Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Courlan' entry - public-domain text verified verbatim via the hazegray.org DANFS transcription's Wayback capture (2024-06-24) and corroborated by Wikipedia's DANFS-incorporated article [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of hazegray.org/danfs/mine/amc44.htm (transcribed DANFS text, captioned 'From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'); canonical NHHC page returned 404 at all candidate URLs (known link rot); hazegray.org direct fetch failed
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS 'Courlan' entry, complete text: 'An American, tropical, long-billed, raillike bird. I - The first Courlan (AMc-44) served in an "in service" status from 1941 to 1947.' The entry is a one-sentence service record: it establishes the hull's existence, name origin, hull number, and the 1941-1947 'in service' span, and contains no construction details, stations, specifications, or materials information.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Ship's crew 1941-1947 (complement 17 per secondary compilations, unverified)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, name origin, and the 1941-1947 'in service' span only - the complete DANFS entry is a single sentence with no stat line, no stations, no builder, no dates beyond the service span, and no asbestos or materials information. Live NHHC page unreachable at all candidate URLs on 2026-09-23 (known NHHC link rot); the transcription mirror was captured via Wayback rather than fetched live.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Courlan (AMc 44)' vessel page (volunteer archival compilation, not an official record) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of navsource.org/archives/11/03044.htm - chronology and specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive 'Courlan (AMc 44)' page (accessed via Wayback capture 2024-05-27 and search-engine indexing; direct fetch failed): the first Courlan was laid down 20 January 1941 by the Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL; launched 4 April 1941; placed in service as USS Courlan (AMc 44) on 1 July 1941; placed out of service in April 1947 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration; fate unknown. Specifications given: displacement 200 t; length 92 ft; beam 21 ft 8 in; draft 9 ft; speed 10 kts; complement 17; armament two .50 cal. machine guns; propulsion one 400-shp Superior K.N.A. diesel engine, one shaft. No image of the vessel is available in the archive.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Construction trades at Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville (1941); ship's crew 1941-1947
- Limitations
- Single secondary compilation accessed via a 2024 Wayback capture - the page is a volunteer-edited archive citing no underlying document for this hull. Its construction dates are corroborated by uboat.net's Allied Warships entry and by the independently fetched Gibbs yard table (ev-03); its specifications (200 t, 92 ft) conflict with the Wikipedia/DANFS-derived rendering (205 t, 97 ft 5 in - ev-08) and class-level figures (ev-05). No strike date is given. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-02
-
[3]shipbuildinghistory.com, Gibbs Gas Engine / Aerojet-General / Jacksonville Shipyards yard history and build table (Tim Colton's specialist compilation of shipyard records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Gibbs yard page, build table rows 'Chimango (AMc 42)' through 'Develin (AMc 45)' incl. 'Courlan (AMc 44)'; yard-history narrative and ownership-chain section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. (Jacksonville, FL) yard-history compilation, directly fetched: the yard was founded in 1911 and built small wooden and steel vessels in both World Wars; its build table records 'Courlan (AMc 44) - US Navy - Minesweeper - 205d GT - 97 ft - delivered 25-Jun-41 - Sold 1947.' Sister hulls in the same sequence corroborate the yard's AMc work: Chimango (AMc 42) delivered 3-Jun-41, Cotinga (AMc 43) 14-Jun-41, Develin (AMc 45) 9-Jul-41. Post-WWII the company became Gibbs Corporation, was sold to Aerojet-General Shipyards Corp. in 1964, and the Jacksonville yards closed in 1992.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1911-1992 (yard); 1941 (build); 1947 (disposal)
- Population
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. construction trades, Jacksonville, 1941 (undocumented individuals)
- Limitations
- Specialist compilation, not an official Navy record - directly fetched and internally consistent with NavSource/uboat.net construction dates (delivery 25-Jun-41 sits between launch 4-Apr-41 and in-service 1-Jul-41, corroborating builder and timing). The 'Sold 1947' notation identifies no buyer, price, or subsequent fate and is not fully reconciled with NavSource's 'fate unknown' (see gaps). No asbestos or materials information; the yard's general wartime output is background only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-03
-
[4]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), 'Ostrich II (AMc-51)' entry (names Courlan's transit) - verified verbatim via the hazegray.org DANFS transcription's Wayback capture (2024-06-18); corroborated by Niehorster's December 1941 U.S. Navy order of battle (secondary compilation) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Ostrich entry, body paragraph ('in company with Courlan (AMc-44) and Develin (AMc-45)... arriving 5 December and reporting to Commandant 8th Naval District'); order-of-battle mirror at pacific.valka.cz/forces/admin4112.htm, 8th Naval District section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Courlan's war station is documented through a sister ship's DANFS entry: the 'Ostrich II (AMc-51)' entry records that in late November 1941 Ostrich sailed to New Orleans 'in company with Courlan (AMc-44) and Develin (AMc-45),' the group arriving 5 December and reporting to the Commandant, 8th Naval District. A December 1941 U.S. Navy order-of-battle compilation (Dr. Leo Niehorster's work, as mirrored) independently lists 'AMc: Courlan, Develin, Ostrich' together under the 8th Naval District's Naval Coastal Frontier.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-11 to 1941-12 (documented); 1941-1945 (inferred station)
