Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]DANFS, 'Cardinal III (AMS-4)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim via Wayback capture 20210805050018 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Cardinal III (AMS-4)' entry - namesake paragraph + one-line stub (Wayback capture 2021-08-05); full YMS-179 narrative via NavSource 19179.htm transcription
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull is a one-line stub under 'Cardinal III (AMS-4)': 'YMS-179 (q.v.) was reclassified AMS-4 and assigned the name Cardinal on 18 February 1947.' The stub confirms the reclassification and naming of this hull. The full DANFS service narrative for the hull is carried under the YMS-179 entry (the 'q.v.' target) and is transcribed verbatim on the NavSource file for this hull (ev-02): construction at Henry C. Grebe and Co., Chicago; commissioning as YMS-179 28 August 1943 at New Orleans; Key West convoy escort 1943-44; New York Navy Yard repairs April 1944; Boston patrol; Norfolk Navy Yard distant-service preparation July 1944; Mers El Kebir and the invasion of Southern France (Mine Division 32, Squadron 11, Eighth Amphibious Force) August-September 1944 including the 14 September shore-battery action; seven months sweeping Palermo/Cagliari; New York repairs June-August 1945; Pacific cruise; reserve San Diego 6 August 1946; Naval Reserve training from 1 December 1948; recommissioned 22 September 1950; Charleston homeport 1954; MSC(O)-4 7 February 1955; Boston Navy Yard inactivation and out of commission 18 November 1957; stricken 1 November 1959; loaned to Brazil 15 August 1960 as Javari (M 11); one battle star for Southern France.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1970
- Population
- Wartime crew 1943-1946; Naval Reserve training crews 1948-1957
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, dates, and designations - not materials or asbestos content. The Cardinal III entry is a stub; the underlying YMS-179 narrative reaches this record through NavSource's verbatim transcription, not a directly located NHHC YMS-179 page (no Wayback capture of danfs/y/yms-179.html exists). Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Cardinal (MSC[O] 4) ex-Cardinal (AMS 4) ex-YMS-179, file 11/19179 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 19179.htm - chronology block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo table (NH 79689, NH 89226)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource file for this hull carries the full chronology: laid down as YMS-179 27 October 1942 by Henry C. Grebe and Co., Chicago, Illinois; launched 8 May 1943; completed 31 July 1943; commissioned USS YMS-179 28 August 1943 at New Orleans, LA; placed out of commission in reserve at San Diego 6 August 1946; reclassified motor minesweeper AMS-4 17 February 1947 and named Cardinal the next day; in service 1 December 1948 with the Eleventh Naval District for Naval Reserve training; recommissioned 22 September 1950; homeport changed to Charleston, SC 15 February 1954; reclassified coastal minesweeper (old) MSC(O)-4 7 February 1955; school-ship duty for the Naval Mine Warfare School (Yorktown, VA), Caribbean refresher cruises, and Norfolk Navy Yard upkeep periods; departed Charleston 10 September 1957 for inactivation at the Boston Navy Yard, arrived 14 September, out of commission in reserve 18 November 1957; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959; transferred (loaned) to Brazil 15 August 1960, renamed Javari (M 11), reclassified U-18, scrapped 1970. Spec block: 405 t., 144' x 27' x 9', 14 kts., complement 40, two twin 20mm mounts, two 880-bhp GM 8-268A diesels with single reduction gear, two shafts; call sign November-Yankee-Uniform-Foxtrot. Commanding-officer table: LT Thomas M. Ward Jr. USN (Aug 1954-Jul 1955); LT D.E. Anderson USN (dates unlisted). Photos attributed to NHHC: NH 79689 (YMS-179, San Francisco Bay 1945-46) and NH 89226 (USS Cardinal AMS-4); one Javari (M 11) image.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1970
- Population
- Grebe construction workforce 1942-43; Navy-yard workforces at six documented availabilities; wartime and training crews 1943-1957; Brazilian crews 1960-1970
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive quoting official records (DANFS text, NVR, Navy photos) - corroborating source, not the official record itself. Documents chronology, machinery, and disposition, not materials or asbestos content. Spec figures conflict with the YMS-1 class spec and Wikipedia on displacement (405 t vs 320 t full vs 270 t), length (144' vs 136'), and complement (40 vs 33 vs 32) - carried in gaps. The transcribed narrative's 'U.S. 6th Fleet' phrasing for the August 1944 Dragoon order of battle is anachronistic (Sixth Fleet established 1950; the invasion naval command was Eighth Fleet/Western Naval Task Force) - quoted as source reads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-02
