Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]DANFS, 'Dour' (AM-223) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror, verified word-for-word against the official NHHC page via Wayback capture 2025-01-25 (live history.navy.mil URL returns 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01/1148/1169/1196/1198) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Dour' entry, specifications block + service narrative (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am223.htm; NHHC original via web.archive.org capture 2025-01-25)
- 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. 14.8 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable). Launched 25 March 1944 by American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio; sponsored by Mrs. W. R. Douglas; commissioned 4 November 1944, Lt. W. V. Byrd, USNR, in command. Arrived Boston 26 November 1944 from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River; Local Defense Force until 1 February 1945, then Norfolk. Sailed Norfolk 9 March 1945 for the Pacific via San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Saipan; arrived Okinawa 26 May escorting a convoy of landing craft; patrolled off Okinawa and Ie Shima; on 23 July joined minesweeping coordinated with the 3d Fleet strikes on Japan. Postwar sweeping in the Yellow Sea and off Jinsen, Korea; arrived Sasebo 9 September 1945 and swept Japanese waters until 28 December; arrived San Pedro 7 February 1946; Algiers, La., 26 April - 2 May; served ships in reserve at Orange, Tex., until placed out of commission in reserve 15 March 1947; reclassified MSF-223 on 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
- 1942-1955
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction trades (1942-44); wartime crew (design complement 104)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, service narrative, and awards - not materials or asbestos content. The entry ends at the 1955 reclassification and is silent on striking and disposal (Mexican transfer rests on secondary sources - ev-02, ev-08). DANFS carries no laid-down date (NavSource/Colton/Wikipedia supply 24 Oct 1942) and does not mention the 20 June 1945 collision with Device. Mirror transcription verified verbatim against the official NHHC text via Wayback capture of 2025-01-25; live page returns 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Dour (MSF 223) ex-AM-223, file 11/02223 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02223 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, CO list, photo credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record: 'Admirable Class Minesweeper'; laid down 24 October 1942 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio; launched 25 March 1944; commissioned USS Dour (AM 223) 4 November 1944; 'Damaged in a collision 20 June 1945 with Device (AM 220) off Okinawa' (NavSource's Device page, 11/02220, records the same collision identically); decommissioned 15 March 1947 at Orange, TX, laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet Texas Group, with the boilerplate footnote 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists out of commission, in reserve as December 1945' (conflicts with the documented 1947 decommissioning - flagged in ev-08); 'Reclassified as a Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull), MSF-223, 7 February 1955'; 'Struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1962'; 'Transferred to Mexico 1 October 1962 and renamed DM-16 (E 6)'; reclassified ID-16 in 1979; struck from the Mexican Naval list in 1986; retired from the Mexican Navy August 1988; 'Fate unknown.' 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 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: LT William Vandiver Byrd USNR (4 Nov 1944 - 31 Oct 1945), LTJG Donald David Wenger USNR (10 Nov 1945), LT Herbert Birnbaum USNR (30 Jan 1946), LT Robert Henry Mudd USNR (6 May 1946), LT Arthur Louis Witten USNR (11 Jul 1946), LCDR Edmund Hamilton Gentry USNR (11 Sep 1946 - 15 Mar 1947). Call sign November-Charlie-Whiskey-Kilo. Holds an under-construction photo credited to Historical Collections of the Great Lakes and a 18 Dec 1944 Boston view (NARA 80-G-382800).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Population
- AmShip Lorain trades (1942-44); wartime crew; Orange reserve-fleet lay-up workforce (1947)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official. The collision, laid-down date, propulsion spec, CO roster, and Mexican pennant rest on NavSource alone or on NavSource plus other secondary listings. The 'NVR 1 Jan 1949' boilerplate note printed across these pages conflicts with the documented 15 Mar 1947 decommissioning - flagged in ev-08. '1,710shp' reads as a class-level figure (per-engine vs total unresolved - carried as printed). Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-02
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'AmShip Lorain, Lorain OH and Cleveland OH' yard table - hull #857 row (AM 223 Dour) + yard history header [other_primary]
- Locator
- amshiplorain.htm - hull #857 row + yard history header; block sisters #856 (AM 222), #858-860 (AM 224-226)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table row for this hull: yard hull #857, 'Dour (AM 223) | U.S. Navy | Minesweeper | 650d | 184 | Nov-44 | Transferred from Tampa SB, to Mexico 1962 as DM-16, struck 1986.' The AM-222..AM-226 block (hulls #856-860: Disdain, Dour, Eager, Elusive, Embattle) is annotated 'Transferred from Tampa SB' - i.e., a Tampa Shipbuilding contract reassigned to and built at AmShip Lorain. Yard history header: founded 1886 as Cleveland Shipbuilding (Coffinberry & Wallace) on the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace site; new yard built at Lorain 1897; acquired by The American Ship Building Company two years later as its Lorain Division; a leading builder of lakers until the late 1970s; closed 1983; site sold to Spitzers as a steel-scrap facility, now a marina.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Population
