USS Rhea (AMS-52)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships - 'Rhea II (YMS-299)' entry (NHHC live pages 404 on 2026-09-24 for both danfs/r/rhea.html and danfs/r/rhea-ii.html; verbatim text captured from Wayback capture 20221005123522 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/rhea-ii.html) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Rhea II (YMS-299)' entry - stats line, full chronology, battle-stars closing line

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'Rhea II (YMS-299)', page dated 25 September 2005. Stats line: '(YMS-299: displacement 380 (full load); length 136-; beam 24-6-; draft 10-; speed 13 knots; complement 29; armament 1 40mm., 2 20mm., 2 dct., 2 dcp.; class YMS-135).' Text: 'The second Rhea was laid down as YMS-299 by William F. Stone & Sons Co., Oakland, Calif., 5 June 1942; launched 14 November 1942; and commissioned 7 April 1943, Lt. E. H. Gentry in command.' Narrative: 'a wooden hulled minesweeper' - Hawaiian Sea Frontier ops to December 1943; damaged 20 December 1943 sweeping the approaches to Butaritari (Makin); repairs ordered first to Tarawa, then Funafuti; returned to Makin end of February 1944; Kwajalein April, Majuro May; ASW patrols and escort in the Marshalls through summer; early October 1944 to the Gilberts en route to Pearl Harbor and an overhaul; west again late February 1945, off Okinawa 1 April, element of TU 52.7.2 to July - swept approaches to Hagushi beaches, Kerama Retto anchorage, Buckner Bay; Philippines sweeping and patrol; departed Tacloban September, off Okinawa the 5th; East China Sea / Ryukyus / southern Japan sweeping; Sasebo base November; Pusan, Korea early February 1946; Saipan; San Francisco 15 April 1946; underway 27 May 1946 for the east coast, Naval Reserve training duty 4th Naval District; Philadelphia 24 July, converted to a training ship; placed in service in reserve 6 March 1947; shifted to Camden, N.J. 2 April; 'Named Rhea and reclassified AMS-52, 1 September 1947'; trained 4th Naval District reservists; recommissioned 15 November 1950; extensive overhaul, again equipped as a minesweeper; detached June 1952 to Charleston S.C. homeport; assigned in turn MinDivs 44, 45, 46; southeastern seaboard exercises and Caribbean training; schoolship duties for the Mine Warfare School at Yorktown Va. January 1955; 'Reclassified MSC(O)-52 in February'; schoolship to April 1956, resumed Charleston operations; departed Charleston late October 1957 for New London; arrived the 31st, in reserve 1 November, decommissioned 23 December; Reserve Fleet until struck 1 November 1959; 'sold to the Ships, Engines & Equipment Co. in June 1960.' Closing line: 'YMS-299 earned three battle stars during World War II.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1960

   Population

   William F. Stone & Sons Co. construction trades (Oakland CA, 1942-43); wartime crew (DANFS complement 29); 4th Naval District reservists (1947-50); MineDivs 44/45/46 and Mine Warfare School personnel (1950-57)

