Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, 'Prime (AM-279)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (print-era text; live NHHC page returns 404 for this hull - verbatim transcription verified via hazegray.org DANFS mirror, Wayback capture 20241207072356) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am279.htm via Wayback 20241207072356 - full narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry documents the hull's full U.S. service history: 'The first Prime (AM-279) was laid down 15 September 1943 by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala., launched 22 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. L. W. Thompson, and commissioned 12 September 1944, Lt. Edward P. O'Callahan Jr., USNR, in command. Following shakedown off the east coast, Prime reported to Service Force Atlantic Norfolk, Va., 1 December 1944. After duty off Bermuda and the east coast, she arrived at the Panama Canal Zone, and reported for duty to the Pacific Fleet 12 July 1945. In September, while at Okinawa, she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. Following a change of assignment from the 19th to the 16th Fleet, she was marked expendable in March 1946. Demilitarized, she steamed to Shanghai, China. Decommissioned and sold to China 29 May 1946, Prime was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 19 July 1946.' (Transcriber's note: 'She was known as Yung Feng in Chinese service.') Spec block: dp. 945 (f.); l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 6 20mm., 2 dct., 2 dep., 1 dcp. (hh.); cl. Admirable. No battle stars are listed in the entry - the ship reached the Pacific 12 July 1945 and was at Okinawa in reserve assignment by September.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction workforce (1943-44); wartime complement ~104 across Atlantic and Pacific service
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, milestones, and operations; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content. The entry ends U.S. coverage at the 19 July 1946 register strike; Chinese-service detail (Yung Feng name, MMC-50 pendant, 1973 ROC strike) comes from NavSource and the DANFS transcriber's note, not the DANFS text proper. Live NHHC URL for this hull returns 404; citation is the archived verbatim mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-prime-am279-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Prime (AM 279) page (live navsource.org unreachable 2026-09-22; verified via Wayback capture 20241207071510) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/11/02279.htm via Wayback 20241207071510 - spec block, CO table, photo captions (U.S. Navy photos 10748(45), 10750(45), dated 16 June 1945, Norfolk Navy Yard), yard note, photo credits (catalog.archives.gov)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive page for Prime (AM 279) supplies the ship-specific machinery and outfitting spec block and post-USN disposition detail: two 855-shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one Hedgehog projector, four K-guns, two depth-charge tracks; speed 14.8 kts; call sign Nan-Peter-Zebra-Xray; decommissioned 29 May 1946 and sold to China at Shanghai as Yung Feng (MMC 50); 'Decommissioned and struck from the Navy Register 1 May 1973' (the ROC naval-list action for Yung Feng); fate unknown. Commanding-officer table: LT Edward Patrick O'Callahan Jr., USNR (12 Sep 1944 - 25 Apr 1945); LT William Edward Sheppard, USNR (25 Apr - 29 Jun 1945); LT Rudolph Zemker Smith, USNR (29 Jun - 27 Dec 1945); LT David William Shand Jr., USNR (27 Dec 1945); LTJG Warren Edward Taylor, USNR (24 Feb 1946); LTJG Wilbur Paul Gulley, USNR (19 Apr - 29 May 1946). U.S. Navy photos 10748(45) and 10750(45) date the ship at Norfolk Navy Yard 16 June 1945 (starboard broadside and stern views) - documented yard presence between Atlantic duty and Pacific deployment. Yard-history note: Chickasaw Shipbuilding established by U.S. Steel Aug 1917, closed after WWI, reopened 1940 by Waterman Steamship Corp. as Gulf Shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Crew (104 complement); ROC Navy crews 1946-1973
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival photo/data site - secondary to DANFS but internally consistent with it on dates and agrees on machinery specifics DANFS omits. Its 'struck from the Navy Register 1 May 1973' line describes the ROC naval-list action for Yung Feng, not a second U.S. striking (the U.S. strike was 1946-07-19 per DANFS); read accordingly. The Norfolk Navy Yard photo date documents presence, not a work scope. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-prime-am279-02
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[3]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Asbestos: Information on the Navy's Program to Remove Asbestos-Containing Materials From Its Ships' (program-level documentation that Navy ships built before the early 1970s contain asbestos; gao.gov product-page description - full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) + DANFS spec block (build dates, class) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (description text); DANFS spec block via Wayback capture above
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: AM-279 was built and outfitted Sep 1943-Sep 1944 at Gulf Shipbuilding under wartime Navy contracts, squarely inside the period when asbestos-containing materials were standard in naval vessel construction - machinery gaskets and packing, exhaust and hot-surface insulation, electrical insulation, and interior fireproofing, joiner, and deck materials - and every insulation installation on this hull predates the Navy's early-1970s substitution of alternative insulation materials (GAO HRD-80-2 program-level finding). Her Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 geared-diesel plant carries no boiler or steam-line lagging of the kind dominating steam-ship asbestos inventories; era-consistent applications on a diesel minesweeper would be engine exhaust/muffler lagging, fuel- and cooling-system valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, cable insulation, compartment insulation, and deck coverings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-46); ROC Navy crews (1946-1973); unknown 1973 disposition workforce
- Limitations
- Program-level and class-era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or yard work package was located. The GAO finding establishes Navy-wide era practice, not this hull's inventory; the diesel plant materially narrows (does not eliminate) the plausible application set versus steam vessels. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-prime-am279-03
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[4]Naval Historical Center / NHHC Online Library, 'Spring Styles Book #3 (1939-1944), Lot S-511 - Escort Vessel and Mine Vessel Preliminary Design Drawings' (S-511-34, 'Proposed Mine Sweeper - Design Study,' dated 2 May 1941) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/albums/s511-mp.htm - album commentary and drawing list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library's 'Spring Styles' Book #3 (1939-1944) album (Bureau of Ships preliminary design drawings, Lot S-511) documents the Admirable-class design lineage: a May 2, 1941 design study for a 750-ton, 180-foot minesweeper 'probably prepared during consideration of what became the Admirable (AM-136) class.' The class design was a mass-production simplification of the preceding Auk type, and AM-279 was one of the Gulf Shipbuilding-built units.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (design/production era)
- Limitations
- Documents the class's Navy design origin only; the album contains no materials or insulation schedules and names no individual hull. Provides design context, not ship-specific material evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-prime-am279-04
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[5]Batch-1252 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource vessel pages; NHHC/NPS designation checks; CourtListener sweep (throttled - see ledger); indexed-web litigation substitute; NVR check; NARA catalog lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-prime-am279-01 through sl-uss-prime-am279-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull insulation survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court filing, or material schedule naming AM-279 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's 1946 foreign sale places it outside NDRF/MARAD custody records and outside U.S. disposal-era survey regimes; ROC Navy records are not indexed in U.S. public sources.
- 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 - era-consistent construction makes ACM likely at class level, and the undocumented ROC refit/disposition phases close no questions. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, and establishes or defeats no claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation sweep is incomplete (CourtListener throttled); the negative finding excludes the unrun docket sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-prime-am279-05