Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, 'Butternut' (YN-4/AN-9/ANL-9/YAG-60) - NHHC canonical page (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/butternut-i.html) returned 404 on 2026-09-24; verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror for the 1941-1952 entry, and the updated post-1952 DANFS narrative via public-domain transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (hazegray mirror of the 1941-52 entry; updated DANFS narrative for 1952-1977)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: laid down as yard net tender YN-4 on 1941-03-11 at Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA; launched 1941-05-10; placed in service at Puget Sound Navy Yard 1941-09-03; 13th Naval District net tending and minesweeping off Tacoma/Seattle to May 1942; commissioned 1942-05-13 at Seattle; Noumea/New Hebrides/Solomons net duty June 1942-January 1945 interrupted by repairs at Port Chalmers NZ (Aug-Sep 1943) and Pearl Harbor (Nov 1943-Feb 1944); reclassified net laying ship AN-9 on 1944-01-20; Leyte/Samar net and district-craft operations Feb 1945-Feb 1947 including an eight-month machinery overhaul at Manicani Island; Apra Harbor, Guam 1947-03-09 to 1950-06-19 (nets, cargo, Iwo Jima mooring/submarine-line work); Pearl Harbor NSY repairs Jun-Sep 1950; Sasebo/Yokosuka net duty Oct 1950-Jul 1951; Pearl Harbor overhaul Dec 1951-Aug 1952; San Diego 11th Naval District local duty and Naval Net School/Naval Reserve training platform from Aug 1952; NOTS China Lake operational control 1957-12-14, Polaris missile-test support at San Clemente Island 1957-1964, then Mark 46 torpedo test support to summer 1969; redesignated ANL-9 1969-01-01; decommissioned San Diego 1969; reinstated as service craft YAG-60 for Pacific Missile Range duty until June 1971; struck 1971-07-01; ServRon 5 salvage training hulk at Maui from early 1972; destroyed as a target June 1977. One battle star (consolidation of the northern Solomons).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1977
- Population
- Crew (48 per DANFS spec block); repair/overhaul yard workers at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Port Chalmers, Pearl Harbor NSY, Manicani Island
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, service history, reclassifications, and documented repair/overhaul periods. Contains no asbestos or materials statement. Live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-24 (no Wayback capture found); text verified via verbatim mirrors (hazegray; public-domain transcription of the updated entry). Decommission date conflicts across sources (1969-06-18 vs 1969-07-18) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, Butternut (YAG-60) ex USS Butternut (ANL-9)/(AN-9)/(YN-4) - ship chronology, specification block, commanding-officer roster, and dated official U.S. Navy photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 18009.htm - chronology, spec block, CO roster, photo captions CL 19993-6-68 / NH 91834 / All Hands Jul 1963
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource archive corroborates the hull chronology (laid down 1941-03-11 LWS Houghton; in service 1941-09-03; commissioned 1942-05-13 Seattle; AN-9 January 1944; ANL-9 1969-01-01; decommissioned San Diego 1969-06-18; reinstated YAG-60 Pacific Missile Range; struck 1971-07-01; destroyed as target June 1977) and documents dated official Navy photographs of the hull in NOTS service: towing the Polaris Missile Test Cell to San Clemente Island from Long Beach Naval Shipyard (China Lake OTS photo CL 19993-6-68, released 1958-06-19), towing barge YC-1384 (NOTS Pasadena photo, circa 1959-03-03), Pacific Missile Test Range (All Hands, July 1963), and Mk-46 torpedo trials 1964-69 (NHHC photo NH 91834). Spec block: Enterprise DSG-6 diesel-electric, Westinghouse reduction gear, two diesel-driven 60kW ship's-service generators, single shaft ~800 shp, 12.5 knots trial, complement 4 officers + 44 enlisted. CO roster ends with LT G. B. Phillips, 1968-12-20 to 1969-06-18.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1941-1977
- Population
- Crew; NOTS China Lake personnel embarked during test support
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-run archive, not an official repository; its evidentiary value here rests on the reproduced official USN photos (with catalog/photo numbers) and a chronology consistent with DANFS. Spec-block figures are Jane's-era secondary data. NavSource's 1969-06-18 decommissioning conflicts with the updated DANFS entry's 1969-07-18 - discrepancy logged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-02
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[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 steel-hulled auxiliary was built at a wartime emergency yard. For a diesel-electric auxiliary of this type, era-typical asbestos applications were engine-exhaust lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical-cable insulation, deck covering/mastic, accommodation insulation, and winch/net-gear brake linings; no boilers or steam plant were fitted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The application list for this diesel-electric hull is era inference - it is not drawn from a hull- or class-specific design document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-03
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[4]Batch-1832 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket searches on vessel name and hull designations; NARA/DPLA deck-log catalog; NHHC DANFS; NavSource archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-butternut-an9-01 through sl-uss-butternut-an9-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Butternut / YN-4 / AN-9 / ANL-9 / YAG-60 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener name and hull queries returned only name collisions (e.g., Butternut Cafe bankruptcy; Laufer v. Butternut, LLC ADA case; MacRie v. SDS Biotech tox-tort containing the unrelated word 'Butternut').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1941 steel Navy auxiliary is era-consistent with period materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, and does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-04
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[5]National Archives at College Park - Textual, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations: 'Butternut (AN-9) - November 1967' deck log (cataloged via DPLA aggregation record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA item 7c0081740e2f82bd53c61b69b392a15b; NARA College Park, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds deck logs for Butternut (AN-9) - a November 1967 log is digitized/cataloged in the National Archives collection (DPLA partner record confirms NARA College Park Textual custody). The deck-log run (1941-1969 in commission) is the authoritative primary source for this hull's repair periods, availabilities, and yard/NOTS movements.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1967 (digitized example); full run 1941-1969
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - catalog-level confirmation that the logs exist; contents not reviewed (no retrieval performed). Deck logs record movements and events, not materials inventories; whether they contain any insulation/asbestos-specific content is unknown until surveyed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-05
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[6]HistoryLink.org File 20514, 'Lake Washington Shipyards (Kirkland)'; corroborated by Kirkland Heritage Society, 'On the Ways to Victory: The Lake Washington Shipyards' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- HistoryLink File 20514; kirklandheritage.org/lakewashingtonshipyards
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder, Lake Washington Shipyards at Houghton, WA (Anderson Shipbuilding until 1923, then Alaska Consolidated Canneries' renamed yard), was a WWII emergency yard that employed on the order of 8,000-9,000 wartime workers, built 29 naval vessels, and repaired 477 war-weary ships; the site closed in the 1960s and is now the Carillon Point development. Construction of this hull occurred inside that documented wartime workforce.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940-1945
- Population
- Construction/repair workforce, Lake Washington Shipyards (~8,000-9,000 wartime)
- Limitations
- Secondary historical sources (state encyclopedia and local heritage society) documenting the yard, not the hull - yard-level context for the construction-era population only. Establishes no ship-specific materials content; the yard is not yet a shipyards.json entry. Worker counts differ between sources (8,000 peak vs 9,000 over the war) - both reported as order-of-magnitude context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-butternut-an9-06