Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet gg-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-pkt-gg-packet-md
-
[2]Swanson v. The Marley-Wylain Co., 65 Cal.App.5th 1007 (2021), Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist., Div. One, No. B294181 (L.A. County Super. Ct. No. BC571451) - filed June 4, 2021; certified for publication June 24, 2021 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 'Background' section (factual recital); slip op. pp. 3-4; publication order appended
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published asbestos personal-injury opinion naming this hull in its factual background: 'According to trial testimony, Swanson was probably first exposed to asbestos during a two-year naval assignment beginning in November 1966 aboard the U.S.S. Theodore E. Chandler.' Plaintiff Robert Swanson (b. 1947, Ishpeming MI) enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 17th birthday in November 1964; the recited assignment window (November 1966 - late 1968) coincides with this hull's documented 1966-68 western-Pacific combat deployment. Mesothelioma diagnosed 2014; suit filed 2015; plaintiff died March 2, 2016. At the August 2018 trial the jury found Weil-McLain negligent and awarded $5,489,688.68; the Court of Appeal reversed and remanded on grounds that the jury was instructed under California's causation standard rather than Michigan's - a jury-instruction error concerning the defendant's boiler products. The DD-717 exposure recital was not the contested issue on appeal and is neither affirmed as a finding nor challenged by the opinion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1966-1968 (recited exposure window); 2014-2021 (litigation)
- Population
- Robert Swanson (USN 1964-1969; aboard DD-717 Nov 1966 - late 1968 per trial testimony); later civilian plumber
- Limitations
- The ship exposure is recited trial testimony (trial-record stage), not an adjudicated finding: the litigation concerned asbestos from Weil-McLain residential-boiler products in post-service civilian plumbing work in Michigan, and the verdict was reversed on causation-instruction grounds. The opinion identifies no asbestos products aboard the hull, no quantities, no compartments, and does not adjudicate whether the Navy-period exposure occurred or caused injury. During the recited window the only commissioned USS Theodore E. Chandler was DD-717 (DD-206 was a different name, USS Chandler, stricken 1945).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-01
-
[3]DANFS, Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717) (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page serves 404). Specifications block via historycentral.com DANFS mirror: dp. 2,400; l. 390'6"; b. 40'10"; dr. 19'; s. 35 k.; cpl. 337; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 20 20mm., 6 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Gearing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 23 April 1945 at Kearny, N.J., by Federal Shipbuilding Co.; launched 20 October 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Theodore E. Chandler; commissioned 22 March 1946, Comdr. Francis O. Fletcher Jr. in command. West-coast service from San Diego (DesRon 17); China station 1947 and 1948; 24 November 1948 collision with Ozbourn (DD-846) off Tsingtao, five-month repair at Long Beach; Korea from August 1950 (Pusan perimeter bombardment with Helena CA-75, Inchon, Hungnam evacuation; second tour winter 1951-52; third January-August 1953). Seven further Far East deployments 1953-64; year-long FRAM overhaul at San Francisco Naval Shipyard beginning mid-February 1961; generating-plant yard period December 1962 - March 1963. Vietnam-era: 1964 Tonkin response; 1965 overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard; 1966-68 extended WestPac (SS Rutgers Victory firefighting at Nha Trang 13 Nov 1966; Sea Dragon operations under shore-battery fire June-July 1967; Forrestal fire assistance 29-30 Jul 1967; two 85mm shore-battery hits 6 May 1968 - hull penetrated into crew's shower aft, one man wounded, three-hour emergency repairs); four-month Long Beach overhaul completed 13 February 1969; WestPac 1969-70; winter 1970-71 wartime deployment; four-month overhaul early 1972; final WestPac January-July 1973; transferred to Naval Reserve training duty at Seattle 1 October 1973; decommissioned at Seattle and stricken 1 April 1975; sold 30 December 1975 to General Metals, Tacoma, Wash., for scrapping. Nine battle stars Korea; eight battle stars and Navy Unit Commendation Vietnam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1975
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades 1945-46; crews 1946-1975 (design complement 337); SF Naval Shipyard trades 1961-62; Long Beach Naval Shipyard trades 1965, 1968-69 (and likely 1972); General Metals scrappers 1976
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, yard periods, and disposal - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404; verbatim mirror transcription cited (globalsecurity.org; specifications block via historycentral.com transcription). December 1962 - March 1963 and early-1972 yard periods: DANFS does not name the yard; Long Beach Naval Shipyard attribution for the 1965 overhaul is explicit, for the 1968-69 and 1972 periods 'at Long Beach' is stated without naming the facility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-02
-
