USS Fierce (AM-97)

Evidence

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

1. [1]DANFS, 'Fierce' (AM-97) - verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror; the entry is unusually thin: no minesweeper service record exists in DANFS Vol. II (transcriber's note), construction details supplied from DANFS Vol. V, Appendix 2 (live history.navy.mil URL patterns fierce.html / fierce-i.html / fierce-am-97.html all return 404 - standing link rot, same as BATCH-01 and same-day batches 1433/1434/1440) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am97.htm - full 'Fierce' entry incl. transcriber's note + Vol. V Appendix 2 data

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official DANFS record for this hull, in full: 'Fierce (AM-97) was redesignated PC-1600 (q.v.) on 1 June 1944.' Transcriber's note on the mirror: 'For some reason no record of Fierce's service as a minesweeper is given in DANFS Vol. II. The following brief details are taken from Vol. V, Appendix 2: AM-97 FIERCE - Built at Nashville Bridge Co., Nashville, Tenn. Keel laid 10/18/41; Launched 3/5/42, Commissioned 10/12/42.' The construction spine (Nashville Bridge build, keel 18 Oct 1941, launched 5 Mar 1942, commissioned 12 Oct 1942) is corroborated by NavSource, Colton/NMA yard tables, and uboat.net (which adds: ordered 1 Apr 1941). The printed 'PC-1600' is an error - the class renumbering (AM-82+n -> PC-1586+n) gives AM-97 = PC-1601, confirmed by every other source; PC-1600 is ex-Fidelity (AM-96). Flagged in ev-08.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1948

   Population

   Nashville Bridge Co. construction trades (Nashville, 1941-42); wartime crew (design complement 65)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, builder, construction dates, and the 1 June 1944 reclassification - no minesweeper service narrative exists in the official text (Vol. II gap acknowledged by the transcriber), and no materials or asbestos content. The 'PC-1600' designation in the surviving text conflicts with PC-1601 in all other sources including the class index and this hull's own NavSource record - flagged in ev-08. Mirror transcription cited because every live NHHC URL pattern returns 404.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - PCC-1601 ex-PC-1601 ex-Fierce (AM 97), file 11/02097 (incl. contributed operational history 'USS PC-1601 - TUG SEABORN II' with tug-master Donald E. Hughes's first-person account) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/02097 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line incl. engine serials BS 1143/1144, CO roster (6 COs), contributed history 'USS PC-1601 - TUG SEABORN II' (operational narrative + Hughes tug account + 'until 1985' registry note)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource per-hull record: 'Laid down 18 October 1941 as PC-1601 by the Nashville Bridge Co., Nashville, TN; Launched 5 March 1942; Sponsored by Mrs. Harry B. Dyer, wife of the Nashville Bridge Co. President; Commissioned USS Fierce (AM 97), 12 October 1942; Reclassified as a Submarine Chaser, PC-1601, 31 March 1944 [conflicts with the class-wide/DANFS 1 June 1944 date - flagged in ev-08]; Reclassified as a Control Submarine Chaser, PCC-1601, 20 August 1945; Decommissioned 14 December 1945 at San Francisco, CA; PCC-1601 earned two battle stars for World War II service; Struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 15 June 1948; Sold in 1953 to John K. Seaborn of Alameda, CA for use as a twin engined tugboat and named Seaborn II; Registered in 1956 to Arthur J. Theis of San Francisco, CA; Registered in 1958 to Fred Devine of Portland, OR; Acquired again in 1961 by John K. Seaborn of Alameda; Abandoned in 1972. Fate unknown.' Call sign Nan-Able-How-Dog. AM-fit spec block: 295 t; 173'8"; 23' beam; 11'7" draft; 16.8 kts; complement 65; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm gun, five 20mm guns, two depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks, two rocket launchers; 'Two 1440bhp Busch-Sulzer BS 539 diesel engines (Serial No. BS 1143 & BS 1144), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts.' CO roster of six: LT John Herman Crosbie, USNR (12 Oct 1942) through LTJG Bayard E. Bosserman, USNR (Sep-14 Dec 1945). Contributed history: laid down as PC-1601 and converted to an inshore minesweeper during construction; commissioned at New Orleans 12 Oct 1942; shakedown to Portland, Maine; offshore patrol duty and towing target sleds for New England Naval Air Stations with USS Force (AM-99); swept test mines in Long Island Sound laid by Groton-based submarines out of New London; reclassified PC-1601 1 June 1944 and ordered to Norfolk Navy Base for conversion; departed for San Diego via New Orleans and the Panama Canal; left San Diego 24 July 1944, arrived Pearl Harbor 1 August 1944; next 12 months screening convoys and acting as invasion control ship at the Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, and Okinawa landings; credited with shooting down a Japanese dive bomber with the 3"/50 bow gun at Leyte; visited Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Saipan, Ulithi, Manus, Hollandia, Leyte, Luzon, Okinawa; 'three stars on the Asiatic-Pacific medal and two stars on the Philippine Liberation medal'; decommissioned San Francisco Dec 1945; sold by the Maritime Commission 15 June 1948 to John K. Seaborn of Alameda, towboat operator, who converted her to the twin-engine tug Seaborn II (Reg. No. 265342); worked San Francisco Bay to 1956, then leased to Fred Devine Salvage Co. of Portland, OR; tug master Donald E. Hughes recalls 'a pair of 850 h.p. Alco engines' and Sperry steering/gyro - the tug had been re-engined (corroborated by the derbysulzers note, with a hull-number slip); Tongue Point reserve-fleet contract towing - 'over 200 merchant ships and 50 naval vessels'; 'registered as a twin engine tug by the John K. Seaborn Company of Alameda, California until 1985'; 'probably sold for razor blades.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1985

