Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 369-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-eastwind-ix234-pkt-369-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Eastwind' (IX-234) entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Eastwind' entry (Volume II, E section) - full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: 'Eastwind (IX-234), the former German ocean racing yacht, was taken over by the Navy in April 1946 arriving in the United States for assignment to the Naval Academy. Surveyed in 1949 and determined to be in excess of Navy needs, she was stricken from the Navy Register on 27 October 1949 and sold.' Former name retained (English translation of OSTWIND).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946-1949
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, acquisition, USNA assignment, survey, stricken date, and sale. The entry is three sentences - it carries no construction details, no crew figures, and no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-01
-
[3]Shipscribe U.S. Navy auxiliary data sheets, 'USS Eastwind (IX 234) Class' page (Stephen S. Roberts compilation from Navy registers and BuShips records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-234 class page: characteristics block, construction table (IX 234 row), disposition table, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USN auxiliary data-sheet compilation for this hull: design - German racing yawl by naval architect Heinrich Gruber; 57 tons full load; 86 ft oa / 59 ft wl x 17 ft extreme / 16 ft wl beam x 12 ft draft; armament none; accommodations 4 officers + 12 enlisted; propulsion listed as '3,080 sq.ft. sail' with machinery 'none (yawl rig)'; construction table - keel ca. 1938, launched 4 Sep 1939, builder Ernst Burmester of Bremen, U.S. acquisition 1 Jun 1947, in service Apr 1946; disposition - surveyed/decommissioned 1949, stricken 27 Oct 1949, disposal 8 Feb 1950 by Navy sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1938-1950
- Population
- U.S. Navy caretaker/training complement (USNA and Naval Torpedo Station Newport, 1946-1949)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary transcription of official Navy register/design records, not the registers themselves; consistent with DANFS on takeover, survey, strike, and sale. The documented 'machinery: none' sail-only configuration bounds asbestos-relevant inference but does not itself document materials content. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-02
-
[4]Shipscribe IX-234 class notes and ship notes (Stephen S. Roberts compilation, page compiled 19 Oct 2021) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX-234 page Class Notes and Ship Notes paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- German Navy origin and post-Navy trail: OSTWIND and sister NORDWIND were built in 1938 for the German Navy as officer-training ocean-racing yawls, replacements for ASTA and ORION maintained at the North Sea (Wilhelmshaven) and Baltic (Naval Academy Flensburg Murwik) stations; the pair was ordered after the German sailing team's poor Olympic showing; OSTWIND had teak decking and mahogany planking on steel frames. OSTWIND was allocated to the U.S. in 1945 (Allied Control Council), taken over April 1946, renamed EASTWIND, and shipped to the Naval Academy; her ~3-fathom draft made her unsuitable for the Chesapeake; she also served at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I. Sold into private hands (8 Feb 1950 disposal; resold 1950 at Brooklyn Navy Yard to Cmdr John Lyman, who cruised Chesapeake Bay and took her to Florida 1955; sold 1966); derelict at Jacksonville, Fla.; hulk scuttled off Miami Beach 4 Jun 1989 as Ostwind Reef. Sister NORDWIND went to Britain (Lord Hugh Astor), restored 2001-2004 in Spain, still sailing (later transited the Northwest Passage).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1938-1989
- Population
- Post-Navy private owners, marina/yard personnel (Jacksonville storage), reef-sinking salvage crew (1989)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation; the pre-1945 German Navy service narrative and private-ownership chain are not independently corroborated line-by-line by a primary source here (partial corroboration from NYT 1989 and classicsailboats.org). 'Hitler's yacht' claims flagged as notoriety only - see correction row. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-03
-
[5]New York Times, 'Boat Hitler Built Is Sunk in Ceremony' (1989-06-05); article text verified via Wayback capture 20251025223933 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT 1989-06-05 article body (ceremony, history, Nelson/Resnick quotes); Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/20251025223933/
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous New York Times reporting documents the 1989-06-04 sinking: 'the 85-foot sailboat Ostwind - or, more accurately, what little was left of her - was sunk just off Miami Beach' before ~100 Holocaust survivors and 26 of the original MS St. Louis passengers, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1939 'Voyage of the Damned' (900+ Jewish refugees refused entry by Cuba and the U.S.). Rabbi Barry Konovitch (Cuban Hebrew Congregation, Miami Beach) organized; a plane towed a 'Never Again' banner; >300 attended aboard an accompanying boat. The article documents the derelict history: storage at J.J. Nelson's Jacksonville shipyard for ~7 years, vandalism/stripping/arson once the 'Hitler's yacht' rumor spread, an American Nazi Party purchase offer refused, and donation via the Israeli Consulate to Miami Beach commissioner Abe Resnick, who proposed the reef sinking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989
