Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Fortitude' (Naval Historical Center; live NHHC URL history.navy.mil/danfs/f4/fortitude.htm currently 404, retrieved via Internet Archive capture 2012-11-05) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. IV 'Fortitude' entry (full entry text, 2 sentences)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records that the name Fortitude was assigned 17 May 1941 and that on 20 April 1942, prior to completion, the vessel was reclassified YDT-2 and the name canceled. The published DANFS text prints the hull number as 'AMC-31' - a typographical error: AMc-31 was USS Sparrow (a converted fishing vessel, already renamed Marin, YN-53, in February 1941), and the official Ships' Data register identifies YDT-2 as 'Ex-AMc 81; Fortitude.' The hull intended is AMc-81.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1942
- Limitations
- DANFS entry is a stub containing only the naming and reclassification event plus a printed hull-number error corrected here against the official Ships' Data register and the separate documented history of AMc-31 Sparrow/Marin. Confirms the designation event only; contains no construction, service, asbestos, or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-01
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[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-012, 13 April 1945), p. 507, 'Diving Tenders (YDT)' table (digitized official publication via shipscribe.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-012 p. 507, 'Diving Tenders (YDT)' table, row YDT-2; index entry 'Fortitude (ex-) (ex-AMc81)' p. ~index
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official wartime register lists YDT-2 as a diving tender: length overall 97'6", beam 22'3", draft (full load) 9'0", displacement (full load) 219.4 tons, Diesel engine 400 shaft horsepower, allocated to the 1st Naval District, built by W. A. Robinson Co., Ipswich, Mass., 1941; remarks: 'Ex-AMc 81; Fortitude; reclassified Apr. 20, 1942.' The class block note indicates wood-hull construction. Sister district tenders YDT-3/4/5 are likewise listed as ex-AMc minesweeper conversions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Values read from a scanned tabular page; minor OCR/column ambiguity possible in the beam/draft fields. NavSource's differing figures (97'1" x 21' x 8', 141 lt / 195 fl) likely reflect the Accentor minesweeper design rather than the as-converted tender; this row adopts the official register values. Register lists characteristics only - no asbestos, insulation, or materials data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-02
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[3]NavSource Naval History, Service Ship Photo Archive, 'YDT-2 ex Fortitude (AMc-81)' (compiled chronology from official register records and NARA photo captions; no DANFS entry exists for this vessel) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/4002.htm, chronology block and photo caption set
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled official-record chronology: ordered as coastal minesweeper Fortitude (AMc-81); laid down 14 August 1941 at W. A. Robinson Co., Ipswich, MA; launched 2 December 1941; completion delayed and conversion to diving tender begun 30 March 1942; reclassified YDT-2 20 April 1942; delivered to the Navy 26 June 1942; arrived for duty at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, 6 July 1942; grounded in a storm at Matunuck Point, RI, 29 November 1942; refloated at high tide 6 January 1943; repaired at Newport Shipyard 9 January - 30 April 1943; returned to duty 8 June 1943; assigned to duty at NAS Quonset Point February 1946; sank alongside her pier at NAS Quonset Point during a storm 30 December 1948; raised by 12 January 1949; found not repairable and authorized for disposal 29 June 1949; sold to Benjamin's For Motors, Brooklyn, NY, and delivered to purchaser's agent 26 January 1950; stricken from the Naval Register 20 March 1950; final disposition unknown (presumably scrapped). Awards listed: American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1950
- Population
- Crew and tended divers at NTS Newport (1942-1946) and NAS Quonset Point (1946-1948); salvage personnel (1948-1949)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive tracking official register/photo records, not itself an official publication; marked partial accordingly. The sinking and January 1949 salvage are corroborated by the NARA photo numbers the page cites (80-G-399143, 80-G-399145, 80-G-451740) and a Civil Engineer Corps Bulletin (June 1949) salvage photograph. A companion NavSource minesweeper page compresses the record inconsistently ('laid down 17 May 1941' conflates the name-assignment date; 'placed out of service 1947 and struck' conflicts with this page's 20 March 1950 strike date). No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-03
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[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data 1949 service-craft fragment (postwar semi-automated history tables; digitized official publication via shipscribe.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1949-yy.pdf, service-craft status table, AMC 81 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The postwar Ships' Data service-craft history table carries a status row 'AMC 81 -> YDT 2' with an April 1942 reclassification date (the OCR layer reads the date field as '41842,' consistent with an April 1942 entry; the 1945 edition reads 20 April 1942), while adjacent AMc hulls are marked SOLD - corroborating on the official register that AMc-81 was the hull converted to YDT-2.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1949 (register date)
- Limitations
- Punch-card-format scanned table; the reclassification day value is ambiguous under OCR (April 1942 month/year consistent). Confirms the designation chain only; contains no service, asbestos, or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-04
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[5]Historic American Engineering Record RI-38-A, Naval Torpedo Station, Firing Pier, Gould Island, Newport, RI (Library of Congress); HAER RI-38, Naval Torpedo Station, Coddington Cove & Gould Island (loc.gov/pictures/item/ri0474/); NUWC Division Newport official history (navsea.navy.mil) [haer]
- Locator
