USS Ruff (AMS-54)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships - 'Ruff' entry covering both hulls (live NHHC page 404 on all tested patterns 2026-09-24; verbatim text captured from Wayback capture 20010630094244 of the hazegray.org DANFS mirror yms327.htm, digest unchanged across captures 2001-2016, corroborated by the NavSource transcription) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Ruff' entry - stats line, full second-Ruff chronology, battle-stars closing line

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry 'Ruff' (second Ruff), stats line: '(YMS-327: dp. 320; l. 136'0"; b. 24'6"; dr. 10' cpl. 32; a. 1 3", 2 20mm., 2 .50 cal., 2 dct., 2 dcp.; cl. YMS-135).' Text: 'The second Ruff was laid down as YMS-327 on 2 June 1942 by the Ballard Marine Railway Co., Inc., Seattle, Wash.; launched 5 December 1942; and commissioned 19 April 1943; Lt. Robert S. Marshall, USNR, in command.' Narrative: shakedown off San Diego; Pearl Harbor 30 September 1943; convoy to Eniwetok 14 October, on via Guam to Ulithi arriving 6 November; a year's operations at Ulithi; departed 12 November 1944 for Hollandia and Manus; awaiting Leyte Gulf orders YMS-327 struck a reef bending her port screw and drydocked in AFD-8, sailing 23 December 1944 with Task Unit 77.6.1 for Leyte Gulf; Lingayen Gulf sweeping 6-12 January 1945 under repeated air attack; to Guadalcanal, towed to Manus for repairs, then Ulithi and Okinawa; 24 March - 2 April 1945 sweeping within hailing distance of the invasion beaches, then anti-suicide-boat patrol; on 4 May a 'Val' splashed near Gayety (AM-239) and a 'Baka' suicide rocket attacked - YMS-327 was hit by friendly 40mm fire from Gayety and Hopkins, the port 20mm mount destroyed (three men blown overboard, one killed, one injured), a shell through the bulkhead near the galley injured the cook, and a third passed through the wooden hull and exploded in the main engine room without injury; repairs at Kerama Retto; Kuma Shima invasion sweeps 25-26 June; dan-buoy planting in East China Sea operations that destroyed 263 mines by 15 July 1945; post-surrender sweeping at Wakayama, Osaka Wan, Wakanura-Kii, and Kobe through 10 January 1946; home via Ulithi, Saipan, Guam, Pearl Harbor to San Diego 1 February 1946; Panama Canal to Green Cove Springs; decommissioned 20 August 1946 into the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet; named Ruff and classified AMS-54 1 September 1947; recommissioned 10 March 1951; Atlantic coast operations Salem MA to Key West FL with Havana and Nassau cruises; redesignated MSC(O)-54 7 February 1955; Havana September 1955, Halifax April 1956, Caribbean February 1957; summer 1957 homeport shift to Panama City FL evaluating new minesweeping gear for the U.S. Naval Mine Defense Laboratory; departed for the Pacific 28 October 1957, arrived Seattle 5 December, berthed at the U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at Lake Union, pennant hauled down 13 December 1957 and placed in a decommissioned in-service in-reserve status; placed in service 30 October 1959 as Naval Reserve training ship attached to the 13th Naval District, stationed at the U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center, Everett WA, with a nucleus crew of eight petty officers and one officer-in-charge; underway training Long Beach 1965, San Diego refresher and Ensenada 1966, Vancouver 1967, San Diego refresher 1968; replaced as NRT ship by two MSIs; decommissioned and struck 14 November 1969, 'the last ship of her class to leave the Navy,' subsequently sold. 'Ruff earned six battle stars for World War II service.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1969

   Population

   Ballard Marine Railway construction trades (Seattle WA, 1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 32); AFD-8 drydock and Kerama Retto/Manus repair workforces; Naval Reserve training-era nucleus crew and rotating reserve crews (1957-1969)

