Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 1035-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-164-yms164-pkt-1035-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bobolink II (YMS-164) - construction, sponsor, commissioning, WWII Mediterranean service, naming/AMS-2, reserve training, 1950-1957 service, MHC-44 conversion, disposal, battle star (live NHHC page; Raymond A. Mann, 30 January 2006) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Bobolink II (YMS-164)' service narrative and spec block; entry by Raymond A. Mann, 30 Jan 2006; page published 25 Jun 2015
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 24 April 1942 at Benton Harbor, Mich., by the Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding Corp.; launched 28 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Anna Arny; commissioned 14 April 1943, Lt. (jg.) Robert W. Cumming, USNR, in command. First 15 months on the U.S. east coast; crossed the Atlantic July 1944 for the invasion of southern France, sweeping mines off that coast from the first assaults of 15 August until 21 September (replenishment at Corsica); then minesweeping at Palermo, Sicily, and various Mediterranean locations through the end of hostilities in Europe. Returned to New York 4 July 1945; on duty at Pearl Harbor at war's end; decommissioned at San Diego 7 June 1946. Named Bobolink and redesignated AMS-2 on 17 February 1947; naval-reserve training ship, 12th Naval District, November 1948-May 1950. Recommissioned San Diego 9 May 1950; Pearl Harbor, Pacific Fleet Mine Force, to July 1953; San Diego five months; January 1954 via Panama Canal to Charleston SC (MinDiv 43); March 1954 to Mine Countermeasures Station, Panama City FL, for a year; February 1955 returned to Charleston for conversion to coastal mine hunter; redesignated MHC-44 7 February 1955; conversion about seven months; refresher training Norfolk October-December; reported to Commandant 1st Naval District, operating out of Boston two years; decommissioned at Green Cove Springs FL 2 December 1957, berthed Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the Navy list 1 January 1960. 'Bobolink earned one battle star for service in World War II as YMS 164.' Spec block: dp. 320; l. 136'; b. 24'6"; dr. 6'1"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 33; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.; cl. YMS-1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Population
- Dachel-Carter construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46, 1950-57); naval reservists (1948-50)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not give the builder-yard hull number, completion date, conversion-yard name, or post-strike disposition - those come from other rows. Decommissioning (7 June vs NavSource's 7 July 1946) and AMS-2 naming (17 vs NavSource's 18 February 1947) carry one-day/date variants - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Bobolink (MHC 44) ex-AMS-2 ex-YMS-164 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, commercial disposition chain (live page, verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19164.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 24 April 1942 by Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding Corp., Benton Harbor MI; launched 28 November 1942; completed 27 March 1943; commissioned USS YMS-164 14 April 1943 and assigned to the European Theater of operations; decommissioned 7 July 1946; named Bobolink and reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-2 18 February 1947; Naval Reserve training vessel at San Francisco from November 1948; reclassified Coastal Minehunter MHC-44 7 February 1955; conversion to MHC-44 ran 1 March-30 September 1955 at Charleston Naval Shipyard; struck from the Naval Register 1 January 1960; sold 1961 to the Borden Co. of Cape May NJ as fishing boat Gail Borden; sold 1969 to Operations Oceanographic, Inc. of Newton MA, renamed Force Five; sold 1973 to J. F. White Contracting Co. of Newtonville MA; sold 1975 to Arctic Marine Enterprises, Inc. of Scituate MA as oil-exploration vessel Arctic Fox; burned 28 February 1975 at Hingham Shipyard, Hingham MA; fate unknown. Specifications: 270 t, 136' length, 24'6" beam, 8' draft, 15 kts, complement 32; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; two 880 bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts; call sign November-Xray-Zulu-Victor. Commanding officers listed: LTJG Robert W. Cumming Jr. USNR (14 Apr 1943), LTJG George E. McGurn USNR (1944), LT James Calder Linville USN (9 May 1950-10 Dec 1951), LT Joe Morris Landtroop USN (10 Dec 1951-Nov 1952), LTJG H. N. Burns USN (Nov 1953), LT Clarence Earl Chinn USN (Jun 1956-2 Dec 1957), LT Forrest Ronald Johns USN (1959).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1975
- Population
- Dachel-Carter construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46, 1950-57); Charleston Naval Shipyard trades (Mar-Sep 1955 conversion); commercial crews 1961-75
