Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Blue Jay' entry - the hull was omitted from print DANFS Vol. I (hazegray transcriber note: 'For some reason this ship was omitted from Vol. I of DANFS'); the fuller narrative exists in the NHHC online edition, carried here via the Wikipedia article that states it 'incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.' Canonical NHHC page https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/blue-jay-i.html (the URL NavSource links to) returns 404 across all candidate patterns this session - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01/1205/1242/1400/1452. [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Blue Jay' narrative (Wikipedia transcription of NHHC online entry, last edited 2025-11-10); hazegray mirror losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/amc23.htm (transcriber note)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official DANFS record for this hull: the wooden-hulled dragger Charles S. Ashley (transcribed 'Charles J. Ashley' in the Wikipedia rendering - error, see ev-09), built 1936 at Thomaston, Maine by Wilbur Morse Shipyards; acquired by the Navy from John G. Murley of Fairhaven, Massachusetts on 5 November 1940; renamed Blue Jay and classified coastal minesweeper AMc-23 on 22 November 1940; converted to a minecraft at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, Massachusetts; placed in service at the Boston Navy Yard 22 June 1941. Departed Boston 14 July 1941, trained three weeks at the Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Virginia (arrived 18 July); reached Philadelphia Navy Yard 3 August for upkeep; proceeded 16 August 1941 with three other coastal minesweepers to the naval base at Cape May, New Jersey as the minesweeping detachment of the 4th Naval District's local defense forces; swept the mouth of the Delaware River into autumn 1943. Ordered to Newport, Rhode Island for conversion to a diving tender, arrived 6 November 1943; name and AMc-23 designator cancelled 20 November 1943, becoming YDT-6; conversion at Boston Navy Yard completed 22 May 1944; operated out of NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island as torpedo retriever and diving tender. Placed out of service 15 April 1946; struck from the Navy list 8 May 1946; turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal; reacquired by original owner John G. Murley 20 December 1946 and resumed fishing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1946
- Population
- Morse Boat Building construction workforce (1936); George Lawley & Sons conversion workforce (1940-41); Boston Navy Yard workers (1941 in-service; 1943-44 YDT conversion); Philadelphia Navy Yard upkeep workers (Aug 1941); ship's company 1941-1946 (complement ~16 per NavSource)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, and service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. Carries no spec block for this hull (no complement, propulsion, or dimensions in the narrative). Does not describe conversion scope at either yard. The Wikipedia transcription is the located verbatim carrier of the NHHC online text (article self-identifies as incorporating public-domain DANFS); the live NHHC URL 404s at every candidate. hazegray's print-volume transcription contains only a transcriber's stub note because the ship was omitted from Vol. I - the stub dates the YDT-6 redesignation '10 January 1944,' which differs from the narrative's 20 November 1943 cancellation / 22 May 1944 conversion-completion dates (carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - YDT-6 ex-Blue Jay (AMc 23), file 11/03023 (chronology, spec block); page footer credits Joseph M. Radigan and David Wright [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource file 11/03023: header chronology + spec block (fetched live via navsource.net mirror 2026-09-23)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record corroborates and extends DANFS: built 1936 as Charles S. Ashley by Wilbur Morse Shipyards, Thomaston ME; acquired 5 November 1940 from John G. Murley of Fairhaven MA; renamed Blue Jay, classified AMc-23, 22 November 1940; converted to minecraft at George Lawley and Sons, Neponset MA; placed in service as USS Blue Jay (AMc 23) 22 June 1941; converted to diving tender YDT-6, 22 May 1944 at the Boston Navy Yard, assigned to the 1st Naval District; placed out of service 15 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 8 May 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal December 1946; acquired by previous owner 20 December 1946; 'Fate unknown.' Spec block: displacement 185 t.; length 93'4"; beam 19'4"; draft 9'6"; speed 9.5 kts.; complement 16; armament two .30 cal. machine guns; propulsion 'One 193shp Cooper Bessemer diesel engine, one shaft.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1946
- Population
- Ship's company 1941-1946 (complement 16); post-1946 commercial fishing crews
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation, not a federal record - consistent with DANFS on every shared datum and the only located source for the propulsion spec (193-shp Cooper Bessemer diesel, single shaft), complement (16), and dimensions. Single-source on those fields. 'War Shipping Administration' disposal wording differs from DANFS's 'Maritime Commission' (carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-02
