Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]DANFS, 'Harkness (YMS-242)' entry (1943-1959), Naval History and Heritage Command (published 2024-08-16; live NHHC URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20250406150053) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + spec block, Wayback capture 20250406150053
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: 'Harkness (YMS-242) was laid down as YMS-242 by Tacoma Boat Building Co., Tacoma, Wash., 1 June 1942; launched 10 October 1942; commissioned 27 March 1943, Lt. (j.g.) H. S. Meredith in command.' Spec block: displacement 245; length 186'; beam 23'4"; draft 8'7"; speed 14 knots; complement 34; armament 1 x 3-inch, 2 x 20-millimeter, 2 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge tracks; class 'YMS-v' [sic]. After shakedown along the California coast, YMS-242 departed San Diego 20 August 1943 for the Western Pacific via Pearl Harbor; conducted minesweeping patrols in the Marshall and Solomon Islands through the next year; swept mines and made reconnaissance patrols during the Marianas assaults summer-fall 1944; returned to Pearl Harbor 25 December 1944 before sailing to the West Coast for conversion to a surveying ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Tacoma Boat Building construction workforce (1942); YMS-242 wartime crew (1943-1944)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for identity, construction, and WWII service. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text. Spec-block length (186') conflicts with class-typical 136' - discrepancy logged in the correction row and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-01
-
[2]DANFS, 'Harkness (YMS-242)' entry (1943-1959), Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim text via Wayback capture 20250406150053) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text, paragraphs 5-7 (Wayback capture 20250406150053)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: 'Harkness was converted to a minehunter by Brooklyn Navy Yard; reclassified AMCU-12 on 18 August 1951; and recommissioned 5 September 1951, Lt. John M. Bohanon in command.' Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Mine Force; departed New York 2 July 1952 for Norfolk; 1953 operations at Charleston, Key West, and Panama City; assigned to the 5th Naval District October 1953, training primarily in the Virginia Capes Operation Area; steamed to Newport June 1954 for channel-clearance operations; reclassified 'MCH-12' [sic - standard symbol MHC] on 1 February 1955; continued mine-clearing exercises incl. July 1957 operations in Cuban waters out of Guantanamo Bay and Havana. Departed Little Creek 30 January 1958; arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., via Jacksonville 3 February; decommissioned 2 April 1958 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; name struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959. One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1951-1959
- Population
- New York Naval Shipyard conversion workforce (1951); Harkness minehunter crew (1951-1958); Green Cove Springs reserve-fleet caretakers (1958-1959)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for the 1951 minehunter conversion (a yard work event aboard this hull at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn), Cold War service, and disposal chain through striking. The conversion's material scope is undocumented - its asbestos content is inference only; the row documents the event, not materials. DANFS prints 'MCH-12'; every other source gives MHC-12 (see correction row). DANFS ends at striking; the 1960 auction sale is carried from NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum (ev-04).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-03
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - 'Harkness (MHC 12) ex-AMCU-12 ex-AGSC-12 ex-AGS-12 ex-YMS-242', file 11/19242 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 19242.htm - designation timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS and adds detail: converted to survey ship AGS-12 on 20 March 1945 at South Coast Shipbuilding Co., Newport Beach, CA; named Harkness 24 March 1945; reclassified coastal survey ship AGSC-12 29 July 1946; decommissioned 22 September 1950 at New York; converted to coastal minesweeper (underwater locator) AMCU-12 on 18 August 1951 at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY; recommissioned 5 September 1951; reclassified coastal minehunter MHC-12 1 February 1955; decommissioned 2 April 1958 at Green Cove Springs, FL; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959; 'Sold at public auction in 1960. Fate unknown.' Spec block: displacement 340 t; length 136'; beam 23'4"; draft 8'7"; speed 14 kts; complement 60 (AMCU-12 complement 34); propulsion two 1,000-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. CO table: LTJG Hugh Samuel Meredith USN (27 Mar 1943); LT John Melvin Bohanon USN (5 Sep 1951). Call sign November-Charlie-Whiskey-Bravo.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC on the designation chain and dates. Two logged variances: (a) specs (340 t / 136' / complement 60) conflict with the DANFS spec block (245 / 186' / 34) - both framings logged in the correction row and gaps; (b) the 20-vs-24 March 1945 conversion/naming split. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-04
-
