Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]DANFS, Disdain (AM-222) (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 25 March 1944 by American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio; sponsored by Mrs. J. P. Sturges; commissioned 26 December 1944, Lieutenant H. D. Lindsay, Jr., USNR, in command. Departing Chicago, Ill., 4 January 1945, Disdain made her way down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, arriving the last day of January for shakedown training; sailed from Burrwood, La., 27 February, called at San Diego, and arrived Seattle, Wash., 22 March to prepare for transfer; sailed 7 April for Cold Bay, Alaska, arriving 15 April to train Russian sailors; decommissioned 21 May 1945 and transferred to the U.S.S.R. under lend lease; reclassified MSF-222, 7 February 1955. DANFS specifications block: dp. 530; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (U.S. service); 1955 (reclassification)
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction trades (1943-44); USN crew Dec 1944-May 1945 (complement 104); Soviet trainee crew at Cold Bay (Apr-May 1945)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC DANFS page returns 404 (standing link-rot note from Batch 01); verbatim hazegray transcription cited. DANFS carries no laid-down date (NavSource supplies 23 Oct 1943) and no striking date. The closing line 'remains in Russian hands' reflects the 1959-era DANFS edition - the hull was scrapped in the USSR in 1960. Spec-block displacement 530 t conflicts with NavSource 945 t(fl), HyperWar 625 t, and Wikipedia 650 t - carried in gaps. Commissioning CO per DANFS (Lindsay) conflicts with NavSource/uboat roster (Chambers first) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-01
-
[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Disdain (MSF-222) ex-AM-222 page (construction chronology, Soviet-service chain, specifications, commanding-officer rosters, disposition); Soviet-era CO corroboration: Lenta.ru Orlikova profile (2021-12-06), Naval Historical Society of Australia Orlikova biography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AM-222 page - Admirable Class Minesweeper chronology, specifications block, CO rosters; Wayback capture 20240528001927
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 23 October 1943 by the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, OH; launched 25 March 1944; commissioned USS Disdain (AM 222) 26 December 1944; decommissioned 21 May 1945 at 'Cold Harbor, AK' [sic - Cold Bay per DANFS/Russell/all other sources]; transferred to the Soviet Union 22 May 1945 and reclassified T-271; assigned to the Soviet Pacific Fleet 5 June 1945; transferred to the Ministry of Transport 14 July 1947, converted to a whaling ship and named Storm; transferred to 'Glavpromorrybprom' 7 August 1948; reclassified by U.S. Navy as MSF-222, 7 February 1955; scrapped in early 1960. Specifications: displacement 945 t.(fl); length 184'6"; beam 33'; draft 9'9"; speed 14.8 kts; complement 104; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one depth-charge projector (hedgehog), four depth-charge projectors (K-guns), two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,710-shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single-reduction gear, two shafts. U.S. CO roster: CDR John Samuel Chambers USNR (26 Dec 1944-23 Jan 1945), LT Henry David Lindsay Jr. USNR (23 Jan 1945-21 May 1945). Soviet-era roster: Captain Valentina Yakovlevna Orlikova, Soviet Merchant Marine (1947-1953).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- USN crew Dec 1944-May 1945; Soviet Navy crew T-271 (1945-47); Soviet whaling crew of Storm incl. Capt. Orlikova (1947-c.1960)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival page - the sole located source for the laid-down date, the Ministry-of-Transport/Glavpromorrybprom chain, the Orlikova command listing, and the Cooper Bessemer propulsion detail. 'Cold Harbor, AK' is a typo for Cold Bay. Current page text reads T-271, matching Russell's Soviet-records finding; older NavSource text and the Colton-derived minesweeper table read T-277 - carried in gaps. Propulsion conflicts with HyperWar ('diesel-electric, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.') and Wikipedia (ALCO 539 / Farrel-Birmingham) - carried in gaps. Displacement 945 t(fl) conflicts with DANFS 530 t / HyperWar 625 t / Wikipedia 650 t - carried in gaps. Orlikova detail corroborated by Russian (Lenta.ru, ru.wikipedia) and Naval Historical Society of Australia accounts, which confirm her ~5-year command of the whaler Shtorm/Storm without tying the hull to AM-222 - the hull-to-Storm identity rests on NavSource and Berezhnoi-derived documentation. Contains no asbestos information. Live navsource.org fetch failed during research; content verified via Wayback capture 20240528001927 and Google index of the live page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-02
-
[3]Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, Naval Historical Center, Washington DC, 1997 (ISBN 0-945274-35-1) - official Navy historical monograph drawing on Soviet-era records and Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1949) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Project Hula appendix table, p. 39 ('Disdain (AM 222) - T-271 - 22 May'); program narrative pp. 11-14, 27, 37-39
