Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 1046-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-281-yms281-pkt-1046-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'YMS-281' (live page verified via fetch, 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper chronology and specifications block; commanding-officers table; DANFS-absence note.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's live YMS-281 page identifies the hull as a YMS-1 class auxiliary motor minesweeper laid down 30 July 1942 by the San Diego Marine Construction Co., San Diego, CA; launched 30 October 1942; completed 28 July 1943; suffered blast damage on 29 January 1945 when Serpens (AK-97) was sunk by an explosion of undetermined origin at Guadalcanal, Solomons; struck from the Naval Register 29 October 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration in July 1947; fate unknown. Specifications listed: 270 t., 136 ft., beam 24 ft. 6 in., draft 8 ft., 15 kts., complement 32, one 3-inch/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. The page lists LT E. O. Nelson, USNR, as commanding officer in 1945 and notes that no DANFS history exists for YMS-281.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (NavSource lists complement 32).
- Limitations
- NavSource is a live secondary photo-archive compilation, not a primary construction or personnel record. The blast-damage line and WSA transfer are corroborated in direction by the USCG-documented Serpens event and the marhisdata merchant-registry record, but NavSource's 'fate unknown' is superseded by the CLARA registry record (ev-uss-yms-281-05). The page contains no asbestos statement, and its diesel specification cannot establish the presence or absence of asbestos-containing materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - Ship Numbers index (live PDF verified HTTP 200; text extracted with pdftotext, 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF p. 117 (printed page), entry 'YMS-281 7/28/1943 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-281 with log coverage from 28 July 1943 through 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-07-28 to 1945-06-30
- Limitations
- This is a custody/coverage index, not the deck logs themselves. The indexed coverage is not a commissioning or decommissioning date and does not identify asbestos, products, exposure, repair work, or causation. The logs were not examined for this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-02
-
[4]National Archives Catalog, file unit 'YMS-281, 7/28/43-4/1/46' (NAID 193014636), RG 24 Muster Rolls series (naId 594996); 110 digital objects, first/last/sampled pages inspected 2026-10-04. [other_primary]
- Locator
- Catalog API record naId 193014636; scanned images 32863_255406-00002 (commissioning cover sheet), -00003 (30 Sep 1943 cover sheet, FPO San Francisco), -00060 (31 Dec 1944 cover sheet); reel card -00000/-00109 'REEL NO 8119'.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives Catalog holds a digitized ship-specific personnel file unit for this hull: 'YMS-281, 7/28/43-4/1/46' (NAID 193014636), within RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (naId 594996), comprising 110 scanned page images. Direct inspection of the scans confirms hull identity: the first muster-roll cover sheet is headed 'MUSTER ROLL OF THE CREW OF THE U.S.S. YMS 281' and states 'Commissioning date, On the 28th day of July, 1943,' certified by Executive Officer Elmer O. Nelson and approved by Commanding Officer Ernest E. McCarthy; a second cover sheet dated 30 September 1943 records forwarding via Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, California; a third cover sheet is dated 31 December 1944. The unit's stated span (to 1 April 1946) extends beyond the SL44 deck-log coverage (to 30 June 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-07-28 to 1946-04-01
- Population
- Crew of USS YMS-281, 1943-1946 (muster-roll named personnel).
- Limitations
- Muster rolls are personnel records: they establish commissioning date, commanding/executive officers, and crew rosters, but do not address materials, asbestos, or shipyard work. The catalog physicalOccurrences field says microfilm Roll 9074 while the scanned reel card reads 'REEL NO 8119' - a reel-numbering discrepancy noted, not resolved. Full rolls not transcribed; they remain the lead for personnel-level exposure research.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-03
-
[5]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'The Long Blue Line: USS Serpens - the Coast Guard's greatest loss' (live page verified via fetch, 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article narrative, paragraphs covering 29 January 1945 explosion, casualties, and court-of-inquiry outcome.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office documents the event in which NavSource records this hull damaged: on the late day of 29 January 1945 the Coast Guard-manned cargo ship USS Serpens (AK-97), anchored off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, exploded while loading depth charges. The blast killed 197 Coast Guardsmen, 51 U.S. Army stevedores, and a U.S. Public Health Service surgeon, plus a soldier ashore killed by flying shrapnel; only two men aboard survived. A court of inquiry could not establish a cause, and in 1949 the Navy closed the case as 'an accident intrinsic to the loading process' rather than enemy action.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-01-29
- Population
- Serpens crew, Army stevedore unit, and vessels/personnel in the Lunga Point anchorage.
