Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, 'Brambling II (YMS-109)' - official NHHC ship-history entry by Raymond A. Mann, 13 December 2005 (live page returned 404 on 2026-09-23; verbatim text retrieved from Wayback capture 2022-09-27) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Brambling II (YMS-109)' entry, spec block and construction/first-service paragraphs (1941-1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and construction: 'The second Brambling was laid down as YMS-109 on 21 May 1941 at Manitowoc, Wis., by the Burger Boat Co.; launched on 16 May 1942; and commissioned on 23 September 1942, Lt. Crittenden B. Taylor, USNR, in command.' DANFS spec block: YMS-1 class; dp. 320 (f.); l. 136'0"; b. 24'6"; dr. 6'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 33; a. 1 3", 2 20mm. WWII service: reported to the 5th Naval District after outfitting; conducted minesweeping operations out of Little Creek, Va., performed experimental work in the York River, escorted coastal shipping, and made antisubmarine patrols in the Chesapeake Bay area through 20 July 1945; departed Norfolk for the west coast via Miami and the Panama Canal, arrived San Pedro 15 August; after repairs at Wilmington, Calif., moved to San Diego; departed San Diego 1 October with other yard craft for the Hawaiian Islands, conducting patrols and carrying passengers between the islands through the end of 1945 and into early 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Burger Boat Co. (Manitowoc, WI) construction workforce, 1941-42; ship's company 1942-1946
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, and service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC URL 404s (standing NHHC link-rot issue documented in BATCH-01); the verbatim DANFS text was read directly from a 2022-09-27 Wayback capture, so this row is 'verified' rather than 'partial'. Does not name the specific areas swept or experimental projects in the York River.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-01
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[2]DANFS, 'Brambling II (YMS-109)' - official NHHC ship-history entry (Wayback capture 2022-09-27) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Brambling II (YMS-109)' entry, 1946-1961 service/disposition paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Postwar service and disposition: departed Pearl Harbor April 1946; arrived San Francisco 2 May and unloaded minesweeping gear; underway 28 May for the east coast, transiting the Panama Canal 13 June; arrived Tompkinsville, N.Y., 1 July; sailed 12 July for Detroit via Quebec, the St. Lawrence River, and Lake Ontario, arriving 24 July. Decommissioned 7 August 1946 at the Detroit Naval Reserve Armory and began duty as a Naval Reserve training ship. Named Brambling and redesignated AMS-42 on 19 August 1947; 9th Naval District training assignment lasted until early 1950; placed in reserve at Orange, Tex., February 1950. Recommissioned 12 February 1951; served through the Korean conflict as a school ship at the Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., training minesweeper sailors for Korean waters; afterward ran Atlantic Fleet and independent-ship exercises with assignments to the Naval Mine Defense Laboratory, Panama City, Fla. Redesignated MSCO-42 on 7 February 1955; ordered to Green Cove Springs, Fla., for inactivation, arriving 19 April; placed in commission, in reserve; decommissioned 17 July 1955 and berthed with the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Struck from the Navy list sometime in November 1959; sold 31 August 1961 to Mr. H. G. Mann of Jacksonville, Fla.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1946-1961
- Population
- Ship's company and Naval Reserve trainees 1946-1955 (Detroit, Yorktown, Panama City); Green Cove Springs inactivation/reserve workforce 1955-1959
- Limitations
- Documents service chronology, reclassifications, and the 1961 sale - not materials or asbestos content. 'Struck sometime in November 1959' is DANFS's own wording; the specific date 1 November 1959 comes from NavSource (evidence row 03). No abatement, stripping, or material-condition disclosure accompanies the reserve-fleet and sale entries. Post-sale civilian chain is beyond DANFS scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-02
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[3]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - 'Brambling (MSC[O] 42), ex-Brambling (AMS 42), ex-YMS-109' (navsource.org/archives/11/19109.htm; retrieved from Wayback capture 2024-12-27) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19109, chronology block and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hull chronology supplement beyond DANFS: completed 4 September 1942; call sign November-Alpha-Papa-India; reclassified Motor Minesweeper and named Brambling (AMS 42) 1 September 1947 (conflicts with DANFS - see correction row); reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-42 on 7 February 1955 (agrees with DANFS); struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959. Specifications: 270 t., 136', 24'6" beam, 8' draft, 15 kts., complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding officers listed: LT Harold Edward Snyder, USNR (1950 - 12 December 1951); LT Robert Oliver Brannon, USN (12 December 1951 - 1953); LT Robert Treat Shultz, USN (June 1954 - July 1955); LT William Ernest Clark, USN.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1959