   Population

   Nashville Bridge trades (1941-42); commissioned crew (65); Norfolk Navy Yard conversion workers (1944); San Francisco deactivation workers (1945); Fulton Shipyard tug-conversion workers (1953); Seaborn/Devine tug crews (1953-72)

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with DANFS on all construction, reclassification, decommissioning, and disposal dates. Its '31 March 1944' PC reclassification date conflicts with DANFS, the class index, NavalCoverMuseum, and Wikipedia (all 1 June 1944) - flagged in ev-08. Its 'two battle stars' conflicts with the contributed history's three Asiatic-Pacific + two Philippine Liberation campaign stars - flagged. The contributed operational narrative is unattributed-era testimony compiled by NavSource volunteers - not an official record; its details (dive-bomber kill, port list) rest on that single source. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-02

3. [3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Ocean Minesweepers (AM)' table - Fierce (AM 97) row + class block context; cross-checked against the Naval Marine Archive mirror 'Nashville Bridge NABRICO Boats' table [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/minesweepers1.htm - 'AM 97 | Fierce | Nashville Bridge' row + surrounding class block; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/small/nashvilleboats.html - NABRICO boats table Fierce row + yard-history header

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Yard-table rows for this hull: Colton's minesweeper table reads 'AM | 97 | Fierce | Nashville Bridge | Nashville TN | 174 | 295 | 1941 | 5-Mar-43 | PC 1601 1944, sold 1948 as Seaborn II' - corroborating builder, type, and the PC-1601/Seaborn II disposition chain, and placing the hull in the Nashville Bridge block (AM-96 Fidelity and AM-97 Fierce) between the Jakobson (AM-94-95, Oyster Bay NY) and Penn-Jersey (AM-98-99, Camden NJ) blocks - the five-yard class structure. The Naval Marine Archive NABRICO boats table (nashvilleboats.html) reads 'Fierce (AM 97) | US Navy | Minesweeper | 1,250 | 110 | 10-Dec-42 | Reclassified 1944 as PC 1601, sold 1948 as Seaborn II' - corroborating the same chain with a different delivery-date reading. NABRICO yard history: founded in the 1890s (1902 per the Waterways Journal), bridge builder converted to shipbuilding in 1915; George Steinbrenner bought it 1969, added the Ashland City yard 1977, sold to Trinity Marine Group 1995; Trinity closed the Nashville yard 1996 when the downtown property went to stadium redevelopment.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1890s-1996 (yard history); 1941-1948 (this hull's rows)

   Population

   Nashville Bridge Co. workforce (Cumberland River yard, Nashville, 1941-42; yard closed 1996)

   Limitations

   Compiler's yard tables, secondary - corroborate builder, type, and disposition chain but conflict on the delivery-date column: Colton reads '5-Mar-43' vs NMA '10-Dec-42' vs the documented 12-Oct-42 commissioning - unresolved, flagged in ev-08. The '1,250' GT-column figure and '110' ft. figure in the NMA table conflict with every documented dimension (295 t, 173'8") and read as misplaced metrics - flagged. A yard table does not carry keel/launch dates. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-03

