USS Dunlin (AM-361)

Name
USS Dunlin
Hull designation
AM-361
Vessel class
Admirable
Evidence tier
Tier 2
Evidence entries
8
Record ID
uss-dunlin-am361
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-dunlin-am361

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

  1. [1]DANFS, Dunlin (AM-361) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404; no Wayback capture located) [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    DANFS entry 'Dunlin', complete text (short entry - minimal DANFS coverage)
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    DANFS record for this hull, verbatim: 'Dunlin - A species of sandpiper. (AM-361: dp. 530; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable) The first Dunlin (AM-361) was launched 26 August 1943 by Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. Ernest E. Lissy; and commissioned 16 February 1945, Lieutenant T. T. Wuerth, USNR, in command.' Service narrative: arrived Guam from San Pedro 7 June 1945; sailed for Okinawa ten days later for sweeping operations in the East China Sea coordinated with 3d Fleet strikes against Japan; left Okinawa 6 September to sweep the approaches to Sasebo and Nagasaki; cleared Bungo Suido area 20 September-31 October; escort voyage Hiro Wan-Kure; arrived Sasebo 20 November to unload minesweeping gear and supervise Japanese minesweepers in Ozue and Ariake Wans; 18 January 1946 to Fusan, Korea - harbor check for acoustic mines, then cargo from Chinhae for Allied vessels; Sasebo 1 February-4 March; escorted four YMSs via Hong Kong to Subic Bay, arriving 18 March; demilitarized there; sailed to Shanghai, arriving 22 April; decommissioned 29 May 1946 and turned over to the Foreign Liquidation Committee of the State Department for transfer to the Chinese Maritime Commission. Three battle stars for WWII service.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1943-1946
    Population
    Willamette Iron and Steel construction trades, Portland, 1943-45; U.S. Navy crew Feb 1945 - May 1946 (complement 104)
    Limitations
    DANFS documents identity and service dates, not materials or asbestos content. The entry begins at launch - no laid-down date - and is silent on any PCE-program identity. The spec block's 'dp. 530' conflicts with NavSource's 945 t and Wikipedia's 650-long-ton class figure - logged in gaps. Live NHHC page returns 404 and no Wayback capture was located (standing Batch-01 link-rot, worse than usual); verbatim losthistory/hazegray mirror transcription cited.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-01
  2. [2]NavSource Online Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Dunlin (AM-361) - ship page with specification block, commanding-officer list, and NARA photo credits [other_primary]
    Locator
    navsource.net/archives/11/02361.htm - vessel page, spec block, CO list, photo credits
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    NavSource record for this hull: laid down 29 January 1943 by Willamette Iron and Steel Corp., Portland, OR; launched 26 August 1943; commissioned USS Dunlin (AM-361) 16 February 1945; decommissioned 29 May 1946 at Shanghai, China, turned over to the State Department Foreign Liquidation Commission for transfer to the Chinese Maritime Commission and struck from the Navy Register; renamed Yung Wan (AM 51) 19 July 1946; 'Fate unknown.' Call sign November-How-Zebra-Baker. Commanding officers: LT Tom Terrance Wuerth USNR (16 Feb 1945 - 28 Dec 1945), LT Melvin Frederick Liebau USNR (28 Dec 1945), LTJG Maurice Dailey USNR (15 Mar - 29 May 1946). Spec block: 945 t, 184'6" x 33' x 9'9", 14.8 kts, complement 104; armament one 3"/50 DP, two twin 40mm, six 20mm, hedgehog, four K-guns, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 855-shp Busch-Sulzer 539 diesels, Farrel-Birmingham single-reduction gear, two shafts. Photos credited: NARA BS 81064 and BS 81065 (Bureau of Ships collection) - the ship at Willamette 1 March 1945 in camouflage 32/22D.
    Verification
    partial
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1943-1946
    Population
    U.S. Navy crew Feb 1945 - May 1946 (three named COs, complement 104)
    Limitations
    NavSource is a compiled secondary database (drawing on NVR entries and contributor material). No materials or asbestos information. The Busch-Sulzer 539 engine attribution conflicts with Wikipedia's class-generic ALCO 539 infobox entry - logged in gaps (same pattern as sibling AM-356). The banner line 'served the Navies of the United States and the Republic of China' is a stock template - for this hull it is NOT corroborated: Navypedia's ROC Navy Admirable roster omits Yung Wan, and the Maritime Customs framing (Wikipedia; NavSource's own AM-363 sister page) points to a civilian agency. No separate strike date is given - the strike is bundled into the decommission/transfer note; the 19 July 1946 rename is the nearest dated post-U.S. event.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-02
  3. [3]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton) yard production table: Willamette Iron & Steel (WISCO), Portland OR - yard hull 31 'Dunlin (PCE 905), U.S. Navy, Patrol Escort, 795d, 176 ft, delivered 31-May-45, To China 1946 as Yung Wan (AM 51)' [other_primary]
    Locator
    shipbuildinghistory.com willamette.htm yard table, hull row 31
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    The builder's yard production table places this hull at Willamette Iron & Steel, Portland, as yard hull no. 31, entered as 'Dunlin (PCE 905)' under type 'Patrol Escort' with the PCE-905-class spec block (795d, 176 ft) - corroborating at yard level that the hull was contracted under the PCE-program family and recording the disposition 'To China 1946 as Yung Wan (AM 51).' The neighboring rows 32-36 carry the same pattern (Gadwall/Gavia/Graylag/Harlequin/Harrier with sequential PCE parentheticals 906-910, all 'delivered 31-May-45').