[4]navysite.de DD-717 general characteristics and chronology (secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navysite.de USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717) page, general-characteristics block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary compilation for this hull corroborating and extending the DANFS record: eighth Gearing-class destroyer; FRAM I conversion at San Francisco Naval Shipyard February 1961 - January 1962; post-FRAM fit (ASROC launcher, two 5-inch/38 twin mounts, Mk-32 torpedo tubes, DASH drones); post-FRAM crew 14 officers + 260 enlisted; decommissioned and stricken 1 April 1975; sold for scrapping December 1975. Documents the FRAM yard window to the month.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1961-1962 (FRAM); 1945-1975 (chronology)
- Population
- San Francisco Naval Shipyard trades during FRAM, Feb 1961 - Jan 1962
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official record - FRAM end month (January 1962) and post-FRAM crew figures are unverified against primary sources; the page's builder field ('Newark, NJ') is wrong (DANFS: Kearny) and illustrates its error rate. Used only for FRAM window and configuration detail corroborating DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-03
-
[5]DoD-published naval history 'Ready Seapower' (Naval History and Heritage Command / GPO) - Rear Admiral Theodore E. Chandler killed in the January 1945 Lingayen kamikaze air assault; NHHC biography page returns 404 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ready Seapower (GPO/DoD), Lingayen Gulf operations narrative; NHHC biography URL currently 404
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Namesake record for this hull: the ship is named for Rear Admiral Theodore E. Chandler, USN, Cruiser Division 4 commander, who died 7 January 1945 of wounds received in kamikaze attacks during the Lingayen Gulf operation (fatal attack on his flagship USS Louisville CA-28 on 6 January 1945; buried at sea). Sponsor at the 20 October 1945 launch was his widow, Mrs. Theodore E. Chandler (per DANFS). The DD-717 hull name is distinct from the earlier USS Chandler (DD-206, Clemson-class), which honored Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler, the admiral's grandfather.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Namesake identification only - bears on identity, not asbestos. The DoD history text compresses the record (it says 'the air assault on New Mexico killed Rear Admiral Theodore E. Chandler' even though Chandler's fatal wounds were received aboard Louisville per the NHHC biography and uniform secondary consensus); NHHC Chandler biography and DD-717 namesake paragraph are not retrievable (NHHC 404s). Flagship detail carried on consensus sources; DD-206 distinction is certain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-04
-
[6]VA News (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), '#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Samuel L. Gravely Jr.' (Feb. 1, 2022) [other_primary]
- Locator
- news.va.gov Veteran of the Day article, career narrative paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official VA publication documents that in the 1960s Samuel L. Gravely Jr. 'became the first African American officer to command a ship when he became acting commander of USS Theodore E. Chandler' - this hull is the platform of that Navy milestone. Gravely retired in 1980 as a vice admiral and the Navy's first Black flag officer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1960s
- Limitations
- Historical significance fact only - no asbestos content. VA gives 'the 1960s' without a specific date; the acting-command interval is widely reported as 1962 but is not dated in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-05
-
[7]Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2, 1944; introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning, Brazoria County TX 1990) + Atlas shipyard dataset record 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' (tier 2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Owens-Illinois IHS (toxicdocs.org scan); shipyards.json 'federal-shipbuilding-kearny' record
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: an August-September 1944 Owens-Illinois Industrial Health Survey of the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. yard at Kearny, NJ documented insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation, with dust counts measured during cutting and fitting. This hull was laid down at that yard seven months later (April 1945) and built there through March 1946 - the survey documents the yard's asbestos-insulation trades during the hull's construction era. The Atlas yard record (tier 2) documents period products at Kearny including Superex pipe covering, Kaylo pipe/boiler insulation, Monokote fireproofing, and Garlock gaskets.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding insulators, pipefitters, and construction trades, Kearny NJ, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Yard-level and era-level evidence only: the 1944 survey predates keel laying and does not document materials installed aboard this hull; no hull-level material schedule, work package, or purchase record located. Does not establish ship-specific asbestos presence - establishes that the building yard used asbestos insulation products during the construction era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-06
-
[8]DANFS specifications block (Gearing class; 35 kt) + Gearing-class profile (gearing-class.class.json, class-f) + class-level litigation recitals in Goodrich v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., Omnibus Opinion and Order, ECF No. 171, E.D. Va. No. 4:17-cv-00009 (Sept. 28, 2018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; Gearing-class profile evidence rows ev-gearing-class-04/-05; Goodrich opinion ECF 171
