USS Excel (AM-94)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]DANFS, 'Excel' I (AM-94) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror, cross-verified against the independent HyperWar transcription at ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AM/am94.html (live history.navy.mil DANFS URL patterns excel.html / excel-i.html / pc-1598.html return 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01 and prior batches) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am94.htm - full 'Excel' entry, specifications block + service narrative; parallel transcription ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AM/am94.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official DANFS record for this hull: spec block '(AM-94: dp. 275; l. 173'8"; b. 23'; dr. 7'7"; s. 18 k.; cpl. 85; a. 1 3"; cl. Adroit)' - hazegray mirror; the HyperWar transcription prints 'l. 173'9"' and otherwise agrees. 'The first Excel (AM-94) was launched 10 May 1942 by Jakobson Shipyard, Inc., Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Mrs. I. D. Jakobson; and commissioned 10 December 1942, Lieutenant Commander M. L. Whitford, USNR, in command. She was reclassified PC-1598 1 June 1944.' Service per DANFS: Norfolk arrival 21 January 1943 for minesweeping exercises in the Virginia Capes; Portland, Maine, base for patrol and minesweeping duty 15 March 1943 - 3 February 1944; Norfolk local patrol, sweeping, and training until 9 June [1944], then San Diego and Pearl Harbor, arriving 1 August; escort voyage to Eniwetok; departed Pearl Harbor 14 October 1944 escorting an LST convoy via Eniwetok and Guam to Ulithi; new landing-craft convoy to Hollandia, New Guinea, arriving 16 November; two months of convoy escort among New Guinea ports 'aiding in the assembling of shipping for the Lingayen assault'; departed Hollandia 10 January 1945 for San Pedro Bay, Leyte; Ulithi 9 February - exercises and transport runs. 'In company with six other minecraft' sailed from Ulithi 19 March 1945 'to sweep mines off Okinawa, clearing the way for both preinvasion bombardment and the assault landings of 1 April. She carried out her hazardous mission successfully, destroying many enemy mines'; departed 5 April for a repair period at Guam; Marianas patrol and escort; rescued a downed aviator 3 July; convoy escort to Okinawa 8-21 July; 5 August rendezvous off Saipan with Shad (SS-235) to take off a severely ill submarine officer; operated out of Saipan until 17 October 1945; sailed for San Francisco; decommissioned 22 January 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1946

   Population

   Jakobson Shipyard construction trades (Oyster Bay, 1941-42); wartime crew (design complement ~65)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, builder, launch/commission dates, and the full service narrative - not materials or asbestos content. It does not state the keel-laying date (NavSource/uboat.net carry 19 December 1941), the strike date, or the disposal; the entry ends at decommissioning. Its spec block for this hull (275 t / 7'7" / 18 k / cpl. 85 / 1 3") diverges from NavSource and from sibling DANFS spec blocks - flagged in ev-08, not silently merged. No battle-star line appears in the located DANFS text for this hull (siblings Adroit and Despite each carry one). Mirror transcriptions cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 on every URL pattern tried; the two mirrors differ only on a one-inch length reading.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive - PC-1598 ex-Excel (AM 94), file 12/011598 (chronology, spec block, propulsion line with engine serials, CO roster, photo captions); navsource.org mirror confirmed live [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/12/011598.htm - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, photo captions (Norfolk Navy Yard armament note; 'AM 98' typo), CO roster (6 COs); the Mine Warfare archive URL for this hull (11/02094.htm) returned HTTP 500 this session