   Limitations

   Authoritative identity/history record naming this hull across its Navy designations. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC pages 404 on all tested URL patterns (rhea.html, rhea-ii.html) on 2026-09-24 - the standing NHHC link-rot documented since batch-01; verbatim text cited via the Wayback capture of the NHHC page. DANFS stats-line figures (380 t full load, draft 10 ft, 13 kts, complement 29, 1x40mm armament) diverge from the NavSource spec block on five of six fields - all flagged in the correction row. Its record ends at the June 1960 sale; the Canadian-era afterlife is documented only in secondary compilations.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Rhea (MSC[O] 52) ex-AMS 52 ex-YMS-299, navsource.net/archives/11/19299.htm [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource MSC(O)-52 page - chronology block, specifications block, call sign, CO table, photo table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry for Rhea (MSC[O] 52) ex-Rhea (AMS 52) ex-YMS-299 ('YMS-135 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper' header): 'The second Rhea' laid down 5 June 1942 by William F. Stone and Sons Co., Oakland CA; launched 14 November 1942; commissioned USS YMS-299 7 April 1943; placed in service, in reserve, 6 March 1947 at Philadelphia PA; named Rhea, reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-52, 1 September 1947 and placed in service as a Naval Reserve training ship in the 4th Naval District (Philadelphia); recommissioned 15 November 1950; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-52, 7 February 1955; placed in reserve 1 November 1957 at New London CT; decommissioned 23 December 1957; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959; sold June 1960 to Ships, Engines and Equipment Co.; sold 1960 to the Courageous Sailing Club Inc. of London, Ontario, Canada; sold 1962 to Canadian Navy Cadet group at London, Ontario based at Port Stanley; sold 1983 to Peter Cash, et. al. of Oshawa, Ontario; acquired by Gary Zulauf of Oshawa; sank due to rotted hull 10 October 1997; raised 11 November 1997 and scrapped. Call sign November-Papa-Bravo-November. Spec block: displacement 270 t.; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts.; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding-officer table: LT Edmond Hamilton Gentry USNR (7 April 1943); LTJG O. Sipari USNR (1945); Chief Boatswain William Hendricks Sadler USN (15 Nov 1950 - 21 Oct 1951); LT William Cornell Magee USN (21 Oct 1951 - 19 Nov 1952); LT Carlos Cataneda Villareal USN (19 Nov 1952); LT Thomas Richard Kinnebrew USN (1955 - July 1956; later Vice Admiral); LT James Alvin Sagerholm USN (July 1956 - 1957; USNA '52, later Vice Admiral). Photos on file incl. YMS-299 at the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and MSC(O)-52 at Mine Warfare School Yorktown VA c. August 1955.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1997

   Population

   Wartime and postwar crew (complement 29-32); named commanding officers 1943-1957; Canadian sea cadets and officers (1960-1997)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official record - corroborated against DANFS where they overlap. Sole source for the call sign, the CO table, the MSC(O)-52 reclassification day (7 February 1955 - consistent with the fleet-wide AMS-to-MSC(O) conversion date), and the full post-1960 Canadian owner chain (Courageous Sailing Club -> Port Stanley cadet group -> Cash -> Zulauf -> 1997 sinking and scrapping). Its spec block conflicts with the DANFS stats line on displacement (270 vs 380), draft (8' vs 10'), speed (15 vs 13 kts), complement (32 vs 29), and armament (3"/50 vs 40mm) - all flagged in the correction row. Contains no asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-02

3. [3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton) - 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' table YMS-299 row + program header; 'W. F. Stone & Son' yard table and yard history [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm YMS-299 row and program header; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/stone.htm yard table and yard history paragraph

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), two corroborating tables: (a) 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' program table - row 'YMS | 299 | William F. Stone | Oakland CA | 136 | 320 | 7-Apr-43 | Reclassified 1947 as Rhea (AMS 52), sold 1960, sea cadet training ship in Port Stanley ON, scrapped 1997'; program header documents 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers built at 35 boatyards spring 1942 - spring 1945, one design (136 ft, 13 kt), Mk. I two stacks (YMS 1-135), Mk. II one stack (YMS 135-445), Mk. III no stacks (YMS 446-481) - placing this hull in the single-stack Mk. II group. (b) 'W. F. Stone & Son, Oakland CA' yard table - row for the YMS 299-302 block under Stone, Oakland; yard history documents William I. Stone's 1853 Hunter's Point boatyard, son Frank's moves to Tiburon (1892) and Harbor View San Francisco (1899), the 1911 move to the foot of Diesel Way, Oakland adjacent to Union Diesel Engine Co. (name changed to W. F. Stone & Son when Lester Stone joined), Frank's death 1923, a second wartime eviction across the estuary to Blanding Avenue, Alameda, Lester's 1970 retirement and sale to John Whitset (operating as Stone Boat Yard), 1986 bankruptcy, sale to the Bodles, sale 2000 to David Olson, closed 2004.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1943

   Population

   W. F. Stone & Son yard workforce (Oakland/Alameda CA, 1942-43)

   Limitations

   Compiler's secondary tables - corroborate builder, tonnage class (320 t, matching navypedia's full-load figure), delivery month matching the DANFS commissioning date, the Mk. II one-stack design group, and independently corroborate the Canadian sea-cadet afterlife and 1997 scrapping. The yard history notes a wartime move from Oakland to Blanding Avenue, Alameda (across the estuary) after U.S. entry into WWII - the hull was laid down June 1942, so the actual construction site may have been the Alameda address even though every table prints 'Oakland' - flagged in gaps, not resolved. The yard-history chain is context for the builder, not for this hull's materials. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-03

