USS Method (AM-264)

Evidence

14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).

1. [1]DANFS, 'Method' (AM-264) - official Naval Historical Center text verified via Wayback capture (2004-03-17) of history.navy.mil/danfs/m10/method.htm (live NHHC page 404s - standing link rot), cross-checked against the losthistory.net/hazegray verbatim mirror [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Method' entry, specifications block + service narrative (Wayback capture of official NHC page; mirror: losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am264.htm)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official DANFS record for this hull: name gloss 'General word classification'; spec block 'AM-264: dp. 625; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; 1 3"; 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable'. Laid down 7 June 1943 by the American Ship Building Co., Lorain, Ohio; launched 23 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. K. C. Thorton; commissioned 10 July 1944, Lt. M. A. Cartwright in command. Departed Lorain 12 July [1944], steamed via the St. Lawrence to Little Creek, Va. (arriving 19 August); shakedown; 27 September to Casco Bay, Maine, for abbreviated ASW training; as a unit of MinDiv 37 arrived Port Royal Bay, Bermuda, 5 October - the western terminus of the southern convoy route - until 8 November; then Norfolk, Va., for a month and a half of patrols, minesweeping, and target towing. End of December: reported to TF 29, joining MinDiv 31. On 15 January 1945 cleared Hampton Roads as escort to a gasoline tanker bound for Navassa Island; detached the 20th; transited the Panama Canal 24 January; arrived San Diego 2 February for Western Sea Frontier duty; mid-February steamed north to Washington, operating with the Strait of Juan de Fuca Defense Unit; departed 26 March for Cold Bay, Alaska (arrived 4 April), where she trained Soviet naval personnel for transfer under lend-lease. 'On 20 May 1945, with the lowering of the American flag, Method decommissioned and was recommissioned as a ship of the Navy of the U.S.S.R.' Redesignated MSF-264 in the Naval Register 7 February 1955. 'As of 1969, Method had neither been returned nor purchased by the U.S.S.R.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1955

   Population

   AmShip Lorain construction trades (1943-44); wartime crew (design complement 104); Soviet trainees at Cold Bay (Apr-May 1945)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, builder, dates, service narrative, and the lend-lease transfer mechanism - not materials or asbestos content. The official text is silent on an ordered date, battle stars (none recorded - her war was escort/patrol and the Cold Bay training detail), all Soviet-side history post-1945, and the 1983 striking (the entry predates it). The losthistory mirror introduces a transcription typo 'Method (AM-284)' - the official text prints AM-264 correctly (ev-06(c)). DANFS's 20 May decommission date conflicts with the NHC-documented simultaneous ceremony of 21 May (ev-05, ev-06(b)).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Method (MSF 264) ex-AM-264, file 11/02264 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/02264 - chronology block, specifications block, propulsion line, CO list, photo credits

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource per-hull record: 'Admirable Class Minesweeper'; call sign Nan-Peter-Able-Love; 'Laid down 7 June 1943 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, OH'; launched 23 October 1943; commissioned USS Method (AM-264) 10 July 1944; 'Decommissioned 20 May 1945'; 'Transferred to the Soviet Union 21 May 1945 at Cold Bay, AK and reclassified T-276'; 'Assigned to the Pacific Fleet 17 June 1945'; 'Transferred 23 October 1947 to the Ministry of Transport and converted to a whaling vessel'; 'Transferred to "Glavpromorrybprom" 7 August 1948 and named Purga'; 'Reclassified by U.S. Navy as a Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull), MSF-264, 7 February 1955'; 'Scrapped in the early 1960s'; 'Struck from the Navy Register 1 January 1983.' Spec block: 945 t (fl); 184'6"; 33' beam; 9'9" draft; 14.8 kts; complement 104; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one depth-charge projector (hedgehog), four K-guns, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion 'Two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts.' CO roster: LT Mason Albert Cartwright, USNR (10 July 1944 - 20 May 1945) - the sole listed CO, matching DANFS 'Lt. M. A. Cartwright.' Photo credits: a theshipyards.com view of the hull under construction at AmShip Lorain; a Historical Collections of the Great Lakes view of Method and sister Mainstay (AM-261) under construction; a NARA photo (80-G-307276, via C. Lee Johnson/usndazzle.com) of Method in camouflage Design 21D taken by NAS Norfolk on 11 January 1945.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1983

