Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]DANFS, Dipper (AM-357) - launch, sponsor, commissioning, service narrative, specifications block, disposal (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray.org itself unreachable at fetch time - 2008-11-20 Wayback capture of the hazegray transcription used) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Dipper' (mine section), specifications block + service narrative; Wayback capture 20081120153933 of hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am357.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: Dipper - 'any of several diving birds, including the dabchicks, the bufflehead, and the water ouzels.' Launched 26 July 1944 by Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, Oreg.; sponsored by Miss A. L. Gaffney; commissioned 26 December 1945, Lt. (j.g.) H. S. Pomeroy, USNR, in command. Sailed from Portland 11 January 1946 to join the 19th Fleet (Reserve) at San Diego four days later; provided various services for that group until placed out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947; reclassified MSF-357 on 7 February 1955; 'disposed of on 5 January 1961.' Spec block: dp. 530; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable. DANFS gives no laid-down date and no stricken date for this entry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1961
- Population
- Willamette Iron & Steel construction trades 1943-45; postwar crew (design complement 104)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Commissioning postdates V-J Day, so this hull saw no wartime operations; its entire active career (Dec 1945 - Jan 1947) was postwar reserve-group service. 'Disposed of 5 January 1961' does not distinguish sale date from removal/scrapping date (NavSource resolves: sold 5 Dec 1960, removed to Treasure Island 5 Jan 1961 - see ev-02). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 and hazegray.org did not respond at fetch time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-01
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[2]NavSource Online Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Dipper (MSF-357) ex-AM-357 page (chronology, specifications, commanding-officer list, NHHC photo NH 89283) + shipbuildinghistory Willamette Iron & Steel (WISCO) yard production table + uboat.net Allied Warships entry for AM 357 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource MSF-357 page (Wayback capture 20240525123051); shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/willamette/ yard table row 43; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5934.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity and disposal detail from corroborating secondary sources: laid down 19 November 1943 by Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, OR - as PCE-917, a PCE-905-class patrol escort, renamed and reclassified as minesweeper AM-357 before launch (shipbuildinghistory yard table lists hull 43 as 'Dipper (PCE 917/AM 357)'; uboat.net gives ordered 26 June 1943). Struck from the Naval Register 1 December 1959; sold for scrap 5 December 1960 to the National Steel Shipbuilding Co., Treasure Island, CA; removed to Treasure Island 5 January 1961 - the date DANFS records as 'disposed of.' NavSource spec block reads 945 t., 14.8 kts., complement 42 ('Reduced crew'). Commanding officers (NavSource): LTJG Harold S. Pomeroy USNR (1945-12-26), LTJG David E. Barnett USNR (1946-01-20), LTJG William B. Patterson USN (1946-04-10), LCDR Francis M. Linderman USN (1946-12-07), LTJG Martin J. Jaeger USN (1947-01-04 to 1947-01-14). NHHC photo NH 89283 shows her c.1945-46 at San Diego as end ship in a nest of nine minesweepers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1961
- Population
- Willamette yard workforce 1943-45; skeleton/caretaker and reserve-fleet crews 1947-1959
- Limitations
- NavSource, shipbuildinghistory, and uboat.net are reputable volunteer/secondary compilations, not primary Navy documents: the laid-down date (19 Nov 1943), stricken date (1 Dec 1959), and scrap-sale chain rest on them - DANFS is silent on all three. Where they overlap DANFS (launch, sponsor, commissioning, decommissioning, MSF reclassification) they agree. 'National Steel Shipbuilding Co., Treasure Island' is carried as NavSource reads it and is not confirmed to be the National Steel & Shipbuilding (NASSCO) entity. PCE-917 origin is documented by the yard production table and secondary references; no contract document retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-02
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[3]Lineaweaver v. Plant Insulation Co., 31 Cal. App. 4th 1409, 37 Cal. Rptr. 2d 902 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 1995) - published opinion reciting that Pabco asbestos insulation was used as 'fill-in' on ships at Willamette Shipyard; appellant King worked at Willamette 1966-1968 as a laborer sweeping/removing insulation debris [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 31 Cal. App. 4th 1409 (No. A060263, filed 1995-01-31) - factual recital of King's Willamette employment and Pabco fill-in use; Atlas shipyards.json record 'willamette-iron-steel' (ev-willamette-01)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Appellate court record documents asbestos-containing insulation products (Fibreboard 'Pabco,' used as fill-in insulation) in use at the builder's yard - Willamette Iron & Steel's Portland shipyard - during 1965-1971 ship-repair work; the Atlas shipyard dataset carries willamette-iron-steel at evidence_tier 3 on this opinion. Establishes asbestos products present at the builder's facility in a later era, not during this hull's 1943-45 construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1965-1971 (yard exposure documented); opinion 1995
- Population
- Willamette shipyard laborers/insulators, 1965-1971 repair era
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context, not hull-specific: the documented exposure window (1965-71 ship repair) postdates AM-357's construction (1943-45) by two decades and involves repair work on other vessels. Does not establish asbestos aboard AM-357, does not identify any product installed on this hull, and does not address crew exposure. Opinion resolves product-identification sufficiency for three appellants (affirmed nonsuit as to two, reversed as to Lineaweaver); it is a merits posture for those plaintiffs, not a finding about this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-03
-