4. [4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS YMS-299, ship 9719; navypedia.org YMS class table YMS299 row + class statistics block [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9719.html data table and history lines; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_sc_pcs_yms.htm YMS299 row and class statistics block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uboat.net Allied Warships entry for USS YMS-299 (ship 9719) and navypedia YMS class table corroborate the designation chain and dates: uboat.net - 'Minesweeper of the YMS class', built by William F. Stone and Son (Oakland, California), ordered 27 March 1942, laid down 5 June 1942, launched 14 November 1942, commissioned 7 April 1943; history lines 'Stricken on 1 November 1959'; 'Former name' chain implicit in pennant block. uboat.net's postwar account diverges from NavSource: 'purchased in 1965 by the Courageous sailing club of London, Ontario, Canada, from the tax man who had it impounded for unpaid import duties. She was renamed MV Rhea and used to train Royal Canadian Sea Cadets from 1965 till 1985 at which time she was sold to the Oshawa harbour master. She was left to rot until in October 1997 she sunk to the upper deck at her berth in Oshawa. She was cut up and raised at the cost of $100,000. About 10,000 sea, air, and army cadets trained aboard her in the twenty years she sailed on Lake Erie.' navypedia - row 'YMS299, 9.1947- AMS52, 2.1955- MSC(O)52 | 9.1947- Rhea | William F. Stone, Oakland | laid 6.1942 | launched 14.11.1942 | comm. 4.1943 | stricken 11.1959'; class table prints 270 t standard / 320 t full, 2 diesels 800 hp, 14 kts, complement 60, armament 1x76/50 + 2x20/70 + DCT/DCR.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1997

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilations - corroborate dates, builder, designation chain, striking, and (uboat) the Canadian afterlife. uboat.net's 'ordered 27 Mar 1942' rests on it alone - not carried into record fields. uboat's Canadian-era chain conflicts with NavSource's on dates (1965 vs 1960 purchase; cadet training 1965-85 vs cadet-group purchase 1962; 1985 Oshawa sale vs 1983) and adds details NavSource lacks (impoundment for unpaid import duties, 'MV Rhea' styling, ~10,000 cadets over twenty years on Lake Erie, $100,000 raising cost) - the conflict is documented in the correction row, not reconciled. navypedia's explicit 270 standard / 320 full split partially reconciles the tonnage field; its class-table complement 60 and 800 hp conflict with DANFS/NavSource - class-level variance flagged. Neither contains asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-04

5. [5]NARA, Special List #44 by ship number (sl-44-ship-number.pdf - YMS block 'YMS-299 | 4/7/1943 | 5/31/1945'; AMC block 'AMC-58 (Rhea) | 1/1/1942 | 9/30/1945'); NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list, 'Rhea (AMS/MSCO-52/YMS-299)' panel - 1956 and 1957 monthly links [other_primary]

   Locator

   SL-44 ship-number list, YMS block (YMS-299 row) and AMC block (AMC-58 Rhea row); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online 'Rhea (AMS/MSCO-52/YMS-299)' panel - 24 digitized monthly runs 1956-1957

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA deck-log records, two layers located: (a) Special List #44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, by ship number) indexes ONE paper deck-log run for this hull: 'YMS-299 | 4/7/1943 - 5/31/1945' - commissioning through the Okinawa campaign; it ends before the post-surrender Japan/Korea sweeping and the 1946-47 stateside conversion. SL-44 also indexes 'AMC-58 (Rhea) | 1/1/1942 - 9/30/1945' - that is the FIRST Rhea's logs (the purse-seiner coastal minesweeper), a name collision inside the index itself; no AMS-52, MSC(O)-52, or Rhea rows exist for this hull within SL-44's 1947 window. (b) The NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list DOES carry this hull as 'Rhea (AMS/MSCO-52/YMS-299), Commission April 1943 - Decommission March 1947, Recommission November 1950 - Decommission December 1957' with fully digitized monthly logs for ALL of 1956 (12 runs, catalog ids 296943278-296944130) and ALL of 1957 (12 runs, catalog ids 216298096-216298832) - covering the Yorktown schoolship wind-down, Charleston operations, and the October-December 1957 New London inactivation. The WWII YMS-299 run is NOT digitized - paper-only at Archives II.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1943-1945 and 1956-1957 records

