Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Blue Jay' entry, AMCU-17 section [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- AMCU-17 paragraph of the 'Blue Jay' DANFS entry, verified verbatim via Wikipedia's attributed public-domain DANFS mirror (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Blue_Jay, which states it incorporates DANFS public-domain text and links the same NHHC URL). The live NHHC page returned HTTP 503 on every direct fetch attempt this session (domain-wide, not just this page) - a standing access issue, not a content dispute.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Blue Jay' (AMCU-17 section, in full): 'the former LCI(L)-654; converted to Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator), 1954; never commissioned under Blue Jay name; sold, 1960.' This establishes the hull's identity chain (LCI(L)-654 to AMCU-17), the incomplete conversion, and the 1960 sale as the authoritative disposition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Limitations
- Establishes disposition (incomplete conversion, never commissioned as Blue Jay, sold 1960) only. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or hull-condition information whatsoever, and does not establish laid-down/launched/original-commissioning dates, builder, or WWII service history.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-01
-
[2]Naval-history ship-data compilation (identified in search results as NavSource's Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index entry for Blue Jay, AMCU-17); this session could not load the page directly to verify its content or sourcing [other_primary]
- Locator
- Search-index synthesis only, 2026-09-23 - navsource.org and navsource.net are both blocked by this session's network egress policy (EGRESS_BLOCKED), so the underlying page could not be rendered, dated, or checked for its own sourcing this session
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary ship-history compilation reports: LCI(L)-654 commissioned 28 July 1944 under LTJG Ralph E. Grassmuck, USNR; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator) AMCU-17 and named Blue Jay on 7 March 1952; conversion to AMCU-17 began 21 September 1953 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA (the same program that converted adjacent hull LCI(L)-653 into USS Avocet, AMCU-16, beginning 1 July 1953 at the same yard).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1944-1953
- Limitations
- Not an official/authoritative source per house rules (not DANFS/NHHC, NARA, NPS, NVR, or a museum archive) and this session could not independently render or verify the page. Carried as a lead pending confirmation against NHHC or NVR primary text, both of which returned persistent HTTP 503 to every direct fetch attempt this session. Do not treat as confirmed fact; the record's descriptive date fields flag this same caveat inline.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-02
-
[3]CourtListener API v4 search (opinions, RECAP, dockets), session query log for this vessel [court_record]
- Locator
- Query IDs: fc3e81c7, b9c8d189, 5f546662, 3f61297d, 1e86378b, d9454978, 55ecf08a, 4445024c, ed5c2057, dc8a8de8, 2d349bc4, 4454ec3f (session search log)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos or other litigation referencing this vessel was located. CourtListener API v4 queries run across opinions, RECAP dockets, and docket records: 'USS Blue Jay'; 'Blue Jay' AMCU-17; 'LCI(L)-654'; 'LCI-654'; 'LCI(L) 654'; 'AMCU-17'; 'AMCU 17'; 'MHC-17'; 'Blue Jay asbestos minesweeper'. Zero qualifying results. Two incidental 'MHC-17' hits were confirmed name collisions unrelated to any vessel: Brenda Forman v. Howard C. Forman (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019, docket 18-3286) and Committee for Sound Water etc. v. City of Seaside (Cal. Ct. App. 2022, docket H049031) - both reviewed and excluded as collisions, not litigation hits.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Confirms absence from CourtListener's indexed opinion and RECAP corpus only. Does not confirm absence from state-court systems outside that corpus, sealed records, or non-digitized dockets. A negative litigation finding for a vessel sold out of Navy service in 1960 with no confirmed WWII combat/overhaul history is unsurprising and is reported as a first-class result, not manufactured evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-03
-
[4]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. Same citation independently verified and previously used in batch-01's ss-john-w-brown.atlas.json record.
- 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 LCI(L)-654 was built (laid down/built 1944), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across U.S.-built hulls generally.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard construction workers and crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally. Does not name LCI(L)-type craft, diesel-propelled hulls, or this vessel, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-04
-
[5]Hollins DM, Paustenbach DJ, Clark K, Mangold CA, 'A visual historical review of exposure to asbestos at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (1962-1972),' Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B: Critical Reviews 12(2):124-156 (2009) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMID 19235622, verified via NCBI E-utilities esummary (title, authors, journal, volume, pages, DOI all confirmed)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical review documents asbestos exposure conditions at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA - the yard where AMCU-17 conversion work on this hull reportedly began in September 1953 - across a range of shipyard trades and work areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1962-1972
- Population
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workforce, multiple trades
- Limitations
- Facility/workforce-level review, not hull-specific - never mentions this vessel. Material temporal gap: the study's own period is 1962-1972, which postdates this hull's reported 1953 conversion work by nearly a decade, so it does not establish shipyard asbestos conditions during the actual 1953 work period. Included only as general yard context, not as evidence the specific conversion work involved asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-05
-
[6]Beckett RR, 'Asbestos exposure control at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,' Environmental Research 11(2):248-260 (1976) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMID 1065583, verified via NCBI E-utilities esummary (title, authors, journal, volume, pages, DOI all confirmed)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Journal article documents asbestos exposure control programs and measures at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- reported as of 1976; program history predates publication but exact start not stated in the verified summary
- Population
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workforce
- Limitations
- Facility/workforce-level article describing control programs as of the mid-1970s, not hull-specific and not contemporaneous with this hull's 1953 conversion work at the same yard. Included only as general yard context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-06
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[7]Session research pass: DANFS 'Blue Jay' entry (full text, via verified mirror); National Archives catalog search ('LCI(L)-654', 'AMCU-17', 'Blue Jay' minesweeper); NPS search; GAO reports search ('AMCU-17', 'Blue Jay' minesweeper asbestos) - no ship-specific asbestos documentation returned by any of the four [other_primary]
- Locator
- Session search log, 2026-09-23
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, hull-condition report, abatement record, or litigation product identification for LCI(L)-654 / AMCU-17 / Blue Jay was located in DANFS, a National Archives catalog search, NPS, or GAO reports search this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Confirms the absence of ship-specific asbestos documentation in the sources actually searchable this session, not the absence of any such record anywhere (e.g., non-digitized NARA record-group material, un-indexed local archives). This is the expected, honestly reported result for a small, never-recommissioned auxiliary hull with no confirmed WWII action history and no litigation footprint; it is reported as a first-class negative finding rather than omitted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-blue-jay-amcu17-07