Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, 'Device' (AM-220) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (live history.navy.mil page returns 404 on both URL variants tried - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01/1148/1169/1177/1194) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Device' entry, specifications block + service narrative (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am220.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 21 May 1944 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla.; sponsored by Miss P. K. Kennedy; commissioned 7 July 1944, Lieutenant R. Remage, Jr., USNR, in command. Arrived Pearl Harbor 15 November 1944 after Canal Zone training; escorted convoy to Eniwetok, then Kossol Roads, Palau (arrived 24 December); harbor entrance control vessel and Angaur-Peleliu screen patrol until 9 January 1945; convoy escort among Kossol Roads, Manus, Ulithi, Guam, Saipan. Leyte 15 March 1945; escorted LSTs/LSMs to Okinawa arriving 31 March; antisubmarine patrol off invasion beaches; began sweeping 3 April in the clearing of Kinmu Wan. Rescued 16 survivors of Mullany (DD-528), crashed in the heavy suicide attacks of 6 April; helped YMS-427 fight a shore-gunfire fire 7 April; volunteer whaleboat crew rescued 21 from mined PGM-18 and YMS-103 on 8 April. Swept until 10 April, then antisubmarine stations off Kerama Retto and Ie Shima; swept in support of 3d Fleet operations against Japan 4-31 July; brief overhaul at San Pedro Bay. Okinawa 1 September; minesweeping in Japanese waters for the occupation; sailed from Sasebo 20 November, Pearl Harbor 8 December; overhaul until 20 January 1946; Orange, Tex., 3 June 1946; out of commission in reserve 24 August 1946. Recommissioned 16 March 1950; Charleston, S.C., 1 April; eastern seaboard and Caribbean training; Quebec 3-29 August 1953; Jacksonville 16 September; out of commission in reserve at Orange, Tex., 4 February 1954. Reclassified MSF-220, 7 February 1955. Three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); wartime crew (design complement 104); recommissioned-era crew 1950/51-1954
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. DANFS prints no laid-down date (1943-07-01 per NavSource/uboat.net) and its narrative ends at the 1955 reclassification - it does not cover the 1962 Mexican sale or later fate. It does not mention the 20 June 1945 collision with Dour (NavSource-only, flagged in ev-08). 'San Pedro Bay' in the DANFS text is the Leyte anchorage, not California. Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Device (MSF 220) ex-AM-220, file 11/02220 (chronology compiled from Naval Vessel Register and official sources; read via Wayback capture 2025-01-25, live navsource.org unreachable from this host) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02220 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, CO roster, photo captions (Wayback capture 2025-01-25 of navsource.org/archives/11/02220.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record: Admirable-class minesweeper; laid down 1 July 1943 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, FL; launched 21 May 1944; commissioned USS Device (AM 220) 7 July 1944; 'Damaged in a collision 20 June 1945 with Dour (AM 223) off Okinawa' (NavSource's Dour page, 11/02223, records the same collision identically); decommissioned 24 August 1946 at Orange, TX, with the footnote 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists out of commission, in reserve as December 1945' (ambiguous - flagged in ev-08); recommissioned 16 March 1951 (conflicts with DANFS's 1950 - flagged); decommissioned 4 February 1954 at Orange; reclassified MSF-220, 7 February 1955; sold to Mexico October 1962 and renamed ARM D-11 (E 1); renamed ARM Cadete Agustin Melgar (C 54) in 1994; struck from the Mexican Navy list in 2000; 'Fate unknown.' Call sign November-Charlie-Uniform-Sierra. Spec block: 945 t (fl); 184'6"; 33'; 9'9"; 14.8 kts; complement 104; armament one 3"/50 DP mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one hedgehog, four 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 roster: LCDR Russell Remage, Jr. USNR (7 Jul 1944 - 13 Nov 1945) through LT Cary Nicholas Carpenter USN (27 May 1953 - 4 Feb 1954); recommissioning CO LT Thomas Joseph O'Connor USN listed from 16 March 1951. Photos document the hull at Tampa July 1944 in camouflage 32/21D (NARA photo 19-LCM-AM220-2) and as ARM D-11 c. 1966.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-2000 (compiled)
- Population
- TASCO construction trades (1943-44); U.S. crew 1944-46 and 1950/51-54; Mexican Navy crew 1962-2000
- Limitations