   Population

   AmShip Lorain trades (1943-44); U.S. crew Jul 1944 - May 1945; Soviet Navy crews 1945-1947; Soviet whaling crews 1948-ca.1960

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official. The Soviet-side chain (Ministry of Transport transfer 23 Oct 1947, Glavpromorrybprom 7 Aug 1948, Purga rename, 'early 1960s' scrapping) and the 1 Jan 1983 U.S. strike rest on NavSource alone or NavSource plus Wikipedia/Russell corroboration; the T-276 pennant agrees with the NHC monograph (ev-05) against the T-274 prints in Colton, uboat.net, navalmarinearchive, and the hazegray transcriber's note. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-02

3. [3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'American Shipbuilding, Lorain OH' yard table - hull #839 row (AM 264 Method) + yard history header [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/amshiplorain.htm - hull #839 row (AM 264 Method); block rows #835-841 (AM 260-266); yard history header

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Yard-table row for this hull: AmShip Lorain yard hull #839, 'AM 264 | Method | U.S. Navy | Minesweeper | 650d | 184 | Jul-44 | To USSR 1945 as T 274, bought 1956.' Block context: consecutive Lorain rows carry AM-260 Magnet (#835, to China 1948 as Yung Ning), AM-261 Mainstay (#836, scrapped 1960), AM-262 Marvel (#837, to USSR 1945 as T 272), AM-263 Measure (#838, to USSR 1945 as T 273), AM-264 Method (#839), AM-265 Mirth (#840, to USSR 1945 as T 275), AM-266 Nimble (#841, to China 1948) - the Lorain Admirable block was split between the Soviet Project Hula transfers, the China program, and one U.S.-retained hull. Yard history: the Lorain yard began as Cleveland Shipbuilding (founded 1886), relocated to Lorain 1897, and was acquired by American Ship Building in 1899 as its Lorain Division; closed 1983.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1956

   Population

   AmShip Lorain construction workforce (Lorain, 1943-44)

   Limitations

   Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder yard (Lorain), yard hull number (#839), delivery month (Jul-44 matches the 10 Jul 1944 commissioning), type, tonnage class (650d), and the USSR-1945 disposal path. Its Soviet pennant print 'T 274' is the legacy error chain - NHC Project Hula assigns T-276 to this hull and T-274 to sister Marvel (ev-05, ev-06(a)). Its 'bought 1956' refers to the mid-1950s settlement mechanics for unreturned hulls documented in the NHC monograph (witnessed destructions; the 1957 settlement on 343 vessels) - not a literal 1956 purchase record for this hull, and it conflicts with DANFS's 'as of 1969 neither returned nor purchased' if read literally. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-03

4. [4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS Method (AM 264), ship 5329 [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5329.html - data table and CO list

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uboat.net per-hull record: Admirable-class minesweeper AM 264; 'Built by American Shipbuilding Co. (Lorain, Ohio, U.S.A.)'; ordered 2 May 1942; laid down 7 Jun 1943; launched 23 Oct 1943; commissioned 10 Jul 1944; end of service 20 May 1945; 'Decommissioned 20 May 1945 and transferred to the Soviet Union the following day at Cold Bay, Alaska being renamed T-274.' CO roster: Lt. Mason Albert Cartwright, Jr., USNR (10 Jul 1944 - 20 May 1945) - corroborates NavSource and DANFS's 'Lt. M. A. Cartwright.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Population

   Wartime crew (secondary roster)

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - corroborates the Lorain yard, dates, and the Cold Bay transfer; its Soviet pennant print 'T-274' is the legacy error chain (NHC assigns T-276 - ev-05, ev-06(a)), and its 'the following day' transfer dating matches NavSource's decomm-20/transfer-21 split that the NHC monograph resolves as a single simultaneous 21 May ceremony. The 'ordered 2 May 1942' date is secondary-only and unverified against a primary contract record - not carried into record fields. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-04

5. [5]Russell, Richard A., 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,' Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C., 1997 (official Navy historical monograph; ISBN 0-945274-35-1) - full-text PDF via HyperWar/ibiblio [other_primary]

   Locator

   Project Hula (NHC 1997) Appendix pp. 38-39, AM table rows T-271 through T-282 incl. p. 39 row 'Method (AM 264) T-276'; narrative pp. 37-38 (return negotiations, witnessed destruction, settlements); glossary (tralshik)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Official NHC publication resolves this hull's transfer: appendix row 'Method (AM 264) | T-276 | [21 May ditto] | [1960-scrapped ditto]' - i.e., transferred 21 May 1945 under Project Hula, Soviet designation T-276, disposition 1960-scrapped. The same table assigns T-271 to Disdain (AM 222, 22 May), T-272 to Fancy (AM 234, 21 May), T-273 to Indicative (AM 250, 22 May), T-274 to Marvel (AM 262, 21 May), T-275 to Measure (AM 263), T-277 to Mirth (AM 265), T-278 to Nucleus (AM 268), T-279 to Palisade (AM 270, '1957-stricken'), T-280 to Penetrate (AM 271), T-281 to Peril (AM 272), T-282 to Rampart (AM 282) - the correct cross-mapping that refutes the T-274 print for this hull in the DANFS transcriber's note, uboat.net, Colton, and navalmarinearchive (T-274 was sister Marvel). Glossary: 'T (tralshik) - minesweeper.' Program context documented in the same volume: transfers staged at Cold Bay/Fort Randall, Alaska, to ready Soviet crews for the war against Japan; the U.S. sought return of 480 of 585 transferred combatants (SecNav Forrestal to State, 8 May 1947); the Navy ultimately accepted Soviet 'witnessed destruction' (59 vessels sunk near Murmansk and 20 near Nakhodka in 1956); a settlement on 343 vessels was reached in spring 1957; the comprehensive Lend-Lease settlement followed 18 October 1972 - the framework explaining why unreturned hulls like this one stayed nominally on the Naval Register until 1983.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1945-1972 program; row entry 21 May 1945 / 1960

   Population

   Soviet Navy crews (1945 onward)

   Limitations

   Official NHC historical monograph - the strongest located source for the transfer date, Soviet pennant, and disposition; Russell's appendix draws on Soviet-era records unavailable during the Cold War (his cited sources include NAVSHIPS 250-012 Ships Data Vol. II (1949) and Berezhnoi's Flot SSSR lendliz reference). The appendix tabulates transfer date and end disposition only; it does not document the intermediate Soviet career (Pacific Fleet assignment, 1947 Ministry of Transport whaler conversion, 1948 Glavpromorrybprom 'Purga' rename - the NavSource-only chain) or any striking mechanics. '1960-scrapped' is the register-level disposition; scrap site and process undocumented. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-05

6. [6]Naval Marine Archive, Minesweepers AM Pre-War/WWII table - AM 264 row; HyperWar/ibiblio 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' AM-264 stub [other_primary]

   Locator

   navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/minesweepers1.html AM 264 row; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-264_Method.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Naval Marine Archive row: 'AM 264 | Method | AmShip Lorain | Lorain OH | 185 | 945 | 1943 | 10-Jul-44 | To USSR 1945 as T 274' - corroborates the Lorain yard, dates, and Soviet transfer; its T-274 print is the legacy error (ev-05). The HyperWar compilation stub for AM-264 reproduces two outright errors: 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.' (contradicted by the documented National Supply reduction gear - diesel direct drive) and 'Transferred to U.K. under Lend-Lease, 1944' (wrong nation and wrong year - the hull went to the U.S.S.R. at Cold Bay in May 1945) - flagged in ev-06(d).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Limitations

   Secondary compilations - corroborate dates, yard, and the transfer path only; neither reports Soviet-side detail beyond the transfer, and neither contains asbestos information. The HyperWar stub's U.K.-transfer claim is a flat compilation error carried here only as a flagged defect.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-06

7. [7]Source-discrepancy resolution - official DANFS (Wayback NHC capture + losthistory/hazegray mirror) vs NavSource 11/02264 vs Colton AmShip Lorain #839 vs uboat.net 5329 vs navalmarinearchive vs HyperWar stub vs Wikipedia (itself citing Russell, Project Hula, NHC 1997, pp. 39-40, and Lutsenko 'Buran-type whale catcher') [other_primary]

   Locator

   web.archive.org capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/m10/method.htm and losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/mine/am264.htm vs navsource.net/archives/11/02264.htm; shipbuildinghistory.com amshiplorain.htm hull #839; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5329.html; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/minesweepers1.html; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AM/AM-264_Method.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Method; NHC Project Hula PDF pp. 38-40

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Source discrepancies logged, not silently merged: (a) Soviet pennant - T-276 is carried per the NHC Project Hula appendix (verified this session from the monograph PDF: 'Method (AM 264) | T-276') and NavSource, against T-274 in the hazegray/DANFS transcriber's note, uboat.net, Colton (#839 'T 274'), and navalmarinearchive - Russell assigns T-274 to sister Marvel (AM-262); Wikipedia's footnote documents this resolution explicitly, though Wikipedia's own Admirable-class navboxes still disagree with each other. (b) Decommission/transfer date - 21 May 1945 carried per Russell (Hula ships were decommissioned, transferred, and Soviet-commissioned in a single simultaneous ceremony); DANFS prints 20 May for decommission-and-recommission; NavSource and uboat.net print decommissioned 20 May / transferred 21 May. (c) Hull number - the losthistory mirror's DANFS transcription prints 'Method (AM-284)' once; the official NHC text (Wayback capture) prints AM-264 correctly - mirror typo flagged, not an official-text error. (d) HyperWar stub errors - 'Transferred to U.K. under Lend-Lease, 1944' (wrong nation/year; the hull transferred to the U.S.S.R. in May 1945) and 'Diesel-electric engines ... 1,800 h.p.' (contradicted by the documented National Supply single reduction gear). (e) Spec variances - displacement 625 t (DANFS) vs 945 t full load (NavSource/navalmarinearchive) vs 650d (Colton); speed 15 kts (DANFS/HyperWar) vs 14.8 (NavSource); draft 9'9" vs 10' (HyperWar); armament design-spec (1 3", 4 40mm) vs wartime-fit (twin 40mm, hedgehog, 4 K-guns, 2 dct - NavSource). (f) Soviet-side chain - NavSource prints 'Assigned to the Pacific Fleet 17 June 1945', Ministry of Transport 23 Oct 1947 (whaler conversion) and Glavpromorrybprom 7 Aug 1948 ('Purga'); Wikipedia (citing Russell pp. 39-40) places her allocated to the Soviet Pacific Fleet and departing Cold Bay for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Soviet Far East, with conversion to whalecatcher and the Purga rename in 1948; scrapped 1960 (Russell/Wikipedia) vs 'early 1960s' (NavSource) - NavSource's detailed chain carried with the 1947/1948 sequence flagged as NavSource-only. (g) 'bought 1956' (Colton) vs 'as of 1969 neither returned nor purchased' (DANFS) - read against Russell's settlement framework (witnessed destructions 1956; 343-vessel settlement spring 1957; comprehensive settlement 1972), Colton's phrase describes the mid-1950s write-off mechanics, not a literal purchase; flagged, not resolved as a title event. (h) Stricken 1 Jan 1983 rests on NavSource and Wikipedia (the latter flagged 'citation needed') - consistent with the class-uniform Hula pattern of register retention to 1983; carried with the flag. (i) Ordered date '2 May 1942' rests on uboat.net alone - secondary-only, not carried into record fields. (j) Sponsor 'Mrs. K. C. Thorton' - printed identically in the official DANFS text and Wikipedia; carried as printed (possible period misspelling of 'Thornton' unverified).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1983

   Limitations

   Resolves publication-level discrepancies among the official DANFS text, the NHC monograph, secondary compilations, and reference tables, adopting the better-supported values and flagging the rest. Soviet-side history (1945-1960) rests on NavSource's detailed chain corroborated in outline by Wikipedia/Russell - Russian-side naval and fishing-fleet records are the archival resolution path. No asbestos content in any of these sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-07

8. [8]Consolidated era/design inference - documented propulsion plant (NavSource spec block: two 1,710shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts - direct drive) + documented builder and construction era (DANFS; NavSource; Colton; uboat.net; navalmarinearchive) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/02264 propulsion line; DANFS construction/service dates; Colton amshiplorain.htm hull #839; NHC Project Hula appendix

