Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[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-245-yms245-pkt-1042-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'YMS-245' (live page retrieved 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Header, YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper chronology block, and Specifications block.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's live YMS-245 page identifies this hull as a YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper that 'served the Navies of the United States, South Korea and North Korea.' It states: laid down 20 October 1942 by the Tacoma Boat Building Co., Tacoma, WA; launched 6 February 1943; completed 26 July 1943; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission in April 1947; transferred to South Korea in 1948 and named ROKS Gangwha (YMS 508); captured by North Korea in 1949; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-Charlie-Yoke-Queen. Page 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. The page states 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-245.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Ship's company (NavSource lists complement 32); Tacoma Boat construction trades (1942-43); later ROK and DPRK crews.
- Limitations
- NavSource is a live volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary construction or personnel record; its milestones here are corroborated by uboat.net (build dates, ordered 14 March 1942, commissioned 26 July 1943) and by navypedia (ROKS Gangwha/YMS 508, went to North Korea 1949), but the Korean-service detail rests on these secondary sources alone. The page contains no asbestos statement and its specifications cannot establish the presence or absence of asbestos-containing materials. The 'sunk 1959' disposition variant in the shipbuildinghistory yard table conflicts with 'fate unknown' (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-01
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[3]National Archives, Special List 44: Ship Number index to U.S. Navy deck logs in NARA custody (live PDF retrieved 2026-10-04, 137 pages). [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF p. 117, entry 'YMS-245 7/26/1943 6/30/1945'.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives Special List 44, the ship-number index to U.S. Navy deck logs in NARA custody, lists YMS-245 with log coverage from 26 July 1943 through 30 June 1945. The coverage start date coincides with the completion/commissioning date carried in the secondary sources (26 July 1943).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-07-26 to 1945-06-30
- Limitations
- This is a custody/coverage index, not the deck logs themselves. The indexed coverage is not asserted here as a commissioning or decommissioning date and does not identify asbestos, products, exposure, repair work, or causation. The underlying logs were not examined for this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, 'Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) Index' (live page retrieved 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class-description narrative and the YMS-1 to YMS-481 characteristics sidebar.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource's live Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) index establishes class context for this hull: the YMS type was 'the first wooden minesweeper of this class' design and 'the wood-hulled YMS proved to be one of the U.S. Navy's more durable and versatile types'; the class was built at 35 yacht yards rather than larger shipyards; class characteristics were 136' length, 24' 6" beam, 320-ton displacement, 6' 1" draft, complement 33, armament one 3"/50 dual purpose mount and two 20mm mounts, designed speed 12 knots, General Motors 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts, designed shaft horsepower 880. YMS-245 falls in the YMS-135 through YMS-445 build group described as having a single stack.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1969 (type coverage)
- Population
- YMS-class construction trades at 35 yacht yards; YMS crews generally.
- Limitations
- Class-level description from a volunteer secondary compilation, not a record of this hull. The index's class figures (320 t, complement 33, 12 kts, 880 shp) conflict with the YMS-245 ship page (270 t, complement 32, 15 kts, 'two 880bhp' engines); the conflicts are logged in gaps, not resolved here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-03
-
[5]U.S. Government Accountability Office, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (18 October 1979). [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2.
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reported in 1979 on the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, documenting that the Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1942-43) and U.S. service era (1943-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; Navy asbestos program review.
- Limitations
- Navy-wide program evidence, not a survey or material record for YMS-245. It does not establish that asbestos was installed, remained aboard, was disturbed, or exposed anyone on this hull. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (confirmed 2026-10-04 by two methods); product-page description used, full text not retrieved - a standing access defect also noted in BATCH-01 and BATCH-98.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource YMS-245 specifications (ev-01), NavSource YMS class index wood-hulled construction description (ev-03), and GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19245.htm specifications block; NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative; GAO HRD-80-2 product page.
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference only: a wood-hulled, diesel-powered 136-foot auxiliary motor minesweeper built 1942-43 in a yacht yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era (ev-uss-yms-245-04). For a vessel of this type the asbestos-relevant pathways are narrower than on steam-powered steel ships - no boiler or steam-line lagging applies - and center on machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and any fireproofing materials present. No design drawing, material list, or survey establishing any asbestos product aboard this hull or this class was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Tacoma Boat construction trades (1942-43); ship's company (1943-46); later ROK and DPRK crews.
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-245. Names era-standard application areas, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity and no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The diesel plant and wood hull mean the boiler/turbine lagging pathway documented on steam vessels does not apply here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-05
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[7]Batch-8882 research ledger: NARA Special List 44, live NavSource ship and class pages, uboat.net, navypedia, shipbuildinghistory (navalmarinearchive mirror), GAO HRD-80-2, shipyards.json yard list, CourtListener authenticated helper (2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger entries sl-uss-yms-245-01 through sl-uss-yms-245-14.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, product identification, or materials specification naming YMS-245 (or ROKS Gangwha/YMS 508) was located in the public authoritative sources retained for this record. NARA's unexamined deck logs remain the principal hull-specific archival lead. CourtListener litigation coverage: three of four required base queries completed - the opinion searches "USS YMS-245" and "YMS-245" and the hull-number docket search "YMS-245" each returned zero results; the exact-name docket query "USS YMS-245" was denied a pacing token before submission on four spaced attempts and remains an open gap, not a negative litigation result.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- Research performed 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- A bounded negative search result, not proof that asbestos was absent aboard. The incomplete CourtListener sweep (three of four base queries blocked by fleet pacing) means litigation status is an open gap, not a negative finding. Unexamined deck logs or nonpublic records may contain relevant information. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-245-06