- Population
- Ship's crew (1941 transit and 8ND assignment)
- Limitations
- Establishes the December 1941 arrival at New Orleans and 8th Naval District reporting for this hull by name. The DANFS text narrates Ostrich's career - it says Ostrich 'operated out of New Orleans for the remainder of the war,' and does NOT explicitly say the same of Courlan; Courlan's continued 8ND service through 1945 is consistent with her deck-log coverage (ev-09) but is not itself DANFS-stated. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-04
-
[5]HyperWar, 'US Navy Minecraft, 1940-1945' (ibiblio.org) - compilation of official-record class characteristics; AMc-44 Courlan unit page and coastal-minesweeper index [other_primary]
- Locator
- AMc-44 Courlan unit page (Accentor/Acme class specification block: 'Wooden-hulled ships designed for inshore operations'); index at ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class configuration per HyperWar's 'US Navy Minecraft, 1940-1945' compilation (itself drawn from official records): the Accentor/Acme group were small wooden-hulled coastal minesweepers designed for sweeping mines in harbors, bays, and other littoral waters; diesel engine of about 400 hp, 10 knots, complement 17, armament two .50-caliber machine guns; AMc-44 Courlan is listed among them (commissioned/in service 1941). A wooden hull and diesel propulsion mean the class carried no boilers or steam plant - the machinery category most associated with documented WWII-era asbestos insulation aboard larger combatants.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1942 (construction era)
- Population
- Shipyard workers and class crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level specification; documents the type's plant, not materials aboard this hull. Absence of a steam plant removes the most commonly documented WWII asbestos pathway but does not establish that no asbestos-containing material was aboard (gaskets, exhaust lagging, electrical insulation, friction materials remain undocumented either way).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-05
-
[6]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 purpose-built diesel coastal minesweeper was designed, laid down, and delivered in 1941. For a small diesel-driven auxiliary of this type, 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 characteristic of steam vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. construction trades (1941, individuals undocumented) and crew (era 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, individual exposure, or causation. The article's emphasis is steam-driven production shipbuilding; application to a single-diesel wooden coastal auxiliary is weaker still. Absence of a steam plant narrows but does not eliminate era-typical asbestos pathways.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-06
-
[7]NavSource 'Courlan (MSC[O] 44)' page (navsource.org/archives/11/19114.htm) and NavalCoverMuseum COURLAN MSC(O) 44 page; consistent with Wikipedia's USS Courlan disambiguation and AMS-44 article (secondary compilations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource MSC(O)-44 page chronology and specification block (search-indexed); navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/COURLAN_MSC(O)_44 namesake note ('Two ships of the US Navy have borne the name COURLAN')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Name-collision disambiguation: a second USS Courlan exists. USS Courlan (AMS-44/MSC(O)-44), ex-YMS-114, was a YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper built by San Diego Marine Construction Co., commissioned as YMS-114 on 12 August 1942, renamed and reclassified Courlan (AMS-44) on 1 September 1947, assigned as a Naval Reserve training vessel in the 8th Naval District (New Orleans), reclassified MSC(O)-44 on 7 February 1955, and struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959. The two hulls share only the name and, coincidentally, the New Orleans district and the number 44.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1947-1959 (second hull)
- Limitations
- Carried strictly to prevent conflation of AMc-44 with the later AMS-44/MSC(O)-44 in litigation, archival, or photo searches - the second Courlan served in the SAME 8th Naval District (New Orleans) beginning September 1947, immediately after this hull left service, raising the collision risk. Establishes nothing about AMc-44 itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-07
-
[8]Wikipedia, 'USS Courlan (AMc-44)' (incorporates public-domain DANFS text per its own attribution; cited here only to document the conflicting infobox rendering and uncited strike claim, not relied upon for any finding) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article infobox ('Fate: Stricken 3 July 1946'; specification block) and body text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Specification and striking-date conflicts across secondary renderings, unresolved: Wikipedia's 'USS Courlan (AMc-44)' article (which states it incorporates DANFS text) gives an infobox of displacement 205 tons, length 97 ft 5 in, beam 22 ft 5 in, draft 8 ft 11 in, two .50-caliber machine guns, and asserts 'Fate: Stricken 3 July 1946.' The strike date is uncited in the article, is identical to sister USS Accentor's DANFS-documented strike date (3 July 1946), and cannot be reconciled with NavSource's placed-out-of-service April 1947 - a hull cannot remain in service eleven months after striking. The specification figures likewise conflict with NavSource's rendering (200 t, 92 ft, 21 ft 8 in, 9 ft).