[4]DANFS spec block (Admirable class, built 1943-45 at a Navy contract yard) + NavSource/class-reference machinery data (two Busch-Sulzer 539 diesels, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts) + Admirable-class machinery table placing AM-357 in the Busch-Sulzer-engined group (AM-356, -357, -359, -361...-366) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource MSF-357 specification list; Admirable-class machinery grouping (AM-357 in the Busch-Sulzer subset)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: AM-357 was built in 1943-45 at a Navy contract shipyard during the period when asbestos was standard material in U.S. naval vessel construction. For a steel-hulled geared-diesel minesweeper of this class, era-typical asbestos applications are engine and exhaust-system lagging, electrical and cable insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, deck coverings, and compartment/machinery-space insulation. The hull carried no boilers or steam plant (two Busch-Sulzer 539 diesels on a geared drive), so steam-plant lagging claims do not apply; unlike the Auk class, the Admirable machinery arrangement is geared diesel, not diesel-electric.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1961
- Population
- Construction trades 1943-45; crew 1945-47; reserve-fleet caretakers 1947-59; scrapyard workers 1961
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific material survey, build specification, or insulation inventory located. Names era-typical applications for the vessel type, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; does not establish what was installed or what remained at the 1960-61 scrapping. NARA RG 19 'General Information Books' for AM-357/Admirable class are the archival path for hull-level material specs - not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-04
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[5]EPA Superfund site profile, Portland Harbor (NPL-listed December 2000; sediment remedy selected January 2017) + Oregon DEQ Portland Harbor source-control documentation (Swan Island upland operable units) + Atlas shipyards.json record 'willamette-iron-steel' (superfund_status 'Not Listed') [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA CUMULIS site profile ID 1002155 (Portland Harbor); oregon.gov DEQ Portland Harbor pages; shipyards.json 'willamette-iron-steel' record
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Federal environmental documentation exists for the waterfront where the builder operated: the Portland Harbor Superfund site covers the lower Willamette River's industrial corridor (in-river portion roughly river miles 1.9-11.8), including the Portland shipyard district where Willamette Iron & Steel ran its yard and its later Swan Island dry-dock facility. Listed contaminants of concern are PCBs, PAHs, dioxins/furans, pesticides (incl. DDT), tributyltin, and heavy metals - asbestos is not among the listed contaminants of concern. The Atlas yard dataset records the Willamette Iron & Steel facility itself as not an NPL-listed site.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2000-present (NPL listing and cleanup)
- Population
- n/a (site-level environmental documentation)
- Limitations
- River-segment and upland-site environmental record, not a hull record and not a yard-parcel listing: the Portland Harbor site is an industrial-corridor sediment site, and the absence of asbestos from listed COCs reflects what EPA documented in the sediment/upland pathway, not whether asbestos was used in 1943-45 hull construction. Does not establish or refute asbestos aboard AM-357. No parcel-level determination tying the former Willamette yard to a specific operable unit was made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-05
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[6]NARA Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities - 'Dipper (AM-357), 12/26/45-7/10/46' (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel; catalog.archives.gov/id/125813980; indexed via DPLA) + NHHC photo NH 89283 (c.1945-46, San Diego) + hullnumber.com AM-357 crew roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- dp.la/item/87272a875e6afc5ae9d23d23edaa284c -> catalog.archives.gov/id/125813980; NavSource photo credit line (NH 89283); hullnumber.com/crew1.php?cm=AM-357
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Crew-level archival records exist for this hull: NARA holds muster rolls for USS Dipper (AM-357) covering 26 December 1945 - 10 July 1946, the ship's commissioned-active window; additional rolls for the reserve period may exist in the same series. An official NHHC photograph (NH 89283) documents the ship at San Diego c.1945-46 nested with nine other minesweepers. A volunteer crew roster (hullnumber.com) carries at least one 1946 crew member.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1945-1947 (records coverage); archival holdings current
- Population
- Commissioned-era crew (1945-12-26 to 1947-01-15 window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the muster rolls were not retrieved and no asbestos statement is known to exist in them; they establish that crew-level documentation exists for this hull, nothing about materials aboard. NARA RG 19 General Information Books (hull-level material specifications) remain the unretrieved path for material confirmation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-06
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[7]Batch-1301 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (Wayback-hazegray mirror), NavSource (Wayback), shipbuildinghistory yard list, uboat.net, CourtListener API v4, web-index litigation search (Justia/Casetext-indexed), ToxicDocs, NARA/DPLA muster-roll index, NVR, EPA CUMULIS, Oregon DEQ, LoC Veterans History Project [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dipper-am357-01 through sl-uss-dipper-am357-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Dipper (AM-357/MSF-357, ex-PCE-917) was found in the public sources searched. Web-index litigation searches returned only law-firm list pages (excluded sources - mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, mesotheliomaveterans.org, mesothelioma.net all list the hull generically) and unrelated 'Dipper' name collisions (a 1931 power-shovel patent opinion; a 2024 Michigan FOIA case; Oklahoma mining statutes; F. Supp. volume 357). The CourtListener API litigation check was blocked by exhausted daily quota (HTTP 429, 2,800/day authenticated cap, ~9h to reset) and remains an open verification item. No federal industrial-health survey of the Willamette yard was located in ToxicDocs (unlike the Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging survey found for the preceding batch's hull).
- 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 - the ship's 1943-45 construction at a Navy contract yard is consistent with era-standard asbestos use. The CourtListener quota block means the docket/opinion index check is incomplete; re-run when quota resets. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dipper-am357-07