   Limitations

   Authoritative identity/history record naming this hull as YMS-327, Ruff, AMS-54, and MSC(O)-54. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC DANFS pages 404 on all tested URL patterns (danfs/r/ruff.html, ruff-i.html, ruff-ii.html, ruff-amc-59.html, ruff-yms-327.html) on 2026-09-24 - the same link-rot pattern as batches 01 and the Verdin/AMS-38 session; no Wayback capture of the modern NHHC URL exists, so the verbatim text is cited via the Wayback capture of the hazegray DANFS mirror (identical digest across 2001-2016 captures) plus NavSource's link to the same entry. The 2001-capture text predates any post-2001 DANFS revision. Its record ends at the 1969 striking and sale; nothing on the buyer or later disposition.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Ruff (MSC[O] 54) ex-AMS 54 ex-YMS-327, navsource.net/archives/11/19327.htm [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource MSC(O)-54 page - chronology block, NVR 1-January-1949 footnote, specifications block, call sign, CO table, photo table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry for Ruff (MSC[O] 54) ex-Ruff (AMS 54) ex-YMS-327: laid down 2 June 1942 by Ballard Marine Railway Co. Inc., Seattle WA; launched 5 December 1942; completed and commissioned USS YMS-327 19 April 1943; decommissioned 20 August 1946 and laid up in Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs Florida Group; footnote - 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for placing in service as a Naval Reserve training ship in the 1st Naval District (Boston) as September 1947'; named Ruff and reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-54 1 September 1947; recommissioned 10 March 1951; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-54 7 February 1955; decommissioned 13 December 1957 and placed in service, in reserve; placed in service as a Reserve training ship 30 October 1959; placed out of service, struck from the Naval Register 14 November 1969 and subsequently sold; 'Ruff was the last ship of her class to leave the Navy'; acquired 1971 by Ernest J. Silva of LaJolla CA for use as a passenger barge and renamed Libra; acquired 1979 by Glenn Couch of Chula Vista CA; out of documentation 1984; 'Fate unknown.' Call sign November-Quebec-Foxtrot-Delta. 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 and two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding-officer table from LT Robert S. Marshall USNR (19 April 1943) through the reserve-training era (to LT Michael Lee Foster USN, Officer-in-Charge, ending 31 December 1967). Photos on file include National Archives photo 80-G-316816 (2 April 1945, Kerama Retto - YMS-327 forward of Indianapolis CA-35, taken from New Mexico BB-40) and NHHC photo NH 84981 (YMS-327, c.1945).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1984

   Population

   Wartime and postwar crew (complement 32); named commanding officers 1943-1967; post-Navy owners 1971-1984

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official record - corroborated against DANFS where they overlap. Its 270 t is the standard-load figure where DANFS prints 320 t full load, its 8-ft draft conflicts with DANFS's 10-ft stats-line figure, and its 15-kt speed exceeds Colton's 13-kt design figure - all flagged in the correction row. Sole source for the call sign, the CO table, the NVR Boston-reserve-trainer footnote, the propulsion detail (GM 8-268A, Snow and Knobstedt gear), and the post-Navy ownership chain (Silva/Libra 1971, Couch 1979, out of documentation 1984) - the latter unverified against any registry. Contains no asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-02

3. [3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton) - 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' table YMS-327 row + program header; 'Ballard Marine Railway' yard table YMS-327 row + yard history paragraph [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm YMS-327 row and program header; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/ballard.htm YMS-327 row and yard history

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), two corroborating tables: (a) 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' program table - row 'YMS | 327 | Ballard Marine Railway | Seattle WA | 136 | 320 | 19-Apr-43 | Reclassified 1947 as Ruff (AMS 54), sold private 1959'; 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) - YMS-327 sits in the single-stack Mk. II group. (b) 'Ballard Marine Railway, Seattle WA' yard table - row 'YMS 327 | US Navy | Minesweeper | 278d | 136 | 19-Apr-43 | Reclassified 1947 as Ruff (AMS 54), sold 1969' - note the internal inconsistency: the yard table says 'sold 1969' while the program table says 'sold private 1959.' Yard history documents Ballard Marine Railway (and the related Ballard Shipbuilding) as a significant small shipyard from the 19th century through WWII, taken over in 1946 by Pacific Fishermen (a collective of Ballard fishermen), still operating at the foot of 24th Avenue NW, Seattle. Sister Ballard hulls include BYMS 25-28 (BYMS 26 later Jacques Cousteau's research ship Calypso) and YMS 326-333 (YMS 328 later John Wayne's Wild Goose).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1943

   Population

   Ballard Marine Railway yard workforce (Seattle WA, 1942-43)

