Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet ce-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (with collision note) — real identity: USS Phoebe (first Navy ship of the name)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-phoebe-amc57-pkt-ce-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Phoebe I (AMc-57) - construction, purchase, commissioning, service narrative, decommissioning, stricken, Maritime Commission sale (live NHHC page 404 on all candidate URLs 2026-10-05; cited via Wayback capture 2021-10-25 - archived copy labeled as such) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Phoebe I (AMc-57)' entry, spec block and service narrative; Wayback capture 20211025150247
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS verbatim): 'The first Phoebe (AMc-57) was laid down by the Western Boat Building Co., Tacoma, Wash. 5 December 1940; launched in 1941; purchased by the Navy 31 March 1941; and commissioned at Tacoma, Wash., 2 May 1941.' Service: 'served exclusively in the Northwestern Sea Frontier. In July 1943 she was tactical command ship for a group of four minesweepers that cleared a defensive minefield which had been planted in 1942 to protect Shagak Bay and Bay of Islands, Adak, Alaska. By 4 August, they had exploded more than 340 mines.' Then 'continued operations as a dan buoy ship in Alaskan waters throughout the remainder of World War II, having been assigned to the Alaskan Sea Frontier. She was ordered to proceed from Dutch Harbor to Seattle 21 October 1945 and decommissioned there 17 December 1945. She was struck from the Navy List 8 January 1946. Phoebe was delivered to the Maritime Commission which sold her to her builder, the Western Boat Building Co., 27 March 1946.' Spec block (NHHC printing): '(AMc-57: dp. 176; l. 94'; b. 25'3"; dr. 6'1"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 17; a. 2 .30 cal. mg.)'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Western Boat Building trades (1940-41); crew (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos, insulation, or material content in the source. DANFS says 'commissioned'/'decommissioned' where NavSource says 'placed in service'/'placed out of service' - same dates, different status verb (AMc coastal minesweepers were commonly in-service rather than commissioned craft). Spec-block figures conflict with NavSource's (see gaps). Live NHHC URL dead - archived copy cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Phoebe (AMc 57) - designation timeline, specifications, disposal; crew photo page 03057a.htm [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/03057.htm header block, specifications block, disposal line, photo captions; 11/03057a.htm crew page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 5 December 1940 as Western Robin by Western Boat Building Co., Tacoma, WA; launched 1941; 'Placed in service as USS Phoebe (AMc 57), 2 May 1941'; placed out of service 17 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal March 1946; sold 27 March 1946 to her builder and renamed Western Explorer; 'Foundered 14 May 1956 off Socorro Island, Mexico near Bimmer's Cove.' Specifications: displacement 205 t.; length 95'; beam 23'9"; draft 11'; speed 11 kts.; complement 17; armament two .50 cal. machine guns; propulsion one 400bhp Atlas 6H-M-2124 diesel engine, one shaft. Photo captions place her off Seattle c. May 1941 (National Archives photos 19-N-23977, 19-N-23978, 19-N-23979) and pierside at Dutch Harbor c. 1943-45 alongside YMS-135, YMS-130, PC-786, and PC-792; a contributed crew page (03057a.htm) names crew c. 1943-45 including Cyrus C. Dodd Jr., Tommy Crayton, C. W. Woodford, Veryl Hall, Albert Fontes, Lyle Vollstead, Johnny Whiteside, Madison H. Cobb.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1956
- Population
- Western Boat Building trades (1940-41); crew (1941-45); Maritime Commission and builder personnel at disposal (1946); fishing crew as Western Explorer (1946-56)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS milestones; spec figures conflict with the DANFS spec block (205 t vs 176; 95' vs 94'; 23'9" vs 25'3"; 11' draft vs 6'1"; .50 cal vs .30 cal) - see gaps. 'Placed in service/out of service' vs DANFS 'commissioned/decommissioned' - same dates, verb differs. Photo content is captioned documentation, not work or material records. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-02
-
[4]Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Minecraft (official Navy vessel list, HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-dm.html, minecraft list, Phoebe row (alphabetical)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official minecraft list records for this hull: 'AMc-57 Phoebe 1941 ex- Western Robin (1941)' - confirming the hull was the 1941-built fishing vessel Western Robin taken into naval service as a coastal minesweeper.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941
