Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, 'Ship Contracts Awarded 1 January 1934 - 1 July 1955' (NAVSHIPS 250-641, rev. 1 Jan 1956), Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw, Alabama contract block (shipscribe.com scan of the official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- contracts_a-i.pdf, Gulf Shipbuilding Co. (Chickasaw, AL) block - AM-269 row (scan p. ~163)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's own contract register carries a per-hull row for AM-269 in the Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw, Ala. block: contract NObs-129, contract (award) date 5/02/42, contract completion date 7/31/43, completion (delivery) 2/18/44, tonnage 625. The same NObs-129 award covered sister minesweepers AM-267 through AM-282 at that yard; a separate earlier award (NObs-84222, 4/07/41) covered AM-126 through AM-130 and AM-132 at the same yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction workforce (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Authoritative BuShips contract register naming this hull - confirms builder, contract number, award date, contracted vs. actual completion, and tonnage. Read via OCR of a scanned image table (shipscribe scan); the dollar figures in adjacent columns OCR-garbled and are not carried; dates and hull number are unambiguous and cross-verify against DANFS/NavSource. Contains no materials, insulation, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-01
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[2]DANFS, 'Opponent' entry, Naval Historical Center / NHHC (live history.navy.mil URL returns 404 - verbatim text retrieved via Internet Archive Wayback capture 20050211032827 of history.navy.mil/danfs/o3/opponent.htm; identical transcription on hazegray.org mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text + spec block (Wayback capture 20050211032827); hazegray mirror https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am269.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC records: laid down 21 Sep 1942 by Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw, Ala.; launched 12 Jun 1943, sponsored by Mrs. H. Key, Jr.; commissioned 18 Feb 1944, Lt. J. D. Seay, Jr., USNR in command. Spec block: dp 650; 184'6"; b 33'; dr 9'9"; 14.8 kts; cpl 104; 1 x 3", 2 twin 40mm; class Admirable. Service: shakedown Atlantic coast and Gulf; Norfolk to Casco Bay, Me. departing 12 Apr; antisubmarine exercises; escorted Pontiac (AF-20) to New York, arriving Norfolk 29 Apr; commanding officer ordered to also command Mine Squadron 33; the next year patrol work, type training, weather-ship duties. Sailed for the Pacific 16 Mar 1945; San Diego 5 Apr; assigned Mine Division 44; Pearl Harbor 13 Apr; convoy escort 'between Southeast Asia and Pearl Harbor' for the remainder of the war; continued until early 1946, then Orange, Tex. Decommissioned 27 Aug 1946; reclassified MSF-269 7 Feb 1955; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1 Apr 1960; sold to Ships & Power Inc., Miami, Fla. 3 Feb 1961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Limitations
- Primary Navy historical entry - authoritative for service history and custody chain. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. Launch date here (12 Jun 1943) conflicts with NavSource (26 Jun 1943) - logged in gaps. Live NHHC page 404s (standing link rot, cf. BATCH-01); the Wayback capture is the verbatim NHHC text, corroborated by the hazegray transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Opponent (MSF-269), file 11/02269 (live navsource.org unreachable 2026-09-22 - retrieved via Wayback capture 20250125124929) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02269 - timeline block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, yard-history photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline corroborates DANFS and adds detail: laid down 21 Sep 1942, Gulf Shipbuilding Co., Chickasaw AL; launched 26 Jun 1943; commissioned USS Opponent (AM-269) 18 Feb 1944; the Naval Vessel Register of 1 Jan 1949 lists a planned decommissioning/reserve date of December 1945; decommissioned 27 Aug 1946 at Orange, TX; reclassified Fleet Minesweeper (Steel Hull) MSF-269 7 Feb 1955; struck 1 Apr 1960; sold 3 Feb 1961 to Ships and Power Inc. of Miami, FL; 'fate unknown.' Spec block: 945 t (fl); 184'6" x 33' x 9'9"; 14.8 kts; complement 104; armament 1 x 3"/50 DP, 1 twin 40mm, 6 x 20mm, hedgehog, 4 K-guns, 2 depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,710-shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts - diesel drive, no boilers. CO table: LT J. D. Seay Jr. (18 Feb 1944), LT G. E. Schaaf (20 Jan 1945), LTJG A. J. Amico (8 Feb 1946), LTJG A. L. Peek (21 Apr 1946), LCDR J. S. Alexander (11 Jul - 27 Aug 1946). Yard note: U.S. Steel established Chickasaw Shipbuilding Aug 1917; closed after WWI; reopened 1940 by Waterman Steamship Corp. as Gulf Shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - detailed but non-official; consistent with NHHC on timeline. Two data variances logged in gaps: launch date 26 Jun 1943 vs DANFS 12 Jun; engine identification Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 vs the ALCO 539 carried in generic class summaries (NavSource per-hull block carried). Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-03
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[4]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - AM-269 USS Opponent entry (Patrick Clancey compilation of official figures) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar AM-269_Opponent.html specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating official-figure compilation for this hull: Admirable-class minesweeper; displacement 625 tons; length 184'6"; beam 33'; draft 10'; speed 15 kts; armament 1 x 3"/50; complement 104; 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.'; built at Gulf Shipbuilding Co.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official wartime figures - consistent with DANFS/NavSource on identity. Horsepower figure (1,800) differs from NavSource (1,710 shp) - variance logged in gaps. The 'diesel-electric' characterization corroborates the diesel plant documented per-hull by NavSource. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-04
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[5]NavSource Online - PC-617 file: 'Sold for scrap 5 August 1958 to Ships and Power, Inc. of Miami, FL.'; NavSource files for LSIL-973 and other stricken hulls record the same buyer [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010617.htm (PC-617 disposal line); 10/15/150973.htm (LSIL-973 disposal line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ships & Power Inc. of Miami, FL - the buyer of this hull on 3 Feb 1961 - is documented in other NavSource files purchasing stricken Navy vessels explicitly for scrap (PC-617 'sold for scrap' 5 Aug 1958; LSIL-973 sold 27 Mar 1961, same week as Opponent's sale). Pattern consistent with scrapping for this hull, but Opponent's own post-sale fate is not recorded - NavSource reports 'fate unknown.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1958-1961
- Limitations
- Buyer-pattern context only - documents the buyer's business, not this hull's disposition. Does not establish the breaking site, date, or conditions of Opponent's disposal; does not establish or rule out asbestos handling at disposal.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-05
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[6]Consolidated era/design inference - documented diesel plant (NavSource per-hull block; HyperWar 'Diesel-electric engines') + BuShips contract-register construction record (NAVSHIPS 250-641) + WWII construction era [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02269 specifications block; HyperWar AM-269 spec block; contracts_a-i.pdf Gulf Shipbuilding block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: this hull was built 1942-44 at a wartime contract yard (Gulf Shipbuilding, Chickasaw - BuShips contract NObs-129) with a diesel-electric plant (two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 engines, twin screws - no boilers or steam mains). In WWII naval construction, asbestos-containing materials were standard for machinery insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, joiner/accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and friction linings. Because the plant is diesel, the boiler and fireroom insulation and main steam-line lagging typical of steam combatants are absent by design; the era-consistent applications on this type are engine and exhaust-uptake lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and brake/friction linings on winch and minesweep gear. Documented disturbance-phase events for this hull: wartime operations, ~14 years of reserve-fleet lay-up at Orange, TX (1946-1960), and post-sale disposal after 3 Feb 1961.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-44); wartime crew (~104); Atlantic Reserve Fleet Orange, TX caretakers (1946-1960); disposal/scrapping workforce (post-1961)
- Limitations
- Inference from the documented machinery plant and construction era - NOT a hull record. No survey, specification, material schedule, or abatement record naming AM-269 was located; establishes no asbestos content, quantity, location, individual exposure, or causation. Absence of boilers narrows but does not eliminate the era-typical material set.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-06
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[7]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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- 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 emergency construction program under which this Admirable-class minesweeper was built at a contract yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-07
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[8]Fleischer, W.E., Viles, F.J. Jr., Gade, R.L., and Drinker, P., '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
- PubMed record PMID 21016030; article pp. 9-16 (pipe covering material section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- The U.S. Maritime Commission-commissioned 1944-45 industrial-hygiene survey of pipe-covering operations in naval-vessel construction found amosite 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels' - direct era documentation that asbestos-containing insulation was being installed in Navy vessels during the exact years this hull was under construction (laid down Sep 1942, delivered Feb 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- survey ~1944-45; published 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers and insulators at Navy and contract yards (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level documentation of asbestos use in naval construction generally; does not name this vessel, class, or builder yard (whether Gulf Shipbuilding Chickasaw was among the surveyed contract yards is unverified) and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, condition, or any individual exposure. On a diesel-electric hull the pipe-covering scope is materially smaller than on steam vessels. (The study's exculpatory 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion has since been heavily criticized - see the 2026 critique at DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-08
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[9]Batch-1241 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NavSource 11/02269 via Wayback; BuShips NAVSHIPS 250-641 contract register; BuShips NVR 1 Jan 1949 scan; HyperWar; CourtListener API; indexed-web litigation checks; VA BVA index; NARA record-group guides; shipyards.json cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-opponent-am269-01 through sl-uss-opponent-am269-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Opponent / AM-269 / MSF-269 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Exact-phrase CourtListener opinion search 'USS Opponent' returned zero results (clean HTTP 200); the only minesweeper-qualified CourtListener hit is a name collision (Appian Corporation v. Pegasystems, Va. 2026 - 'opponent' as common word in a software trade-secrets dispute, non-qualifying). Indexed-web checking surfaced only law-firm marketing ship lists that name the hull (mesothelioma.com minesweeper table row 'USS Opponent AM-269 Admirable 2/18/1944 Sold, 1961'; mesotheliomahelp.org minesweeper roster) - an excluded source class asserting era-typical content without primary support.
- 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 1942-44 diesel minesweeper is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and her wartime service, 14-year reserve lay-up, and undocumented post-1961 disposal are undocumented disturbance phases. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: exact-name opinion sweep clean (0 results), then the shared daily quota was exhausted again - 'AM-269' and 'Opponent asbestos' sweeps and the RECAP docket search were HTTP 429 blocked; residual coverage rests on indexed-web checking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-opponent-am269-09
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[10]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel - Navy deck logs), RG 19 (Bureau of Ships), NARA still-photo holdings; Navy disposal records for the 1961 sale; Atlantic Reserve Fleet berthing/maintenance records (Orange, TX) [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html ; /groups/019.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): Navy deck logs for USS Opponent 1944-1946 (RG 24, NARA College Park); BuShips records incl. Admirable-class contract plans, the NObs-129 contract file, and the Booklet of General Plans (RG 19); NARA still-photo images of this hull and the Chickasaw yard (NavSource credits catalog.archives.gov for existing photo scans); Navy sale/disposal file for the 1961 Ships & Power transaction; Atlantic Reserve Fleet berthing and maintenance records for the Orange, TX lay-up 1946-1960 - the reserve-period material records are the most promising asbestos lead for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1942-1961 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; 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-opponent-am269-10