Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 1014-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-leader-pyc42-pkt-1014-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Leader (PYc-42), Vol. IV p.75 - construction, acquisition, service narrative, disposal (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404 on all candidate URLs) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative (Vol. IV p.75)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: the first Leader (PYc-42), ex-Curlew, built by White & Co. Ltd., Southampton, England, in 1927; acquired by the Navy from F. S. Molson, Montreal, 24 October 1942 and commissioned the same day, Lt. (jg) Clifton R. Anderson in command. After three months in New York, Leader sailed 18 February 1943, trained off Florida and Cuba, and arrived San Diego 8 April. For the next two years she operated along the U.S. West Coast and with the San Diego Sound School, training Navy and Coast Guard personnel in antisubmarine-warfare techniques. Decommissioned 11 May 1945; returned to the War Shipping Administration 4 September 1946; sold in 1949 to Kenneth E. Wilson of Los Angeles and renamed Chito. Spec block: dp. 230; l. 117'; b. 19'6"; s. 13 k.; cpl. 25; a. 2 20mm, 2 dct., 2 rkt. launchers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-1949
- Population
- Naval crew, ~25 (1942-45); Navy and Coast Guard trainees at San Diego Sound School
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Does not name a stricken date or a New York conversion/fitting yard. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-10-04 (candidate URLs /leader.html and /leader-i.html); verbatim transcription via the hazegray mirror used, same standing defect as BATCH-01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Leader (PYc-42) - timeline, specifications, civilian ownership chain, propulsion replacements, NHHC photo NH 81390 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/1442.htm header block, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officers block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: built 1927 as the yacht Curlew by White and Co., Ltd., Southampton, England; acquired by the Navy and commissioned USS Leader (PYc-42) 24 October 1942; decommissioned 11 May 1945; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 4 September 1946; sold 1949 to Kenneth E. Wilson of Los Angeles, renamed Chito; acquired by Jack Hyde and renamed Hyding; resold to C. Arnholt Smith of San Diego; sold to Mr. Assel Offe; sold in the 1960s to Jack Ford and used as a charter yacht to the Northwest and Alaska; lost both engines in a storm and was towed to Sausalito; purchased by John Mullen; renamed Paullu and restored in 1979 by the Paul Whittier family at Fulton Shipyard, Antioch, CA; sold to Norwegian interests and renamed Grace, based near Oslo, Norway (photographed at Oslo c. June 2006). Specifications: 230 t., 117' x 19'6" x 7'3", 13 kts., complement 25; armament two 20mm guns, two depth-charge tracks, two rocket launchers; propulsion originally two Krupp air-injection diesels, replaced by two 275 shp Cooper-Bessemer FP-6 diesels, finally two Caterpillar diesels, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Yoke-Able-Fox. Commanding officer LT Clifton R. Anderson, USN, 24 October 1942 - 1945. WWII photograph credited as NHHC photo NH 81390.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-present (page coverage to c. 2006)
- Population
- Crew (1942-45); postwar civilian owners, charter guests, and yard workers (1949-present)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestone dates track DANFS where they overlap. It does not date the propulsion replacements (the owner's site and Classic Yacht Register date the Cooper-Bessemer swap to 1939, pre-Navy - see ev-03/ev-04). Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live at navsource.net on 2026-10-04 (navsource.org is dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-02
-
[4]M/Y Grace official owner/operator site, 'Yachtens historie fra 1927 til i dag' (history page) and specifications; Oslo byleksikon, 'M/Y Grace' (municipal encyclopedia entry, rev. 2025-10-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- grace.no/historie (ownership narrative, refit descriptions); grace.no front page (specifications); oslobyleksikon.no/side/M/Y_Grace (registry-style entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull survives and is documented operating today: owner's site grace.no and Oslo byleksikon confirm this vessel is charter yacht M/Y Grace, passenger-classified, moored at Aker Brygge, Oslo, operating charters in the Oslofjord and Norwegian coast (owners Erling Storm and Trygve Hegnar). Documented post-Navy material-disturbance events on this hull: 1979 Fulton Shipyard (Antioch, CA) overhaul - Cooper-Bessemer diesels replaced with two used Caterpillar engines (c. 1962), 'a lot of the interior' replaced, new electrical plant; winter 1994/95 shipyard work in the Netherlands; winter 1996/97 hull-plate replacement, new technical systems and safety equipment to classify her as a passenger boat. grace.no also resolves the 1949 buyer record: Kenneth E. Wilson, a Long Beach boat dealer, bought her at a WSA surplus auction as a front for General Abelardo L. Rodriguez, former President of Mexico (foreign nationals were then restricted from buying U.S. surplus); she was renamed Chito for Rodriguez's son. Current machinery per Oslo byleksikon/grace.no: 2 x Caterpillar D343 (1962); 169 BRT; 36.30 m.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979-present (refits and current operation)