- Limitations
- Official-list transcription confirming identity and prior name only; carries no specifications, service detail, or material content. Transcription mirror (ibiblio/HyperWar) of the Navy's own published list.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History, Western Boatbuilding yard list (Tacoma WA), hull 144 - the Tim Colton shipyard-build compiler [other_primary]
- Locator
- Western Boatbuilding hull table, row 144
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard build record for this hull: Western Boatbuilding (Tacoma) hull 144, U.S. Official Number 251283, 'Western Robin', 205 gross tons, 95 ft, built 1941 - 'to USN as Phoebe (AMc-57), sold 1946 as Western Explorer.' Yard context from the same page: Western Boatbuilding Corporation was started 1916 by Martin Petrich, Joe Martinac and Wm. Wichert; built sub chasers, minesweepers and J-boats at the 11th Street (Thea Foss Waterway) yard during WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Western Boat Building trades (1940-41)
- Limitations
- Secondary compiler of yard build records (industry-standard reference, not the yard's own archives). The 205 GT / 95 ft figures align with NavSource (205 t / 95') and conflict with the DANFS spec block (176 t / 94') - see gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-04
-
[6]NARA photographs 19-N-23977, 19-N-23978, 19-N-23979 (c. May 1941, Phoebe off Seattle) - RG 19 vessel-photo series numbers transcribed from NavSource captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/03057.htm photo captions; NARA catalog search pending
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Three National Archives Bureau of Ships photographs (19-N-23977, 19-N-23978, 19-N-23979) document this hull off Seattle c. May 1941 - her earliest documented naval appearance, around the 2 May 1941 in-service date. NavSource captions attribute them to the National Archives.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941
- Population
- Crew (May 1941)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched this session; photo numbers and dating are transcribed from NavSource captions. Photographs document the vessel's presence and configuration, not materials or work records. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (176 t coastal minesweeper, cpl. 17); NavSource specifications (one 400bhp Atlas 6H-M-2124 diesel, one shaft); official minecraft list (ex-Western Robin fishing vessel); WA Ecology documentation of the builder's wooden-hulled shipbuilding (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Composite inference row; see ev-01, ev-02, ev-03, ev-08
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled coastal minesweeper converted from a 1941 fishing boat, built at a wooden-vessel yard and powered by a single 400 bhp Atlas diesel on one shaft, sits inside the WWII era of documented asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding - but the asbestos-relevant applications aboard a vessel of this size and plant are narrow: diesel exhaust lagging, engine gaskets, machinery packing, and electrical/wiring insulation. No steam plant - the boiler, steam-line, and turbine lagging pathways of larger vessels do not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940-1956
- Population
- Western Boat Building trades (1940-41); crew (1941-45); fishing crew and any repowering/maintenance trades as Western Explorer (1946-56)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or purchase record located for AMc-57. Names era-standard applications for a small diesel vessel, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no present-day presence (hull foundered 1956).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-06
-
[8]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 program under which this 1941 vessel was converted to naval service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. The study concerns major shipbuilding programs; applicability to a small wooden-boat yard conversion is itself inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-07
-
[9]Washington State Dept. of Ecology cleanup site file, Petrich Marine Dock (PMD) Site, Tacoma - 'CPAH Investigation' report (2018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ecology document 70108, section 2.1 site history bullets; section 3-4 investigation summary
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Government environmental-site documentation of this hull's builder: '1940s - Western Boat Building Company conducted wooden-hulled ship building activities inside a large enclosed structure (Western Boat Building No. 1)' at the Tacoma site; the building burned in 1950. Documents that the builder was a wooden-hulled vessel specialist operating under cover during this hull's construction period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940s (site history); 2017-2018 (investigation)
- Population
- Western Boat Building / co-located trades (1940s)
- Limitations
- Builder context only - does not name this hull and contains no asbestos statement; the documented contaminants are fire-related cPAHs in soil, not ACM. Site was a multi-operator industrial parcel (Marine Iron Works and others also present); the wooden-hull characterization corroborates the conversion's construction medium, nothing more.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-08
-
[10]Batch-1593 search ledger (this record): DANFS via archived NHHC page and Wayback hazegray mirror; NavSource 11/03057 + crew page; HyperWar official minecraft list; shipbuildinghistory yard list; MARAD ShipHistory API; NVR; NARA photo leads; WA Ecology site file; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-phoebe-amc57-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Phoebe (AMc-57) was found in the public sources searched. MARAD ShipHistory holds no record under any of her names or Official Number 251283; NVR carries no entry (stricken 1946, decades before NVR coverage); the hull foundered in 1956, so no surviving vessel exists to survey. The only asbestos material surfaced is law-firm marketing content - excluded by source policy - and it concerns the second USS Phoebe (MSC-199), a different hull (mesothelioma.com 'veteran testimony' claims re MSC-199; duboselawfirm.com generic listicle naming AMc-57 without primary sourcing). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent on every attempt (8 tries over ~40 minutes, helper exit 2); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1941 wooden diesel conversion sits inside the documented asbestos-use era, and construction/maintenance records (Western Boat Building archives, purchase contract, conversion specs, RG 24 deck logs) are undigitized leads. The litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (paced, not run) - re-run '"USS Phoebe"' and '"AMc-57"' (type=o and type=r) when the budget frees. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-09
-
[11]Designation/status cross-check: DANFS (archived NHHC page 'Phoebe I (AMc-57)'); hazegray DANFS mirror via Wayback (spec-block header misprints '(AM-57'); NavSource designation line (AMc 57); Wikipedia infobox and en-academic mirror; Accentor-class references (Lenton) excluding AMc-56 through AMc-60 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Archived NHHC DANFS page; Wayback hazegray amc57.htm; NavSource 11/03057.htm; Wikipedia USS Phoebe (AMc-57) and Accentor-class articles (secondary); usnavy.skyrocket.de 'AMc-57 Phoebe Class' page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTIONS: (a) Designation - the hull is AMc-57 (coastal minesweeper); the hazegray DANFS mirror misprints the spec-block header '(AM-57' where the NHHC printing reads '(AMc-57' - AM-57 is USS Auk, a different minesweeper; the batch file-slug styling 'AMC-57' is a capitalization convention only. (b) Status verb - DANFS 'commissioned'/'decommissioned' vs NavSource 'placed in service'/'placed out of service' at identical dates (2 May 1941 / 17 December 1945); both carried, neither assumed wrong. (c) Wikipedia infobox 'Out of service 14 May 1956' conflates the merchant foundering date with the 17 December 1945 out-of-service date - the 1945 date controls. (d) Class - no formal class assignment located; standard references (Lenton, via the Accentor-class literature) exclude AMc-56 through AMc-60 from the Accentor class, and secondary sources label her a one-off 'Phoebe class' - she is a one-off fishing-vessel conversion, not an Accentor sister. (e) Name collision - the second USS Phoebe (AMS-199/MSC-199, Harbor Boat Building Co., Terminal Island CA; commissioned 29 April 1955; struck 1 July 1975) is a different hull; marketing asbestos content about 'USS Phoebe' concerns MSC-199.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1956
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating designation/status/class/name-collision errors, not a material claim. The Accentor exclusion itself rests on secondary literature (Lenton via Wikipedia class article) - class status kept at 'no formal assignment' rather than asserting 'Phoebe class.' No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-phoebe-amc57-10