Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet he-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-wilkinson-dd930-pkt-he-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Wilkinson (DL-5) - verbatim narrative carried on the losthistory.net/hazegray DANFS archive (live NHHC page serves 404; ibiblio mirrors 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/dl-dlg/dl5.htm - statistics block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 1 February 1950 at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipbuilding Division as DD-930; reclassified destroyer leader DL-5 on 9 February 1951; launched 23 April 1952 (sponsor Lady Catherine Moore, former Mrs. Theodore S. Wilkinson); commissioned 3 August 1954, Comdr. Donald G. Dockum in command. Statistics block: dp. 4,730; 493'0" x 50'0" x 14'0"; 30 kt; complement 403; 2x5", 4x3", 8x20mm, 2 Weapon Alfa, 1 dct.; class Mitscher. Service: Newport homeport, flagship DesFlot 2 (1955); Boston Naval Shipyard five-month overhaul with 3"/70 battery installation from 2 December 1955; Battle Efficiency 'E' FY1956; Pacific Fleet July 1956, flagship DesRon 17 at San Diego ('first ship of her type assigned to the Pacific Fleet'); homeport Long Beach July 1957; 'extensive modifications to her power plant' at Long Beach Naval Shipyard February-September 1958; WestPac Jan-Mar 1959, Oct 1959-Mar 1960, Jan-May 1961 (Laotian-crisis carrier-group ops); Long Beach NSY five-month overhaul Mar-Aug 1960 (enlarged CIC, air-search radar, DASH); Long Beach NSY sonar installation June 1961-mid-1962; returned to Atlantic Fleet July 1963; sonar-evaluation duty Dec 1963-May 1965; Boston overhaul to 5 February 1966; Viking Princess rescue, 13 survivors, 8 April 1966; Argentine naval review Feb 1967; Bethlehem Steel Shipyard East Boston spring 1967 (sonar data-acquisition system); Expo 67 Montreal 21-28 May 1967; Norfolk Naval Shipyard repairs late 1967; Boston NSY regular overhaul 13 September 1968-June 1969; inactivation Boston NSY South Annex 3 September 1969; Naval Inactive Ship Facility Philadelphia 22 September; decommissioned 19 December 1969, placed in reserve; struck 1 May 1974; sold to Luria Brothers; departed Philadelphia under tow 19 June 1975 to be scrapped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1950-1975
- Population
- Bethlehem Quincy construction trades 1950-54; crew 1954-69 (design complement 403); yard workers at Boston NSY, Long Beach NSY, Norfolk NSY, Bethlehem East Boston across six documented availabilities
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Commissioning date conflict (3 August 1954 here vs. 29 July 1954 in NVR-derived secondary tabulations) is carried in gaps rather than silently reconciled. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page and ibiblio mirror return 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-01
-
[3]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton yard list) destroyer table + NavSource photo index DD-930/DL-5 + Navypedia Mitscher-class table (secondary corroboration of build and disposal data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/navalships/destroyers3.htm (DD-930 row); navsource.org/archives/05/0205.htm; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_dd_mitscher.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary tabulations corroborating construction/disposal particulars: ShipbuildingHistory lists DD-930 Wilkinson, 'Beth Quincy' yard hull number 1621, ordered 3 August 1948, laid down 1 February 1950, launched 23 April 1952, delivered/commissioned 29 July 1954, 'Reclassified DL 5, scrapped 1975.' NavSource index: built by Bethlehem Steel, Quincy MA (YN 1621); commissioned 29 July 1954 per index header (its commanding-officer table opens with CDR Dockum 'Aug 3 1954'); decommissioned 19 December 1969; stricken 1 May 1974; 'Sold to Luria Brothers, Cleveland, OH, 13 June 1975, and scrapped.' Navypedia class table agrees: DL-5 Wilkinson, Bethlehem Quincy YN 1621, commissioned 29.7.1954, stricken 5.1974.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1948-1975
- Population
- Shipbreakers at the undocumented breaking yard, 1975
- Limitations
- Secondary indexes only - none is an official record, and the 29 July commissioning date conflicts with DANFS's 3 August 1954 (DANFS is carried; conflict logged in gaps). The buyer is given variously as Luria Brothers of Cleveland, OH (NavSource) and Luria Brothers and Company, Inc. of Philadelphia (Wikipedia NVR-derived text); the breaking yard itself is undocumented. None of these sources addresses asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-02
-
