Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 1015-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-aquamarine-pyc7-pkt-1015-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Aquamarine (PYc-7),' Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2016-07-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (full entry; NHHC Ship Histories > DANFS > A)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS service history: the yacht Sea Wolf (built 1926 by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, DE) was acquired by the Navy from Mr. R. H. Wolfe of Columbus, Ohio, on 13 January 1941 at Charleston, S.C.; placed in service 14 January 1941; arrived Washington Navy Yard 19 January 1941; placed in commission there 9 April 1941, Lt. George A. Lange in command. Conversion at Charleston Navy Yard April-late July 1941; assigned to the Naval Research Laboratory - operated in Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River conducting underwater sound experiments, with limited experimental work in radar, mines, and underwater communications. Operated off New London, CT 16 October-4 November 1943; cruised Florida-Bahamas waters 24 January-18 April 1944, both still NRL experimental assignments. Summer/fall 1945 served as tender to presidential yacht Potomac (AG-25); when Williamsburg (AGC-369) replaced Potomac in winter 1945-46, Aquamarine served as her tender too. Moved to Norfolk June 1946 to prepare for decommissioning; out of commission 21 June 1946; stricken 13 November 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal 31 January 1947. DANFS spec block: dp. 220; l. 124'; b. 20'6"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 53; a. 2 .30-cal. mg.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Navy crew (complement 53 per DANFS); NRL scientists embarked for experiments
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy service history; contains no asbestos or materials information whatsoever. Does not name the Norfolk facility used for 1946 decommissioning preparation. Page verified live 2026-10-04 (returns 404 to non-browser user agents - UA-block, not dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-01
-
[3]Raymond, Michael Ashton, and Kindall Hollingsworth, 'National Register of Historic Places Registration: Siele (1926-1936) / Miss Ann,' VDHR file 51-10 (1998); NRHP 98001310 [nps]
- Locator
- Nomination sections 7 (Description) and 8 (Significance) continuation sheets; Virginia DHR register page 242-0034; NPS NPGallery NRIS record 98001310
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NRHP nomination (VDHR file 51-10; NRHP 98001310, listed 1998-11-12 as 'Siele (motor yacht)') documents: construction - speed-riveted 1/4-inch Norwegian steel hull in five strakes, teak decks over steel, teak deck house, seven watertight compartments, two six-cylinder 300-hp Winton diesels driving twin bronze screws, hot-water radiator heating, electrically driven auxiliaries, walnut-paneled interiors, cost $243,766.48; designed by B. T. Dobson for John H. French (design hire August 1924), launched 10 April 1926. Navy modifications documented from post-Navy photographic and owner evidence: new engines (Union model L-6 diesels, later shipped to Col. Grimm in the Philippines per sale terms), Sperry gyrocompass, two .30-caliber guns, sound wells (two cylinders approximately three feet in diameter through the deck and hull for mounting sound equipment), welded steel hardware including a half-round rub-rail, reconfigured crew spaces, full gray paint. Post-Navy: sold to Col. E. M. Grimm; lay approximately eight years at Curtis Dunn Marine Railway, Norfolk, deteriorated; purchased by Ennolls A. Stephens (executed sale-terms document dated 7 October 1954, $15,000); rehabilitated to John H. Wells design 1954-56 (new bow and stern adding three feet overall, Navy hardware removed, two used GM Cleveland diesels installed); renamed Miss Ann and in Tides Inn service from 1956. 1991-1992 USCG-certification rehabilitation at Deagles Railway, Deltaville, VA: ALL deteriorated steel members cut away and replaced (new hull plating below portholes, improved watertight bulkheads and doors, new electrical system, new plumbing, new HVAC, cost over $1 million), and ALL original and non-original below-deck cabin material (partitions, cabinet work, fixtures) was removed to expose the steel - salvageable historic elements stored ashore.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1998
- Population
- Tides Inn rehab and shipyard trades (1954-56, 1991-92); passenger-vessel crew and passengers (1956-present)
- Limitations
- Primary-quality nomination prepared 1997-98 from owner records, photographs, declassified deck logs, and interviews; contains NO asbestos or insulation-material statement. Internal date inconsistencies noted in correction row (Stephens purchase '1952' narrative vs 7 October 1954 sale document; '1936' Wolfe purchase vs registry evidence). The nomination's own 'January 19, 1941' commissioning line conflates the arrival date - DANFS controls. The 1991-92 gut-rehab of below-deck spaces is documented but the removed materials are not characterized for asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-02
-
[4]Erskine, Fred T. III, 'A History of the Acoustics Division of the Naval Research Laboratory - The First Eight Decades 1923-2008,' Naval Research Laboratory report (August 2013), DTIC accession A586269 - ARCHIVED COPY USED (DTIC site in maintenance outage at research time) [other_primary]
- Locator
