Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet hf-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Taylor
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-taylor-dd94-pkt-hf-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Taylor I (DD-94) - verbatim text; live NHHC page returns 404 (standing link-rot), Wayback capture 2019-12-14 of the canonical NHHC URL cited; identical text at losthistory.net/hazegray mirror and globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-94.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Taylor I' (Destroyer No. 94), specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 15 October 1917 by Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif.; launched 14 February 1918 (sponsor Miss Mary Gorgas); commissioned 1 June 1918 (Comdr. Charles T. Hutchins, Jr.). Division 12 Destroyer Force Atlantic Fleet through WWI and postwar; Division 8 from 1 April 1919; reduced commission 1920, Atlantic coast; designated DD-94 on 17 July 1920 hull-system adoption; full commission October 1920, Division 8 Flotilla 8 Squadron 3; out of commission Philadelphia 21 June 1922. Recommissioned 1 May 1930 (Comdr. George B. Keester): Division 33 Squadron 7 Scouting Fleet from Charleston, S.C.; reduced commission November 1930; Division 47 Squadron 16 Training Squadron, 6th/7th Naval Districts reserve and NROTC summer cruises; Division 28 Training Squadron from 1 April 1931; Squadron 19 rotating reserve early 1934 to that fall; relieved J. Fred Talbott (DD-156) in Special Service Squadron 1 September 1934 - West Indies/Gulf of Mexico; Division 30 Training Squadron from 1 October 1935; Special Service Squadron again early 1937 in relief of Manley (DD-74). Inactivation at Philadelphia 1938; out of commission 23 September 1938; struck from Navy list 6 December 1938; offered for sale July 1939; designated Damage Control Hulk No. 40 on 11 July 1940; bow grafted onto torpedoed sister Blakeley (DD-150) at Philadelphia summer 1942; continued as damage-control hulk to near war's end; sold for scrap August 1945, delivered to purchaser on the 8th. Spec block: 1,090 t; 314'4-1/2" x 30'11-1/4" (wl), 9'0" mean draft; 35 kt (est.); cpl. 122; 4x4", 1x3", 12x21" tt.; cl. Wickes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1917-1945
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades 1917-18; USN crew (design complement 122) 1918-1922, 1930-1938; damage-control trainees and yard workers 1940-1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page serves 404 (standing link-rot defect); the 2019-12-14 Wayback capture of the canonical NHHC URL is cited, with identical verbatim text confirmed at the losthistory.net hazegray mirror and globalsecurity.org. DANFS prints the sister's name as 'Blakley' - source typo for Blakeley (DD-150).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images: photo 80-G-11032 'Damage Control Hulk No. 40 (ex-USS Taylor, DD-94) At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania on 15 July 1942. Her bow has been cleaned in preparation for transfer to the torpedoed USS Blakeley (DD-150). USS Vixen (PG-53) is astern' (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives); and photo NH 95509 'USS Taylor (DD-94) In New York Harbor on 28 October 1936... as President Franklin D. Roosevelt ferries by en route to Bedloe's Island to rededicate the Statue of Liberty' (USNI Photo Collection) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library picture-data pages NH 95509 (h95509c.htm) and 80-G-11032 (g11032c.htm); index entry on usnsh-d.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Two NHC official photo records corroborate this hull's identity and disposition: NH 95509 places the commissioned ship at the 28 October 1936 New York presidential review during her documented Training Squadron period; 80-G-11032 documents the 1942 hulk condition - bow cleaned in preparation for transfer to torpedoed Blakeley (DD-150) at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 15 July 1942. The NHC D-names index independently lists 'Damage Control Hulk No. 40, 1918-1945. Name changed from Taylor (Destroyer #94, later DD-94), 1940.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1936; 1942
- Population
- Crew (1936); Philadelphia Navy Yard workers (1942)
- Limitations
- Photographic collection records; corroborate identity, the 1936 review attendance, and the hulk/bow-graft facts only - no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-02
-
[4]Navy Department, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels (GPO, 1 July 1924 edition), Bureau of Construction and Repair - scanned official volume via shipscribe.com mirror [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1924: construction list p.310 (DD94 TAYLOR row); dates table p.105 (row 230); machinery table p.102 area (row 230); dimensions p.100 (row 230); armament p.104 (row 230); namesake list p.341 'Destroyer No. 94-TAYLOR'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy Department's own 1924 ships' register carries this hull across five tables: construction list reads DD94 TAYLOR authorized 1916, builder 'Navy yard, Mare Island,' original classification Destroyer No. 94, destroyer first line; armament table reads '4 4",50 cal.; 1 3",23 cal. A.A.; 4 21" triple' torpedo tubes, built by Navy yard Mare Island, act authorizing 29 August 1916; dates table reads contract signed 22 November 1916, keel laid 15 October 1917, ship launched 14 February 1918, no preliminary acceptance, first commission 1 June 1918; dimension/displacement table reads 314'4" o.a., 310'0" w.l., 30'11-1/4" beam, 1,154 t normal / 1,247 t full load, 9'8" draft; machinery table reads '2 Parsons geared turb., 4 Normand' boilers, 27,000 designed shp, 24,200 shp trial; trial-data table reads trial speed 35.00 kt, 4 funnels, messes 8 wardroom + 10 CPO + 104 enlisted (=122); namesake entry reads 'Destroyer No. 94 - TAYLOR - named in memory of Rear Admiral Henry Clay Taylor' (b. Washington D.C. 4 March 1845; Naval War College president 1893-96; commanded Indiana in the Spanish-American War; Chief of Bureau of Navigation 1902-1904).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- as of 1924-07-01
