Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, Bobolink II (YMS-164) - NHHC ship-history entry by Raymond A. Mann, 30 January 2006 (live page returned 404 on 2026-09-23; verbatim text via Wayback capture 2021-08-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Bobolink II entry, specifications block + construction paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and construction: YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper; laid down 1942-04-24 at Benton Harbor, Mich., by the Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding Corp.; launched 1942-11-28, sponsored by Mrs. Anna Arny; commissioned 1943-04-14, Lt. (jg.) Robert W. Cumming, USNR, in command. DANFS spec block: dp. 320; l. 136'; b. 24'6"; dr. 6'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 33; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.; cl. YMS 1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Crew of ~33; Dachel-Carter construction workforce (Benton Harbor, 1942-43)
- Limitations
- Authoritative identity/history source; contains no asbestos, materials, or hazmat information whatsoever. Live NHHC page unavailable (404) - cited via Wayback capture of the official page. Supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-01
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[2]DANFS, Bobolink II (YMS-164) - NHHC ship-history entry (Wayback capture 2021-08-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Bobolink II entry, postwar narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Postwar identity chain and disposal: decommissioned at San Diego 1946-06-07; while in reserve named Bobolink and redesignated AMS-2 on 1947-02-17; served as a 12th Naval District reserve training ship (still out of commission) November 1948 - May 1950; recommissioned San Diego 1950-05-09; Pacific Fleet Mine Force out of Pearl Harbor until July 1953; five months' operations from San Diego; January 1954 via Panama Canal to Charleston, S.C., as a unit of Mine Division 43; March 1954 to the Mine Countermeasures Station, Panama City, Fla., for a year; February 1955 returned to Charleston to begin conversion to a coastal mine hunter, redesignated MHC-44 on 1955-02-07; after ~7 months of modifications, refresher training out of Norfolk October-December, then reported to the Commandant, 1st Naval District; operated out of Boston and along the Atlantic coast for two years; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 1957-12-02 and berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet group there; struck from the Navy list 1960-01-01.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1946-1960
- Population
- Crew (recommissioned complement); 12th Naval District reservist trainees (1948-1950); Charleston Naval Shipyard workforce (1955 conversion)
- Limitations
- Controls the reclassification/decommissioning chronology over conflicting NavSource dates (see ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-05). Confirms the MHC-44 identity was an operational conversion completed at Charleston - unlike canceled paper conversions on other hulls - but contains no asbestos or materials information. Does not establish what the 1955 conversion physically involved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-03
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[3]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Bobolink (MHC 44) ex-AMS-2 ex-YMS-164 (navsource.org/archives/11/19164.htm; live fetch failed 2026-09-23, cited via Wayback capture 2024-12-26) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19164 - chronology list, specifications block, commanding-officers list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hull chronology supplement beyond DANFS: completed 1943-03-27; MHC-44 conversion ran 1955-03-01 to 1955-09-30 at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, SC; struck from the Naval Register 1960-01-01; sold 1961 to the Borden Co. of Cape May, NJ for use as a fishing boat and renamed Gail Borden; sold 1969 to Operations Oceanographic, Inc. of Newton, MA and renamed Force Five; sold 1973 to J. F. White Contracting Co. of Newtonville, MA; sold 1975 to Arctic Marine Enterprises, Inc. of Scituate, MA as an oil-exploration vessel renamed Arctic Fox; burned 1975-02-28 at the Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, MA; fate unknown. Specifications block: 270 t.; 136'; 24'6"; 8' draft; 15 kts; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign November-Xray-Zulu-Victor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1975
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard conversion workforce (Mar-Sep 1955); post-1961 civilian crews
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive used for corroboration and detail (conversion dates, post-Navy chain, propulsion), not an official record and not an asbestos source. Its decommissioning and naming dates conflict with DANFS - resolved in favor of DANFS (ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-05). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-04
