Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 1042-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-241-yms241-pkt-1042-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-241 page 11/19241 - construction milestones, specifications, commanding officers, Soviet-service timeline [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19241.htm header block, specifications block, 'Commanding Officers' table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 20 May 1942 by the Tacoma Boat Building Co., Tacoma, WA; launched 7 September 1942; completed 18 February 1943 and commissioned USS YMS-241; transferred to the Soviet Union 19 July 1945 and reclassified T-591; assigned to the Northern Pacific Fleet 30 July 1945; participated in the Yuzhno-Sakhalin (South Sakhalin) offensive 11-25 August 1945; reclassified as a hydrographic vessel 28 June 1947; struck from the Soviet Navy list 11 June 1956; sunk in the Tatar Strait between 28-30 June 1956 'in agreement with the United States'; struck from the US Naval Register 29 October 1956. Spec block: 270 t., 136' x 24'6" x 8', 15 kts., complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding officers: LTJG Emery Lyle Burgess, USNR (to 1945); LTJG H. T. Rubino, USNR (26 March - 19 July 1945). Contemporaneous Tacoma Boat Building Co. yard photos (fitting out and on trials, Feb 1943) are displayed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Tacoma Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); USN crew (1943-45); Soviet crew (1945-56)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track Navy records and are here corroborated by the NHHC Project HULA monograph (ev-02) and NARA Special List 44 (ev-03), but three secondary-source date conflicts remain (see gaps). The 'struck from the Soviet Navy list 11 June 1956' line precedes the stated sinking window 28-30 June 1956 - an ordering oddity that is unresolved. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-01
-
[3]Richard A. Russell, Project HULA: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, The U.S. Navy in the Modern World Series No. 4 (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1997) - appendix transfer table and narrative (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the NHHC publication) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Project HULA appendix table, p. 39 (YMS 241 / T-591 row); narrative pp. 37-39 (ship-return negotiations and witnessed destruction)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Naval Historical Center monograph names this hull in its appendix of U.S. Navy combatant ships transferred to the USSR under Project HULA: 'YMS 241 -> T-591', transfer date 19 July 1945, disposition '1956-destroyed' (p. 39). The narrative documents the program context: a secret transfer-and-training effort at Cold Bay/Fort Randall, Alaska, that delivered 149 ships to the Soviet Navy between April and September 1945; postwar US-Soviet negotiations produced 'witnessed destruction,' in which the Soviet navy deliberately sank ships in view of American naval authorities - 59 vessels in the Barents Sea near Murmansk and 20 at Nakhodka near Vladivostok in 1956; the wooden-hulled YMSs 'performed a variety of combat, auxiliary, and scientific tasks' in Soviet service but 'had short service lives, and all were decommissioned by the mid-1950s.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-1956
- Population
- Soviet Navy crew (1945-56); Project HULA transfer/training personnel, Cold Bay (1945)
- Limitations
- The appendix table itself cites NAVSHIPS 250-012 (Ships Data: U.S. Naval Vessels, vol. II, 1 January 1949) and Berezhnoi's Soviet lend-lease reference. It documents the transfer and the '1956-destroyed' disposition but does not give the sinking method or location - the Tatar Strait detail is NavSource's (ev-01). Soviet-service details (Northern Pacific Fleet assignment, hydrographic reclassification) are not in this source. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-02
-
[4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number listing (RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel logs, Entry 118, NAID 581208) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 ship-number PDF, p. 117, 'YMS-241' row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds US Navy deck logs for YMS-241 covering 18 February 1943 - 18 July 1945: the ship-number list entry reads 'YMS-241 2/18/1943 7/18/1945' (PDF p. 117). The window opens on her completion/commissioning date and closes the day before her 19 July 1945 transfer to the USSR - i.e., the complete US Navy service life of the hull is covered. Post-1941 Navy logbooks are held at the National Archives at College Park (RG 24, Entry 118).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- USN crew of YMS-241 (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Establishes that deck logs for this hull exist in NARA custody - it is a finding aid, not the logs themselves. The 1943-45 logs were not located in digitized form this session (the National Archives Catalog is JS-rendered and unfetchable; the Vietnam-era digitization partnership does not cover this period). No asbestos content is asserted - deck logs are a lead for service, personnel, and maintenance detail, including any future ship-specific material evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-03
-