   Limitations

   Compiler's secondary tables - corroborate builder, tonnage class (320 t matching DANFS full-load; 278d in the yard table), delivery/commissioning date 19-Apr-43 matching DANFS, and the Mk. II single-stack design group. The yard-history paragraph is the source for the Ballard -> Pacific Fishermen 1946 ownership chain - context for the builder, not for this hull's materials. The 'sold private 1959' vs 'sold 1969' internal conflict is documented in the correction row; DANFS/NavSource place the strike and sale in November 1969 with delivery to the civilian owner in 1971. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-03

4. [4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS YMS-327, ship 9747; navypedia.org 'YMS motor minesweepers' YMS327 row + class statistics table [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9747.html data table and history lines; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_sc_pcs_yms.htm YMS327 row and class statistics block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uboat.net Allied Warships entry for USS YMS-327 (ship 9747) and navypedia YMS class table corroborate the designation chain and dates: uboat.net - 'Minesweeper of the YMS class', built by Ballard Marine Railway Co. Seattle, ordered 13 April 1942, laid down 2 June 1942, launched 5 December 1942, commissioned 19 April 1943, end service 13 December 1957; history lines 'Decommissioned on 2 August 1946' (conflicts with DANFS's 20 August - flagged), 'Named Ruff and reclassified auxiliary minesweeper AMS-54 on 1 September 1947', 'Recommissioned on 10 March 1951', 'Reclassified coastal minesweeper (old) MSC(O)-54 on 7 February 1955', 'Decommissioned on 13 December 1957', 'Placed in service as reserve training ship on 30 October 1959', 'Placed out of service and stricken on 14 November 1969'. navypedia - row 'YMS327, 9.1947- AMS54, 2.1955- MSC(O)54 | 9.1947- Ruff | Ballard, Seattle | laid 6.1942 | launched 5.12.1942 | comm. 4.1943 | TS 10.1959, stricken 11.1969'; class table prints 270 t standard / 320 t full load - reconciling the NavSource 270 t spec figure against DANFS's 320 t stats line - with complement 60 and 2 diesels / 800 hp / 14 kts at class level.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1969

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilations - corroborate dates, builder, designation chain, and striking. uboat.net's 'ordered 13 Apr 1942' rests on it alone - not carried into record fields. uboat.net's 'Decommissioned on 2 August 1946' conflicts with DANFS/NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum's 20 August; the NavSource CO table ends ENS Herbert R. Gerdink's command on 2 August 1946, the likely source of the 2 August print - flagged in the correction row. navypedia's explicit 270 standard / 320 full split reconciles the tonnage discrepancy rather than adding a third figure; its class-level complement 60 conflicts with the DANFS/NavSource 32. Neither contains asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-04

5. [5]NARA, Special List #44 by ship number (sl-44-ship-number.pdf - YMS block 'YMS-327 | 4/19/1943 | 6/30/1945'); NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list - Ruff (MSCO/AMS-54/YMS-327) panel, catalog series at catalog.archives.gov/id/217225122 [other_primary]

   Locator

   SL-44 ship-number list, YMS block (layout extraction line 5778); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - Ruff (MSCO/AMS-54/YMS-327) panel

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA records locate this hull's deck logs in two series. (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: 'YMS-327 | 4/19/1943 - 6/30/1945' - commissioning through the Ulithi period, the Leyte/Lingayen operations, and the first weeks of the Okinawa campaign. Nothing is indexed under AMS-54, MSC(O)-54, or Ruff - SL-44's 1947 cutoff predates the AMS era. (b) The NARA list of fully digitized Navy deck logs in the National Archives Catalog carries 'Ruff (MSCO/AMS-54/YMS-327)' with digitized monthly logs for 1956 (all), 1957 (all), 1960 (July-December), 1961-1968 (all months), and 1969 (January-October) - the recommission-era final years, the Panama City Mine Defense Laboratory period's end, and essentially the entire Everett Naval Reserve training-ship decade up to the strike month. The YMS-327 wartime run and the 1951-1955 recommission-era logs are not in the digitized set.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1943-1945 and 1956-1969 records

   Population

   Crews of record 1956-1969 (nucleus crew plus rotating Naval Reserve training crews, Everett WA)