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-foot Steel Hull' narrative, Adroit-class paragraph (five-yard construction, Norfolk conversion, Pacific dispatch, PCC reclassifications, machinery variants, the erroneous loss line)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Class-level construction and service narrative: '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. Built by five yards' - names AM-82 through AM-99 (Adroit ... Fierce ... Force). 'The other 11 operated initially either from Bermuda (AM-89 to 93) or from mainland U.S. bases, again as convoy escorts. That they were far more useful in an antisubmarine role than as minecraft was realized quickly, and 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.' 'On 1 June 1944, all 18 lost their names and were reclassified PC-1586 through 1603.' 'PC-1598-1603 were dispatched to the Pacific in July 1944 and escorted support convoys as U.S. forces drew closer to the Japanese homeland. During the invasions at Okinawa and Iwo Jima, several were used as inshore control ships for landing craft, and two were further reclassified as control craft PCC-1599 and PCC-1601 in the summer of 1945' - this hull's PCC-1601 reclassification and control-ship role confirmed at class level. '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 ... 16.8 knots at 330 tons displacement ... about 4,000 nautical miles at 12 knots ... four officers and 61 enlisted personnel.' NOTE: the same paragraph wrongly states 'Only PC-1601 (ex-Fierce, AM-97) was lost during the war, on 21 May 1945' - an internal error conflating this hull with PC-1603 (ex-Force, AM-99), the class unit actually lost (kamikaze strikes, Kimmu Wan, Okinawa, 26 May 1945 per NavSource's own PC-1603 page); flagged in ev-08.

   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)

   Limitations

   Class-level description that names this hull's design family, machinery variant (AM-96-99 Busch-Sulzer block), the 11-Atlantic-units Norfolk conversion, the July 1944 Pacific dispatch of PC-1598-1603, and the PCC-1601 control-craft reclassification - but carries no hull-specific materials information, and contains a documented internal error (the 'PC-1601 lost 21 May 1945' line) contradicted by NavSource's own per-hull records. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-04

5. [5]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - PC-1601 (USS Fierce) specification page (Patrick Clancey compilation, sourced from official-type references per its methodology note) [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/PC/PC-1601.html - specification block (compiled 1997)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   PC-configuration spec block for this hull: 'PC-1601 (USS Fierce) - 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; Alco diesel engine, twin screws, 1,440 shaft hp. Built at Nashville Bridge and commissioned as AM-97 1943. Converted to Sub Chaser (PC-1601) 1944.' The 450-ton figure matches the class index's full-load displacement ('18 tons more than did the PCs'); the 295-ton figure is the standard/design displacement.

   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 compilation with visible defects: 'commissioned as AM-97 1943' conflicts with the documented 12-Oct-42 commissioning in every other source including DANFS - flagged in ev-08; 'Alco diesel engine' conflicts with the documented Navy plant (two Busch-Sulzer BS 539s, serials BS 1143/1144) though the tug-era Alco re-engining makes the make association understandable - flagged; '1,440 shaft hp' reads as a per-engine vs total conflation. Complement 105 is the PC-fit figure vs the AM-fit 65. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-05

6. [6]Consolidated era/design inference - documented construction and machinery (NavSource per-hull spec block: 'Two 1440bhp Busch-Sulzer BS 539 diesel engines (Serial No. BS 1143 & BS 1144) ... two shafts'; NavSource class index: AM-96-99 Busch-Sulzer variant, steel-hulled twin-diesel PC-461-type hull) + documented builder and construction era (DANFS Vol. V App. 2; Colton/NMA yard rows, 1941-42) + Nashville Bridge yard history (Waterways Journal; Nashville Historical Foundation) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/02097 propulsion line + 12/01idx class narrative; DANFS AM-97 entry; Colton minesweepers1.htm and NMA nashvilleboats.html rows; waterwaysjournal.net NABRICO history; nashvillehistoricalfoundation.org Cumberland River article

   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 converted during construction to 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 Busch-Sulzer 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: Nashville Bridge Co. construction trades (Cumberland River yard, 1941-42); the commissioned crew (~65) across the 1942-45 East Coast, Long Island Sound, Norfolk, and Pacific (Leyte/Lingayen/Okinawa) service; Norfolk Navy Yard workers during the documented May-June 1944 conversion; San Francisco deactivation workers (1945); the Maritime Commission disposal workforce (1948); Fulton Shipyard (Antioch, CA) tug-conversion workers (~1953, including the documented engine-room work of re-engining); Seaborn/Devine commercial tug crews (1953-72); and whatever workforce handled the 1972 abandonment and any subsequent scrapping (undocumented).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1972+

