USS WILLIAM V. PRATT (DDG-44)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet hp-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity; laid-down date has a one-week

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-pkt-hp-packet-md

2. [2]VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, Docket No. 17-28 148 (decided 2022-03-16, VLJ S.C. Krembs), Citation Nr. 22015190 [court_record]

   Locator

   va.gov BVA decision text - Order, Findings of Fact 1-3, and Reasons and Bases (in-service incurrence and nexus discussion)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Merits adjudication naming this hull: the Board granted service connection for a respiratory disorder (COPD and emphysema) secondary to in-service asbestos exposure and breathing vapors, dusts, gases and fumes for a Navy veteran who served September 1965-August 1969 as a radar operator aboard USS William V. Pratt (DLG-13). Findings: the veteran's MOS carries a 'minimal probability of asbestos exposure' under VA's M21-1 framework and, resolving reasonable doubt in his favor, 'he was exposed to asbestos during service.' Testimony credited in the decision: the ship 'was insulated with asbestos'; air-compressor cleaning blew particulate matter about; asbestos encountered in engineering spaces, main-deck passageways, and berthing spaces during fire watches; secondary exposure via personnel from high-concentration engineering spaces. The credited private opinion (Dr. V.C.) noted the veteran's pleural plaques (described as pathognomonic of asbestos exposure) and that a hull with keel laid in 1958 carried asbestos 'as lagging on all the pipes and as insulation around boilers and other heat or noise generating equipment.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1965-1969 (service/exposure); 2014-2022 (claim and appeal)

   Population

   Navy veteran, radar operator aboard USS William V. Pratt (DLG-13), September 1965-August 1969

   Limitations

   VA benefits adjudication, not a tort exposure finding: grant issued on the equipoise/benefit-of-the-doubt standard (38 U.S.C. 5107(b)) and is expressly non-precedential (38 C.F.R. 20.1303). It does not inventory ACM aboard, quantify exposure, or identify specific asbestos products or manufacturers; the exposure finding rests on MOS probability plus lay testimony resolved in the veteran's favor. Single claimant. Service connection for asbestosis was DENIED (no current diagnosis). The same Board's 16 February 2022 denial in this docket was vacated on due-process grounds (an unconsidered medical opinion), not on exposure merits - the disposition sequence is reported exactly.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-01

3. [3]Naval Vessel Register ship-detail record, WILLIAM V PRATT (DDG 44), ex-DLG 13, UIC 52684 (captured 2016-11-07; record 'Last Updated 02/16/2011') [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR ship-detail data table (UIC, milestones, physical characteristics, status block)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Navy inventory record for this hull: class DDG 37 (Farragut); type GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER; status 'Disposed of, by Navy Sale' (status changed 09/14/1995); builder NAV SY/PHILADELPHIA; milestone dates - award 07/23/1956, keel 03/01/1958, launch 03/06/1960, delivery 10/19/1961, commission 11/04/1961, decommission 09/30/1991, stricken 11/20/1992; propulsion type Steam Turbines; age since delivery at disposal 33.9 years.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1956-1995

   Population

   Construction/commissioning personnel 1958-1961; crew through 1991

   Limitations

   NVR is the authoritative inventory record for dates, builder, designation, and disposal status; it carries no asbestos, materials, or condition data. Its keel (03/01/1958) and launch (03/06/1960) dates conflict with the DANFS narrative (7 March 1958 / 16 March 1960) - NVR values are carried, the conflict is logged in gaps. Live NVR page renders a JS shell only; Wayback capture 2016-11-07 cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-02

4. [4]DANFS, William V. Pratt (DLG-13) - NHHC ship-history page (Wayback capture 2025-02-19; live page 404 on 2026-09-28); verbatim transcription mirror at losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/dl-dlg/dlg13.htm [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry - characteristics block and service narrative through 1978