-
[3]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - Minecraft section, 'YMS -- Motor Minesweepers' group spec block and hull table (Patrick Clancey compilation of official data) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html - 'YMS -- Motor Minesweepers' spec block; hull table row YMS-179
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HyperWar's official-data compilation lists this hull in the YMS table (row: 'YMS-179 | 1942-5'). Class spec block for the type: 'The wood-hulled YMS proved to be one of the U.S. Navy's more durable and versatile types through a quarter-century of service... All 481 ships of this type had the same general characteristics' - displacement 320 tons (full), length 136', beam 24'6", draft 6'1", speed 13 knots, armament 1 3"/50, 2 20mm, 2 depth-charge tracks + extensions, 2 depth-charge projectors, complement 4 officers and 29 crew, diesel engines twin screws 500 h.p. Establishes the wooden hull and diesel machinery plant at class level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- YMS-class crews (class context); construction trades at 35 boatyards (era context)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary mirror of official data. The hull table row is ship-specific; the group spec block is class-level - the complement-33 and 320-ton figures are class spec, not a ship-specific source, and conflict with NavSource's 40/405-t block (carried in gaps). No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-03
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Yard Minesweepers YMS BYMS' - builder/yard production table + Chicago Maritime Museum Grebe yard profile [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm - YMS-179 row + program preamble; chicagomaritimemuseum.org/online-stories/henry-c-grebe
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Colton's YMS production table carries this hull's row: 'YMS 179 | Henry C. Grebe & Co. | Chicago IL | 136 | 320 | 14-Aug-43 | Reclassified 1947 as Cardinal (AMS 4), to Brazil 1960 as Javari (M 11), scrapped 1970' - corroborating builder, yard city, and the Brazil disposal chain, and dating a delivery event 14 August 1943 (vs NavSource's completed 31 July / commissioned 28 August). Program context from the same page: 'In the three-year period from the spring of 1942 through the spring of 1945, 35 boatyards turned out 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers. All were of essentially the same design - 136 feet long, with a speed of 13 knots.' The Chicago Maritime Museum documents the Grebe yard as a Chicago River wooden-yacht/small-craft yard that built 28 minesweepers, 4 tankers, and 21 tugboats for the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (construction program); 1942-1970 (hull life)
- Population
- Grebe construction trades (Chicago, 1942-43)
- Limitations
- Corroborating compiled sources, not the official record. Documents builder, production program, and wooden-hull design - no materials or asbestos content. Colton's date column (14-Aug-43) does not match NavSource's completed (31 Jul) or commissioned (28 Aug) dates - likely a delivery date; carried in gaps. Museum page is institutional context, not a primary record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-04
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - NavSource machinery line for this hull (2x 880-bhp GM 8-268A diesel, two shafts) + HyperWar/Colton documentation of the wood-hulled 136' class design + documented Navy-yard availability sequence for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- Consolidated - components cited in ev-02 (machinery, availabilities), ev-03 (class spec, wood hull), ev-04 (yard table)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper built 1942-43 at a small-craft yard: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-ship boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply to this hull (two GM 8-268A diesels, 14 knots), and the wooden hull removes the steel-hull insulation substrate typical of larger combatants. Plausible period asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing in the machinery plant, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and sweep-gear handling machinery. Documented asbestos-introduction opportunities aboard this hull are the Navy-yard availabilities: Norfolk Navy Yard (September 1943 final alterations; July 1944 distant-service preparation; recurring 1954-57 upkeep), New York Navy Yard (April 1944 and June-August 1945 repair periods), and the Boston Navy Yard inactivation (September-November 1957).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1970
- Population
