Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 1035-packet.md (1 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-17-yms17-pkt-1035-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-17 - construction timeline, specifications, disposal (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19017.htm header block, chronology, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 2 May 1942 by Rice Brothers Corp., Boothbay, ME (uboat.net and shipbuildinghistory print East Boothbay); launched 24 October 1942; completed 26 April 1943; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission in October 1947; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-Able-William-Sugar. Specifications: 270 t.; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts.; complement 32; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page states no DANFS history exists for YMS-17 and no image of the vessel is held.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Rice Brothers yard construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track Navy records but are not themselves registry entries. Contains no asbestos content. The October 1947 Foreign Liquidation Commission transfer is a NavSource-only statement; the recipient government or purchaser, if any, is not documented in any source retained. Builder's exact town ('Boothbay' vs 'East Boothbay') varies between secondary compilations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List 44: ship-number index to U.S. Navy deck logs in NARA custody (live PDF verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF p. 116, entries 'YMS-17 5/4/1943 6/30/1943' and 'YMS-17 8/1/1943 6/30/1945' (extracted via pdftotext -layout)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 lists TWO deck-log series for YMS-17 on PDF page 116: 5/4/1943-6/30/1943 and 8/1/1943-6/30/1945. Indexed coverage therefore runs from one week after the ship's 26 April 1943 completion through the end of June 1945 (a July 1943 gap between the two series), encompassing the entire documented wartime career.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-05-04 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Ship's company during indexed log coverage (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Custody/coverage index, not the logs themselves - the log pages were not examined. Coverage dates are log-holding ranges, NOT commissioning or decommissioning dates, and the index identifies no asbestos, repair, or exposure content. The batch brief cited only the first series (5/4/1943-6/30/1943); the live PDF page shows a second series (8/1/1943-6/30/1945) covering the rest of the war - the brief's coverage window is incomplete, not wrong.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-02
-
[4]NARA file unit 'YMS-17, 6/1/43-4/30/46', NAID 192867640, Container Roll 7982 - RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, series Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities (173 digitized images, online) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file unit NAID 192867640 (catalog.archives.gov/id/192867640), verified live via rendered catalog page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives catalogs a digitized RG 24 muster-roll file unit for this hull spanning 1 June 1943 - 30 April 1946 (173 images, online) - personnel documentation running from five weeks after completion through the postwar inactivation period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-06-01 to 1946-04-30
- Population
- YMS-17 crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Establishes wartime Navy service and personnel documentation only; muster rolls contain no asbestos or material content. Individual pages were not transcribed or read for this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-03
-
[5]NARA RG 38 digitized war diaries for USS YMS-17: July-August 1944 (NAID 78634992, Roll A1145, 2 images); September 1944 (NAID 139736847); October 1944 (NAID 78648120); November 1944 (NAID 78711102); December 1944 (NAID 139793529, Roll A1331, 2 images); January 1945 (NAID 139835228); February 1945 (NAID 139918275); March 1945 (NAID 139958330); April 1945 (NAID 139990307); June 1945 (NAID 101700126, Roll A1699, 5 images) - series WWII War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file units listed in citation_value; images read: A1145/0934-0935 (Jul-Aug 44), A1331/0725 (Dec 44), A1699/0391-0395 (Jun 45)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Page-level reads of three digitized diaries document this hull's operational record. July 1944 (signed A. J. Teufel): attached to CTG 02.3, Eastern Sea Frontier, through 8 July; arrived NOB Norfolk 9 July for availability 'for over-haul, repair, fitting out and indoctrination' through 24 July; then reported CTG 63.9 and sailed Norfolk in Convoy UGS 49, station 37, destination Mediterranean Sea, fueled at sea by AO-35. August 1944: through the Straits of Gibraltar 9 August; seven-day voyage-repair availability alongside USS Vulcan at Mers-el-Kebir, Oran (moored to USS YMS-373); 20-24 August escorted Convoy AM-3 with Mine Squadron Eleven toward Alpha Area, Southern France (23 August: underwater contact 300 yards, maneuvered to ram, contact lost); 25-26 August detached to Sweeper Task Group 80.10, YMS Mine Section Seven, maintaining swept channels in the Camel area, southern France, and standing mine watch at anchor through 31 August. December 1944 (NAID 139793529): attached CTG 81.12, YMS Unit Section 1, clearing the enemy minefield in Cagliari Bay, Sardinia - swept enemy moored mines 3 December (2), 11 December (1), 12 December (2, one exploded in cutting), 13 December (5); moored alongside USS YMS-200, Ponte della Sanita, Cagliari. June 1945 (NAID 101700126, signed L. H. Clovis, Lieut., USNR): attached to Amphibious Group Ten, Task Force 125, 12th Fleet; clearance sweep of the Spezia approach channel 1-2 June with USS YMS-373 (senior officer), YMS-250, and YMS-179 - cut a string of seven Italian moored contact mines 1 June; then Palermo, Sicily (moored to USS Hopi, NOB, 13-14 June); Oran, Algeria (18 June); Atlantic transit westward for home through 30 June (position reports crossing 32W to 55W).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-07-01 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- YMS-17 crew (1944-45); NOB Norfolk availability trades (9-24 July 1944); Mers-el-Kebir availability alongside USS Vulcan (10-20 August 1944)
- Limitations
- Primary-source operational record read at image level for three months (July-August 1944, December 1944, June 1945); the other seven cataloged months (September-November 1944, January-April 1945) were not read and their content is unasserted. Diaries establish operations and locations only - they contain no asbestos, material, or exposure information. 'Camel area' is the documented Operation Dragoon (southern France) assault area in contemporary operational usage; the diaries do not use the word 'Dragoon' or claim assault-phase participation - she reached the area 26 August, eleven days after the 15 August landings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-04
-
