Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 1034-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-159-yms159-pkt-1034-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-159 (11/19159.htm) - milestone timeline, specifications, commanding officers, disposal chain [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19159.htm - header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table; live-verified 2026-10-04
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's individual YMS-159 page documents this hull's complete milestone chain: laid down 15 August 1942 by the Burger Boat Co., Manitowoc, WI; launched 16 January 1943; completed 17 June 1943; commissioned USS YMS-159 on 1 July 1943; decommissioned 22 July 1946; struck from the Naval Register 15 August 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 22 January 1947 and sold to the Oceanic Fisheries Co. of Norfland, WA (as printed); sold in 1953 to Alva Bales of Seattle, WA for use as a freight barge and named Gerry Rae; sold to the Vancouver Tug Boat Co. 3 January 1955 and renamed VT-100; caught fire and sank 22 April 1956 at Bedwell Bay, British Columbia. Specifications: 270 t displacement, 136' length, 24'6" beam, 8' draft, 15 kts, complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880 bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Xray-Tare-Uncle. Commanding officers: LTJG Albert Goodhue, USNR (1 Jul 1943); LTJG Kendall O. Cass, USNR (1944-1945). Page states: 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-159.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Burger Boat construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); WSA disposal/customer and commercial crews (1947-56)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official records and are corroborated here by the shipbuildinghistory builder table and NARA SL44 log-coverage start, but no commissioning directive or disposal instrument was viewed. Printed sinking coordinates transpose the axes ('49 19.3 W., 122 54.49 N.') and place Bedwell Bay on 'Vancouver Island' - Bedwell Bay is in Indian Arm, mainland BC; transcribed as printed. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-01
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units - by Ship Numbers [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF page 115, YMS-159 entry: 7/1/1943-6/30/1945 (verified via pdftotext extraction, 2026-10-04)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives Special List 44, an index of U.S. Navy deck logs by ship number, lists YMS-159 with logbook coverage from 1 July 1943 through 30 June 1945 - a start date coincident with the commissioning date recorded by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-07-01 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Crew aboard during logged period
- Limitations
- This is an archival coverage index, not the underlying deck logs or a commissioning/decommissioning order. The dates do not establish asbestos presence, products, quantity, condition, individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility. The logs themselves are paper holdings at NARA - not digitized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), Burger Boat yard production table, Manitowoc WI [other_primary]
- Locator
- Burger Boat table, YMS 159 row; yard-history header paragraph; live-verified 2026-10-04
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The shipbuildinghistory.com Burger Boat production table independently corroborates this hull: row 'YMS 159' - US Navy, minesweeper, 278d tons, 136 ft, dated 17-Jun-43 (matching NavSource's completion date), disposition 'Sold 1947, later barge VT-100, sunk in Bedwell Bay 1956.' The yard history documents Burger Boat of Manitowoc, WI - a yacht-yard builder founded 1863 - as one of the small yards producing wooden minesweepers for the Navy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Burger Boat construction trades (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Compiled shipbuilding table - secondary reference corroborating builder identity, completion date, and commercial-fate chain. Displacement figure (278d) differs from NavSource's 270 t and the YMS class index's 320 t - spec variant carried in gaps. No asbestos content; no construction-material detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-03
-
[5]Drew, Ralph, 'Diver Solves Mystery Wreck of Bedwell Bay' and 'Bedwell Bay Shipwrecks' (ralphdrew.ca, local-history articles citing a Vancouver newspaper clipping and the Canadian vessel register); shipindex.org citation record for V.T. No. 100 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Drew articles (ralphdrew.ca PDFs, retrieved 2026-10-04); shipindex.org/ships/v_t_no_100 identity chain
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Local-history documentation of the 1956 loss and the present-day wreck: on 22 April 1956 the VT-100 (ex-YMS-159), then stripped of superstructure and engines for woodchip-barge service, was moored alongside other hulks at Bedwell Bay when vandals boarded and set her afire; firefighting tugs concentrated on saving the adjacent former passenger liner Victoria, and the VT-100 burned to the waterline and sank in about 15 metres (50 ft) of water; her Canadian register was closed about a week later. The article reports she had been registered in Vancouver as barge 'V.T. No. 100' as an undocumented foreign vessel, technically owned by Vancouver Tug director Harold Jones. The stripped wreck remains on the bottom of Bedwell Bay and was documented as a dive site by the Shipwreck Exploration Team / Underwater Archaeological Society of BC in 2011. shipindex.org's citation record independently chains the identity: YMS-159 (1943) - Gerry Rae (1953) - V.T. No. 100 (1955), Canadian ON 198108.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947-2011
- Population
- Postwar commercial owners/handlers (1947-56); dive-site wreck (1956-present)
- Limitations
- Self-published local-history work citing primary materials (vessel register, contemporaneous newspaper) rather than the underlying official records themselves; the sinking date and identity chain are corroborated by NavSource and shipbuildinghistory. The stripped-and-engined-out condition before sinking means the machinery-era material complement aboard the wreck is limited. No asbestos content in the source. A second marina-site page (vimarina.ca) paraphrases this account but carries conflicting figures (245 t, 22.9' beam, 800 bhp) and was not used as a source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-04
-
[6]NavSource Online, Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) class index page - class history and characteristics [other_primary]
- Locator
- YMS class history paragraphs (wood hull, 561 hulls/481 USN + 80 BYMS, 35 yacht yards incl. four Great Lakes, stack-count variation, 1947/1955/1967 reclassifications); class spec block (136' LOA, 320 t, 24'6" beam, 33 complement, 12 kt designed, GM 8-268A x2, 880 shp). Live-verified.
