Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "Swallow III (YMS-461)" [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, final-disposition paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Reclassified MSC(O)-36 on 7 February 1955. Decommissioned and loaned to Japan on 16 April 1955, entering Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force service as JDS Yugeshima (MSC-660), later reclassified YAS-41. Returned to U.S. custody and struck from the Naval Vessel Register, both 1 May 1968. Sold for scrapping 5 September 1969 to Kitajima Choke Co., Sasebo, Japan.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1955-1969
- Limitations
- Same history.navy.mil access limitation as ev-01/ev-02 (503 on direct fetch; reconstructed via search snippet extraction, cross-checked against Wikipedia's verbatim DANFS mirror, which explicitly states it incorporates the public-domain DANFS text). Establishes disposition dates only; no asbestos, hazmat, or abatement information for the 1955-1969 JMSDF loan period or the scrapping itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-05
-
[2]National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives Catalog, Record Group 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations) war-diary file units for USS YMS-461, NAID 77556690 (War Diary, 9/1-30/45), NAID 77514321 (War Diary, 6/1/45-8/31/45), NAID 83567837 (Rep of opers, Yokosuka occupation and Tokyo Bay minesweeping, 8/19/45-9/2/45) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog API v2 (proxy/records/search endpoint), NAIDs as listed
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA holdings (Record Group 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations) include USS YMS-461 war diaries for June-September 1945 and a report titled "USS YMS-461 - Rep of opers in support of the occupation of the Yokosuka Naval Base & minesweeping opers in Yokohama & Tokyo Harbors, Honshu, Japan, 8/19/45-9/2/45," confirming the vessel's role in minesweeping operations supporting the initial occupation of Japan.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Confirms wartime operational history and dates only; these are war-diary/operations-report records, not deck logs proper, and are not asbestos or hazmat records. Retrieved via NARA's public Catalog API rather than a rendered catalog.archives.gov page (the standard web UI did not return usable content via automated fetch in this session); record metadata (title, NAID, record group, access status) was read directly from the API response.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-03
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives Catalog, Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), NAID 99922836 ("Activity Number 0204 0036 - SWALLOW (YMS-461/AMS-36/MSCO-36) - 1952") and NAID 193180377 ("YMS-461") [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog API v2 (proxy/records/search endpoint), NAIDs 99922836 and 193180377
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA holdings (Record Group 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel) include a 1952 deck-log file unit titled "Activity Number 0204 0036 - SWALLOW (YMS-461 / AMS-36 / MSCO-36) - 1952," filed under the combined identity that ties the YMS-461, AMS-36, and MSC(O)-36 designations to this single hull, and confirming continuous in-service Navy status through the Korean War period. A separate RG 24 file unit is titled simply "YMS-461" (digitized in part via an Ancestry/NARA partnership).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1952
- Limitations
- Establishes identity continuity across designations (YMS-461/AMS-36/MSC(O)-36) and in-service status in 1952 only; not itself an asbestos or hazmat record. Item-level scope/content notes beyond the catalog title were not further transcribed in this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-04
-
[4]Rushworth, Denis H., "The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation," Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article abstract/summary (full text behind Wiley paywall; onlinelibrary.wiley.com blocked by this environment's network egress policy - abstract and Bureau of Ships correspondence dates confirmed via independent search-result excerpts and secondary indexing, not a direct read of the full article)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed history of U.S. Navy shipboard asbestos thermal-insulation policy documents that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively fleet-wide during and after WWII, citing Bureau of Ships correspondence from October 1942 and April 1943 - a period contemporaneous with this hull's June 1943 keel-laying.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1943 correspondence discussed; article published 2005
- Population
- U.S. Navy fleet-wide, WWII era
- Limitations
- Navy-wide policy history, not specific to the YMS-1 class or this hull; does not name this vessel, its builder, or its class. Does not establish that asbestos-containing insulation was installed aboard this specific wood-hulled, diesel-powered minesweeper (as opposed to steel/steam vessels, which the Bureau of Ships correspondence primarily concerns), nor quantity, location, or present-day presence. Full-text of the article was not obtained in this session (paywalled, and the host domain is blocked by network egress policy); citation verified via DOI resolution path and independent secondary summaries, not a full-text read.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-06
-
[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Starr, Jennifer, "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, AJIM 11(3):359-373, PMID 3555021
- 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 same wartime program and asbestos-supply environment under which this YMS-1-class hull was built (keel laid June 1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- 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 (predominantly discussing large steel/steam construction at major yards); does not name this vessel, the YMS-1 class, or Stadium Yacht Basin, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull. This vessel's wood hull and diesel propulsion are a materially different construction profile from the steel/steam vessels most closely associated with heavy insulation asbestos use.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-07
-
[6]Batch-1725 search record (this record): NHHC DANFS; NARA National Archives Catalog API (RG 24, RG 38); CourtListener API v4 (opinions and RECAP); web search across authoritative-source domains. NavSource (navsource.org/.net) and ibiblio.org/HyperWar were blocked by this environment's network egress policy and could not be searched. [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-swallow-ams36-01 through sl-uss-swallow-ams36-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, NIOSH/OSHA record, or class-specific (YMS-1) construction/insulation document naming this hull was found in the sources searched this session (see search ledger).