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference: this hull is a 1943-44-built steel Admirable-class minesweeper with a diesel direct-drive twin-screw plant (two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels, National Supply single reduction gear) - no boilers, no steam distribution. Its insulation load was materially lighter than a steam combatant's, but machinery and construction materials of the wartime era were commonly asbestos-containing: exhaust-system and muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical-cable insulation, accommodation/galley joiner insulation, winch and windlass brake linings, and deck compositions of the period. Exposure-relevant populations if any material was present: AmShip Lorain construction trades (Jun 1943 - Jul 1944); the U.S. wartime crew (design complement ~104) across shakedown, Bermuda/Norfolk escort-patrol duty, the Panama transit, and the Cold Bay transfer detail (Jul 1944 - May 1945); the Soviet trainees embarked for familiarization (Apr-May 1945); Soviet Navy crews of T-276 in the Pacific Fleet (1945-1947); the Ministry of Transport conversion workforce (1947-48); Glavpromorrybprom whaling crews as Purga (1948-ca.1960); and the 1960 scrapping workforce.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1943-1960

   Population

   AmShip Lorain trades (1943-44); U.S. crew Jul 1944 - May 1945; Soviet trainees Apr-May 1945; Soviet Navy crews 1945-1947; conversion workforce 1947-48; whaling crews 1948-ca.1960; scrapping workforce 1960

   Limitations

   Inference from documented design, machinery type, and construction era - NOT a hull materials record. No survey, specification, or material schedule naming AM-264 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. The diesel (non-steam) plant makes even era-level inference weaker than for steam vessels of the same era. The entire Soviet-period material history (1945-1960, including the whaler conversion) is undocumented in located sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-08

9. [9]Declaration of Peter Neushul, Ph.D., Siegfried v. Owens-Illinois, No. 2:18-cv-01575 (C.D. Cal.) (RECAP gov.uscourts.cacd.702384.52.0) - WWII Navy/USMC fireproof-insulation requirements and Navy QPLs [court_record]

   Locator

   RECAP document 52-0, declaration paragraphs on WWII shipbuilding insulation requirements and Kaylo QPL listings

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Expert declaration documents that during WWII the U.S. Navy and U.S. Maritime Commission required fireproof insulation on military and civilian vessels, and that asbestos-containing thermal insulation products (e.g., Owens-Illinois Kaylo block and pipe insulation) appeared on Navy Qualified Products Lists under military specifications Mil-I-2819 and Mil-I-2781. Method was laid down in June 1943 inside this procurement regime.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1945 (era); 2018 (filing)

   Population

   WWII Navy construction trades and crew (class context)

   Limitations

   Plaintiff-side expert declaration in asbestos litigation, not a court finding; describes Navy-wide procurement requirements and never names this hull. Pipe-covering findings are less applicable to a diesel (non-steam) minesweeper than to steam vessels. Asbestos presence aboard AM-264 is era inference only - does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard, nor quantity, nor any individual exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-method-am264-09

10. [10]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; J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28(1):9-16

    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 wartime construction program under which this hull was built at American Shipbuilding's Lorain yard. 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

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1941-1946 (survey era)

    Population

    WWII shipbuilding workforce (era context)

    Limitations

    Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding and naval-vessel construction generally; neither source names this vessel, class, or builder yard. Pipe-covering findings are less applicable to a diesel (non-steam) minesweeper than to steam vessels. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard AM-264.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-method-am264-10

11. [11]NPS National Register/National Historic Landmark nomination, USS Hazard (AM-240), NRHP ref. 79003712 - class-exemplar cross-check [nps]

    Locator

    NPS NRHP/NHL nomination form 79003712, items 4-7 (condition, description); NRIS asset page

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    The sole surviving Admirable-class hull is a documented unaltered museum ship and a class sister of this hull: the NHL nomination for USS Hazard (AM-240) - Winslow-built, delivered 31 October 1944 - records her as 'completely equipped and intact as it was during its years of active service' with 'the superstructure ... unaltered,' moved from the Orange, Texas U.S. Naval Inactive Ship Facility to Omaha in 1971. For materials purposes the class's only preserved exemplar survives essentially as-built, but no public asbestos survey or hazmat disclosure for Hazard was located either.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1944; nomination circa 1979

    Population

    Museum staff/visitors at the surviving sister (class context)

    Limitations

    Class-level context only - the nomination documents the sister hull's significance and condition circa 1979, not materials or asbestos content, and says nothing about AM-264. 'Unaltered' is the nomination's characterization; no ACM survey of Hazard is public. Hazard is a Winslow-built sister, not a Lorain-built one - same class, different yard.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-method-am264-11