- Limitations
- The USCG article documents the explosion but does not name YMS-281 or any other damaged vessel; YMS-281's blast damage is carried on the NavSource row (ev-uss-yms-281-01). This row corroborates the event's date, location, and severity only, and says nothing about asbestos aboard any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-04
-
[6]Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (marhisdata.nl), vessel record 'CLARA - ID 1388' (live page verified via fetch, 2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- Identification/construction/technical data blocks; Ship History Data rows (1943-07-28 YMS 281; 1947-07-08 CLARA; 1955 CLARA); Ship Events Data (1946-10-29 out of service; 1960-02-08 final fate).
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A specialized maritime-registry record identifies this hull's post-Navy career, resolving NavSource's 'fate unknown': after transfer to the War Shipping Administration, the former YMS-281 was registered as the motor cargo vessel CLARA on 8 July 1947 under T.M. Arends of Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles (callsign PJFL); by 1955 she was registered to Clara Shipping Ltd of Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. The registry records her final fate: on 8 February 1960, en route to Antigua with a cargo of bitumen and oil in drums, she sank after a fire near Fort-de-France (Martinique). Registry construction data corroborate the hull identification: built 1943 by San Diego Marine Construction Company Inc., laid down 30 July 1942, launched 30 October 1942, delivered 28 July 1943, type 'Army minesweeper YMS,' wood hull, two 8-cylinder General Motors diesels.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947-1960
- Population
- Merchant crews of CLARA, 1947-1960.
- Limitations
- Single specialized-registry source: the hull identification is strongly corroborated by matching builder, construction dates, delivery date, YMS type, and GM diesel machinery, but the 1947-1960 ownership sequence and the 8 February 1960 sinking detail rest on this one registry and were not independently confirmed in a second registry (e.g., Lloyd's). The record contains no asbestos information. Registry 'Delivery Date' prints 1942-07-28, an apparent typo for 1943-07-28, noted rather than silently corrected.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-05
-
[7]U.S. Government Accountability Office, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (18 Oct. 1979; live product page verified via browser-grade fetch, 2026-10-04). [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product-page Highlights and Full Report link.
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO reported in 1979 that it reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, including use of asbestos in Navy ships and the cost of removal. It describes the Navy's 1975 policy of replacing damaged or repair-affected asbestos insulation with nonasbestos material and its 1979 selective-replacement policy for high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period; report published 1979
- Population
- Workers at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; Navy ships discussed at program level.
- Limitations
- This is Navy-wide, later-era program evidence, not a survey or material record for YMS-281. It does not establish that asbestos was installed, remained aboard, was disturbed, or exposed anyone on this hull. The page returns HTTP 403 to plain command-line fetchers; verified live via browser-grade fetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-06
-
[8]CourtListener authenticated-search helper diagnostic, batch 8908 (2026-10-04); see search_ledger. [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger entries sl-uss-yms-281-09 through sl-uss-yms-281-12; helper diagnostic: 'COURTLISTENER PACING: the fleet-wide request budget is momentarily spent'.
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The required authenticated CourtListener sweep could not be completed. The first base query - 'YMS-281' opinion search, limit 20, covering both the exact-name and hull-number slots because name and hull number are the same string - was attempted three times across the session and was blocked each time by the fleet-wide pacing limiter before an API request was issued. Per pacing guidance the remaining base query ('YMS-281' docket) was not issued, the other two base slots are string-identical duplicates not run per batch rules, and no asbestos-qualified variants were run. Therefore this record makes no negative litigation finding.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- A blocked search is an access gap, not evidence that no case exists. This row does not establish the presence or absence of asbestos litigation, exposure, causation, liability, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-07
-
[9]Batch 8908 research ledger: NARA SL44 ship-number index, NARA Catalog NAID 193014636, NavSource YMS-281 page, NHHC/DANFS availability check, NVR availability check, GAO HRD-80-2, marhisdata CLARA record, USCG Serpens record, and CourtListener helper status (2026-10-04). [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger entries sl-uss-yms-281-01 through sl-uss-yms-281-12.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, product identification, or materials specification naming YMS-281 was located in the public authoritative sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none is available), and the Naval Vessel Register returns no YMS-281 detail page (hull struck 1946, predating NVR coverage). The digitized NARA muster rolls and the indexed deck logs remain the principal hull-specific archival leads; neither was fully examined.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- Research performed 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- This is a bounded negative search result, not proof that asbestos was absent aboard the hull. CourtListener coverage is incomplete because shared pacing blocked the base queries, and unexamined deck logs, muster rolls, or nonpublic records may contain relevant information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-281-08