-
[3]HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - 'US Navy Minecraft' index (wartime official publication), Converted Vessel Class section, AMc-23 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html - 'Converted Vessel Class' spec block + table row 'AMc-23 Blue Jay 1941 ex- C.S. Ashley (1936) Converted to diving tender (YDT)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Wartime official index row for this hull: 'AMc-23 | Blue Jay | 1941 | ex- C.S. Ashley (1936) Converted to diving tender (YDT)' - corroborates hull number, name, in-service year, prior identity, and the YDT conversion from a period Navy publication. The same index places AMc-23 in the 'Converted Vessel Class' (displacement 165-270 t., diesel engine ~400 h.p., 'converted from commercial fishermen (except 203 and 204): mostly draggers and purse seiners') - NOT the purpose-built Accentor/Acme class (AMc-36+, 'wooden-hulled ships designed for inshore operations') - confirming this hull's status as an individually acquired conversion, not a member of the design class the secondary literature loosely calls 'Accentor-class' for all AMcs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Index-row corroboration only - one line for the hull plus a class-range spec block; HyperWar is a transcription host, the underlying publication is the wartime official 'Ships of the U.S. Navy' series. The class spec's generic '400 h.p. diesel' differs from NavSource's hull-specific 193-shp Cooper Bessemer - the per-hull figure controls. No materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-03
-
[4]Naval Marine Archive shipyard table (Colton-derived compilation), 'Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding / Morse Boatbuilders, Thomaston ME' - O.N. 235472 row; plus Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton) 'Coastal Minesweepers (AMc)' table AMc-23 row and 'Special-Purpose Craft' YDT-6 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/yachtlarge/lymanmorse.html - Morse Boatbuilders table, O.N. 235472 row; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/minesweepers2 - AMc-23 row; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/ysp - YDT-6 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard-table corroboration naming this hull by official number: Morse Boatbuilders table lists 'O.N. 235472 | Chas. S. Ashley | Fishing | 93 ft | 185 GT | built 1936 | To USN 1940 as Blue Jay (AMc 23), YDT 6 1943, returned to owner 1946' - confirming builder (Morse yard, Thomaston), vessel type (fishing), U.S. official number, dimensions, build year, naval conversion, and return to owner. Colton's AMc table corroborates: 'AMc-23 | Blue Jay | Morse SB | 93 | 199 | 1940 | ex-Charles S. Ashley, acquired 1940, YDT-6 1944'; his YDT table lists 'YDT-6 | Morse Shipyards | Thomaston ME | 93 | 159 | 1936 | ex-Blue Jay, Chas. S. Ashley, acquired 1940 as AMc-23, returned to owner 1946.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1946
- Population
- Morse Boat Building Corp. construction workforce (1936)
- Limitations
- Compiler's yard tables, secondary - consistent with DANFS/NavSource on the spine. Tonnage figures differ across the tables (185/199/159) - different registry vs. displacement measures; not merged, noted in gaps. 'YDT 6 1943' vs 'YDT-6 1944' reflects the designation-vs-conversion-completion split documented by DANFS. No materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-04
-
[5]The Millicent Library (Fairhaven, MA), 'Lost Fishermen From the Port of New Bedford' project - vessel record for Charles S. Ashley [other_primary]
- Locator
- lostfishermen.com/vessel/33 - vessel detail record + linked casualty entry for James Riddell Jr. (3/10/1953)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Local fishing-vessel documentation extending the hull's record beyond Navy service: Charles S. Ashley, scalloper, built 1936 by Wilbur Morse dba Morse Boat Building Corp., Thomaston ME; owner John G. Murley, Murley Fishing Co., Inc., 14 Rodman St., New Bedford MA; call sign WB6563; gross tonnage 91 (registry measure). 'Purchased by United States Nov. 8, 1940, named Blue Jay, and entered service on June 22, 1941, under Lt. Hiram S. Walker, Jr., USNR. Operated in the 4th Naval District out of Philadelphia. Designated as only YD T-6 on November 20, 1943, and sent to Quonset Point, RI, to retrieve training torpedoes. Removed from service on April 15, 1946, and returned to Murley.' The project records crewman James Riddell Jr., age 35, washed overboard from the vessel in the Georges Banks area on 10 March 1953 - documenting the hull still active in commercial fishing seven years after Navy return.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1953
- Population
- Commercial fishing crews (1936-1940, 1946-at least 1953)
- Limitations
- Local-history project record (public-library maritime database) - corroborates the Navy spine and adds the post-1946 fishing career and a named officer (Lt. Hiram S. Walker, Jr., USNR) found in no Navy source located; those are single-source details. Acquisition date 'Nov. 8, 1940' differs from DANFS/NavSource '5 November 1940' (carried in gaps). Tonnage 91 gross is a registry measure vs. Navy 185 t. displacement. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-05
