Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet fd-packet.md (11 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-thatcher-dd514-pkt-fd-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Thatcher II (DD-514) (namesake, specifications, builder, service narrative, battle damage, decommissioning, disposal; live NHHC page serves 404 - cited via Wayback capture 2025-12-09) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Thatcher II (DD-514)', specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Fletcher-class destroyer (dp. 2,050; l. 376'5"; b. 39'7"; dr. 13'9"; s. 35.2 k.; cpl. 329; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 10 21" tt.); laid down 20 June 1942 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched 6 December 1942, sponsored by Miss Charlotte L. Hyde; commissioned 10 February 1943, Lt. Comdr. Leland R. Lampman. Service: shakedown Casco Bay; convoy escort UGF-8 to Casablanca and GUF-8 return (April-May 1943); Pacific from June 1943 via Mare Island armament modifications to Pearl Harbor; Marcus Island raid 31 August; Espiritu Santo-Guadalcanal escort; Vella Lavella resupply; TF 39 Bougainville operations - Buka-Bonis and Shortlands bombardment, Cape Torokina landings; Battle of Empress Augusta Bay 2 November 1943 as DesDiv 46 member (with Spence DD-512, Converse DD-509, Foote DD-511) - Spence sideswiped Thatcher, springing her starboard shaft and dishing her starboard side; repairs Noumea, then Mare Island Navy Yard (arrived San Francisco 14 December 1943); rejoined TF 39 March 1944; Emirau, Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai strikes, Hollandia, Truk-Ponape; Majuro floating-drydock repairs May 1944; 26 May accidental firing of own No. 3 5-inch gun into starboard 20mm mount killed five men; Saipan-area operations June 1944 incl. aviator rescue off Pagan Island with Charles Ausburne (DD-570) and sinking a small freighter; Great Marianas Turkey Shoot; Rota-Guam bombardments; TG 30.8 logistics August-December; Luzon strikes and December typhoon (fueled to 50 percent before hoses parted); South China Sea fueling group January 1945; 7th Fleet Leyte-Subic Bay-Luzon fire support; TG 78.3 Panay and Negros landings; refit San Pedro; Kerama Retto 13 May 1945 and radar picket duty. On 20 May 1945 a kamikaze (Ki-43 'Oscar') dived into the ship aft of the bridge: all power and steering on the bridge lost, both radars and gyro out, external communications lost, a six-by-nine-foot hole between keel and bilge; Boyd (DD-544) and Pavlic (APD-70) came alongside; 14 killed or missing and 53 wounded; limped to Kerama Retto; drydock from 1 July, ready for sea 13 July. On 19 July 1945 a kamikaze in Buckner Bay bounced off the port side above the waterline and exploded alongside - slight damage, two wounded. Departed for the U.S. 25 July via Ulithi, Majuro, Eniwetok, Johnston Island, Hawaii; arrived Bremerton 20 August; a survey board decided the ship should be scrapped; decommissioned 23 November 1945; struck from the Navy list 5 December 1945; sold 23 January 1948 to Lerner Co., Oakland, Calif., for scrap. Twelve battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 329); Mare Island and Bremerton yard workers during repair/inactivation periods
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, and disposal - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS does not name the Kerama Retto drydock/repair facility or state where aboard Bremerton the decommissioning occurred. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-27; verbatim text cited via Wayback capture dated 2025-12-09.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Destroyer Photo Index DD-514, USS Thatcher - Operational and Building Data block, machinery line, and commanding-officer list (compiled from standard Navy references) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-514 page via Wayback capture 2025-02-12 (direct fetch failed), 'Operational and Building Data' block + machinery line + CO list + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data for this hull: Fletcher class, as built; displacement 2,924 tons (full); 376'5" x 39'7" x 13'9"; armament 5 x 5"/38AA, 4 x 40mm, 8 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt (2x5); machinery 60,000 SHP, General Electric geared turbines, 2 screws, 38 knots, range 6,500 NM at 15 knots, crew 273; call sign NFAW. Laid down Bath Iron Works 20 June 1942; launched 6 December 1942; commissioned 10 February 1943; 'Heavily Damaged by Japanese Kamikaze Aircraft July 19 1945 off Okinawa'; decommissioned 18 November 1945; stricken 5 December 1945; sold 23 January 1948 and broken up for scrap. Commanding officers: LCDR Leland R. Lampman (10 Feb 1943 - 4 Aug 1944), CDR William A. Cockell (4 Aug 1944 - 10 Apr 1945), LCDR Charles R. Chandler (10 Apr 1945 - 23 Nov 1945). Photo captions document two Mare Island yard periods: overhaul 3-25 July 1943 (the DANFS 'armament modifications' call) and overhaul 13 December 1943 - 10 February 1944 (the Empress Augusta Bay collision repair).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45; Mare Island yard workers 1943 and 1943-44
