Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]DANFS, Herald II (AM-101) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC page returns 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: second Herald, a steel-hulled diesel-powered minesweeper (cl. Auk; dp. 890; 221'2" x 32'; 18 k.; cpl. 105; 1x3", 2x40mm, 6x20mm, 2 dct, 5 dcp); launched by General Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Alameda, Calif., 4 July 1942; commissioned 23 March 1943 (Comdr. D. B. Poupeney). Aleutians service (Dutch Harbor; unopposed Kiska landing 15 Aug 1943); severe storm damage 6 Nov 1943, Seattle repairs from 10 Dec 1943 (yard not named); Saipan D-day 15 June 1944 and Philippine Sea screening; Ulithi submarine escort early 1945; postwar occupation mine clearance (Sasebo 26 Oct 1945, South China Sea); decommissioned San Diego 31 May 1946; recommissioned 5 Mar 1952, Charleston-based with two Sixth Fleet Mediterranean cruises (spring 1953, summer 1954); decommissioned Green Cove Springs 15 Apr 1955, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, later berthed Orange, Tex.; reclassified MSF-101 dated 7 February 1955 in DANFS; two WWII battle stars. Transcriber's note: stricken 1 July 1972, transferred to Mexico as Mariano Matamoros.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1973
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock construction trades 1942-43; wartime and postwar crews (design complement 105)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The stricken/Mexico sentence is a bracketed transcriber's note on the mirror, not DANFS body text. Live NHHC page returns 404 (standing Batch-01 link-rot); verbatim mirror transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-01
-
[2]City of Alameda, Historic Resource Evaluation - Alameda Marina (2017) - General Engineering & Dry Dock yard history; corroborating secondary references: shipbuildinghistory.com General Engineering yard table (hull 48, AM 101, delivered 23-Mar-43, to Mexico 1973 as Mariano Matamoros, discarded), NavSource vessel page, uboat.net Allied Warships (ordered 1 Apr 1941; laid down 14 Mar 1942) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Alameda HRE section on General Engineering & Dry Dock (PDF); shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/general.htm row 48; navsource.net/archives/11/02101.htm; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5215.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard and construction-date corroboration: the Alameda yard began as Barnes & Tibbitts (1917 per the City HRE; 1916 per shipbuildinghistory), became General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. in 1922, was entirely rebuilt in 1940 with U.S. Maritime Commission financial assistance (new dry dock and ~30 buildings), built diesel-propelled steel-hulled Navy auxiliaries - principally minesweepers - under wartime Navy contract (secondary sources identify contract NObs-344 - unverified), and closed in 1948. Secondary yard table lists this hull as yard no. 48, delivered 23-Mar-43; keel laid 14 Mar 1942 (NavSource, uboat.net concur; DANFS gives no keel date).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1948 (construction era)
- Population
- General Engineering & Dry Dock construction trades 1942-43
- Limitations
- The City HRE documents the yard, not the hull; keel date, yard number, contract number, and Mexican-service particulars rest on secondary references (NavSource/shipbuildinghistory/uboat/Wikipedia) - consistent across sources but not primary. No materials or asbestos information in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-02
-
[3]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 program under which this steel-hulled Navy minesweeper was mass-produced at a Maritime Commission-assisted yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- 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 its class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-03
-
[4]Najolia v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 646 (E.D. La. 2012) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text at *654 (S39-1 '85 per cent magnesia' passage; Gate affidavit on enforced specs); CourtListener cluster 8718087, sub-opinion document 8701280 (cluster-level URL cited; a same-numbered stub opinion in the index is a mismatched immigration case - data defect logged)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Published federal opinion reviewing record evidence in an asbestos case documents the Navy specification regime applicable to construction of this era: the Navy's General Specifications for Machinery, subsection S39-1 'Heat insulation and lagging for piping and machinery,' required insulation of '85 per cent magnesia' for the stated temperature ranges - a pipe covering and block-form insulation documented in that record as containing 12-18% asbestos fiber - and Chapter 39 of the Bureau of Ships Manual required thermal insulation on machinery and encouraged asbestos use; record evidence states military specifications 'affirmatively required the use of asbestos-containing thermal insulation.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- WWII-era specifications; opinion 2012
- Population
- Navy construction-era shipyard workers; engine-room and machinery crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Documents the Navy specification regime, not this hull: the opinion's record evidence concerned a different vessel, the spec edition applicable to AM-101's 1942 construction contract is not itself quoted here, and a diesel-electric minesweeper had no turbine plant (the S41-1 turbine context is steam-specific; S39-1 piping/machinery insulation is the applicable scope). Establishes that asbestos insulation was spec-required in Navy construction of the era - not that it remains aboard or caused any exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-04
-
[5]Batch-1136 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS, NavSource, NVR, NARA catalog, shipbuildinghistory yard table, City of Alameda HRE, CourtListener opinion and RECAP indexes (all name and hull-number variants) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-herald-am101-01 through sl-uss-herald-am101-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Herald, AM-101, MSF-101, or Mariano Matamoros was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero qualifying hits across all variants; commercial law-firm list pages that name the hull were excluded as non-qualifying sources.
- 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 - WWII Navy construction specifications made asbestos insulation near-universal, and the hull's full disposal history (Mexican service, post-1973 condition) is undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-05
-
[6]NARA record-group mapping: RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1983' (deck logs for AM-101/MSF-101 commissions); RG 19 Bureau of Ships contract/construction records and General Information Books; RG 181 naval shipyard records (Seattle repair period Dec 1943-Feb 1944); RG 38 WWII war diaries; maritime.org digitized 1943 Booklet of General Plans for USS Raven (AM-55) - nearest design-family document [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog series NAID 594996; maritime.org/doc/plans index (am55.pdf)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Unretrieved archival path: Herald's deck logs (both commissions) sit in RG 24 series NAID 594996, partially digitized via the NARA-Fold3 collaboration though hull-specific logbooks were not located in catalog search; BuShips construction records (RG 19) would carry contract specifications and material books (secondary sources associate the builder with contract NObs-344 - unverified); RG 181 holds the unidentified Seattle repair yard's records for the Dec 1943-Feb 1944 storm-damage availability; the digitized Raven (AM-55) 1943 Booklet of General Plans is the closest class-design document located (Raven/Auk design family) - its contents unsurveyed for materials statements.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1955 (records); unsurveyed
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is not evidence about this hull; no box-level retrieval performed and no spend authorized. Whether any of these holdings contain materials specifications for AM-101 is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-06
-
[7]DANFS Herald II (AM-101) vs. NavSource vessel page (secondary lead) vs. class-level secondary references [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry vs. navsource.net/archives/11/02101.htm vs. Wikipedia infobox (secondary)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently reconciled: (a) MSF-101 reclassification - DANFS dates 7 February 1955, NavSource reads 7 March 1955; DANFS carried. (b) Complement - DANFS specification block 105; class-level secondary infobox figure 100; DANFS carried. (c) Reserve status - NavSource cites the Naval Vessel Register of 1 Jan 1949 listing the ship 'out of commission, in reserve as December 1945,' which sits oddly against the DANFS decommissioning of 31 May 1946; noted, not merged. (d) Mexican service - pennant G17, survey-ship conversion, stricken 'before 1993' appear only in secondary sources; DANFS transcriber's note and NavSource corroborate the 1973 transfer itself.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1946-1993
- Limitations
- Minor discrepancies between official and secondary sources are logged, not resolved; none affects identity or the service record's outline. NavSource and Wikipedia are secondary leads, not primary citations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-herald-am101-07