Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]research packet lq-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS Tills; hull DE-748; designation DE (destroyer escort);
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-tills-de748-pkt-lq-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Tills (DE-748) (builder, namesake, dates, service narrative, striking and target sinking; verbatim text via Wayback capture of the official NHHC page - live page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Tills (DE-748)', specifications block + full service narrative (Wayback timestamp 20250202215033)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: named for Ens. Robert George Tills, first American naval officer killed in the defense of the Philippines (Malalag Bay, 8 Dec 1941); laid down 23 June 1943 at San Pedro, Calif., by the Western Steel and Pipe Co.; launched 3 October 1943, sponsored by Miss Helen Irene Tills; commissioned 8 August 1944, Lt. Comdr. James L. Brooks, USNR. CortDiv 53; shakedown off San Diego and post-shakedown availability at Terminal Island; TG 19.5 screen to Pearl Harbor Oct 1944; TG 12.3 hunter-killer operations Hawaii-Marshalls early 1945; convoy PD-355T screen; Ulithi; Okinawa transport screen off Hagushi Beach May 1945; Carrier Division 22 plane guard for Sakishima strikes June 1945; availability alongside Oahu (ARG-5); ABSD-6 drydock at Guam for sonar-dome repairs Aug 1945; Nagasaki occupation lifts; Norfolk Navy Yard availability and decommissioning preparations late 1945; decommissioned June 1946; reactivated in-service 1947 with Charleston (S.C.) Naval Shipyard overhaul Aug-Nov 1947 and Miami homeport; full commission 21 Nov 1950 under Lt. Comdr. Elmo R. Zumwalt; NRT ship Charleston, Boston (1958), Portland (1959); decommissioned to in-service Selected Reserve Training Program 18 Oct 1959; recommissioned 1 Oct 1961 (Berlin Crisis) under Lt. Comdr. W. L. Rich, USNR, six-week repair at Newport R.I. and Guantanamo refresher, homeport Norfolk; decommissioned 1 Aug 1962 at Portland; in-service NRT South Portland with ResDesRon 30; 1963 Newport tender availability (new torpedo tubes replacing tubes and K-guns); 1964 tender availability alongside Grand Canyon (AD-28); struck from the Navy list 23 September 1968; sunk as a target off the east coast 3 April 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Western Pipe and Steel construction trades 1943-44; wartime crew (DANFS cpl. 221); NRT cadre and reservist trainees 1947-1968
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Verbatim text taken from the Wayback capture of the official NHHC page because the live page returns 404. Spec-line speed 's. 24 k.' conflicts with the class design figure (~21 kt) and builder reads 'Western Steel and Pipe Co.' vs. the canonical company name - both carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tills-de748-01
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[3]Dudash v. Alstom Power, Inc. et al., No. 2:08-cv-07434-R-JTL (C.D. Cal.; removed from Los Angeles Superior Court BC392242), First Amended Complaint for Survival/Wrongful Death and Loss of Consortium - Asbestos (state filing 2008-10-03), filed into JPML MDL-875 as Doc. 6475-15 (2010-12-13); JPML Docs. 5724, 5735, 5737; member docket E.D. Pa. 2:09-cv-64287 [court_record]
- Locator
- FAC Exhibit A 'Decedent Jimmie J. Dudash's exposure...' jobsite table, entry 25 (PDF p.62 of MDL Doc. 6475-15); FAC prayer/caption pp.1-65; C.D. Cal. docket entries 1-30 incl. 2009-01-23 remand order; JPML Doc. 5724 (opposition to CTO), 5735 (order of remand), 5737 (order vacating CTO-318)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- QUALIFYING asbestos litigation naming this hull, at pleading stage: the FAC alleges decedent Jimmie J. Dudash's exposure 'stemmed from occupational exposure to asbestos and asbestos-containing products while working as a laborer, boilertender, boilermaker and custodian' and that he was 'exposed to asbestos and asbestos-containing thermal insulation materials while present at Decedent's jobsites'; Exhibit A lists 'USS TILLS (DE-748) / U.S. Navy / 6/23/1966 - 10/2/1967' as jobsite entry 25 of ~28; decedent 'retired from the Navy in 1976' and 'suffered and died from asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma, on December 9, 2007.' Procedural posture: removed to C.D. Cal. 2008-11-10 by Viad Corp.; remanded to Los Angeles Superior Court by stipulation 2009-01-23 (Viad dismissed with prejudice; case terminated); JPML conditional transfer order CTO-318 opposed by plaintiffs and VACATED 2009-02-05; E.D. Pa. member docket 2:09-cv-64287 opened 2009-03-12 and terminated 2009-03-27 administratively. During the alleged exposure window (June 1966-October 1967) Tills was an in-service Naval Reserve Training ship homeported at South Portland, Maine (ResDesRon 30, 1st Naval District).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1966-1967 (alleged exposure aboard this hull); 2008-2009 (litigation)
- Population
- Jimmie J. Dudash (decedent, USN 1955-1976, mesothelioma d. 2007-12-09); heirs Carol S. Dudash and Melita Rene Phillips
- Limitations