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source - used for the machinery line, CO list, and Mare Island yard-period dates. Its data block compresses the two 1945 kamikaze hits into a single 'heavily damaged ... July 19' line and reads decommissioned 18 November 1945; DANFS records the major hit as 20 May (14 dead/missing, 53 wounded), the 19 July hit as slight, and decommissioning as 23 November 1945 - consistent with NavSource's own CO list ending Chandler's tenure 23 November. DANFS is carried for both points; conflicts logged in gaps. Contributor captions are weaker than the data block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-02
-
[4]Naval Historical Center (NHHC predecessor), Online Library of Selected Images, 'USS Thatcher (DD-514), 1943-1948' ship page and photo captions (Wayback capture 2004-05-04; page series discontinued) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library ship page dd514.htm, narrative block + photo captions NH 99259-99263 and related
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Naval Historical Center secondary narrative for this hull: Fletcher-class destroyer built at Bath, commissioned February 1943; trans-Atlantic convoy escort April-May; Pacific transfer June 1943; Marcus Island raid; Bougainville assault and Empress Augusta Bay collision with USS Spence requiring stateside repair/overhaul; March 1944 return; Saipan invasion June 1944 (sank a small freighter 12 June; shelled Rota and Guam); fleet-logistics screening August-December 1944; typhoon weathered; South China Sea raids; Seventh Fleet Luzon/Panay February-March 1945; radar picket off Okinawa - 'badly damaged by a Kamikaze' 20 May with loss of 14 crew; hit again off Okinawa 19 July with light damage and casualties; post-surrender arrival in the U.S.; survey board judged repair unjustified; decommissioned November 1945, stricken, sold for scrapping January 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Wartime crew; Mare Island Navy Yard workers 1943-44
- Limitations
- Official secondary narrative agreeing with DANFS on both kamikaze hits and disposition; contains no materials or asbestos statements. Its photo captions document the two Mare Island yard periods (July 1943; December 1943-February 1944) and the 28 February 1943 Boston Harbor appearance.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-03
-
[5]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; cpl. 329) + Fletcher class profile (fletcher-class.class.json: 4 B&W boilers, GE geared turbines, 60,000 shp) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bath Iron Works record (tier 2; 1942 Drinker pipe-covering-shop study; 1987 OSHA inspection; Austin litigation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; shipyards.json record 'bath-iron-works' (ev-bath-iron-works-01 through -03)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1942-43 with a four-boiler, 60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, and fireproofing; builder Bath Iron Works is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset (tier 2), including the 1942 Harvard/Drinker industrial-hygiene study of pipe-covering shop dust risk - contemporaneous with this hull's construction window (laid down June 1942) - and a 1987 OSHA asbestos-standard citation set; NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' holding per-vessel material specifications are an archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Bath Iron Works construction trades 1942-43; crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The Drinker study documents dust risk in the yard's pipe-covering shop in 1942, not materials installed aboard DD-514; the OSHA and litigation rows post-date the build by decades. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-04
-
[6]GAO HRD-80-2, 'The Navy's Program to Control Asbestos Exposure on Ships' (product page; full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Program-level context only: the GAO's 1979 report on Navy shipboard asbestos describes a fleet-wide control program whose substitution effort did not begin until the early 1970s - decades after this hull was decommissioned (1945) and scrapped (1948). Establishes that DD-514's entire build/service life fell within the Navy's unrestricted-asbestos era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- report published 1979-10 (approx.); era coverage WWII-1979
- Population
- U.S. Navy fleet, program-level
- Limitations
