USS YMS-228

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet 1040-packet.md [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-yms-228-yms228-pkt-1040-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - YMS-228, navsource.net/archives/11/19228.htm [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/19228.htm chronology block, specifications block; 'no DANFS History' notice; empty photo table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry for YMS-228 (call sign Nan - Charlie - Love - Nan; 'YMS-228 served the Navies of the United States and Turkey'): YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper - laid down 21 April 1942 by Frank L. Sample, Jr., Boothbay Harbor, ME; launched 2 October 1942; completed 5 May 1943 and commissioned USS YMS-228; struck from the Naval Register 19 February 1948; transferred to Turkey in May 1948 and named Kemer; struck from the Turkish Navy list in 1966; fate unknown. Specifications: displacement 270 t.; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts.; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount, two 20mm mounts, and two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page hosts no photograph of the hull and states 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-228.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1966

   Population

   Frank L. Sample construction trades (Boothbay Harbor ME, 1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 32); Turkish Navy crew (1948-1966)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation, not an official record - corroborated against uboat.net, shipbuilding-history, and navypedia where they overlap. Sole located source for the call sign, the May 1948 transfer month, the Kemer name, the 1966 Turkish strike, and 'fate unknown'. Its '880bhp' engine rating conflicts with other sources (440/500 bhp variants - see correction row). No out-of-service or decommissioning date is printed - consistent with the undocumented status-change pattern for these craft. Contains no asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-01

3. [3]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS YMS-228 (YMS-228), ship 9653 [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9653.html data table; empty commands/events listing

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uboat.net Allied Warships entry for USS YMS-228 (ship 9653): 'Minesweeper of the YMS class'; built by Frank L. Sample, Jr. (Boothbay Harbor, Maine, U.S.A.); ordered 14 March 1942; laid down 21 April 1942; launched 2 October 1942; commissioned 5 May 1943; 'End service' field blank; history line 'Stricken on 19 February 1948'. No commanding officers and no operational events are listed for this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1948

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation - corroborates builder and the three milestone dates (laid down, launched, commissioned). 'Ordered 14 March 1942' rests on uboat.net alone (not in NavSource or Colton) - secondary-only detail. The blank 'End service' field is itself informative: no decommissioning/out-of-service date is documented anywhere for this hull. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-02

4. [4]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' table - YMS 228 row and program header; Frank L. Sample yard page (Boothbay Harbor ME) - YMS-228 row and yard history [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm - YMS 228 row, program header paragraph; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/sample/ - YMS-228 row, yard history block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), Yard Minesweepers (YMS) table: 'In the three-year period from the spring of 1942 through the spring of 1945, 35 boatyards turned out 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers. All were of essentially the same design - 136 feet long, with a speed of 13 knots - but the Mk. I (YMS 1-135 and BYMS 1-30) had two stacks, the Mk. II (YMS 135-445 and BYMS 31-80) had one stack and the Mk. III (YMS 446-481) had no stacks.' Row for this hull: 'YMS 228 | Frank L. Sample | Boothbay Harbor ME | 136 | 320 | 5-May-43 | To Turkey 1947 as Kemer, struck 1966.' The Frank L. Sample yard page lists the same row ('278d', delivered 5 May 1943, 'to Turkey 1947 as Kemer, struck 1966') and documents the yard: established 1840 by Cyrus McKown, later the Townsend Marine Railway and the Atlantic Coast Company (1917); Frank Sample acquired it 1939, sold it 2004; the 120 Commercial Street site now operates as the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1966

   Population

   Frank L. Sample yard workforce (Boothbay Harbor ME, 1942-43)

   Limitations

   Compiler's yard table, secondary - corroborates builder, delivery month (5-May-43 matching NavSource's completion date), and the Kemer/1966 Turkish disposition. Its 'To Turkey 1947' transfer year conflicts with NavSource (May 1948) and navypedia (Feb 1948) - flagged in the correction row; its 320-ton displacement conflicts with NavSource's 270 t (tonnage-convention variance - flagged). Prints the delivery tonnage as '278d' on the yard page - an unexplained third figure. Contains no asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-03

