Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, 'Facility' (AM-233) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror (live history.navy.mil page returns 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01/1169; hazegray.org itself unreachable at fetch time) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Facility' entry, specifications block + service narrative (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am233.htm)
- 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. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable). Launched 22 June 1944 by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Co., Seattle, Wash., sponsored by Miss Clara Lee Davis; commissioned 29 November 1944, Lieutenant C. R. Jennette, USNR, commanding; reclassified MSF-233 on 7 February 1955. Service narrative: shakedown, then San Pedro and Pearl Harbor, arriving 17 February [1945]; escorted Weehawken (CM-12) to Eniwetok early March; swept under TG 52.5 preliminary to the 1 April Okinawa assault landings; supported the operation until damaged by a near miss during a heavy suicide attack, putting into Ulithi 22 April for repairs; resumed sweeping, replenished in Buckner Bay, joined TG 52.4 operating with TG 52.3 clearing the approaches to Nagasaki; late September swept the Bungo Suido and other Inland Sea areas; rest of 1945 in overhaul at Hiro Wan and sweeping the Van Dieman Straits; first two months of 1946 Sasebo - Saipan - Eniwetok - Pearl Harbor - States; overhaul at San Pedro; transited the Panama Canal 22 March; Galveston, Texas, where placed out of commission 11 September 1946; stricken from the Navy List 1 May 1962. Transcriber's note: originally laid down as PCE-906; transferred to Mexico 2 October 1962 as DM-04. Three battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1962
- Population
- Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging construction trades (1944); wartime crew (design complement 104); Mexican Navy crew (1962 onward)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, service narrative, and transfer - not materials or asbestos content. The entry omits the laid-down date (NavSource and uboat.net supply 29 Mar 1944). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404. The transcriber's note (not the DANFS author text) is the DANFS-source basis for the ex-PCE-906 origin and the 1962 Mexican transfer.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Facility (MSF 233) ex-AM-233 ex-PCE-906, file 11/02233 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02233 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, CO list, photo credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record: 'Admirable Class Minesweeper'; laid down 29 March 1944 as Patrol Craft Escort PCE-906 by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Co., Seattle, WA; reclassified as Minesweeper AM-233; launched 22 June 1944; commissioned USS Facility (AM-233) 29 November 1944; 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as December 1945'; decommissioned 11 September 1946 at Galveston, TX; reclassified Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull) MSF-233, 7 February 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1962; transferred to Mexico 2 October 1962 and named ARM DM-04; '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-gun depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion 'Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts.' CO list: LT Christopher Roy Jennette USNR (29 Nov 1944 - Nov 1945); LT Gerald Martin Fox USNR (24 Nov 1945). Photo credit: U.S. Navy photo NH 81368 (off Seattle, 21 Nov 1944).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1962
- Population
- Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging trades (1944); wartime crew; Mexican Navy crew (1962 onward)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official. Its '945 t (fl)' full-load figure sits alongside DANFS's 530-ton spec-block figure and other sources' 625/650/915 - different measurement bases, flagged in the correction row, not merged. Its 'one twin 40mm' armament line conflicts with the class-typical two twin 40mm mounts in other sources - flagged. The NVR-1949 'plan for decommissioning ... December 1945' is a register-planning quirk - actual decommissioning was 11 Sep 1946 - carried as printed. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-02
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Lockheed Shipbuilding (formerly Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging), Seattle WA' yard table - hull #70 row (AM 233 Facility) + yard history header [other_primary]
- Locator
- lockheed.htm (PSB&D table) - hull #70 row + yard history header; block sisters #69-74
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table row for this hull: yard hull #70, 'AM 233 | Facility | US Navy | Minesweeper | 650d | 185 | Nov-44 | Later PCE 906, to Mexico 1962 as DM-04.' The PSB&D table runs the consecutive ex-PCE Admirable-class block - #69 Execute (AM 232), #70 Facility (AM 233), #71 Fancy (AM 234), #72 Fixity (AM 235), #73-74 (AM 236-237) cancelled. Yard history header: Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging founded 1898 as a San Francisco Bridge Co. subsidiary; Harbor Island facility established 1916; reactivated for WWII in the Associated Shipbuilders joint venture with Lake Union Dry Dock Co., building minesweepers and yard craft (Yard 1, Harbor Island); acquired by Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction 1959; both yards later sold to the Port of Seattle.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- PSB&D Yard 1 construction workforce (Harbor Island, Seattle, 1944)
- Limitations
- Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, yard hull number (#70), delivery month (Nov-44 matches commissioning), type, and 650d tonnage. Its disposition text 'Later PCE 906' reads the designation backwards - the hull was ex-PCE-906 converted to AM-233 before launch, not redesignated PCE afterward - flagged in the correction row. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-03
-
[4]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 per-hull page reads 'Diesel, twin screws, 1,900 h.p.') + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; Colton; uboat.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02233 propulsion line; HyperWar AM-233_Facility.html spec block; DANFS construction/service dates; Colton lockheed.htm; uboat.net ship/5298
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1944-built steel Admirable-class minesweeper with a diesel direct-drive twin-screw plant (two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply Co. 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 1944 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: PSB&D Yard 1 construction trades (Seattle, 1944); the wartime U.S. crew (design complement ~104) across shakedown, the Okinawa pre-assault and support sweeps (including the April 1945 near-miss damage and Ulithi repair period - the heaviest documented machinery/structure disturbance episode), the Nagasaki-approach and Inland Sea occupation sweeps, and the Hiro Wan overhaul; San Pedro overhaul trades (early 1946); and the Mexican Navy crew of 1962 onward - a population effectively invisible to U.S. claimant channels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1962
- Population
- PSB&D trades (1944); U.S. crew Nov 1944 - Sep 1946; San Pedro overhaul trades (1946); Mexican Navy crew (1962-?)
