Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 377-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: PARTIAL
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-ix-539-ix539-pkt-377-packet-md
-
[2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA), Ship Details - NO NAME (IX 539), via Wayback Machine capture 2017-01-26 of nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_IX_539.HTML; QUICKFIND 'Non Active Vessels - N' list capture 2016-09-27 (row: NO NAME | IX 539 | 09/24/2013 | Sold through GSA for reuse) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of NVR ship-detail page - VESSEL STATUS, MILESTONE DATES, and PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Vessel Register official entry: 'NO NAME (IX 539) (ex - YNG 17)', type UNCLASSIFIED MISCELLANEOUS, UIC 22768. Milestones: award 1940-11-04, keel 1940-12-02, launch 1941-03-18, delivery 1941-06-17, stricken 2012-08-29; status 'Sold through the General Services Administration (GSA) for reuse' effective 2013-09-24; builder field 'Moore Dry Dock Co., Inc.'; Ships Program Manager 325; record last updated 2013-12-17. Physical characteristics: 110 ft overall / 100 ft waterline length, 34 ft extreme and waterline beam, 4 ft max navigational draft / 7 ft draft limit; 110 tons light / 225 tons full / 115 tons deadweight; steel hull, steel superstructure; propulsion type 'none.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-2013
- Limitations
- Authoritative for register identity, build milestones, strike, and disposal channel. The record is thin: no commission/decommission or reclassification fields (typical for service craft), no custody/homeport entries, and no asbestos, insulation, or materials information - supports no asbestos claim. Live NVR no longer serves a detail page for this disposed hull; the January 2017 Wayback capture is the retrieved record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-01
-
[3]NavSource Online, Service Ship Photo Archive / Gate Craft section - page 'IX-539 ex YNg-17' (archives/14/3217.htm, last updated 2012-06-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14/3217.htm - chronology block, awards block, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource service-craft archive page for 'IX-539 ex YNg-17 (1941 - 2007)': 'Laid down, 2 December 1940, at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, CA. Launched, 18 March 1941. Delivered and placed in service as YNg-17, 17 June 1941. During World War II YNg-17 was at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Reclassified Miscellaneous Unclassified IX-539, 19 April 2007, at NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-Site Maintenance Office, Pearl Harbor, HI. Struck from the Naval Register 29 August 2012.' Awards block: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - 7 December 1941), American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal (3); 'YNG-17 earned one battle star for World War II service.' Spec block: 110 t light / 225 t full, 110 ft x 34 ft x 4 ft, complement 3 officers + 15 enlisted, machinery 'Superior Diesel Motor-Generator sets,' propulsion none; call sign NBAT. 'There is no DANFS history available for YNg-17 / IX-539.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-2012
- Population
- Gate-vessel crew at Pearl Harbor, 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive carrying NVR-derived and contributor data - lead-level corroboration, not an official record; dates corroborated by NVR where they overlap (keel, launch, delivery, strike). Sole source for the 2007-04-19 reclassification date and the awards/battle-star claims - unverified against the official awards database. 'Final Disposition, fate unknown' is superseded by the NVR GSA-sale record. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-02
-
[4]Colton, Tim, 'Moore Dry Dock, Oakland CA' yard table and 'Net Layers and Tenders (YN/AN, YNT, YNG)' table, shipbuildinghistory.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- moore.htm hull-205 row; smallships/yn.htm 'Gate Vessels (YNG)' table rows YNG 1-30
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuilding-industry reference tables (Tim Colton, shipbuildinghistory.com) place this hull in the YNG construction series: the Moore Dry Dock yard table lists hull 205 'YNG 17, US Navy, gate tender, 110 ft, 110 t, delivered 18-Jun-41, reclassified 2007 as IX 539'; the YN/YNG table shows the series structure - YNG 1-11 Dravo Corp. Wilmington DE, YNG 12-15 Dravo Corp. Stockton CA, YNG 16-18 Moore SB Oakland CA (the three Moore-built gate craft), YNG 19-21 conversions of older vessels, YNG 22-30 Dravo Wilmington. Sibling outcomes: YNG-16 sold 1977; YNG-18 became barge Wynne (later Hightide Barge 18), Juneau AK.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-1941 (construction); 2007 (reclassification note)
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock construction trades, Oakland CA, 1940-1941
