Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]CourtListener opinion search: 'USS Ability' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'USS Ability' returned 558 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-ability-pyc28-cl-name-opinion
-
[2]CourtListener docket search: 'USS Ability' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'USS Ability' returned 13803 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed; name query may match same-named vessels
- Evidence ID
- uss-ability-pyc28-cl-name-docket
-
[3]CourtListener opinion search: 'PYC-28' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion search 'PYC-28' returned 26 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-ability-pyc28-cl-hull-opinion
-
[4]CourtListener docket search: 'PYC-28' [court_record]
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket search 'PYC-28' returned 820 result(s) (2026-10-07); individual records not reviewed
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- hit count only — underlying dockets/opinions not individually reviewed
- Evidence ID
- uss-ability-pyc28-cl-hull-docket
-
[5]DANFS Vol. VI p.5, Ability I (verbatim transcription - no live NHHC DANFS page; history.navy.mil returned 404 on 2026-09-19) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. VI p.5 transcription, Ability entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: built in 1926 by Defoe Boat and Motor Works, Bay City, Mich., as Sylvia (later renamed Reomar IV); acquired from the Maritime Commission 12 March 1942; commissioned 28 September 1942, Lieutenant (junior grade) L. B. Walker, USNR, in command; reported to the Eastern Sea Frontier for patrol duty; between March 1943 and September 1944 attached to the Fleet Sound School, Key West, participating in anti-submarine training with Sound School students; decommissioned 29 September 1944 and placed 'in service'; spent the following year at the Naval Reserve Midshipman Training School, 3rd Naval District; placed out of service 19 September 1945; returned to the Maritime Commission 18 May 1946. Spec line: dp. 241; l. 133'; b. 21'6"; dr. 8'; s. 13 k.; cpl. 43; a. 1 20mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1926-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 43); Fleet Sound School students/instructors (Key West, 1943-44); midshipman trainees (3rd Naval District, 1944-45)
- Limitations
- Official Navy history, authoritative for the service chronology. Contains no asbestos, materials, insulation, or hazardous-condition statement. Does not give a strike date, does not name the conversion yard, and does not state post-1946 disposition. Its spec line (241 t., one 20mm gun) conflicts with compiled registries (280 t., 3"/50 plus 20mm plus depth-charge tracks); 'Sylvia' vs the regional-history 'Sylvia IV' christening name; and 'L. B. Walker' vs secondary 'Lloyd R. Walker' - all carried unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-01
-
[6]NavSource Online patrol-craft archive, Ability (PYc 28) page; corroborated by shipbuildinghistory.com PY/PYc patrol-yacht list (Defoe yard hull 93) and Defoe yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/12/1428.htm (direct fetch failed; identical content verified at mirror navsource.net/archives/12/1428.htm and via search-index snippets); shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/py.htm and /shipyards/large/defoe.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled-registry record for this hull: built in 1926 as the yacht Sylvia for Logan G. Thomson of Charlevoix, MI, by Defoe Boat and Motor Works (yard hull 93); sold to R. E. Olds of Lansing, MI and renamed Reomar IV; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 12 March 1942; struck from the Navy Register 11 October 1945; transferred to the Maritime Commission 18 May 1946, fate unknown; shipbuildinghistory lists disposition 'To NDRF 1946'. Specs beyond the DANFS line: 280 t.; armament one 3"/50 mount, one 20mm mount, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 300-shp Cooper Bessemer 8-G6M R diesel engines, two shafts - i.e., a diesel plant with no boilers or steam system.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1926-1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary registries, not official records - carried for identity/disposition particulars consistent across two independent compilations. Details resting solely on them - the 11 October 1945 strike date, the 280-t displacement, the 3"/50 armament, the Cooper Bessemer engine fit, and the NDRF disposition - are unverified against an official record; the strike date conflicts with secondary infoboxes giving 1 October 1945. No asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-02
-
[7]Link, Mardi Jo, 'The Sylvias at peace and at war' (regional history article covering this hull and the sister-Thomson-yacht USS Tourmaline PY-20; Free Library a0452051969) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- thefreelibrary.com article text (direct fetch HTTP 403; content verified via search-index excerpts across two queries)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary history of this hull's yacht provenance and navalization: the 133-ft yacht was christened Sylvia IV (fourth in owner Logan G. Thomson's Sylvia series, named for his wife), designed by New York naval architect John H. Wells, steel-hulled with teak decks and black walnut interior, powered by a matched pair of 300-horsepower Cooper-Bessemer diesel engines; sold to Ransom E. Olds (founder of Olds Motor Vehicle Co.) and renamed Reomar IV; after Navy acquisition she was sent to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for retrofitting - furnishings including a grand piano removed to make way for 20mm above-deck mounts, .50-caliber machine guns, and depth-charge tracks - then sailed from Wisconsin for the Eastern Sea Frontier.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay conversion workers (1942)