- Private photo/data archive, not an official source: laid-down date, collision entry, propulsion spec, CO roster, and Mexican-service particulars rest on a secondary compilation, though its chronology tracks DANFS where the two overlap and the Dour collision is recorded identically on both NavSource hull pages. Recommission year conflicts with DANFS (1951 vs 1950) - DANFS carried, flagged in ev-08. 'Fate unknown' is superseded by later secondary sources documenting the 2000 reef scuttling (ev-08). Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-02
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL' yard table - hull #68 row (AM 220 Device) + yard history header [other_primary]
- Locator
- tasco.htm - hull #68 row + yard history header; block sisters #66 (Density AM-218), #67 (Design AM-219), #69 (Diploma AM-221)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table row for this hull: yard hull #68, 'AM 220 | Device | US Navy | Minesweeper | 650d | 180 | 7-Jul-44 | To Mexico 1962 as Cadete Augustin Melgar (C 54), retired 2000.' The table carries the consecutive TASCO Admirable-class block around her - #66 AM 218 Density (15-Jun-44), #67 AM 219 Design (29-Jun-44), #69 AM 221 Diploma (15-Jul-44, also to Mexico 1962 as Cadete Francisco Marquez C-59, 'reefed 2004') - then AM 222-231 cancelled and reallocated to AmShip Lorain. Yard history header: founded 1917 as Tampa Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 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
- 1943-1962
- Population
- TASCO construction workforce (Tampa, FL, 1943-44)
- Limitations
- Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, yard hull number (#68), type, tonnage, delivery date (7-Jul-44 matches DANFS commissioning exactly - no TASCO-delay for this hull, unlike sister Delegate's ~25-month launch-to-commissioning gap), and the Mexico-1962/C-54/retired-2000 disposition. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-03
-
[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-device-am220-04
-
[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) + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; Colton; uboat.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02220 propulsion line; DANFS construction/service dates; Colton tasco.htm; uboat.net ship/5290
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1943-laid, 1944-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 (1943-44); the U.S. crew (design complement ~104) across the 1944-46 Pacific commission (Okinawa sweeping under kamikaze and shore-battery attack, three casualty-rescue events in three days, a documented collision with Dour, and the post-surrender Japanese-water mine-clearance tour - damage-control and machinery-space work in a ship full of sweep gear) and the 1950/51-54 Atlantic commission; and the Mexican Navy crew of 1962-2000 - a population effectively invisible to U.S. claimant channels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-2000
- Population
- TASCO trades (1943-44); U.S. crew 1944-46 and 1950/51-54; Mexican Navy crew 1962-2000
- Limitations
- Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-220 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. Mexican-era maintenance (1962-2000) and the 2000 reef-sinking preparation are undocumented in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-05
-
[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: Device'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
- 1943-1944 (build)
- Population
- Tampa Shipbuilding construction trades 1943-44
- Limitations
- Yard-level findings describe the workplace, not this hull's materials; they do not establish that asbestos was installed aboard AM-220, 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-device-am220-06
-
[7]Batch-1198 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray/losthistory mirror; NavSource 11/02220 (and cross-check 11/02223 for Dour); Shipbuilding History TASCO yard table; uboat.net 5290; HyperWar per-hull page; Wikipedia/BlueNation Baja/Divearoo (fate corroboration); 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-device-am220-01 through sl-uss-device-am220-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Device / AM-220 / MSF-220 / DM-11 / C-54: 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 by daily-quota throttling (HTTP 429, shared 2,800/day key exhausted by prior same-day batch work; expected reset ~2.2h out) and not retried into a ban per batch rules; Google-indexed site:courtlistener.com results for 'USS Device'/'AM-220' returned only unrelated asbestos dockets - 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 Device | AM-220 | Admirable | 7/7/1944 | To Mexico, 1962'; 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 1943-44-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull left U.S. custody in 1962 and was scuttled as a reef in 2000, so no survey pathway remains; Mexican-era maintenance and reef-prep 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-device-am220-07
-