[4]Source-discrepancy reconciliation across DANFS (NHHC via Wayback), NavSource 11/19242, NavalCoverMuseum 'HARKNESS MHC 12' designation list, and uboat.net ship/9664 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and para. 6; NavSource 19242.htm spec block and timeline; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/HARKNESS_MHC_12 designation list; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9664.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Discrepancies logged: (a) Designation symbol - DANFS prints 'MCH-12' for the 1 February 1955 reclassification, while NavSource, NavalCoverMuseum, and uboat.net all give MHC-12, the standard hull symbol for coastal minehunter; MHC-12 is carried. (b) Conversion date - DANFS compresses 'converted ... named Harkness and reclassified AGS-12 on 24 March 1945' into one date, while NavSource and uboat.net record conversion to AGS-12 on 20 March 1945 and naming on 24 March; both framings retained. (c) Dimensions - DANFS spec block gives displacement 245 and length 186'; NavSource gives 340 t and 136' (the class-typical YMS-1 length; the HyperWar AGS list also carries 136'); unresolved, both logged. (d) Complement - DANFS 34; NavSource '60 (AMCU-12 complement 34)' - read as era-dependent (survey configuration vs minesweeper), carried as reported.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Limitations
- Resolves/records publication-level discrepancies among secondary compilations and the DANFS spec block; does not affect the identity or designation-chain findings. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-05
-
[5]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - HARKNESS (T-AGS-32), Ship History Detail 2088, incl. MARAD National Register Eligibility Assessment PDF [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 2088 registry block, milestone table, documents tab (NR eligibility assessment PDF)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disambiguation: the only 'Harkness' in the MARAD ShipHistory database is HARKNESS (T-AGS-32) - a different hull. Per the MARAD National Register Eligibility Assessment, T-AGS-32 was built at the Fairfield Govan yard of Upper Clyde Shipbuilding Corp., Scotland (keel June 1967, launched 12 June 1968, delivered to MSC 29 January 1971), served as USNS Harkness (incl. Operation Intense Look 1984, Desert Shield/Storm 1990-91), deactivated 13 February 1993, transferred to MARAD/NDRF James River 16 February 1994. No MARAD record exists for the 1942 hull (AGS-12) - consistent with a Navy public-auction disposal in 1960, outside MARAD custody.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1967-2012
- Limitations
- Documents a different vessel to prevent name-collision conflation; says nothing about the AGS-12 hull's materials or history beyond the absence of a MARAD custody record. Not an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-06
-
[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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- 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 emergency construction program under which this YMS-1-class motor minesweeper was built (Tacoma Boat Building, 1942) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Note the class cut the other way as well: the YMS-1 design was wooden-hulled and diesel-powered, so the dominant steam-plant asbestos applications documented for larger hulls were largely absent (see ev-09).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-07
-
[7]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., '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
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of WWII pipe-covering operations at Navy and Navy-contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite' - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard material in wartime naval-vessel construction of this hull's era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Tacoma Boat Building was among surveyed/comparable contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. The specific product documented - pipe covering - is a steam-plant application; this hull was diesel-powered without steam distribution piping, so the finding describes era practice rather than this hull's systems. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-08
-
[8]NavSource Online: Auxiliary Minesweeper (YMS) Photo Archive - YMS-1 class index page (class design data compiled from standard Navy references) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class index (design narrative + class characteristics block); corroborating class data at navsource.net 11/19001.htm and uboat.net allied-warships YMS class