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[4]Date discrepancies between NavSource 11/19164 and DANFS Bobolink II (resolved in favor of DANFS) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19164 chronology vs DANFS Bobolink II narrative; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm YMS table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource lists 'Decommissioned 7 July 1946' and 'Named Bobolink and reclassified AMS-2, 18 February 1947'; DANFS states decommissioned at San Diego on 7 June 1946 and named/redesignated on 17 February 1947. DANFS is the controlling source and its dates are adopted in this record (the 1947-02-17 date also matches the documented fleet-wide YMS renaming date seen on sibling AMS hulls, e.g. Albatross AMS-1). Minor post-Navy discrepancy also exists: NavSource says sold in 1961 to Borden Co.; the shipbuildinghistory yard table says 'sold 1960 as Gail Borden.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1946-1961
- Limitations
- Correction row: identifies the conflict rather than silently picking one. DANFS adopted because it is the official Navy history source; NavSource treated as corroborating. The 1960-vs-1961 sale-year difference is unresolved and immaterial to identity. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-05
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[5]U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 74/1/539 (January 1948), 'Saga of a YMS' - first-person account of YMS-class machinery and habitability by a YMS-238 officer [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Proceedings 74/1 (Jan 1948), p.539 - power-plant and internal-arrangement passages
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- YMS-class machinery fit documented by a serving officer: wooden hull; two General Motors diesels for main propulsion (electro-pneumatically controlled from the bridge); a similar diesel direct-connected to a generator for magnetic minesweeping; two Hercules 30-kW diesels furnishing electric power for the galley, ventilating, and auxiliary equipment. No boilers and no steam distribution - the plant type that carried the era's dominant asbestos application (thermal insulation of boilers and steam piping) is absent from this class.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- YMS-class crews (~27-33 per boat); construction trades at 35 yacht/boat yards
- Limitations
- Class/era inference, not a hull record: describes sister ship YMS-238 and the type generally; never mentions asbestos. The conclusion that this hull lacked steam-plant insulation is structural inference from the documented plant; does not establish presence or absence of residual ACM (gaskets, clutch facings, cable insulation) aboard YMS-164. Direct fetch of usni.org returned 403; verbatim content verified via search-index retrieval.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-06
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[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 highlights and letter text (gao.gov product page + PDF)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The Navy told GAO that all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables, while thermal insulation was the Navy's major shipboard use of asbestos; Navy removal policy (1975, modified 1979) replaced insulation only when damaged or when repairs required removal. For a diesel-powered wooden minesweeper the residual documented applications - clutch facings, electric-cable insulation, engine gaskets and packing - are the relevant era-typical categories.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era-wide application statement
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; crews fleet-wide (context)
- Limitations
- Program-level context, not a hull record: GAO fieldwork covered Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and postdates this hull's 1957 decommissioning. Establishes era-typical asbestos applications across the fleet; does not establish what was installed aboard YMS-164/Bobolink or in what quantity. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-09-23 (standing access defect; same report was retrievable in a prior batch session) - product-level citation carried with this limitation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-07
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[7]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); PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373; verified via NCBI eutils esummary 2026-09-23
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era in which this YMS-1-class hull was built (laid down April 1942), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented fleet-wide asbestos utilization across Navy and merchant construction generally.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship addressing shipyard-wide policy and practice, not this hull, this class, or diesel-powered wooden small craft specifically; 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-bobolink-ams2-08
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[8]NARA catalog (catalog.archives.gov): RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (series 4697018) - USS YMS-164 war diaries and action report; RG 24 muster rolls; RG 19 BuShips photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov naIds 78641455, 99920478, 193047437, 6933654/6933656/6933657; series 4697018, 594996, 601767, 513052, 594258
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Verified ship-specific archival records exist in the NARA catalog: (a) 16 monthly 'USS YMS-164 - War Diary' file units confirmed in this search, spanning 5/1943-10/1945 (RG 38, series 4697018, Fold3-digitized); (b) 'USS YMS-164 - Rep of Minesweeping Ops off the Coast of Southern France, 9/15-20/44' (naId 78641455) - the Operation Dragoon after-action report; (c) 'YMS-164, 4/14/43-6/7/46' muster-roll coverage for the entire first commission (naId 193047437, RG 24 series 594996); (d) 'Activity Number 0204 0002 - BOBOLINK (YMS-164 / AMS-2 / MHC-44) - 1952' (naId 99920478, RG 24 series 601767); (e) BuShips 'Photographs of U.S. and Foreign Naval Vessels' items titled 'AMS-2 Bobolink' (naIds 6933654, 6933656, 6933657; RG 19 series 513052). NARA deck-log series 594258 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978) spans this hull's full service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1943-1957 coverage; catalog checked 2026-09-23
