Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Instill' entry, vol. III (transcription mirror at hazegray/losthistory.net; live NHHC page 404 on 2026-09-22) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Instill' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: Admirable-class minesweeper, dp. 530, 184'6" length, 33' beam, 15 knots, complement 104; launched 5 March 1944 by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Ga.; sponsored by Mrs. Lydia G. Mehoffey; commissioned 22 May 1944, Lt. Charles A. Hardy, USNR. Shakedown Little Creek; Service Force Atlantic Fleet training ship; Guantanamo Bay radar-countermeasure duty with shakedown ships from 11 August (1944); returned to Norfolk 22 October; sailed to Orange, Tex. 21 January 1946; decommissioned there 26 February 1947. Recommissioned 16 March 1951; East Coast training, patrol, and minesweeping duty out of Charleston/Norfolk; returned to Orange 3 January 1954; decommissioned 1 March 1954. Reclassified MSF-252 on 7 February 1955; struck from Navy List 1 May 1962; sold to Mexico 2 October 1962, serving as DM-10.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1962 (U.S. Navy service); 1962- (Mexican Navy)
- Population
- Crew (complement 104, DANFS figure)
- Limitations
- DANFS is an operational history - it contains no asbestos, materials, or industrial-hygiene information and establishes nothing about exposure. The transcription prints 'sold in October 1966 [correction: 2 October 1962]' - the bracketed correction is the transcriber's; the corrected date is consistent with the 1 May 1962 Navy List strike and with NavSource's compilation. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 (link rot noted in BATCH-01); mirror text verified verbatim against DANFS convention.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Instill (MSF 252) ex-AM-252' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02252 entry, chronology and specifications sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compilation for this hull lists: laid down 24 November 1943 by Savannah Machine and Foundry Co., Savannah, GA; launched 5 March 1944; commissioned USS Instill (AM-252) 22 May 1944; decommissioned 26 February 1947 at Orange, TX (Atlantic Reserve Fleet); recommissioned 16 March 1951; decommissioned 1 March 1954 at Orange, TX; reclassified MSF-252 on 7 February 1955; struck 1 May 1962; sold to Mexico 2 October 1962 and renamed ARM DM-10; fate unknown.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1962
- Limitations
- NavSource is a respected volunteer archival compilation, not an official record - used here for the laid-down date (not in DANFS) and for corroboration of the Mexican transfer. All overlapping dates agree with DANFS. 'Fate unknown' is carried verbatim; secondary claims of a 1986 Mexican Navy strike are not supported by this source. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-02
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[3]Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45 (official Navy compilation), AM-252 USS Instill entry, HyperWar transcription (ibiblio.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45: Minesweepers', AM-252 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-45' listing for AM-252 gives: Admirable-class minesweeper, displacement 625 tons, 184'6" length, 33' beam, 15 knots, armament 1 x 3"/50, complement 104, and 'diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.' - confirming diesel (not steam) propulsion for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Establishes diesel propulsion - no boilers or steam-drum insulation of the steamship type - but says nothing about other asbestos applications aboard. Displacement here (625 t) differs from DANFS (530 t); secondary compilations describe the Admirable-class plant as geared ALCO 539 diesels (~1,710 shp) rather than diesel-electric - engine model and drive arrangement are a secondary-source conflict, not resolved for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-03
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[4]National Archives Catalog: 'USS INSTILL - War History' (naId 77655128) plus USS INSTILL War Diary file units, monthly coverage August 1944 through October 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog search 'Instill' - file units naId 77655128 and war-diary series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA Catalog returns ship-specific records for this hull: a 'USS INSTILL - War History' file unit and a continuous run of USS INSTILL War Diary file units covering 8/1944-10/1945 (naIds include 78596924, 139734168, 139757233, 139782071, 139881357, 139941313, 140011994, 101706456, 101758739, 83557081, 83569723, 77516821, 77589647, 78687744). These are the primary-source operational records for the ship's active WWII period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Catalog entries located but contents not reviewed - an archival lead only. War diaries typically document operations and movements, not construction materials or insulation content; digitization status of individual file units was not confirmed (NARA catalog API intermittently unreachable during research). Establishes that primary records exist, not what they contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-04
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[5]Board of Veterans' Appeals decision Citation Nr 1020918 (June 7, 2010), quoting VA Adjudication Procedure Manual M21-1MR, Part IV.ii.2.C.9.a, .f, .g [court_record]
- Locator
- BVA Citation Nr 1020918, 'REMAND' section, M21-1MR quotations
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- VA adjudication guidance, as quoted in a published BVA decision: common asbestos-containing materials include 'steam pipes for heating units and boilers, ceiling tiles, roofing shingles, wallboard, fire-proofing materials, and thermal insulation' (IV.ii.2.C.9.a); high exposure noted in insulation and shipyard workers (IV.ii.2.C.9.f); and 'During WWII, several million people employed in U.S. shipyards and U.S. Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos fibers because they were used extensively in military ship construction' (IV.ii.2.C.9.g).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- WWII construction era; manual provision dated 2005-12-13
- Population
- WWII Navy veterans and shipyard workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level adjudication policy, not a finding for this hull - it establishes that WWII-era Navy ship construction (this ship was built 1943-44) extensively used asbestos as a class/era fact, not that asbestos was present aboard AM-252. The quoted decision concerns a different veteran and different ship; cited only for the verbatim M21-1MR provision.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-05
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[6]Batch-1224 search ledger (this record): DANFS/hazegray + HyperWar transcriptions; NavSource hull page; NARA Catalog; VA BVA full-text search; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (blocked - daily quota exhausted) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-instill-am252-01 through sl-uss-instill-am252-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS Instill / AM-252 / MSF-252 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener case-law search could not be completed - API daily quota exhausted; logged as blocked, not as 'no result'.
- 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 - 1943-44 Navy construction era is consistent with retained era materials, and Mexican Navy service history (1962 onward) is poorly documented in English-language sources. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-instill-am252-06