    Verification
    partial
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1943-1946 (build/transfer)
    Population
    Willamette Iron & Steel construction trades, Portland, 1943-45
    Limitations
    Compiled secondary source. The 'PCE 905' parenthetical conflicts with the documented PCE-905 -> Execute (AM-232) mapping for a Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging hull (NavalCoverMuseum PCE designation index; Wikipedia patrol-vessels list and Execute article - PCE-905 laid down 29 Mar 1944 at PSB), and NavSource carries no ex-PCE tag for AM-361 (contrast AM-363's 'ex-PCE-907'). The uniform '31-May-45' delivery across rows 31-36 is impossible as a delivery date for this hull (commissioned 16 Feb 1945) - a contract-date or table artifact. The Bureau of Ships contract file (NARA RG 19) is the unretrieved arbiter. Row used for yard-number and disposition corroboration only; the PCE-905 identity is NOT carried as fact. No materials or asbestos information.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-03
  4. [4]uboat.net Allied Warships: USS Dunlin (AM 361) page; Navypedia Admirable-class table row AM-361 and Taiwan 'Zhen Nan' (ROC Navy Admirable transfers) roster [other_primary]
    Locator
    uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5376.html; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_ms_pc_admirable_pce.htm (AM-361 row); navypedia.org/ships/taiwan/tai_ms_zhennan.htm (roster, Yung Wan absent); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dunlin_(AM-361)
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    Cross-source corroboration for this hull: uboat.net lists ordered 26 June 1943, laid down 29 January 1943, launched 26 August 1943, commissioned 16 February 1945, end service 29 May 1946 - concurring with NavSource and DANFS on all dates. The 'ordered' date five months AFTER laying down is consistent with the hull being begun under an earlier contract and the AM-361 designation formalized mid-construction (same pattern as sister Creddock AM-356). Navypedia's Admirable table gives Dunlin: laid down 1.1943, launched 26.8.1943, commissioned 2.1945, 'to China 5.1946' - concurring on dates. Navypedia's Taiwan 'Zhen Nan' page - the roster of twelve Admirable-class minesweepers in ROC Navy service (acquired/renamed 1949, MSF-43 through MSF-54) - does NOT list Yung Wan, while it does list Yong Chun (ex-Gavia, MSF-52), the sister that followed the identical 29 May 1946 Shanghai transfer path. Wikipedia's article frames the recipient as the Chinese Maritime Customs Service and reports fate unreported.
    Verification
    partial
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1943-1949 (transfer window)
    Limitations
    All compiled secondary sources. Navypedia's table lists 'Puget Sound Bridge' as builder for the AM-361/362/363 block - contradicted by DANFS, NavSource, and the Colton yard table (all Willamette Iron & Steel, Portland); treated as a Navypedia column error and flagged, not carried. The absence of Yung Wan from the ROC Navy roster is negative evidence consistent with - not proof of - a civilian Maritime Customs disposition; ROC-side primary records are the unretrieved arbiter. No asbestos information in any source.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-04
  5. [5]Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. La. 2012) [court_record]
    Locator
    Opinion text at *654 (S39-1 '85 per cent magnesia' passage; Gate affidavit on enforced specs); CourtListener cluster 8718087
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    Finding
    Published federal opinion reviewing record evidence in an asbestos case documents the Navy specification regime applicable to construction of this era: the Navy's General Specifications for Machinery, subsection S39-1 'Heat insulation and lagging for piping and machinery,' required insulation of '85 per cent magnesia' for the stated temperature ranges - a pipe covering and block-form insulation documented in that record as containing 12-18% asbestos fiber - and Chapter 39 of the Bureau of Ships Manual required thermal insulation on machinery and encouraged asbestos use; record evidence states military specifications 'affirmatively required the use of asbestos-containing thermal insulation.' This hull was built under U.S. Navy contract on the Admirable/PCE-905 design family, so the spec regime is the applicable construction context.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    WWII-era specifications; opinion 2012
    Population
    Navy construction-era shipyard workers; engine-room and machinery crews (class context)
    Limitations
    Documents the Navy specification regime, not this hull: the opinion's record evidence concerned a different vessel, the spec edition applicable to this hull's contract (laid down January 1943; AM-361 order dated June 1943 per uboat.net) is not itself quoted here, and a diesel minesweeper had no boiler or turbine plant (the S41-1 turbine context is steam-specific; S39-1 piping/machinery insulation is the applicable scope). Establishes that asbestos insulation was spec-required in Navy construction of the era - not that it was installed on or remains aboard this hull, nor causation or exposure. Citation carried from the sibling batch-1300 verification (CourtListener cluster 8718087; a same-numbered stub opinion in the index is a mismatched immigration case - data defect logged in batch-1136).