   Population

   MSC(O)-52 crew 1956-1957 (log authors); YMS-299 crew 1943-1945

   Limitations

   Verifies that hull-level primary records exist and where: the 1943-45 run is indexed but paper-only (Archives II retrieval required), while the 1956-57 MSC(O)-52-era logs are fully digitized in the National Archives Catalog and retrievable online - neither set's contents were surveyed this pass. The 1947-50 Naval Reserve training era and 1950-55 recommissioned era fall between the two lists' coverage and are unsurveyed. The AMC-58 (Rhea) SL-44 row is the OTHER ship - a live collision inside the same index. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding; deck logs record positions/operations, not materials - though the digitized 1956-57 runs are the best available primary source for this hull's late-service operations.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-05

6. [6]Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., Inc., No. 1:07-cv-04771 (S.D.N.Y.), docket 4331985 - Declaration of Jerome H. Block, doc 17, attachment 20 (Exhibit 12 part 2), filed 2007-08-03; reproduced article 'APRIL 1957' LantFleet year-in-review, page bearing Bates FW-MCKEON-00013505 [court_record]

   Locator

   RECAP document gov.uscourts.nysd.306984.17.20.pdf, page 19 of the scanned attachment (OCR-verified): 'uss Rhea. (MSCO 52) investigated a red flare off Charleston, S. C., and wound up with the distressed private schooner "Charmain" in tow'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Litigation-surface artifact that is documentation, not allegation: in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co., Inc., No. 1:07-cv-04771 (S.D.N.Y., filed 2007-06-05, terminated 2007-10-23; suit nature '368 Asbestos personal injury - Prod. Liab.'), plaintiff declaration Exhibit 12 part 2 (RECAP gov.uscourts.nysd.306984.17.20, 23 pp.) reproduces an April 1957 Navy magazine Atlantic-Fleet 1956 year-in-review article. Its rescue-at-sea section states: 'Three days later uss Rhea. (MSCO 52) investigated a red flare off Charleston, S. C., and wound up with the distressed private schooner "Charmain" in tow' - immediately following a like entry for 'the coastal minesweeper uss Siskin (MSCO 58)' towing the schooner 'Oreda' to Miami in March 1956. The hull's only CourtListener-indexed appearance is this incidental mention inside a reproduced period article filed as a litigation exhibit; the exhibit is a plaintiff's-era-context document, not a claim that the plaintiff served aboard or was exposed aboard this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1956 (event); 2007 (filing)

   Population

   MSC(O)-52 crew, March 1956

   Limitations

   Court-filed reproduction of a Navy periodical - documents this hull's Charleston-area operations in March 1956 (consistent with DANFS's Charleston-homeport period) and establishes that the hull's lone appearance in the asbestos-litigation index is incidental, not an exposure allegation naming the vessel. It is NOT qualifying asbestos litigation against this hull and establishes nothing about materials aboard. The exhibit's litigation context (plaintiff Salvatore Gitto's supporting declaration) is noted so the docket hit is not misread as an asbestos claim against Rhea.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-06

7. [7]DANFS 'Rhea II (YMS-299)' stats line + chronology vs NavSource MSC(O)-52 spec block and chronology vs uboat.net ship/9719 vs navypedia YMS299 row and class table vs Colton ym.htm row [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Same citations as ev-01 through ev-04

