Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet gc-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-uhlmann-dd687-pkt-gc-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Uhlmann (DD-687) (namesake biography, specifications block, service narrative, decommissioning/striking; verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 6 March 1943 at Staten Island, N.Y., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 30 July 1943; commissioned 22 November 1943 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Pacific 1944-45: 24 April 1944 collision with Benham (DD-796) tore an 8x10-ft hole below the waterline flooding firerooms and the forward engine room - temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor, then two months of extensive repairs at Hunter's Point (May-August 1944); typhoon damage at Ulithi 3 October 1944 with repairs by Dixie (AD-14); screened TF 38/TF 58 fast carriers through Okinawa, Formosa, Luzon, Sibuyan Sea (24 Oct), the December 1944 typhoon, the January 1945 South China Sea raid, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa radar-picket duty; combined depth-charge attack that sank I-56 (17-18 April 1945); 29 April 1945 splashed a kamikaze close aboard the damaged Haggard and rescued two crewmen; July 1945 TG 35.3 Kii Suido sweep; occupation duty Sagami Wan/Tokyo Bay August-October 1945; Bremerton November 1945 for alterations. Decommissioned San Diego 14 June 1946; Naval Reserve Training Program (Terminal Island overhaul; 11th Naval District); recommissioned 23 May 1950, active status 18 November 1950. Korea: two deployments (TF 77/TF 95; 20 August 1951 Wonsan Hodo Peninsula shore-battery duel; 3 November 1952 Hangwon engagement - 13 wounded); San Diego drydocking and alterations incl. new armament 1952; March 1954 grounding-damage repairs at Subic Bay after aiding grounded merchantman Kiang Shan; 11 further WestPac deployments; three Vietnam tours (1965 junk searches/shore bombardment/plane guard; 1968 Gulf of Tonkin plane guard, 50 naval-gunfire-support missions off Hue). October 1969 Group I Naval Reserve Training ship, Tacoma. Found unfit for service 24 November 1971 - the Navy's oldest commissioned destroyer; decommissioned 15 July 1972 at Naval Reserve Center Pier, Tacoma - the Navy's last Fletcher-class destroyer; struck same day; transferred to Inactive Ship Facility, Bremerton, for disposal; later scrapped. Seven WWII, two Korea, five Vietnam battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1943; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 329); yard workers at repair/alteration sites
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service history, repair/alteration events, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. Internal inconsistency: the entry writes 'Haggard (DD-585)' for the 29 April 1945 picket casualty but 'Haggard (DD-555)' for the 22 March 1945 submarine action; Haggard was DD-555 (DD-585 was Haraden) - documented in gaps. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-01
-
[3]DANFS specifications block (Fletcher class; 35.2 kt trial) + Fletcher-class class profile (4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2 GE geared steam-turbine sets, 60,000 shp, 2 shafts - navypedia + BuShips Ships Data 1945) + Atlas shipyard dataset, Bethlehem Shipbuilding record (Quincy-anchored corporate record); NARA RG19 General Information Books archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS specifications block; fletcher-class.class.json propulsion_summary; shipyards.json record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Fletcher-class destroyer built 1943-44 with a four-boiler/60,000-shp steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler and steam-line insulation, turbine lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island (Mariners Harbor/Port Richmond), is represented in the Atlas yard dataset only by the Quincy-anchored corporate record 'bethlehem-shipbuilding'. NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications are an unretrieved archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Bethlehem Steel Staten Island construction trades 1943-44; crew 1943-1972
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No ship-specific asbestos finding exists for this hull; this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific determination. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-02
-
[4]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 DD-687's construction (1943-44) and essentially all commissioned service (1943-1972) 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.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-03
-
[5]Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. La. 2012) (Barbier, J.) - Order and Reasons on plaintiff's motion to remand, Civil Action No. 12-821 [court_record]
- Locator
- 883 F. Supp. 2d 646, Opinion pp. 647-48 (factual recital, Rec. Doc. 1-1 paras. 32-34), pp. 658-59 (holding: remand DENIED); CourtListener opinion 8718087
