Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Chief (AM-315) - verbatim transcription (specifications block plus service narrative; live NHHC page returns 404 - transcription via historycentral.com mirror; postwar half corroborated by verbatim DANFS text at koreanwar.org and NHHC Online Library summary) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (historycentral.com verbatim mirror; koreanwar.org verbatim mirror for postwar paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 25 July 1942 as HMS Alice (BAM-2) for Great Britain under Lend-Lease; launched 5 January 1943 by General Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif.; retained by the USN and renamed/reclassified Chief (AM-315) 23 January 1943; commissioned 9 October 1943 (LCDR J. M. Wyckoff, USNR). Kwajalein sweeping and antisubmarine patrol to 14 February 1944, then Pearl Harbor repairs; TF 52 Marianas minesweeping for Saipan/Tinian 15 June-7 August 1944 with fire support; San Francisco overhaul; flagship for the Unten Ko (Okinawa) hydrographic survey 26 May-21 August 1945; Wakayama occupation mine clearance 8 September-6 October 1945 (YMS-418 salvage assist 28 September); Nagoya/Sasebo occupation duty to 10 March 1946. Out of commission in reserve 17 March 1947 (Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Pedro Group). Recommissioned Long Beach 28 February 1952; TF 95 Wonsan Harbor operations, twice fired on by shore batteries; second Korean tour 5 October 1953-2 June 1954; in commission in reserve 1 November 1954; reclassified MSF-315 7 February 1955; out of commission in reserve 15 March 1955. Five battle stars WWII, two for Korea. Sold to Mexico February 1973.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1955; 1973
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock construction trades 1942-43; wartime and Korea-era crew (class design complement 105)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-22; verbatim transcription mirrors cited. NavSource records the 1 November 1954 status change as 'out of commission, in reserve' (vs. DANFS 'in commission in reserve' with final out-of-commission 15 March 1955) - conflict carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-01
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[2]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images, USS Chief (AM-315, later MSF-315), 1943-1973 (verbatim Naval Historical Center page mirrored at HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library page (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror), ship summary + photo captions NH 96996, NH 68589, NH 96997 + NARA holding list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Naval Historical Center photo-archive page for this hull: summarizes the 890-ton Auk-class minesweeper built at Alameda, commissioned October 1943, Marianas and Okinawa campaigns, September 1945-March 1946 minesweeping in Japanese waters, decommission March 1947, Korean-era recommissioning February 1952, two Korea deployments, decommission November 1954, MSF-315 reclassification February 1955, sale to Mexico February 1973 as Jesus Gonzalez Ortega, and continued Mexican service. Catalogs NHC-held images NH 96996 (underway 1952), NH 68589 (nested with USS Competent AM-316 and five AMS minecraft alongside LST-735, Japan c.1952-54), NH 96997 (enlisted complement c.1952-54), and lists NARA-held views 80-G-342468 (TF 52 en route to Saipan, 11 June 1944), USN 637140 (c.1954), USN 1045493 and USN 1045982 (early 1950s aerials).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Crew depicted c.1952-54; NARA/NHC archival holdings
- Limitations
- Photo-catalog documentation of the hull and its service periods; contains no asbestos or materials information. The November 1954 'decommissioned' framing compresses the in-commission-in-reserve vs. out-of-commission-in-reserve sequence DANFS narrates in two steps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-02
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[3]NavSource Online Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Chief (MSF-315) ex-USS Chief (AM-315), ex-HMS Alice (BAM-2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02315 page - chronology, specifications block, ARM Ortega (PO-114) photo caption dated 16 October 2020
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource archive record for this hull adds detail not in DANFS: damaged by grounding 1 February 1944 off the northwestern end of Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (the event preceding the DANFS-documented Pearl Harbor repair period); Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists the planned decommissioning/in-reserve date as August 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1 July 1972; sold to Mexico 16 February 1973 and renamed ARM Jesus Gonzalez Ortega (C-83), reclassified G-15, currently Ortega (PO-114). Ship-specific propulsion block: two 2,976 shp Baldwin VO8 diesel-electric drive engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. Photo evidence: ARM Ortega (PO-114) photographed in the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, 16 October 2020 - hull extant 77 years after launch.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-2020
- Population
- Crew 1943-1955 (CO roster listed); Mexican Navy crew 1973-2020+
- Limitations
- NavSource is a private archival-photo compendium, not a government source - details used here (grounding date, engine fit, sale date, Mexican reclassifications, 2020 sighting) are not independently verified against official records, though all are consistent with DANFS/NHC. Propulsion figure is class-consistent but hull-specific attribution is NavSource's. Does not address materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-03
-