- Limitations
- Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-233 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-service maintenance and the hull's disposal are undocumented in located sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-04
-
[5]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 Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging, Seattle. 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-facility-am233-05
-
[6]Lockwood v. AC & S, Inc., 109 Wn.2d 235, 744 P.2d 605 (1987) - per Atlas shipyards.json ev-puget-bridge-01 and as quoted in Anjeski v. Keene Building & Development Co., 727 F. Supp. 331 (E.D.N.Y. 1989); and Hoyt v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 13-35573 (9th Cir. Sep. 10, 2013) (memorandum) [court_record]
- Locator
- Atlas shipyards.json ev-puget-bridge-01; Anjeski v. Keene, 727 F. Supp. 331, 335 (E.D.N.Y. 1989) reciting Lockwood facts; cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2013/09/10/13-35573.pdf
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Yard-level asbestos litigation for this hull's builder: in Lockwood, coworkers placed Raymark asbestos cloth in use during the 1947-48 overhaul of the ship George Washington at the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredge shipyard (as recited in Anjeski, 727 F. Supp. at 335); in Hoyt, Lockheed litigated as successor-in-interest to Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company over alleged take-home asbestos exposure from yard employment in 1948-1958 (summary judgment for the defendant affirmed on foreseeability). Both confirm the builder yard's asbestos milieu in the same era this hull was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1947-1958 (exposure windows); 1987/2013 (decisions)
- Population
- PSB&D yard workforce (1947-1958 litigation window); workers' household contacts (Hoyt)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not hull evidence - neither case names AM-233, and Lockwood's work dates (1947-48) postdate this hull's construction by three-plus years. Hoyt is an unpublished Ninth Circuit memorandum affirming a defense summary judgment - a merits-stage negative for that plaintiff, not exposure evidence. Establishes asbestos products were litigated at the yard in the era; establishes nothing about this hull's materials or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-06
-
[7]NPS National Register/National Historic Landmark nomination, USS Hazard (AM-240), NRHP ref. 79003712 (nomination PDF, NPS NPGallery) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS NRHP/NHL nomination form 79003712, items 4-7 (condition, description); NRIS asset page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The sole surviving Admirable-class hull is a documented unaltered museum ship: the NHL nomination for USS Hazard (AM-240) - a same-class sister built the same year - records her as 'completely equipped and intact as it was during its years of active service' with 'the superstructure ... unaltered,' moved from the Orange, Texas U.S. Naval Inactive Ship Facility (the same Texas Group reserve-fleet facility where Facility decommissioned at Galveston would have been laid up) to Omaha in 1971. For materials purposes the class's only preserved exemplar survives essentially as-built, but no public asbestos survey or hazmat disclosure for Hazard was located either.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944; nomination circa 1979
- Population
- Museum staff/visitors at the surviving sister (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level context only - the nomination documents the sister hull's significance and condition circa 1979, not materials or asbestos content, and says nothing about AM-233. 'Unaltered' is the nomination's characterization; no ACM survey of Hazard is public. The shared Orange, TX layup is documented for Hazard; Facility's own Texas Group layup site is consistent but not separately documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-07
-
[8]Batch-1207 search ledger (this record): DANFS via losthistory/hazegray mirror; NavSource 11/02233; Shipbuilding History (Colton) PSB&D/Lockheed yard table; uboat.net ship/5298; HyperWar per-hull AM-233 page + ships-dm class block; NPS NHL nomination 79003712; CourtListener API v4 (blocked - shared quota exhausted before session start); indexed-web litigation substitute; NVR; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-facility-am233-01 through sl-uss-facility-am233-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Facility / AM-233 / MSF-233 / PCE-906 / DM-04: 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). The CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket sweeps could not be run this session - the API returned HTTP 429 from the first request (shared 2,800/day quota exhausted by prior batch work on this machine, ~1.8h backoff at fetch time) and was not retried per batch rules; an indexed-web substitute surfaced only law-firm listicle rosters (mesothelioma.com minesweeper jobsites page lists 'USS Facility | AM-233 | PCE-905 | 11/29/1944 | To Mexico, 1962'; mesotheliomahelp.org carries the name in a generic minesweeper list) - name-list mentions only, 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 - a 1944-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. Because the docket database could not be queried at all this session, residual risk of an unlocated hull-naming case is real and is logged as a gap; 'Facility' is also a common English word (high name-collision risk in any docket sweep). The hull went to Mexico in 1962 and her fate is unreported - no present-day survey pathway exists. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-08