- AmShip Lorain construction workforce (Lorain, OH, 1942-44)
- Limitations
- Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, yard hull number (#857), delivery date (Nov-44 matches commissioning 4 Nov 1944), type, tonnage class (650d), and disposal (Mexico 1962, struck 1986). The 'transferred from Tampa SB' note documents contract reassignment, not a second builder - consistent with NavSource/DANFS attributing construction to AmShip Lorain. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS Dour (AM 223) ship page (ID 5293) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5293.html - fact table + commands section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Per-hull record: Admirable-class minesweeper, US Navy, pennant AM 223; built by American Shipbuilding Co. (Lorain, Ohio); 'Ordered 12 Aug 1943'; laid down 24 October 1942; launched 25 March 1944; commissioned 4 November 1944; end service 15 March 1947 ('Decommissioned 15 March 1947 at Orange Texas. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange.'). Commanding officer listed: Lt. William Vandiver Byrd, USNR, from 4 Nov 1944 to late 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- AmShip Lorain trades (1942-44); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - corroborates builder, construction dates, and end of service. The printed 'Ordered 12 Aug 1943' post-dates the documented 24 Oct 1942 laydown and is internally impossible as a contract date (probably a contract-transfer or data-entry artifact; the Colton note 'transferred from Tampa SB' suggests the contract was reassigned) - flagged in ev-08. WWII scope only - no disposal, no MSF reclassification, no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-04
-
[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 class block reads 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.' - contradicted by the documented gear) + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; NavSource; Colton; uboat.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02223 propulsion line; HyperWar AM-223 stub page + ships-dm.html Admirable-class block; DANFS construction/service dates; Colton amshiplorain.htm
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1942-laid, 1944-commissioned steel Admirable-class minesweeper with a diesel direct-drive twin-screw plant (two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply 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: AmShip Lorain construction trades (1942-44); the wartime U.S. crew (design complement ~104) across the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence transit, Atlantic local-defense duty, the Pacific transit, and the Okinawa/Japan minesweeping tour - with documented machinery-space disturbance episodes (post-commissioning workups, the 20 June 1945 collision repair period, and the 1946-47 Orange reserve-fleet lay-up) as the heaviest potential disturbance points; plus the Mexican Navy workforce that operated the hull 1962-1988 and whatever workforce handled final disposal.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Population
- AmShip Lorain trades (1942-44); U.S. crew Nov 1944 - Mar 1947; Mexican Navy crew/workforce 1962-1988; disposal workforce (unknown)
- Limitations
- Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-223 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 and disposal-process records are undocumented in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-05
-
[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); 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 American Shipbuilding's Lorain yard. 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-dour-am223-06
-
[7]Batch-1201 search ledger (this record): DANFS via losthistory/hazegray mirror verified against NHHC Wayback capture 2025-01-25; NavSource 11/02223; Shipbuilding History AmShip Lorain yard table; uboat.net 5293; HyperWar AM-223 stub + ships-dm class block; NavalCoverMuseum DOUR MSF 223; Wikipedia cross-check; NVR; NARA catalog; archive.org; site:va.gov BVA query; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-dour-am223-01 through sl-uss-dour-am223-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Dour / AM-223 / MSF-223 / DM-16: 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). Non-authoritative marketing rosters carry the name in generic ship tables (mesothelioma.com minesweeper jobsites page: 'USS Dour | AM-223 | Admirable | 11/4/1944 | To Mexico, 1962'; mesotheliomahelp.org minesweeper list) - excluded per source rules; they carry no hull-specific evidence. CourtListener authenticated sweeps could not be completed this session: queries on the shared API key returned HTTP 429 ('Rate limit exceeded: 2800/day', ~7,400s remaining on final check) - the sweep was abandoned per batch rules (back off, log honestly, never retry into a ban). The litigation surface of this hull is therefore unsearched, not searched-and-empty; Google-indexed site:courtlistener.com and site:va.gov queries returned no decisions naming the 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 - a 1942-44-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull was transferred to Mexico in 1962 and its fate after the 1988 retirement is unknown, so no present-day survey pathway exists. IMPORTANT: the CourtListener sweep did not run (throttled, shared quota) - 'no qualifying case located' reflects the non-litigation repositories and degraded Google-indexed queries only; a differently-phrased hull reference may exist in the opinion/docket indexes. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-07
