Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 383-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (primary DANFS source loaded cleanly) — real identity: USS Irene Forsyte | Hull: IX-93 | Designation: Unclassified
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-pkt-383-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS entry 'Irene Forsyte' (IX-93), Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS I-volume entry, full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official DANFS record for this hull: 'Irene Forsyte (IX-93), a schooner, was built in 1920 as Irene Myrtle by MacLean Construction Co., Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, and was purchased by the Navy 16 November 1942 from Thomas Antle of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Renamed Irene Forsyte, she was converted for Navy use at Thames Shipyard, New London, Conn., and commissioned 26 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. R. Parmenter in command.' Dimensions 144' x 27'7"; armament one 4", one 40mm, two 20mm, one ASW rocket; speed 13 kts. DANFS records the single Q-ship cruise (sailed 29 September 1943, Portuguese fishing-schooner disguise off Nantucket, storm damage, Bermuda repairs, ordered back), arrival New York 8 November 1943, decommissioning 16 December 1943 for return to the Maritime Commission, Merchant Marine Cadet Corps training-ship loan, return to the Navy for disposal November 1944, and sale at public auction 18 October 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative for Navy acquisition, commission, cruise, and disposal milestones. DANFS compresses the merchant name history (says built 'as Irene Myrtle'; shipscribe's official-data compilation documents original name MacLean Clan - see correction row). Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-01
-
[3]NHHC, 'Q-ships during World War II' (Online Reading Room transcription of the wartime Eastern Sea Frontier administrative history), USS Irene Forsyte (IX-93) section [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Irene Forsyte section (page anchor #forsyte) and opening dispatch narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's wartime official history of the WWII Q-ship program devotes a section to this hull: the schooner-Q-ship proposal originated with Lt. Comdr. R. Parmenter, was forwarded to Cominch by Commander Eastern Sea Frontier on 9 October 1942 (~$12,000 purchase estimate), and on 31 October 1942 VCNO directed BuShips to purchase the vessel and deliver her via Port Director Boston to CO Submarine Base New London; on 17 December 1942 CNO directed the Third Naval District to commission her as USS Irene Forsyte (IX-93) when habitable and manned. Conversion at Thames Shipyard equipped her 'with a considerable variety of antisubmarine gear.' She reported to Cinclant 24 September 1943 with orders for Recife via the Maury Track; on 4 October 1943 she reported hove to near 38-00 N, 66-00 W with storm-opened seams and pumps barely ahead of leaks (two tugs dispatched, then recalled); on 14 October 1943 Cominch directed her decommissioning and the end of all disguised ESF antisubmarine patrols. A Board of Investigation followed; Cominch's endorsement on the Naval Inspector General report called the conversion 'an instance of misguided conception and misdirected zeal' costing 'nearly half a million dollars.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Thames Shipyard conversion trades (Dec 1942-Aug 1943); wartime crew (Aug-Dec 1943)
- Limitations
- NHHC-published transcription of the wartime command history; the OCR'd transcription contains garbled fragments and the embedded ships' commissioning symbols (AP-100/AP-101) differ from the later AK designations. Establishes the acquisition directive chain, conversion yard and scope, storm failure, and program termination decision; contains no asbestos or materials statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-02
-
[4]NHHC photographic collection, catalog 80-G-86383 (and companion frames 80-G-86382, 80-G-86384), 'USS IRENE FORSYTE (IX-93)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- 80-G-86383 caption block; National Archives is listed as copyright owner
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC photo records for this hull: 80-G-86382/86383/86384, photographed by a plane from NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on 14 September 1943; caption notes 'this ship made her one, and only voyage as a "Q-ship" later in this month' and 'her guns were located between the masts' - the visual record of her concealed-armament configuration.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-09
- Limitations
- Primary photographic record of the conversion configuration; establishes appearance and concealed-gun placement only. Contains no materials or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-03
-
