Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]DANFS, 'Chatterer II (AMS-40)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim via Wayback capture 20211203020215 - live NHHC page serves 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Chatterer II (AMS-40)' entry - namesake line + one-line stub (Wayback capture 2021-12-03; published 2015-06-30 per page metadata)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull is a one-line stub under 'Chatterer II (AMS-40)': 'YMS-415 (q.v.) was named and reclassified Chatterer (AMS-40) on 11 March 1947.' The stub confirms the naming and reclassification of this hull and dates both to a single event, 11 March 1947. The fuller DANFS-derived service narrative for the hull ('a 272-ton auxiliary motor minesweeper, built at Cleveland, Ohio... operations off Okinawa in June 1945... mine clearance efforts in the vicinity of Japan... Korean War minefield clearance...') is carried on the NHHC Online Library photo page for the ship (ev-03) and transcribed on the NavSource file (ev-02); koreanwar.org attributes the identical text to DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-1945; postwar/Korean War crews 1947-1955
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, naming, and designations - not materials or asbestos content. The Chatterer II entry is a stub; the underlying YMS-415 narrative reaches this record through the NHC Online Library photo page and NavSource's verbatim transcription, not a directly located NHHC YMS-415 page (no live page or Wayback capture exists for danfs/y/yms-415.html; the hazegray 'yms415.htm' mirror contains only this same stub text). The stub's single 11 March 1947 date conflicts with the NHC narrative's 'February 1947' reclassification wording - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Chatterer (MSC[O] 40) ex-Chatterer (AMS 40) ex-YMS-415, file 11/05040 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 05040.htm - chronology block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource file for this hull carries the full chronology: laid down as YMS-415 5 October 1943 by the Stadium Yacht Basin Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; launched 15 April 1944; completed and commissioned USS YMS-415 1 October 1944; Pacific assignment with operations off Okinawa June 1945; post-surrender mine clearance in the vicinity of Japan; named Chatterer and reclassified motor minesweeper AMS-40 11 March 1947; stationed in Japan at the Korean War's June 1950 outset and joined minefield-clearance efforts in the combat zone; retained in the Western Pacific post-conflict; reclassified coastal minesweeper (old) MSC(O)-40 7 February 1955; transferred to Japan 16 April 1955 as Yurishima (MSC 661), JMSDF; returned to the U.S. Navy 1967; sold for scrap 1 May 1968. Spec block: 270 t., 136' x 24'6" x 8', 15 kts., complement 32, one 3"/50 DP mount + two 20mm mounts + two depth-charge projectors, two 800-bhp GM 8-268A diesels with 'Snow and Knobstedt' single reduction gear, two shafts; call sign November-Papa-Uniform-Whiskey. Commanding-officer table: LT Sam Howard Moore USN (Oct 1944-Dec 1945; retired RADM); LTJG James David O'Shaughnessy (Apr 1950); LTJG Ernest Staveley (Apr-Jun 1950); LTJG James Patrick McMahon (Jun 1950-31 May 1951); LT Samuel Lorenz Jr. (31 May 1951-Jun 1952); LT James Edgar Odom Jr. (Jun-Dec 1952); LTJG Francis Joseph Beitzer (Dec 1952); LT Ralph A. Castle (1954-16 Apr 1955); LTJG Bruce Goodwin Stone (Jun 1955). Photo table attributes NH 79712 (YMS-415, San Francisco Bay c.1945-46) to the Naval Historical Center and NARA photos 19-N-67889/67890 (fitting out, Stadium Yacht Basin, 10 Jul 1944), 80-G-422081, 80-G-424597, and 80-G-632291.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1968
- Population
- Stadium Yacht Basin construction workforce 1943-44; wartime and Korean War crews 1944-1955; JMSDF crews 1955-1967
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive quoting official records (DANFS text, NVR/NHC photos) - corroborating source, not the official record itself. Documents chronology, machinery, command, and disposition, not materials or asbestos content. Spec figures conflict with the YMS-1 class spec on displacement (270 t vs 320 t full), draft (8' vs 6'1"), speed (15 vs 13 kts), complement (32 vs 4 officers + 29 crew), and engine rating (800 bhp vs 500 h.p.) - carried in gaps. 'Snow and Knobstedt' is a NavSource spelling variant of the Snow-Nabstedt gear. The 1 May 1968 scrap-sale date conflicts with the NHC narrative's September 1969 - carried in gaps. LTJG Stone's June 1955 entry postdates the Japan transfer - likely a nominal/delivery entry, unexplained.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-02
-