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource per-hull record: 'The first Excel was laid down 19 December 1941 by the Jakobson Shipyard, Inc., Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY; Launched 10 May 1942; Commissioned USS Excel (AM 94), 10 December 1942; Reclassified as a Submarine Chaser, PC-1598, 1 June 1944; Decommissioned 22 January 1946 at San Francisco, CA; Struck from the Naval Register 25 February 1946; Transferred to the War Shipping Administration 11 June 1947 and sold to the Tidewater/Shaver Barge Lines of Suisun Bay, CA. Fate unknown.' Call sign Nan-Able-Easy-Love. Spec block: 295 t; 173'8"; 23' beam; 6'6" draft; 16 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount, one 40mm mount, five 20mm mounts, two depth-charge tracks and two depth-charge projectors; propulsion 'Two 900hp Cooper Bessemer GNB8 diesel engines (Serial No. 1985 and 1986), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts.' Photo captions: one captioned 'USS Excel (AM 98)' - a defect (AM-98 is sister Firm); a second shows PC-1598 'with her new hull number already applied' and describes 'the armament fitted to the Pacific units by Norfolk Navy Yard' - two 12-round Mk 22 Mousetrap antisubmarine rocket launchers forward of the 3-inch gun, two Mk 6 depth-charge mortars abaft the new 40mm Mk 3 mount, Mk 9 racks replacing Mk 7s, five 20mm mounts (two main-deck aft, two abreast the foremast, one atop the pilothouse). CO roster of six: LCDR Marcus Lucius Whitford, USNR (10 Dec 1942); LT Chandler Hovey, Jr., USNR (21 Mar 1943); LT John Ulysses Nixon, USNR (13 Sep 1943); LT Warwick Peter Scott, USNR (17 May 1944); LT M. M. Hambrick, USNR (1945); LT Ralph Nelson Turner, Jr., USNR (28 Oct 1945 - 22 Jan 1946).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Population

   Jakobson trades (1941-42); commissioned crew (65); Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workers (May-June 1944)

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with DANFS on all shared dates and adds the strike date, disposal chain, engine serials, and CO roster that DANFS lacks. Its 'Two 900hp' rating conflicts with NavSource's own class index ('two 1,770 brake horsepower Cooper-Bessemer GNB-8 diesels' for all but AM-96-99) - flagged in ev-08. The 'AM 98' caption typo is a source defect - flagged in ev-08. 'Fate unknown' extends no further than the 1947 WSA sale. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-02

3. [3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Jakobson Shipyard, Oyster Bay NY' yard table - Excel (AM 94) row + Exploit (AM 95) sister row + yard history header [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/jakobson.htm - 'JAKOBSON SHIPYARD, Oyster Bay NY' table, rows 289-290 (AM 94, AM 95) + yard-history header

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Yard-table row for this hull: '289 | Excel (AM 94) | US Navy | Minesweeper | 1,250 | | 10-Dec-42 | Later PC 1598, sold 1947' - the delivery date matching the 10 December 1942 commissioning exactly, and independently corroborating the 1947 sale. The adjacent row carries the only other Adroit-class unit built at this yard: '290 | 271807 | Exploit (AM 95) | US Navy | Minesweeper | 1,250 | | 5-Feb-43 | Later PC 1599, sold 1949 as Exploit, NLD.' Yard history header: 'Jakobson Shipyard, Inc., was established in Brooklyn's Mariners Harbor as Jakobson & Petersen, in 1895. The founder, Daniel Jakobson, was succeeded by his son Irving in 1925, and the company moved to Oyster Bay in 1938. The yard was acquired by Moran Towing after WWII but got out of active shipbuilding in 1984 and was closed in 1993 because of environmental problems. It was located where Roosevelt Park is today.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1895-1993 (yard history); 1941-1947 (this hull's row)

   Population

   Jakobson Shipyard workforce (Oyster Bay, NY, 1941-42)

   Limitations

   Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, type, delivery date (10-Dec-42 = commissioning), and the 1947 sale. The '1,250' figure in the tonnage column conflicts with every documented displacement for this hull (275/295 standard, 450 full load) and reads as a different metric (possibly contract price) - the same unexplained figure appears on the sibling Commercial Iron Works table; flagged in ev-08. A yard table does not carry keel/launch dates. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-03