[5]Shipscribe.com, 'Unclassified (IX): Special Types' - IX-91/IX-101 group page, spec block and IX-93 ship notes (compiled from Naval Vessel Register/Ships' Data Book and BuShips records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX091.html spec block (marked 'these specifications are for IX-93'), construction/disposition tables, and IX-93 ship-note paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe's compilation of official data (NVR/Ships' Data/BuShips-derived) for IX-93: 200 tons light displacement; 144.0' oa, 125.0' wl x 27.7'; 2 screws, 2 GM diesels, 500 hp, 12.5 knots; wood hull auxiliary schooner. Ship notes record: built 1920 in Nova Scotia as MACLEAN CLAN for the coastal trade; auxiliary engine fitted 1926; purchased early 1930s by Capt. Thomas Antle of Parrsboro, NS and renamed IRENE MYRTLE; Antle died aboard while loading coal at New London in summer 1942; Navy bought her from Antle's estate 16 Nov 1942 (VCNO directed BuShips to negotiate directly because Canadian registry precluded WSA requisition); converted at Thames Shipyard with new engines, concealed guns, radar, sonar, and two Mousetrap A/S rocket launchers - 'practically everything in the ship had to be replaced except for the bare hull, in which numerous frames were replaced'; SecNav approved loan to WSA for Merchant Marine Cadet Corps training 17 Dec 1943; returned to the Navy at New York Navy Yard 28 Nov 1944; stricken 22 Dec 1944; sold 18 Oct 1945 to Horace H. Work, Jr., of New York as MACLEAN CLAN; sold by him in 1947 to a Cuban firm as SANTA CLARA; foundered in heavy weather off La Ceiba, Honduras, 21 Dec 1951.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1951
- Population
- Thames Shipyard conversion trades (1942-43); post-1945 merchant crews to 1951 loss
- Limitations
- Private compilation of official records, not itself an official document - dates corroborated by DANFS (purchase, commission, decommission, sale) are verified; the machinery figures (2 GM diesels/500 hp), name chain, and post-1945 merchant history (Work/MacLean Clan, Santa Clara, 1951 loss) rest on this compilation alone. Establishes propulsion type and the near-total scope of the 1942-43 rebuild; contains no asbestos statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-04
-
[6]Cross-source reconciliation: DANFS entry vs Shipscribe IX091 spec block/disposition table vs NavSource 09/46/46093 service record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource IX-93 service record; shipscribe IX091 tables and ship notes; DANFS entry header
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Build name - DANFS says built 'as Irene Myrtle'; shipscribe's official-data compilation and Canadian-registry-derived secondary accounts document original name MACLEAN CLAN, renamed Irene Myrtle after early-1930s purchase by Capt. Antle. Both framings carried; MacLean Clan is corroborated by the 1945 post-auction name and is adopted here with the discrepancy logged. (b) Strike date - NavSource records 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; shipscribe's NVR-derived disposition table gives 22 Dec 1944. Shipscribe date carried, flagged. (c) Armament - DANFS header lists '1 ASW rocket'; shipscribe notes 'two Mousetrap A/S rocket launchers.' (d) Speed - DANFS 13 kts; shipscribe spec block 12.5 kts.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920-1951 records
- Limitations
- Documents publication-level inconsistencies among sources; none material to identity or to asbestos posture. None of the sources contains asbestos content. The rocket-launcher and speed discrepancies are armament/performance detail only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-05
-
[7]NHHC, 'Q-ships during World War II' (Online Reading Room), program overview and Irene Forsyte section [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Q-Ships in World War II section; Irene Forsyte section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Program-level context: the NHHC wartime history documents that Irene Forsyte was 'the fifth vessel to be converted as a Q-ship' under the Eastern Sea Frontier decoy program (Project LQ), joining USS Eagle (AM-132), USS Asterion, USS Atik, and USS Big Horn; that ESF Q-ships were merchant-disguised decoys intended to draw U-boats into close-quarters gun action; that the Atik was sunk by U-123 with all hands in March 1942; and that the program's secrecy (word-of-mouth communications, secret file in VCNO custody) later drew Inspector General scrutiny, ending with Cominch's directive that 'the practice of granting to Frontier Commanders and District Commandants uncontrolled authority to implement projects of this nature has been discontinued.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Q-ship program crews and conversion yardworkers, 1942-43 (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level framing for the vessel's mission and the audit environment of her conversion; not hull-specific material documentation. The sister hulls' records (uss-asterion-ak63, uss-big-horn-ao45, uss-eagle-am132) are linked in related_vessels; USS Atik has no atlas record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-06
-
[8]Consolidated era/design inference - documented propulsion plant (shipscribe spec block: '2 screws, 2 GM diesels', 500 hp) + documented builder, construction era, and near-total Navy conversion scope (DANFS; NHHC Q-ships history; shipscribe IX-93 ship notes) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IX091 spec block machinery line; ship-note 'practically everything... replaced' passage; DANFS conversion sentence
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull is a 1920 wood-hulled tern schooner navalized by near-total rebuild at Thames Shipyard, New London, December 1942-August 1943, powered by two GM diesels on two screws (500 hp total) - no boilers, no steam distribution. Her insulation load was materially lighter than a steam vessel's, but machinery and outfit materials of the 1942-43 wartime conversion were commonly asbestos-containing: exhaust-system and muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical-cable insulation, accommodation/galley joiner insulation, and brake linings on winches and windlass. Exposure-relevant populations if any such material was present: Thames Shipyard conversion trades (Dec 1942-Aug 1943); the volunteer Navy crew on the single September-October 1943 Q-ship cruise; Merchant Marine Cadet Corps cadets and staff (Dec 1943-Nov 1944); and post-1945 merchant crews through the 1951 loss.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1951