[3]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - 'USS Chatterer (AMS-40, later MSC(O)-40), 1944-1955, originally named YMS-415' (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror of the history.navy.mil photo page, dated 31 August 1999) + complete caption for photo 80-G-422081 + 'Korean War - Wonsan Mine Clearance, October-November 1950' event page (wonsn-2.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-c/ams40.htm ; /photos/images/g420000/g422081c.htm (complete caption) ; /photos/events/kowar/50-unof/wonsn-2.htm (Wonsan operation)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHC Online Library page carries the ship's narrative ('a 272-ton auxiliary motor minesweeper, was built at Cleveland, Ohio... operations off Okinawa in June 1945... mine clearance efforts in the vicinity of Japan... redesignated a motor minesweeper (AMS) in February 1947 and renamed Chatterer (AMS-40)... Korean War minefield clearance... retained in the Western Pacific... MSC(O)-40 in February 1955... loaned to Japan the following April and renamed Yurishima... Returned to the U.S. Navy in 1967, she was sold for scrapping in September 1969') plus five official-photo captions naming or depicting this hull: NH 79712 (YMS-415 in San Francisco Bay, c.1945); 80-G-424597 (four MinDiv 31 AMS - Merganser AMS-26, Osprey AMS-28, Chatterer AMS-40, Mockingbird AMS-27 - tied up at Yokosuka 30 November 1950 following mine clearance off Korea); 80-G-632291 (USS Laertes AR-20 at Sasebo 8 October 1952 with nine minesweepers nested alongside incl. Chatterer); 80-G-422081 (Mine Division Thirty-One COs in conference off Korea 26 October 1950, probably in USS Incredible AM-249's wardroom off Wonsan - the complete caption names LTJG James P. McMahon, CO of USS Chatterer); 19-N-67890 and 19-N-67889 (YMS-415 fitting out at the Stadium Yacht Basin, Cleveland, 10 July 1944, Bureau of Ships Collection, U.S. National Archives). The companion NHC Online Library event page 'Korean War - Wonsan Mine Clearance, October-November 1950' documents the operation in which MinDiv 31 was engaged per the photo captions: clearance began 10 October 1950, and USS Pirate (AM-275) and USS Pledge (AM-277) struck mines and sank 12 October with the Wonsan shore batteries firing on survivors; a sister series photo (80-G-443316) shows ROK YMS-516 sinking 18 October, photographed from Chatterer's division mate USS Merganser (AMS-26).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1969
- Population
- Wartime crew 1944-45 (Okinawa, Japan mine clearance); Korean War crew 1950-53 (MinDiv 31, Wonsan/Yokosuka/Sasebo)
- Limitations
- Official Navy historical content (Naval Historical Center, now NHHC) mirrored on ibiblio/HyperWar - the original host page is from 1999; the live NHHC equivalent was not located. Documents service events and unit assignment through photo captions - not materials or asbestos content. The 'February 1947' reclassification and 'September 1969' scrap-sale dates conflict with DANFS/NavSource (11 March 1947; 1 May 1968) - carried in gaps. '272-ton' displacement figure conflicts with NavSource's 270 t and the 320-t class spec - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-03
-
[4]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-415
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HyperWar's official-data compilation lists this hull in the YMS table (row: 'YMS-415 | 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.; YMS-135 through YMS-445 (this hull's range) were the single-stack group. Establishes the wooden hull and diesel machinery plant at class level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 320-ton, 13-knot, 33-complement, 500-hp figures are class spec, not a ship-specific source, and conflict with NavSource's per-hull block (270 t, 15 kts, 32, 800 bhp) - carried in gaps. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-04
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Yard Minesweepers YMS BYMS' production table + 'Stadium Yacht Basin' yard page (shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/stadium.htm) + Cleveland Historical Stadium Yacht Basin/Rocky River Dry Dock entries + uboat.net Allied Warships YMS-415 entry (ship 9835) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm - YMS-415 row + program preamble; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/stadium.htm; clevelandhistorical.org Stadium Yacht Basin entry; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9835.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Colton's YMS production table carries this hull's row: 'YMS 415 | Stadium Yacht Basin | Cleveland OH | 136 | 320 | 1-Oct-44 | Reclassified 1947 as Chatterer (AMS 40), to Japan 1955 as Yurishima (MSC 661), scrapped 1969' - corroborating builder, yard city, dimensions, and the Japan disposal chain, and reading a 1-Oct-44 delivery/commissioning event. 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 Mk. II single-stack group covers YMS 135-445. The yard page documents 'Stadium Boat Works was started as Stadium Yacht Basin around 1935 and closed in 1957. The yard was at the foot of West 3rd Street, by the Cleveland Browns Stadium.' Cleveland Historical credits founder Theodore R. Zickes with a Navy commission for 26 minesweepers in WWII. uboat.net's YMS-415 entry corroborates the date sequence and adds an order date of 21 July 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1969 (program and hull life)
- Population
- Stadium Yacht Basin construction trades (Cleveland, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Corroborating compiled sources, not the official record. Documents builder, production program, and wooden-hull design - no materials or asbestos content. Colton's 1-Oct-44 date column reads as delivery for most rows; here it coincides with NavSource's commissioning date. Colton's 'scrapped 1969' matches the NHC narrative's September 1969 but conflicts with NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum's 1 May 1968 sale date - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-05
-