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled reference - used for yard-hull-number attribution and series placement the official record lacks. The Moore table's delivery date (18-Jun-41) conflicts by one day with NVR/NavSource (17-Jun-41) - discrepancy logged in gaps. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-03
-
[5]Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Narrative section XXXIII 'The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor' (79th Congress hearing record, via ibiblio PHA project); Hewitt Inquiry report Section V (same source); NavSource net-tenders chapter (archives/09/18/1800011.htm) for the YNg-17 identification [other_primary]
- Locator
- PHA narrative XXXIII gate-vessel passage (pp. ~497-498 of the hearing record); Hewitt Inquiry Section V same passage; NavSource 09/18/1800011.htm 'Net Tenders' paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Pearl Harbor investigation record documents the gate vessel's actions this hull performed: 'At the entrance to Pearl Harbor there was stationed a gate-vessel charged with opening and closing the net at the entrance... The instructions of the Captain of the Yard were that the net should be kept closed from sunset to sunrise and opened only on orders... The log of the gate-vessel indicates that the net was opened and closed a number of times during the night of December 6-7. At 0458 on the 7th, the gate was opened and the CROSSBILL and the CONDOR stood in. It was not until 0846 that the gate was closed.' The anti-torpedo net was 45 feet deep in a channel 72 feet at its deepest - the open-then-late-closed gate and the shallow net became part of the record on how midget submarines could have entered. NavSource's net-tenders chapter identifies the craft by designation: 'Two Net Tenders were at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 ... also Net Gate Vessel (YNg-17).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-12-06/07; hearings published 1945-1946
- Population
- Gate-vessel watch crew, night of 1941-12-06/07
- Limitations
- The official investigation text describes 'a gate-vessel' and quotes its log without naming the hull in the body passages consulted; the identification of that gate vessel as YNg-17 rests on secondary compilations (NavSource's Pearl Harbor roster and the WW2DB log transcription in ev-05) - consistent and uncontested, but one step removed from the primary text. Hewitt cites the gate-vessel log itself as an exhibit (not retrieved firsthand). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-04
-
[6]WW2DB.com 'Pearl Harbor Attack Timetable' compilation - transcribed log entries attributed to 'YNg-17' at 'Hammer Pt' [other_primary]
- Locator
- timetable_pearl.php overnight entries 0008-0618, source flag 5 (direct fetch returned HTTP 403; entries obtained via indexed page text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The WW2DB Pearl Harbor attack timetable transcribes the night's gate/signal-tower log entries with this craft's designator and station: '0008 YNg-17 Hammer Pt - Commenced opening gate'; '0017 Gate open - Green Light'; '0107 Commenced opening gate'; '0135 Condor stood out'; '0137 Crossbill stood out'; '0217 Gate open - White lights'; '0223 Hercules with tow stood in'; '0232 Gate closed'; '0447 Commenced opening gate'; '0458 Gate open - White lights'; '0508 Crossbill stood in'; '0618 Hoisted Ball' - matching the official record's 0458-open/0846-closed account and confirming YNg-17 as the operating gate vessel.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941-12-06/07
- Population
- Gate-vessel watch crew, night of 1941-12-06/07
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation transcribing primary log entries - the underlying gate-vessel/signal-tower log is the Hewitt inquiry exhibit series; the transcription was not independently verified against the exhibit this session (direct fetch blocked, entry text via search index). Times agree with the official narrative's quoted log entries. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-05
-
[7]Library of Congress, HABS HI-409 'U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Winch Station' and HABS HI-411 'Naval Net Depot Storehouse & Shop, Bishop Point' (Pearl Harbor NHL, NRIS 66000940) [haer]
- Locator
- LOC item records hi0670 (HABS HI-409) and hi0672 (HABS HI-411) - 'Significance' fields (direct fetch returned 403; catalog metadata via indexed record text)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HABS records document the landside components of the Pearl Harbor net-gate system this craft served: HABS HI-409 (Winch Station, Iroquois Point housing area) - a post-WWII structure that 'replaced an earlier winch station which had been part of the harbor entrance protection since 1941. Both the earlier station and this one were built to help open gates in the nets laid across the harbor entrance' - a contributing element of the Pearl Harbor National Historic Landmark; HABS HI-411 (Naval Net Depot Storehouse & Shop, Bishop Point, Facility No. 17) - 'storage building for the anti-submarine and anti-torpedo nets protecting the harbor entrance and individual ships' within the Bishop Point Section Base/Net Depot that ran the net and boom craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1941 through post-war (structures documented after 1933 survey program)