- Population
- Ship's company 1950-1955 (named commanding officers)
- Limitations
- Reputable volunteer-maintained photo/history archive, not an official record - used for the AMS-42/MSC(O)-42 identity chain, spec detail, and the specific 1 November 1959 strike date per the project brief ('NavSource supplies the AMS identity'). Spec figures differ from DANFS (270 t. vs 320 t. full; 32 vs 33 complement; 15 vs 12 kts.; 8' vs 6'1" draft) - standard vs full-load framing, unresolved; DANFS adopted where they conflict. Contains no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-03
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[4]Wisconsin Maritime Museum, PastPerfect online collection, object P80-51-1 (starboard bow view, YMS-109 on the ways at Burger Boat Co., Manitowoc, WI, 1942); DANFS 'Brambling II' (Wayback capture 2022-09-27); NavSource 11/19109 (Wayback capture 2024-12-27) [museum_official]
- Locator
- PastPerfect object P80-51-1 catalog text (museum page returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch; catalog text captured via search index); DANFS construction paragraph; NavSource chronology block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two NavSource errors resolved in favor of DANFS and museum documentation: (a) Builder location - NavSource lists 'Laid down 21 May 1941 by the Burger Boat Co., Boothbay Harbor, ME'; DANFS states Manitowoc, Wis., independently confirmed by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum photo catalog (object P80-51-1: 'minesweeper YMS 109 on the ways ready to launch at Burger Boat Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1942. Reclassified AMS 42.') and by Shipbuilding History's Burger Boat yard table (Manitowoc, WI). (b) Naming/reclassification date - NavSource lists 'named Brambling (AMS 42), 1 September 1947'; DANFS states 'named Brambling and was redesignated AMS 42 on 19 August 1947.' DANFS adopted in both cases.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Corrects secondary-source errors (NavSource), not a DANFS error. The museum record is a photo-catalog entry verifying builder/location/date - it contains no materials or asbestos content. Museum page could not be fetched directly (403); its catalog description was read verbatim from the indexed record. The naming-date conflict (19 Aug vs 1 Sep 1947) likely reflects order vs effective-date framing; unresolved, DANFS date carried.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-04
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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 serving officer (class-level description); YMS-1-class design particulars applied as era/design inference; no hull-specific material record located [other_primary]
- Locator
- USNI Proceedings January 1948 article (class-level machinery description); no hull-specific document
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos record located for this hull. Class/era inference only: as completed, this hull is a YMS-1-class wooden-hulled motor minesweeper powered by two General Motors 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts (class specification), rather than a steam plant - no boilers and no steam distribution, which structurally eliminates the era's dominant shipboard asbestos application, thermal insulation of boilers and steam piping. A serving YMS officer's 1948 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings account ('Saga of a YMS') documents the class machinery fit: wooden hull; two General Motors diesels for main propulsion; a similar diesel driving the magnetic-sweep generator; small auxiliary diesels for ship's power. What cannot be excluded is the era's ordinary remainder: diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room and machinery-space insulation, gasket and packing material at engine, piping, and valve joints, insulation felts in machinery and berthing spaces, and small components such as clutches and electric cables - materials commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber during WWII Navy procurement. Whether any asbestos-containing material was actually installed aboard this specific hull, in what quantity, or whether any remains, is unproven.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1955
- Population
- Burger Boat Co. construction workforce (1941-42); ship's company and Naval Reserve trainees 1942-1955
- Limitations
- Inference from documented class/design and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or work order naming YMS-109/Brambling/AMS-42/MSC(O)-42 was located. The usni.org article page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session; the citation and content summary are carried from a sibling batch record (batch-1701, USS Bobolink AMS-2, same YMS-1 class) that verified it on 2026-09-23 - independent re-read recommended before production use. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, or individual exposure; does not establish or defeat any claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-05
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[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 - meaning the WWII-era insulation installed aboard this hull's class (1942 construction) predates the Navy's early-1970s substitution of alternative insulation materials.