5. [5]navypedia.org - 'YMS motor minesweepers (YMS1) (1942-1945)' table, YMS228 row [other_primary]

   Locator

   navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_sc_pcs_yms.htm - YMS228 row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   navypedia.org YMS program table (us_sc_pcs_yms.htm): row 'YMS228 | Frank L. Sample, Boothbay Harbor | 4.1942 | 2.10.1942 | 5.1943 | to Turkey 2.1948 (Kemer)' - corroborating the Sample builder, April 1942 keel, 2 October 1942 launch, May 1943 completion, and the Kemer transfer, but printing a February 1948 transfer month, a third variant against NavSource's May 1948 and Colton's 1947.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1966

   Limitations

   Secondary specialist compilation - its February 1948 transfer month conflicts with NavSource (May 1948) and Colton (1947); a February transfer would precede the 19 February 1948 Naval Register strike, which is plausible but unconfirmed. Fourth independent corroboration of the builder/milestone dates and the Kemer identity. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-04

6. [6]List of mine warfare vessels of the Turkish Navy (Wikipedia compilation) - 'K class minesweeper (Ex-US YMS type)' table; corroborated at mirror dcfs.developer.istanbul [other_primary]

   Locator

   List article, 'Ex-US YMS type' K class table; ultimate table source attribution is a Conway's-type fleet list ('no later than 13 December 1957')

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The Turkish Navy's mine-warfare vessel list confirms the Kemer identity: 'K class minesweeper (Ex-US YMS type inshore minesweeper)' lists Kemer as ex-USS YMS-228 alongside seven other ex-U.S. YMS transfers - Kas (ex-YMS-79), Kilimli (ex-YMS-289), Kozlu (ex-YMS-348), Kusadasi (ex-YMS-468), Kerempe (ex-YMS-239), Kirte (ex-YMS-307), and Karamursel (ex-Kulluk, ex-YMS-375) - all shown 'in service no later than 13 December 1957.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1948-1966

   Population

   Turkish Navy crew (1948-1966)

   Limitations

   Tertiary compilation (Wikipedia drawing on Conway's-class fleet lists) - used only to corroborate that the Turkish 'Kemer' was this hull and to bound its documented Turkish service ('in service no later than 13 December 1957'), consistent with NavSource's 1966 strike. No Turkish pennant number, base, or disposal record located. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-05

7. [7]NARA, Special List #44 by ship number (sl-44-ship-number.pdf - 'YMS-228 5/10/1943 4/29/1946'); NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list (YMS-228 absent) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SL-44 ship-number list, YMS block (extracted text line for YMS-228); archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA Special List #44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, by ship number) indexes one deck-log run for this hull: 'YMS-228 5/10/1943 4/29/1946' - coverage beginning five days after commissioning and running through the first postwar spring. The companion NARA list of fully digitized deck logs in the National Archives Catalog does NOT include YMS-228: the digitized YMS set is limited to later-named sisters (YMS-136, -238, -268, -271, -291, -299, -306, -312, -321, -324, -327, -395, -402, -425, -444, -446, -47, -479, -53 present; YMS-228 absent). The paper logs at Archives II are the realistic hull-level path to her wartime stations, availabilities, and any material work.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1946 records

   Limitations

   Verifies that indexed logs exist and that they are NOT digitized - retrieval requires Archives II access. Log coverage ends 4/29/1946, well before the 19 Feb 1948 strike; whether later logs exist unindexed or under a successor unit is unknown. The index does not state where she served - the logs' content is unexamined. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-06

8. [8]Boothbay Region Historical Society, 'Shipyard Collection #3: Sample's' finding aid (PDF, rev. 26 August 2022) [museum_official]

   Locator

   Finding aid 'Minesweepers' section - 'YMS 228 1943. Copies of photos of YMS 228 launching; gift of Eleanor Miller'; yard-records sections