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- YMS-1-class design context: the class comprised small wooden-hulled 'yard minesweepers' built at 35 yacht yards (19 on the West Coast); class data - 136' length overall, 24'6" beam, ~270-320 tons displacement, twin General Motors 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts, designed speed ~12-15 knots, complement ~32-33; 561 hulls built 1942-43 era. YMS-242 (this hull) belongs to the YMS-135 subclass. The diesel-only, wooden-hull configuration means the class lacked boilers and steam distribution - materially narrowing the set of asbestos-bearing systems relative to steam vessels, leaving only era-typical incidental products (gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, deck covering/adhesives) as plausible applications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- YMS-class construction workforce (1942-43); YMS crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Class-level design data from a specialist secondary compilation, not a hull record; figures vary slightly across compilations (NavSource class page, Wikipedia class article, Pacific War Online Encyclopedia) - ranges carried. Contains no asbestos statement for the class or this hull; the 'narrowed footprint' observation is engineering inference from the absence of a steam plant, not a materials survey. Establishes neither presence nor absence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-09
-
[9]Batch-764 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 11/19242 + class index; NavalCoverMuseum; MARAD ShipHistory (T-AGS-32 only); NVR AGS-12; CourtListener (rate-limit blocked); indexed-web litigation checks; uboat.net/shipbuildinghistory corroboration; NARA record-group guides [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-harkness-ags12-01 through sl-uss-harkness-ags12-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Harkness / AGS-12 / AGSC-12 / AMCU-12 / MHC-12 / YMS-242 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only 'Harkness + asbestos' judicial hit is Harkness v Bell's Asbestos and Engineering Ltd (UK Court of Appeal 1966) - a plaintiff-surname name collision, classified non-qualifying. Law-firm marketing pages (freeasbestostesting.com auxiliary-ships list) name 'USS Harkness (AGS-12)' and 'USS Harkness (AGSC-12)' as separate list entries without primary support - excluded source class, logged in the batch report. NVR carries no AGS-12 record (pre-1987 disposal); MARAD ShipHistory covers only the T-AGS-32 namesake.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - even a wooden-hulled diesel minesweeper of 1942 is era-consistent with incidental asbestos-containing products, and the two documented yard conversions (1945 South Coast; 1951 New York Naval Shipyard), the 1958-59 reserve lay-up, and the 1960 auction sale are undocumented disturbance/custody phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Direct CourtListener API sweeps were HTTP 429 rate-limit blocked on 2026-09-20 (125/day shared quota exhausted; ~5h backoff per response header) - backed off per batch instruction; negative litigation coverage rests on indexed-web checking, a weaker screen than a completed API sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-10
-
[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments - incl. New York Naval Shipyard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html ; /groups/181.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for YMS-242 and Harkness (AGS/AGSC/AMCU/MHC-12), 1943-1958 (RG 24, NARA College Park - WWII-era deck logs partially digitized online, postwar logs largely paper); BuShips design and conversion records for the YMS-135 subclass and the 1945 AGS conversion (RG 19); New York Naval Shipyard production/repair records covering the 1951 AMCU-12 conversion (RG 181); reserve-fleet and auction records for the 1958 Green Cove Springs lay-up, 1959 striking, and 1960 public-auction sale (RG 181 / Naval Sea Systems Command predecessor files).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1960 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-11
-
[11]DANFS, 'Harkness (YMS-242)' entry (1943-1959), Naval History and Heritage Command (verbatim text via Wayback capture 20250406150053) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text, paragraphs 3-4 (Wayback capture 20250406150053)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: 'After conversion by South Coast Shipbuilding Co., Newport Beach, Calif., she was named Harkness and reclassified AGS-12 on 24 March 1945' (namesake Rear Admiral William Harkness, 1837-1903, astronomer and director of the U.S. Naval Observatory); returned to the Western Pacific the following month for survey operations in the Marshalls and at Okinawa; postwar month of survey work in Japanese waters; returned to Guam from Nagoya 4 January 1946; reached San Diego 26 February via the Marshalls and Pearl Harbor; sailed 29 March for the East Coast via Acapulco, Guantanamo Bay, and Norfolk, arriving New York 8 May. After overhaul, departed 25 July for Miami, arriving 29 July to reclassify as AGSC-12; for more than 3 years operated out of Miami on ocean surveys from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic; patrolled off Vera Cruz during much of 1947; surveyed Labrador and Newfoundland coastal waters July-October 1948 and 1949; Caribbean surveys between Trinidad and Venezuela in the first 5 months of 1950; returned to New York and decommissioned 22 September 1950.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-1950
- Population
- South Coast Shipbuilding conversion workforce (early 1945); Harkness survey crew (1945-1950)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for the 1945 survey-ship conversion, naming, and AGSC-12 service. Conversion scope and materials content are undocumented - no asbestos claim is supported. The conversion date is stated differently across sources (see correction row: NavSource/uboat.net give conversion-to-AGS-12 as 20 March 1945, naming as 24 March).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-harkness-ags12-02