[6]Consolidated era/design inference - NavSource machinery line for this hull (2x 800-bhp GM 8-268A diesel, single reduction gear, two shafts) + HyperWar/Colton documentation of the wood-hulled 136' class design + the located record's service pattern (no documented stateside Navy-yard availabilities; Pacific/Japan-based career) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Consolidated - components cited in ev-02 (machinery, chronology), ev-04 (class spec, wood hull), ev-05 (yard table)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper built 1943-44 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), 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 limited to her original 1943-44 Navy-contract construction at Stadium Yacht Basin and undocumented maintenance during her Japan-based decade (Yokosuka/Sasebo fleet-activity support infrastructure) - unlike batch-1728's Cardinal, no stateside Navy-yard availability appears in the located record.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Stadium Yacht Basin construction trades 1943-44; crews 1944-1967; scrapping workforce 1968/69
- 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 twelve years of JMSDF service to the 1968/69 scrapping, is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-06
-
[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 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 1943-44 Navy-contract construction at Stadium Yacht Basin - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding, including at contract yards of the type that built her.
- 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 (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or type. The study bears on her construction era at a wartime contract boatyard but establishes nothing about asbestos aboard, its quantity, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-07
-
[8]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 construction of the period in which this hull was built (1943-44) at a Navy contract boatyard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 Stadium Yacht Basin was among the surveyed contract 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 machinery/accommodation 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-chatterer-ams40-08
-
[9]Batch-1729 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NHC Online Library photo page via ibiblio; NavSource 05040; HyperWar minecraft YMS table; Colton yard table + Stadium yard page; Cleveland Historical; uboat.net; NavalCoverMuseum; 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-chatterer-ams40-01 through sl-uss-chatterer-ams40-15
- 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-415, USS Chatterer (AMS-40/MSC(O)-40), or JDS Yurishima was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener sweeps were fully executed under authentication on 2026-09-24: 'YMS-415' 72 opinion hits (all collisions - Texas criminal appeals and unrelated strings) + 6,088 fuzzy docket hits (collisions); 'USS Chatterer' 2 opinion hits (United States v. Farhane / United States v. Sabir, 2d Cir. 2011 - 'chatterer' as a word in a terrorism wiretap prosecution) + 183 fuzzy docket hits (collisions); 'AMS-40' 290,011 opinion hits (pure tokenizer noise); 'Chatterer minesweeper' 0; 'Chatterer asbestos' 11 opinion hits (word/surname collisions); 'Chatterer' 4,130 docket hits (surname collisions - Chatter, Chatters); 'MSC(O)-40' 3,687 docket hits (MSC Cruises / Mediterranean Shipping Co. collisions); 'Yurishima' 0. VA BVA indexed-web check returned no decision naming the ship; NVR carries no per-hull entry (the register excludes pre-1987 disposals; she was sold 1968/69); MARAD ShipHistory indexes no record (the 1955 Japan transfer was a Navy loan outside MARAD custody).
- 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 hull transferred to the JMSDF for twelve years and then scrapped 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. CourtListener docket search is fuzzy-match, so per-hull absence is inferred from hit composition, not a literal zero.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chatterer-ams40-09
-
[10]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; BuShips photo items 19-N-67889/67890 already document this hull's construction), RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 313 (Records of Naval Operating Forces - Mine Division 31 war diaries, Sasebo/Yokosuka base records); NHHC photo catalog items NH 79712, 80-G-422081, 80-G-424597, 80-G-632291 [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html ; /groups/313.html ; photo numbers via NHC Online Library ams40.htm and NavSource 05040.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for YMS-415 (1944-45) and USS Chatterer AMS-40/MSC(O)-40 (1947-55) (RG 24, NARA) - would document operating areas and any availabilities; 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, and the BuShips collection demonstrably covers this hull (construction photos 19-N-67889/67890); naval-district and shore-establishment records (RG 181) plus operating-forces records (RG 313 - Mine Division 31 war diaries, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo/Yokosuka) for her Japan-based decade; and NHHC/NARA photo items NH 79712, 80-G-422081, 80-G-424597, 80-G-632291, 19-N-67889, 19-N-67890.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1969 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-chatterer-ams40-10