Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, Champion III (AM-314), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division (verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Champion III entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 12 December 1942 by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif.; commissioned 8 September 1943 (LCDR J. H. Howard, Jr., USNR). Pearl Harbor escort and convoy duty 1943-44 (San Francisco shuttle, Tarawa resupply convoys, Kwajalein screen, Saipan minesweeping); Iwo Jima 16 February-7 March 1945 including a Saipan escort run 21 February-4 March; Kerama Retto/Okinawa minesweeping and screening 24 March-19 June 1945; suicide plane crashed close aboard 16 April 1945, slightly damaging the ship and wounding four; Seattle overhaul from 20 July 1945 through war's end. Occupation duty: sailed from San Pedro early December 1945, arrived Sasebo 1 February 1946, swept mines and patrolled Tsushima Strait until 6 December 1946. Decommissioned and placed in reserve at San Diego 30 January 1947; reclassified MSF-314. Three WWII battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock construction trades 1942-43; wartime crew (design complement 106)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription carries internal errors: it prints '(AM-134)' for AM-314, '16 February 1946' for the Iwo Jima arrival (correct year 1945 - the 3-day pre-invasion bombardment began 16 February 1945), '4 December 1946' for the San Pedro departure (internally inconsistent with arrival '1 February 1946'; correct year 1945), and 'MSF-314 7 February 1966' (correct 1955 per NavSource, uboat.net, NavalCoverMuseum and the class-wide reclassification). Corrected dates are carried and the errors are logged in gaps. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-22 - standing Batch-01 link-rot defect; mirror cited. Does not name the Seattle overhaul yard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, USS Champion (MSF-314) ex-AM-314 ex-HMS Akbar (BAM-1) - hull chronology, specifications, commanding-officer roster, photograph archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource archive page 11/02314, chronology + specifications blocks; ARM Mariano Escobedo photo entries (Manzanillo, c. 2010-2011)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hull-specific record: laid down 6 July 1942 as HMS Akbar (BAM-1) by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co., Alameda, CA (a Lend-Lease hull retained by the USN); launched 12 December 1942; renamed and reclassified Champion (AM-314) 23 January 1943; commissioned 8 September 1943; decommissioned and placed in reserve 30 January 1947 at San Diego; reclassified Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull) MSF-314 on 7 February 1955; struck from the Navy Register 1 July 1972; transferred to Mexico 19 September 1972. Hull-specific propulsion: two 1,498-shp Baldwin VO8 diesel-electric drive engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. Specifications: 890 t, 221'2" x 32'2" x 10'9", 18.1 kt, complement 105; one 3"/50 DP mount, two twin 40mm, two 20mm, two depth-charge tracks, five depth-charge projectors. Photographs document the ship in Mexican service at Manzanillo c. 2010-2011.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-2011
- Population
- USN crew 1943-47 (complement ~105-106); Mexican Navy crew post-1972
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive aggregating official data (DANFS, NVR) with photograph documentation; the construction/registration dates agree with DANFS and uboat.net. NavSource spells the Mexican name 'Escobar' (correct: Escobedo) and states 'currently in service at Manzanillo' - a status snapshot supported by its c. 2010-2011 photographs, not a current-status certification. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-02
-
[3]NavSource hull specification block (diesel-electric plant) + era construction practice for USN small combatants; builder documented under Navy contract NObs-344 (City of Alameda HRE, 2017) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02314 propulsion line; City of Alameda Alameda Marina Historic Resources Evaluation (2017) - General Engineering & Dry Dock site history
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/type inference: a U.S. Navy diesel-electric minesweeper built 1942-43 under contract at a California yard would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - diesel exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, bulkhead/joiner panels, and brake linings on winch and minesweep machinery. The Auk-class plant was diesel-electric (for this hull, twin Baldwin VO8 drives), so the steam-ship boiler/turbine insulation inventory does not apply; expected asbestos mass aboard is correspondingly smaller than on a steam combatant of the same era but not zero. NARA RG 19 General Information Books hold per-vessel material specifications and are the archival lead for hull-level confirmation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1972 (USN era)
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock construction trades 1942-43; USN crew 1943-47; Mexican Navy crew and yard workers post-1972
- Limitations
- Class/era and construction-type inference only - no primary source names asbestos aboard this hull. No asbestos survey, ship's material list, or specification document for AM-314 was located. Mexican-era re-engining and modification (reported EMD 3516B diesels, helicopter deck) may have removed original machinery-space materials; undocumented either way. NARA GIB retrieval not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-03
-