- LOC HAER RI-38-A item page (significance text); RI-38 overview (75,000 torpedoes figure); NUWC '1900-present' history page (18,000+ torpedoes figure); Ships' Data 1945 v3 p. 507 YDT table (AMc-to-YDT conversion series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- YDT-2's wartime duty station, Naval Torpedo Station Newport, was the Navy's sole torpedo development and production facility until WWII. HAER documentation describes the Gould Island firing pier as a platform launching torpedoes into underwater test ranges in Narragansett Bay - at its height capable of firing 100 torpedoes per day, seven days a week - and records more than 75,000 torpedoes tested in NTS laboratories and ranges by war's end in 1946; the official NUWC history credits the station with more than 18,000 torpedoes produced during WWII. Range operations of this tempo required recovery and diving craft - the function for which the Navy converted AMc minesweeper hulls into YDT diving tenders (YDT-2/3/4/5 are all ex-AMc hulls per the 1945 Ships' Data table on the same page).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- NTS Newport range and recovery crews (1942-1946); NAS Quonset Point ordnance personnel (1946-1948)
- Limitations
- Establishes the operating environment and the type-typical mission of 1st Naval District diving tenders; does not document YDT-2's specific daily tasking, which is not described in any located source. Secondary compilations describe sister tender YDT-6 (ex-Blue Jay, AMc-23) operating out of NAS Quonset Point as a 'torpedo retriever and diving tender' - consistent context but from compiled sources only (DANFS Vol. I omits Blue Jay; NavSource YDT-6 page unreachable 2026-09-23). No asbestos or materials content attaches to this station context.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-05
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[6]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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, article and abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the program era in which this hull was built and converted (1941-42), when federal wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII naval construction workers and crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship addressing principally major steel-vessel construction programs; does not name this vessel or the AMc/YDT type. A 97-ft wood-hulled diesel yard craft carried a materially smaller materials inventory than the steam-propelled combatants the literature centers on - no boiler or steam-pipe lagging pathway applies. Establishes era context only, not presence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-06
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[7]Batch-1620 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Internet Archive; Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III and 1949 service-craft fragment via shipscribe; BuShips NVR 1 Jan 1949 scan; NavSource; NUWC/HAER station records; MARAD ShipHistory; nvr.navy.mil; CourtListener name/hull/designation searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fortitude-amc81-01 through sl-uss-fortitude-amc81-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming Fortitude, AMc-81, or YDT-2 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket searches on 'USS Fortitude,' 'Fortitude' + asbestos, 'AMC-81,' and 'YDT-2' returned only name collisions or no results. The vessel sank in 1948 and was sold for disposal in 1950 - predating modern survey practice - and no museum or preservation record exists to hold hazmat disclosures.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-typical materials (gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, engine/exhaust insulation) remain plausible for any 1941-42 naval construction, though the expected inventory for a wood-hulled diesel tender is small relative to steam vessels. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-07
-
[8]Archival leads not retrieved: BuShips Naval Vessel Register, 1 January 1949 (image scan, shipscribe.com/generalstaff.org); NARA RG 24 deck logs for YDT-2; NARA still photos 80-G-399143 / 80-G-399145 / 80-G-451740 (Dec 1948 sinking and Jan 1949 salvage at NAS Quonset Point, cited by NavSource); Civil Engineer Corps Bulletin, June 1949 (salvage photograph); NARA RG 181 First Naval District / Naval Torpedo Station Newport records [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR1949-GenStaff.pdf pp. ~420-432 service-craft list; NARA RG 24 (deck logs); 80-G photo numbers per NavSource captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unresolved archival leads: the BuShips NVR of 1 January 1949 exists as a 513-page image-only scan; its 'List of Service Craft' section (approximately pp. 420-432) should carry YDT-2's register entry on the register date immediately following the sinking, but the punch-card-format pages resisted OCR extraction and the row was not read. YDT-2 deck logs (1942-1950) would be in NARA RG 24. The three 80-G photographs cited by NavSource document the sinking and salvage at Quonset. First Naval District and NTS Newport administrative records (RG 181, NARA Boston) may hold assignment and repair files including the January-April 1943 Newport Shipyard availability.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1942-1950 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and document mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; whether any of these materials contains asbestos-relevant or materials information is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-08
-
[9]Source discrepancy reconciliation: NavSource minesweeper page (11/03081.htm) vs. NavSource YDT-2 detail page (14/4002.htm) vs. DANFS vs. secondary compilations (Wikipedia infobox; shipbuildinghistory.com tables) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/03081.htm vs 14/4002.htm; DANFS Fortitude entry; Wikipedia USS Fortitude (AMc-81) infobox; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net minesweepers2 and W. A. Robinson yard tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Discrepancies resolved: (a) 'laid down 17 May 1941' on the NavSource minesweeper page conflates the 17 May 1941 name-assignment date documented by DANFS - keel laying was 14 August 1941 per the YDT-2 detail page. (b) 'Placed out of service in 1947 and struck' in compressed secondary entries conflicts with the detailed timeline's 20 March 1950 strike date following the December 1948 sinking, June 1949 disposal authorization, and January 1950 sale - the 1950 strike is adopted as controlling. (c) Wikipedia's 'sold 31 January 1950' vs. NavSource 'delivered to purchaser's agent 26 January 1950' - the NavSource date is adopted. (d) Wikipedia's 'commissioned 20 April 1942' - district yard craft were placed in service, not commissioned; the name Fortitude never appeared on a commissioned vessel.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1941-1950
- Limitations
- Reconciles publication-level discrepancies among secondary compilations using the official register chain (Ships' Data) and DANFS as anchors; does not change identity or the disposal timeline materially. No asbestos content in any reconciled source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fortitude-amc81-09