   Population

   NABRICO trades 1941-42; crew 1942-45; Norfolk Navy Yard workers 1944; SF deactivation workers 1945; MC disposal workforce 1948; Fulton Shipyard conversion workers 1953; tug crews 1953-72; disposal workforce post-1972

   Limitations

   Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-97/PC-1601/PCC-1601 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-fierce-am97-06

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-97/PC-1601 was built 1941-42 and in commission 1942-45 - 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 1941-1948

   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-fierce-am97-07

8. [8]Source-discrepancy resolution - DANFS (hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02097 + 12/01idx class index vs HyperWar PC-1601 spec block vs Colton minesweeper table vs NMA NABRICO boats table vs NavalCoverMuseum vs uboat.net vs derbysulzers [other_primary]

   Locator

   losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am97.htm; navsource.net/archives/11/02097.htm + 12/01idx.htm + 12/011603.htm (PC-1603 page); ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/PC/PC-1601.html; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/minesweepers1.htm; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/small/nashvilleboats.html; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/PC_1601; uboat.net/allies/warships/9260.html; derbysulzers.com/buschsulzer.html; commons.wikimedia.org album caption (Fulton Shipyard)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) SURVIVAL - NavSource's own class index prints 'Only PC-1601 (ex-Fierce, AM-97) was lost during the war, on 21 May 1945,' contradicted by NavSource's own per-hull records: PC-1601 decommissioned San Francisco 14 Dec 1945 and sold into commercial service 1953; the class unit actually lost was PC-1603 (ex-Force, AM-99) - two kamikaze hits, Kimmu Wan, Okinawa, 26 May 1945, hulk destroyed - the index conflated PC-1603's loss with PC-1601's designation. This hull SURVIVED the war. (b) DESIGNATION - DANFS prints 'redesignated PC-1600 (q.v.)' - error; the renumbering (AM-82+n -> PC-1586+n) and every other source give PC-1601; PC-1600 is ex-Fidelity (AM-96). (c) RECLASS DATE - NavSource per-hull '31 March 1944' vs DANFS/class index/NavalCoverMuseum/Wikipedia '1 June 1944' (the class-wide date) - 1 June carried, variant flagged. (d) PCC CONVERSION TIMING/PLACE - the contributed history reads 'ordered to the Norfolk Navy Base for conversion to the PCC-1601' in June 1944 while the class index dates the PCC reclassifications to 'the summer of 1945' - resolved: the June 1944 Norfolk work was the standard Atlantic-unit MCM-removal/ASW-AA conversion documented for all 11 units; the PCC-1601 designation came 20 Aug 1945, conversion location undocumented (Pacific theater - flagged). The narrative's 'PCC-1601' label for the 1944 event is anachronistic. (e) PROPULSION - Navy plant: two 1,440 bhp Busch-Sulzer BS 539 diesels, serials BS 1143/1144 (NavSource per-hull; class index AM-96-99 note; derbysulzers corroboration) vs HyperWar 'Alco diesel engine, 1,440 shaft hp' vs tug skipper Hughes 'a pair of 850 h.p. Alco engines' - resolved as a documented re-engining: derbysulzers records the hull 're-engined with two Alco 850bhp diesels' during commercial conversion (it prints 'AM98' - a hull-number slip; Seaborn II is ex-AM-97), and the Wikimedia album caption records conversion at Fulton Shipyard, Antioch CA. Navy-era plant carried as Busch-Sulzer; tug-era Alcos documented. (f) BATTLE STARS - 'two battle stars' (NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum/Wikipedia) vs contributed history's 'three stars on the Asiatic-Pacific medal and two stars on the Philippine Liberation medal' - the 'two battle stars' figure carried; campaign-star detail flagged. (g) DELIVERY DATE - Colton '5-Mar-43' vs NMA '10-Dec-42' vs commissioned 12-Oct-42 - unresolved; Colton's date collides with the documented launch (5-Mar-42) transposed a year. (h) SPECS - displacement 295 t standard vs 450 t full load (resolved as conventions); draft 11'7" (NavSource/HyperWar) vs class's AM-fit 6'6"; complement 65 vs 105 (AM-fit vs PC-fit); speed 16/16.8/17 kts; NMA '1,250' GT and '110' ft. figures unexplained. (i) DEVINE ACQUISITION - contributed history 'leased ... 1956' vs NavSource registry '1958' vs NavalCoverMuseum '1957' - unresolved. (j) HyperWar 'commissioned as AM-97 1943' - error vs documented 12-Oct-42. (k) derbysulzers 'AM98' attribution for Seaborn II - slip for AM-97.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1985