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The Boothbay Region Historical Society's Shipyard Collection #3 (Sample's) - the builder's archive for the yard that built this hull - holds 'YMS 228 1943. Copies of photos of YMS 228 launching; gift of Eleanor Miller' among its minesweeper files, alongside yard records including Navy 'E' award clippings (Nov 1942, second award Nov 1943), a wartime 'Sample & Son Shipyard Foreman's Handbook relating to safety,' a 1943 night-watchman record book, and a 1944 time record book. The collection also holds material on Sample sisters YMS 104, 226, 233, and 234.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1946 (relevant window)

   Population

   Frank L. Sample yard workforce (1942-43)

   Limitations

   Verifies the builder's record archive and confirms hull-specific material exists (launch photographs) - a lead for construction-level detail, not itself evidence of materials aboard the hull. Whether the collection holds YMS-228-specific specifications, contracts, or material records is unknown; contents are not digitized beyond the finding aid.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-07

9. [9]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

   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 motor minesweeper was built. Period marine diesel installations and auxiliary machinery 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 plus brake linings on deck and sweep machinery. The 1948 transfer to a foreign navy and her Turkish service through 1966 are documented ownership events that would have disturbed whatever materials were fitted - but nothing documents the materials themselves.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1966

   Population

   Frank L. Sample construction trades (Boothbay Harbor ME, 1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 32); Turkish Navy crew and dockyard trades (1948-1966)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarship only - does not name this vessel or the YMS class and 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 minesweepers was located; the diesel/wooden-hull profile limits plausible scope relative to steam-driven vessels (no boiler-room or steam-line insulation envelope). The machinery-fitting applications named are general era practice, not documented aboard this class; the foreign-transfer material scope is entirely undocumented.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-08

10. [10]National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Wild Goose (ex-USS YMS-328), NRHP reference 11000431 (listed 19 July 2011); California OHP staff report section [nps]

    Locator

    NRHP 11000431 nomination - staff report description ('double-planked Douglas fir with double steam-bent white oak frames'; 'two GM8-268 500 horsepower diesels'; 'single stack amidships'; 'designed by Henry B. Nevins Yacht Builders of City Island, New York')

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    The NPS National Register nomination for Wild Goose (ex-USS YMS-328, NRHP 11000431) - a sister YMS-1-class Mark II hull - documents the class's construction: designed by Henry B. Nevins Yacht Builders of City Island, New York; hull 'constructed of double-planked Douglas fir with double steam-bent white oak frames'; powered by 'two GM8-268 500 horsepower diesels driving twin screws, exhausted through a single stack amidships.' This is federal documentation of the wooden structure and diesel plant the class carried - hull material wood, propulsion diesel, no steam plant.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1942-1943 construction

    Population

    Sister-hull construction trades (Ballard Marine Railway, Seattle, 1942-43) - class proxy only

    Limitations

    Class-level document: describes sister hull YMS-328, not YMS-228 - the single-stack Mark II configuration it documents matches the Colton program table's description for the YMS 135-445 block containing this hull. Used only to document the class's wooden construction and diesel plant (bounding the plausible asbestos scope); it says nothing about insulation materials aboard any hull, and nothing about YMS-228.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-09

11. [11]Hughes, 'Saga of a YMS,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 74/1/539 (January 1948) [reputable_press]

    Locator

    USNI Proceedings January 1948 issue - article abstract/author bio (page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch; content via indexed excerpt)

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    A firsthand crew account documents how the class was employed: USNI Proceedings 'Saga of a YMS' (January 1948, Vol. 74/1/539) by a Naval Reserve officer who spent twenty-three of his thirty-nine months' active service aboard sister hull YMS-238 at Bora Bora, New Caledonia, and Guadalcanal, and on pre-invasion sweeping at the Palau Islands and Leyte Gulf - describing nearly two years of crew life and work aboard a small wooden minesweeper.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1943-1945 (account window); 1948 (publication)

    Population

    YMS crews (class context; ~32-man complements)

    Limitations

    Sister-hull account, class context only - documents YMS-238's Pacific employment, NOT YMS-228's; this record makes no claim about YMS-228's theater, which is undocumented pending deck-log retrieval. Article page blocked to automated access (HTTP 403); abstract text verified via search index. Contains no asbestos information.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-10