[4]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 'Retrospective: the Forrest Shermans' (May 1987) - class-context account of the five destroyer leaders incl. Wilkinson (DL-5); globalsecurity.org Mitscher-class synthesis for machinery detail [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings May 1987 retrospective (class paragraph); globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/dd-927.htm and dd-927-design.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class context: the Mitscher class (DL-2 through DL-5, ordered August 1948 under SCB Project 5) carried experimental 1,200-psi steam plants that proved chronically troublesome - per the USNI retrospective, 'the DLs would have serious engineering problems, including water problems and boiler tubes melting,' and the commissioned-service span of Norfolk, Willis A. Lee, and Wilkinson 'was slightly more than 15 years each.' Sisters Mitscher and John S. McCain were reboilered and converted to guided-missile destroyers (DDG-35, DDG-36) 1966-69; the planned conversions of Willis A. Lee and Wilkinson were not executed, and both decommissioned in 1969 with machinery that made further service uneconomical. Wilkinson and Willis A. Lee carried the first bow-mounted sonar installations on U.S. destroyers (class-design feature).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1948-1978
- Population
- Crews of the four Mitscher-class DLs; yard workers on the 1,200-psi plants
- Limitations
- Class-level history, not hull-specific documentation: it explains why Wilkinson's career ended at 15 years and marks the 1958 power-plant work and the sisters' reboilering as the era when insulation would most plausibly have been disturbed, but no source cited documents asbestos aboard this hull. USNI page returned 403 to direct fetch; content verified via search-index extract. globalsecurity.org is a secondary synthesis - used for machinery context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-03
-
[5]DANFS yard-period narrative (ev-01) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for the build and overhaul yards (fore-river-shipyard, bethlehem-shipbuilding, boston-naval-shipyard, long-beach-naval-shipyard, norfolk-naval-shipyard, philadelphia-naval-shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS yard-period narrative; shipyards.json records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Mitscher-class destroyer leader built 1950-54 with a four-boiler experimental 1,200-psi steam plant would have carried period-standard asbestos boiler/turbine insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Builder Bethlehem Steel Quincy (Fore River) is documented at yard level in the Atlas dataset ('fore-river-shipyard' and 'bethlehem-shipbuilding', both tier 3). DANFS documents eight hull availabilities at asbestos-era yards - Boston NSY 1955-56, Long Beach NSY 1958 (power-plant modification), Long Beach NSY 1960, Long Beach NSY 1961-62, Boston 1965-66, Bethlehem East Boston 1967, Norfolk NSY 1967, Boston NSY 1968-69 - periods when era insulation would most plausibly have been disturbed and replaced, plus the 1969 Philadelphia inactivation lay-up.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1950-1975
- Population
- Bethlehem Quincy trades 1950-54; yard workers at Boston NSY, Long Beach NSY, Norfolk NSY, Bethlehem East Boston, Philadelphia NISF 1955-75; crew 1954-69
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific ACM survey, inventory, work package, or abatement record supports a product list for this hull. The hull was dismantled in 1975, before asbestos-survey practice; scrapping-yard material reports, if any existed, are not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-04
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[6]Batch-3859 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS mirrors; NavSource/navypedia/shipbuildinghistory secondary tabulations; USNI Proceedings class retrospective; CourtListener authenticated sweep; general-web asbestos-mention check (law-firm list pages only - banned, not used) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-wilkinson-dd930-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or adjudicated/trial-stage litigation record for this hull was located (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1975 - before the Navy's asbestos-management era - so no modern survey surface exists and original-material disposition is undocumented. General-web asbestos mentions of 'USS Wilkinson' appear only on law-firm/SEO ship-list pages (banned sources; used as leads only, none produced a citable record).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28
- Limitations
