Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, 'Delegate' (AM-217) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (live history.navy.mil page returns 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01/1148/1169) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Delegate' entry, specifications block + service narrative (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am217.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official DANFS record for this hull: Admirable-class minesweeper (dp. 530; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable). Launched 28 March 1943 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Tampa, Fla.; sponsored by Miss L. Bourget; commissioned 30 April 1945, Lt. N. W. Millard, USNR, in command. Sailed from Norfolk 14 July 1945 calling at Guantanamo Bay, San Pedro, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Saipan; arrived Usuki Bay, Kyushu, 3 November as escort for two LSTs. Swept mines in the Tsushima Straits 15-22 December; supervised Japanese minesweepers clearing the northern Futagami minefields 20-26 January 1946; arrived Kure 6 February to provide logistics support for the YMSs widening the swept channel to that port. Left Kure 24 February 1946; arrived Subic Bay 5 March to have her armament removed; sailed 8 April for Shanghai, arriving five days later. Decommissioned and turned over to the State Department 29 May 1946 for further transfer to the Republic of China, which renamed and reclassified her Yung Ho (PF-53). One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1962
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-45); wartime/postwar crew (design complement 104); ROC Navy crew (1946-1962)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, service narrative, and transfer - not materials or asbestos content. DANFS gives no laid-down date (1942-12-27 per NavSource and uboat.net) and does not cover ROC service or disposal. Commissioning date '30 April 1945' conflicts with a secondary-compilation cluster reading April 1944 - flagged in ev-08. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Delegate (AM 217), file 11/02217 (chronology compiled from Naval Vessel Register and official sources) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02217 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, CO list, Shanghai photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record: 'Admirable Class Minesweeper'; laid down 27 December 1942 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, FL; launched 28 March 1943; commissioned USS Delegate (AM 217) 30 April 1945; decommissioned 29 May 1946 and turned over to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission for transfer to the Republic of China; reclassified a Patrol Frigate and renamed Yung Ho (PF 53); decommissioned and struck 1 September 1962; 'Scrapped in 1963.' Call sign Nan-Charlie-Roger-Dog. Spec block: 945 t (fl); 184'6"; 33' beam; 9'9" draft; 14.8 kts; complement 104; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one depth-charge projector (hedgehogs), four depth-charge projectors (K-guns), two depth-charge tracks; propulsion 'Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts.' CO list: LT Nelson Willard Millard USNR (30 Apr 1945), LT Robert Douglas Zucker USNR (15 Nov 1945 - 29 May 1946). Photo: Delegate inboard of Elusive (AM 225), Shanghai, 14 May 1946.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1963
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding trades (1942-45); U.S. crew Apr 1945 - May 1946; ROC Navy crew 1946-1962
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official, though its chronology tracks DANFS and NVR-derivative data and is corroborated by uboat.net and NavalCoverMuseum. Its '1,710shp' reads as a combined figure (class article: 855 shp per engine); propulsion conflicts with HyperWar's 'diesel-electric' label and Wikipedia's 'ALCO 539' - flagged in ev-08. 'Scrapped in 1963' conflicts with Wikipedia's 'ultimate fate not reported' - flagged. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-02
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[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL' yard table - hull #65 row (AM 217 Delegate) + yard history header [other_primary]
- Locator
- tasco.htm - hull #65 row + yard history header; block sisters #64 (Deft AM-216) and #66 (Density AM-218)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table row for this hull: yard hull #65, 'AM 217 | Delegate | US Navy | Minesweeper | 650d | 180 | 30-Apr-44 | To China 1946 as Yung Ho, to Taiwan 1949, scrapped 1963.' The TASCO table carries the consecutive Admirable-class block around her - #64 AM 216 Deft (delivered 16-Apr-44, 'To China 1946, scrapped 1959'), #66 AM 218 Density - confirming Tampa as the construction yard for the AM-214..AM-221 block. Yard history header: founded as Tampa Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 1917 on the Tampa Foundry & Machine site; sold to George B. Howell and renamed Tampa Shipbuilding Company (TASCO); ~16,000 peak employment, largest employer in Tampa; ceased operations by 1948; site now Gulf Marine Repair at the foot of Grant Street on the Ybor Channel.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- TASCO construction workforce (Tampa, FL, 1942-45)
- Limitations
- Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, yard hull number (#65), type, and tonnage. Its '30-Apr-44' delivery/completion date conflicts with DANFS's 30 April 1945 commissioning (exactly one year apart - flagged in ev-08, DANFS carried). Disposition 'To China 1946 as Yung Ho, to Taiwan 1949, scrapped 1963' tracks the ROC-service outline. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-03
-