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Limitations
- The 3 July 1946 strike claim is uncited, internally inconsistent with the same infobox's 1947 out-of-service, and suspiciously identical to sister Accentor's documented strike - probably a template error or cross-hull bleed, but not disproven (mass strikes of small minecraft did occur 3 July 1946). The Naval Vessel Register / Ships' Data for 1946-1947 is the verification path; not resolved here, and the strike date is not asserted in this record's fields as fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-08
-
[9]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' (Named Vessels table + ship-number PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Named Vessels table rows 'Courlan (AMC-44)' (1/1/1943-9/30/1945; 7/1/1941-3/30/1942); PDF https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/logbooks/sl-44-ship-number.pdf rows 'AMC-44 (Courlan)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA 'Special List 44 - Named Vessels' finding aid (directly fetched, archives.gov) lists two deck-log coverage blocks for 'Courlan (AMC-44)': 7/1/1941-3/30/1942 and 1/1/1943-9/30/1945. The companion ship-number PDF lists the same hull with date ranges 7/1/1941-3/31/1942 and 1/1/1943-9/30/1945 (a one-day end-of-March rendering difference between the two NARA formats). No coverage is listed for April-December 1942 or after 30 September 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (coverage)
- Limitations
- Finding-aid entry only - log contents are unexamined and digitization status was not confirmed in this pass. Coverage gaps (Apr-Dec 1942; after 30 Sep 1945) may reflect non-accessioned/lost logs, a different listing, or an earlier-than-April-1947 end of active service - consistent with, but not proof of, the disputed mid-1946 strike claim (ev-08). These logs are the leading ship-specific lead for any repair, conversion, or materials entries bearing on asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-key access via project helper script cl-auth-search.py), opinion-type searches for 'Courlan' and '"AMc-44" OR "AMC-44"' and docket-type search for 'Courlan' [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-courlan-amc44-09 through sl-uss-courlan-amc44-12; collision opinions 239218 / 7012438 (232 F.2d 422) and 4271862 (Evans); collision dockets 6023520 / 4190790 / 4171712 and Washington v. City of Las Vegas (D. Nev.)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated API v4 searches (2026-09-23): 'Courlan' (type=o) returned zero opinions (count=0). '"AMc-44" OR "AMC-44"' (type=o) returned three hits, all name/string collisions - Societa Anonima Navigazione Alta Italia v. Oil Transport Co., 232 F.2d 422 (5th Cir. 1956), indexed twice under its A.M.C. maritime-reporter citation (1956 A.M.C. 1073), a Mississippi River admiralty collision case with no connection to this vessel; and Evans (Tex. App. 2015), a criminal habeas opinion matching on OCR noise. 'Courlan' (type=r, RECAP dockets) returned four hits, all OCR/string collisions in unrelated matters - 'CoURLAN' misreads of 'COURT' and incidental text matches in United States v. Espinoza (S.D. Cal. 2015, criminal), Washington v. City of Las Vegas (D. Nev.), Medtronic v. NuVasive (S.D. Cal., patent), and Oceano Packing v. True Organic Products (N.D. Cal., agriculture). No qualifying asbestos or vessel-related opinion or docket was located under any query.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Confirms no qualifying litigation naming this hull was found in CourtListener's opinion or RECAP docket indexes under the vessel name or hull-number strings searched. The asbestos-qualified opinion variant was blocked by shared fleet request pacing but is moot by construction - the unqualified 'Courlan' opinion search already returned count=0, so a qualified subset is necessarily also zero. Does not cover state-court dockets outside CourtListener coverage, and absence of a located case does not prove absence of any asbestos claim ever filed naming this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-10
-
[11]Batch-1579 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback mirrors + Wikipedia triangulation; NavSource (Wayback + indexed); shipbuildinghistory.com Gibbs yard page; NARA Special List 44 (named table + ship-number PDF); uboat.net; CourtListener API v4 (name + hull-number strings); MARAD Vessel History Database (not queryable); shipyards.json cross-check; web-level asbestos/litigation search (law-firm 'ship list' pages excluded per source rules) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-courlan-amc44-01 through sl-uss-courlan-amc44-15
- 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 Courlan, AMc-44, or AMC-44 was found in the authoritative and specialist sources searched (DANFS entry via hazegray/Wayback and Wikipedia triangulation; sibling DANFS Ostrich entry; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com Gibbs yard table; NARA Special List 44; uboat.net; CourtListener authenticated opinion search under name and hull-number strings; shipyards.json cross-check). The MARAD Vessel History Database's public search interface could not be queried programmatically in this session (client-side form), so it is logged as not queryable rather than as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a small purpose-built diesel auxiliary could still have carried era gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, electrical insulation, and friction materials installed at build (1941) or during wartime upkeep. The NARA deck logs (1941-1942 and 1943-1945 coverage located; Apr-Dec 1942 and post-Sep-1945 not listed) are unexamined and remain the leading open ship-specific lead. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-courlan-amc44-11