Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]DANFS, Knave (AM-256) (construction, Atlantic service narrative, reserve/sale record; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page unavailable) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full entry text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: launched 13 March 1943 by American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, Ohio, sponsored by Mrs. Geraldine Donohue; commissioned 14 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. A. M. White in command. Atlantic service: departed for Virginia Capes 24 October 1943 via the St. Lawrence River, arrived Norfolk 24 November; school ship at Little Creek, Va.; departed Hampton Roads for Rio de Janeiro via Trinidad and Recife, arriving 11 February 1944; swept Brazilian waters until 4 April, then nine months of convoy escort between Trinidad and Recife; departed for the U.S. 1 January 1945 escorting Pleiades (AK-46), arrived Miami 15 January; overhaul at Miami, then school ship at NTC Miami and Yorktown, Va., visiting Charleston, New Haven, and Norfolk; decommissioned and placed in reserve at Orange, Tex., 1 May 1946; reclassified MSF-256 while in reserve; sold to the Mexican Government 2 October 1962 and renamed DM-13.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1962
- Population
- Crew (complement ~104-105); construction trades at Lorain, OH (1942-43)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, service history, and specifications - not materials or asbestos content. The transcription prints 'Detached from school ship duty 11 February 1948,' internally inconsistent with the documented 1 May 1946 decommissioning and the NVR 1949 reserve plan (read as 1946; flagged in gaps). The stat line's 'dp. 350' conflicts with class-standard displacement (~625 t standard / ~945 t full load per NavSource/HyperWar). Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-22; verbatim hazegray transcription cited (also mirrored at ibiblio.org/hyperwar).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-01
-
[2]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Knave (MSF-256) ex-AM-256 - hull page transcribing Naval Vessel Register data, specifications, and commanding-officer list [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource hull page 11/02256, specification block and service-history bullets
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource hull page: laid down 23 October 1942 by American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, OH; launched 13 March 1943; commissioned USS Knave (AM-256) 14 October 1943; Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as December 1945; decommissioned 1 May 1946 at Orange, TX; reclassified Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull) MSF-256 on 7 February 1955; struck from the Naval Register 2 October 1962, sold to Mexico and renamed ARM DM-13. Specifications listed for this hull: two 1,710 shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts; complement 104.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1962
- Population
- Crew; Atlantic Reserve Fleet (Orange, TX) lay-up workers 1946-1962
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive transcribing official NVR and ships'-data sources - it is a reliable secondary compilation, not itself a primary record. Propulsion figures differ across secondary sources (class-level references cite ALCO 539 diesels; HyperWar's generic entry reads 'diesel-electric'); the Cooper Bessemer listing is the hull-page specification. Page lists 'fate unknown,' conflicting with press-documented 2000 reef sinking (see ev-05). Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-02
-
[3]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program and insulation-removal policies - program-level evidence that asbestos insulation was present aboard U.S. Navy vessels of the era. For a 1942-43 Admirable-class diesel minesweeper, era-typical candidate applications would concentrate in engine/exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, bulkhead and overhead thermal insulation, deck coverings, winch and windlass brake linings, and electrical insulation; the diesel plant (no boilers, no steam turbines) removes the boiler and steam-line lagging pathway typical of steam combatants.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (construction/service era); 1979 (GAO review)
- Population
- WWII-era Navy construction and crew populations (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation plus era inference - the GAO report does not name this hull or this class, and no BuShips design manual, contract plan, or materials survey for AM-256 was located. Establishes era context only: does not establish presence, quantity, location, or absence of asbestos aboard this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, 2026-09-22); product-page description used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-03
-
[4]NPS National Historic Landmark nomination (War in the Pacific Ship Study, Federal Agency Nomination), USS Hazard (AM-240), NRHP/NHL 79003712 [nps]
- Locator
- NHL nomination form, sections 7 (Description) and 8 (Significance)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS nomination for a sister hull describes the class: 'Admirable class minesweepers were basic minesweepers similar to the British "Bangor" class designed to meet minimum requirements for size, speed, and endurance ... Admirable class minesweepers formed the majority of American minesweepers built during World War II.' It documents USS Hazard (AM-240) as 'one of the best preserved and intact warships remaining from World War II ... a virtual time capsule dating from 1945' - evidence that class-standard WWII construction survives essentially unaltered on at least one sister hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- nomination c. 1985; construction era 1942-45
- Population
- Class context - no ship-specific population
- Limitations
- Sister-ship record: the nomination does not name AM-256 and contains no asbestos or materials information - it establishes class characteristics and intact-survival context only. Knave herself was not preserved; she was sunk as a reef in 2000 (see ev-05).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-04
-
[5]El Periodico Quequi (Puerto Morelos, Q.R.), 'Instalan boyas en el Juan Escutia C56'; corroborated by PADI dive-site registry entry for 'C-56 (Juan Escutia) Shipwreck' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- periodicoquequi.com local-news item on C-56 mooring buoys (states sinking date and purpose); padi.com dive-site entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Mexican disposition of this hull: sold to Mexico 2 October 1962 as ARM DM-13 (per DANFS/NavSource); renamed ARM Cadete Juan Escutia (C-56) in 1994; stricken 2000. Quintana Roo press reports the Armada de Mexico scuttled the C-56 on 28 October 2000 at ~30 m depth inside Parque Nacional Arrecife de Puerto Morelos to create an artificial reef; the PADI dive-site registry corroborates an October 2000 scuttling of the WWII-era ex-U.S. Navy vessel off Puerto Morelos, now an established recreational wreck dive.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1962-2000
- Population
- Mexican Navy crew (1962-2000); reef-prep/scuttling workers (2000); recreational divers (2000-present)
- Limitations
- Mexican service and sinking rest on press and dive-industry sources - no SEMAR or official Mexican naval record was located, and NavSource still lists 'fate unknown.' The identity of C-56 as ex-USS Knave is consistent across multiple secondary sources but not confirmed by an official registry. Pre-sinking environmental or hazmat preparation (standard for artificial-reef scuttlings) is not documented in located sources. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-05
-
[6]Batch-1228 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC, NavSource, NVR, NPS NHL nomination, Mexican press and dive registries, CourtListener web index, GAO HRD-80-2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-knave-am256-01 through sl-uss-knave-am256-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum remediation record, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Knave, AM-256, or MSF-256 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- 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 - the hull's intact WWII construction and intact sinking (no documented breakers' stripping) leave retained era materials plausible but unverified. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener confirmation was via web index only - authenticated API quota was exhausted at research time (see sl-uss-knave-am256-05).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-knave-am256-06