[6]NARA file unit 'COMTASK-GROUP 81.12 - Report of minesweeping operations in Cagliari Gulf, Sardinia, 12/21/44 - 3/31/45', NAID 77510558, Roll A1893 - RG 38 WWII War Diaries series [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog full-text search 'YMS-17' -> NAID 77510558; corroborated by NAID 139793529 page read
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA catalog's full-text index associates YMS-17 with the TG 81.12 report of Cagliari Gulf (Sardinia) minesweeping operations covering 21 December 1944 - 31 March 1945 - consistent with the hull's own December 1944 war diary (ev-04), which documents CTG 81.12, YMS Unit Section 1 clearing the Cagliari Bay minefield and sweeping enemy moored mines.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-12-21 to 1945-03-31
- Population
- YMS-17 crew during Sardinian clearance operations (Dec 1944-Mar 1945)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level full-text association - the TG 81.12 report pages were not read, so the specific context naming YMS-17 (unit roster vs. daily mention) is unverified. The association is corroborated at page level by the hull's own diary for December 1944; January-March 1945 diaries (cataloged, unread) likely document the rest of the coverage window.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, reduction gear, 2 shafts, wooden hull); YMS-1 class documented as wooden-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers built to a common BuShips-type design across 35 yacht yards (secondary literature); GAO HRD-80-2 era finding (ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-07); NARA asbestos research guide archival pathway (ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; NARA asbestos guided-topic page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven wooden minesweeper completed in April 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel yard craft of this period were engine exhaust and muffler lagging, compressed-asbestos sheet gaskets, valve and machinery packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and insulation board in machinery and accommodation spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the wooden hull reduces but does not eliminate the era application set (machinery, exhaust, joiner/insulation, electrical).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947+
- Population
- Rice Brothers yard construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); NOB Norfolk availability trades (July 1944); Mers-el-Kebir repair personnel (August 1944); unknown post-Navy handlers (1947+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or plan was located for YMS-17. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-06
-
[8]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - official research guide to the RG 19 Bureau of Ships records documenting asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel 1941-1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided-topic page (verified live, HTTP 200); RG 19 entries A1 1266-A..P, UD 1001-1015, UD 1027 (S-18), PI-133 1273; RG 143 A1 90, A1 8 series
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NARA's official guide states 'the use of asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel from 1941-1961 is a frequently requested topic' and documents the archival pathway for hull-level determination: RG 19 Bureau of Ships general/confidential/secret correspondence filed by hull designation (this hull: 'YMS17'; class: 'YMS1 Class'; type correspondence as last resort), Ship/General Information Books covering propulsion, auxiliary machinery, piping, ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems, shipbuilding-yard QM correspondence files, specification files (RG 19 S-18/S-19 series; RG 143 specification indexes), and cartographic engineering drawings (19-Hull, 19-Micro) - i.e., the records by which this hull's material content could be proven exist in undigitized archival series.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide scope)
- Population
- Navy construction/maintenance trades 1941-1961 (research-scope population)
- Limitations
- Research-pathway documentation, not a hull record: the guide confirms that asbestos content is an archival research question answerable only via undigitized RG 19/RG 143 records - none of those series were consulted for this hull. Does not establish or negate materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page and OCR'd full text (26 pp.) verified live via rendered fetch [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page + full report text, 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos era: thermal-insulation product specifications were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but purchased asbestos materials were still installed in some ships under construction, and some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978; 'although all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables,' thermal insulation was 'the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships.' The October 1975 policy replaced only damaged or repair-disturbed insulation; in January 1979 it was modified to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This hull's entire construction (1942-43) and service era (1943-47) fall decades before the substitution era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policies 1973-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - this hull's documented July 1944 availability was at NOB Norfolk (the operating base), not established to be the Naval Shipyard. Direct curl to gao.gov returns HTTP 403 (bot block); content retrieved via rendered fetch (firecrawl) 2026-10-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-08
-
[10]Batch-8836 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44; NARA catalog (muster-roll file unit, ten digitized war-diary file units - three read at image level, TG 81.12 report association); NavSource; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory yard list; NHHC/DANFS (no entry, 404 verified); NARA asbestos guided-topic page; GAO HRD-80-2 product page + full text; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener via cl-auth-search.py helper [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-17-yms17-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, product identification, materials specification, or docketed case naming YMS-17 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The one CourtListener base query that ran - 'USS YMS-17' opinion search - returned 8 results, all Texas state-court name collisions, none naming the vessel or involving asbestos. The hull's wooden construction and diesel plant bound the plausible era application set to machinery/exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and joiner insulation - no boiler/turbine lagging pathway applies.
- 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 - the NARA guide documents undigitized RG 19 series where hull-level material records could exist, and this hull's own digitized deck logs/muster rolls/war diaries were only partially read (diaries contain operational, not material, content). CourtListener coverage is partial: 1 of 4 base queries completed (name collisions only); the docket and hull-number queries were blocked by fleet pacing - not a negative result. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-17-yms17-09