Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), El Cano II (IX-79) entry, updated by Robert J. Cressman 15 July 2017 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS El Cano II (IX-79) entry, body text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: single-screw auxiliary foretopsail schooner Cressida, built 1927 at Kiel by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft; brought to the U.S. 1928 (Herman Oelrichs); to Albert E. Pierce 1930, Pierce Investment 1932; acquired by George Vanderbilt 1938 and renamed Crimper, then Pioneer 1939; Navy acquired Pioneer 8 August 1942, renamed her El Cano nine days later and classified her IX-79; served in noncommissioned status in the Eleventh Naval District during WWII; stricken from the Navy Register 24 October 1945 and returned to Vanderbilt; sold 25 July 1962 to Leeward Trading Co. (Miami) as Cressida; Windjammer Cruises renamed her Yankee Clipper; laid up at Trinidad when the company folded in 2007; scrapped at Trinidad January 2017. Dimensions per DANFS: 178'2" oa x 28'2" x 11'9"; 7.5 knots.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1927-2017
- Population
- Eleventh Naval District crew, 1942-1945
- Limitations
- History source only - DANFS contains no asbestos, material, or crew-health information for this hull. Acquisition-to-rename interval ('nine days') resolves to 17 August 1942, conflicting with NavSource's 27 July 1942 acquisition date; flagged in gaps. Does not establish asbestos presence or absence aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-01
-
[2]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'El Cano, 1939' cutter page (WIX; ex-Pioneer, ex-Cressida, ex-Crimper); sources: USCG Cutter History File; Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (1982) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office, Water Assets, 'El Cano, 1939' (WIX) article
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Coast Guard Historian's Office documents the same hull in Coast Guard service as El Cano (WIX): commissioned into USCG 1939, used for merchant training 1939-1942, rebuilt in 1939 by General Motors Corp., decommissioned 31 August 1942 and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission the same day. Listed figures: 327 gross / 126 net tons (1939), 145'1" oa x 28'1" x 16'7" max draft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1942
- Population
- USCG merchant trainees and crew, 1939-1942
- Limitations
- Official USCG source, ship-specific, but it creates a documented timeline conflict: USCG custody through 31 Aug 1942 overlaps the Navy's 8 Aug 1942 acquisition / 17 Aug 1942 naming - the Shipscribe compiler flags the inconsistency too. USCG page names no commanding officer, station, or log details. No asbestos or material content. Does not establish asbestos presence or absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-02
-
[3]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Small IX - Auxiliary Schooners etc. (3)' - BuShips/Maritime Commission compilation tables and per-hull notes; corroborating spec detail from NavSource IX-79 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe usnaux/IX3/IX073.html construction/disposition tables + IX-79 ship note; navsource.net/archives/09/46/46079.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Per-hull data from the official-data compilation: IX-79 EL CANO acquired 8 Aug 1942, built 1927 by Krupp Germania, in service 21 Sep 1942; out of service 13 Sep 1945, stricken 24 Oct 1945, returned to owner 23 Oct 1945 (RTO). Ship note: ex yacht PIONEER, ex CRIMPER 1938, ex CRESSIDA 1937 (completed December 1927); auxiliary topsail schooner, steel hull; 540 tons displacement, 327 gross; 172.0' oa (deck) x 125.0' wl x 28.2' x 17.0'; one G.M. diesel fitted 1939, 400 hp; crew 25 (1944); ~197' including bowsprit as YANKEE CLIPPER. Narrative adds: 13 Jul 1942 VCNO asked BuShips to negotiate a bareboat charter at $1.00/year; designed by Cox & Stevens for Hermann Oelrichs; Navy assigned the name EL CANO 17 Aug 1942; operated 'in service' in the 11th Naval District; merchant training could have been her function there. NavSource adds: propulsion one General Motors 8-133 diesel, 400 shp, single propeller; ship's service generators 30 kW and 15 kW 125 V DC; official number 227397; call sign NYXD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1927-1945
- Population
- Crew of 25 (1944); merchant trainees
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations reproducing BuShips/MC and registry data - reliable for dates/specs but not a primary document image; Shipscribe's own narrative flags the USCG-vs-Navy custody overlap as inconsistent. Complement '25 (1944)' appears in no other source. No asbestos or material content. Does not establish asbestos presence or absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-03
-
[4]National Archives Catalog, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' (naId 594258, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), National Archives at College Park - 14 digitized deck-log file units for El Cano (IX-79), Sep 1942 through Sep 1945 (naIds 285137802, 285137815, 285137867, 285137917, 285137967, 285138019, 285138084, 285138166, 285138174, 285138230, 285138283, 285138334, 285138397, 285138465) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file units under series naId 594258; first unit naId 285137802
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds and has digitized the vessel's complete wartime Navy deck logs: 14 file units spanning 'El Cano (IX-79) - September 21 to October 10, 1942' through 'July 1 to September 13, 1945', scanned as JPG page images (Navy Deck Log batch 594258). These are the ship-specific operational record: daily locations, moorings, drills, personnel, and any casualty/repair entries for the 11th Naval District service period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-09 to 1945-09
- Population