12. [12]Batch-1236 search ledger (this record): official DANFS via Wayback NHC capture + losthistory/hazegray mirror; NavSource 11/02264; Colton AmShip Lorain #839; uboat.net 5329; NHC Project Hula PDF; navalmarinearchive; HyperWar stub; NVR SHIPSDETAIL_AM_264 (302); NARA catalog (JS shell); archive.org advancedsearch; NavalCoverMuseum; hullnumber.com; degraded site:courtlistener.com and site:va.gov indexed queries [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-method-am264-01 through sl-uss-method-am264-15

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS Method / AM-264 / MSF-264 / T-276 / Purga: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, preservation record, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The CourtListener API v4 sweep could not run this session - the authenticated request returned HTTP 429 ('Request was throttled. Rate limit exceeded: 2800/day. Expected available in 3079 seconds') on the first attempt; the shared daily quota was exhausted by prior batch work on this machine, so the opinion/docket sweep is logged as blocked, not retried, per batch rules (same wall hit by sibling batches today incl. batch-1229). Indexed-web substitute queries surfaced only name collisions and generic asbestos filings - no hit naming this hull - and marketing-roster name mentions (mesothelioma.com's minesweeper jobsites page lists 'USS Method | AM-264 | Admirable | 7/10/1944 | To Soviet Union, 1945' in a generic table; excluded per source rules, no hull-specific evidence).

    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 - a 1943-44-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. IMPORTANT: the CourtListener sweep did not run (throttled, shared quota) - 'no qualifying case located' reflects the non-litigation repositories and degraded indexed queries only; a differently-phrased hull reference may exist in the opinion/docket indexes. The hull's entire Soviet career (1945-ca.1960) and scrapping are undocumented at materials level, so no survey pathway exists in located sources. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-method-am264-12

13. [13]Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, 586 U.S. 446 (2019), CourtListener opinion 4601080 - bare-metal-defense doctrinal context [court_record]

    Locator

    CourtListener opinion 4601080

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    No case located names this hull (see negative_finding row and search_ledger - CourtListener sweep blocked this session). 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 claims arising from service aboard a WWII diesel minesweeper would have faced; no such claim naming Method was located.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    2019 decision

    Limitations

    Doctrinal context only - the cited case does not name or involve this hull, and 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 in the searches performed. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-method-am264-13

14. [14]Archival leads (not retrieved - require research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized; NARA catalog returns only its JS application shell to automated fetch): (a) NARA's WWII muster-rolls series should cover this hull for her Jul 1944 - May 1945 commission - sibling Admirable-class hulls are demonstrably indexed, so coverage for AM-264 is expected but unconfirmed this session; (b) NARA RG 24 deck logs, Jul 1944 - May 1945 (an unusually short run, ~10 months - shakedown through Cold Bay); (c) NARA RG 19 BuShips records / General Information Books and the Navy contract file for the AmShip Lorain Admirable block (yard hull #839; block AM-260..266) - the plausible home of hull-level material schedules; (d) NARA still-photo holding 80-G-307276 (NAS Norfolk camouflage view, 11 Jan 1945 - credited via NavSource/usndazzle); (e) Project Hula Cold Bay transfer records for the 21 May 1945 group (NHC 1997 cites operational files) - the authoritative resolution of the decommission/transfer date split; (f) Soviet-side records for T-276's Pacific Fleet service (1945-1947), the Ministry of Transport whaler conversion (1947-48), Glavpromorrybprom 'Purga' whalecatcher service (1948-ca.1960), and the 1960 scrapping - Lutsenko's 'Buran-type whale catcher' list (soviet-trawler.narod.ru, cited by Wikipedia) is the hobbyist-level lead, not an authoritative source; (g) AmShip Lorain yard records / successor-company archives. [other_primary]

    Locator

    archives.gov RG 19/24 group guides; Colton amshiplorain.htm; NHC Project Hula (1997) source apparatus; NavSource 11/02264 photo credits

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Record-group mapping only: the archival repositories most likely to hold hull-level material or transfer-condition documentation for AM-264, keyed to the documented events of her career (Lorain construction 1943-44; U.S. commission Jul 1944 - May 1945; Project Hula transfer 21 May 1945; Soviet minesweeper service to 1947; whaler conversion and Purga service 1948-ca.1960; scrapping 1960; administrative NVR retention to 1983).

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Study period

    1943-1983 records

    Limitations

    Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for AM-264 is unknown until surveyed in person. Muster rolls, deck logs, contract files, photo files, transfer files, and disposal records are personnel/operations/disposal records, not materials documentation. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-method-am264-14