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Source discrepancies documented, not reconciled: (a) displacement - 380 t full load (DANFS stats line) vs 320 t (Colton table, navypedia full-load) vs 270 t (NavSource spec block, navypedia standard-load) - a three-way print; the navypedia standard/full split partially reconciles 270/320 but DANFS's 380 matches neither. (b) draft - 10 ft (DANFS) vs 8 ft (NavSource) vs 2.36 m full load (~7 ft 9 in, navypedia). (c) speed - 13 kts (DANFS, Colton program header) vs 15 kts (NavSource) vs 14 kts (navypedia). (d) complement - 29 (DANFS stats) vs 32 (NavSource spec) vs 60 (navypedia class table) - class-level variance; wartime YMS complements fluctuated with fit. (e) armament - DANFS '1 40mm., 2 20mm., 2 dct., 2 dcp.' vs NavSource 'one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors' vs navypedia class '1x76/50 + 2x20/70 + DCT/DCR' - DANFS's 40mm fit likely reflects a late-war/occupation refit while NavSource prints the design fit. (f) power - NavSource 'two 880bhp GM 8-268A' vs navypedia '2 diesels, 800 hp' - likely per-engine vs aggregate print difference; per-hull installation unverified. (g) Canadian-era chain - NavSource: sold June 1960 Ships, Engines & Equipment Co.; sold 1960 Courageous Sailing Club Inc. London ON; sold 1962 Canadian Navy Cadet group London ON based Port Stanley; sold 1983 Peter Cash et al. Oshawa; Gary Zulauf; sank 10 Oct 1997, raised 11 Nov 1997, scrapped. uboat.net: purchased 1965 by Courageous sailing club London ON 'from the tax man who had it impounded for unpaid import duties'; renamed MV Rhea; Royal Canadian Sea Cadets 1965-1985; sold to the Oshawa harbour master; left to rot; October 1997 sunk to the upper deck at her Oshawa berth; cut up and raised at a cost of $100,000; ~10,000 cadets over twenty years on Lake Erie. Colton corroborates 'sea cadet training ship in Port Stanley ON, scrapped 1997.' (h) class styling - 'YMS-135' (DANFS stats, NavSource header) vs 'YMS-1 class, YMS-135 subclass' (Wikipedia) vs Colton Mk. II one-stack (YMS 135-445); 'MSC(O)-52' vs 'MSCO-52' styling variants both appear in sources. (i) MSC(O)-52 reclassification - 'in February' 1955 (DANFS) vs 7 February 1955 (NavSource, consistent with the fleet-wide AMS-to-MSC(O) date).

   Verification

   disputed

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1997

   Limitations

   Documents genuine multi-source conflicts so a future pass does not silently pick one figure. The tonnage split (380/320/270) is only partially resolved (standard vs full load); the Canadian-era owner chains diverge on nearly every date while agreeing on endpoints (1960 sale, 1997 scrapping) - NavSource's fuller chain carried in record fields with the conflict flagged. No asbestos content in any of these sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-07

8. [8]DANFS 'Rhea I (AMc-58)' entry (Wayback capture 20210805042242 of history.navy.mil/.../danfs/r/rhea-i.html); NARA SL-44 AMC-block row; master-hull-list.json (no matching row); hull-list-verify/master-hull-list.json rows 'USS Rhea | AMC-58', 'USS Rhea | AMS-52', 'USS YMS-299' [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS Rhea I entry (stats line + narrative); SL-44 AMC block; ships-worktrees/hull-list/master-hull-list.json and hull-list-verify/master-hull-list.json

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Name and index collision surface documented: (a) the FIRST Rhea (AMc-58) - DANFS 'Rhea I (AMc-58)' entry: a 98-ft-6-in, 340-ton wooden purse-seiner (Hull No. 250, Martinolich Shipbuilding Co.), purchased on the ways 31 December 1940, named Rhea 5 March 1941, placed in service 15 October 1941, fitted with acoustical, magnetic and 'O'-type gear, served the 14th Naval District in Hawaiian waters, out of service 22 January 1946, struck 7 February 1946, released to the Maritime Commission 30 December 1947 and sold to Demiter J. Callian. Rhea I and this hull (YMS-299) were both in U.S. Navy service simultaneously from April 1943 to January 1946 - any unqualified 'USS Rhea' document in that window is ambiguous. (b) NARA SL-44 itself carries the collision: 'AMC-58 (Rhea) | 1/1/1942 - 9/30/1945' indexes the FIRST Rhea's logs under AMC-58 while this hull's logs index under YMS-299. (c) The project master hull index carries NO row for this hull under any designation (consistent with the batch note 'No PRIMARY all-tier designation match among the documented aliases'), while the verification index carries the SAME hull in two rows ('USS Rhea | AMS-52 | Motor Minesweeper | YMS-1' and 'USS YMS-299 | YMS-299') plus a third row 'USS Rhea | AMC-58 | Coastal Minesweeper | YMS-1' that conflates Rhea I's hull number with the YMS-1 class label (Rhea I's DANFS stats line prints 'class Rhea,' not YMS-1) - an index defect, documented here. This record consolidates the AMS-52 and YMS-299 rows for this hull and separates the AMc-58 row as the other ship.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1941-1997