- Absence of a located survey or adjudicated record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard during the ship's 1954-69 service - the question is moot for the fabric since the hull was scrapped in 1975. Does not establish or defeat any claim of historical exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-28 - qualifying hits: Miller v. 3M Company, 5:12-cv-00620 (E.D.N.C., complaint Schedule I via RECAP doc 386438934 = MDL-875 doc 9033-1); Reaser v. Allis Chalmers Corp., CV 08-1296-SVW (C.D. Cal., Order Denying Remand 2008-06-23, carried as Exhibit D inside the removal notice of Himes v. A. Duie Pyle, 2:20-cv-00665 E.D. Pa., RECAP doc 123025488) [court_record]
- Locator
- Miller complaint Schedule I at MDL-875 doc 9033-1 pp. 28-29 (worksite list; 'USS Wilkinson (DL-5)'); Reaser order text at Himes removal-notice Exhibit D (E.D. Pa. 2:20-cv-00665 doc 1 pp. 65-73, quoting C.D. Cal. CV 08-1296-SVW order of 2008-06-23)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-28) - qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located in two dockets: (1) Miller v. 3M Company et al., 5:12-cv-00620-BR (E.D.N.C., filed 2012-09-21, terminated 2014-09-22; Nature of Suit 368 P.I.: Asbestos): the complaint's Schedule I 'Plaintiff-Worker Employment History / Asbestos Exposure Worksite Information' lists plaintiff Robert Wesley Miller's U.S. Navy service 1962-1964 with worksites 'USS Cony (DD-508), USS Galveston (CLG-3), Long Beach Naval Shipyard, USS Wilkinson (DL-5), Long Beach Naval Shipyard' - the hull is named by hull number (DL-5). Alleged products include insulation, pipe covering, gaskets and packing, turbines, valves. (2) Reaser v. Allis Chalmers Corp. et al., CV 08-1296-SVW (C.D. Cal.): Order Denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Remand (Wilson, J., 2008-06-23) recites that Robert Reaser allegedly developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure aboard 'the USS Shea, USS Boston, USS Providence, and the USS Wilkinson' during Navy service ending 1964. The Reaser order is not itself indexed in CourtListener opinions; its text is carried as Exhibit D of the Himes v. A. Duie Pyle removal notice (E.D. Pa. 2:20-cv-00665, filed 2020-01-29). Non-qualifying hits classified: 'USS Wilkinson' (type=o) 0 hits; 'DD-930' (type=o) 0 hits, (type=r) 3 docket hits - all identifier collisions (Santos v. Camacho D. Guam Organic Act suit; Seroquel MDL-769 product liability; Lyondell Chemical S.D.N.Y. bankruptcy); 'aboard the Wilkinson' (type=o) 0; '"Wilkinson" "DL-5"' (type=o) 0; '"Reaser" Wilkinson' (type=o) 0; 'USS Wilkinson' (type=r) third hit = MDL-875 master docket carrying the Miller complaint as tag-along attachment - same reference, not a separate case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1962-1964 (alleged exposure windows); 2008-2014 (litigation)
- Population
- Robert Wesley Miller (USN worksites incl. DL-5, 1962-64; mesothelioma); Robert Reaser (USN to 1964; exposure aboard Shea, Boston, Providence, Wilkinson alleged; mesothelioma)
- Limitations
- Litigation-stage discipline: Miller is a pleading-stage complaint allegation (Schedule I worksite list) - unadjudicated; the case terminated in 2014 and no merits ruling on the Wilkinson allegation was located. Reaser is a removal/remand-stage order - the exposure allegation is recited as the basis of the complaint, not adjudicated; subsequent merits history not located. Neither establishes causation, quantity of asbestos aboard, product identity aboard this hull, or legal eligibility. Sweep coverage caveat: pleadings naming DL-5 without a published or RECAP-archived document would not surface.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-06
-
[8]NARA deck-log guidance (RG 24 Entry 118, College Park) + NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records (SCB-5 design files; yard work-package correspondence) + NARA Boston holdings for Boston Naval Shipyard records (incl. 1969 South Annex inactivation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull-level material records: (1) Wilkinson's 1954-69 deck logs sit in NARA's post-1940 Navy deck-log series at College Park (RG 24 Entry 118 per NARA guidance; online digitization has prioritized Vietnam-era logs - her 1954-63 logs are likely undigitized). (2) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds SCB-5 design and correspondence files plus shipyard work-package records; the February-September 1958 Long Beach NSY 'extensive modifications to her power plant' package is the single most probative lead for hull-level insulation work. (3) NARA Boston holds Boston Naval Shipyard records covering her 1955-56, 1965-66, and 1968-69 overhauls and the September 1969 inactivation. None of these series was retrieved this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1950-1969 records; 2026-09-28 index check
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Lead only - nothing in the located indexes establishes that any item in these series addresses insulation or asbestos; retrieval was not performed (no spend authorized).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wilkinson-dd930-07