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 7 March 1958 by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (NVR reads 1 March); launched 16 March 1960 sponsored by Mrs. William V. Pratt (NVR reads 6 March); commissioned 4 November 1961, Comdr. Boyd E. Gustafson. DesRon 18 from September 1962 out of Norfolk; NATO Riptide IV (1963); first Sixth Fleet tour February-August 1964; NATO Masterstroke/Teamwork (1964); first shipyard overhaul at Norfolk from November, 'completed repairs on 26 March 1966'; homeport Mayport from 15 April; WestPac/Vietnam deployment 20 June 1967-16 January 1968 with Gulf of Tonkin sea-air-rescue duty (relieved Berkeley DDG-15 on station 12 August 1967); Charleston Naval Shipyard overhaul 1 March-6 September 1968; Mediterranean deployments 1969 and 1970 (Jordanian-crisis contingency force September-October 1970); northern-Europe deployment 1971; Navy-distillate propulsion conversion 29 October 1971-17 January 1972; Mediterranean February-July 1972; AAW modernization overhaul and decommissioning at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard September 1972; recommissioned Philadelphia 6 October 1973 (Comdr. Rodney B. McDaniel); homeport Charleston; Mediterranean September 1974-March 1975 screening Independence (CV-62) and Saratoga (CV-60); reclassified guided-missile destroyer DDG-44 on 1 July 1975; UNITAS XVI (1975); Charleston Naval Shipyard availabilities 15 December 1975-29 March 1976 and 27 April-8 July 1977; International Naval Review New York 4 July 1976; Mediterranean October 1976-April 1977 screening Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42); UNITAS XIX July-December 1978 with South America circumnavigation. One battle star for Vietnam service. Characteristics block: 5,709 t; 513 ft; 52 ft beam; 18 ft draft; 33 kt; complement 377; 1x5in, 4x3in, Terrier launcher, ASROC, 6x15.5in tt, 1 dcp; 'cl. Coontz'.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1958-1978

   Population

   Philadelphia Naval Shipyard construction trades 1958-1961; crew ~377 through alternating 2d/6th Fleet service; yard workers at Norfolk NSY (overhaul) and Charleston NSY (1968 overhaul; 1975-76 and 1977 availabilities); Philadelphia NSY AAW overhaul workforce 1972-73

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and characteristics, not materials or asbestos content. Internal anomalies: the '26 March 1966' repair-completion date is inconsistent with the narrative sequence (a November-start overhaul plus a July-1966 'third' Mediterranean deployment and the June 1967 WestPac departure cannot all hold as printed) and keel/launch dates differ from NVR - both conflicts logged in gaps rather than silently reconciled. Live NHHC page 404s; Wayback capture and hazegray transcription cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-03

5. [5]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - USS William V. Pratt (DLG-13, later DDG-44), 1961-1995 (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of the official NHHC photo-history page) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NHHC Online Library page, career-summary paragraphs 2-4

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Naval Historical Center career summary completing the post-DANFS record: combat-systems updates 1979-80; Sixth Fleet operations and northern-European waters 1981; Lebanon Crisis operations 1982 including naval gunfire support for U.S. Marines at Beirut; major deployments to the Mediterranean and Red Seas 1984, the Mediterranean 1987, and again 1989 bracketed by exercises off Norway and the North Sea-English Channel area; U.S. Coast Guard law-enforcement service in the Caribbean 1990; final overseas tour in 'the short, but intense war that drove Iraq out of Kuwait during the first months of 1991' (Operation Desert Storm); decommissioned September 1991; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register November 1992; sold for scrapping 1995. Also confirms 'decommissioning in September 1972' for the AAW modernization and 'more than a dozen' career Sixth Fleet assignments.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1978-1995

   Population

   Crew 1978-1991; Beirut naval-gunfire-support mission area 1982; Maritime Interdiction Force 1991

   Limitations

   NHHC-published photo-history summary, month/year granularity only; the in-between years (e.g., exact 1982 Beirut dates, 1987/1989 cruise details) are not expanded. Confirms September-1991 decommissioning but not the day; day-level (27 vs 30 September) sourced to NVR (30th) and logged in gaps. No materials or asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-04

6. [6]U.S. National Archives, NAID 6470184 - DOD photograph DN-ST-91-11657, 'the guided missile destroyer USS WILLIAM V. PRATT (DDG-44) ... conducting Maritime Interdiction Force missions in support of U.N. trade sanctions against Iraq in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm,' Red Sea, 1 March 1991 (PH2 Savage, USN) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA catalog record NAID 6470184 / photo DN-ST-91-11657