-
[8]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (NHHC Wayback capture 2025-01-25 + losthistory/hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02223 vs Colton AmShip Lorain yard table vs uboat.net 5293 vs NavalCoverMuseum vs HyperWar stub/class block vs Wikipedia infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am223.htm + web.archive.org capture of history.navy.mil DANFS page (2025-01-25); navsource.net/archives/11/02223.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/amshiplorain.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5293.html; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/DOUR_MSF_223; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-223_Dour.html + ships-dm.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dour_(AM-223)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Ordered date - uboat.net prints 'Ordered 12 Aug 1943,' which post-dates the documented 24 Oct 1942 laydown and is impossible as a contract date; Colton's 'transferred from Tampa SB' annotation suggests contract reassignment to AmShip Lorain, which may explain the artifact - flagged, no ordered date carried in the record. (b) Propulsion - NavSource hull-specific 'two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels + National Supply Co. reduction gear' (consistent with the Admirable-class article's documented machinery blocks: Cooper Bessemer for AM-214..AM-226) vs Wikipedia infobox 'ALCO 539 / Farrel-Birmingham' (the AM-136..AM-165 block fit) vs HyperWar class block 'diesel-electric, 1,800 h.p.' (contradicted by the documented reduction gear) - NavSource carried. (c) Disposal - DANFS silent post-1955; NavSource, Wikipedia, Colton, and NavalCoverMuseum agree on struck 1 May 1962 / transferred to Mexico 1 Oct 1962 as DM-16, ID-16 from 1979, struck 1986, retired Aug 1988, fate unknown - carried with secondary-source reservation. (d) Displacement - DANFS 530 t vs NavSource 945 t (full load) vs HyperWar class block 625 t vs Colton/Wikipedia 650d - DANFS carried in prose; variances flagged. (e) Speed - DANFS 14.8 kts vs HyperWar class block 15 kts - variance flagged. (f) Armament - DANFS '1 3"' vs NavSource fuller wartime fit (3"/50 DP + twin 40mm + six 20mm + hedgehog + 4 K-guns + 2 DC tracks) - design-spec vs wartime-fit unresolved. (g) Reserve status note - NavSource boilerplate 'NVR of 1 January 1949 lists out of commission, in reserve as December 1945' conflicts with the documented 15 Mar 1947 decommissioning - printed identically across sibling pages; flagged. (h) Collision - 20 Jun 1945 with Device (AM 220) off Okinawa rests on NavSource chronologies only (identical on both hulls' pages); DANFS silent on both sides.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1988
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. For disposal, all sources are secondary - SECNAV/OPNAV 5441 strike notices, NVR print volumes, and SEMAR records are the archival resolution path. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-08
-
[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 in the non-litigation repositories searched; the CourtListener sweep itself could not run (API throttle, shared quota - see ev-07 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; whether any such claim naming Dour exists is unverified this session.
- 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 in the searches performed. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-09
-
[10]Archival leads - NARA WWII muster rolls and RG 24 deck logs for this hull's Nov 1944 - Mar 1947 commission; NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the Lorain Admirable-class block (AmShip yard hull #857, transferred from the Tampa SB contract); Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU) American Ship Building Lorain records (credited source of NavSource's under-construction photo of this hull); NARA still-photo holding 80-G-382800 (18 Dec 1944 Boston view); war-damage/collision report for the 20 Jun 1945 Device collision; BuShips Naval Vessel Register print volumes and SECNAV/OPNAV 5441 strike notices; Mexican Navy (SEMAR) records for DM-16/ID-16, 1962-1988; NHHC Ships Histories microfiche files [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/24 group guides; hcgl.bgsu.edu (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes); NavSource 11/02223 photo credits; shipscribe.com source guides
- 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 Nov 1944 - Mar 1947 commission - sibling Admirable-class hulls are demonstrably indexed, so coverage for AM-223 is expected but unconfirmed this session; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs, Nov 1944 - Mar 1947; (c) NARA RG 19 BuShips records / General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the Lorain Admirable-class block - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules; (d) Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green State University holds American Ship Building Co. Lorain records and is the credited source of NavSource's under-construction photo of this hull - the most promising builder-yard lead; (e) NARA still photo 80-G-382800 (18 Dec 1944 Boston view per NavSource credit); (f) war-damage/collision report for the 20 Jun 1945 collision with Device (AM 220); (g) NVR print volumes and SECNAV/OPNAV 5441 strike notices for the 1 May 1962 strike documentation; (h) SEMAR records for DM-16/ID-16 service and 1988 disposal.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1988 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-223 is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, register entries, and photo files are personnel/status/imagery records, not materials documentation. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-dour-am223-10