Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, 'Brave' - Brave I (IX-78) entry (Raymond A. Mann, 13 December 2005) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Brave page, 'I' (IX-78) section; the same page also covers the simultaneous Brave (YP-425, ex-yacht Rose B.) - a different vessel
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC DANFS 'Brave I' entry (updated entry by Raymond A. Mann, 2005): the civilian vessel Maitland Adams was acquired by the Navy from the Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL, on 1942-08-10; renamed Brave (IX-78) on 1942-08-13; repaired and partially converted at the Gibbs yard, Jacksonville; placed in service at Jacksonville 1942-12-10 for the voyage via Miami to Key West; commissioned at Key West 1943-01-23. She served throughout at Key West as a school ship for the Fleet Sound School - first under Commander, Gulf Sea Frontier; after 1943-09-29 under ServRon 1, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet - training sonarmen. On 1944-11-27 she was ordered to report to the Commandant, 7th Naval District, for disposal (reported three days later); decommissioned 1944-12-14 at Naval Operating Base, Key West; stricken 1944-12-22; remained in Navy custody until turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal 1946-09-19. Characteristics per NHHC: dp. 126 (f.); l. 98'3"; b. 23'7" (wl); dr. 10'0" (mean).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (size undocumented) plus Fleet Sound School sonar trainees carried for training evolutions, 1943-1944
- Limitations
- Authoritative for Navy identity, chronology, and disposition. Contains no asbestos, insulation, materials, complement, or propulsion information; the unclassified IX listing does not state machinery type. The two 'Brave' entries on the page (YP-425 and IX-78) must not be conflated - different hulls, different stations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-01
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[2]Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center, 'This Day in Keys History' (1937 entry, Dr. Corey Malcom); National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, 'The Islands Time Forgot' exhibition text; Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, 'Key West Turtle Kraals' page; Key West Citizen archives via keysnews.com 'Today in Keys History' (1941 entry) [museum_official]
- Locator
- keyslibraries.org 1937 entry + Ida Woodward Barron Collection photo caption; nationalgallery.org.ky exhibition review; melfisher.org turtle-kraals page; keysnews.com 1941 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Civilian identity established by local-history primary records: Monroe County Public Library / Florida Keys History Center (Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian) records that in 1937 the turtling schooner A.M. Adams arrived at Key West on her first voyage with 380 green sea turtles for the kraals and soup cannery; she was built at Grand Cayman by the Thompson Fish Company and named for general manager Aurelius Maitland Adams. The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (with Cayman Islands National Archive) describes the A.M. Adams as 'one of the great Caymanian-built turtle schooners of the 1930s,' Thompson-owned, Captain Allie Ebanks, crew photographed by David Douglas Duncan on the Mosquito Cays in 1939. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum states the Thompson cannery 'operated the schooner A.M. Adams to bring Green turtles from the Caribbean to Key West.' Keys press history records a 1941 arrival with 440 turtles - still in commercial turtle service the year before Navy acquisition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1937-1942
- Population
- Civilian crew - Caymanian turtle fishermen (Capt. Allie Ebanks documented 1939)
- Limitations
- Establishes that the acquired hull was a wooden commercial turtling schooner (not a yacht), built 1937 at Grand Cayman, Thompson-owned, in turtle service through at least 1941. The name variant is real: DANFS prints 'Maitland Adams'/'A. Maitland Adams'; Keys sources use 'A.M. Adams' - same vessel and namesake (Aurelius Maitland Adams). The Thompson-to-Gibbs ownership transfer (pre-1942-08) is not documented in sources searched. No asbestos or materials content in any cited source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-02
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[3]HyperWar/ibiblio 'U.S. Navy Unclassified Vessels (IX), 1940-1945' (IX-78 row); NavSource USS Brave (IX-78) page; NHHC DANFS Brave I; hazegray DANFS mirror [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- HyperWar IX table row 'IX-78 Brave 1942 110 Converted Yacht'; navsource.net/archives/09/46/46078.htm; hazegray.org/danfs/ix/ix78.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies cataloged and resolved: (a) Type - the NHHC-compiled HyperWar tabulation 'U.S. Navy Unclassified Vessels (IX), 1940-1945' lists IX-78 Brave as 'Converted Yacht'; the documented civilian record shows a working commercial turtling schooner - 'converted yacht' is a Navy administrative class, not the vessel's actual trade. (b) Displacement - updated NHHC DANFS gives 126 tons full load; the older print DANFS and NavSource/HyperWar give 110 tons - both retained, 126 (f.) treated as controlling. (c) ServRon 1 reassignment - NavSource gives '29 September' with no year; NHHC supplies 'after 29 September 1943.' (d) Draft - NavSource prints '10"' (inches), an evident typo for NHHC's 10'0" mean. (e) Civilian name - older DANFS prints 'A. Maitland Adams,' updated NHHC 'Maitland Adams,' Keys sources 'A.M. Adams.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1937-1996 (publication range of sources)
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies; none affects the custody chronology materially. No asbestos content in any cited source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-03
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[4]NHHC DANFS (MC turnover date); NavSource IX-78 page ('fate unknown'); MARAD ShipHistory database public search; Monroe County Public Library photo caption (ca. 1960); Mel Fisher Maritime Museum kraals/cannery history [other_primary]
- Locator
- MARAD search https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/Search/PublicSearch (SearchText 'BRAVE', 'ADAMS' - 'Not found'); keyslibraries.org photo caption; melfisher.org