- Population
- Holocaust survivors and attendees at sinking ceremony; salvage crew
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous reporting of the sinking event and derelict period. NYT gives '85-foot' (vs 86 ft oa in the USN data sheet) and reports Hitler was 'aboard her a few times' while noting she was 'not really Hitler's personal yacht' - see correction row for the disputed provenance. Passenger count 26 here vs 27 in BOAT International. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-04
-
[6]United Press International, 'Hitler yacht re-sunk in correct location' (Miami Beach, 1989-06-30) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- UPI Archives 1989-06-30 dispatch body text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- UPI contemporaneous reporting documents the corrective second sinking: the yacht 'was accidentally dropped June 4 on a patch of fragile coral reef in 33 feet of water' in a shipping channel more than a mile from the intended site; a Fort Lauderdale salvage company lifted the hull and on/around 1989-06-29 re-sank it 'about 1 mile away, 275 feet to the sea bottom... directly offshore from the Fountainebleau Hotel, where it will become an artificial reef.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989
- Population
- Fort Lauderdale salvage crew (re-sink operation)
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous wire report establishing the two-stage sinking and final ~275-ft reef placement. UPI's '60-foot' length is inaccurate (USN record: 86 ft oa) - press dimensional error noted; event facts (wrong-site drop, coral/shipping-channel concern, re-sink date window, Fountainebleau offshore siting) are corroborated by the county reef inventory. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-05
-
[7]Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources / MDPublisher, 'Artificial Reef' open-data feature service, record OBJECTID 267 (Ostwind) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FeatureServer layer 0, query REEF_NAME LIKE 'Ostwind' - record attributes (REEF_ID 270; PFLUEGER site)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Miami-Dade County official artificial-reef GIS inventory (county-published open dataset) carries the wreck as REEF_NAME 'Ostwind', REEF_ID 270, REEF_SITE 'Pflueger', REEF_TYPE 'ship', description '80' steel hull', DATE_DEPLOYED '6/1/1989', REEF_DEPTH 275 (ft), REEF_PROFILE '14' (ft). The record's LATITUDE/LONGITUDE fields read 'not available'; its rendered point geometry is unreliable for this legacy record, so no verified coordinates are carried for this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1989-present (inventory)
- Limitations
- Government inventory record confirming reef identity, site, type, and 275-ft depth. DATE_DEPLOYED '6/1/1989' is a monthly-rounding artifact - contemporaneous reporting fixes the actual events at 6/4 (initial, wrong site) and 6/29 (re-sink). '80' steel hull' description is approximate (86 ft oa; wood planking on steel frames). The record carries no materials/hazmat clearance detail; no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-06
-
[8]New York Times 1989-06-05 (Wayback capture); shipscribe IX-234 class notes; classicsailboats.org Nordwind history (sister-ship source) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NYT body ('rumors are exaggerated... not really Hitler's personal yacht'); shipscribe Class Notes; classicsailboats.org Nordwind 'Historical' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 'Hitler's yacht' characterization is documented as exaggerated-to-false, not established: NYT (1989) reports the rumors 'exaggerated' and that Ostwind 'was not really Hitler's personal yacht,' though she was built under his racing-yacht program and he was 'aboard her a few times' (a photo of Hitler and Eva Braun aboard exists); classicsailboats.org asserts 'the infamous Nazi leader never set foot on her'; shipscribe records she 'acquired notoriety as "Hitler's yacht," which she probably did not fully deserve.' Consensus: she was a German Navy officer-training/racing yawl, not Hitler's property; his presence aboard is disputed (a few visits claimed vs none claimed).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1989
- Limitations
- Corrects the dominant popular framing. Sources conflict on whether Hitler was aboard at all (NYT: a few times, 'little documentation'; classicsailboats: never) - the record carries the dispute, not a resolution. Either way she was a German Navy vessel, never his personal property.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-07
-
[9]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
- Journal article (DOI landing page); WWII shipbuilding asbestos-use findings
