Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 1087-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-chestnut-yn6-pkt-1087-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Chestnut (YN-6) - construction, sponsor, in-service date, full 1941-46 service narrative (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (verbatim scope): namesake 'A tree of the beech family.' 'Chestnut (YN-6) was launched 15 March 1941 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. W. E. Meagher, and placed in service 25 July 1941, Lieutenant (junior grade) R. D. Abernathy, USNR, officer-in-charge.' Attached to the 11th Naval District she tended nets and gave other harbor services at San Diego until 24 June 1942; 'On 25 May 1942 she was placed in full commission' and Lt. A. Schlott, USNR, her officer-in-charge, became commanding officer. Via Hawaii and Samoa she arrived Efate, New Hebrides, 26 February 1943; tended nets there and at Noumea until 5 December 1943 except for an overhaul at Dunedin, New Zealand; arrived in the Solomons 13 December and had cargo, salvage and net-repair duty until 29 August 1944; redesignated AN-11, 20 January 1944. From 3 September to 10 October 1944 she dismantled and removed the net line in Havannah Harbor, Efate; after repairs in Australia she returned to Noumea until 3 January 1945; then Ulithi net and mooring operations, brief duty at the Kossol Roads, Palau seaplane base in April, Guam from 21 June to 14 September; arrived San Pedro, Calif., 13 October; 'placed out of commission in reserve 7 September 1946 at Bremerton, Wash.' Spec block: YN-6: dp. 560; l. 163'2"; b. 30'6"; dr. 11'8"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 48; a. 1 3"; cl. Aloe.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1940-41); crew (1941-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The DANFS entry ends at decommissioning - reserve-fleet custody, stricken date, and disposal come from other rows. DANFS gives no keel/laid-down date and does not reconcile its own 25 May 1942 full-commission date with the 'until 24 June 1942' San Diego wording.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Chestnut (AN-11) ex-YN-6 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding-officer list, crew-donated photography (live page verified 2026-10-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/18/18011.htm header timeline block, specifications block, awards bar, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 24 October 1940 as Yard Net Tender (YN-6) at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 16 March 1941; placed in service as Chestnut (YN-6) 26 July 1941, LTjg. R. D. Abernathy, USNR, officer-in-charge; commissioned USS Chestnut (YN-6) 25 June 1942, LT. A. Schlott, USNR, in command; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; redesignated Net Layer (AN-11) 20 January 1944; decommissioned 7 September 1946 at Bremerton, WA; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA; final disposition fate unknown. Specifications: 700 t. (fl) / 805 t. (lim); 162'2" length; 30'6" beam; 11'8" draft (lim); 12.5 kts (trial); 4 officers + 44 enlisted; one single 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two .50-cal machine guns, one y-gun; boom capacity 12 t.; fuel 665 bbls diesel; one Enterprise DSG-6 diesel-electric engine, single Westinghouse main reduction gears, two diesel-drive 60 kW 120 V D.C. ship's-service generators, single propeller, 800 shp. Radio call sign NAZM. Awards shown: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Nine-officer commanding-officer roster 26 Jul 1941 - 7 Sep 1946. Underway and in-port photographs 1945-46 credited to Paul T. Cedergren, GM3, USS Chestnut.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Population
- CIW construction trades (1940-41); crew (1941-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its keel (24 Oct 1940), launch (16 Mar 1941), in-service (26 Jul 1941), and commissioning (25 Jun 1942) dates all conflict with DANFS/shipscribe (see gaps). Its 'struck: date unknown' is superseded by shipscribe's 1 Sep 1962. Contains no asbestos content; photographs establish appearance and configuration only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Aloe (AN-6) class page - construction and disposition tables compiled from official Navy records, class notes, and ship note for AN-11 (live page verified 2026-10-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/AN/AN06.html construction table row AN-11, disposition table row AN-11, ship note AN-11, class notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Construction table for CHESTNUT (AN-11): ordered 27 Jul 1940; builder Commercial Iron Works; keel 5 Nov 1940; launch 15 Mar 1941; in service 25 Jul 1941. Disposition table: decommissioned 7 Sep 1946; struck 1 Sep 1962; disposal 1 Sep 1962; fate MA/R; MA sale 3 Feb 1976. Ship note: 'Ex YN-6 20 Jan 44. Comm. 25 May 42. In USN reserve 1946-61. To NDRF 8 Jun 61. To buyer 27 Feb 76.' Class notes: FY 1941 steel-hulled net tenders derived from the British HMS Barrier-type boom-defense design forwarded by the Bureau of Construction and Repair 28 Nov 1939; final characteristics (700 t. full load, 146 ft. wl) approved by the Secretary of the Navy 9 Mar 1940; CNO directed construction of 32 net tenders (YN 1-32) on 3 Jul 1940 under the 159 district-craft program approved by Congress 26 Jun 1940; the General Board specified a 1,000 SHP diesel-electric plant with two electric units on one propeller so either unit could power the large deck winches for net and mooring work - as fitted, the plant was rated 800 SHP; all 32 vessels initially placed in service (uncommissioned), most placed in full commission May-December 1942; all reclassified AN effective 20 Jan 1944. Original armament 1-3"/23; 1-3"/50 from Apr 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Population
- CIW construction trades (1940-41); crew (1941-46); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-61); NDRF custody (1961-76); unknown buyer/scrappers (1976)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Stephen S. Roberts) built from official BuShips/NavSea sources - treated as authoritative for custody dates but not a primary document itself. Conflicts with NavSource on keel (5 Nov vs 24 Oct 1940), launch (15 vs 16 Mar 1941), and commission (25 May vs 25 Jun 1942) dates - shipscribe/DANFS dates carried; conflicts logged in gaps. The 'to NDRF 8 Jun 61' custody move precedes the formal 1 Sep 1962 strike/disposal - custody-transfer sequence as tabulated, not further decomposed. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-03
-
[5]NARA Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (RG 24, Entry 118, NAID 581208); ship-number PDF and by-name HTML list [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf entry 'YN-6 (Chestnut)'; special-list-44-named.html entries 'Chestnut (YN-6, AN-11)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's deck-log inventory lists three logbook runs for this hull: 'YN-6 (Chestnut) 7/25/1941 - 5/25/1942' (ship-number list); 'Chestnut (YN-6, AN-11) 5/25/1942 - 4/30/1944' and 'Chestnut (YN-6, AN-11) 6/1/1943 - 6/30/1945' (by-name list). Combined inventoried coverage runs 25 July 1941 - 30 June 1945, spanning her San Diego net-tending period, wartime commissioning, and her entire Asiatic-Pacific deployment through the Ulithi/Guam phase. The logs are physical holdings of RG 24 Entry 118 at Archives II, College Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Crew and officers named in the logs (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: an inventory listing establishes that logbooks exist, not their contents - deck logs are administrative navigational records, not material or insulation records, and are not digitized in the National Archives Catalog for this hull. Log coverage dates are not commissioning/decommissioning dates. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-04
-
[6]Oregon Public Broadcasting, 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard For World War II Ships' (Dec. 1, 2016, Cassandra Profita) - site history of the Commercial Iron Works yard and its conversion to the Zidell shipbreaking operation (live page verified via firecrawl) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- OPB Battle Ready article body + 'Zidell's Willamette River Cleanup Is Coming to a Close' timeline bullets (opb.org/news/article/zidell-cleanup-almost-finished/)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documents the builder's yard history: during WWII the site was one of several Willamette River shipyards devoted to building military vessels; after the war 'Zidell leased a portion of the old Commercial Iron Works shipyard, which already had a dock where workers had built ships for World War II,' and grew it into what was once the nation's largest shipbreaking operation, dismantling destroyer escorts, destroyers, submarines, and mostly Liberty ships; the site was covered in ship scraps 'laced with toxic pollutants like lead, asbestos and ... PCB.' Companion OPB timeline states Commercial Iron Works built 200 ships for the U.S. Navy and that Zidell began dismantling ships in 1946 and was the nation's largest ship dismantler by 1960.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940s-2016
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking workforce (1946-onward); site neighbors
- Limitations
- Press documentation of the builder-site transition, not a hull record: establishes that the CIW yard became an asbestos-contaminated shipbreaking site, not that CIW used asbestos aboard this hull in 1940-41 and not that Chestnut herself was ever broken at this site (her 1976 buyer is unidentified).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-05
-
[7]Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 'Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup' community advisory/GUIDE document (2012) - site history and remedy summary for the former Commercial Iron Works yard [other_primary]
- Locator
- Oregon DEQ ph-ZidellCAG.pdf - site history bullets, contaminant list, remedy timeline
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Government environmental documentation for the builder's former site: the DEQ record states the parcel was the Ironworks shipyard before/during WWII; Zidell purchased it in 1946 and dismantled 336 ships over roughly 30 years, with scrap waste used as site fill; site contaminants included asbestos among metals, petroleum hydrocarbons/PAHs, PCBs, and butyltins; and the remedy included a formal asbestos-abatement project with certified workers, air monitoring, and bulk ACM disposal. Timeline: DEQ/EPA joint site assessment 1987, RI complete 2003, Record of Decision 2005, Consent Decree 2006.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1946-2012 (site history); 1987-2012 (regulatory action)