   Limitations

   Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text and secondary compilations, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. The class index's 'PC-1601 lost' error is the load-bearing correction - left unflagged it would misstate this hull's survival and post-war commercial career. None of the sources bears on asbestos; the conflicts are documented so no downstream user silently merges incompatible figures.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-fierce-am97-08

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 Fierce,' 'PC-1601,' 'PCC-1601,' 'AM-97' (search_ledger sl-06, sl-07)

   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 Fierce, AM-97, PC-1601, or PCC-1601 was located.

   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-fierce-am97-09

10. [10]Batch-1449 search ledger (this record): DANFS via hazegray/losthistory mirror; NavSource 11/02097 + 12/01idx class index + 12/011603 (PC-1603); HyperWar Ships of the U.S. Navy PC-1601 page; Shipbuilding History minesweepers1 table + Naval Marine Archive NABRICO boats table; NavalCoverMuseum PC_1601 wiki; uboat.net; derbysulzers Busch-Sulzer page; Waterways Journal/Nashville Historical Foundation NABRICO histories; MARAD vessel history database; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated - throttled) + Google-indexed sweeps; VA BVA index via Google; live NHHC URL probes (404); Wikipedia/Wikimedia commons (secondary leads) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-fierce-am97-01 through sl-uss-fierce-am97-12

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Fierce / AM-97 / PC-1601 / PCC-1601 / Seaborn II: 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 13849 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: the only 'Fierce' hits are marketing rosters (mesothelioma.com's minesweepers table 'USS Fierce | AM-97 | Adroit | 10/12/1942 | To Maritime Commission, 1948'; mesothelioma.net's patrol-boats roster listing both 'USS Fierce' and 'USS PC-1601') - excluded per source rules; they carry no hull-specific evidence. No 'PC-1601,' 'PCC-1601,' or 'AM-97' vessel reference surfaced in any opinion or docket index reachable.

    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 passed to commercial service in 1948/1953 and was abandoned in 1972, 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-fierce-am97-10

11. [11]Archival leads - NARA RG 24 deck logs for this hull's October 1942 - December 1945 commission (the documentary base for the New England/Long Island Sound AM-phase and the Pearl Harbor/Leyte/Lingayen/Okinawa PC-phase operations and any machinery-space events); WWII muster rolls; NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships records per the asbestos guided-topic page - hull-designation correspondence ('AM97'/'PC1601'/'PCC1601'), class correspondence under the PC-461/Adroit-class series, 'QM/Nashville Bridge' 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 (the May-June 1944 Atlantic-unit conversion documented at class level); the U.S. Maritime Commission disposal file for the 15 June 1948 transfer; Fulton Shipyard (Antioch, CA) conversion records circa 1953 (the documented re-engining to Alco diesels); USCG merchant-vessel documentation file for official no. 265342 (Seaborn II) [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov RG 19/24/181 group guides + asbestos guided-topic page (archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos); NavSource 11/02097 (registry chain + tug conversion); class-level Norfolk conversion per NavSource 12/01idx

    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, Oct 1942 - Dec 1945 - the documentary base for the documented operations; (b) muster rolls for the commission period; (c) NARA RG 19 BuShips records per the asbestos guided-topic page - hull files 'AM97'/'PC1601'/'PCC1601,' class files for the PC-461/Adroit series, 'QM/Nashville Bridge' contract correspondence, P-11 minesweeper GIBs, and S39/S48/S103 hull-series drawings - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules; (d) RG 181 Norfolk Naval Shipyard job files for the May-June 1944 Atlantic-unit conversion (documented at class level for all 11 units incl. this hull's block); (e) the U.S. Maritime Commission disposal record for the 15 June 1948 transfer and the 1953 Seaborn sale - the documentary path to the commercial-era record; (f) Fulton Shipyard conversion records circa 1953 - the documented re-engining event; (g) the USCG merchant documentation file for Reg. No. 265342 - the registration chain (Theis 1956, Devine 1957/58, Seaborn 1961-85) and the documentary path to the 1972 abandonment and any disposal record.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1941-1985 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-97/PC-1601 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-fierce-am97-11