   Limitations

   Verifies that hull-level primary records exist and are indexed - the strongest archival facts in this record. The digitized 1956-1969 run is retrievable online today; the 1943-45 wartime run is paper-only at Archives II (not in the digitized-logs list), and the 1951-1955 recommission-era logs appear in neither the digitized list nor SL-44's window - whether they exist unindexed at Archives II is unknown. The logs' contents are unsurveyed (no retrieval performed). Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding; deck logs record operations, not materials.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-05

6. [6]DANFS 'Ruff' stats line + chronology vs NavSource MSC(O)-54 spec block, CO table and NVR footnote vs uboat.net ship/9747 vs navypedia YMS327 row and class table vs Colton ym.htm and ballard.htm rows [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Same citations as ev-01 through ev-04 plus NavalCoverMuseum designation history

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Source discrepancies documented, not reconciled: (a) decommissioned - 20 August 1946 (DANFS text, NavSource header, NavalCoverMuseum) vs 2 August 1946 (uboat.net); the NavSource CO table ends ENS Herbert R. Gerdink's command on 2 August 1946, the likely origin of the 2 August print; DANFS carried. (b) draft - 10' (DANFS stats line) vs 8' (NavSource spec block) vs 2.36 m full load (navypedia class table, ~7.7 ft) - three figures, no reconciliation. (c) displacement - 320 t full load (DANFS stats line, Colton table, navypedia full-load) vs 270 t (NavSource spec block, navypedia standard-load) - a standard-vs-full distinction, not a true conflict, though NavSource prints 270 without the qualifier. (d) speed - 15 kts (NavSource) vs 13-14 kts (Colton program header 13, navypedia 14) - designed vs observed variance. (e) class naming - 'YMS-1 class' (NavSource, all secondaries) vs DANFS stats line 'cl. YMS-135' (the second design group's lead hull) vs Colton Mk. II single-stack group (YMS 135-445) - consistent underlying grouping, different labels. (f) disposal - Colton's ym.htm program table prints 'sold private 1959' while its own ballard.htm yard table prints 'sold 1969'; DANFS/NavSource document struck 14 November 1969 then subsequently sold, with NavSource's post-Navy chain placing civilian acquisition in 1971 - the 1959 figure appears to conflate the October 1959 reserve-trainer in-service event. (g) complement - 32 (DANFS stats, NavSource) vs 60 (navypedia class table) - class-level variance; wartime YMS complements fluctuated with fit. (h) power - NavSource 'two 880bhp GM 8-268A' vs navypedia '2 diesels, 800 hp' - likely aggregate-vs-per-engine print difference; per-hull installation unverified. (i) armament - DANFS '1 3", 2 20mm., 2 .50 cal., 2 dct., 2 dcp.' vs NavSource 'one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts and two depth charge projectors' - DANFS adds two .50-caliber machine guns and two depth-charge tracks. (j) 1947 reserve-trainer plan - the NVR of 1 January 1949 lists a plan (as of September 1947) to place her in service as a Naval Reserve training ship in the 1st Naval District (Boston); she instead remained in reserve until the 1951 recommissioning and did not begin reserve-training duty until 1959 - in the 13th Naval District (Everett WA), not Boston.

   Verification

   disputed

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1942-1969

   Limitations

   Resolves the tonnage conflict (standard vs full load) and partially explains the 2-August print (CO-table end date) but nothing else - documents genuine multi-source conflicts so a future pass does not silently pick one figure. The disposal-year conflict inside Colton is internal to one compiler's two tables. No asbestos content in any of these sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-06

7. [7]DANFS 'Ruff' entry (both hulls, via hazegray mirror Wayback captures amc59.htm 20020111033501 and yms327.htm 20010630094244); NavSource Ruff (AMc 59) page 11/03059.htm; hull-list-verify/master-hull-list.json rows 'USS Ruff | AMC-59', 'USS Ruff | AMS-54', 'USS YMS-327 | YMS-327'; hull-list/master-hull-list.json (no Ruff row) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Ruff' entry first/second-hull paragraphs; NavSource AMc-59 chronology; project index rows