4. [4]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser (SC/PC) photo index - 'Submarine Chaser 173-foot Steel Hull' class narrative covering the PC-461 type and the Adroit-class minecraft variant [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/12/01idx.htm - 'Submarine Chaser 173' Steel Hull' header narrative + Adroit-class paragraph (Atlantic conversion, PC-1598-1603 Pacific dispatch, machinery and displacement notes)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Class-level construction narrative naming this hull's group and its post-conversion assignment: 'in addition to 403 173-foot PC-class patrol craft ordered for the U.S. Navy in 1941, eighteen 173-foot hulls were ordered for use as minesweepers, as the Adroit class' - given names AM-82 through AM-99 (Adroit, Advent, Annoy, Conflict, Constant, Daring, Dash, Despite, Direct, Dynamic, Effective, Engage, Excel, Exploit, Fidelity, Fierce, Firm, Force), 'steel hulled, twin diesel propelled,' built by five yards. 'AM 82 through 88, built at Portland, Oregon ... The other 11 operated initially either from Bermuda (AM-89 to 93) or from mainland U.S. bases' - this hull's documented first-station group, matching DANFS's Norfolk/Portland, Maine stations. 'Only the Annoy (AM-84) is recorded as having been used to sweep for mines ... the others principally were employed as convoy escorts.' 'The 11 Atlantic units were cycled through the Norfolk Navy Yard during May and June 1944 to have their mine countermeasures gear removed and additional antisubmarine and antiaircraft ordnance added. The Pacific units were modified at Pearl Harbor.' 'On 1 June 1944, all 18 lost their names and were reclassified PC-1586 through 1603. Of the 11 Atlantic units, PC-1593-1597 were sent to the Mediterranean ... PC-1598-1603 were dispatched to the Pacific in July 1944 and escorted support convoys ... During the invasions at Okinawa and lwo Jima, several were used as inshore control ships for landing craft.' 'At 450 tons full load, the Adroit class displaced 18 tons more than did the PCs. All but the last four built were propelled by two 1,770 brake horsepower Cooper-Bessemer GNB-8 diesels; AM-96-99 were given 1,440 brake horsepower Busch-Sulzer BS 539 diesels ... able to achieve 16.8 knots at 330 tons displacement ... about 4,000 nautical miles at 12 knots, and the normal crew comprised four officers and 61 enlisted personnel.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Construction trades at the five class yards (1941-43); Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workers (May-June 1944, Atlantic units incl. this hull)

   Limitations

   Class-level description that names this hull's design family, first-station group (mainland U.S. bases), conversion yard (Norfolk Navy Yard for Atlantic units - this hull departed Norfolk 9 June 1944, inside the documented window), and Pacific dispatch (PC-1598-1603, July 1944), but carries no hull-specific materials information. Its 'two 1,770 bhp' rating conflicts with the per-hull spec block's 'Two 900hp' - flagged in ev-08. The 'MCM gear removed' class statement sits in tension with DANFS's documentation that this hull swept mines off Okinawa in March-April 1945 - flagged in ev-08. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-04

5. [5]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - PC-1598 (USS Excel) specification page (Patrick Clancey compilation) + uboat.net Allied Warships entry 9257 for USS Excel (AM 94) [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/PC/PC-1598.html - specification block (compiled 1998); uboat.net/allies/warships/9257.html - data table

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   PC-configuration spec block for this hull: 'PC-1568 class Submarine Chaser (ex Adroit class Minesweeper): Displacement: 450 tons; Length: 173'8"; Beam: 23'; Draft: 11'7"; Speed: 17 knots; Armament: 1 3"/50, 1 40mm; Complement: 105; Cooper Bessemer diesel engine, twin screws, 1,770 shaft hp. Built at Jacobson and commissioned as AM-94, 10 December 1942; Reclassified as Sub Chaser (PC-1598), 1 June 1944.' The 450-ton figure matches the NavSource class index's full-load displacement ('At 450 tons full load, the Adroit class displaced 18 tons more than did the PCs'). uboat.net's entry (allies/warships/9257.html) independently carries: built by Jakobson Shipyard Inc (Oyster Bay), ordered 1 April 1941, laid down 19 December 1941, launched 10 May 1942, commissioned 11 December 1942, reclassified patrol craft PC-1598 on 1 June 1944, decommissioned 22 January 1946, sold 11 June 1947 - corroborating the spine while adding the order date and an 11-December commission variant.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1944-1945 (PC configuration)

