Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 1049-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-304-yms304-pkt-1049-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-304 - construction, loss, stricken, and specification data (live fetch verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19304.htm header block, class chronology, specifications block, and image caption (National Geographic June 2002 loss-location map)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Registry-style record for this hull: 'YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper: Laid down 15 June 1942 by Rice Brothers Corp., East Boothbay, ME; Launched, 10 August 1943; Completed and commissioned 1 October 1943; Sunk by a mine 30 July 1944 off the coast of Normandy at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, France. She sank in 63 seconds with a loss of eight dead and 30 injured; Struck from the Navy list 22 August 1944.' Call sign Nan-Peter-Jig-Nan. 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 1,000bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page notes 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-304' and carries a National Geographic (June 2002) map illustrating the sinking location at 49 33'N, 01 14'W.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Construction trades at Rice Brothers (1942-43); crew (1943-44, spec complement 32)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS-style data, not a primary registry - but it is the standard public locator for this unnamed hull (no DANFS entry exists). Contains no asbestos or material content. Casualty figure (8 dead, 30 injured) and sinking time (63 seconds) conflict with other accounts - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-304 (YMS-304) - order date, commanding officer, 5-6 June 1944 passage event, loss position (live fetch verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/9724 data block and 'Notable events' 5 Jun 1944 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship record for this hull: Built by Rice Brothers Corp. (East Boothbay, Maine, U.S.A.); Ordered 30 March 1942; Laid down 15 June 1942; Launched 10 August 1943; Commissioned 1 October 1943; Lost 30 July 1944; Loss position 49 33'N, 01 14'W; History: 'Mined and sunk off Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, Normandy, France.' Documented event: on 5 June 1944 around 1845B, USS YMS-304 (Lt.(jg) K.O. Wise, USNR) - with YMS-231 (Lt. E.G. Weed, USNR), YMS-247 (Lt. W.L. Wallace, USNR), YMS-349 (Lt. R.L. Neal, USNR), SC-1321, and PT-71, departed Weymouth about 1720 - joined the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (flag, COMTASKFOR 122, R.Adm. A.G. Kirk) and HMS Bellona; course set for the 'Omaha-sector', arriving about 0600 on 6 June 1944 (D-Day).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Crew incl. Lt.(jg) K.O. Wise, USNR (CO, June 1944)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a well-maintained secondary warship database, not a primary registry; the Weymouth departure point varies from the squadron CO's own account (Plymouth - see ev-04). Officer data is a point-in-time attribution (5 June 1944); whether Lt.(jg) Wise survived the 30 July loss is not stated. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-02
-
[4]U.S. Navy Department Communique No. 550, 26 October 1944 (official loss announcement; transcription hosted at ibiblio.org pha/comms, Pearl Harbor Working Group transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/pha/comms/1944-10.html - 'N. D. COMMUNIQUE NO. 550, OCTOBER 26, 1944', European Theater item 1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy Department's official public announcement of this hull's loss: 'European Theater. 1. During the Allied operations for the liberation of Northern France the following U. S. Naval vessels were lost as the result of enemy action or the perils of the sea. USS Miantonomah (Mine Vessel) LST's- 314, 376, 496, 499, 528 and 921; LCI(L)'s- 85, 91, 92, 98, 219 and 232; YMS's- 304, 350 and 378; PT-509. 2. In addition to the above, a number of smaller landing craft were lost. 3. The next of kin of casualties have been informed.' This is the contemporaneous official record that YMS-304 was lost in the Northern France operations (with the two other Squadron-Y-era motor minesweepers, YMS-350 and YMS-378).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crews of the announced hulls; next of kin (notification noted)
- Limitations
- IMPORTANT TRANSCRIPTION DEFECT: the ibiblio pha/comms transcription renders the hull numbers as 'YMS's- 301, 850 and 878' - demonstrable transcription errors. YMS-301 was not lost in France (completed at William F. Stone & Son, transferred to the USSR 17 August 1945 per NavSource), and '850'/'878' exceed the US YMS series (~481-561 hulls). The correct hulls are YMS-304, YMS-350, YMS-378, each independently documented lost off Normandy in July 1944, and the SHIPS Project history of YMS-378 cites this same 26 October 1944 communique naming those three hulls. The communique announces loss, not cause detail; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-03
-
[5]Captain Joseph J. Guidrey, USNR, 'The Saga of the USS YMS-378 (D-Day Minesweeper), June-July 1944 (as recalled 50 years later)', dated 1 June 1994, as told to his daughter Jo Ann Guidrey Aulick - firsthand commanding-officer account (live fetch verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- guedryfamily.guedry.org/history/joseph_guidrey_usnr.html - sections on Squadron Y mission, 5-6 June sweep, and 30 July loss