- 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; GAO fieldwork was conducted at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards decades after this hull's construction and disposal. Supports general era context for Navy insulation practice, not any fact specific to this hull - and for a wooden-hulled diesel craft the 'major use' (thermal insulation of steam plant) is structurally diminished. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns 403 to automated fetches, a standing issue documented in prior batches); product-page description used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-06
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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 (1987) 359-373 (PMID 3555021) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed abstract/indexing, PMID 3555021
- 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 hull was built (1941-42) - wartime production conditions and Navy material specifications made asbestos-containing insulation, packing, and gasket materials standard practice across the construction industry, including small combatant and auxiliary craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- WWII era
- Population
- WWII shipbuilding workforce (industry-level)
- Limitations
- Industry-level scholarship, not a vessel record - documents WWII shipbuilding asbestos practice generally, with emphasis on large production shipyards. A wooden-hulled 136-foot diesel minesweeper built at a yacht yard is a materially different asbestos-density case than the steam-driven steel ships that dominate the scholarship; this row supplies era context only and supports no hull-level finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-07
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[8]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online, full index read 2026-09-23) and '1941-1959 Deck Logs' series description (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-deck-logs-1941-1959) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA digitized deck-log index, YMS/AMS entries section (absence confirmed by full-text search of the complete index); 1941-1959 series description, small-vessel 'patrol logs' paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Deck-log status checked: the National Archives' published index 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (the authoritative list of fully digitized logs) was read in full and does NOT list YMS-109, Brambling, AMS-42, or MSC(O)-42 under any identifier - while it does list 19 sister bird-named AMS/ex-YMS conversions (Egret, Flamingo, Fulmar, Goldfinch, Grackle, Grouse, Gull, Lapwing, Linnet, Lorikeet, Reedbird, Rhea, Robin, Ruff, Sanderling, Seagull, Siskin, Turkey, Waxbill). The project brief reports that the National Archives lists wartime U.S. deck logs for this hull under the YMS-109 designation - consistent with NARA's blanket 1941-1959 holdings at Archives II (Record Group 24, 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations'), whose series description notes that small unnamed vessels often submitted small-format 'patrol logs' during WWII. Catalog-level confirmation of the YMS-109 log file units could not be performed (catalog API requires a key, unavailable this session). Log coverage, where it exists, is not treated as commissioning evidence.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1955 records
- Population
- Ship's company 1942-1946 (wartime log coverage) and 1951-1955
- Limitations
- Absence from the digitized-online index means no YMS-109 log is confirmed readable online; it does not prove the underlying paper logs are absent from RG 24 holdings at Archives II (College Park) - the project brief reports wartime logs listed under the YMS number, and sister YMS craft's wartime logs are generally held there. Deck logs record operations/personnel, not materials - they would not ordinarily identify asbestos content. Catalog-API verification (key-required) not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-08
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[9]CourtListener API v4 (courtlistener.com), Opinion (type=o) and Docket (type=r) search indices - authenticated queries via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- PLACEHOLDER_LOCATOR
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- PLACEHOLDER_LITIGATION
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- PLACEHOLDER_LIMIT
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-09
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[10]Batch-1731 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS via Wayback; NavSource via Wayback; Wisconsin Maritime Museum PastPerfect; Shipbuilding History; NARA digitized deck-log index and 1941-1959 series description; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; USNI Proceedings (class-level); PubMed PMID 3555021; CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brambling-ams42-01 through sl-uss-brambling-ams42-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in this research pass: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials record, museum condition report, or docketed case naming YMS-109, Brambling, AMS-42, or MSC(O)-42 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). The only public web 'asbestos' hits associating this hull class with asbestos are law-firm marketing pages making fleet-wide claims ('all Navy ships used asbestos') - excluded per batch source rules; none names this hull or documents anything specific to it.
- 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 - it reflects what is published and searchable. The hull's wooden/diesel construction lowers the era-inference relative to steam contemporaries but cannot exclude the era's ordinary asbestos remainder (gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, electrical cable). Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brambling-ams42-10