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHC monograph's transfer appendix (p. 39) lists this hull directly: 'Disdain (AM 222) - T-271 - 22 May - [1960-scrapped]' in the U.S./Soviet designation, transfer-date, and disposition columns. Program context from the same source: the planned roster was 180 vessels including 24 minesweepers (AM) and 36 YMS; 149 ships were transferred at Cold Bay in 1945; about 12,000 Soviet officers and men were trained there; the prospective crews for the 16th Mine Sweeper Division (twelve Admirable-class and six YMS-type ships) disembarked at Cold Bay 11-14 April 1945 - matching Disdain's documented 15 April arrival to begin Soviet crew training. Russell documents that Hula transfers were single-ceremony events combining U.S. decommissioning, transfer, and Soviet commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1945 (transfer); monograph published 1997
- Population
- USN crew + Soviet trainee crew at Cold Bay, Apr-May 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative for the transfer event and Soviet designation: Russell used Soviet-era records unavailable during the Cold War plus NAVSHIPS 250-012, and resolves the T-271/T-277 conflict toward T-271 (T-277 was sister USS Mirth AM-265) and the 21-vs-22 May discrepancy toward a simultaneous 22 May ceremony. The 1960-scrapped disposition in the appendix agrees with NavSource's 'early 1960.' Establishes nothing about materials or asbestos aboard; the monograph is a transfer-program history, not a hull materials record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-03
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), American Ship Building - Lorain OH yard table, yard hull #856 row: Disdain (AM 222), U.S. Navy minesweeper, 650d tons, 184 ft, delivered Dec-44 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/amshiplorain.htm, yard-hull row 856
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Colton's AmShip Lorain yard table carries AM-222 Disdain as yard hull #856, delivered December 1944, disposition 'Transferred from Tampa SB, to USSR 1945' - read as a contract reassignment, i.e., the AM-222 order was among those moved from Tampa Shipbuilding to American Ship Building's Lorain yard, which performed the actual construction. The same table shows neighboring Lorain hulls #857-859 as sisters Dour (AM-223), Eager (AM-224), Elusive (AM-225) with identical 'Transferred from Tampa SB' contract notes.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Colton's yard lists), not an official record - the 'Transferred from Tampa SB' phrasing is the compiler's; the contract-reassignment reading is inference from the table structure (the hull carries an AmShip yard number and DANFS/NavSource both record construction at Lorain). Independent verification of the contract transfer would require Bureau of Ships contract files (QM/American Shipbuilding, NARA RG 19). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-04
-
[5]NARA, Special List 44 - Named Vessels (finding aid to Vessel and Station Log Books at the National Archives, RG 24) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 named-vessels table, 'Disdain (AM-222)' row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List 44 names this hull with one logbook volume: 'Disdain (AM-222) 12/26/1944-5/21/1945' - deck-log coverage spanning the hull's entire U.S. commissioned career, from the commissioning date through the decommissioning/transfer day, covering the Mississippi transit, New Orleans shakedown, Seattle transfer preparation, and the Cold Bay Project Hula period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (logbook coverage)
- Population
- USN complement aboard AM-222, Dec 1944-May 1945
- Limitations
- Deck logs are operational records - they document movements and events, not materials or asbestos aboard. Coverage ends 21 May 1945 at U.S. decommissioning; Soviet-era logs, if any survive, are not U.S. records. Muster rolls for this hull not separately confirmed in the named-vessels finding aid.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-05
-
[6]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessels up through 1961' (RG 19 research guide: hull-designation correspondence, Minesweeper and Minelayer General Information Books, hull-arranged Ship Engineering Drawings S39/S48/S103 filing codes) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided topic page, sections on Bureau of Ships correspondence, 'General Information Books,' and 'Ship Engineering Drawings'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- NARA's official asbestos-research guide identifies the record series that would document hull-level material specifications for this ship: RG 19 Bureau of Ships general correspondence filed under hull designation 'AM222' and class correspondence under 'AM136 Class' (Admirable namesake); builder contract files under 'QM/American Shipbuilding'; RG 19 Entry P-11, 'Minesweeper and Minelayer General Information Books' (Item S-68, 1940-1962); and the paper/microfilm Ship Engineering Drawings ('Hull Series') arranged by hull number and Ship Material Group - the guide names S103 (Booklets of General Plans), S39 (Insulation and Lagging), and S48 (Piping) as the codes most relevant to asbestos research. An AM-222-specific drawing or GIB volume, if it survives, is the realistic path to any ship-specific materials finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (hypothetical record coverage); guide current as of 2026-09-22