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/context only: peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulation in World War II-era shipbuilding. Transferability to this hull is materially weaker than for a U.S.-built steam vessel: this yawl was built in Bremen, Germany, to a racing design, of wood planking on steel frames, and is documented in U.S. configuration with no machinery at all - eliminating the boiler, steam-line, and engine-room systems where shipboard asbestos concentrated. Any plausible residual material would be limited to non-propulsion uses (galley equipment, owner-added auxiliary systems after 1950), none documented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship about U.S. shipbuilding programs; it does not name this vessel, is not about German yacht construction, and establishes nothing about this hull. Carried to prevent the record from implying ship-specific findings and to bound - not assert - era inference. Does not establish presence, absence, quantity, exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion search, authenticated (ships-batch helper cl-auth-search.py), queries: "USS Eastwind" -> 0; "IX-234" -> 0 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-eastwind-ix234-11 through -14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-index sweep (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-29): exact-phrase "USS Eastwind" returned count 0; exact-phrase "IX-234" returned count 0 - no docketed opinion names this vessel. Two further queries ("Ostwind" yacht; "Eastwind" unqualified) remained fleet-rate-limit blocked at cutoff and are logged as unqueried in the search_ledger. High name-collision risk noted for the unqualified 'Eastwind' term: USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279, Wind-class icebreaker), Eastwind Airlines, and non-vessel litigants share the name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29 (search date)
- Limitations
- Opinion-index absence means no published opinion names this hull in the queried corpus; it does not exclude unreported claims, filings, or asbestos trust claims, and it does not cover the unqueried 'Ostwind'/'Eastwind' strings left blocked at cutoff. Not evidence of presence or absence of asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-09
-
[11]Batch-4787 search ledger (this record): DANFS IX-234 entry; shipscribe IX-234 data sheet/class notes; NavSource 09/46/46234; NYT 1989-06-05 (Wayback); UPI 1989-06-30; Miami-Dade ArtificialReef_gdb record 267; CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-eastwind-ix234-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, materials specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Eastwind / IX-234 / the yacht Ostwind was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, the shipscribe USN data-sheet compilation, NavSource, contemporaneous NYT/UPI reporting, the Miami-Dade reef inventory, and the CourtListener opinion index (queries completed) all carry no asbestos, insulation-material, or hazmat statement. The 1989 reef deployment predates formal hazmat-disclosure conventions for reef material in the retrieved record; the county inventory contains no materials-clearance field.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1939-built vessel that burned while derelict and was stripped/vandalized before sinking may have held period materials (galley, electrical, any owner-added plant) that are simply undocumented. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-10
-
[12]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Eastwind, 1944 (WAGB-279)' - distinct-hull confirmation used for disambiguation [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office asset history page (WAGB-279)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision control: 'Eastwind' search surface is dominated by a different vessel - USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279), the 1944 Wind-class Coast Guard icebreaker famous for capturing the German weather ship Externsteine - plus Eastwind Airlines and unrelated litigants. The Coast Guard Historian's Office page confirms WAGB-279 is a separate hull (Western Pipe & Steel, San Pedro, launched 1943-02-06). All 'Eastwind' materials for this record were screened to the IX-234 hull (German-built yawl, USNA 1946-49, sunk 1989).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- n/a (disambiguation)
- Limitations
- Disambiguation row only - prevents the icebreaker's history or litigation surface from contaminating this record. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-11
-
[13]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), RG 242 (Foreign Records Seized) - record-group mapping only [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/242.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) deck logs for IX-234's 1946-49 U.S. service; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) files for the 1949 survey that declared her excess and the IX acquisition/registration file, incl. the 1947-06-01 formal-acquisition record; RG 242 captured German records / Allied Control Council allocation documents for the 1945 OSTWIND transfer; U.S. Naval Academy Archives (Nimitz Library) yacht-squadron files for the Annapolis sailing program period.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1950 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eastwind-ix234-12