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - documented vessel type (wooden fishing dragger per Morse yard table O.N. 235472 and Millicent Library record), documented propulsion (193-shp Cooper Bessemer diesel, one shaft, per NavSource spec block), and documented conversion events (Lawley 1940-41; Boston Navy Yard 1943-44) applied to WWII-era marine practice; no class design document exists for this hull because the AMc converted group was an administrative series of individually acquired fishing vessels [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion); Morse yard table O.N. 235472 row (vessel type); DANFS (conversion events); GAO HRD-80-2 (substitution-era bound, ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference, deliberately weaker than the steam-vessel pattern: this hull is a 1936-built wooden-hulled fishing dragger (185 t., 93'4") converted at a commercial boat yard and a Navy yard, propelled by a single 193-shp diesel on one shaft - so the heaviest era asbestos applications aboard naval vessels (boiler casing, fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging) do not apply. Plausible era-typical asbestos applications on a small diesel naval craft of her period: diesel exhaust/muffler lagging; engine gaskets and packing; electrical wiring insulation; brake linings on the anchor windlass and on the minesweeping-gear winches installed in conversion; possibly insulation board around the engine space. The documented conversion events at George Lawley & Sons (1940-41) and Boston Navy Yard (1943-44) are the likeliest points at which naval-specification materials were added to this hull, but no conversion contract, work order, or material schedule was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1953
- Population
- Morse construction workforce (1936); Lawley conversion workforce (1940-41); Boston Navy Yard conversion workforce (1943-44); ship's company 1941-1946; commercial fishing crews 1946-1953+
- Limitations
- Inference from documented vessel type, machinery type, and construction/conversion era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, work order, or material schedule naming Charles S. Ashley/AMc-23/YDT-6 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, or individual exposure. The conversions are documented events, not documented material disturbances. Does not establish or defeat any claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2; search-indexed excerpts (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf HTTP 403 to automated fetch)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - so every materials event on this hull (1936 Morse construction; 1940-41 Lawley conversion; wartime maintenance and the 1943-44 Boston Navy Yard conversion) predates the substitution era. The Department of the Navy's comments incorporated in the report enumerate shipboard asbestos in thermal insulation for machinery and equipment, piping-system gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches, and state that all ships then in service contained some asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1979 report on earlier practice
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews (program-level context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation decades after this hull was disposed of; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and the report does not name AMc-23 or any small craft. Supports era context for insulation practice at build and conversions, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (product-page description and search-indexed excerpts used, same constraint as BATCH-01/1205/1242/1400/1452).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-07
-
[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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- 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 context for this hull's 1940 Navy acquisition and two conversions - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across naval construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship on WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or the AMc series and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-08
-
[9]Identity and designation clarifications, documented not resolved beyond source hierarchy: 'Charles S. Ashley' vs 'Charles J. Ashley'; in-service vs commissioned status; Converted Vessel Class vs 'Accentor-class' label; YDT-6 date variants; disposal-agency wording; second-hull name collision (AMCU-17/MHC-17) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia USS Blue Jay (AMc-23) transcription vs navalmarinearchive Morse table O.N. 235472, Colton AMc/YDT tables, Millicent Library record, hazegray amc23.htm note, HyperWar ships-dm index; NavSource AMCU-17 page (navsource.org/archives/11/0417.htm) for the second-hull collision
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corrections applied: (1) Fishing-vessel name - the Wikipedia transcription of the NHHC online DANFS entry reads 'Charles J. Ashley' (body and infobox); every documentary source reads 'Charles S. Ashley': the Morse yard table at official number 235472 ('Chas. S. Ashley'), Colton's AMc and YDT tables, the Millicent Library vessel record, the hazegray DANFS transcriber note, and the wartime Navy index ('ex-C.S. Ashley'). 'Charles S. Ashley' carried; 'J.' treated as a transcription error in the NHHC-online-derived text. (2) Service status - DANFS's own wording is 'placed in service'; NHHC's Courser (AMC-32) entry confirms AMc coastal minesweepers 'served in an "in service" status' - not commissioned. (3) Class label - secondary sources loosely call all AMcs 'Accentor-class'; the wartime Navy index assigns this hull to the 'Converted Vessel Class' (acquired fishing vessels) and reserves Accentor/Acme for the purpose-built AMc-36+ wooden minesweepers - administrative grouping carried, not a design class. (4) YDT-6 dates - the narrative cancels name/AMc-23 on 20 November 1943 and completes conversion 22 May 1944; hazegray's transcriber note gives 'redesignated YDT-6 10 January 1944' and Colton's tables split '1943'/'1944' - all variants logged, the DANFS-narrative dates carried. (5) Disposal agency - DANFS 'Maritime Commission' vs NavSource 'War Shipping Administration' - both logged. (6) Name collision - a second USS Blue Jay (AMCU-17, ex-LCI(L)-654, later MHC-17) existed 1952-1960, never commissioned under the name - collision map for future sweeps.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1960
- Limitations
- This row asserts the existence of the imprecisions/collisions and the resolution rules applied (documentary sources control for the merchant name; DANFS wording controls for service status; the wartime index controls for class grouping), not an independent adjudication. No primary document was located for the commissioning-vs-in-service point on this specific hull beyond DANFS's own 'placed in service' phrasing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-09
-
[10]Batch-1558 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404 across patterns incl. the canonical URL NavSource links to; hazegray/losthistory.net mirror stub); NavSource file 11/03023; HyperWar ships-dm index; Colton AMc/YDT tables + navalmarinearchive Morse table; Millicent Library vessel record; NVR; NARA; GAO HRD-80-2 (blocked); CourtListener API v4; general web-index substitute; disambiguation cross-checks (cross-check sources not cited as evidence) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-blue-jay-amc23-01 through sl-uss-blue-jay-amc23-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, preservation record, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Blue Jay / AMc-23 / YDT-6 / Charles S. Ashley was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The general web-index substitute surfaced no qualifying case and the marketing rosters that populate most minesweeper names omit AMc-23 (mesotheliomahope.com's minesweeper roster lists AM-hulled sweepers only; mesotheliomaveterans.org's ship lists do not include this hull). CourtListener sweep status per ledger rows sl-04/sl-05.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the vessel returned to commercial fishing in 1946 and was still fishing in 1953 with her material content undocumented and her fate unknown. If the CourtListener index was fleet-paced this session, 'no docketed case found' rests on the web-index substitute only and is an open gap, not a completed negative. 'Blue Jay' is a high-collision ship name (second Navy hull AMCU-17, common bird, unrelated entities) - any future hit must be hull-verified. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-10
-
[11]Archival leads - NARA deck logs and muster rolls for USS Blue Jay (AMc-23) and YDT-6, 1941-1946 (post-1941 deck logs at NARA College Park; WWII-era digitization incomplete); 4th Naval District local-defense-force and 1st Naval District records (RG 181); Navy acquisition and conversion files for the Lawley minecraft conversion (1940-41) and Boston Navy Yard diving-tender conversion (1943-44) (RG 19 Bureau of Ships / district records) - the likeliest home of hull-level material detail; the Maritime Commission/WSA disposal file (December 1946); USCG Merchant Vessels of the United States annuals for the O.N. 235472 documentation chain post-1946 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov record-group guides; post-1941 logs at Archives II College Park per archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): (a) NARA deck logs and muster rolls for AMc-23/YDT-6, 1941-1946 - personnel/operations records, not materials, but the only day-by-day record of the Cape May minesweeping and Quonset torpedo-retrieval service; (b) 4th Naval District and 1st Naval District records (RG 181) - operations context; (c) Navy acquisition/conversion files (RG 19 Bureau of Ships / district contract records) for the Lawley and Boston Navy Yard conversions - the plausible home of any material or specification detail; (d) Maritime Commission/WSA custody-and-disposal file (December 1946); (e) USCG Merchant Vessels of the United States annuals - the O.N. 235472 documentation chain for the post-1946 fishing career and final disposition.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1953 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, and district records are personnel/operations records, not materials documentation. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amc23-11