- Population
- Refit yard workers (Fulton Shipyard 1979; Dutch yard 1994/95; Oslo-area 1996/97); charter passengers and crew (1996-present)
- Limitations
- Owner site and municipal encyclopedia, not registries or primary records; consistent with NavSource where they overlap. Confirms the hull is extant and that interior/machinery/electrical/hull plating were substantially renewed in three documented refits - it does NOT document asbestos abatement, and no hazmat or survey content appears on either page. 'La Jolla' (owner site) vs 'San Diego' (DANFS) Sound School siting is a minor variant. grace.no text has an internal 1972/1979 slip on the Whittier takeover (1979 carried, per section header and NavSource).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-03
-
[5]Classic Yacht Association, Classic Yacht Register, 'M/Y Grace' vessel entry (register last updated 2025-06-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- classicyachtinfo.org/yachts/my-grace register block (year, builder, designer, engine info, dimensions, home port) and historical-summary section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Registry entry for this hull under her current name: year 1927; builder 'J. Samuel White'; designer J. A. Smith; steel hull; 169 gross tons; 120' x 20.3' x 7.2'; engine timeline - 1927: two Krupp air-injection diesels; 1939: two 275 shp Cooper-Bessemer FP-6; 1979: two used Caterpillar D343, 'still in use'; home port Oslo, Norway; prior names Curlew, Leader, Chito, Hyding (spelled 'Hydin'), Paullu. A crew comment from the Paullu era (posted 2025-06-26) states the 1979 restoration at Fulton Shipyard was overseen by a Captain Renard, described as manager of the Star of India restoration - consistent with the documented overhaul scope.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-2025 (register coverage)
- Population
- Crew and refit workers across civilian ownership (1949-present)
- Limitations
- Specialist volunteer register, not an official registry - used here for the propulsion timeline and dimensions it alone dates (Cooper-Bessemer swap in 1939, meaning the naval-era engines were the Cooper-Bessemers, not the Krupps). 'J. Samuel White' builder attribution differs in form from DANFS 'White & Co. Ltd.' - carried as a variant in gaps, not reconciled. Reader comments are anecdotal; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel-propelled coastal patrol yacht, 230 t.); NavSource/CYA propulsion records (Krupp 1927, Cooper-Bessemer FP-6 1939, Caterpillar D343 1979); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource + CYA propulsion records; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-06)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-engined vessel acquired and operated by the U.S. Navy in 1942-45 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small patrol craft of this type and period were engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve and machinery packing, thermal insulation, and electrical insulation. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam warships does not apply. Any 1942 naval conversion/fitting in New York and any period refit would be the windows where era-standard materials could have been added or disturbed, but no work package, survey, or material list is located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (naval era); 1946-present (civilian refit windows)
- Population
- Navy-era crew and trainees (1942-45); unknown New York-area fitting trades (1942-43); all later civilian crew, charter, and refit populations
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, conversion work package, or abatement record located for PYc-42. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. Documented 1979/1994-95/1996-97 refits replaced interior, machinery, electrical, and hull plating - what (if any) era material survives aboard is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-05
-
[7]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
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire U.S. naval service period (1942-1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy personnel and shipyard workers (program review)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed in prior batch sessions) - content via product-page description. Does not establish materials aboard, quantities, or exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-06
-