- 11th Naval District crew and trainees recorded in logs, 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Holdings verified in the catalog; page-image content not reviewed line-by-line this session. Deck logs record operations, not materials - they are the correct primary lead for service detail (function in 11th ND, crew, any repair periods) but are unlikely to name asbestos. Deck-log content does not by itself establish or negate asbestos exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-04
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - documented construction (Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, 1927, steel hull) and documented 1939 General Motors machinery rebuild (USCG Historian's Office; Shipscribe) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Documented construction/rebuild events in ev-01 through ev-03; inference applied per era practice
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference only: a steel auxiliary sailing schooner built in 1927 and re-engined/rebuilt in 1939 falls inside the period when marine construction and refit work commonly used asbestos-containing engine and exhaust insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, bulkhead and joiner panels, and electrical materials. Asbestos-relevant documented events for this hull are the 1927 German construction, the 1939 General Motors rebuild, wartime Navy operation 1942-1945, and the 1987 Windjammer refit (third mast and top deck). The vessel had no boilers, turbines, or steam piping - the equipment class with the heaviest documented asbestos use - so plausible scope is confined to machinery spaces and accommodation materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1927; 1939; 1942-1945; 1987; 2017
- Population
- 1939 GM rebuild workers; 1942-45 crew/trainees; 1987 refit workers; 2017 scrapping workers (Trinidad)
- Limitations
- Pure era inference: no ship-specific insulation survey, bill of materials, or abatement record exists in the sources searched. The absence of a steam plant narrows but does not eliminate plausible scope. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not installed, and says nothing about individual exposure or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-05
-
[6]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Health - 'Asbestos' military exposure page [other_primary]
- Locator
- publichealth.va.gov/exposures/asbestos - 'How Veterans may have been exposed to asbestos'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- VA states that veterans who served in shipyard work, insulation work, demolition, carpentry and construction, and manufacturing/installation of products such as flooring and roofing may have been exposed to asbestos, and that symptoms of asbestos-related disease often do not appear until 20-50 years after exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Population
- U.S. veterans (general)
- Limitations
- General veteran-population context only; names no vessel, trade aboard this hull, or condition aboard IX-79. Provides era exposure framing, not evidence for this ship.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-06
-
[7]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (NHHC), Elcano (PG-38) entry; NHHC photo-archive alphabetical page for USS Elcano (PG-38), which carries the IX-79 cross-reference [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Elcano (PG-38) entry; NHHC PG-38 photo page IX-79 note; DANFS El Cano II header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Namesake documentation: Elcano (PG-38) was an iron gunboat built 1885 in Spain, captured during the Battle of Manila Bay 1 May 1898, transferred to the Navy 9 November 1899, commissioned 20 November 1902, a founding unit of the Yangtze River Patrol, decommissioned 30 June 1928 and sunk as a target 4 October 1928. DANFS designates IX-79 'El Cano II' and states she was named 'to perpetuate the name of the gunboat Elcano'; the NHHC photo page states she was renamed El Cano 'in honor of Elcano (PG-38)' on 17 August 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1885-1942
- Limitations
- Namesake context only - the PG-38 record says nothing about conditions aboard IX-79 and is not exposure evidence for either hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 opinion/docket search via authenticated fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-el-cano-ix79-08/09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion sweep: 'USS El Cano' returned 0 hits; bare-name 'El Cano' returned 25 hits, all name collisions (defendant alias 'El Cano' in the Latorre drug prosecutions, Puerto Rico criminal/municipal cases, Spanish 'el cano' place/pipe references, a 1915 Puerto Rico land appeal) - none name the ship, maritime parties, or asbestos; 'IX-79' returned 15 hits, all incidental exhibit/page markers in unrelated litigation. The RECAP docket-index query was attempted but not completed under the fleet-wide pacing stand-down.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Opinion coverage is complete for the hull name, hull number, and bare name - all negative or collision-only. RECAP docket coverage is still owed: a pleading naming a civilian identity (Cressida/Pioneer/Yankee Clipper) or indexed only by party name would not surface in the opinion index. A name-match search cannot prove no filing exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-08
-
[9]Batch-4872 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NHHC photo archive; USCG Historian's Office; NARA catalog; NavSource; Shipscribe; MARAD Vessel History Database; VA Public Health; general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-el-cano-ix79-01 through sl-uss-el-cano-ix79-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, docketed case, or official document naming asbestos aboard USS El Cano (IX-79) or her civilian identities (Cressida/Crimper/Pioneer/Yankee Clipper) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only asbestos references naming the hull are law-firm list pages, excluded as non-authoritative.
- 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 - 1927 construction and the documented 1939 GM rebuild are era-consistent with asbestos use. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage partial; see ev-08.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-el-cano-ix79-09