-
[9]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02233 vs Colton lockheed.htm yard table vs uboat.net ship/5298 vs HyperWar AM-233 hull page and ships-dm class block vs navalmarinearchive.com minesweepers1 table vs Wikipedia infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am233.htm; navsource.net/archives/11/02233.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/lockheed.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5298.html; ibiblio.net/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-233_Facility.html; ibiblio.net/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/minesweepers1.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Facility
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Origin designation - all sources agree the hull was laid down 29 Mar 1944 as PCE-906 and reclassified/renamed before launch; Colton's disposition column prints 'Later PCE 906,' which reads the direction backwards - carried as ex-PCE-906; Wikipedia infobox adds 'reclassified Admirable-class minesweeper, September 1943' (secondary, consistent with uboat's 12 Aug 1943 order date). (b) Displacement - 530 t (DANFS spec block) vs 650d (Colton yard row; Wikipedia class figure) vs 625 t (HyperWar class block) vs 945 t fl (NavSource spec) vs 915 t (HyperWar hull page) vs 526 t standard (pwencycl class table) - different measurement bases (standard/light/full), none merged; DANFS's 530 carried in the spec line. (c) Propulsion - NavSource 'Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts' (direct drive; the class article's per-engine figure is 855 shp each) vs HyperWar hull page 'Diesel, twin screws, 1,900 h.p.' vs HyperWar class block 'Diesel-electric engines ... 1,800 h.p.' - the documented reduction gear contradicts 'diesel-electric'; NavSource carried, per-engine vs total rating noted. (d) Speed - 15 kts (DANFS, HyperWar) vs 14.8 kts (NavSource). (e) Armament - DANFS '1 3"' only; NavSource 'one 3"/50 DP + one twin 40mm + six 20mm + hedgehog + four K-guns + two DC tracks'; HyperWar class '1x3"/50 DP + 2x40mm + 6x20mm'; Wikipedia infobox 'two twin 40mm'; design-spec vs wartime-fit unresolved. (f) Complement - 104 across DANFS/NavSource/uboat/class block; HyperWar hull page splits '10 officers, 90 enlisted.' (g) Decommission planning - NavSource quotes the NVR of 1 Jan 1949 listing a 'December 1945' decommission/reserve plan; the actual decommissioning was 11 Sep 1946 - carried as a register-planning quirk, not a date conflict. (h) Mexican identity - transferred 2 Oct 1962 as ARM DM-04 (DANFS transcriber note, NavSource, uboat, Colton agree); the same DM-04 designation went to ex-USS Specter (AM-306) in April 1973, so Facility was likely out of Mexican service by then - inference, not documentation; her disposal is unreported. (i) CO list - NavSource and uboat.net agree on Jennette (29 Nov 1944 - Nov 1945) then Fox (24 Nov 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1973
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text, the Colton yard table, and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. The ex-PCE-906 conversion is documented consistently; only Colton's wording runs it backwards. Mexican-service particulars rest on secondary sources only - no SEMAR record located. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-09
-
[10]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 (see negative_finding row 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; no such claim naming Facility was located.
- 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 (docket sweep blocked this session - see gaps). Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-10
-
[11]Archival leads - NARA WWII muster rolls and RG 24 deck logs for this hull's November 1944 - September 1946 commission; NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) records and the Navy contract file for the PSB&D Admirable-class block (yard hulls #69-74), including the PCE-906-to-AM-233 conversion documentation; NHHC photograph NH 81368 (off Seattle, 21 Nov 1944, per NavSource credit); Mexican Navy (SEMAR) service records for ARM DM-04 - not held in U.S. archives [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19/24 group guides; NavSource 11/02233 photo credits
- 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 - Sep 1946 commission - sibling Admirable-class hulls are demonstrably indexed (prior batches noted coverage), so coverage for AM-233 is expected but unconfirmed this session; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs, Nov 1944 - Sep 1946; (c) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records and the Navy contract file for the PSB&D block - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules and of the PCE-906-to-AM-233 conversion-on-the-ways documentation; (d) NHHC/NARA photograph NH 81368 (the 21 Nov 1944 Seattle photo credited by NavSource); (e) Mexican Navy service records for ARM DM-04 (1962 onward) - held in SEMAR archives, inaccessible this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1962 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-233 is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, and contract files are personnel/operations records, not materials documentation. The Mexican half of this hull's life is undocumented in U.S. sources. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-facility-am233-11