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades; complement per period tables (122)
- Limitations
- Official Navy machinery/specification data for this hull as of 1924 - confirms the steam plant type (4 boilers, geared turbines, 2 shafts) consistent with era steam-system insulation practice but says nothing about insulation materials or asbestos aboard. Digitized scan of the GPO original; OCR-layer extraction used to read the tables, figures cross-checked against DANFS spec block. The 24,200-trial-shp cell carries a footnote marker (estimated); per-row footnote text not cleanly extractable.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-03
-
[5]DANFS, Blakeley II (DD-150), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Vol. I p.130 - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Blakeley II' (DD-150), WWII narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent DANFS entry for the sister ship corroborates the bow-graft event from the recipient hull's side: while patrolling off Martinique 25 May 1942 a German submarine torpedoed Blakeley, 'carrying away 60 feet of her bow' (six killed, 21 wounded); after emergency repairs at Port de France, Port Castries, and San Juan, 'Blakeley steamed to Philadelphia where she was refitted with a bow taken from her stricken sister Taylor (DD-94) and thoroughly overhauled,' returning to duty September 1942. Blakeley was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 21 July 1945 and sold 30 November 1945 - carrying Taylor's bow section.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Blakeley crew 1942-45 (aboard ex-Taylor bow structure); Philadelphia yard workers on the graft
- Limitations
- Corroborates the material fact that Taylor's bow section remained in commissioned service aboard Blakeley through 1945; says nothing about materials, insulation, or asbestos aboard either hull. The torpedoing date reads '2,5 May' in the OCR layer - 25 May is the consistent rendering.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-04
-
[6]Bowles, Oliver, 'Asbestos: A Materials Survey,' U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7880 (GPO, 1959), SuDoc I 28.27:7880 - UNT Digital Library (FDLP depository) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USBM I.C. 7880, 'ASBESTOS-MAGNESIA INSULATION' section (~p. 60 of scan seq. 78) and amosite-uses section (~seq. 73); WPB allocation tables 30-33 (~seq. 74-75)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Federal materials survey documents the era's standard steam insulation as asbestos-containing: 'Magnesium carbonate in a light fluffy form combined with asbestos makes an effective heat insulator for steam pipes... About 15 percent by weight of asbestos is added... cast in the form of pipe and block insulation. Such products are designated "85-percent magnesia"' (asbestos blend ~40-60% amosite, remainder chrysotile). The same source records wartime Navy asbestos end-use allocations (WPB 1944): 'Navy lagging cloth,' 'Navy felt insulation (lightweight blankets),' '85-percent magnesia insulation,' 'sprayed insulation,' 'Navy cable filler'; and describes amosite felted blankets 'applied as a covering for marine turbines' conforming to Navy specifications. A 4-boiler geared-turbine destroyer built 1917-18 and kept in service through 1938 (then retained as a stationary damage-control hulk at Philadelphia Navy Yard through 1945) sits inside this documented material era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1917-1945 (hull lifetime); source 1959 describing era standard
- Population
- Naval construction/repair trades and engine-room crews of the era (context)
- Limitations
- Class/era and industry documentation, not a hull record: I.C. 7880 (1959) postdates this hull and describes the standard insulation product category rather than this ship's specifications; the WWII-dated Navy allocations largely postdate her commissioned service and coincide with her hulk period. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is era inference, not ship-proven; does not establish quantity, location, or exposure. NARA RG19 'General Information Book' per-vessel material specifications are the archival lead for hull-level specs (not retrieved).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-05
-
[7]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json): mare-island-naval-shipyard (tier 2) - Final EIS/EIR for disposal/reuse documents ACM in yard buildings (DTIC ADA344388, 1998); philadelphia-naval-shipyard (tier 3) - Merwitz $7.25M mesothelioma verdict (shipfitter 1965-70) and published appellate product identifications (Taylor v. Celotex 393 Pa. Super. 566 (1990); Junge v. Garlock 427 Pa. Super. 592 (1993); Gross v. Johns-Manville 410 Pa. Super. 486 (1991)); charleston-naval-shipyard (tier 2) - Whalen v. John Crane $70.8M verdict (2014) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json entries mare-island-naval-shipyard, philadelphia-naval-shipyard, charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Yard-level asbestos documentation exists for sites on this hull's DANFS-documented itinerary: builder Mare Island Navy Yard (ACM documented in yard buildings via disposal EIS/EIR); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - the site of her 1922 decommissioning, 1922-1930 layup, 1938 inactivation, 1940-1945 damage-control-hulk service, and the 1942 bow graft - carries tier-3 litigation-documented asbestos product identifications; Charleston Naval Shipyard, her 1930 Scouting Fleet operating base, carries tier-2 litigation documentation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1941-2014 (yard documentation windows)