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   National Archives-cataloged official Navy photograph documents this hull on Maritime Interdiction Force station in the Red Sea on 1 March 1991, taking on fuel from USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188) during U.N. trade-sanctions enforcement against Iraq in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm - corroborating the NHLC summary's 'final overseas tour' in the 1991 Gulf War and placing the hull in-theater weeks before her final decommissioning.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1991-03-01

   Population

   Crew aboard during 1991 Red Sea Maritime Interdiction Force duty

   Limitations

   Photograph caption only - documents presence and mission on one date, not duration of Gulf service, crew size aboard, or any materials condition. No asbestos information. 'Flagship of the Maritime Interdiction Force' appears only in a secondary caption compilation (destroyerhistory.org) and is not asserted here.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-05

7. [7]NavSource Destroyer Photo Index, DL-13 / DLG-13 / DDG-44 USS WILLIAM V. PRATT - operational/building data and designation history [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource page - 'Operational and Building Data' block and photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Designation consolidation for intake data (one physical hull, three designations): contracted as destroyer leader DL-13; reclassified guided-missile frigate DLG-13 on 14 November 1956 while still on the building ways (pre-keel); served as DLG-13 from commissioning through mid-1975; reclassified guided-missile destroyer DDG-44 (NavSource reads 30 June 1975; DANFS reads 1 July 1975). NVR carries the hull as 'WILLIAM V PRATT (DDG 44) (ex - DLG 13).' Batch-3936 intake correction: the VERIFY tier-2 DLG-13 entry is this same hull, not an additional missing hull; the erroneous 'Hopkins class' label is corrected to Farragut class, and the redundant DL-13 row is dropped in this slice - DDG-44 is the canonical primary record.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1956-1995

   Population

   Crew across all three designations, 1961-1991

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-run photographic index (secondary) - used here for the DLG-13 designation date and disposal detail (sale 14 September 1995 to 'Transformer Marine,' Brownsville; under tow Charleston to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard circa 1991), corroborated where possible by NVR milestones; its 27 September 1991 decommissioning date conflicts with NVR's 30 September - NVR carried. Buyer-name spelling varies across secondary sources (Transforma/Transformer Marine); sale price ($49,600) appears only in secondary compilations and is excluded from the record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-06

8. [8]CourtListener API v4 sweep (authenticated helper) - exact-name and hull-number queries for this hull [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-05 (helper exit 2, pacing spent) and -06 (site:courtlistener.com indexed checks)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located on CourtListener at research time. Intended API queries: "William V. Pratt" (type=o opinions) and "DDG-44" / "DLG-13" hull numbers - the authenticated fleet helper returned pacing-budget exhaustion (fleet-wide ~114/hr shared limit) on all attempts this session (multiple spaced attempts, each exit 2), so the API sweep is deferred rather than claimed. Supplemental indexed-web coverage of courtlistener.com surfaced only name collisions (DDG BIM Services trademark docket; USS Lawrence DDG-4 dredge case) and generic MDL-875 documents naming other vessels - no qualifying case naming this hull. A second VA BVA decision surfaced in indexed coverage (Citation Nr. 22003390, 24 January 2022, asbestos-related pleural-disease grant, 1963-67 seaman) was reviewed and is NON-QUALIFYING - it names no vessel.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   2026-09-28

   Limitations

   Coverage caveat: the CourtListener API sweep was pacing-blocked at research time; indexed-web coverage is partial, and RECAP docket text naming the ship could exist without surfacing in general indexing. The negative finding is therefore narrower than a clean API zero - logged honestly rather than retried into a throttle. The ship-specific asbestos record for this hull rests on the BVA adjudication (ev-01), not on civil litigation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-07

