Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, 'Annawan' (YN-50) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (published 17 June 2015) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (full entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: Annawan (YN-50: dp. 95; l. 71'0"; b. 19'0"; dr. 10'6") was named for a Wampanoag sachem who served under King Philip. The tug Russell No. 15, built 1935 at Brooklyn by Ira S. Bushey & Sons, was purchased by the Navy 28 October 1940 from Newtown Creek Towing Co. of New York City; renamed Annawan the following day; designated YN-50; modified for naval service by the New York Navy Yard; and placed in service there 8 January 1941. Assigned to the 1st Naval District, she arrived in Narragansett Bay 20 January 1941 and spent her entire career tending nets and operating as a tug in the 1st Naval District. Redesignated YNT-18 on 8 April 1942; became medium harbor tug YTM-739 on 4 August 1945; placed out of service 1 September 1946; turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal 6 May 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1935-1947
- Population
- Navy crew, 1st Naval District, 1941-1946
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy ship-history entry. DANFS prints 'Her name was finally struck from the Navy list on 20 December 1948' - postdating its own 6 May 1947 MC-disposal date and conflicting with NavSource/ShipScribe (30 December 1946); conflict logged in gaps. DANFS prints 'Newton Creek Towing Co.' - the company's documented name is Newtown Creek Towing Co. Page serves content to rendered requests but returns 404 to some automated fetches (standing NHHC access quirk). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-01
-
[2]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Small Acquired YN's (YN 33-56)' - construction, disposition, class notes, and ship note for ANNAWAN (YN-50) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ship note YN-50 (ANNAWAN); class notes paragraphs 1-4; construction and disposition tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipScribe ship note: 'Ex merc. RUSSELL 15. 95 tg, 71.0' x 19.0' x 10.5', 480 hp. Conversion by New York Navy Yard completed 8 Jan 41. To YNT-18 1 May 42, to YTM-739 2 Aug 45. Merc. FRANKLIN by 1956, later MARY ANN, TRICIA A., SANDY.' Disposition table: out of service 1 Sep 46; struck 30 Dec 46; disposal 6 May 47 to MC, sale ca. May 47. Class notes: FY 1941; CNO on 3 July 1940 directed acquisition of 24 vessels under the District Craft Act of 26 June 1940; all but Metacom (YN-51) were diesel propelled; all 24 reclassified YNT on 8 Apr 42 effective 1 May 42; conversions were probably limited to fitting out for operation by Navy crews (standard Navy items, degaussing equipment in a few cases). (ShipScribe prints the authorizing act verbatim as 'the 159 District Craft Act of 26 Jun 40'.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1935-1947
- Population
- Navy crew, 1st Naval District, 1941-1946
- Limitations
- Specialist reference compilation from Navy records, not a contemporaneous document. Figures conflict at the margins with other sources: 480 hp here vs 450 (Ships' Data 1945, NavSource); YTM-739 redesignation 2 Aug 45 here vs 4 Aug 45 (DANFS, NavSource) - both conflicts logged in gaps. 'Probably limited to fitting out' is the compiler's assessment of conversion scope. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-02
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. III: Auxiliary, District Craft and Unclassified Vessels, NAVSHIPS 250-012, 15 April 1945, p. 546 - Net Tenders (Tug Class) (YNT) table (scan hosted by ShipScribe) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Printed p. 546 (PDF scan page 565), YNT table row YNT18; index p. references at 'Annawan' and 'Russell #15'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official wartime characteristics table, printed page 546: 'YNT18 ANNAWAN (Ex-YN50; Ex-Russell No. 15)' - 71'0" x 19'0" x 10'6", 450 [hp], allocation (district): 1st; 'Built 1935. Purchased by Navy October 1940. F.M. Diesel engine; steel hull; converted at New York Navy Yard.' Index entries confirm Annawan as 'ex-Russell #15 ex-YN50, District Craft - Net Tender (Tug Class), p. 546.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- April 1945
- Population
- Navy crew, 1st Naval District (wartime snapshot)
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous wartime government publication (April 1945) - strong corroboration of identity, dimensions, diesel propulsion, 1st Naval District allocation, and NY Navy Yard conversion. Row text extracted by OCR from the scan (minor transcription noise possible in column alignment; values cross-checked against NavSource/ShipScribe). Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-03
-
[4]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive: Annawan (YTM-739) ex Annawan (YNT-18) ex Annawan (YN-50), page 14/22050 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page 14/22050 timeline block, specifications block, and footnote 1
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology and merchant-identity chain: built by Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Brooklyn; completed 1935 as tugboat Chippewa (ON 233927) for Motor Tug Chippewa, Inc., New York; sold to Newtown Creek Towing Co. and renamed Russell 15, 1938; purchased by the Navy 28 October 1940; renamed Annawan (YN-50) 29 October 1940; converted at New York Navy Yard; placed in service 8 January 1941; allocated to the 1st Naval District, Narragansett Bay, 1941-1945; redesignated YNT-18 8 April 1942; redesignated YTM-739 4 August 1945; placed out of service 1 September 1946; struck from the Naval Register 30 December 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 6 May 1947. Post-Navy: Russell 15 (Newtown Creek Towing, 1947); Franklin (Albert L. Gellenthin, Philadelphia, 1947); Gellenthin Marine Transport (1961); William M. Marutani (1965); Mary Ann (Atlantic Towing Corp., 1968); Thomas Towing Corp. (1970); Tricia A. (New England Tug Boat, Bridgeport CT, 1973); Sandy (Trust Marine Towing, 1976); final disposition unknown, probably scrapped in the 1980s. Call sign NIGX; ribbons: American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Specs: 95 t., 71', 19' beam, 10'6" draft; one Fairbanks Morse diesel, single propeller, 450 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1935-c.1980s