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal opinion naming this vessel in an asbestos exposure case: plaintiff Frank Najolia, Jr. alleged malignant pleural mesothelioma from asbestos exposure; defendants GE and CBS (Westinghouse) removed under 28 U.S.C. 1442 (federal-officer removal), averring that Najolia's pre-removal deposition showed he was a machinist mate in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Uhlmann. The opinion recites that Najolia was enlisted 1964-1968 and alleges he 'daily and routinely worked with asbestos-containing products and materials and had occasion to cut, saw, tear, sweep and otherwise manipulate friable asbestos-containing insulation and other products and materials,' with exposure 'in part due to asbestos fibers released from installation and removal of heat insulation, boiler insulation, insulation pads, pumps, gaskets, boiler lagging, boiler jackets, well-boards and other asbestos insulation on the boilers, turbines, walls, ceilings, and piping systems' of the naval vessels. Defendants' removal theory: the allegedly exposure-causing marine turbines aboard Uhlmann were designed and manufactured at the Navy's direction under military specifications. The court DENIED remand, finding the removal test met (action under federal direction; colorable government-contractor defense; causal nexus for both design-defect and failure-to-warn claims). Hull attribution is unambiguous - DD-687 was the only USS Uhlmann, and 1964-68 falls within her second commissioned period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1964-1968 (enlistment window containing alleged exposure); 2012 (opinion)
- Population
- Frank Najolia, Jr. (USN machinist mate, enlisted 1964-1968; service aboard USS Uhlmann per pre-removal deposition - aboard dates not separately stated; pleural mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Removal/jurisdiction-stage opinion - the exposure allegation is recited from the state-court petition and pre-removal deposition, never adjudicated on the merits; the opinion decides only that federal jurisdiction was proper. Does not establish causation, quantify or locate asbestos aboard, or identify which specific products were asbestos-containing; defendants' 'Navy required asbestos in turbines' framing is an advocate's jurisdictional assertion, not a finding. Merits outcome (and whether the case proceeded against GE/Westinghouse in federal court or settled) not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-04
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[6]Guthrie v. General Electric Co., No. 3:07-cv-02542-SI (N.D. Cal.), Exhibit A to Complaint, ECF Doc. 1-2 (filed 2007-05-14); docket indexed on CourtListener, exhibit text read via public mirror (findforms.com pdf_files/cand/192016/1-2.pdf) [court_record]
- Locator
- ECF Doc. 1-2 (Exhibit A), pp. 6-7 - 'USS UHLMANN (DD-687)' exposure entry, service 3 April 1969 - 5 September 1969
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Pleading-stage complaint exhibit names this hull as an exposure site: plaintiff James Guthrie (diagnosed with asbestosis November 2001) lists 'USS UHLMANN (DD-687)' among his exposure locations for U.S. Navy service as a boiler tender aboard 3 April - 5 September 1969. The exhibit recites ship-specific detail: 'The UHLMANN (DD 687) was a WWII vintage destroyer based out of San Diego'; he recalls spending most of his time in the boiler room, that 'the boilers had firebrick and mortar around the back of the boiler,' inspecting the firebox and repairing mortar cracks during maintenance shutdowns, that 'there were asbestos handholds located in the engine room,' changing gaskets on all four boilers, valves 'packed with asbestos packing,' and 'the air intake casing around the furnace was gasketed with asbestos rope.' Other listed sites: USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37), USS Perkins (DD-877), Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard, Naval Training Center San Diego/Great Lakes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-27
- Study period
- 1969 (alleged exposure); 2007 (filing)
- Population
- James Guthrie (USN boiler tender aboard USS Uhlmann, Apr-Sep 1969; asbestosis)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage complaint exhibit (plaintiff's exposure-work-history statement attached to the complaint) - an allegation, not an adjudicated finding; never tested at trial. Establishes the plaintiff's asserted service aboard DD-687 and his recollected material details, but does not prove asbestos content aboard or causation; case outcome not located in indexed sources. Docket found via CourtListener 'DD-687' hull-number search.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-05
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[7]Batch-3662 search ledger (this record): DANFS mirror (ibiblio); NHHC photo archive (NH 73465); Naval Vessel Register; GAO HRD-80-2; NHHC command-operations-report archive; Fletcher-class class profile; Atlas shipyard dataset; CourtListener (see sl-03/-04/-09); secondary compilations for disposal date [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-uhlmann-dd687-01 through sl-uss-uhlmann-dd687-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-level asbestos documentation located for DD-687 beyond the Najolia and Guthrie litigation recitals (ev-04, ev-05): no hull ACM survey, no abatement record, no materials inventory, and no museum/operator hazmat disclosure (the hull was scrapped 1972-74, eliminating the museum-disclosure channel that produced records for preserved hulls). No affirmative adjudicated exposure finding exists - the located cases are a removal/jurisdiction-stage opinion and a pleading-stage complaint exhibit.
- 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-standard applications are documented at class/era level only. The hull no longer exists, so present-day ACM status is moot; whether original 1943 insulation survived into the service era is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-uhlmann-dd687-06