[8]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02220 vs NavSource 11/02223 (Dour) vs Colton TASCO yard table vs uboat.net 5290 vs Wikipedia infobox vs BlueNation Baja vs Divearoo vs NavalCoverMuseum-style listings [other_primary]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am220.htm; navsource.org/archives/11/02220.htm and /11/02223.htm (Wayback 2025-01-25); shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/tasco.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5290.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Device; bluenationbaja.com 'The History of the C-54 Agustin Melgar'; divearoo.com Loreto dive guide
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Recommissioning year - DANFS, uboat.net, and Wikipedia read 16 March 1950 (DANFS names the Charleston arrival 1 April); NavSource's chronology AND CO roster read 16 March 1951 (LT Thomas Joseph O'Connor USN from 16 Mar 1951). Exactly one year apart; DANFS's 1950 carried (official record, consistent with the documented Korean-War-era reactivation pattern; NavSource internally consistent at 1951). (b) Propulsion - NavSource hull-specific 'two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels + National Supply Co. reduction gear' (consistent with the Admirable-class machinery table's TASCO block, AM-214..AM-221) vs Wikipedia infobox 'ALCO 539 / Farrel-Birmingham' (the ALCO machinery block covers AM-136..AM-165, not the TASCO hulls) - NavSource's Cooper Bessemer fit carried. (c) Mexican pennant - 'ARM D-11 (E 1)' (NavSource) vs 'ARM DM-11' (Wikipedia, BlueNation Baja) vs 'D-1' (uboat.net) - DM-11 carried as the better-attested value; variants flagged. (d) Ultimate fate - NavSource 'fate unknown' and Colton 'retired 2000' vs Wikipedia/BlueNation Baja/Divearoo 'prepared and scuttled 2000 as artificial reef south of Puerto Escondido, off Isla Danzante, Loreto Bay National Park' - the reef fate is multiply attested in dive-community sources (the C-54 wreck is a known ~80-ft dive site) and is carried with the secondary-source reservation flagged. (e) Collision - 20 June 1945 with Dour (AM-223) off Okinawa rests on NavSource chronologies only (recorded identically on both hulls' NavSource pages); DANFS is silent for both ships. (f) NVR note - NavSource's footnote 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists out of commission, in reserve as December 1945' is ambiguous (the same footnote on Dour's page is demonstrably not a decommissioning date - Dour served to March 1947); carried verbatim, not interpreted. (g) Specs - displacement 530 t (DANFS) vs 945 t fl (NavSource) vs 650 long tons (Wikipedia/Colton 650d); armament variants across sources - DANFS carried; design-spec vs wartime-fit unresolved.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-2000
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. For the recommissioning-year conflict DANFS is treated as controlling because it is the official record; NavSource's 1951 is documented rather than discarded. The reef-scuttling fate rests on dive-community/secondary sources - no SEMAR or port authority record located. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-08
-
[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 Device 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-device-am220-09
-
[10]Archival leads - NARA RG 24 deck logs and WWII muster rolls for this hull's two U.S. commissions (Jul 1944 - Aug 1946; Mar 1950/51 - Feb 1954); NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the TASCO Admirable-class block (yard hull #68, ordered 14 Mar 1942 per uboat.net); war-damage/collision reports for the 20 June 1945 Dour collision off Okinawa; Mexican Navy (SEMAR) records for DM-11/Cadete Agustin Melgar C-54, 1962-2000, including reef-sinking preparation documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/24 group guides; NavSource 11/02220 (collision entry); DANFS service 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's first commission and RG 24 deck logs both commissions (Jul 1944 - Aug 1946, Mar 1950/51 - Feb 1954) - sibling Admirable/Auk-class hulls are demonstrably indexed (batch-1148 noted Heed AM-100 via a DPLA item), so coverage for AM-220 is expected but unconfirmed this session; (b) 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; (c) Navy war-damage/collision report files for the 20 June 1945 Dour collision - the likely official record of an event DANFS omits; (d) Mexican Navy (SEMAR) service and disposal records for DM-11/C-54, including any pre-scuttling hazmat-removal documentation for the 2000 reef sinking - held in Mexican archives, inaccessible this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-2000 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-220 is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, and collision reports are personnel/operations records, not materials documentation. The Mexican half of this hull's life (1962-2000) is doubly undocumented in U.S. sources. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-device-am220-10