- Population
- Navy crew, 1st Naval District, 1941-1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation (secondary), corroborated by DANFS, Ships' Data 1945, and ShipScribe. Complement, speed, and armament listed as unknown; prewar photograph shows her as Chippewa on the Erie Canal (Kyle Stubbs image). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-04
-
[5]NavSource Online page 14/22050, footnote 1 - Russell 15 identity correction [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/22050 footnote 1; tugboatinformation.com tug.cfm?id=2616 (superseded-identity example)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource footnote 1: 'The previous Navsource entry for this vessel mistakenly assigned her civilian identity to the wrong Russell 15 (ON 243458).' The corrected civilian identity is Chippewa (ON 233927, built 1935 by Ira S. Bushey & Sons). The superseded identity - ON 243458, a different Russell 15 built 1943 by Liberty Drydock, Brooklyn (hull #40), later Dennis McAllister, Carmen A., Mary D. Russell, Maureen P. Kehoe, Kosnac Girls, Jarred E., scrapped 2006 at Tottenville - is still propagated by secondary tug registries (e.g., tugboatinformation.com, which attributes its data to NavSource's superseded entry).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1935-2006
- Limitations
- Correction rests on NavSource's own editorial footnote; independent registry confirmation (USCG documentation records for ON 233927) is not separately digitized in public sources. Two real vessels named Russell 15 existed concurrently - records must not be merged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-05
-
[6]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) - era grounding; diesel propulsion per Ships' Data 1945 p.546 and NavSource (this record, ev-03, ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (article); propulsion cross-ref Ships' Data 1945 p.546 / NavSource specs
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this 1935-built steel-hulled diesel harbor tug: product classes that commonly contained asbestos in the WWII era - diesel exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery and flange gaskets, valve packing, and limited accommodation-space insulation - are the plausible application set. The boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of larger era vessels does not apply: Annawan had no steam plant (one Fairbanks-Morse diesel, single screw). WWII-era asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding and repair is documented at the program level by Corn & Starr (1987).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1935-1946 (inference window); article 1987
- Population
- Construction trades (Brooklyn, 1935); conversion yard workers (NY Navy Yard, 1940-41); Navy crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference, not a hull record: no source names asbestos aboard this vessel, and no product, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation is established. A 95-ton district harbor tug had materially fewer insulated systems than combatant or cargo steam vessels.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-06
-
[7]In re Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation, 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) (Weinstein, J.) - asbestos-exposure litigation arising from Brooklyn Navy Yard work; cross-reference shipyards.json yard_id brooklyn-navy-yard (evidence tier 3) [court_record]
- Locator
- 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991); conversion fact per DANFS/Ships' Data 1945/ShipScribe (this record, ev-01/02/03)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Annawan's October 1940-January 1941 conversion was performed at the New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn Navy Yard) - a yard with documented WWII-era asbestos-exposure litigation in the federal reporter (772 F. Supp. 1380) and a tier-3 record in this project's shipyards dataset.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1941 (conversion); opinion 1991
- Population
- New York Navy Yard civilian and naval workers, 1940-41
- Limitations
- Yard-level context only: the litigation record addresses exposure of yard workers generally; it does not name this vessel, does not show that Annawan's fitting-out disturbed asbestos, and establishes nothing about exposure of her crew. ShipScribe assesses these conversions as limited fitting-out for Navy crews. citation_url null: public web mirrors of the opinion (e.g., Justia) are bot-gated (HTTP 403/reCAPTCHA at fetch time); reporter citation given for manual verification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-07
-
[8]Batch-9223 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; ShipScribe YN33; Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III; NavSource 14/22050; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog; MARAD ShipHistory; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-annawan-yn50-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or materials itemization naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage is complete: all four prescribed base queries plus two asbestos-qualified variants executed - every hit classified as a name/text collision (Annawan, Illinois entities and unrelated docket text); zero qualifying asbestos or maritime litigation naming this vessel. Open-web sweeps surface no asbestos content naming this hull beyond aggregator listicles excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; a 1935-built district craft never generated the survey/abatement paper trail that accompanies surviving or Navy-built vessels. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation negative is a search-result negative within CourtListener's coverage, not proof no filing exists anywhere - see search_ledger rows sl-09 through sl-15 and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-annawan-yn50-08