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but conflict with DANFS on three points (decommission 7 Jul vs 7 Jun 1946; naming 18 vs 17 Feb 1947; sale 1961 vs shipbuildinghistory's 1960) and its spec block differs from the DANFS spec block (270t/8'/15kt/32 vs 320t/6'1"/12kt/33) - variants in gaps. The 1959 CO entry postdates her 1957 decommissioning and is unexplained. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-02
-
[4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units - Ships by Signal Number Designation (official NARA finding aid PDF, 137 pp., verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 115, YMS-164 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 lists deck-log coverage for YMS-164 of 14 April 1943 - 30 June 1945 (PDF page 115, 'YMS-164 - 4/14/1943 - 6/30/1945'). The begin date coincides with the commissioning date (14 April 1943, per DANFS/NavSource); the coverage window brackets her entire WWII commissioned service. These are log-coverage dates, not service dates, and the underlying paper logbooks are the record - the finding aid itself contains no detail.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-04-14 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- YMS-164 crew (complement ~33)
- Limitations
- Finding aid inspected, not the underlying logs. Coverage dates are not commissioning/decommissioning dates. No asbestos documentation follows from a log listing. Deck-log file units for YMS-164 do not appear among the digitized Logbooks-series hits in the NARA catalog - paper holdings at Archives II, College Park.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-03
-
[5]NARA catalog file units titled for this hull (all digitized): muster rolls 'YMS-164, 4/14/43-6/7/46' (NAID 193047437, RG 24 Muster Rolls, Roll 9014, 234 images); 'Activity Number 0204 0002 - BOBOLINK (YMS-164 / AMS-2 / MHC-44) - 1952' (NAID 99920478, post-1949 Navy muster rolls, 79 images); sixteen USS YMS-164 war diaries, RG 38 - 5/8-31/43 (134246358), 6/1-30/43 (134300635), 8/1-31/44 (78623480), 9/1-30/44 (134375320), 10/1-31/44 (78667913), 11/1-30/44 (78696068), 12/1-31/44 (139788614), 1/1-31/45 (139842735), 2/1-28/45 (139905879), 3/1-31/45 (139950720), 4/1-30/45 (139979497), 5/1-31/45 (140014344), 6/1-30/45 (101709784), 7/1-31/45 (83537048), 8/1-31/45 (77556625), 9/1/45-10/31/45 (77546027); and the ship-level action report 'USS YMS-164 - Rep of Minesweeping Ops off the Coast of Southern France, 9/15-20/44' (NAID 78641455, 12 images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file units 193047437, 99920478, 78641455, 134246358, 134300635, 78623480, 134375320, 78667913, 78696068, 139788614, 139842735, 139905879, 139950720, 139979497, 140014344, 101709784, 83537048, 77556625, 77546027
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds and has digitized an unusually complete primary record set for this hull: muster rolls running from commissioning (14 April 1943) to first decommissioning (7 June 1946), a post-1949 muster-roll file for the recommissioned AMS-2 era (1952), monthly ship war diaries covering May-June 1943 and contiguously August 1944 through October 1945 (the Mediterranean minesweeping period and postwar return/Pearl Harbor transit), and a dedicated 12-page action report of her minesweeping operations off southern France 15-20 September 1944 - the Operation Dragoon follow-on sweeping DANFS describes. The muster-roll end date 6/7/46 independently corroborates DANFS's 7 June 1946 decommissioning over NavSource's 7 July 1946 variant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1946; 1952
- Population
- YMS-164/AMS-2/MHC-44 crew (complement ~33) across 1943-1946 and 1952
- Limitations
- Records exist and are digitized but page-level review was not performed in this session - operational detail and any aboard-ship work-practice content are asserted only as leads. No war-diary file units titled for YMS-164 were located for the July 1943 - July 1944 gap (east-coast/Atlantic-crossing period); she may appear inside parent-unit diaries for that span (COMEASTSEAFRON, COM 6) as OCR hits. No digitized deck-log file unit titled for YMS-164 located in the Logbooks series. None of these records is known to contain asbestos documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-04
-
[6]NavSource Online, Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) Index - class construction and characteristics (live page, verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative and characteristics block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class documentation for the type: the YMS-1 class were WOODEN-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers - 'the first wooden minesweeper of this class' (YMS-1, built by Henry B. Nevins Inc., City Island NY, keel laid 4 March 1941) - 561 built 1942-45 at 35 yacht yards (12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, four Great Lakes). Subclass variation: YMS-1 through 134 had two stacks, YMS-135 through 445/480/481 had one (this hull, YMS-164, is the one-stack subclass), YMS-446 through 479 none. Class characteristics per the index: 136' LOA, 24'6" beam, 320 tons, 6'1" max draft, complement 33, designed speed 12 kts, GM 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts (880 designed shp). Surviving YMS's were reclassified AMS in 1947 and given names; in 1955 they received the new type symbol MSC(O) for those retained as minesweepers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1969 (type service window)