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Post-Navy disposition is thinly documented: NHHC records turnover to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 1946-09-19 and NavSource records 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' The MARAD ShipHistory database (12,000+ vessels with government-custody records) returns no record under 'Brave' or 'Adams' - consistent with a direct sale out of federal custody rather than NDRF retention, but not proof of it. A Monroe County Public Library photograph caption ('Turtle being unloaded from the turtle schooner A.M. Adams in Key West, ca. 1960,' Ida Woodward Barron Collection) shows the schooner back in the Key West turtle trade, and the Thompson cannery she served continued turtle processing into the postwar decades (museum account: soup production to 1971) - evidence consistent with a return to private turtle service after disposal, with the ownership chain and final fate undocumented.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-c.1960s
- Population
- Civilian crews if she returned to the turtle trade (unverified)
- Limitations
- The ca.-1960 photograph is dated by caption, not by a document tied to the hull; identity with IX-78 rests on name continuity and the unique Key West turtle-schooner trade, not a registration record. Post-disposal ownership and final fate are genuinely undocumented - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-04
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[5]CourtListener API v4 search, authenticated (cl-auth-search.py helper): queries "USS Brave", "IX-78", "Maitland Adams" schooner, "Fleet Sound School" asbestos - 2026-09-29 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brave-i-ix78-11 through sl-uss-brave-i-ix78-14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 sweep, 2026-09-29: exact-name search "USS Brave" (type=o) returned 0 opinions; hull search "IX-78" (type=o) returned 10 hits, all non-vessel collisions (reporter/citation text fragments - e.g., attorney-general opinions, unrelated appellate decisions; none concerning any vessel); civilian-name search "Maitland Adams" schooner (type=o) returned 0; site search "Fleet Sound School" asbestos (type=o) returned 0. A docket-index (type=r) query for "USS Brave" was attempted but blocked by the fleet pacing budget and is logged pending. No qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, or any vessel-related opinion was located for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Opinion index only; the RECAP/docket query was paced out and remains pending - coverage is not exhaustive. 'Brave' is a collision-prone name, and the simultaneous Brave (YP-425) could surface hits for the wrong vessel; every returned hit was inspected and none concerns either Brave. Absence of a docketed opinion does not prove no claim was ever filed (many asbestos matters resolve without opinion or sit in MDL-875 complaint lists not indexed by vessel name).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-05
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[6]Batch-4871 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + HyperWar/NavSource tabulations; MARAD ShipHistory; Monroe County Public Library/Florida Keys History Center; National Gallery of the Cayman Islands; Mel Fisher Maritime Museum; hmdb.org namesake marker; CourtListener API v4 name/hull/site searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-brave-i-ix78-01 through sl-uss-brave-i-ix78-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/NPS documentation, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the sources searched (NHHC DANFS, NavSource, HyperWar IX tabulation, MARAD ShipHistory, Monroe County Public Library, National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, CourtListener - see search_ledger). None of the located sources mentions asbestos, insulation material, or abatement in connection with this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - if she carried a combustion auxiliary engine, galley, and era-standard gaskets/insulation (all unverified), small quantities of asbestos-containing materials would be era-consistent. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-06
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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):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed 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 civilian schooner was acquired, repaired, and 'partially converted' for Navy use at the Gibbs Gas Engine Co. yard, Jacksonville (1942).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context); Gibbs yard conversion workforce (unquantified)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of shipbuilding asbestos use generally; does not name this vessel, does not address small wooden auxiliary schooners specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull at build, conversion, or at any time. Inference is materially weaker here than for steam-powered combatant or cargo hulls: a ~98-ft wooden turtling schooner had far fewer asbestos applications, and her machinery fit is itself undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-07
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[8]NHHC, 'Deck Log Access' guidance (NARA Modern Military Branch holdings); NARA Guide to Federal Records - RG 24, RG 181, RG 19, RG 178 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC deck-log access page; archives.gov record-group guides (RG 24 Navy logs; RG 181 naval districts; RG 19 Bureau of Ships; RG 178 Maritime Commission)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - no research-room visit or reproduction order authorized): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs for IX-78 covering 1942-12 to 1944-12, if they survived - WWII Navy deck logs are held at College Park and selectively digitized in the NARA Catalog (catalog API not reachable in this session; hit/lead unconfirmed). (b) RG 181, 7th Naval District / Naval Operating Base Key West records - would hold the disposal file and any survey preceding the 1944-11-27 disposal order. (c) Bureau of Ships / vessel acquisition records (RG 19 or predecessor bureau files) - the purchase from Gibbs Gas Engine Co. and conversion scope. (d) U.S. Maritime Commission disposal records (RG 178) - the 1946-09-19 turnover and buyer, the missing link to her post-war identity. (e) Merchant vessel documentation files (RG 41 predecessor / USCG documentation records) - official number and registry trail for the Cayman-built A.M. Adams.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-brave-i-ix78-08