- Program-level record; contains no hull-specific data. Full text unreachable (GAO returns 403 to automated fetch); summary characterization rests on the GAO product description and the same treatment in batch-01/batch-3459 records. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-05
-
[7]U.S. Navy Research (NARA-document reproduction vendor), 'War Damage Reports 12th Naval District, P-T' index - lines 63-64 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usnavyresearch.com 12th Naval District WDR index 'P-T' page, lines 63-64
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Hull-specific official reports exist in archival holdings: the vendor's index of NARA 12th Naval District war-damage-report holdings lists TWO reports for 'USS THATCHER DD514' - (line 63) 'War Damage Report, Buckner Bay, Okinawa, July 1945, typed by Commanding Officer C. R. Chandler' and (line 64) 'War Damage Report, Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 19 July 1945, typed by Commanding Officer C. R. Chandler.' Chandler was the ship's last CO (10 Apr - 23 Nov 1945 per NavSource), consistent with reports authored aboard this hull covering the July 1945 Okinawa period. These reports would describe damage and temporary repairs to hull structure and spaces - the closest thing to a contemporaneous hull-condition survey located for this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945 (reports); index current
- Population
- Ship's company and damage-control/survey personnel, July 1945
- Limitations
- Index entry only - the reports themselves are not digitized and were not retrieved; their content (including any materials references) is unknown. The 'July 1945' report's incident coverage is ambiguous (likely the post-20 May survey/drydock period or a consolidated July report). Vendor index is a secondary locator for NARA holdings, not itself an official publication.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-06
-
[8]Batch-3492 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback capture of the live NHHC page; NavSource DD-514 data; NHC Online Library ship page; usnavyresearch WDR index; BuShips WDR No. 51 full text; Atlas shipyard dataset; web sweep for hull-specific asbestos records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-thatcher-dd514-01 through sl-uss-thatcher-dd514-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for DD-514: no hull ACM survey, no abatement or hazmat disclosure (the hull was scrapped in 1948 - no museum or reserve-fleet phase exists), no published government survey naming this hull, and web-indexed asbestos mentions exist only on marketing pages (navyshipexposure.com 'equipment manifest', mesotheliomaveterans.org listicle - the latter lists the wrong hull, DD-162) which are excluded by batch rules. DD-514 is not treated as a detailed case in the published BuShips Destroyer Report WDR No. 51 (detailed cases incl. Abner Read, A.W. Grant, Hugh W. Hadley, Killen, Mayrant - Thatcher absent). Ship-specific documentation of materials aboard remains unlocated.
- 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 - era practice makes ACM likely at class level, but nothing ship-specific documents it. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 litigation sweep: "USS Thatcher" opinions (0 results); "DD-514" opinions (0 results); "USS Thatcher" RECAP dockets (0 results); "DD-514" RECAP dockets (4 results - all name collisions) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search endpoint
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep complete: NO qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull. Opinion index: zero hits for "USS Thatcher" and for "DD-514". Docket index: zero hits for "USS Thatcher"; four hits for "DD-514", all name collisions - Saunders Engine & Equipment Co. v. Myrtle, No. 5:04-cv-00235 (N.D. Fla., RICO commercial dispute, 2004; 'DD-514' is an internal document reference); In re Sears Holdings Corp., No. 18-23538 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2018; claim/document reference in a retail bankruptcy); The New York Times Co. v. Microsoft Corp., No. 1:23-cv-11195 (S.D.N.Y. 2023, copyright; 'DD-514' token inside a 321-page article exhibit); and In re Lyondell Chemical Co., No. 09-10023 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009; mailing-list/party-code reference in an affidavit of service). None references the vessel or asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- Search coverage is the CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket indexes for the two canonical queries; docket-text matches can lag filings, and state-court/trial-level records are largely outside the index. Zero qualifying hits means no located case names this hull; it does not prove no claim was ever asserted. The surname 'Thatcher' produces unrelated litigation elsewhere but no vessel-name collision required adjudication here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-thatcher-dd514-08