- Population
- Thames Shipyard conversion trades (1942-43); wartime crew (1943); USMCC cadets/staff (1943-44); merchant crews (1945-51)
- Limitations
- Inference from documented design, machinery type, and conversion era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming Irene Myrtle or Irene Forsyte was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The wood hull and small diesel plant make even era-level inference weaker than for steam vessels of the same era; the wartime conversion's 'lavish' equipment outfit is documented, but its material composition is not.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-07
-
[9]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); and Fleischer, W.E., et al., '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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (article); PubMed PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- 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 1920 schooner was navalized at Thames Shipyard in 1942-43. The USMC-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations at Navy and contract yards documented that 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels is amosite.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; articles 1946/1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard and conversion-yard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding and naval-vessel conversion generally; neither source names this vessel, Thames Shipyard, or the Q-ship program. Pipe-covering findings are less applicable to a diesel schooner conversion than to steam combatants. Establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-08
-
[10]Batch-4887 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + Q-ships history + photo captions; NavSource 09/46/46093; shipscribe IX091; NARA Special List 44; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener name/hull searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or docketed case naming Irene Myrtle, Irene Forsyte, IX-93, MacLean Clan, or Santa Clara was found in the public sources searched - DANFS, the NHHC Q-ships history, NHHC photo records, NavSource, shipscribe, and the NARA logbook index contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the documented near-total 1942-43 Navy rebuild is era-consistent with asbestos-containing outfit materials. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-09
-
[11]NARA Special List 44 - Named Vessels (logbook index); NARA guide to federal records RG 19/RG 38 record-group mapping [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 entry 'Irene Forsyth (IX-93) 8/26/1943-12/16/1943'; archives.gov record-group guides
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (index located; contents unsurveyed - no spend authorized): (a) NARA Special List 44 (Named Vessels logbook index) lists this hull - spelled 'Irene Forsyth,' (IX-93) - with deck logs covering 8/26/1943-12/16/1943, her entire commissioned period: the operational record of her single cruise, storm damage, and Bermuda stay. (b) NARA RG 19 Bureau of Ships conversion/contract files for the Thames Shipyard rebuild and RG 38 CNO records holding the Board of Investigation file and Naval Inspector General report quoted in Cominch's endorsement - the plausible home of hull-level material/equipment specifications if any survive. (c) WSA/Maritime Commission custody and disposal file for the 1943-45 Cadet Corps loan and 18 Oct 1945 auction. (d) Canadian registry documentation for MacLean Clan/Irene Myrtle and post-1945 U.S./Cuban documentation for MacLean Clan/Santa Clara.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1945 records
- Limitations
- The index hit verifies that deck logs for the commissioned period exist; box-level retrieval not performed and log contents are operations records, not materials documentation. 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-irene-forsyte-ix93-10
-
[12]Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U.S. 446 (2019), CourtListener 4601080 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 4601080
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No case located names this hull under any of her identities (see negative_finding row and search_ledger). Doctrinal context only for the vessel's type: claims arising from WWII-era Navy-vessel asbestos exposure ran under maritime law against equipment manufacturers, and the Supreme Court's DeVries decision settled the 'bare-metal defense' framework - manufacturers that supplied bare equipment had a duty to warn where their products required asbestos-containing parts. It illustrates the litigation posture a claim arising from service aboard this WWII diesel Q-ship (or her Merchant Marine Cadet Corps period) would have faced; no such claim naming the hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2019 decision
- Limitations
- Doctrinal context only - the cited case does not name or involve this hull; DeVries addressed manufacturers' duty to warn for asbestos-containing components on Navy vessels generally. Classification note: a complaint's vessel list would be a pleading allegation, not a finding; no pleading naming this hull was located. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-irene-forsyte-ix93-11