- pp. 39 (Era 1 shallow-water propagation), appendix photo caption 'USS Aquamarine used as a research vessel circa 1940s,' 1945 Sound Division roster, and Burton G. Hurdle biography/oral-history sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NRL published history documents the vessel's actual research work: (a) Potomac River shallow-water sound propagation measurements using USS Aquamarine and USS Accentor at frequencies between 70 and 400 Hz, including bottom sediment sampling, supporting Ide/Post/Fry normal-mode theory work; (b) the Sound Division ship-quieting project - researcher Burton G. Hurdle installed a pipe around the bow filled with a perforated fire hose producing a bubble cloud along the hull, demonstrating quieting of the ship's radiated noise of about 20 dB in the 20-30 kHz band; the Navy later implemented the methodology on operational vessels; (c) Aquamarine was stationed near the NRL pier (used also for transducer calibration research) and appears as a line element on the NRL Sound Division 1945 organizational roster.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- NRL Sound Division scientists and vessel crew during experiments
- Limitations
- Official NRL-published divisional history naming this hull; documents the research mission, not materials. No asbestos content. Live DTIC URL (https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a586269.pdf) returned a maintenance page 2026-10-04; the cited URL is the Wayback capture of 2020-06-10 and is labeled as archived.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-03
-
[5]NavSource Naval History, 'Aquamarine (PYc 7),' Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive (navsource.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page masthead timeline, specifications block, and photo-caption series (Siele / Seawolf / USS Aquamarine / Miss Ann sections)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Patrol Craft archive page for Aquamarine (PYc-7) carries: naming chain - 'Built 1924 as the yacht Vasanta by Pusey and Jones Corp., Wilmington, DE for John H. French... Renamed Siele prior to completion. Launched 10 April 1926. Sold in 1936 to Robert H. Wolfe of Columbus, OH and renamed Seawolf'; Navy milestones including 'Commissioned USS Aquamarine (PYc-7), 9 March 1941'; post-Navy trail - 'Sold in 1947 to Colonel Edward Grimm, Ret. Sold in 1955 to Ennolls A. Stephens of Irvington, VA and renamed Miss Ann'; Miss Ann homeported Washington, D.C. for Potomac dinner cruises; as of 9 April 2013 moored at Colonial Beach Yacht Center with owners seeking investors; as of March 2020 moored in Monroe Bay, Colonial Beach, VA at the owner's private dock. Spec block: 215 t., 124', complement 36, two .30-cal Lewis MG; propulsion notes - two 300-hp Winton 6-cylinder diesels, Union diesels 1941, two V12-71 Cleveland (GM) diesels 1955. Yard hull number corroborated: shipbuildinghistory.com Pusey & Jones yard list carries '396/1032 | 225735 | Siele | John H. French | Yacht | 183 | 113 | Apr-26 | Later Aquamarine (PYc 7) 1941, Miss Ann 1956, active'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1924-2020
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not a primary source; its 9 March 1941 commission date conflicts with DANFS (9 April - adopted); its 'Vasanta' pre-completion name is uncorroborated by the NRHP nomination; complement 36 vs DANFS 53 unreconciled; post-Navy status notes are self-reported updates. Page verified live 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-04
-
[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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference only - no ship-specific record. A 1926 steel diesel yacht carries no steam plant, so the highest-mass asbestos pathway of the era (boiler and steam-line lagging) does not apply to this hull. The plausible asbestos-relevant applications for a vessel of this type and era are diesel exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve/pump packing, electrical insulation, and marine panel/cement-board products; her April-July 1941 conversion at Charleston Navy Yard occurred in the era when asbestos insulation and cement products were standard in U.S. naval yard work. Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding through the WWII period.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926, 1941-1946, 1954-56, 1991-92
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard conversion trades (1941); Navy crew and NRL personnel (1941-46); later rehab crews (1954-56, 1991-92)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship about WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Inference is weaker than for a purpose-built WWII hull: the yacht predates the heaviest asbestos-shipbuilding era, has no steam plant, and her documented 1991-92 gut rehabilitation removed all below-deck material (contents uncharacterized).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-05
-
[7]Atlas shipyard record 'charleston-naval-shipyard' (shipyards.json): OSHA Inspection 100361849 (osha.gov establishment record); Whalen v. John Crane, Inc. (2014 jury verdict) as carried in the yard record [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id 'charleston-naval-shipyard' evidence rows ev-charleston-naval-shipyard-06 and -osha-1988-100361849
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Conversion-yard context: the April-July 1941 conversion documented by DANFS was performed at Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina - the site carried in the Atlas shipyard dataset as Charleston Naval Shipyard (EPA site SC0170022560). The yard record documents asbestos products at the yard (pipe insulation, asbestos cement products, gaskets, packing, brake linings), an OSHA establishment inspection listing an asbestos-standard citation (Inspection 100361849, Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard, 1988-1990 case record), and yard-associated asbestos litigation (Whalen v. John Crane, Inc., 2014 California jury verdict for a Charleston Naval Shipyard machinist).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941 (vessel event); 1988-2014 (yard documentation periods)