   Limitations

   Disambiguation context only - establishes that 'USS Rhea' is a live two-ship collision for 1943-46 documents (and an index collision even inside SL-44), that the master index has no PRIMARY row for this hull, and that the verification index both duplicates this hull and mislabels the first Rhea's class. Does not evidence anything about the hull's materials.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-08

9. [9]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); USNI Proceedings January 1948 (Vol. 74/1/539) 'Saga of a YMS' power-plant description [other_primary]

   Locator

   AJIM 11(3):359-373 article abstract; usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1948/january/saga-yms (live page 403 to automated fetch; quoted text from indexed page preview - same handling as batch-1727)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era-level inference only: peer-reviewed scholarship 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 wooden-hulled minesweeper was built (laid down June 1942). Period marine diesel installations commonly used asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and exhaust-system insulation; aboard a ~270-380-ton, 136-ft diesel minesweeper the plausible applications, if any, would be confined to such machinery fittings. The class's documented plant - two GM 8-268A main diesels plus auxiliary diesels (per the USNI Proceedings first-person YMS description) - bounds the machinery envelope; no boiler or steam-line insulation exists to consider. The documented yard events - the 1944 Pearl Harbor overhaul, the 1946-47 Philadelphia training-ship conversion, and the 1950-51 post-recommissioning 'extensive overhaul' that re-equipped her as a minesweeper - are maintenance events that would have disturbed whatever was fitted, but nothing documents the materials themselves.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1957

   Population

   W. F. Stone & Son construction trades (Oakland/Alameda CA, 1942-43); wartime crew (DANFS complement 29); Pearl Harbor overhaul workforce (1944-45); Philadelphia conversion and 4th Naval District training workforce (1946-50); post-recommissioning overhaul workforce (1950-51); inactivation workforce New London (1957)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship and a class-level contemporaneous account only - neither names this vessel or documents its materials. Does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. No class- or design-specific material documentation for YMS-1/YMS-135-class minesweepers was located; the diesel/wooden-hull profile limits plausible scope relative to steam-driven vessels (no boiler-room or steam-line envelope). The machinery-fitting applications named are general era practice, not documented aboard this class; the overhaul/conversion events' material scope is entirely undocumented.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-rhea-ams52-09

10. [10]Batch-1742 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback NHHC capture + NavSource transcription; NavSource; Shipbuilding History (ym.htm, stone.htm); uboat.net; navypedia; NARA SL-44 + digitized-log catalog; CourtListener API v4 (all planned queries executed); MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; hazegray; master-hull-list.json + hull-list-verify; class-profile worktrees [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-rhea-ams52-01 through sl-uss-rhea-ams52-19

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed case naming USS Rhea, YMS-299, AMS-52, or MSC(O)-52 as an exposure site was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage this pass (authenticated API v4 via fleet limiter) was COMPLETE for the planned query set: 'USS Rhea' returned zero opinions and zero dockets; 'YMS-299' returned zero opinions and zero dockets; 'AMS-52' returned zero opinions and three docket hits - all classified name collisions (a habeas petition, the Cobell Indian-trust litigation, and a patent case; none vessel-related); 'MSCO-52' returned zero opinions and one docket hit - Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton (S.D.N.Y. 2007, asbestos PI), in which 'MSCO-52' appears only inside a reproduced April 1957 Navy magazine article filed as a plaintiff exhibit - an incidental mention, not an allegation naming the hull (see ev-06); a qualified 'Rhea asbestos' sweep returned only party-name collisions (Rhea as surname; Rhea County) - none vessel-related.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-24

    Study period

    2026-09-24

    Limitations

    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery fittings even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull no longer exists (scrapped 1997 after sinking at her Oshawa berth), so no surveyable structure remains; her 37-year Canadian civilian afterlife is documented only at secondary-compilation level. 'No qualifying litigation' is a real negative within COMPLETED CourtListener coverage this pass - every planned query executed - subject to the standing caveat that RECAP indexing is incomplete for older dockets and that unindexed complaints naming the hull cannot be ruled out. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-rhea-ams52-10