- Population
- Net Depot and Section Base workforce, Bishop Point, WWII
- Limitations
- Documents fixed shoreside installations, not the craft - establishes that the net-gate system the gate vessel worked is an officially documented NHL element, and that an earlier (1941-era) winch station was replaced post-war (consistent with the gate craft's role evolving or ending at an undocumented date). No vessel-level materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-06
-
[8]GlobalSecurity.org 'YNG - Gate Vessel' page reproducing 'Detail Specifications for Building Gate Vessels Nos. 22-30 inclusive for Net Defenses (YNG) for the U. S. Navy dated 1 Feb 1942' [other_primary]
- Locator
- globalsecurity.org yng.htm - 'PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS', electrical, heating, and mooring sections
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Type design documentation reproduced by GlobalSecurity quotes the Navy's detail specifications for the YNG gate-vessel design: non-self-propelled, 110 ft x 34 ft, 'designed for use in connection with the operation of harbor defense net systems... The harbor defense gates are maneuvered by use of two installed winches, one of which is used for opening and the other for closing the gate. The craft is self-supporting, being equipped with complete living facilities for a crew of 20 personnel and capable of supplying its own electricity and heat.' Spec detail: two 75-kW diesel generators (240/120V DC) plus one 20-kW diesel generator; one oil-fired steam boiler for heat; oil-burning galley range; four-point chain-cable mooring; 110 ft x 34 ft x 11 ft-3 in depth, 4 ft draft; 18 crew berths + 2 officer berths.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- spec dated 1942-02-01; design in service 1941 onward
- Population
- Gate-vessel crews (type design)
- Limitations
- Design documentation for hulls 22-30 - the Dravo Wilmington batch, not the Moore-built YNG 16-18 trio that includes this craft; identical principal dimensions support design continuity across the series but equipment fit on hull 17 (e.g., NavSource's 'Superior Diesel' sets vs the spec's generator list) may differ. The spec text contains no asbestos statement; it bounds the equipment categories (diesel generators, steam heating boiler, winches, range) around which period insulation products were typically applied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-07
-
[9]Corn, J.K. and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987) + Atlas shipyards.json records: moore-dry-dock-oakland (citing Fleischer-Drinker 1946, J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 28(1):9-16; W.A. Simons Trust CA site list Sep 2020) and pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard (EPA HI6170024339) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; shipyards.json asbestos_products_documented fields
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era- and builder-level asbestos context: peer-reviewed scholarship documents extensive asbestos fireproofing/insulation use in U.S. shipbuilding through WWII - the era and program under which this 1941 steel craft was built at a Navy-contract commercial yard. The Atlas shipyard dataset records the builder, Moore Dry Dock Company (Oakland), as a documented asbestos-use yard: amosite pipe covering (block and felt), asbestos boiler block insulation, asbestos gaskets, asbestos millboard, and asbestos deck covering, corroborated by the Fleischer-Drinker 1946 USMC-commissioned industrial-hygiene survey of Navy contract yards and the W.A. Simons Trust California site listing (Exposure Level H for MOORE DRY DOCK-OAKLAND, Adeline St). Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard - where the craft lay in NAVSEA inactive custody through 2007-2013 - is a documented Superfund-listed yard (EPA HI6170024339) with asbestos concentrated around dry docks, buildings, and pipe systems.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-2013; scholarship 1987
- Population
- Moore Dry Dock construction trades 1940-1941; Pearl Harbor naval-shipyard/inactive-ship personnel 1941-2013; gate-vessel crews
- Limitations
- Program-, era-, and yard-level documentation only - does not name this hull and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard IX-539/YNG-17, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Yard records establish product classes in use at the builder and custodian yards during the craft's construction and layup periods; hull attribution would require contract/work-package documentation not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-08