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class-level configuration bearing on asbestos assessment: the YMS-1 class were wood-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers - 'the first wooden minesweeper of this class' per NavSource's class history - built at 35 yacht yards rather than larger shipyards (481 hulls for the US Navy plus 80 BYMS hulls for Lend-Lease transfer); all ships of the type shared the same general characteristics, with YMS-135 through YMS-445, 480, and 481 (this hull among them) built with a single stack. Diesel propulsion meant no boiler or steam-line insulation aboard; era-standard asbestos-relevant applications for the type were confined to diesel engine and exhaust insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and friction materials (winch/windlass brake linings).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1945 era
- Population
- Construction trades at 35 small yacht yards (incl. Burger Boat, Manitowoc, 1942-43); engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation - establishes the platform type (wooden hull, diesel plant, yacht-yard construction) and the era-typical application set; it does not name YMS-159 and does not itself state that asbestos products were installed on this hull. Asbestos presence aboard is era inference, not ship-proven; quantity, location, and present-day presence unknown - and most machinery material would have been removed with the engines before the 1956 sinking.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-05
-
[7]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 World War II - the era and program under which this 1942-43 wooden minesweeper was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- 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, does not address wooden-hulled small craft specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-06
-
[8]Batch-8828 search ledger (this record): NARA SL44; NavSource 11/19159 + YMS class index; shipbuildinghistory Burger table; NHHC DANFS (no entry); NVR (pre-1987 disposal not covered); NARA digitized-log index (absent); UWDC/Wisconsin Maritime digital (no YMS-159 items); local-history wreck documentation; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-159-yms159-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material list, or work package naming YMS-159 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No asbestos litigation row is made: the prescribed CourtListener sweep could not complete - the authenticated helper's fleet-wide pacing limiter reported the request budget momentarily spent on repeated attempts this session. Logged as blocked, not a negative result. The hull's fate (burned to waterline, sunk 1956 as a stripped barge) means any post-service survey would be a wreck note at most; none was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 wooden minesweeper is era-consistent with limited asbestos-containing components (gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, friction materials). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility. Litigation search incomplete (blocked) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-07
-
[9]NARA guidance: Special List 44 entry (logs held); NARA deck-log digitization index (YMS-159 absent); RG 19/RG 181 record-group structure [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 p.115 (YMS-159 entry); digitized index checked for YMS-159 - absent (ex-YMS-136 present only as Egret/MSCO-46); https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved): (a) the YMS-159 deck logs in NARA custody (SL44 coverage 1 Jul 1943 - 30 Jun 1945) hold the wartime operational record - ports, yard availabilities, and any recorded material work - but exist only on paper and are absent from the NARA digitized deck-log index; (b) NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) or RG 181 (naval district/yard records) may hold the hull's construction records or Booklet of General Plans - no box-level retrieval performed; (c) the War Shipping Administration 1947 disposal file and the Canadian vessel register entry (ON 198108, closed ~29 April 1956 per local history) are the official record of the postwar chain and loss.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956 records
- Limitations
- Record-group and holding-level mapping only - no box-level retrieval; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-159-yms159-08