9. [9]Atlas shipyard dataset (shipyards.json) - Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (tier 3), Charleston Naval Shipyard (tier 2), Norfolk Naval Shipyard (tier 2) records; DANFS yard-period dates for this hull [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json records philadelphia-naval-shipyard, charleston-naval-shipyard, norfolk-naval-shipyard; DANFS yard-period dates (ev-03)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/builder-yard inference: a Farragut-class guided-missile ship built 1958-61 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard with a four-boiler, 1,200-psi class geared steam-turbine plant sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-specification era (period-standard boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, gaskets, packing, and machinery insulation). The builder yard itself is litigation-documented for asbestos products used 'throughout the shipyard and on ships' 1941-1974 - Eagle-Picher Super 60, Onecote cement, Thermasil pipe covering and block, Unibestos, Cary block, Baldwin-Ehret-Hill, Carey, Kaylo, Garlock sheet gaskets and packing, Ruberoid, Johns-Manville pipe insulation (Taylor v. Celotex Corp., 393 Pa. Super. 566 (1990); Junge v. Garlock, 427 Pa. Super. 592 (1993); Gross v. Johns-Manville, 410 Pa. Super. 486 (1991)) - spanning both her construction and her 1972-73 AAW overhaul in the same yard. Norfolk NSY (first overhaul, completed March 1966) and Charleston NSY (1968 overhaul; 1975-76 and 1977 availabilities) likewise carry documented asbestos product records (Norfolk: Thermobestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Unibestos, boiler/turbine insulation; Charleston: magnesia pipe insulation, 15% asbestos boiler coatings, asbestos gaskets in pumps/valves). The BVA-credited opinion states a hull with a 1958 keel carried asbestos lagging on pipes and insulation around boilers and heat/noise-generating equipment.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-28

   Study period

   1958-1977

   Population

   Yard trades and crew at Philadelphia NSY (1958-61 construction, 1972-73 overhaul), Norfolk NSY (overhaul to March 1966), Charleston NSY (1968, 1975-76, 1977)

   Limitations

   Class/era and yard-level inference only - the ship-specific findings for this hull are ev-01 (BVA adjudication) and the vessel-history rows. Yard product records document the yards, not this hull's material content; whether the named products went aboard DLG-13 specifically is unestablished. No ship-specific boiler/insulation specification retrieved. The credited BVA opinion's asbestos framing is a medical expert's era statement adopted by the Board for that claimant, not a materials survey.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-08

10. [10]Batch-3936 search ledger (this record): NVR via Wayback; NHHC DANFS (Wayback + hazegray mirror); NHHC Online Library; NARA photo record; NavSource; Atlas shipyard dataset; VA BVA indexed decisions; CourtListener API (pacing-blocked) + indexed coverage [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-01 through -10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No hull-level asbestos survey, abatement contract, disposal-condition hazmat disclosure, or ACM inventory for this hull was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only ship-specific asbestos record found is the BVA adjudication (ev-01) - a benefits finding, not a materials record. The hull was sold for scrapping 14 September 1995 and dismantled at Brownsville, Texas; no museum custody exists, and no present-day hull survey is possible.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    2026-09-28

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1958-61 steam-plant guided-missile ship sits squarely in the documented asbestos-specification era, and the BVA finding plus class/yard inference apply (ev-01, ev-08). The disposal-era DRMS sale file (any hazmat disclosure to the breaker) is the strongest unretrieved lead. Does not establish or defeat any individual claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-09

11. [11]NARA Record Group 24 (Navy deck logs) and related holdings - archival leads for this hull [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov RG 24 guide page; NARA deck-log digitization notice (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS William V. Pratt 1961-1978 (RG 24; Vietnam-era logs partially digitized under the Blue Water Navy project, post-1978 logs in later accessioned series); Philadelphia Naval Shipyard overhaul/job records for the 1972-73 AAW modernization; BUSHIPS SCB-142 design documentation for the Coontz-group Farraguts (the hull-level material specification lead); the DRMS sale file for the 14 September 1995 Transforma Marine transaction (disposal-era hazmat-disclosure lead).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-28

    Study period

    1961-1995

    Population

    Crew/yard workers documented in the underlying records

    Limitations

    Lead-level only: holdings are named from NARA record-group descriptions, not inspected. Deck logs record movements and events, not insulation materials; BUSHIPS SCB-142 specifications are the most promising hull-level materials lead; the DRMS file is the most promising disposal-condition lead. Retrieval unverified and not performed.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-william-v-pratt-ddg44-10