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-05
  6. [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) [other_primary]
    Locator
    Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    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 program (Navy-contract steel-hulled minesweeper construction at Willamette Iron & Steel, 1943-45) under which this hull was built.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1940s era documented; article 1987
    Population
    WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
    Limitations
    Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-06
  7. [7]Batch-1304 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live + Wayback, hazegray/losthistory mirror, NavSource, uboat.net, shipbuildinghistory Willamette yard table, Navypedia (class table + Taiwan roster), Wikipedia cross-check, CourtListener (blocked - throttled), Google-indexed CourtListener site sweep, engine-level searches on all name variants, NARA catalog [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows sl-uss-dunlin-am361-01 through sl-uss-dunlin-am361-12
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Dunlin, AM-361, PCE-905 (disputed attribution), or Yung Wan (AM-51) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The litigation sweep is INCOMPLETE: the authenticated CourtListener API v4 was exhausted at its 2,800/day cap at research time (shared key; reset ~9h out) and could not be queried - per batch instructions the search was not retried into a ban. A Google-indexed sweep of CourtListener content returned only name collisions - the dunlin shorebird (Calidris alpina) appears in Deepwater Horizon NRDAR/natural-resource damage documents - and no vessel hit; engine-level web searches on all name variants returned no qualifying litigation (the only litigation-adjacent hits were law-firm marketing list pages - mesothelioma.com minesweeper table 'USS Dunlin | AM-361' and the mesotheliomahelp.org roster - excluded per source rules).
    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 - WWII Navy construction specifications made asbestos insulation near-universal, and this hull's post-1946 material history is entirely undocumented (fate unknown; no disposal, preservation, or survey event located). The CourtListener re-run (all name and hull-number variants) remains an open item; 'Dunlin' is a distinctive ship name but collides with the shorebird in environmental litigation, so future hits require verification. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-07
  8. [8]Archival-lead mapping: NARA RG 24 deck logs for the sixteen-month U.S. commission (Feb 1945 - May 1946); NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships contract/construction records (the arbiter of the PCE-905-vs-AM-361 order question and the repository for material specifications); State Department Foreign Liquidation Commission / Chinese Maritime Commission transfer case file (1946); Chinese Maritime Customs Service records for Yung Wan; NARA still photos BS 81064/81065 (BuShips collection, the ship at Willamette 1 March 1945); maritime.org Booklet of General Plans index (nearest digitized family documents: PCE-874 Pascagoula BOGP, Raven AM-55 BOGP - no Admirable-class or PCE-905-class BOGP located) [other_primary]
    Locator
    NARA catalog (catalog.archives.gov - API returns SPA shell, not headless-queryable); NavSource photo credits (BS 81064/81065); maritime.org/doc/plans index (403 to automated fetch 2026-09-22)
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    Unretrieved archival path: this vessel WAS in U.S. commission for roughly sixteen months (16 Feb 1945 - 29 May 1946) including combat-area minesweeping, so NARA RG 24 deck logs exist covering fitting-out, the Guam/Okinawa/East China Sea operations, the Sasebo/Nagasaki/Bungo Suido post-surrender clearances, the Korea harbor check, and the Subic Bay demilitarization/Shanghai turnover. The BuShips contract file (RG 19) would resolve whether the hull ever carried a PCE designation (the yard-table 'PCE 905' conflicts with the documented PCE-905 -> Execute AM-232 mapping) and would carry material specifications. The FLC transfer case file would document the 1946 handover terms and demilitarization scope - the last documented U.S.-controlled work on the hull. Chinese Maritime Commission/Customs records are the lead for Yung Wan's service and fate. NARA holds BuShips photos BS 81064/81065 of this hull (indexed via NavSource credits).
    Verification
    unverified
    Role
    archival_lead
    Documentation level
    context_only
    Accessed
    2026-09-22
    Study period
    1943-present (records); unsurveyed
    Limitations
    Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull; no box-level retrieval performed and no spend authorized. Whether any of these holdings contain materials specifications or abatement records for this hull is unknown. NARA catalog is not headless-queryable (SPA shell); maritime.org plans index returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session (contents unsurveyed; nearest-document mapping carried from the batch-1300 index check).
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-dunlin-am361-08

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned