Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 1041-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-237-yms237-pkt-1041-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-237 - construction timeline, transfer, Soviet service, specifications, CO table, crew photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19237.htm header block, specifications block, photo captions, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 6 June 1942 by Stadium Yacht Basin Inc., Cleveland, OH; launched 7 September 1942; completed 20 November 1942; 'Participated in the invasion of Guam and the Palau Islands'; decommissioned July 1945 at Cold Bay, AK; transferred to the Soviet Union 19 July 1945 and reclassified T-589; assigned to the Northern Pacific Fleet 30 July 1945; participated in the Yuzhno-Sakhalin, Japan 11-25 August 1945 offensive; placed out of service 17 October 1955 and laid up; scrapped 11 July 1956. Specs: 270 t., 136' x 24'6" x 8', 15 kts., complement 32; one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm, two depth-charge projectors; two 880bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. CO table: LTJG L. G. Kelly USNR (1944), LTJG R. D. Friehofer USNR (1945). Photos include NARA 80-G-40187 (launch, Stadium Yacht Basin, 7 Sep 1942), a c. June 1944 'Notice to All Hands prior to the invasion of Guam', and c. May 1945 crew photographs at Long Beach, CA. Page states: 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-237.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Stadium Yacht Basin construction trades (1942); crew (1942-45); Project Hula Soviet trainees and USN transfer detachment (1945); Soviet crew T-589 (1945-55); Soviet scrappers (1956)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestones generally track official records and several are independently corroborated in this record (SL44 log span, PacFlt org CO, Russell transfer table), but the Guam/Palau and Soviet-service lines carry no shown sourcing. The Palau claim in particular is not corroborated by the awards-manual transcription (see ev-06 and gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (Washington, DC: NARA, 1978), printed page 516 (scan via ACPL Genealogy Center mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, 'Ships with Symbol and Number Designations', printed page 516, YMS-237 row (ACPL narasl44 image series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 records US Navy deck logs for YMS-237 spanning 'Nov. 20, 1942-July 18, 1945' in 7 logbooks - the entire USN career of the hull, from the completion date to the day before her Soviet transfer. Logs are held at the National Archives (not digitized).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-11-20 to 1945-07-18 (log span); finding aid compiled 1978
- Limitations
- A finding aid, not the logs themselves: establishes that deck logs covering this hull's full USN service exist at NARA, not what they contain. The log span corroborates both the completion date (20 Nov 1942) and the transfer timeline (last log day 18 Jul 1945, transfer 19 Jul 1945). Scanned page accessed via the ACPL Genealogy Center transcription of the NARA publication; the underlying NARA original was not fetched. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-02
-
[4]DANFS, Fancy (AM-234) (R. J. Cressman and E. Lewis, 28 March 2016) - names YMS-237 in the March 1945 Seattle convoy that preceded Project Hula transfers [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Fancy service narrative, March 1945 passages
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents this hull's movement into the Project Hula pipeline: on 7 March 1945 USS Fancy (AM-234) departed Pearl Harbor for Seattle 'as TU 18.2.8' accompanying sister ship Rampart (AM-282) 'and the motor minesweepers YMS-38 and YMS-237'; the group stood into the Straits of Juan de Fuca at noon 19 March and reached Seattle the same day. Fancy then spent late March through April 'preparing for her transfer to the Soviet Union under Lend Lease in Project Hula' and proceeded via Kodiak to Cold Bay - the same transfer path YMS-237 followed four months later.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-03
- Population
- YMS-237 crew during west-coast transit; TU 18.2.8 company
- Limitations
- Ship-specific mention inside another vessel's DANFS entry: documents YMS-237's Pearl Harbor-Seattle passage in company with two Hula-bound minesweepers, not her assignment to the program - the transfer itself is documented by Russell and NavSource. Live NHHC page verified via Firecrawl extraction 2026-10-04 (a plain fetch intermittently returned 404 - NHHC link-rot behavior previously logged in BATCH-01/98). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-03
-
[5]U.S. Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (Navy Department Library transcription on NHHC) - YMS 237 listed under Minecraft, Pacific Fleet (TF 18) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Minecraft, Pacific Fleet section, YMS listing (printed-page break ~133-134 of the org document)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official fleet organization as of 1 May 1945 lists 'YMS 237 - Lt. (jg) R. D. Friehofer (USNR)' in the YMS block of the minecraft section under Commander Minecraft, Pacific Fleet (Task Force 18, R. Adm. A. Sharp), following Mine Squadron Twenty's vessels - an official snapshot of the hull's Pacific Fleet assignment and commanding officer six weeks before transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- YMS-237 crew under Lt. (jg) R. D. Friehofer, USNR
- Limitations
- A fleet list, not a service record: documents organizational assignment and commanding officer on the list date, not operations or material condition. NHHC page is a transcription of the official 1 May 1945 organization document. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-04
-
[6]Richard A. Russell, Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1997) - NHHC publication; transfer-roster appendix maps this hull [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Project Hula, roster paragraph (~p. 14); appendix 'Designations/Transfer/Disposition' table pp. 39-40
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC history of Project Hula documents the program and names this hull in its appendix: the planned roster included '30 frigates (PF), 24 minesweepers (AM), 36 wooden-hulled motor minesweepers (YMS), 56 submarine chasers (SC), 30 large infantry landing craft (LCI[L]), and four floating workshops' for transfer at Cold Bay, AK, where Navy Detachment 3294 trained ~12,000 Soviet personnel; transfers were secret to avoid compromising Soviet neutrality with Japan. Appendix transfer table (sourced to Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels vol. II, NAVSHIPS 250-012, 1 Jan 1949, and Berezhnoi): 'YMS237 - T-589 - 19 Jul. - 1956-stricken' - confirming the hull number, Soviet designation, transfer date, and Soviet-side disposition. Russell's combat narrative records transferred minecraft seeing action in the Soviet offensives on southern Sakhalin (11-25 August 1945), consistent with NavSource's Yuzhno-Sakhalin line for T-589.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945; appendix disposition to 1956