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crew (roster-documentable via muster rolls)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification only: the file units are confirmed to exist and to name this hull, but their contents were not read for this record; war diaries, muster rolls, and photographs document operations and crew rosters and would not ordinarily identify asbestos content. They are the strongest leads for yard periods, maintenance disturbances, and crew population. No asbestos content located or claimed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-09
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[9]CourtListener API v4 searches, 2026-09-23 (authenticated via cl-auth-search.py): opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) full-text searches for "USS Bobolink", "YMS-164", "MHC-44", "Bobolink" + asbestos/navy terms [court_record]
- Locator
- See search_ledger rows sl-uss-bobolink-ams2-04 through sl-uss-bobolink-ams2-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos or other litigation naming this hull was located. "USS Bobolink", "YMS-164": zero results in both opinion and RECAP docket indexes. "MHC-44": zero opinions; 3 RECAP hits, all reviewed and classified as name collisions (Jones v. Milwaukee Health Care LLC, E.D. Wis. 2:19-cv-00355 - 'MHC' = Milwaukee Health Care; Pinon v. Daimler AG, N.D. Ga. 1:18-cv-03984-MHC - 'MHC' is a judicial-initials docket suffix; Hahn v. Walsh, C.D. Ill. 2:09-cv-02145 - incidental token). "Bobolink" asbestos opinions: zero. 'Bobolink navy asbestos' RECAP sweep: 16 hits, all name collisions - large multi-party dockets (GM/Motors Liquidation, Sears Holdings, PG&E, W.R. Grace, Nortel, Bon-Ton, City of Detroit, Mattress Firm and similar bankruptcy/claims matters, plus MAULSON v. SALAZAR and NYT v. Microsoft) in which the returned metadata contains no reference to this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located case does not prove no claim was ever filed - CourtListener/RECAP coverage of pre-electronic-filing-era state and federal asbestos dockets is incomplete. The identical name of USS Bobolink (AM-20/AT-131/ATO-131, the 1919 Lapwing-class minesweeper present at Pearl Harbor on 1941-12-07) creates a same-name collision risk handled by hull-designation searches; none of the hits reference either hull. Establishes only that this specific search, on this date, found nothing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-10
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[10]Batch-1701 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback; NavSource via Wayback; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4; GAO; USNI; PubMed/NCBI eutils; shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive yard tables; NVR; Atlas shipyards.json [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bobolink-ams2-01 through sl-uss-bobolink-ams2-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in this research pass: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, docketed case, or materials record naming YMS-164, Bobolink, AMS-2, or MHC-44 was found in the official/authoritative sources searched (see search_ledger). This is consistent with the hull's history: she left Navy custody in 1960-61, passed through four civilian owners, and burned at Hingham Shipyard in 1975 - predating modern asbestos regulation, hazmat surveys, and litigation-discovery practices that generate such records.
- 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 during her service life - it establishes only that no such record surfaced in this search. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present, nor establish or defeat any claim of individual exposure, quantity, condition, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-11
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[11]DANFS, Bobolink II (YMS-164) - NHHC ship-history entry (Wayback capture 2021-08-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Bobolink II entry, WWII service narrative and awards line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- WWII service: first 15 months along the U.S. east coast; crossed the Atlantic July 1944 for the invasion of southern France and swept mines off that coast from the first assaults on the morning of 15 August 1944 until 21 September (refueling/replenishment at Corsica); then minesweeping at Palermo, Sicily, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean through the end of hostilities in Europe. Returned to the U.S. late June 1945, arriving New York 1945-07-04; moved to the west coast and then to duty at Pearl Harbor, where she was serving at the end of WWII. Earned one battle star for WWII service as YMS-164.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew of ~33 (wartime)
- Limitations
- Establishes operational history only; no asbestos, materials, or condition information. Same live-404/Wayback-capture citation basis as ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bobolink-ams2-02