[8]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (digitized log index); RG 24 Entry 118 'Logs of U.S. Naval Ships and Stations, 1801-1946' (NAID 581208); NHHC photo NH 81390 (WWII image of this hull, credited via NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (Leader MSO-490 entries only; no PYc-42); RG 24 Entry 118 / NAID 581208; NavSource NH 81390 photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Undigitized archival leads for this hull: the NARA digitized-deck-log index contains entries for the OTHER Leader - Leader (MSO-490), commissioned November 1955, decommissioned December 1991 - but no digitized logs for PYc-42; her 1942-45 deck logs, if extant, sit in the undigitized paper series (RG 24 Entry 118 / RG 45 finding aids) at Archives II. NHHC holds at least one wartime photograph of this hull (NH 81390, credited in the NavSource caption). WSA-era disposition records for the ex-Curlew (transfer 4 September 1946, 1949 surplus sale) would sit with wartime shipping records; not located in digitized public sources.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Crew (1942-45), if logs extant
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: establishes where hull-specific records likely sit, not what they contain. Deck-log digitization is partial - absence from the digitized index does not mean the logs do not exist. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be independently queried this session; index list checked directly. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-07
-
[9]CourtListener docket-index hits for exact name "USS Leader": In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (J.P.M.L., filed 1991) - name appears inside tag-along complaint attachments for Connecticut case 3:12-cv-00171; Gordon Mills v. 3M Company, No. 2:23-cv-00353 (D.S.C., filed 2023-01-26) - asbestos complaint; plus Frick v. Dy, No. 2:22-cv-00801 (W.D. Wash. 2022) - prisoner civil-rights complaint, not asbestos [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener docket index: MDL-875 (id 1245688, docs 8533/8552 tag-along attachments, D. Conn. 3:12-cv-00171); Mills v. 3M (id 66822039, doc 1 complaint, 41 pp, RECAP available); Frick v. Dy (id 63373610, doc 13 amended complaint)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Two qualifying asbestos dockets match the exact name 'USS Leader' in CourtListener's docket index: (1) the MDL-875 master docket via 2012 tag-along complaint attachments, and (2) Gordon Mills v. 3M Co. (D.S.C. 2023), an asbestos personal-injury complaint whose vessel references include 'USS Leader'. CRITICAL ATTRIBUTION LIMITATION: two commissioned Navy vessels carry this name - this hull (PYc-42, 1942-45) and the minesweeper Leader (AM-490/MSO-490, in commission 1955-1991). For a 2012/2023 living-plaintiff filing, the named vessel is almost certainly the later minesweeper; a PYc-42 service-era plaintiff would be ~90-100+ at filing. Neither hit is therefore evidence for THIS hull absent document-level verification (Mills complaint fetch attempted - see ledger). A third hit, Frick v. Dy (W.D. Wash. 2022), is a prisoner civil-rights complaint - name collision, not asbestos. Hull-designation query 'PYc-42' returned zero dockets - clean negative for this hull's designation in the docket index.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2012-2023 (litigation); unverified exposure window
- Population
- Asbestos plaintiffs (Mills 2023; MDL tag-along 2012) - probable MSO-490 service era
- Limitations
- Docket-index references only; neither asbestos hit is verified against the filing text (complaint PDF fetch attempts blocked by fleet pacing budget). Unadjudicated pleading-level appearances at most. Probable MSO-490 attribution makes these name-collision hits for this record - they are logged for completeness, not as exposure evidence for PYc-42. Opinion-type base queries ('USS Leader' o, 'PYc-42' o) could not be completed this session - blocked by fleet pacing budget; open gap, not a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-08
-
[10]Batch-8685 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource; owner site grace.no; Oslo byleksikon; Classic Yacht Register; NVR; NARA digitized-deck-log index; CourtListener (2 of 4 base queries completed - see sl-08); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-leader-pyc42-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, Inventory of Hazardous Materials, or verified litigation naming USS Leader (PYc-42) / ex-Curlew / M/Y Grace was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific asbestos claim outside excluded law-firm marketing pages.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. The hull is extant and operating; no public hazmat/IHM survey for her was located (at 169 BRT she is below EU IHM thresholds in any case). Deck logs, any 1942 conversion work package, and WSA disposal records are undigitized leads. CourtListener status recorded in search_ledger; if listed as blocked, the litigation status of this hull is an open gap, not a negative result. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-leader-pyc42-09