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking and cleanup workers (1946-2012 era); site occupants
- Limitations
- Site-level environmental record for the builder's former yard - it does NOT document asbestos conditions at Commercial Iron Works in 1940-41 (the documented contamination principally reflects the 1946-onward Zidell shipbreaking era), and it does not name or otherwise establish materials aboard this hull. Whether Chestnut herself was broken at this site after her 1976 MARAD sale is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-06
-
[8]U.S. Coast Guard, 'Regulated Navigation Area, Zidell Waterfront Property, Willamette River, OR,' 77 FR 19544 (Apr. 2, 2012), Docket 2012-7784 [federal_register]
- Locator
- 77 FR 19544-19546 (document 2012-7784); citation verified via federalregister.gov API 2026-10-05
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Federal regulatory action at the builder's former site: the Coast Guard established a Regulated Navigation Area protecting an engineered sediment cap placed over contaminated Willamette River sediments at the Zidell Waterfront Property as part of the Oregon DEQ-required remedial action; the rule recites that the location 'was previously used for industrial activities related to shipbuilding and dismantling' and that site soils and sediments contain metals, petroleum hydrocarbons/PAHs, PCBs, and tributyltin presenting unacceptable risk.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2012 (rule); underlying contamination earlier
- Population
- Site cleanup workers; river users
- Limitations
- Context-level regulatory record: establishes the former CIW/Zidell site as a remediated hazardous site; the rule text does not list asbestos in its contaminant recital (asbestos is documented in the DEQ record, ev-06) and does not name or establish conditions aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1940-41) and service era (1941-46) as well as her reserve-fleet and NDRF lay-up decades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-08
-
[10]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine, 'Historic Fleets' (Dec. 1996) - net tender program overview [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Magazine Dec. 1996, Historic Fleets section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context: the U.S. Navy ordered 77 new-construction ships in three similar classes as net tenders, initially in the YN hull-number series, then redesignated AN and renumbered in January 1944; the ships wore characteristic paired bow 'horns' supporting running rigging for maneuvering float-supported steel antisubmarine nets, and winches fore and aft made them valuable as salvage ships and tugs - consistent with Chestnut's documented cargo/salvage/net-repair duty in the Solomons.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Net-tender crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-program overview only; does not name this hull and contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Aloe-class net tender, 1941); NavSource specifications (Enterprise DSG-6 diesel-electric, 800 shp, single screw); shipscribe class notes (diesel-electric plant specified for winch/net work); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; shipscribe class notes; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-electric net tender built 1940-41 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation in the confined hull volume, and brake linings on the net-handling winches and windlass. As a diesel-electric ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1976
- Population
- CIW construction trades (1940-41); crew (1941-46); yard trades at San Diego, Dunedin NZ, Australia availabilities; reserve/NDRF caretakers; 1976 buyer/scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YN-6/AN-11. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-10
-
[12]Batch-9232 search ledger (this record): live DANFS page; NavSource; shipscribe class page; NARA Special List 44 (PDF + name list); Oregon DEQ and Federal Register site records; OPB builder-site coverage; GAO product page; USNI class overview; NVR check; CourtListener opinion/docket sweeps; secondary web litigation/marketing sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chestnut-yn6-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Chestnut (YN-6/AN-11) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated, paced): 'USS Chestnut' returned count=0 in both the opinion and RECAP docket indexes; 'AN-11' is a high-collision alphanumeric (9,104 opinion / 64,276 docket hits, all-name-collision pages) and its asbestos-qualified variants returned only colliding strings (exhibit/part numbers) inside unrelated asbestos matters - no qualifying hit naming the vessel. The secondary web sweep likewise surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm asbestos listing naming this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the deck logs (RG 24 Entry 118, College Park), CIW work packages, and the 1976 buyer's disposition records are undigitized leads. CourtListener coverage is limited to the returned result pages: the 'AN-11' indexes are too collision-heavy to enumerate exhaustively (name-level queries 'Chestnut' alone were not run - exact-name and hull-number queries only, per batch protocol). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chestnut-yn6-11