[4]U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District History (2005), 'Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard, Alameda' (transcribed by the California Military Department, militarymuseum.org); corroborated by City of Alameda, Final Historic Resources Evaluation - Alameda Marina (30 March 2017) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USACE LA District History (2005) text at militarymuseum.org/NIRSAlameda.html; City of Alameda HRE PDF, Alameda Marina site history section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard record for the yard that built this hull: General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. of Alameda (successor to the 1917 Barnes & Tibbitts yard, renamed 1922) built small warships for the U.S. Navy under Contract NObs-344 on four shipbuilding ways with seven fitting-out piers, two marine railways, and a floating dry dock; wartime production included 16 minesweepers of the 1,250-ton group, 11 of the 850-ton group (the Auk-class group this hull belongs to), and four 560-ton net layers. The Navy terminated the contract in 1946; the yard closed in 1948 and the Navy acquired the site 27 June 1950 as Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard Alameda. The City of Alameda HRE documents the 1940 Maritime Commission-financed rebuild (dry dock plus ~30 shops, warehouses, offices) and the 1962 Pacific Shops acquisition; the site is now Alameda Marina.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1917-1962
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock shipyard workforce, Alameda 1940-1948
- Limitations
- Documents the builder yard's wartime configuration and contract - not asbestos conditions, not hull-specific materials, and no exposure data for GE&DD workers. The Atlas shipyards dataset (37 yard_ids) contains no General Engineering & Dry Dock entry - the yard link is carried here and in gaps, not in related_shipyards. Source is a USACE history transcribed by the CA Military Department plus a municipal HRE; production counts attribute to coltoncompany.com (shipbuildinghistory).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-04
-
[5]DANFS specifications block + Auk/Raven class technical block (diesel-electric drive, twin screws, 3,500 hp) + documented Navy yard periods for this hull (Pearl Harbor repairs 1944; San Francisco overhaul 1944; Long Beach recommissioning 1952) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar class spec block (AM-315); DANFS narrative yard periods; NavSource propulsion line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a Navy-contract diesel-electric minesweeper built 1942-43 would have carried period-standard asbestos applications typical of the type - engine-exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets and flange packing on piping and machinery, electrical cable insulation, deck tile/coverings, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and brake linings on sweep winches and windlass. The diesel-electric plant (Baldwin VO8 diesels on electric drive, no boilers) means the boiler-room and steam-line insulation load characteristic of steam combatants did not apply to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- GE&DD construction trades 1942-43; Pearl Harbor repair workers 1944; San Francisco overhaul yard workers 1944; Long Beach reactivation workers 1952; crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, build specification, or abatement record was located, and nothing here is ship-proven. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull, quantity, or present-day material status; does not establish or defeat any exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-05
-
[6]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program and 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. Long Beach is where this hull was recommissioned in 1952 after Pacific Reserve Fleet layup - the relevant program-level context for any reactivation-era insulation work on reserve-fleet hulls.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Yard/program-level documentation, not hull-specific; the GAO fieldwork postdates this hull's USN reactivation and its policy scope concerns naval shipyards generally. Does not establish what insulation was aboard or disturbed on this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing since Batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-06
-
[7]Batch-1286 search ledger (this record): NHHC/NHC pages; NavSource; USACE LA District history; City of Alameda HRE; CourtListener API (blocked - throttle); indexed opinion and VA BVA web searches; shipyards.json slug check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chief-am315-01 through sl-uss-chief-am315-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming AM-315 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API returned HTTP 429 (2,800/day quota exhausted) - the docket-level litigation check is blocked, not negative; indexed court/VA searches returned no qualifying hit. Name-collision note: the only other USS Chief is MCM-14 (Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, commissioned 1994) per NHHC - post-1994 'USS Chief' references are presumptively MCM-14. A law-firm marketing page lists this hull in a minesweeper table - excluded as non-authoritative.
- 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 - WWII Navy construction of the era is consistent with retained era materials, and the hull's survival in Mexican service means present-day condition is a live question undocumented in sources searched. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-07
-
[8]NARA record-group path (mapped, not retrieved): RG 24 deck logs (1943-47, 1952-54); BuShips/NAVSEA hull files for AM-315 under contract NObs-344; NIRS Alameda / USACE Los Angeles District files; Pacific Reserve Fleet inactivation work packages (1947, 1954-55); NARA still pictures 80-G-342468, USN 637140, USN 1045493, USN 1045982 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger row sl-uss-chief-am315-10; NHC photo list in ev-uss-chief-am315-02
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival-lead map for hull-level material and maintenance documentation: deck logs for both commissioned periods; construction/outfitting records under the documented NObs-344 contract; builder-yard records (GE&DD site later became NIRS Alameda, documented by USACE); reserve-fleet inactivation records covering the 1947 and 1954-55 layups; and four NARA-held photographs cataloged by the NHC Online Library page.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull - holdings are not digitized and were not retrieved (no spend authorized). Presence of records is inferred from standard NARA custodial practice for Navy hulls of this era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chief-am315-08