- Limitations
- Secondary magazine history, not an official record - carried as color/context corroborating the registry-backed name chain and the diesel plant; specific details (christening as 'Sylvia IV', the Sturgeon Bay retrofit, the furnishing/armament inventory) rest on this single source and are unverified against a primary record. The converting yard at Sturgeon Bay is not named. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-03
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this yacht was acquired and converted for naval patrol service in 1942 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction and repair.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard and conversion-yard workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was, or remains, aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Conversion yards on the Great Lakes (Sturgeon Bay) are not individually addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-04
-
[9]DANFS Vol. VI p.5 (documented acquisition and 1942 naval service entry) + NavSource propulsion spec (two Cooper Bessemer 8-G6M R diesels) + Link regional history (Sturgeon Bay retrofit) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (acquisition, wartime service); NavSource spec block; Link article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull is documented as a 1926 diesel-powered yacht taken into naval service in 1942 and refitted for war at Sturgeon Bay. In the era's naval practice, insulation and fireproofing aboard converted vessels of this type was asbestos-consistent; era-typical applications for a diesel yacht are exhaust-system lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, and interior insulation/joiner materials. The diesel plant (no boilers, no steam lines) narrows the typical-application list relative to steam ships.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1926; 1942-1946
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay conversion workers (1942); ship's company (43)
- Limitations
- Inference from documented plant type plus documented conversion event plus era practice - no hull-specific insulation, materials, or abatement record located. Does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The engine fit itself rests on compiled registries and a secondary history (ev-02, ev-03), not an official spec.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-05
-
[10]Batch-322 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; DANFS transcription mirror; NavSource PYc-28 page; shipbuildinghistory PY/PYc list and Defoe yard table; Link regional history; NVR; shipyards.json; class-profile worktrees; CourtListener (blocked); web-index litigation queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ability-pyc28-01 through sl-uss-ability-pyc28-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or materials record naming Ability/PYc-28 (or the yacht Sylvia/Sylvia IV/Reomar IV) was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The litigation limb of the search could not be completed: CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, 125/day quota exhausted, ~14h to reset) and the web UI returned HTTP 403, so 'no docketed case' is NOT asserted - it remains an open gap. Web-index litigation queries surfaced only law-firm marketing listicles (excluded per batch rules; one explicitly lists 'USS Ability (PYc-28)') - not court records.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 2026-09-19
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1926 hull converted under wartime conditions is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage incomplete by infrastructure failure, not by negative search - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-06
-
[11]NARA guidance - Logbooks of the US Navy (RG 24, Entry 118, NAID 581208, College Park for 1941+ logs; Special List #44); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 178 (U.S. Maritime Commission); WWII war-diaries series [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/178.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - research-room or reproduction work; no spend authorized): (a) RG 24 Entry 118 Navy deck logs, 1942-1945, NARA College Park - would document operations and may note material work; (b) RG 19 Bureau of Ships records - conversion specifications for the 1942 Sturgeon Bay refit; (c) RG 178 U.S. Maritime Commission custody/disposal files for the 1946 transfer and the reported NDRF lay-up; (d) WWII war diaries of Commander, Inshore Patrol (New York) / Eastern Sea Frontier - the Link history cites SECRET-marked Inshore Patrol war diaries detailing this yacht's movements, a lead for patrol and port-call detail.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-19
- Study period
- 1942-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether asbestos-specific documents for this hull exist is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ability-pyc28-07