- Grebe construction trades 1942-43; Navy-yard workforces 1943-1957; crews 1943-1970
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, work order, or survey exists in the located public record for this ship. Establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Whether era materials were installed aboard, and whether any persisted through the Brazilian decade to the 1970 scrapping, is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-05
-
[6]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 of this hull's 1942-43 Navy construction and wartime service - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding, including at Navy yards and contract yards of the type that built and later serviced her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- 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; does not name this vessel or type. Unlike batch-1418's civilian-built AM-67, this hull was built to a Navy design during the documented escalation, so the study bears on both her Grebe construction era and her Navy-yard availabilities - but establishes nothing about asbestos aboard, its quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-06
-
[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at two Navy yards and two Navy contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel yard work of the period in which this hull was altered, repaired, and prepared for distant service at Norfolk and New York Navy Yards (1943-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel or type, and whether Norfolk or New York Navy Yard was among the surveyed yards is unverified. The steam-pipe-covering category it documents is largely inapplicable to this wooden diesel minesweeper's machinery - the relevant hull pathway would be accommodation/machinery insulation and yard-applied materials, not steam lagging. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-07
-
[8]Batch-1728 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 19179; HyperWar minecraft YMS table; Colton yard table; Chicago Maritime Museum; authenticated CourtListener API v4 opinion + docket sweeps (all HTTP 200); NVR; VA BVA indexed check; MARAD ShipHistory indexed check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cardinal-ams4-01 through sl-uss-cardinal-ams4-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming YMS-179, USS Cardinal (AMS-4/MSC(O)-4), or Javari was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener sweeps were fully executed under authentication on 2026-09-23 (no throttle encountered): 'YMS-179' 0 opinions / 0 dockets; 'USS Cardinal' 0 opinions / 0 dockets; 'MSC(O)-4' 0; 'Cardinal minesweeper' 0; 'AMS-4' 16 opinion hits, all name collisions on unrelated content; 'Cardinal asbestos' 410 hits, top pages sampled - all entity collisions (Cardinal Health, Cardinal Industrial Insulation, Cardinal Spellman HS, Arizona Cardinals, etc.), none a vessel. VA BVA indexed-web check returned no decision naming the ship; NVR carries no per-hull entry (pre-1987 disposal exclusion); MARAD ShipHistory indexes only same-name Liberty ships (Cardinal Gibbons, Cardinal O'Connell) - the 1960 Brazil transfer was a Navy loan outside MARAD custody.
- 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 - a hull scrapped in Brazil in 1970 leaves no surveyable remnant and no museum disclosure trail; nothing here establishes presence, absence, quantity, exposure, or legal eligibility. Law-firm 'minesweeper asbestos' roster pages naming the YMS/AMS type exist but are an excluded source class - not evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-08
-
[9]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships - design/construction records for the 481-hull YMS program and any hull-level material schedules), RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments - Gulf Sea Frontier, Eastern Sea Frontier Northern Group, Eleventh Naval District, Boston Navy Yard inactivation file); NHHC photo catalog items NH 79689 and NH 89226 [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; NHHC photo numbers via NavSource 19179.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for YMS-179 (1943-45) and USS Cardinal AMS-4/MSC(O)-4 (1950-57) (RG 24, NARA) - would document operating areas, availabilities, and any in-service work; BuShips records for the YMS-1-class design and any hull-level material schedules or yard work orders (RG 19) - the most promising asbestos-relevant leads, since all 481 YMS hulls shared one Navy design; naval-district and yard records for her documented availabilities and the 1957 Boston inactivation (RG 181); and NHHC photo catalog items NH 79689 (YMS-179, San Francisco Bay 1945-46) and NH 89226 (USS Cardinal AMS-4), attributed by NavSource to NHHC.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1970 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cardinal-ams4-09