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand narrative by the YMS-378 commanding officer who witnessed this hull's loss: the eleven minesweepers of Squadron Y were constituted under Assault Force 'U' on 2 June 1944 with a mission to sweep and buoy the assault channel to 2 miles offshore starting 6 hours before H-hour, the fire-support channel from the west end of Omaha Beach through the west end of Utah Beach, and the transport areas. After the 24-hour weather postponement the squadron swept on the night of 5-6 June; on 6-7 June the force grew to 14 ships split into two squadrons and Guidrey became commander of Squadron Y-1, which 'exploded some 150 mines' off Omaha and Utah in the following days. 'On 30 July Squadron Y-1 was sweeping a new channel for merchant ships in the Utah Beach area near St. Vaast. We were sweeping for magnetic and acoustic mines. USS YMS-378 and USS YMS-304 were sweeping in tandem. About 9 AM a mine exploded under YMS-304 and 2 others exploded close by YMS-378. YMS-304 started sinking immediately, and was gone within 5 minutes.' YMS-378, herself crippled (electrical power and one engine lost, sea chests blown out), rescued many of YMS-304's crew before being beached, patched, and towed to Plymouth (arrived 3 August).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Squadron Y-1 crews incl. YMS-304 (approx. 40 men aboard at loss); Lt. Joseph J. Guidrey, USNR
- Limitations
- An eyewitness commanding-officer account, but retrospective (written 50 years later, as told to his daughter, published on a family genealogy site - not a scan of the original document). Sinking duration 'gone within 5 minutes' conflicts with NavSource '63 seconds' and the SHIPS Project PDF 'within a minute' - see gaps. Confirms the squadron was sweeping for magnetic and acoustic mines; does not itself type the specific mine that struck this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-04
-
[6]T. B. Allen, 'The Gallant Destroyers of D-Day,' Naval History Magazine, U.S. Naval Institute, June 2004, vol. 18 no. 3 (live fetch verified 2026-10-04); survivor account also appears in the National Geographic June 2002 'Untold Stories of D-Day' feature the article footnotes [reputable_press]
- Locator
- usni.org Naval History June 2004 - paragraph on YMS-304/YMS-378 losses and 'The Normandy Graveyard' section; natgeo.nikkeibp.co.jp June 2002 feature page (Japanese edition, artifact caption)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Survivor account of this hull's loss: 'On 30 July, Stan Broilo was eating breakfast in the galley of the minesweeper YMS-304 when "something blew me up to the ceiling. I couldn't move. My back was broken... Then they dragged me and just walked off the ship. They didn't have to jump." Someone in a British rescue boat pulled Stan out of the water... A French fishing boat hauled two other crewmen out of the water. Rescuers saved 36 of the 42 men on the YMS-304. Broken in half, she sank in a little more than a minute.' The article footnotes its sourcing to the YMS-425 veterans' site, the Broilo interview, the ship's action report, and the captain's narrative, and documents the Naval Historical Center's three-year sonar-mapping archaeology program over the Normandy wreck field. National Geographic's June 2002 feature (same reporting cycle, photo by Brian J. Skerry) shows a bronze speaking trumpet recovered from the wreck of YMS-304 and repeats the 36-of-42 figure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944; 2002-2004 (reporting)
- Population
- YMS-304 crew at loss (42 aboard per this account); survivor Stan Broilo
- Limitations
- Published survivor/feature narrative, not the action report itself. 'Rescuers saved 36 of the 42' implies ~6 lost, conflicting with NavSource 'eight dead and 30 injured' - carried as an unresolved variant in gaps. The article's claim that 'the YMS-378 also sank' is contradicted by the documented record (damaged, declared total loss, sold 1947 - see ev-08 correction). The NHC sonar program is wreck-field context, not a YMS-304-specific survey publication. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-05
-
[7]Samuel Eliot Morison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. XI: The Invasion of France and Germany 1944-1945 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1957) - official USN operational history (full-text scan, Internet Archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Morison vol. XI, Normandy minesweeping passages (ch. VI/VIII: 32 YMS in force; 'placidly continued their methodical sweep'; pressure-mine passages pp. ~57, 158-160)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official-history context for this hull's operating environment: the Neptune minesweeping force comprised '25 U.S.N. and 17 R.N. fleet sweepers, 32 U.S.N. coastal minesweepers (YMS) and 21 British of corresponding size' plus shoal-water craft; on 6 June 'the smaller minecraft swept up to within 150 yards of the beach,' and off Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue the large-caliber battery 'took under heavy fire the small minecraft which were sweeping 3500 yards off shore' while 'the YMS placidly continued their methodical sweep.' Morison documents the German mine threat the squadron was clearing: contact/antenna barrage lines, delayed-action magnetic and sonic mines, and 'the highly secret pressure or oyster mine, planted on the bottom and exploded by any change in water pressure exerted by the hull of an approaching ship' - 216 dropped by the Luftwaffe 11-14 June, first recovered inshore 20 June, after which vessels were ordered to four knots in shoal water.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Minesweeping force crews, Assault Forces U and O (June-July 1944)
