Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Fearless II (Vol. II, p. 398): 'The second Fearless (AMC-80) was reclassified YDT-5 (q.v.) on 15 February 1943.' (hazegray verbatim transcription; print scan verified at archive.org, dictionaryofamer02wash) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. II, p. 398, 'Fearless' section, paragraph II
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS confirms the second USS Fearless was hull AMc-80 and that she was reclassified as diving tender YDT-5 on 15 February 1943, roughly one year after entering service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Crew of ~17 (class figure)
- Limitations
- Stub entry only - DANFS carries no build dates, builder, or service narrative for this hull; the '(q.v.)' cross-reference to a YDT-5 entry could not be located in the digitized DANFS volumes (Vol. VIII checked). Live NHHC page 404s (known link-rot); transcription mirror used. Establishes identity and reclassification only - contains no material or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-01
-
[2]Faceplate (U.S. Navy Deep Sea Diving School / Experimental Diving Unit quarterly, Washington Navy Yard), March 1967, 'U.S. Naval School - Deep Sea Divers' (NAVSEA SUPSALV document portal) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Faceplate, March 1967 issue, 'U.S. Naval School - Deep Sea Divers' article, facilities list item 4
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official Navy publication lists 'YDT-5, a converted minesweeper fully equipped for sustained diving operations, including HeO2 diving' among the eight diving platforms of the U.S. Naval School, Deep Sea Divers, at the Washington Navy Yard - documenting YDT-5's role and station in 1967, including mixed-gas (helium-oxygen) diving support.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1967 (publication); craft in school service 1943-1973 era
- Population
- Deep Sea Diving School students and staff; YDT-5 crew
- Limitations
- Documents role, equipment category, and station in March 1967 only; says nothing about material content, insulation, or hazards aboard the craft. Live navsea.navy.mil URL blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403); Wayback capture of the same PDF used and text-verified. OCR transcription shows minor artifacts ('He02' for HeO2).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-02
-
[3]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YDT-5 / ex-Fearless (AMc-80) page (secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 11/03080.htm, YDT-5 entry block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary compilation gives: laid down 4 August 1941 by W. A. Robinson, Inc., Ipswich, MA; launched 14 November 1941; placed in service as USS Fearless (AMc-80) 4 February 1942; reclassified Diving Tender YDT-5 15 February 1943 and assigned to Washington, DC; one 400-shp diesel, one shaft; complement 17.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1943
- Population
- Construction trades at W. A. Robinson yard (1941); crew
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not an official source - dates used here as leads consistent with the official record where checkable (reclassification date matches DANFS). Launch date conflicts with Wikipedia (18 November 1941); unresolved. Post-Navy fate on this page conflicts with other secondary sources (see ev-uss-fearless-amc80-05).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-03
-
[4]DANFS, Accentor I (AMc-36) (class specification line + lead-ship service narrative; hazegray verbatim transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Accentor I entry, specification line and first paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS documents the Accentor-class characteristics (dp. 221; l. 97'6"; b. 22'6"; dr. 8'11"; s. 10 k.; cpl. 17; a. 2 .50-cal. mg.; cl. Accentor) and that class leader Accentor was built by the same yard, W. A. Robinson, Inc., Ipswich, MA, in 1941 - the same design and builder as AMc-80. Class is wooden-hulled, diesel-driven coastal minesweeper design with no steam plant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1942 (class construction era)
- Population
- Class crews (~17 per craft)
- Limitations
- Class-level documentation - establishes design context only; says nothing about materials aboard AMc-80 specifically. The diesel-power detail itself comes from secondary class compilations (NavSource), not this DANFS entry. Does not establish asbestos presence or absence on any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-04
-
[5]Class/era inference anchored to DANFS-documented design (1941-42 wooden-hulled diesel coastal minesweeper) and WWII small-craft construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inference basis: DANFS-documented design era/type; no digitized spec sheet located