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a Gearing-class destroyer completed 1945-46 with a four-boiler superheated-steam plant (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, GE geared turbines, 60,000 shp per class data) would have carried period-standard asbestos insulation, lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. At class level, the Goodrich omnibus opinion recites a Sumner/Gearing engineering drawing specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths on forced-draft blower turbines and a 30.3-ton partial tally of asbestos thermal insulation/lagging in fire and engine rooms - litigation-record recitals, not adjudicated classwide quantities and not specific to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1975
- Population
- Construction and yard trades 1945-46; crew 1946-75
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the ship-specific finding for this hull is ev-01 (Swanson); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. Goodrich recitals describe class drawings and a partial insulation tally; neither establishes what was installed, retained, or removed aboard DD-717. The hull was completed after V-J Day (commissioned March 1946) but within the same construction program and materials regime.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-07
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[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct. 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level context: the 1979 GAO report documented Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, covering naval-shipyard asbestos conditions during the era in which this hull was repeatedly overhauled (San Francisco Naval Shipyard FRAM 1961-62; Long Beach Naval Shipyard 1965, 1968-69, 1972). Provides the policy and exposure backdrop for the Navy's shipyard asbestos problem.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1979 (report)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers, era
- Limitations
- Program-level only - the report does not name this hull and fieldwork yards are not attributed to DD-717's specific availabilities; establishes era policy context, not aboard-ship conditions. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; description based on product page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (type=o opinions and type=r dockets), 2026-09-27 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger row sl-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-04
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep attempted but blocked: the authenticated helper returned exit-2 (fleet-wide pacing budget spent) on ten spaced attempts over ~70 minutes; no anonymous or non-helper request was made per protocol. Qualifying litigation naming this hull was nonetheless located through non-CL channels: Swanson v. The Marley-Wylain Co., 65 Cal.App.5th 1007 (2021) - published opinion reciting trial testimony of asbestos exposure aboard this hull beginning November 1966 (ev-01). Web-level litigation queries and a Google Scholar case-law search for "U.S.S. Theodore E. Chandler" + asbestos surfaced only that opinion and law-firm boilerplate; no second qualifying case found. Open name-collision note for future sweeps: USS Chandler (DD-206, Clemson-class, stricken 1945) shares 'USS Chandler' for pre-1946 references.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 2026-09-27
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is absent for this record - the sweep could not run against CL-indexed opinions and RECAP dockets, so additional ship-naming dockets (e.g., MDL-875 claimant work-history exhibits naming DD-717) cannot be ruled out. The Swanson opinion is verified from the filed PDF; non-CL searches are partial coverage, not a substitute for the docket sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-09
-
[11]Batch-3691 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; secondary compilations; NPS NRHP/NHL; GAO; Atlas shipyard dataset; VA BVA search; scrapping/disposal documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-03 (NPS), -05 (shipyards.json), -07 (BVA), -08 (disposal)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos-material documentation located beyond the Swanson trial-testimony recital: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract or work package, no scrapping/disposal hazmat record, and no federal or published state opinion adjudicating exposure aboard this hull. NPS NRHP/NHL has no listing (hull scrapped 1975-76, before heritage-era designations). The 30 December 1975 sale to General Metals, Tacoma, WA, for scrapping is DANFS-documented, but no environmental or asbestos-handling record for the breakup is public; General Metals of Tacoma is not in the Atlas yard dataset.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1945-1976 (coverage searched); 2026-09-27 (search date)
- Limitations
- Absence of located documentation is not absence of asbestos aboard - 1945-46 steam-destroyer construction at a documented asbestos yard makes period insulation materials probable, but no hull-level record was located. VA BVA decision full-text search was blocked to automated access (search.usa.gov 403); BVA coverage is via web-level search only, which returned no qualifying decision naming this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-theodore-e-chandler-dd717-10