- PLEADING-STAGE ALLEGATION, never adjudicated: the case was remanded to state court before any merits finding and its post-remand history is unlocated. The complaint alleges - but does not adjudicate - exposure aboard this hull; it does not establish that asbestos-containing material was aboard in 1966-67, does not identify products or quantities, and the occupation list describes the decedent's trades across ~28 listed jobsites rather than duties specifically performed aboard Tills. Decedent's claimed service dates fall in the ship's reserve-training period, consistent with assignment to an NRT hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tills-de748-02
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[4]NavSource Online Destroyer Escort Photo Archive, USS Tills (DE-748) building and operational data (compiles NHHC/DANFS-derived dates plus NVR-status entries) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/06/748.htm - 'Tills (DE 748) Building and Operational Data' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Operational-status record for this hull beyond the DANFS narrative: decommissioned June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla. after 1 year 10 months; 1947 placed 'in service, in reserve' as NRT ship at Miami (Seventh Naval District); recommissioned 21 Nov 1950 under Lt. Comdr. Elmo R. Zumwalt as NRT ship Charleston (Sixth Naval District); reassigned NRT Boston 1 May 1958 and NRT South Portland 1 Sep 1959; decommissioned at Maine State Pier, Portland, 18 Oct 1959 - 'in service, in reserve,' Selected Reserve Training Program, administrative control to Commandant 1st Naval District; recommissioned 1 Oct 1961 (Berlin Crisis), homeport Norfolk, Escort Squadron 12; decommissioned/'in service, in reserve' 1 Aug 1962 at South Portland, Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30 (ResDesDiv 303); placed 'out of service, in reserve' at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 21 Sep 1968 and struck from the NVR with 23 years 4 months total service; sunk as a target off the Virginia coast 3 Apr 1969.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- NRT cadre and reservist trainees 1947-1968; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard inactivation workers 1968
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation consistent with DANFS; adds the 21 Sep 1968 Philadelphia out-of-service date, the 'off Virginia' sinking location, and district/squadron administrative detail. Not an asbestos or materials source; '23 years 4 months' counts commission plus in-service time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tills-de748-03
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[5]DANFS specifications block (Cannon class; 21 kt per class transcription) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Western Pipe & Steel record (tier-3 asbestos-era yard; flagship ev-western-pipe-01 = Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615 (2001)); Cannon-class DET class profile (navypedia us_de_det; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 DE section) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS class spec; shipyards.json record 'western-pipe-steel' (flagship ev-western-pipe-01); class profile cannon-class (DET)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Cannon-class (DET design) destroyer escort built 1943-44 with a diesel-electric plant - four GM 16-278A diesels with electric drive, no boilers or steam system - would have carried a materially different asbestos profile than steam ships: exhaust insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and deck coverings rather than boiler/turbine lagging. Builder Western Pipe & Steel is a tier-3 asbestos-era yard in the Atlas dataset; its flagship evidence (Franklin v. USX Corp., 2001) documents that shipbuilding contracts required asbestos-containing materials - at the company's South San Francisco yard, a sister facility of the San Pedro yard that built this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro construction trades 1943-44; crew and NRT trainees 1944-1968
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-company inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The DET diesel-electric plant means the largest steam-ship asbestos categories (boiler and steam-line lagging) do not apply. The Franklin opinion names Western Pipe & Steel's South San Francisco yard; applying it to the San Pedro building yard is company-level inference on inference. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tills-de748-04
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[6]Batch-4516 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (Wayback); NavSource; NVR; NARA deck-log catalog; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries (opinion and RECAP docket); Atlas shipyard dataset [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-tills-de748-01 through sl-uss-tills-de748-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or material inventory located for DE-748, and none is expected in disposal records: the hull was expended as a target 3 April 1969, before NESHAP-era asbestos requirements applied to sinking/disposal, so whatever era materials remained aboard went down undocumented. No published opinion names this hull (CourtListener type=o for 'USS Tills' returned 0; 'DE-748' docket hits are identifier collisions); the only litigation located is the unadjudicated Dudash pleading (ev-uss-tills-de748-02).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; a pre-regulation target sinking means materials were not subject to disposal documentation - this neither confirms nor excludes ACM having been aboard. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-tills-de748-05