- Population
- Yard workforces (context), periods noted
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings only - the dataset's Philadelphia litigation and Mare Island environmental records postdate this hull's periods by decades; none names this hull or documents materials aboard it. Charleston is an operating-base association (Division 33 operated from Charleston in 1930), not a documented yard work period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-06
-
[8]Naval Vessel Register shipdetail page for DD-94 (nvr.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR shipdetail DD-94 URL (302 redirect to index); site guidance on pre-1987 disposals
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR shipdetail query for DD-94 redirects to the register's index page; no Taylor entry exists. The register's own guidance states ships disposed of before 1987 are generally not included; the 1938 striking and 1945 disposal predate the register's coverage window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Limitations
- Negative result is a coverage limitation, not evidence about the vessel - NVR silence cannot confirm or deny any disposal or material detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-07
-
[9]Batch-3866 search ledger (this record): DANFS verbatim (Wayback NHHC canonical + losthistory/hazegray + globalsecurity mirrors); NHC Online Library photo pages (NH 95509, 80-G-11032); Navy Dept Ships' Data 1924 (shipscribe scan, OCR-layer table reads); Blakeley DANFS; USBM I.C. 7880 (UNT FDLP); Atlas shipyards.json; NVR shipdetail; CourtListener API v4 sweeps; NARA deck-log coverage check; NavSource corroboration [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-taylor-dd94-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, material inventory, disposal-condition hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming DD-94 / USS Taylor (this hull) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrap in August 1945 - no present-day survey is possible.
- 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 - a 1917-18 steam-plant destroyer operated through 1938 and retained as a stationary hulk through 1945 sits squarely in the documented asbestos-insulation era (ev-05), and class/era inference applies. Philadelphia Navy Yard work records for the 1940-45 hulk period (stripping scope, damage-control-training alterations, bow-removal work package) are not digitized and were not retrieved. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 searches via authenticated helper, 2026-09-28: type=o "USS Taylor" -> 2 opinions (duplicate clusters of one published decision); type=r "USS Taylor" -> 6 dockets; type=o "DD-94" -> 3 opinions (all name collisions); type=r "DD-94" -> 33 dockets (docket-number token storm); "Damage Control Hulk" opinion query blocked by fleet pacing at session end [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py: type=o "USS Taylor" -> count 2 (U.S. v. Romero, FFG-50 collision); type=r "USS Taylor" -> count 6 (collisions); type=o "DD-94" -> count 3 (collisions); type=r "DD-94" -> count 33 (token storm, top page reviewed); type=o "Damage Control Hulk" -> rc=2 pacing
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep for this hull: EXACT NAME - "USS Taylor" returned 2 opinion hits, both clusters of the same decision: United States v. Romero, 1st Cir. 1994, a maritime cocaine-possession appeal in which 'the USS TAYLOR, a Navy frigate' (the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate FFG-50, commissioned 1984) recovered drug bales on 29 March 1993 - a same-name later-hull collision, not this DD-94 and not asbestos litigation; and 6 dockets (Brown v. Michigan x2, U.S. v. McLean, Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, Northwest Territorial Mint bankruptcy, Washington v. State Dept.) - none asbestos or vessel-relevant to this hull. HULL NUMBER - "DD-94" returned 3 opinions, all New York Appellate Division collisions with no vessel relevance (Matter of Gabriel v. Morse 2016; Matter of Regina R. v. Frederick S. 2021; HSBC Bank USA v. Rini 2022 - form/docket-token matches) and 33 dockets - a tokenized docket-number result storm whose top-scored results (Portier v. NYC, DoorDash v. NYC, Kimball v. RJ Reynolds, Seroquel MDL, etc.) were all collisions. A supplemental "Damage Control Hulk" opinion query remained blocked by the fleet-wide pacing budget at session end. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Limitations
- Exact-name layers complete (2 opinions both FFG-50 Romero collisions; 6 dockets non-qualifying). Hull-number opinion layer complete (3 hits, all classified collisions). Hull-number docket layer: 33 hits returned; the top-scored page was reviewed and all were docket-number token collisions - deeper results were not individually reviewed, so a low-scored vessel reference is not strictly ruled out. "Damage Control Hulk" alias query unrun (pacing). Any future hit at pleading or docket stage would classify at allegation stage per fleet discipline.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-taylor-dd94-09