   Population

   n/a (specification record)

   Limitations

   Secondary compilations with visible defects: HyperWar prints 'PC-1568 class' (a garbled class label - the design is the PC-461 type) and 'Built at Jacobson' (misspelling Jakobson); its complement (105) and draft (11'7") conflict with the AM-fit record (65; 6'6") - likely PC-fit vs AM-fit figures, unresolved; its '1,770 shaft hp' is a total-plant reading between NavSource's 900-hp-per-engine and the class index's 1,770-bhp-per-engine - flagged in ev-08. uboat.net's 11 December commission date conflicts with DANFS/NavSource/Colton's 10 December - flagged in ev-08; its 1 April 1941 order date is uncorroborated. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-05

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - documented construction and machinery (NavSource class index: steel-hulled, twin-diesel PC-461-type hull; 'two 1,770 bhp Cooper-Bessemer GNB-8 diesels'; NavSource per-hull spec block: 'Two 900hp Cooper Bessemer GNB8 diesel engines (Serial No. 1985 and 1986) ... two shafts') + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; Colton Jakobson yard table, 1941-42) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 12/01idx class narrative (steel hull, machinery, conversion windows) + 12/011598 propulsion line; DANFS AM-94 entry; Colton jakobson.htm yard row and history header

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull is a 1941-42-built, steel-hulled, twin-diesel vessel - a PC-461-type hull completed as a minesweeper - with no boilers and no steam distribution, so its insulation load was materially lighter than a steam combatant's but not negligible: a steel hull still carried accommodation joiner work, electrical systems, and machinery requiring lagging and gasketing, and construction fell squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era (substitution did not begin until the early 1970s). Era-typical asbestos applications for a vessel of this type and period: engine and exhaust-system lagging on the two diesels and generator sets; machinery gaskets and packing; electrical-cable insulation; joiner/accommodation insulation; deck coverings/floor tile of the period; winch and windlass brake linings. Exposure-relevant populations if any such material was present: Jakobson Shipyard construction trades (Oyster Bay, 1941-42 - the yard itself closed in 1993 over environmental problems); the commissioned crew (~65) across the 1943-46 Norfolk/Portland, Maine and Pacific service including the documented Okinawa mine operation; Norfolk Navy Yard workers during the documented May-June 1944 conversion window (the hull departed Norfolk 9 June 1944); the Guam repair-period workforce (April 1945); San Francisco decommissioning workers (January 1946); and - distinctively among the located sisters - the War Shipping Administration/Tidewater-Shaver Barge Lines commercial conversion and barge-service workforce from June 1947 at an undocumented Pacific-coast site.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Population

   Jakobson trades 1941-42; crew 1943-46 incl. Okinawa operation; Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workers May-June 1944; Guam repair workforce Apr 1945; SF decommissioning workers Jan 1946; WSA/Tidewater-Shaver commercial workforce from Jun 1947

   Limitations

   Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-94/PC-1598 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The diesel (non-steam) plant weakens the inference relative to steam vessels of the same era, though the steel hull and 1941-42 construction keep it within the asbestos-era window.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-06

7. [7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product-page description (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - standing condition since BATCH-01); and T.J. Bigley (Navy) letter to GAO, 5 Jan 1979, as quoted in 'The Asbestos Health Hazards Compensation Act,' Journal of Legislation (Notre Dame) 10(1) [gao]

   Locator

   gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 product page; Notre Dame J. Legislation 10(1), 'The Asbestos Health Hazards Compensation Act' (scholarship.law.nd.edu/jleg/vol10/iss1/3) quoting Bigley letter of 5 Jan 1979