- Population
- YMS-class construction trades at 35 yards (1942-45); class crews
- Limitations
- Class-level description, not a hull record - establishes construction material (wooden hull), machinery type, and the class-wide 1947 AMS renaming/redesignation program, not anything installed aboard YMS-164 specifically. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-05
-
[7]Shipbuilding History (Colton), Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding, Benton Harbor MI - yard history and hull table (live page, verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Dachel-Carter yard narrative and hull table row for YMS 164 (O.N. 286385)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder documentation for this hull: Dachel-Carter was founded 1915 by Peter Dachel and A. B. Carter (former Truscott Boatbuilding employees) on the Benton Harbor Ship Canal; grew to over 600 employees during WWII; folded after the war; the site later became a Whirlpool machining plant. The yard's hull table lists YMS 164 (U.S. official number 286385), type Minesweeper, built 27-Mar-43, disposition 'Later Bobolink (AMS 2) 1947, MHC 44 1955, sold 1960 as Gail Borden'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1960 (build and Navy disposition); 1915-1945 (yard history)
- Population
- Dachel-Carter construction trades (~600 employees at wartime peak)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-compilation, not a registry - the build date (27-Mar-43) agrees with NavSource's completion date. The sale year (1960) conflicts with NavSource's 1961 - variant in gaps. Contains no asbestos content; the yard is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-06
-
[8]Hingham Anchor (Hingham, MA), 'Way Back Wednesday: 50 years ago, a fire destroyed the Artic Fox', Geri Duff, 12 Feb 2025 (live page, verified 2026-10-04) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Hingham Anchor online article text (fire narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Local-press corroboration of the final disposition: 'a converted minesweeper' named the Artic Fox, tied up at the Hingham Shipyard, caught fire about 4:30 a.m. on a cold February morning in 1975; two crewmen aboard escaped; over 100 firefighters from eight towns plus Navy and Coast Guard firefighters, three Coast Guard boats and a Mass Port boat worked the fire; the fire was declared out nine hours later.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1975-02
- Population
- Two crewmen aboard; ~100+ firefighters (8 towns) plus Navy/Coast Guard responders
- Limitations
- Corroborates the fire event only: the article does not name YMS-164/AMS-2/MHC-44 and does not give the exact February 1975 date (NavSource's 28 February stands on its own). Spelling 'Artic Fox' vs NavSource 'Arctic Fox' noted. No asbestos, hazmat, or post-fire disposition content - a vessel-destroying fire on a wooden-hulled craft is a plausible but undocumented end point.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page https://www.gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2; digest pp. i-ii (thermal-insulation major application; 1973 specification change; May 1978 deliveries; 1975/1979 policies)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards) that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard Navy ships, that 'all ships' in service contain some asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables, and that other (older) Navy ships 'contain large quantities of asbestos.' Product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but asbestos already purchased/installed meant some ships were delivered with asbestos thermal insulation as late as May 1978; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove/replace only damaged or work-required insulation, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This spans the hull's entire era: 1942-43 construction, 1955 MHC-44 conversion, and 1957 decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); asbestos thermal-insulation era documented through May 1978 deliveries
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Charleston is not a fieldwork site in this report. Full 26-page report previously extracted via firecrawl (direct fetch returns HTTP 403 to automated requests); product page verified live 2026-10-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-08
-
