Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), "Hummer" [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry for Hummer (AMS-20)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS Hummer (AMS-20), originally YMS-372, was a wooden-hulled YMS-1-class (YMS-135 subclass) auxiliary motor minesweeper built by Weaver Shipyards, Orange, Texas; launched 1943-12-23; commissioned 1944-03-28. Named Hummer and reclassified AMS-20 on 1947-02-17. After shakedown and operational training in early 1945, she deployed to the Western Pacific and swept mines and patrolled between Okinawa and Japan, 1945-06-29 to 1945-07-31; after the Japanese surrender she continued minesweeping off Japan and Korea until 1946-02-21, then departed for the U.S. West Coast. Decommissioned 1946-06-23 into the Pacific Reserve Fleet; recommissioned 1950-11-03 for Korean War-era service; decommissioned again 1953-11-13. Reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old), MSC(O)-20, on 1955-02-07; struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1959-02-12; transferred to Japan 1959-01-29 and renamed Moroshima (MSC-663), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Limitations
- The live NHHC/DANFS page returned HTTP 503 at every fetch attempt this session, and the entire history.navy.mil domain (including the site root and unrelated DANFS entries) was returning HTTP 503, indicating a site-wide outage rather than a page-specific problem - the same standing NHHC link-rot/availability issue Batch 01 documented. The narrative above is corroborated only by convergent independent secondary renderings that closely track the public-domain DANFS wording, not by a direct load of the primary source in this session; it is not independently confirmed against DANFS, NVR, or NARA primary text this session. Re-verification once NHHC is reachable is an open item. Establishes identity and service dates only; contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-01
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register (nvr.navy.mil), scope note on pre-1987 disposals [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR home page scope note (via search-engine indexing; NVR itself unreachable this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Attempted verification of Naval Vessel Register (nvr.navy.mil) status for this hull failed: nvr.navy.mil returned HTTP 503 at the only ship-detail URL attempted this session, consistent with the broader navy.mil outage observed for NHHC. The Naval Vessel Register's own published scope note states that ships disposed of prior to 1987 are not currently included in the online database in any case; this hull was struck and transferred in 1959, so it may fall outside NVR's current online coverage regardless of server availability.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Neither the NVR scope note nor a ship-specific NVR record was directly loaded this session; both are reported via search-engine indexing only. Does not establish any asbestos-related fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-02
-
[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); PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 3555021 (bibliographic details corroborated via independent indices; the PubMed page itself returned only a cookie-consent placeholder to this session's fetch tooling, not full abstract text)
- 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 World War II, the era and wartime program under which this YMS-1-class hull was built at Weaver Shipyards, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across U.S. Navy and merchant-type hulls of the period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context, not specific to this shipyard or class)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this shipyard, or the YMS-1 class specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. This is general wartime-shipbuilding context, not class-specific technical documentation - no YMS-1-class characteristics or specification document was located this session (see ev-07 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-03
-
[4]CourtListener API v4 search (see search_ledger sl-uss-hummer-ams20-05 through sl-uss-hummer-ams20-09) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hummer-ams20-05 through sl-uss-hummer-ams20-09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener searches (API v4, via the pre-configured connector) for exact-phrase "USS Hummer" across Opinions and RECAP dockets, "YMS-372" across Opinions and RECAP dockets, "AMS-20" Hummer combined queries, and "Moroshima"/"MSC-663" combined with Hummer, all returned zero results. No qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation, and no name-collision hits requiring classification were found under any identity this hull has carried.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located case does not prove no such case exists - CourtListener's opinion corpus is not exhaustive of unpublished trial-court and settled matters, and a wooden auxiliary minesweeper of this size and era is a plausible low-litigation-volume hull regardless. Does not establish presence or absence of asbestos aboard, and does not establish or defeat any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-04
-
[5]National Archives and Records Administration, "Military Records: Deck Logs" guidance page (Record Group 24, Entry 118; Special List #44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov deck-logs guidance page, ship-locating section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - no research-room visit or reproduction order placed): NARA Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, formerly Bureau of Navigation), Entry 118, holds U.S. Navy deck logs; Special List #44 is the comprehensive item-level finding aid for 1801-1947, searchable by ship name or hull number. Logs from 1941 forward are held at NARA College Park, MD; logs through 1940 are held at NARA Washington, DC. Whether deck logs specific to YMS-372/Hummer/AMS-20 have been retrieved, surveyed, or digitized was not determined this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1953 (this hull's Navy service; logs not retrieved)
- Limitations
- Record-group and finding-aid mapping only - no item-level retrieval performed for this hull; existence of asbestos-specific content in this hull's deck logs (if any survive and are located) is unknown. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-05
-
[6]National Archives and Records Administration, Guide to Federal Records, Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov RG 19 guide page, Division of Logs and Records / Design Division sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved): NARA Record Group 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships and predecessor organizations, 1794-1972) holds general ship construction, architectural/engineering plan, and design-division records organized by vessel type, including technical specifications and weight/stability data. No YMS-1-class-specific characteristics or specification record was retrieved or located digitized online this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- records span 1794-1972; this hull built 1942-1944
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box- or item-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific construction or specification documents for this hull or the YMS-1 class generally is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-06
-
[7]Batch-1702 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (unreachable this session), NVR (unreachable this session), NARA RG 24 and RG 19 guidance pages, CourtListener name/hull/alias searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-hummer-ams20-01 through sl-uss-hummer-ams20-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, museum disclosure (this hull has no preserved/museum status), or docketed case naming this hull under any of its identities (YMS-372, Hummer, AMS-20, MSC(O)-20, or its post-1959 Japanese name Moroshima/MSC-663) was found in the official/authoritative sources searched this session. No YMS-1-class-specific technical manual or characteristics document (comparable to the Liberty-ship engine manual used for other batches) was located for this wooden-hulled, diesel-propelled class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943-built wooden minesweeper is era-consistent with asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and lagging around her diesel plant, but this is not established by any source located this session. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-hummer-ams20-07