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-consistent applications aboard a 1941-42 diesel-driven wooden minecraft were limited relative to steam vessels: possible asbestos-containing exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, asbestos board in electrical paneling, and brake/clutch linings on winch and sweep gear. The 1943 YDT conversion added diving compressor and HeO2 gas-handling machinery whose gasket/packing/insulation content is undocumented but era-typical of compressed-gas equipment.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1943 construction/conversion era
- Population
- W. A. Robinson construction trades (1941); conversion yard workers (1943); crew and diving-school personnel
- Limitations
- Inference, not documentation - no ship-specific or design-document anchor located for this hull (no builder spec, survey, or materials list found). Wooden hull and diesel plant make the asbestos footprint materially smaller than steam ships of the era; presence of any listed item aboard this hull is not established. Does not establish exposure, quantity, or present-day material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-05
-
[6]Conflicting secondary accounts of disposal: NavalCoverMuseum YDT-5 page and shipbuildinghistory.com ('sunk as target 1973'; NCM adds '1 April 1973, in 80 feet of water 800 yards north of Great Harbour, Peter Island, BVI') vs. NavSource citing Greg H. Williams, World War II U.S. Navy Vessels in Private Hands ('acquired in 1973 by Fearless Enterprises of Palatka, FL; moved in 1982 to Gloucester, MA; out of documentation in 1985; fate unknown') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum YDT-5 page ('Conflicting History Data' section); NavSource 11/03080.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com special-purpose craft table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Published secondary sources give two incompatible fates for ex-YDT-5: sunk as a target off Peter Island, British Virgin Islands, in 1973 (the basis of a popular dive-site identification), or sold into private hands, documented under U.S. flag until 1985, fate thereafter unknown.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1973-1985
- Limitations
- Neither account is primary-verified here; they cannot both be true. The BVI dive-site lore additionally claims the wreck was a 'sister ship' of Cousteau's Calypso - demonstrably wrong (Calypso was J-826, a BYMS-type minesweeper of a different design), which undermines the wreck identification generally. USCG documentation records (Williams' source) favor the private-hands account; no Navy disposal document located to confirm 'sunk as target.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-06
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[7]CourtListener API v4 searches, opinion and RECAP docket indexes (see search_ledger rows sl-uss-fearless-amc80-05 through sl-uss-fearless-amc80-08) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fearless-amc80-05 through sl-uss-fearless-amc80-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Fearless, AMc-80/AMC-80, or YDT-5 was located. Opinion search 'USS Fearless': 0 hits. 'Fearless' + asbestos: 20 opinion hits, all incidental word collisions (the adjective 'fearless' in dicta). 'AMc-80'/'AMC-80': 2 hits, both American Maritime Cases reporter citations inside maritime opinions, not the hull. 'YDT-5': 0 hits. Docket search 'Fearless' + asbestos: 68 hits, sampled - unrelated (Fearless Fund litigation, incidental matches). Docket 'USS Fearless': 1 hit - Gordon Mills v. 3M (D.S.C. 2:23-cv-00353, MDL-2873 AFFF/PFAS), which names the OTHER USS Fearless (MSO-442, in commission 1954-1990, plaintiff served 1987-1990) and is not an asbestos case.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located docket does not prove no asbestos exposure occurred aboard - it establishes only that no qualifying ship-specific litigation record exists in the searched indexes. 'Fearless' is a high-collision search term (English adjective, Fearless Fund litigation, MSO-442 same-name hull); classification done by inspection of hits, not by hit counts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-07
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[8]NARA RG 24 deck logs (AMc-80 / YDT-5) and NHHC Ships History Branch card file - the source base for the unpublished DANFS '(q.v.)' YDT-5 entry; also USCG vessel documentation records for the private-ownership period (cited via Williams, WWII US Navy Vessels in Private Hands) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA College Park RG 24 deck-log series (not digitized for this craft); HyperWar ships-ya.html note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary records that would resolve the open questions (service detail as AMc-80, conversion scope, disposal method, fate) exist in non-digitized repositories: NARA deck logs and NHHC card files; USCG documentation files for the 1973-1985 private-ownership period.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1985
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these records was retrieved; their contents are not established. HyperWar notes that published details on individual yard/district craft are 'virtually nonexistent' and refers researchers to the NHHC Ships History Branch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fearless-amc80-08