- Limitations
- Class/operational context only - Morison does not name YMS-304; the volume describes the minesweeping campaign this hull served in. The oyster/pressure mine is documented as a class of weapon in the area, NOT as the identified cause of this loss (eyewitness-derived accounts say acoustic mines; official attribution unpublished - see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-06
-
[8]The SHIPS Project (Plymouth, UK), 'Minesweeper YMS-378' wreck page and companion publication 'The First Ones In - the Story of YMS-378' - built on Capt. Guidrey's account plus official sources (live fetch verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipsproject.org/Wrecks/Wk_YMS378.html history section; shipsproject.org/downloads/TheFirstOnesIn-theStoryofYMS-378_SHIPSProject.pdf 30 July passage
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Detailed account of this hull's final operation: on 30 July 1944 'she was working in tandem with YMS-304 near St. Vaast off Utah Beach clearing a new channel for merchant ships of acoustic and magnetic mines. About 09:00 a mine exploded under YMS-304 and two others exploded near YMS-378, YMS-304 started sinking immediately and was lost within 5 minutes.' The companion PDF adds that 'YMS-304 was rocked by a tremendous explosion directly beneath her keel as she had set off one or more German acoustic mines. Her hull was lifted clear of the water by the force of the blast beneath, YMS-304 crashed back to the surface, split into two pieces and quickly began to flood. Within a minute of the initial detonation, YMS-304 had sunk to the bottom taking eight of her crew with her and sending thirty injured survivors into the water.' YMS-378 rescued many of her crew while crippled, was beached, refloated, towed to Plymouth, declared a total loss, and sold in 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- YMS-304 crew (8 dead, ~30 injured survivors per this account); YMS-378 crew
- Limitations
- A reputable local marine-history project working from the CO's own account and official records - but secondary; the 'one or more German acoustic mines' attribution is the project's (consistent with Guidrey's 'magnetic and acoustic' sweep objective), not an official mine-type finding. 'Within 5 minutes'/'within a minute' vs NavSource '63 seconds' - variants carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-07
-
[9]Scarsdale Inquirer, 22 November 1946, 'Former Lt. Olsen Is Cited By Navy' (HRVH Historical Newspapers digitization) - prints the Navy and Marine Corps Medal citation awarded by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal [reputable_press]
- Locator
- HRVH Historical Newspapers (news.hrvh.org), Scarsdale Inquirer 1946-11-22 issue, citation text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporary press record naming a crew member and documenting the loss mechanism: Lt. Richard Frank Olsen, USNR, received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal from Secretary Forrestal for the sinking of this hull. Citation text: 'For heroic conduct when the USS-YMS-304 was sunk as the result of underwater explosions, July 30, 1944. Although wounded himself, Lieutenant Olsen risked his life to save injured personnel after the main deck was under water, making his way to the twenty-millimeter gun platform and aiding a crewman who had sustained a broken leg and was without a life jacket. Removing the man from the sinking ship, he supported him in the water until he found a place of safety and, continuing his efforts assisted other injured men until all had been evacuated.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944 (event); 1946 (award)
- Population
- Lt. Richard F. Olsen, USNR; injured crewmen he evacuated
- Limitations
- Contemporary (1946) newspaper printing an official award citation - authoritative for the award and consistent on loss mechanism ('underwater explosions') but not itself a finding on mine type. 'After the main deck was under water' corroborates the rapid-foundering accounts. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (wooden YMS-1-class hull; two GM 8-268A diesels, no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use-era documentation (ev-11); absence of any located hull-specific material record (ev-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications (propulsion/armament only - no materials detail); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper completed October 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but the exposure-relevant material set for this type is narrow: no boilers, no steam lines, and a timber hull structure limit candidate applications to diesel-engine exhaust insulation/lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and possible minor fire-protection materials in machinery spaces - all era-standard marine applications of the period, none confirmed installed on this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Rice Brothers construction trades (1942-43); crew incl. engine-room ratings (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the least-material-intensive profile in the fleet (small wooden diesel craft), and no insulation survey, specification sheet, work package, or casualty/repair record naming materials aboard this hull was located. Names candidate era applications, not confirmed products. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The hull sank in 1944 and was never abated or scrapped - any materials installed remain on the wreck.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-09
-
[11]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 (1942-43) and service era (1943-44).
