Evidence
4 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-4).
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[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "Heath Hen (AMc-6)" (public-domain text; mirrored at Wikipedia, "USS Heath Hen (AMc-6)," which cites and reproduces the DANFS entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text (identity, specifications, service, disposition paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The wooden dragger Noreen, completed 1936 at Fairhaven, MA, by A. D. Storey, was acquired by the Navy 1940-10-18, converted to a coastal minesweeper, and commissioned USS Heath Hen (AMc-6) on 1941-01-20. Specifications: displacement 270 long tons, length 94'4", beam 22', draft 8'6", speed 9 knots, complement 16, armament two .30-caliber machine guns. She served in the Fifth Naval District until 1944-03-16, when she arrived at Provincetown, MA, for duty with the Naval Mine Test Facility. Redesignated Small Boat C-13538, her name was dropped and she served in mine-warfare experiments until damaged by an oil explosion on 1945-03-16. She was turned over to the U.S. Maritime Commission and sold 1948-05-10.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936-1948
- Limitations
- The live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on direct fetch as of 2026-09-23 (confirmed by curl); content corroborated across the Wikipedia public-domain DANFS mirror and independent search-engine syntheses that reproduce the same text and dates without contradiction. DANFS gives no laid-down or launch date beyond "completed 1936," no engine specification, and no source outside DANFS itself for the builder attribution. Contains no asbestos, materials, or hazmat information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heath-hen-amc6-01
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[2]shipbuildinghistory.com, "Fairhaven Shipyard" small-yards registry entry (cross-check source, not a DANFS replacement) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full page - builder list for Fairhaven, MA
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS attributes construction to "A. D. Storey, Fairhaven, Massachusetts" (1936, as the commercial dragger Noreen). A specialist shipbuilding-history registry for Fairhaven, MA lists only Fairhaven Shipyard (est. 1879) and D. N. Kelley & Son (est. 1864) and their later corporate mergers/successors - no "A. D. Storey" entry appears. This builder should not be confused with the separately well-documented "A.D. Story" shipyard of Essex, Massachusetts (different town, different spelling, associated with larger wooden schooners); no source located ties that yard to this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1936
- Limitations
- Cross-check only; absence of "A. D. Storey" from this registry does not prove the DANFS builder attribution is wrong, only that it is uncorroborated by this particular registry. Builder identity is carried in gaps rather than resolved. No asbestos content in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heath-hen-amc6-02
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[3]Hedley-Whyte J, Milamed DR, "Asbestos and ship-building: fatal consequences," Ulster Medical Journal 77(3):191-200 (2008) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full article, Navy specification history and WWII consumption sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed history of U.S. Navy asbestos specification confirms the Navy required asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, insulation, and tape aboard vessels from at least 1922 (submarines) forward, with wartime (1940-45) U.S. asbestos consumption averaging 783 million lb/year. The article's documented scope is large steel naval and Maritime Commission-built merchant construction (submarines, Liberty ships); it does not address small wooden auxiliary craft converted from commercial fishing vessels, or diesel-only (non-steam) engineering plants of the AMc type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Study period
- 1922-1945 (article published 2008)
- Population
- US Navy/Maritime Commission shipbuilding and construction trades generally, 1922-1945 (large steel-hull programs)
- Limitations
- General Navy/industry policy history; does not name this vessel, the AMc type, wooden auxiliary/converted-fishing-vessel construction, or diesel-engine small craft. Does not establish that asbestos was used in, or remains aboard, this hull. No quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation established. Deliberately not elevated to a class_or_era finding given the documented scope mismatch (steel steam-plant vessels vs. this hull's wooden diesel-engine construction).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heath-hen-amc6-03
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[4]CourtListener API v4 opinion search, queries "Heath Hen", "AMc-6", "C-13538" (authenticated fleet-paced helper, cl-auth-search.py) [court_record]
- Locator
- "Heath Hen": cluster IDs 1562666, 1475435, 2349495. "AMc-6": cluster IDs 1123031, 6237067, 1367804, 6419551. "C-13538": no results.
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific litigation record located under any searched name/designation. CourtListener opinion search for the exact ship name "Heath Hen" returned 3 results, all classified as name collisions unrelated to this vessel or to asbestos: Cason v. State Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries (La. Ct. App. 2009, 16 So.3d 598) - a Louisiana wildlife-regulation appeal; Portland Audubon Society v. Lujan (D. Or. 1989, 712 F.Supp. 1456) - a timber-sales/Endangered Species Act case; and United States v. Greenhead, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 1966, 256 F.Supp. 890) - a federal vessel-forfeiture criminal case naming an unrelated boat. Search for hull designation "AMc-6" returned 4 results, all unrelated name/token collisions (an Alaska zoning appeal, an AMC Entertainment corporate case, a second Alaska municipal appeal, and a 1973 Pennsylvania UCC breach-of-contract case) - none reference this vessel. Search for the redesignation "C-13538" returned 0 results. None of the searches completed returned any reference to USS Heath Hen (AMc-6) or asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-23
- Limitations
- Negative finding covers only CourtListener's indexed opinion corpus and the queries actually completed (exact name, hull designation, and small-boat redesignation). The pre-Navy commercial name "Noreen" query was not completed this session - the shared fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was exhausted on repeated attempts and, per standing batch instruction, was not retried in a loop (see search_ledger); a bare "Noreen" query would also carry high name-collision risk as a common given name. Does not rule out unindexed dockets, state-court records outside CourtListener's coverage, or settled claims that never produced a written opinion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-heath-hen-amc6-04