- Population
- USN Detachment 3294 personnel and Soviet trainees at Cold Bay; YMS-237 transfer crew and Soviet crew
- Limitations
- Program-level official history whose appendix names the hull - ship-specific for designation/transfer date/Soviet disposition, but context for everything else (it does not detail this hull's training cycle or combat employment; the Sakhalin participation of T-589 specifically comes from NavSource). Disposition '1956-stricken' conflicts slightly with NavSource's 17 Oct 1955 out-of-service + 11 Jul 1956 scrapped sequence - see gaps. Mirror copy via ibiblio HyperWar; the NHHC print publication is the source of record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-05
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[7]WWII campaign battle-star eligibility list, 'YMS 207 to YMS 361' (vendor transcription stated as 'Information obtained from Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual') - YMS 237 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- YMS 237 row of the YMS 207-361 table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The awards-manual-derived transcription lists a single WWII campaign eligibility for this hull: 'YMS 237: 21 Jul 44 - 15 Aug 44, P29-7, Capture and occupation of Guam' - corroborating NavSource's Guam claim with award-list data and placing the hull in the Guam operation within the stated campaign window. No Palau-campaign eligibility is listed for YMS-237 (contrast: sister YMS-238 is listed for Green Islands and southern Palau Islands; Hula boat YMS-241 is listed for Guam).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-07-21 to 1944-08-15 (eligibility window); list compiled postwar
- Population
- YMS-237 crew, Guam campaign window 21 Jul-15 Aug 1944
- Limitations
- Secondary transcription of an official source: the vendor page states the data come from the Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, but the underlying NAVPERS award list was not directly fetched - verification partial. Eligibility listing establishes presence in the campaign window, not specific operations. Absence of a Palau listing does not disprove Palau participation (a ship could be present outside award criteria), but leaves NavSource's 'Palau Islands' line uncorroborated - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-06
-
[8]Hobart Hughes, 'Saga of a YMS,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 74/1/539 (January 1948) - first-person wartime account by an officer of YMS-238, a Stadium Yacht Basin sister ship [other_primary]
- Locator
- Proceedings Jan 1948, 'Saga of a YMS' full text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A contemporaneous officer's narrative of a sister YMS built at the same Cleveland yard: YMS-238 came 'from Cleveland by way of the St. Lawrence' to Boston for fitting-out - 'a wooden one at that... drew approximately 7 1/2 feet and was 135 feet long, with a 24 foot beam,' crew of 'thirty enlisted men and four officers' in cramped quarters; two GM diesels for propulsion, a diesel direct-connected to the magnetic-sweep generator, and two Hercules 30-kW diesel auxiliaries for hotel loads; service pattern of long self-deployments (Bora Bora, Noumea) and assault sweeping at Green Island, the Palau soundings, and Leyte Gulf - the operating profile of the type to which YMS-237 belonged.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (narrative period)
- Population
- Type-level: YMS crews, USNR officer/enlisted complement
- Limitations
- Sister-ship narrative: documents the type, its plant, and its operating pattern, not this hull - YMS-237 is not named. Useful for type-level construction and systems description; no asbestos or material content beyond confirming the diesel (non-steam) plant and wooden hull. No quantity or product information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1942) and USN service era (1942-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-04) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, reduction gear, 2 shafts; wooden-hulled YMS-1 class); NavSource class index (35 yacht yards, 481 USN boats, 'wooden-hulled'); USNI sister-ship account (diesel plant, cramped wooden hull); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos era) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block and 11/19idx.htm class index; USNI 'Saga of a YMS'; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper completed in November 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel auxiliary of this period were exhaust-system lagging around engine and generator exhausts, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and heat insulation in the engine room and galley range area. The confined volumes of a 136-ft wooden hull concentrated whatever insulation materials were fitted near machinery spaces and crew quarters. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of larger combatants does not apply, which bounds both the likely product set and the exposed-work trades.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Stadium Yacht Basin construction trades (1942); crew (1942-45, confined-volume occupancy); Cold Bay transfer/training personnel (1945); Soviet crew (1945-55); Soviet scrappers (1956)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-237. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Wooden-hulled diesel minecraft plausibly carried less asbestos tonnage than steam-driven steel combatants; neither the lower bound nor any specific product is ship-proven.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-09
-
[11]Batch-8875 search ledger (this record): NavSource page and class index; NARA Special List 44 scan; NHHC DANFS Fancy and Pacific Fleet organization; Russell Project Hula (NHHC); awards-manual transcription; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory; USNI Proceedings; GAO product page; NARA catalog lead; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-237-yms237-01 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-237 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none is available). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried through the required authenticated helper this session - the fleet-wide paced request budget was momentarily spent on every attempt (exit 2, 'pacing' guidance); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material found for YMS-type vessels is law-firm marketing content - 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 - a 1942 wooden diesel auxiliary sits inside the documented asbestos era, and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (paced, not run). Deck logs (7 logbooks, SL44) and BuShips construction/work records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-237-yms237-10