- 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 or to wooden small craft. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-04) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-10
-
[12]Batch-8931 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; Navy Department Communique No. 550 (ibiblio pha/comms); Guidrey CO account; USNI Naval History + National Geographic 2002; Morison vol. XI full text; SHIPS Project; HRVH Scarsdale Inquirer 1946; shipbuildinghistory yard table; NVR; GAO product page; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-304-yms304-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material list, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS YMS-304 / YMS-304 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener base queries (exact-name and hull-number, opinion and docket) were still pending at record close-out - fleet pacing budget repeatedly spent; logged accordingly in search_ledger, NOT as a negative result. Web litigation sweep surfaced no qualifying case and, unusually, no law-firm marketing listicle naming this hull at all.
- 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 remained an open item at close-out (see search_ledger row sl-uss-yms-304-yms304-12). Deck logs, the squadron/flotilla action report on the loss (existence confirmed by USNI footnoting), and any BuShips war-damage assessment are undigitized archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-11
-
[13]Loss-documentation cross-check: SHIPS Project YMS-378 page + 'First Ones In' PDF (Guidrey account); NavSource YMS-378 (11/19378) and YMS-301 (11/19301) records; Navy Department Communique No. 550 transcription (ibiblio); ussyms425.com YMS loss list via Wayback (2006 capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipsproject.org/Wrecks/Wk_YMS378.html; navsource.net/archives/11/19378.htm and /11/19301.htm; ibiblio.org/pha/comms/1944-10.html; web.archive.org ussyms425.com/minewar.htm (2006)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTIONS: (1) 'YMS-378 also sank off Normandy' - repeated by the USNI Naval History article and the ussyms425 veteran-association loss list - is contradicted by the documented record: YMS-378 was damaged by near-miss mine explosions in the same 30 July event, beached, declared a total loss, decommissioned/struck September 1944, sold August 1947, and her remains lie at Freeman's Wharf, Stonehouse, Plymouth (SHIPS Project; NavSource). (2) The ibiblio transcription of Navy Department Communique No. 550 garbles the YMS hull numbers as '301, 850 and 878' - YMS-301 was not lost (transferred to the USSR 1945) and 850/878 exceed the US YMS series; the announced hulls are YMS-304, YMS-350, YMS-378. Neither error is propagated in this record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating secondary-source errors, not a material claim for this hull. The communique correction rests on the convergent documentation of each hull's actual fate plus the SHIPS Project's explicit citation of the communique - the original printed communique page was not directly inspected.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-12
-
[14]Archival leads: NARA RG 24 deck logs (USS YMS-304, Oct 1943-Jul 1944); WWII action/loss reports (the squadron/flotilla action report and captain's narrative on the 30 July loss - existence confirmed by the USNI article's footnoting); BuShips war-damage assessment if issued; NHC sonar-survey products for the Normandy wreck field [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 24 (deck logs) and RG 38/19 (action reports) - open leads; catalog.archives.gov JS-rendered, unfetchable this session
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Undigitized primary documentation exists or likely exists for this hull: deck logs covering her entire 10-month commissioned life; the official action/loss report referenced in published footnotes ('action report and captain's narrative' underlying the Naval History account); and any Bureau of Ships war-damage assessment of the loss. These are the leads most likely to carry material-construction detail (insulation schedules, repair records) if any exists for a wooden YMS.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- YMS-304 crew (1943-44); investigating officers
- Limitations
- Leads only - NARA's catalog is JS-rendered and could not be fetched this session; WWII RG 24 deck logs and action reports for this hull were not located in digitized public sources (the consulted deck-log inventories do not include her). Physical records sit at NARA College Park. No asbestos content established or refuted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-304-yms304-13