[5]ssarkansan.com, 'USS YMS-241' - private research compilation reconstructing the hull's movements from other vessels' and bases' war diaries and crew rosters (the compiler states no Fold3 war diary exists for YMS-241 itself) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ssarkansan.com USS YMS-241 page: 'Pre-Cape San Juan History,' 'Post-Cape San Juan History,' and crew/commander sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- War-diary-derived service reconstruction for this hull: arrived Naval Station Seattle 22 February 1943 for fitting out and shakedown; departed Puget Sound Navy Yard 28 April 1943; via San Diego and San Francisco to Pearl Harbor (arrived 22 July 1943); assigned Task Force 56, Noumea (arrived 24 August 1943); escort operations out of Suva/Tonga. On 12 November 1943, with SC-654, converged on survivors of the torpedoed troop transport SS Cape San Juan - the reconstruction credits YMS-241 with nearly 200 survivors aboard at one point (an estimate). Through 1944: repairs at Noumea and Espiritu Santo; escort and anti-submarine screening in the Solomons (Guadalcanal, Russell Islands, Cape Torokina); Kwajalein repairs by USS Agenor (ARL-3) June 1944; Saipan convoy June 1944 (convoy attacked by torpedo bombers 15 and 17 June); Guam capture operations July-October 1944 (Apra Harbor; repairs by USS Luzon ARG-2); repairs at Eniwetok by USS Zeus (ARB-4); Guam-Saipan convoy G-S34 December 1944; Eniwetok/Majuro/Pearl January-February 1945. LTJG H. T. Rubino assumed command 26 March 1945. At Naval Ammunition Depot, Puget Sound, 21 May 1945. Used mainly as a small anti-submarine escort rather than a harbor sweeper throughout her career.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- USN crew (1943-45), incl. Cape San Juan survivors embarked Nov 1943; Puget Sound Navy Yard / NAD Puget Sound trades during availabilities (secondary)
- Limitations
- Private secondary compilation, not an official source: its movements are reconstructed from third-party war diaries and crew rosters held at NARA/Fold3, not from a YMS-241 war diary (none exists on Fold3 per the compiler). The ~200-survivor figure is the compiler's estimate, not a primary count. It states a 18 July 1945 transfer date (attributed to NavSource) that conflicts with the 19 July date in the NHHC monograph table, NavSource's own live page, and uboat.net - 19 July is carried (see ev-08). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block and YMS class index (wooden-hulled class, GM 8-268A diesels, built at 35 small yacht yards); NavSource class intro (561 built 1941-45); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-program description (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19241.htm spec block; NavSource YMS/BYMS index (11/19idx.htm) class intro and characteristics block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled, diesel-powered motor minesweeper built 1942-43 inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era would carry era-standard marine applications of the type and period: diesel-exhaust lagging, thermal insulation around machinery spaces, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation - in the confined volume of a 136-foot hull. As a diesel direct-drive craft she carried no steam plant: the boiler and steam-pipe lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and the wooden hull removes the steel-hull insulation assumptions applicable to larger combatants.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Tacoma Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); USN crew (1943-45); yard/base trades during Seattle, Noumea, Espiritu Santo, Kwajalein, Guam, Eniwetok availabilities; Soviet crew (1945-56); any 1956 destruction-witness parties
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder's spec sheet located for YMS-241. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Tacoma Boat Building's own wartime material records are not located (yard closed 1992).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-05
-
[7]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 US construction (1942-43) and USN service era (1943-45).
- 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-241-yms241-06
-
[8]Batch-8879 search ledger (this record): NavSource 11/19241; NHHC Project HULA monograph; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; ssarkansan war-diary compilation; NavSource YMS class index; GAO product page; Tacoma Public Library Northwest ORCA; WA Ecology cleanup-site page; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (fleet-paced at draft time - see search_ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-241-yms241-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, builder material list, or docketed case naming USS YMS-241 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource confirms; NHHC site search unavailable - standing link-rot defect). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried at draft time - the authenticated helper reported the fleet-wide pacing budget spent (HTTP 429-class pacing, not a result); logged in search_ledger as blocked/pending rather than a negative result. The only 'asbestos aboard' material pattern for YMS-class hulls is law-firm listicle content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (fleet-paced, unrun at draft time). The 1943-45 deck logs at NARA College Park (SL44-verified) and any Tacoma Boat Building work records are undigitized leads. Soviet-side records were not searched. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-07
-
[9]Designation/date cross-check: NHHC Project HULA appendix table (19 Jul. 1945); NavSource 11/19241 (19 July 1945); uboat.net allied-warships entry (commissioned 18 Feb 1943, end service 19 Jul 1945, transferred USSR 19 July 1945); ssarkansan.com (states 'July 18' attributed to NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Project HULA p. 39 table; NavSource 11/19241.htm header block; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9663.html; ssarkansan.com 'Post-Cape San Juan History' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: one secondary compilation (ssarkansan.com) carries the Soviet transfer as 'July 18th, 1945' attributed to NavSource - but NavSource's live page reads 19 July 1945, the NHHC Project HULA appendix table gives 19 Jul., and uboat.net independently gives 19 July 1945. The 19 July 1945 transfer date is carried; the 18 July variant is a probable transcription slip (US deck logs do end 18 July 1945 - likely the source of the confusion). Also unresolved: NavSource lists the hull 'struck from the Soviet Navy list 11 June 1956' yet 'sunk in the Tatar Strait between 28-30 June 1956' - the strike predating the sinking is an internal ordering oddity left as stated.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-1956
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating date error and flags a source-internal oddity, not a material claim. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-241-yms241-08