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Program-level documentation of the asbestos window containing this hull's entire construction and commission: GAO HRD-80-2 records that the Navy's product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but asbestos materials already purchased were still installed - 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; the Navy's elimination policy issued October 1975. A Navy letter to GAO dated 5 January 1979 (T.J. Bigley to Robert F. Hughes, quoted in the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation) states: 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos.' AM-94/PC-1598 was built 1941-42 and in commission 1942-46 - entirely inside the pre-1973 as-built asbestos era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1973-1979 policy window documented; hull era 1941-1947

   Population

   Navy personnel and shipyard workers, service-wide (era context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level documentation; neither source names this vessel, class, or builder. GAO's fieldwork concerned shipyard workers (Long Beach, Norfolk). The 'all ships' statement is quoted from a primary letter via a law-review source - the letter itself was not retrieved. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing since Batch 01); the product-page description was relied on. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure - and for a diesel-plant vessel the proposition applies with materially reduced scope.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-07

8. [8]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (hazegray + HyperWar mirrors) vs NavSource 12/011598 + 12/01idx class index vs HyperWar PC-1598 spec block vs Colton yard table vs uboat.net 9257 [other_primary]

   Locator

   losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am94.htm; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AM/am94.html + /ships/PC/PC-1598.html; navsource.net/archives/12/011598.htm + 12/01idx.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/jakobson.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/9257.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Excel_(AM-94)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) DANFS spec block anomalies - this hull's printed DANFS block (dp. 275; dr. 7'7"; s. 18 k.; cpl. 85; a. 1 3") diverges from NavSource's AM-fit block for the same hull (295 t; 6'6"; 16 kts; 65; 3"/50 + 40mm + five 20mm + DCT/DCP) AND from sibling DANFS blocks (AM-82 prints 295/6'6"/16 k/65; AM-89 prints 295/11'7"/17 k/65) - the most divergent spec block located in the class; the two independent DANFS mirrors (hazegray, HyperWar) agree on the anomalous figures, so they are print text, not transcription error; values flagged, NavSource/class-norm readings carried as better-supported. (b) Mirror transcription variant - hazegray 'l. 173'8"' vs HyperWar 'l. 173'9"' - one-inch transcription difference, trivial. (c) Displacement - 275 (DANFS) vs 295 (NavSource) vs 450 (HyperWar/class index full-load) vs Colton '1,250' tonnage column (unexplained metric, same anomaly as the sibling CIW table) - standard/design vs full-load conventions explain 295-vs-450; 275 unexplained. (d) Draft - 7'7" (DANFS) vs 6'6" (NavSource AM-fit) vs 11'7" (HyperWar PC-fit) - AM-fit vs PC-fit readings likely; unresolved. (e) Complement - 85 (DANFS) vs 65 (NavSource; class index 'four officers and 61 enlisted') vs 105 (HyperWar PC-fit) - unresolved. (f) Speed - 18 k (DANFS) vs 16 kts (NavSource) vs 17 knots (HyperWar) vs 16.8 at 330 t (class index) - consistent-range variants flagged. (g) Propulsion - 'Two 900hp Cooper Bessemer GNB8' per-hull (=1,800 total) vs 'two 1,770 brake horsepower' class index (=3,540 total) vs '1,770 shaft hp' HyperWar (total) vs Wikipedia '2 x 1,770 bhp' - engine type (Cooper-Bessemer GNB-8, serials 1985/1986, two, twin screw) consistent; rating unresolved. (h) Commission date - 10 December 1942 (DANFS, NavSource, Colton delivery, Wikipedia infobox) vs 11 December 1942 (uboat.net, Wikipedia's own body text, downstream mirrors) - 10 December carried (3 of 4 source families); the 11-Dec variant flagged as a propagated error. (i) Conversion-yard attribution RESOLVED for this hull - class index: Atlantic units cycled through Norfolk Navy Yard May-June 1944 (this hull, at Norfolk until 9 June), Pacific-built units modified at Pearl Harbor; the NavSource photo caption independently describes PC-1598's armament as 'fitted ... by Norfolk Navy Yard.' (j) MCM tension - class index says Atlantic units had minesweeping gear REMOVED at Norfolk, yet DANFS documents this hull sweeping mines off Okinawa March-April 1945 'destroying many enemy mines' - genuine unresolved tension between class-level conversion statement and hull-level operational record; possible that removal was partial, reinstallation occurred, or she swept with attendant capability - sources silent. (k) Source defects - HyperWar PC-1598 page prints 'PC-1568 class' and 'Built at Jacobson'; NavSource photo caption prints 'USS Excel (AM 98)' (AM-98 is Firm); Wikipedia body 'commissioned on 11 December' contradicts its own infobox. (l) Order date - uboat.net alone prints 'Ordered 1 Apr 1941' - uncorroborated, flagged. (m) Battle stars - no battle-star line in the located DANFS text for this hull (siblings Adroit/Despite carry one each); campaign participation (Okinawa sweeps) is documented but formal award credit unverified.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Limitations

   Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. None of the sources bears on asbestos; the spec conflicts are documented so no downstream user silently merges incompatible figures.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-08

9. [9]Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U.S. 446 (2019), CourtListener 4601080 [court_record]

   Locator

   CourtListener opinion 4601080; Google-indexed sweeps for 'USS Excel,' 'PC-1598,' 'AM-94' (search_ledger sl-08, sl-09)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No case located names this hull (see negative_finding row ev-10 and search_ledger). Doctrinal context only for the vessel's type: claims arising from 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 a claim arising from service aboard a WWII diesel minesweeper/subchaser would have faced; no such claim naming Excel, AM-94, or PC-1598 was located. CourtListener name-collision assessment: 'Excel' is a common English word and corporate name; all sweeps ran on the qualifying strings 'USS Excel,' 'PC-1598,' and 'AM-94' - no Excel-litigant opinion or hull reference surfaced in Google-indexed CourtListener content; the authenticated API sweep was quota-blocked (HTTP 429).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   2019 decision; sweeps 2026-09-22

   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 (its facts post-date this hull's era). A complaint's vessel list would be a pleading allegation, not a finding; no pleading naming this hull was located. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-excel-am94-09

10. [10]Batch-1446 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray/losthistory + HyperWar mirrors; NavSource 12/011598 + 12/01idx class index (11/02094 mine-warfare page HTTP 500); HyperWar PC-1598 spec page; Shipbuilding History Jakobson yard table; uboat.net 9257; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated - throttled) + Google-indexed sweeps; VA BVA index via Google; MARAD vessel history site; NARA catalog; NVR; live NHHC URL probes (404); Wikipedia/geni.com (secondary leads) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-excel-am94-01 through sl-uss-excel-am94-14

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Excel / AM-94 / PC-1598: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, court finding, docketed asbestos case, or VA Board of Veterans' Appeals decision naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage caveat: the authenticated API returned HTTP 429 ('Request was throttled. Rate limit exceeded: 2800/day. Expected available in 14421 seconds' - the shared quota was exhausted by earlier same-day batch work; no unauthenticated queries were run). The litigation sweep therefore ran through Google-indexed CourtListener content and general web: hits were unrelated asbestos matters (USS Barney DDG-6, USS Cascade AD-16, USS Floyd B. Parks DD-884, shipyard-employment cases) - no 'PC-1598,' 'AM-94,' or 'USS Excel' vessel reference surfaced in any opinion or docket index reachable. Non-authoritative marketing rosters carry the name without evidence: mesothelioma.com's minesweepers table lists BOTH Excel hulls ('USS Excel | AM-94 | Adroit | 12/10/1942 | Sold, 1947' and 'USS Excel | AM-439'); mesothelioma.net's patrol-boats page lists 'USS Excel (AM-94)' AND 'USS PC-1598' - a probable double-listing of one hull under both designations, matching the pattern verified on the sibling Adroit (AM-82) record; mesotheliomaveterans.org, mesotheliomahope.com, lungcancergroup.com, and mesotheliomaguide.com carry 'USS Excel' roster mentions (mostly keyed to the AM-439 hull). All EXCLUDED as non-authoritative per batch rules - name-list mentions only, no hull-specific evidence.