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction trades (1943-44); USN crew Dec 1944-May 1945
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the guide documents which series exist, not that AM-222 material survives in them; no hull-specific drawing, GIB, or contract file was retrieved or confirmed. Establishes a research path, not an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-06
-
[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., '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
- J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16 (1946); PubMed PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned wartime industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations at Navy and Navy-contract shipyards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - asbestos insulation was standard material in naval-vessel construction of exactly this hull's era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (survey era)
- Population
- Navy and Navy-contract shipyard pipe-covering trades (wartime)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether the AmShip Lorain yard was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, quantities, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-07
-
[8]DANFS AM-222 entry (vessel type, builder, 1943-44 construction window) + NavSource propulsion data (diesel plant); NARA recognition of asbestos in USN materiel 1941-1961; wartime shipbuilding-materials context [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS AM-222 entry (construction record); NavSource AM-222 specifications block; NARA asbestos guided-topic page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/type inference only: a steel Admirable-class fleet minesweeper built 1943-44 at AmShip Lorain - inside the 1941-1961 window in which NARA officially recognizes asbestos use in U.S. Navy materiel - plausibly carried period-standard asbestos-containing materials in applications typical for the type: diesel exhaust lagging, engine-space insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, fireproofing, accommodation insulation, and deck covering. Because the plant was diesel (two diesel engines, no boilers or steam lines), the dominant WWII asbestos pathway aboard steam vessels - boiler and steam-line lagging - did not exist on this hull; expected ACM scope is smaller and differently distributed than aboard a steam vessel of the same era. The 1947-48 conversion to the whaling ship Storm in Soviet hands was a documented modification of the 1944 hull; any disturbance of era materials in that work is inference only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction trades (1943-44); USN crew Dec 1944-May 1945; Soviet Navy and whaling crews (1945-1960); Soviet scrapping workers (1960)
- Limitations
- Inference from era, builder, and vessel type only - no ship-specific document names any asbestos product aboard this hull. No material schedule for AM-222 was located (NARA RG 19 series are the lead, ev-06). Diesel propulsion reduces expected ACM scope relative to steam vessels but does not establish absence; the Soviet whaler conversion and 1960 scrapping created undocumented disturbance opportunities. The very short U.S. career (~5 months) limits the U.S.-service exposure window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-08
-
[9]Batch-1200 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource (Wayback); Russell Project Hula NHC monograph; Colton AmShip Lorain table; NARA Special List 44 + asbestos guide; CourtListener API (blocked, 429) + Google-indexed fallback; VA BVA index; uboat.net; HyperWar per-hull page; shipyards.json lookup [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-disdain-am222-01 through sl-uss-disdain-am222-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Disdain / AM-222 / MSF-222 / T-271 / Storm was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) was rate-limited (HTTP 429, shared 2,800/day cap) at time of research; Google-indexed site:courtlistener.com and VA BVA searches returned no qualifying hit naming the vessel.
- 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 diesel minesweeper is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The hull left U.S. custody in May 1945 and was scrapped in the USSR in 1960, so no U.S. late-life record chain (reserve fleet, museum, domestic scrapping) exists to generate documentation; Soviet/Russian shipyard and fleet records were not searched (language/access barrier). The CourtListener API query itself was blocked by the shared daily cap - the litigation check rests on the indexed fallback plus the implausibility of a U.S. docket naming a 5-month lend-lease hull; an authenticated API re-run remains an open item.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-disdain-am222-09