Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Brant II (YMS-113)' (Raymond A. Mann, 2005-12-13; NHHC page published 2015-06-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text. Live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-23; text verified via Wayback capture 2021-02-26 (web.archive.org/web/20210226015929/.../brant-ii.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry Brant II (YMS-113): laid down at San Diego, Calif., by San Diego Marine Construction Co.; launched 1942-02-13, sponsored by Miss Virginia Sue Blakely; commissioned as YMS-113 1942-06-12 (Ens. Alfred Lee, USNR). WWII service: departed Los Angeles 1942-06-26 for Hawaii; Suva, Fiji Islands 1942-08 through 1943-08 (mine clearance, inter-island escort, passengers, pilot boat, ASW patrol); Noumea, New Caledonia 1943-08/09 through 1944 (nine-month mine-clearance and anti-submarine tour, Auckland NZ availability, first overhaul at Espiritu Santo ending 1944-12-06); Hawaiian Islands 1945-06-22 through 1946-04. Postwar: Panama Canal transit to New York (arrived 1946-07-01), St. Lawrence to Detroit; decommissioned 1946-08-07 and turned over to Naval Reserve; in service 1946-12-01; renamed Brant (AMS-43) 1947-09-01; out of service at Orange, Tex., 1950-02-10. Recommissioned 1951-02-12; reported to ComMinLant Charleston 1951-03-05; Mine Warfare School ship, Yorktown (late 1951 - 1952-11-25); Mine Countermeasures Station, Panama City 1953-01-10 (four months developing new minesweeping techniques and equipment); Charleston Naval Shipyard overhaul 1953-06-01 to 1953-08-03; Key West drydock late 1953; second Mine Warfare School tour 1954-01-27 through end of active career; redesignated MSCO-43 1955-02-07; decommissioned 1955-10-23, Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the Navy list 1959-11-01.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-06-04 to 1959-11-01
- Population
- Crew of 32 (complement) across 1942-1955 active periods; Naval Reserve trainees 1946-1950
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy service history establishing identity, construction, designation chain (YMS-113 > AMS-43 > MSC(O)-43), operations, and stricken date. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or construction-material information whatsoever. Prints an internally inconsistent date for the Auckland passage ('sailed from Noumea on 25 August 1944... entered Auckland on the 28th... until 15 June... resumed duties at Noumea on 28 June... Espiritu Santo... early November... ended 6 December... 4 June 1945 got underway from New Caledonia'); the August 1944 reading cannot be reconciled with the subsequent 1944 dates - treated as a DANFS typo and logged in gaps rather than silently corrected. Does not give a laid-down date or final disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brant-ams43-01
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[2]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-1 class index ('the wood-hulled YMS... 561 built at 35 yacht yards'; per-hull specs: two GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts) + shipbuildinghistory (T. Colton), 'Yard Minesweepers YMS BYMS' ('561 wooden-hulled minesweepers... all of essentially the same design') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource YMS class index narrative and YMS-113 specifications block; shipbuildinghistory YM table via navalmarinearchive.com mirror (/sbh/smallships/ym.html; San Diego Marine yard table /sbh/shipyards/small/sandiego.html)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class-design documentation: the YMS-1 class comprised 561 wood-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers built at 35 yacht yards (1942-1945) to one design - 136 ft, ~270-320 tons, twin General Motors 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts - built for coastal sweeping of acoustic and magnetic mines. Because the class is wood-hulled and diesel-powered, the dominant WWII-era shipboard asbestos pathway (boiler and steam-line lagging insulation) does not apply to this design. Any asbestos aboard would be limited to era-typical small-craft applications (engine gaskets and packing, diesel exhaust insulation, electrical materials, winch/windlass brake linings); none of these is verified for the class or this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (class production era)
- Population
- Construction trades at San Diego Marine Construction (1941-1942); crew (class context)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference works, not a hull record: they establish the class design (wood hull, diesel plant, no boilers or steam system) but contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for the class and none for this hull. The absence of the steam-lagging pathway is a design-level inference from the documented machinery type; residual era-typical applications are possibilities only and are not established as installed, present, or absent aboard this hull. Does not establish individual exposure or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brant-ams43-02
-
[3]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 and program under which this 1941-1942 naval vessel was built and subsequently overhauled (Charleston Naval Shipyard 1953; Espiritu Santo 1944; voyage repairs Pearl Harbor 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally, focused on production workers at major shipyards; does not name this vessel or class, does not address wood-hulled small-craft construction, 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-brant-ams43-03
-
[4]National Archives and Records Administration, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' and 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' (research guidance pages) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log guidance pages; RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208); https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds the U.S. Navy Ship Deck Logs series in Record Group 24, Entry 118 - the definitive hull-specific primary source for this vessel's 1942-1955 active periods (as YMS-113, AMS-43 Brant, MSC(O)-43). NARA's deck-log digitization is ongoing; logs not yet online can be requested from Archives II, College Park, MD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1955 (hull's log-bearing years)
- Limitations
- Series-level research guidance, not a retrieved record: confirms the series covering this hull's era exists and is being digitized, but this hull's individual logs were not confirmed as digitized or reviewed. Deck logs record daily ship activity and would document operations/availabilities, not necessarily materials - retrieval is a lead, not a finding. Does not establish any asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brant-ams43-04
-
[5]Batch-1732 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource hull and class pages; shipbuildinghistory yard/class tables; NARA deck-log guidance; CourtListener opinion/docket searches by name and hull number [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brant-ams43-01 through sl-uss-brant-ams43-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat or demolition disclosure, litigation naming the hull, or official materials documentation was found for this vessel under any designation (YMS-113, Brant AMS-43, MSC(O)-43) in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - era-typical small-craft materials are unverified either way, and the hull's final disposition is undocumented so no demolition/disposal disclosure was expected or found. 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-brant-ams43-05