[10]Designation cross-check: NHHC DANFS 'Bobolink I (Minesweeper No. 20)' live page (AM-20/ATO-131, 1919-1946); NARA Special List 44 named-vessels table carrying 'Bobolink (ATO-131, AT-131, AM-20)' - the earlier hull; NavSource designation chain (YMS-164 -> AMS-2 -> MHC-44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS bobolink-i page; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/special-list-44-named 'Bobolink' row; NavSource 11/19164 designation line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DISAMBIGUATION: two U.S. Navy minesweepers carried the name Bobolink. Bobolink I - AM-20, later AT-131/ATO-131 - was a steel Lapwing-class minesweeper laid down 29 October 1917 at Baltimore Dry Dock & Shipbuilding, launched 15 June 1918, commissioned 28 January 1919, present at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, converted to an ocean tug 1942, sold through the Maritime Commission 5 October 1946 (DANFS Bobolink I). The SL44 named-vessels table's 'Bobolink (ATO-131, AT-131, AM-20) 1/28/1919-6/30/1945' row belongs to that earlier hull, NOT this record. This record's hull - 'Bobolink II' in DANFS - is the wooden YMS-1-class YMS-164, renamed Bobolink (AMS-2) in 1947. Marketing-source asbestos content does not distinguish the two (mesothelioma.com's minesweeper table lists 'USS Bobolink AM-20' - the earlier hull). Any litigation or exposure hit keyed to 'USS Bobolink' must be hull-resolved before attachment to this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1918-1975 (both hulls' combined windows)
- Limitations
- Name-disambiguation note, not a material claim. The AM-20 details rest on the live DANFS Bobolink I page; the marketing-table attribution is noted only to flag the collision risk (that source is excluded and carries no evidentiary weight).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (YMS-1 class, diesel craft); NavSource specifications (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts); NavSource class index (wooden hull, class characteristics); NavSource conversion dates at Charleston Naval Shipyard (1 Mar - 30 Sep 1955); shipyard-exposure-map Atlas shipyards.json documented asbestos product list for charleston-naval-shipyard; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource 11/19164 specifications and conversion dates; NavSource 11/19idx class page; shipyards.json entry charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper built 1942-43 and refit at a naval shipyard in 1955 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel small craft of this type and period were diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior finishes (deck tile, bulkhead panels, accommodation insulation). The hull's only documented naval-yard availability - the 1955 MHC-44 conversion at Charleston Naval Shipyard - occurred at a yard whose Atlas record documents era asbestos products including pipe insulation (5-50% asbestos), asbestos gaskets in pumps and valves, packing for rotating equipment, thermal insulation, fireproofing in living quarters, and electrical insulation. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; her asbestos-relevant scope is narrower than a steel steam ship's.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1975
- Population
- Dachel-Carter construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46, 1950-57); Charleston Naval Shipyard conversion trades (1955); commercial crews (1961-75)
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, conversion work package, or crew record located for YMS-164/AMS-2/MHC-44. The Charleston Naval Shipyard product list documents the YARD's products, not that any were installed aboard this hull; the conversion's material scope is undocumented. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-10
-
[12]Batch-8832 search ledger (this record): live DANFS Bobolink II; NavSource ship page and class index; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; NARA catalog (muster rolls, 16 war diaries, action report, 1952 muster file); shipbuildinghistory Dachel-Carter yard table; Hingham Anchor 1975-fire retrospective; GAO product page; CourtListener base queries (2 completed/classified, 2 fleet-paced blocked); secondary web litigation sweep (batch-7550) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-164-yms164-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS YMS-164, USS Bobolink (AMS-2), or USS Bobolink (MHC-44) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener 2026-10-04 (authenticated, fleet-paced): exact-name opinion query 'USS YMS-164' returned two hits (In re Albert Ortiz; Tyrone Berry v. State, Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2015) - both OCR token collisions in scanned Texas appellate PDFs, not vessel or asbestos cases; exact-name docket query 'USS YMS-164' returned 927 bulk hits on the generic 'USS' token - all 20 captured results reviewed and unrelated (federal/state civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and patent dockets). The only 'asbestos aboard' material located anywhere is law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomahelp.org lists 'USS Bobolink' in a generic minesweeper page without hull number; mesothelioma.com lists 'USS Bobolink AM-20' - the earlier, different hull) - excluded by source policy.
- 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. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener coverage is partial this session: two of four required base queries completed and classified (exact-name opinion and docket); the hull-number pair ('YMS-164' opinion and docket) stayed blocked by fleet-wide pacing saturation across ~45 minutes of spaced retries - logged as blocked in search_ledger, not a negative result. Name-keyed queries under 'Bobolink', 'AMS-2', and 'MHC-44' were quota-blocked in the batch-7550 session as well and remain open leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-164-yms164-11