Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 1045-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-276-yms276-pkt-1045-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-276 - construction, service timeline, disposition, specifications (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page header, timeline, specifications, commanding-officers, and photo-caption blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource identifies this hull as YMS-276, a YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper: laid down 21 November 1942 by Bellingham Marine Railway and Boat Building Co., Bellingham, WA; launched 5 March 1943; completed 22 September 1943 and commissioned USS YMS-276, assigned to the Pacific Fleet; present in Tokyo Bay during the September 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony; decommissioned 14 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 7 February 1947; transferred to the War Shipping Administration in October 1947; registered in 1949 to Russell Wolf of Harvey, LA as the miscellaneous vessel Wolf IV out of New Orleans; registered 1950 to Wolf and Co., Russell Inc. of Harvey, LA; and burned 23 September 1953 at the company's dock 4.5 miles south of Harvey Locks at New Orleans. Specifications listed: displacement 270 tons (a 259-ton figure also appears), length 136 feet (1949 registry 125.2 ft), beam 23 ft 4 in (1949: 24.8 ft), draft 8 ft 7 in (1949: 11.6 ft), speed 14 knots, complement 60 (1949: 10); armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20-mm mounts, two depth-charge tracks, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding officers listed: LT Richard H. Lawrence, USNR (22 Sep 1943-1945) and LTJG T. C. Clark, USNR (1945). The page notes no DANFS history exists for this hull and carries photographs including a c. 1946 Guam floating-dry-dock image cross-posted from a YMS-140 crew collection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1953
- Population
- Bellingham Marine Railway construction trades (1942-43); U.S. Navy crew (1943-46); WSA custody period (1947-49); commercial crew of Wolf IV (1949-53)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestone dates generally track official records but the WSA-to-commercial sequence conflicts with a secondary yard table ('sold 1946' vs WSA transfer October 1947 - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. The Guam photograph's caption ('In a floating dry dock forward of YMS-140') describes a crew-collection image whose placement on this hull's page is NavSource's editorial association. The printed complement of 60 exceeds the class-typical figure (~32) shown on sister-hull pages; carried as printed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List #44 by Ship Numbers, Navy logbooks available online through the National Archives Catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF page 117; YMS-276 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List #44 lists YMS-276 with Navy deck-log coverage from 9/22/1943 through 6/30/1945. This establishes the existence and date span of the cataloged log record for the hull; it does not establish commissioning or decommissioning dates and the logs were not examined for this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-09-22 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- YMS-276 crew and ship operations during the listed log period
- Limitations
- Archival finding aid and coverage index only. Deck logs may help locate operational or maintenance events, but NARA's asbestos guide states that deck logs do not directly establish asbestos presence or material content. Individual log pages were not reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-02
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945' (archived Wayback capture of the defunct history.navy.mil FAQ page; underlying source: CINCPAC/CINCPOA A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946, Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/faqs/faq69-2.htm, 'Motor Mine Sweeper (YMS)' section, YMS-276 line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official list places YMS-276 among the Motor Mine Sweepers (YMS) present in Tokyo Bay during the Japanese surrender ceremony of 2 September 1945. The list is sourced to the CINCPAC/CINCPOA Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan with additions and subtractions made from war diary, deck log, and other sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-02
- Population
- YMS-276 crew (September 1945)
- Limitations
- Presence documentation only: establishes the hull was in Tokyo Bay for the 2 September 1945 ceremony, not its operational detail. No asbestos content. The live NHHC page is dead (standing NHHC link-rot); verified via Wayback capture dated 8 October 2014 - cited as an archived copy, not a live source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-03
-
[5]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; RG 19; General Information Books; Other records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide says documenting asbestos aboard a particular U.S. naval vessel requires layered research and identifies RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence, minesweeper/minelayer General Information Books, specifications, and hull engineering drawings as potential sources. It also explains that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly establish asbestos presence or material content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Navy vessels and shipyard/crew research populations within the guide's 1941-1961 scope
- Limitations
- This is a research pathway, not a YMS-276 material record. The cited RG 19 series were not retrieved or examined; it neither proves nor disproves asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights (via Wayback capture; direct fetch blocked HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, including the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities. The Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to include selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy/review period
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and Navy asbestos-control program
- Limitations
- Program-level review, not a YMS-276 survey or finding. It does not establish asbestos installation, remaining material, disturbance, or exposure aboard this wooden minesweeper, and its study shipyards are not this hull's builder. Direct fetch of gao.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-04 (automated-access block); product-page content verified via Wayback capture of 2025-04-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-05
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[7]Independent public-source search and partial CourtListener sweep documented in search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-276-yms276-09 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos litigation or asbestos material record was located in the sources searched. The authenticated CourtListener helper completed three of four required base queries — exact-name opinion "USS YMS-276", exact-name docket "USS YMS-276", and hull-number opinion "YMS-276" — each returning zero results; the fourth base query (hull-number docket "YMS-276") was stopped by the fleet-wide pacing gate and remains pending, so the sweep is one query short of complete rather than fully negative.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04 search session
- Population
- CourtListener indexed opinions and RECAP dockets
- Limitations
- Three completed base queries returning zero hits is a genuine negative for indexed opinions and dockets under the ship's names, but the unrun hull-number docket query leaves a narrow open seam, and no asbestos-qualified variants were run (per batch rule, variants are subsets that would also be zero on the completed bases). Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard; deck logs, RG 19 correspondence, and WSA/MARAD disposal files remain open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-276-yms276-06