Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Chatterer' entry (verbatim transcription via hazegray.org DANFS mirror, Wayback capture 2024-06-20; live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray.org/danfs/mine/amc16.htm full entry (Wayback 20240620113706)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS 'Chatterer' entry (complete): 'The first Chatterer (AMc-16), formerly Sea Breeze, was acquired by the Navy and placed in service on 20 November 1940. Following conversion she was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier Force and later to the 12th Naval District. Placed out of service on 12 September 1944, she was stricken from the Navy Register on 14 October of that year.' The entry carries no stat line - no displacement, dimensions, complement, or armament figures are published for this hull in DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940-1944
- Population
- Ship's crew and personnel serving aboard 1940-1944 (complement figure not published)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, acquisition, in-service status, conversion (site not stated), district assignments, out-of-service and striking dates - contains no asbestos or materials information and no stat line. Live history.navy.mil DANFS URLs for Chatterer I 404 (chatterer.html and chatterer-i.html, both checked 2026-09-22); verbatim text cited via Wayback capture of the hazegray transcription, same standing defect as Batch-01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-01
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command online photo catalog, record 19-N-24070 (USS Chatterer AMc-16) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC photo page 19-N-24070, caption field (Wayback capture 2025-03-04 verified)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC photo catalog record 19-N-24070: 'USS CHATTERER (AMc-16). Caption: Off Mare Island, California, on 1 April 1941.' Bureau of Ships (19-N) series photograph, copyright owner National Archives - documents the ship operating in Mare Island/12th Naval District waters four and a half months into her Navy service, during or shortly after her conversion period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941
- Population
- Crew aboard at time of photograph (1941-04-01)
- Limitations
- Documents the vessel's presence off Mare Island on 1941-04-01 - it does not state where her minesweeper conversion was performed, and a BuShips photo location is not proof of a yard availability aboard this hull. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-02
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List No. 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' (by ship number) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List #44, ship-number sequence: 'AMC-16 (Chatterer) 1/1/1941 8/1/1944'; digitized-log index at archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (no Chatterer entry for either hull)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA Special List No. 44 (official inventory of U.S. Navy deck-log holdings) lists 'AMC-16 (Chatterer)' with log coverage 1/1/1941 - 8/1/1944, essentially her entire Navy period from six weeks after going in service to six weeks before going out. The logs sit in Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' (NAID 594258). Neither AMc-16 nor the later Chatterer (AMS-40) appears in NARA's published digitized deck-log index - the logs are not digitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-01-01 to 1944-08-01 (coverage)
- Limitations
- Confirms primary deck-log coverage exists for essentially the full service period but is not digitized - contents unexamined; the logs are the leading ship-specific lead for the undocumented conversion site, yard availabilities, and any repair/materials entries bearing on asbestos. Log contents themselves not yet reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-03
-
[4]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data Book 1945, vol. 2 (mine vessels), scanned original via shipscribe.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2: coastal minesweeper (AMc) roster line 'AMc16 CHATTERER (returned)'; 'Stricken from the Navy List' section, p.255, 'CHATTERER AMc16 ... 14 Oct 44'; index entry p.255
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data Book, U.S. Naval Vessels (1945 edition, minecraft volume): the coastal-minesweeper roster lists 'AMc16 CHATTERER (returned)' - her disposition back to owner/Maritime Commission hands - and the 'Stricken from the Navy List' section independently records 'CHATTERER, AMc16, Mine sweeper, coastal, 14 Oct 44', corroborating the DANFS striking date to the day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous BuShips record corroborating type, striking date, and '(returned)' disposition - it does not identify the return mechanism (WSA transfer vs. direct) or date, and contains no materials or asbestos information. The '(returned)' notation is consistent with return to the pre-war owner rather than generic MARAD disposal, but does not say so explicitly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-04
-
[5]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Chatterer (AMc 16)' vessel page (secondary compilation from official and contributed records; Wayback capture 2024-05-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AMc-16 page, specifications block and service-history bullets
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary compilation (NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Chatterer (AMc 16)' page): call sign November-Easy-Nan-Fox; built 1936 as Sea Breeze by the Harbor Boat Building Company, Terminal Island, CA, for Sea Breeze of Terminal Island; acquired by the Navy 1 November 1940; placed in service as USS Chatterer (AMc 16) 20 November 1940; placed out of service 12 September 1944; struck from the Naval Register 14 October 1944; transferred to the War Shipping Administration May 1945; acquired 1945 by Krist Gradis of San Pedro for use as a fishing boat and renamed Sea Breeze; acquired 1946 by Eugene N. Banich of San Pedro; acquired 1949 by Katherine Marevich of Fontana, CA; renamed Southland 13 March 1951; foundered 24 September 1960 about 15 miles from Anacapa Island, CA. Specifications: length 83 ft; propulsion one diesel, one shaft.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1936-1960