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Name and index collision surface documented: (a) the DANFS 'Ruff' entry itself covers TWO built hulls - 'The first Ruff (AMc-59), originally named Speaker was laid down in 1940 by Martinolich Shipbuilding Co., San Diego Calif.' - an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper that served the 14th Naval District in the Hawaiian Islands through WWII, was placed out of service at San Diego 23 January 1946, struck 7 February 1946, released to the Maritime Commission 29 August 1947, and registered in 1949 as the fishing boat American Belle (NavSource AMc-59 page) - versus 'The second Ruff was laid down as YMS-327...' (this hull). Any undated 'USS Ruff' or 'Ruff' document must be hull-resolved: both were real, commissioned Navy minesweepers with overlapping service (1943-1946). (b) The project master hull index (master-hull-list.json) carries NO row for this hull under any designation - consistent with the batch brief's 'no PRIMARY all-tier designation match' - while the verification index carries the collision row 'USS Ruff | AMC-59 | Coastal Minesweeper | AMc | WWII | tier 2' (the other hull) plus this hull twice as 'USS Ruff | AMS-54' and 'USS YMS-327 | YMS-327' - the documented consolidation target for this record. (c) The designation chain is shorter than sister Verdin's (no PCS precursor) but spans three numbers: YMS-327, AMS-54, MSC(O)-54, plus the civilian name Libra.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-24

   Study period

   1940-1969

   Limitations

   Disambiguation context only - establishes that two built Navy minesweepers carried the name Ruff (AMc-59 in service 1941-1946; this hull's YMS-327 era began 1943, so the names overlapped in commission 1943-1946 though the first Ruff kept the name only until struck in February 1946 - the second received it September 1947), and that project indexes carry the name under three rows spanning two different hulls. Does not evidence anything about either hull's materials.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-07

8. [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); USNI Proceedings January 1948 (Vol. 74/1/539) 'Saga of a YMS' power-plant description; repair-event facts per DANFS (ev-01) and the Fritzius/Hays veteran accounts (shadetreephysics.com/ships/ruff.htm via Wayback) [other_primary]

   Locator

   AJIM 11(3):359-373 article abstract; usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1948/january/saga-yms (live page 403 to automated fetch in prior batches; print volume Vol. 74/1/539 is the retrieval path)

   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. Period marine diesel installations commonly used asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and exhaust-system insulation; aboard a ~270-320-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 a diesel-driven magnetic-sweep generator and auxiliary diesels (per the USNI Proceedings first-person YMS description) - bounds the machinery envelope; no boiler or steam-line insulation exists to consider. This hull's documented damage and repair events - the December 1944 reef strike and AFD-8 floating-drydock availability, the 4 May 1945 shell strikes including one that exploded inside the main engine room followed by Kerama Retto repairs, the tow to Manus for repairs, the 1957-1960 Pacific transit and Lake Union reserve-era refitting, and the October-November 1969 disposal work in which the engines were already removed - 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

   1942-1984

   Population

   Ballard Marine Railway construction trades (Seattle WA, 1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 32); AFD-8, Kerama Retto and Manus repair workforces (1944-45); Lake Union Drydock refit workforce (c.1960); Terminal Island disposal workforce (Oct-Nov 1969); civilian owners/conversion trades (1971-1984)

   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-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 documented repair, battle-damage, refit, and disposal events' material scope is entirely undocumented - the 1969 'engines removed' detail comes from a veteran's personal recollection, not an official record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-ruff-ams54-08

9. [9]Batch-1744 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback hazegray mirror + NavSource transcription; NavSource; Shipbuilding History (ym.htm, ballard.htm); uboat.net; navypedia; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA SL-44 + digitized-log list; CourtListener API v4; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; Wikipedia set-index; master-hull-list.json + hull-list-verify; class-profile worktrees [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-ruff-ams54-01 through sl-uss-ruff-ams54-23

   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 Ruff, YMS-327, AMS-54, MSC(O)-54, or Libra was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener completed coverage this pass: 'USS Ruff' 0 opinions, 0 dockets; 'YMS-327' 0 opinions, 0 dockets; 'MSC(O)-54' and 'MSCO-54' 0 opinions, 0 dockets each; 'AMS-54' produced only name-collision hits (1 opinion, 8 dockets - none naming a vessel); qualified asbestos queries 0.

   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 1942-43-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery fittings even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load, and the hull survived in civilian hands until documentation lapsed in 1984 without any located survey. CourtListener coverage was completed across retries through the fleet-wide pacing budget this pass - all planned queries executed; 'no qualifying litigation' is a real negative within completed coverage, 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-ruff-ams54-09