    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 1941-42 steel-hulled naval vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull was sold into commercial service in 1947 and its fate is undocumented, so no present-day survey pathway exists. The CourtListener sweep is incomplete (shared-cap exhaustion) - a fully authenticated re-sweep of opinions and RECAP dockets remains an open verification step. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-excel-am94-10

11. [11]Archival leads - NARA RG 24 deck logs for this hull's December 1942 - January 1946 commission (the documentary base for the Norfolk/Portland, Maine and Pacific operations including the Okinawa mine operation and the Guam repair period); WWII muster rolls; war diaries in the NARA microfilm series where sibling hull Advent's 'USS ADVENT - War Diary, 6/1-30/43' is indexed (DPLA item, NARA ID 135908264 - a parallel Excel item plausible but unverified); NHC photograph S-511-13 ('Mine Sweeper - Adaptation of PC 452 Type,' 6 January 1941 - the class design record identified on the NavSource class pages); NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records per the asbestos guided-topic page - hull-designation correspondence ('AM94'/'PC1598'), class correspondence under the PC-461/Adroit-class series, 'QM/Jakobson' contract files, Entry P-11 'Minesweeper and Minelayer General Information Books' (Item S-68), and hull-number-arranged Ship Engineering Drawings (S39 Insulation and Lagging, S48 Piping, S103 Booklets of General Plans); RG 181 Norfolk Naval Shipyard job files for the May-June 1944 Atlantic-unit conversion (this hull's documented conversion window and yard); the War Shipping Administration sale file of 11 June 1947 plus any U.S. Coast Guard merchant-vessel documentation for the Tidewater/Shaver hull - a pathway most sisters lack, since a documented commercial barge conversion could trace the hull further than the Maritime Commission disposals [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov RG 19/24/181 group guides + asbestos guided-topic page (archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos); NavSource 12/01idx photo credit (NHC S-511-13); dp.la NARA war-diary item 135908264 (sibling Advent)

    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 RG 24 deck logs, Dec 1942 - Jan 1946 - the documentary base for the documented operations; (b) muster rolls for the commission period; (c) war diaries in the NARA microfilm series where sibling hull Advent's 'USS ADVENT - War Diary, 6/1-30/43' is indexed (DPLA item, NARA ID 135908264 - a parallel Excel item plausible but unverified); (d) NHC photo S-511-13, the 6 January 1941 'Adaptation of PC 452 Type' design plan credited on NavSource's class pages - the closest existing thing to a design record for the class; (e) NARA RG 19 BuShips records per the asbestos guided-topic page - hull files 'AM94'/'PC1598,' class files for the PC-461/Adroit series, 'QM/Jakobson' contract correspondence, P-11 minesweeper GIBs, and S39/S48/S103 hull-series drawings - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules; (f) RG 181 Norfolk Naval Shipyard job files for the May-June 1944 Atlantic-unit conversion (this hull departed Norfolk 9 June 1944, inside the documented window, and her reclassification took effect there 1 June); (g) the WSA sale record of 11 June 1947 and any USCG merchant documentation for the Tidewater/Shaver hull - the documentary path to the hull's post-Navy fate that Maritime-Commission-disposed sisters lack.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1941-1947 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-94/PC-1598 is unknown until surveyed in person. Deck logs, muster rolls, and contract files are personnel/operations records, not materials documentation; the BuShips design file is the best candidate for a material schedule. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-excel-am94-11