- Population
- Crew and any conversion-yard personnel (1940-1944); post-1945 fishing crews
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - the build identity, the 1940-11-01 acquisition date (DANFS records acquisition and in-service together on 1940-11-20 - conflict carried in gaps), the May 1945 WSA transfer date, the full post-Navy ownership chain, the 1951 renaming, and the 1960 foundering all rest on this source alone; not confirmed against primary records. The diesel/single-shaft propulsion is plausible for the type and consistent with the wooden purse-seiner conversion but is not DANFS-verified. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-05
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com, Harbor Boat Building (Terminal Island, CA) build table and yard history; shipbuildinghistory coastal-minesweeper table (minesweepers2) - specialist compilations of merchant-vessel registry and Navy data [other_primary]
- Locator
- Harbor Boat Building yard table, row for O.N. 234328 Sea Breeze (hull 54); coastal minesweeper table row 'AMc-16 Chatterer ... to MARAD 1946'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specialist build-table documentation (shipbuildinghistory.com Harbor Boat Building yard table, Terminal Island CA): yard hull no. 54, official number 234328, Sea Breeze, purse seiner, 83 ft, built 1936, 'To USN 1940 as Chatterer (AMc 16), returned 1945.' The same table's yard history records Harbor Boat Building Company founded by Romolo Rados in 1919; post-WWII it traded as Harco, was sold to LTV in 1959 and Omega-Alpha, Inc. in 1971, and closed in the 1970s. A second specialist minecraft table lists AMc-16 Chatterer at 83 ft, 152 tons, 1936, ex-Sea Breeze, 'to MARAD 1946.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1919-1970s (yard); 1936 (build); 1945-1946 (disposal)
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1936) - undocumented individuals
- Limitations
- Specialist compilation, not an official record - the official number, yard hull number, and tonnage (152) are registry-level details not confirmed against primary sources; 'returned 1945' vs. the minecraft table's 'to MARAD 1946' and NavSource's 'WSA May 1945' are unresolved variants carried in gaps. Yard history supports builder identification only. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-06
-
[7]DANFS, 'Chatterer II (AMS-40)' entry (live NHHC page, verified 2026-09-22); NavSource 'Chatterer (MSC[O] 40)' page for post-1947 detail [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS-II page (Wayback capture 2025-12-14 also verified); navsource.org/archives/11/05040.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Name-collision disambiguation: a second USS Chatterer exists. DANFS 'Chatterer II (AMS-40)' entry (live NHHC page): 'YMS-415 (q.v.) was named and reclassified Chatterer (AMS-40) on 11 March 1947.' Secondary compilations add that YMS-415 was built at Stadium Yacht Basin, Cleveland, OH (commissioned 1944-10-01), was reclassified MSC(O)-40, transferred to Japan in 1955 as Yurishima (MSC-661), and scrapped 1968. The two hulls share only the name - AMc-16 served 1940-1944 and was gone from the Navy list before AMS-40 was named.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1947-1968 (second hull)
- Limitations
- Documents a different hull entirely - carried only to prevent conflation of AMc-16 with the later YMS-415/AMS-40/MSC(O)-40 in searches, deck-log indexes, and any litigation or archival hits naming 'Chatterer.' Establishes nothing about AMc-16 itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-07
-
[8]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, and that federal wartime policy reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding - the era and program under which this 1936-built fishing vessel was acquired and converted to a coastal minesweeper in 1940-41. For a small diesel-driven auxiliary, era-consistent asbestos applications would have been confined to machinery gaskets and packing, possible exhaust lagging, electrical insulation, and friction materials rather than the boiler/steam-line thermal insulation of steam vessels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers (1940-41, yard undocumented) and crew (class context)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level scholarship; does not name this vessel or vessel type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The article's emphasis is steam-driven production shipbuilding; application to a converted diesel purse seiner is weaker still. Absence of a steam plant narrows but does not eliminate era-typical asbestos pathways.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-08
-
[9]Batch-1507 search ledger (this record): hazegray/Wayback DANFS; NHHC photo catalog and DANFS-II; NARA SL-44 and digitized-log index; SDB 1945; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com; shipyards.json cross-check; CourtListener API v4 (throttled) + site-restricted web search fallback [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chatterer-amc16-01 through sl-uss-chatterer-amc16-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS Chatterer, AMc-16, Sea Breeze (O.N. 234328), or Southland was found in the authoritative sources searched (DANFS full entry; NHHC photo catalog; NARA Special List 44 and digitized-log index; BuShips Ships' Data Book 1945; NavSource; yard compilations; site-restricted CourtListener/web search). CourtListener's authenticated API v4 was rate-limited at time of search (shared-key daily cap consumed by other batch activity) - the full opinion-index sweep is pending and carried as a ledger gap.
- 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 - a wooden-hulled diesel auxiliary could still have carried era gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, electrical insulation, and friction materials installed during the 1940-41 naval conversion or wartime upkeep. The undigitized NARA deck logs (1941-1944) and any surviving conversion-yard or 12th Naval District records are the open ship-specific leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-amc16-09