[4]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); and Fleischer, W.E., et al., '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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (article); PubMed PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- 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 and wartime construction program under which this hull was built at Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa. The USMC-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; articles 1946/1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding and naval-vessel construction generally; neither source names this vessel, class, or builder yard. Pipe-covering findings are less applicable to a diesel (non-steam) minesweeper than to steam vessels. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-04
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - documented propulsion plant (NavSource spec block: two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts - direct drive; HyperWar per-hull block reads 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.') + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; Colton; uboat.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02217 propulsion line; HyperWar AM-217 per-hull block; DANFS construction/service dates; Colton tasco.htm
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1942-laid, 1945-commissioned steel Admirable-class minesweeper with a diesel direct-drive twin-screw plant (two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply Co. single reduction gear) - no boilers, no steam distribution. Its insulation load was materially lighter than a steam combatant's, but machinery and construction materials of the wartime era were commonly asbestos-containing: exhaust-system and muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical-cable insulation, accommodation/galley joiner insulation, winch and windlass brake linings, and deck compositions of the period. Exposure-relevant populations if any material was present: TASCO Tampa-yard construction trades (1942-45, including the documented ~25-month launch-to-commissioning interval); the U.S. crew (design complement ~104) across the July 1945 Norfolk departure, trans-Pacific transit, and the post-surrender Japanese-water mine-clearance tour (Tsushima Straits sweeping, supervision of Japanese minesweepers at the Futagami fields, Kure logistics support - machinery-space work in a ship full of sweep gear); and the ROC Navy crew of 1946-1962 - a population effectively invisible to U.S. claimant channels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1963
- Population
- TASCO trades (1942-45); U.S. crew Apr 1945 - May 1946; ROC crew 1946-1962
- Limitations
- Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-217 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The diesel (non-steam) plant makes even era-level inference weaker than for steam vessels of the same era. ROC-service maintenance and the reported 1963 scrapping are undocumented in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-05
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[6]Atlas shipyards.json record: tampa-bay-shipbuilding (Tampa Shipbuilding Co./TASCO; evidence_tier 3, documented asbestos product categories) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json, yard_id tampa-bay-shipbuilding
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: Delegate's hull was built at Tampa Shipbuilding Co. (TASCO), which carries a tier-3 yard-level record in the Atlas dataset (yard_id tampa-bay-shipbuilding) with documented asbestos product categories including pipe insulation/lagging, turbine insulation, thermal/block insulation, gaskets, valve packing, brake linings, and fireproof panels. Wartime construction at this yard places the hull inside a documented asbestos-use environment.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (build)
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-45
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings describe the workplace, not this hull's materials; they do not establish that asbestos was installed aboard AM-217, nor in what quantity or locations. The yard's documented steam-system/turbine products relate to its steam-driven hulls (destroyer escorts, tenders, cargo types), not this diesel minesweeper. No hull-level record exists. Yard dataset entry cited as cross-link only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-06
-
[7]Batch-1194 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray/losthistory mirror; NavSource 11/02217; Shipbuilding History TASCO yard table; uboat.net 5287; HyperWar per-hull block; NavalCoverMuseum; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated - blocked by quota); Google-indexed courtlistener.com searches; VA BVA decision index (va.gov, indexed); NVR; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-delegate-am217-01 through sl-uss-delegate-am217-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Delegate / AM-217 / Yung Ho (PF-53/AM-53): no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, preservation record, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The authenticated CourtListener API v4 pass was blocked from the first query by daily-quota throttling (HTTP 429, shared 2,800/day key exhausted by prior batch work; reset ~2.3h out) and not retried into a ban per batch rules; Google-indexed site:courtlistener.com results for 'USS Delegate'/'AM-217' returned only unrelated asbestos dockets and name collisions - no qualifying litigation located via indexed results. VA BVA indexed decisions naming this hull: none located. Non-authoritative marketing rosters (mesothelioma.com minesweeper jobsites page: 'USS Delegate | AM-217 | Admirable | 4/30/1945 | To China'; mesotheliomahelp.org minesweeper list) carry the name in generic ship tables - excluded per source rules; they carry no hull-specific evidence.