12. [12]Cross-source discrepancy set: NavSource 11/19228 vs navypedia vs shipbuilding-history (ym.htm + Sample yard page) vs Wikipedia YMS-1-class/Turkish-list figures vs NPS NRHP 11000431 vs SoCal Landmarks 'Wild Goose' page; tr.wikipedia TCG Kemer (M-525) [other_primary]

    Locator

    Same citations as ev-01 through ev-05, ev-09; socallandmarks.com Wild Goose page; tr.wikipedia TCG Kemer

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Source discrepancies and collision surface documented, not reconciled: (a) transfer date - May 1948 (NavSource) vs February 1948 (navypedia) vs '1947' (Colton, both tables); (b) displacement - 270 t (NavSource; class figure) vs 320 t (Colton YMS table) vs '278d' (Colton Sample yard page); (c) engine rating - '880bhp' per engine (NavSource spec block) vs 440 bhp (Wikipedia class figure) vs 500 hp (NPS NRHP nomination for sister YMS-328); (d) program count - 561 boats/35 yards (Colton) vs 481 completed (Wikipedia class figure - different counting basis, BYMS inclusion); (e) commissioning wording - 'Completed 5 May 1943 and commissioned' (NavSource) vs 'Commissioned 5 May 1943' (uboat.net) vs delivery 5-May-43 (Colton) - consistent but differently framed; (f) ordered date 14 March 1942 rests on uboat.net alone; (g) Turkish strike '1966' and 'fate unknown' rest on NavSource/Colton alone. COLLISION: SoCal Landmarks prints 'YMS-228' while describing the Ballard Marine Railway/Seattle-built Wild Goose hull - which is ex-YMS-328 (NRHP 11000431, John Wayne's yacht), a one-digit transcription error. The later TCG Kemer (M-525, ex-German Passau, transferred to Turkey 1975) is a different vessel carrying this hull's Turkish name.

    Verification

    disputed

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1942-1975

    Limitations

    Resolves nothing - documents genuine multi-source conflicts so a future pass does not silently pick one figure. NavSource's May 1948 sequence (struck 19 Feb, transferred May) is the most internally consistent and is carried in record fields; the Feb 1948 and 1947 variants are reported as printed. No asbestos content in any of these sources.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-11

13. [13]Batch-8871 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; shipbuilding-history YMS table + Sample yard page; navypedia; Turkish mine-warfare list; NARA SL-44 + digitized-log list; Boothbay Region Historical Society finding aid; NPS NRHP 11000431; USNI (blocked); MARAD (blocked); NVR; hazegray (dead); master-hull-list.json; CourtListener API v4; secondary web sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-228-yms228-01 through -19

    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 YMS-228 or the Turkish Kemer was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener executed cleanly on both exact-name queries: 'USS YMS-228' returned count 0 opinions and count 813 dockets - all 20 docket hits in the page classified individually as name collisions / other litigation (fuzzy RECAP matches on '228' number strings: the MDL-875 asbestos-master-docket container, the W.R. Grace bankruptcy, and unrelated commercial cases; zero ship, Navy, or vessel mentions in any hit). The two hull-number base queries ('YMS-228' type=o and type=r) could not be executed - the fleet-wide pacing budget stayed spent for ~85 minutes of spaced retries (token bucket contested by concurrent sessions) - logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content covering 'minesweepers' generically (mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomaveterans.org - excluded source class; neither names this hull, and the former's 'boiler rooms' boilerplate does not match this diesel design).

    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-built vessel is era-consistent with asbestos-containing machinery fittings even accounting for its lighter diesel insulation load. The hull's fate after the 1966 Turkish strike is unknown, so no museum-era survey can be expected. CourtListener coverage was partial: exact-name queries executed (0 opinions; 813 fuzzy dockets, all collisions) while hull-number queries stayed blocked - the standing caveat that unindexed complaints or bare-hull-string mentions cannot be ruled out applies at full strength to the unexecuted queries. Deck logs (5/1943-4/1946, Archives II) and the Boothbay Sample collection are the open hull-level leads. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-228-yms228-12