[4]City of Alameda, Alameda Marina Historic Resources Evaluation (2017) + California Military Department, 'Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard Alameda' history (militarymuseum.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- City of Alameda HRE pp. history section (Barnes & Tibbitts / General Engineering / 1940 rebuild / 1948 closure); militarymuseum.org NIRS Alameda (contract NObs-344)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: the General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. yard at 1725-2025 Clement Avenue, Alameda (origins as the 1917 Barnes & Tibbitts shipyard; renamed 1922) was rebuilt in 1940 with U.S. Maritime Commission assistance and built small warships for the Navy under contract NObs-344, principally minesweepers and net-laying ships; it formed part of the Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard Alameda complex (with the adjacent Navy-owned Pacific Bridge Co. repair parcel). The yard closed in 1948; the site is now Alameda Marina. This is the yard that built AM-314 per DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1917-1948
- Population
- Shipyard construction and repair workforce, Alameda, 1940-48
- Limitations
- Documents the builder yard and its WWII Navy contract role - it does not name this hull and contains no asbestos or material-content information. General Engineering & Dry Dock is not represented in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset (37 yards); carried in gaps. The GE&DD site is distinct from the NAS Alameda/Alameda Point Superfund site at the west end of the island and from Todd Shipyards' Alameda facility - do not conflate.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-04
-
[5]NavSource transfer/striking chronology + Mexican-service photographs; es.wikipedia ARM Escobedo (PO-103) for Mexican-era modifications (secondary) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02314 chronology + photo section; es.wikipedia 'ARM Escobedo (PO-103)' (secondary lead only)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-USN disposition: struck from the Navy Register 1 July 1972; transferred to Mexico 19 September 1972 as ARM Mariano Escobedo (pennants C72, then G03, then P103/PO-103). NavSource photographs place her in Mexican service at Manzanillo c. 2010-2011, moored alongside sister ARM Manuel Doblado (P104, ex-USS Defense AM-317). Secondary sources report the Mexican Navy re-engined the ship (two EMD 3516B diesels) and added an aft helicopter deck for Bo-105 operations - major machinery-space work whose effect on original-era materials is undocumented.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1972-2011 (documented); reported into 2020s
- Population
- Mexican Navy crew; Mexican Navy yard workers (re-engining, flight-deck modification)
- Limitations
- Transfer and striking dates agree across NavSource, uboat.net, and NavalCoverMuseum. Mexican-era modification details (re-engining, helicopter deck, P103 assignment year - 1993 vs 2003 in conflicting secondary sources) rest on secondary reporting, not primary documentation; verification_status partial for that reason. Current operational status unverified in official sources - 'active' claims are dated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-05
-
[6]Batch-1285 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; NavSource; CourtListener API v4; web-level litigation and BVA sweeps; City of Alameda HRE; NIRS Alameda history; Mexican disposition sources [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-champion-am314-01 through sl-uss-champion-am314-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, docketed asbestos litigation, or VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision naming USS Champion AM-314/MSF-314 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only web-level 'USS Champion AM-314' asbestos hit is a law-firm marketing page listing the hull in a minesweeper table - a banned source category, excluded. The hull survives in Mexican service, so no U.S. disposal/scrapping hazmat documentation exists.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era inference (ev-03) stands separately. Material limitation on this negative finding: the CourtListener API was quota-blocked at research time (authenticated request returned HTTP 429, daily cap exhausted, ~9.7h reset), so the litigation sweep was performed at web level only (general search + site:courtlistener.com + site:va.gov); a full-text RECAP/docket re-run is pending and logged in the ledger. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-06
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[7]NARA RG 19 General Information Books / Booklet of General Plans for AM-314; NARA deck logs; Seattle overhaul records (yard unnamed in DANFS); Mexican Navy (SEMAR) refit records for Mariano Escobedo [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) GIB series; NARA deck-log holdings; SEMAR historical archive
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not retrieved: NARA RG 19 General Information Books and the Booklet of General Plans for AM-314 would hold hull-level material specifications; NARA deck logs and Bureau of Ships repair records would identify the 1945 Seattle overhaul yard and any documented material work; SEMAR records would document the Mexican re-engining and flight-deck modifications that bear on whether original-era materials were removed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-present (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Leads only - no retrieval performed. Nothing here is evidence of asbestos aboard this hull; the records may confirm, narrow, or fail to address the era-inference product list.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-champion-am314-07