-
[10]Batch-4844 search ledger (this record): NVR via Wayback; NavSource 14/3217 and 09/18/1800011; losthistory/hazegray DANFS IX index; MARAD ShipHistory keyword search; shipbuildinghistory; LOC HABS; shipscribe auxiliary index; CourtListener sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ix-539-01 through sl-uss-ix-539-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/registry materials statement, or docketed case naming IX-539 or YNG-17 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The NVR record, the NavSource craft page ('no DANFS history available'), the DANFS IX index (ends at IX-304), the MARAD ShipHistory database (no record for the hull), shipbuildinghistory, and the HABS net-infrastructure records contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for this craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-2013 (service life); 2026-09-29 (search)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1941 steel craft with diesel generators, a heating boiler, and winch machinery is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials having been present, and its 2013 GSA reuse sale means no Navy scrapping/abatement channel documentation was expected. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 (type=o) via cl-auth-search.py; collision hits opinion 3138580 and cluster 2101940, Paxton-Buckley-Loda Education Ass'n v. Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, 710 N.E.2d 538 (Ill. App. Ct. 1999) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-ix-539-14 through sl-uss-ix-539-16
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener searches under the authenticated, fleet-paced helper (cl-auth-search.py), 2026-09-29: '"IX-539"' opinion search (type=o) = 2 hits, both clusters of the same case - Paxton-Buckley-Loda Education Ass'n v. Educational Labor Relations Board, Ill. App. Ct. 4th Dist., No. 4-97-0899 (1999), a public-education labor-relations administrative-review case; 'IX-539' matched non-vessel text - classified NAME COLLISION, non-qualifying; '"YNG-17"' (type=o) = 0 hits. Remaining planned queries - docket-index searches for 'IX-539'/'IX 539' and opinion searches for the name variants 'YNg-17'/'YNG 17' - could not be executed because the fleet-wide CourtListener pace budget was spent; the helper returned stand-down guidance on repeated attempts.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Litigation sweep is partial, not a clean negative: two of six planned queries ran before the shared CourtListener request budget was exhausted. Executed queries produced one name collision and one zero - no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this craft was found. Unexecuted queries (docket index, 'YNg-17'/'YNG 17' variants, name+asbestos) remain open. Sweep coverage is the CourtListener index only - it does not cover state-court records, trust claims, or non-U.S. jurisdictions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), RG 24 (Navy personnel/logs), RG 71 (Bureau of Yards and Docks), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); NARA Prologue 'Remembering Pearl Harbor' deck-log guide (archives.gov) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG-level mapping only
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) - 14th Naval District files, Captain of the Yard Pearl Harbor, Inshore Patrol / Section Base Bishop's Point records, including the gate-vessel log of 6-7 December 1941 quoted in the Hewitt exhibits; RG 24 service-craft logs; RG 71/RG 19 for the YNG construction contract and design file (Moore hull 205); NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-Site Maintenance Office Pearl Harbor craft records for the IX custody period (2007-2013); the 2013 GSA sale file for buyer/disposition.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-2013 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this craft is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-11
-
[13]Morison, Samuel Loring, 'U.S. Naval Battle Force Changes 1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 2013, p. 109 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Morison May 2013 PDF, disposal table, 29 Aug row (PDF retrieved and pdftotext-verified this session)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The U.S. Naval Institute's annual battle-force change compilation (Samuel Loring Morison, Proceedings, May 2013) lists under 'U.S. Navy' disposals for 2012: '29 Aug - IX-539 - To be disposed of' - independent corroboration of the NVR stricken date 2012-08-29, in the same table-batch as service craft YON-316/317, Muskegon (YTB-763), Manistee (YTB-782), YC-1511, YC-1627, and YCV-23.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2012
- Limitations
- Professional-journal compilation corroborating the register milestone; adds no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-ix-539-12