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard workers (context only)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation decades removed from the 1941 conversion window; establishes the yard's asbestos history, not conditions aboard or during this vessel's 1941 yard period, and cannot support ship-specific findings. The yard dataset's separate '70 f/cc' fiber figure is self-flagged by that dataset as NOT a Charleston-specific measurement and is excluded here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-06
-
[8]Batch-8692 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; Virginia DHR 242-0034 + NRHP nomination PDF; NPS NPGallery NRIS 98001310; NRL Erskine history (DTIC/Wayback); NavSource; NVR site search; MARAD ShipHistory search; CourtListener base queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-01 through sl-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: the DANFS entry, the NRHP nomination (which itemizes construction fabric and the 1991-92 below-deck gut rehabilitation), the official NRL acoustics history, and the NavSource compilation contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for this hull. No asbestos survey, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure naming Siele / Aquamarine / Sea Wolf / Miss Ann was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation sweep INCOMPLETE: the four mandated CourtListener base queries were attempted but blocked by a fleet-wide pacing stand-down all session - logged as blocked, not as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1941 conversion-era yard work and any WWII-era insulation installed remain undocumented at hull level, and the vessel's survival makes present-day condition a live (but undocumented) question. The litigation record is additionally incomplete: CourtListener base queries never executed (fleet pacing block) - docket-level litigation naming this hull cannot be ruled out. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-07
-
[9]Cross-source check: DANFS (9 April 1941); NavSource PYc-7 page (9 March 1941; Vasanta; 1936; 1955); NRHP nomination VDHR 51-10 (19 January 1941 commissioning line; '1952' narrative vs 7 October 1954 sale-terms document; 1936); Virginia DHR register summary (1953); Merchant Vessels of the United States 1939 register as discussed in secondary compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry; NavSource masthead; nomination Section 8 timeline; DHR page 242-0034
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies on identity milestones: (a) commission date - DANFS states 'placed in commission there on 9 April 1941' (adopted); NavSource carries 'Commissioned USS Aquamarine (PYc-7), 9 March 1941'; the NRHP nomination's own timeline states a 19 January 1941 commissioning 'as USS Aquamarine, PCc-7,' conflating her documented 19 January arrival at the Washington Navy Yard and giving an incorrect designation gloss. (b) Original name - NavSource reports 'Built 1924 as the yacht Vasanta... Renamed Siele prior to completion'; the NRHP nomination and DANFS carry only Siele (NavSource's Vasanta claim uncorroborated). (c) Wolfe purchase year - the nomination and NavSource say 1936, while published registry-based compilations note federal Merchant Vessels registers show Siele registered to French into 1939 and Wolfe's Sea Wolf registration postdating that period. (d) Stephens purchase year - the nomination's narrative twice says 1952, but its own timeline cites the executed sale-terms document dated 7 October 1954; NavSource says sold 1955; the DHR register summary says 1953. Documented sale terms (7 October 1954) adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1924-1998
- Limitations
- Resolves name/date framing across sources for the record fields; none of these discrepancies affects the asbestos record, which stands at no-ship-specific-documentation regardless of which variant is adopted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-08
-
[10]NARA Navy deck-log guidance (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy); NRL Library report list per NRHP nomination bibliography; Hagley Museum digital collections [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA logbook portal; nomination Section 9 bibliography (unpublished manuscripts); digital.hagley.org item 72350_3186
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved: (a) USS Aquamarine deck logs - the NRHP nomination relied on the vessel's deck logs 'declassified in 1978' for its escort-duty detail (following the presidential yacht when the President was aboard, with Secret Service agents required aboard per the logs); WWII-era Navy deck logs are held at NARA (RG 24, College Park) and are largely not digitized. (b) NRL Report S-1924, 'Performance tests of underwater loudspeaker model X-3' (1942), cited by the nomination as held in the NRL Library. (c) 'Miss Ann collections, Volume A' owner files at The Tides Inn (Stephens correspondence, the 7 October 1954 Grimm-Stephens sale-terms document). (d) Hagley Museum and Library Pusey & Jones photograph set for Siele hull 396 (digital.hagley.org items including 72350_3186, 72350_3188, 72350_3192-3193) - live access lands on an interactive challenge page at research time.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and collection mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed. Whether asbestos-specific documents exist in these collections is unknown; the deck logs are the most likely source for 1941 conversion-yard work detail. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-aquamarine-pyc7-09