- 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 or its remediation - it establishes only that no such record was found in the sources reachable this session, two of which (NavSource, ibiblio) could not be reached at all due to network policy. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-08
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 searches (session-authenticated), query_ids 403b9e30, e02df5f8, 335bde12, 1002c3db, 581ee9bf, bdbce2b9, c28d7132, 87a2947f, 9a0d1e0f [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results, listed query_ids
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this vessel, YMS-461, or AMS-36 was found on CourtListener (API v4; opinions and RECAP collections). Searches on "USS Swallow"+asbestos, "YMS-461" (with and without asbestos), and "AMS-36" (opinions) returned zero results. A RECAP full-text search on "AMS-36" alone returned 15 dockets, none asbestos-related and none referencing this vessel (apparent incidental string matches in unrelated civil/bankruptcy filings). A case_name="Swallow"+asbestos RECAP search returned 4 dockets (Swallow v. Davol, Inc., D.R.I. 2007; Swallow v. Anchor Packing Co., E.D. Mo. 1992; Swallow v. Eagle-Picher Industries, E.D. Pa. 1989; Swallow v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc., E.D. Pa. 2009) - all four name a plaintiff surnamed Swallow suing asbestos-product manufacturers; none reference a Navy vessel. A broader case_name="Swallow" docket search (535 total matters, all case types - Social Security appeals, bankruptcies, a federal petty-offense matter, etc.) confirms "Swallow" is a common litigant surname unrelated to this ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Classifies every hit found under the ship's designations as either no-result or name collision (plaintiffs surnamed Swallow); none is a pleading, discovery record, trial finding, or judgment naming this vessel. Absence of a CourtListener hit does not establish absence of litigation - CourtListener's RECAP coverage of federal dockets is incomplete for older/unfiled-electronically matters, and this search does not cover state courts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-09
-
[8]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "Swallow III (YMS-461)" [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, construction/commissioning paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Swallow III (YMS-461): laid down 8 June 1943 by Stadium Yacht Basin, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, as PCS-1416; redesignated YMS-461 on 27 September 1943; launched 8 January 1944; commissioned 22 June 1944. This is the third U.S. Navy vessel named Swallow (distinct from Swallow I, AM-4, and Swallow II, AM-65 - unrelated hulls, not covered by this record).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Limitations
- Direct fetch of history.navy.mil returned HTTP 503 on every attempt this session; content reconstructed via search-engine snippet extraction of the DANFS page and cross-checked against Wikipedia's verbatim mirror of the same public-domain DANFS text (Wikipedia not used as an independent citation). Establishes construction/commissioning identity only; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-01
-
[9]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "Swallow III (YMS-461)" [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, WWII Atlantic-service and postwar Far East/Korea paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- YMS-461 patrolled the U.S. East Coast under Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, from September 1944 (shakedown out of Norfolk, VA) against enemy submarines and escorting coastal convoys until mid-March 1945, then transferred to the Pacific. Renamed Swallow and redesignated AMS-36 on 18 February 1947; served the following years based at Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, including participation in the Korean War (1950-1953).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Limitations
- Same access limitation as ev-01 (history.navy.mil 503; reconstructed via snippet extraction, cross-checked against Wikipedia's DANFS mirror). Establishes service history and dates only; contains no asbestos information and does not establish shipboard conditions during Korean War service.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-swallow-ams36-02