (not citable as precedent) and REVERSED the verdict on spoliation grounds; the Supreme Court disposition beyond the 2023 petition stage is unverified. The 2017 destruction characterization is a contested trial-court finding described in briefing. Documents the exposure environment of the disposal pathway, nothing about materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-04
-
[6]Batch-3462 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (Wayback/HazeGray); NHHC Online Library; NavSource; destroyerhistory.org; NPS NRHP/NHL; CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps; Atlas shipyard dataset; Washington courts appellate records; NARA archival leads [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-stevens-dd479-01 through sl-uss-stevens-dd479-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed case naming USS Stevens (DD-479) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener sweeps: 'USS Stevens' = 0 opinions and 0 dockets; 'U.S.S. Stevens' = 0 opinions; 'DD-479' = 0 opinions and 3 docket hits that are all name collisions (document-number matches in unrelated civil cases: Torres v. Sher Tremonte D.N.J., HVT v. Port Authority E.D.N.Y., Andrews v. D'Souza N.D. Ga.); broad 'Stevens'+asbestos+destroyer sweep = 2 opinion hits, both resolved non-qualifying by full-text pull (Justice Stevens in a cited passage; cited case 'Reck v. Stevens'). The hull was scrapped 1973-74, foreclosing museum-phase documentation of the kind available for preserved hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1941-43 construction era and four-boiler steam plant place the hull squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era at class/era level. The common surname and the existence of an earlier USS Stevens (DD-86, scrapped 1936) create name-collision noise mitigated by hull-number and ship-context review of every hit. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-05
-
[7]DANFS spec block (Fletcher class, 35.2 kt) + Bureau of Ships 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1945' Vol. I (shipscribe.com scan; class machinery 4 B&W boilers, geared turbines, 60,000 shp) + Fletcher-class class-profile record (ships-worktrees class-c, fletcher-class.class.json) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; BuShips Ships Data 1945 Vol. I DD design section; fletcher-class.class.json (ev-fletcher-class-01/-02/-06)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1941-43 with a four-boiler, 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - boiler and steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The class profile for Fletcher (175 hulls built 1941-44) documents that no class-level insulation specification, BuShips material schedule, or class-wide asbestos survey has been located, and no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record has been located for any Fletcher hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades 1941-43; crew 1943-46
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Fletcher class profile found no qualifying ship-specific asbestos record for any member hull; this row adds design context, not documentation of materials aboard DD-479. Turbine manufacturer for this hull is unresolved (NavSource: Allis-Chalmers; class design: General Electric).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-06
-
[8]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 4th Cir. No. 14-2416 (2016), and E.D. Pa. MDL-875 companion opinions - Charleston Naval Shipyard asbestos documentation in Atlas shipyard dataset (yard_id charleston-naval-shipyard); OSHA Inspection 100361849 (1988), Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json record 'charleston-naval-shipyard' (evidence rows ev-...-06/-07/osha-1988; products_documented, Pace cites)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: the Atlas shipyard dataset documents Charleston Naval Shipyard (this hull's builder) as a tier-2 yard - asbestos gaskets, packing, and thermal insulation on pumps/valves litigated in Pace (yard work circa 1971-mid-1980s), Crane products with ACM parts (Cranite packing) per Pace_Crane (summary judgment affirmed for Crane on insufficient proximity proof), and a 1988 OSHA inspection citing the yard under the asbestos standard (29 CFR 1910.1001). WWII peak employment 25,948 (1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1941-1943 construction; yard documentation 1971-1990
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard workforce (peak 25,948 in 1943)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only - every dated item (Pace work period ~1971-mid-1980s; OSHA 1988) postdates this hull's 1941-43 construction by three decades or more. Documents asbestos-handling operations at the builder yard in a later era; establishes nothing about materials installed in DD-479.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this hull's 1941-43 construction, 1943-46 service, 1946-72 reserve-fleet layup, and 1973-74 scrapping entirely inside the documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description, same limitation noted in the Fletcher class profile.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-stevens-dd479-08