- 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 1942-45-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull left U.S. custody in 1946 and is reported scrapped 1963, so no present-day survey pathway exists; ROC-era maintenance and disposal records are inaccessible. The blocked CourtListener API pass means the litigation negative finding rests on indexed web results only - residual risk logged as a gap. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-07
-
[8]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02217 vs Colton TASCO yard table vs uboat.net 5287 vs navypedia vs navalmarinearchive vs HyperWar per-hull block vs Wikipedia infobox vs NavalCoverMuseum [other_primary]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am217.htm; navsource.org/archives/11/02217.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/tasco.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5287.html; navypedia.org Admirable-class table; navalmarinearchive.com minesweepers1.html; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-217_Delegate.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Delegate_(AM-217); navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/DELEGATE_AM_217
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Commissioning year - DANFS, NavSource, and uboat.net read 30 April 1945 (DANFS names the commissioning CO, Lt. N. W. Millard USNR); Colton's yard table reads '30-Apr-44,' navypedia '4.1944,' navalmarinearchive '30-Apr-44,' and HyperWar's per-hull block 'commissioned 1944' - exactly one year apart and likely a delivery-vs-commissioning confusion or propagated typo; DANFS's 1945 carried (official record, named CO, and consistent with the documented TASCO-delay pattern of 1943 launches completing in 1945 - sister Crag AM-214 launched 21 Mar 1943, commissioned 1 Aug 1945). (b) Propulsion - NavSource hull-specific line 'Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts' vs HyperWar per-hull block 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.' vs Wikipedia ship article 'ALCO 539, Farrel-Birmingham' - the Admirable-class article's own machinery table places AM-214..AM-226 in the Cooper Bessemer/National Supply block (the ALCO/Farrel-Birmingham block covers AM-136..AM-165), so NavSource's Cooper Bessemer fit is carried; the documented reduction gear contradicts 'diesel-electric.' (c) ROC pennant - PF-53 'Patrol Frigate' (DANFS, NavSource, uboat.net) vs AM-53 (navalmarinearchive; Japanese naval-database listing 'Yungtai-class patrol craft AM53') - both flagged, PF-53 carried as the better-attested U.S.-side value. (d) ROC delivery timing - DANFS 'turned over to the State Department 29 May 1946 for further transfer to the Republic of China' vs the Japanese listing's 'delivered to ROC 1948-02-01' - U.S.-custody end (May 1946) and ROC formal delivery may be distinct events; flagged. (e) Disposal - NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum 'scrapped 1963,' Colton 'scrapped 1963,' navalmarinearchive 'scrapped 1963' vs Wikipedia 'ultimate fate is not reported in secondary sources' - 'reported scrapped 1963' carried with the reservation flagged. (f) Specs - DANFS 530 t/15 kts/9'9" vs NavSource 945 t (fl)/14.8 kts vs HyperWar 625 t/15 kts/10' draft - DANFS carried. (g) Armament - DANFS '1 3"' vs NavSource 'one 3"/50 + one twin 40mm + six 20mm + hedgehog + 4 K-guns + 2 DC tracks' vs Wikipedia '2 x twin 40mm' - design-spec vs wartime-fit variance flagged.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1963
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. For the commissioning-year conflict DANFS is treated as controlling because it is the official record and carries a named commissioning officer. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-08
-
[9]Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U.S. 446 (2019), CourtListener 4601080 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 4601080
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No case located names this hull (see negative_finding row and search_ledger). Doctrinal context only for the vessel's type: claims arising from WWII-era Navy-vessel asbestos exposure ran under maritime law against equipment manufacturers, and the Supreme Court's DeVries decision settled the 'bare-metal defense' framework - manufacturers that supplied bare equipment had a duty to warn where their products required asbestos-containing parts. It illustrates the litigation posture claims arising from service aboard a WWII diesel minesweeper would have faced; no such claim naming Delegate was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2019 decision
- Limitations
- Doctrinal context only - the cited case does not name or involve this hull, and DeVries addressed manufacturers' duty to warn for asbestos-containing components on Navy vessels generally. Classification note: a complaint's vessel list would be a pleading allegation, not a finding; no pleading naming this hull was located. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-09
-
[10]Archival leads - NARA RG 24 deck logs and WWII muster rolls for this hull's April 1945 - May 1946 commission; NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the TASCO Admirable-class block (yard hull #65, ordered 14 Mar 1942 per uboat.net); Foreign Liquidation Commission transfer records for the 29 May 1946 turnover at Shanghai; Republic of China Navy records for Yung Ho (1946-1962) are not held in U.S. archives [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/24 group guides; NavSource 11/02217 (FLC attribution); DANFS transfer narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized; NARA catalog returns only its JS application shell to automated fetch): (a) NARA's WWII muster-rolls series should cover this hull for her Apr 1945 - May 1946 commission - sibling Admirable/Auk-class hulls are demonstrably indexed (batch-1148 noted Heed AM-100 via a DPLA item), so coverage for AM-217 is expected but unconfirmed this session; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs, Apr 1945 - May 1946 - a commission of only ~13 months, so the log series is short; (c) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records / General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the TASCO Admirable-class block - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules; (d) Foreign Liquidation Commission records for the Shanghai turnover (State Department custody documentation, transfer inventories); (e) Republic of China Navy records for Yung Ho (service file, 1946-1962, disposal record) - held in Taiwan archives, inaccessible this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1962 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-217 is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, and transfer files are personnel/operations records, not materials documentation. The ROC half of this hull's life is doubly undocumented in U.S. sources. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-delegate-am217-10