Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 1053-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-327-yms327-pkt-1053-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Ruff' entry (filed as yms327.htm) - construction, commissioning CO, full WWII Pacific narrative, 1946 decommissioning, 1947 naming/AMS-54, 1951 recommissioning, MSC(O)-54, 1957 in-service-in-reserve, 1959-69 Naval Reserve training ship, 1969 strike as last of class, six battle stars (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Ruff' entry, service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'The second Ruff was laid down as YMS-327 on 2 June 1942 by the Ballard Marine Railway Co., Inc., Seattle, Wash.; launched 5 December 1942; and commissioned 19 April 1943; Lt. Robert S. Marshall, USNR, in command.' WWII: shakedown off San Diego; Pearl Harbor (arrived 30 Sep 1943); convoy via Eniwetok and Guam to Ulithi (arrived 6 Nov) for a year's operations; Hollandia and Manus Nov 1944; struck a reef bending the port screw, drydocked in AFD-8; sailed 23 Dec 1944 with Task Unit 77.6.1 for Leyte Gulf; Lingayen Gulf sweep 6-12 Jan 1945 under continuous air attack alongside seven other YMS and ten DMS; Guadalcanal; Okinawa area 24 Mar-2 Apr 1945 sweeping within hailing distance of the invasion beaches, then anti-suicide-boat patrol. 4 May 1945: splashed a 'Val' near Gayety (AM-239); attacked by a 'Baka' rocket plane passing within 20 feet of the bridge; friendly 40mm fire from Gayety and Hopkins hit YMS-327 - port 20mm mount struck, three men blown overboard (one killed, one injured), cook injured in the galley, a third shell through the wooden hull two feet above the waterline exploded in the main engine room with no injuries. Repairs at Kerama Retto; Kuma Shima invasion approaches swept 25-26 Jun; East China Sea dan-buoy work 4-15 Jul 1945 (force destroyed 263 mines); post-surrender mine clearance Wakayama (8-24 Sep), Wakanura-Kii, Honshu (7-28 Oct), off Kobe (to 10 Jan 1946); returned via Ulithi, Saipan, Guam, Pearl Harbor to San Diego 1 Feb 1946; decommissioned 20 Aug 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Fla. (Atlantic Reserve Fleet); named Ruff and classified AMS-54 1 Sep 1947; recommissioned 10 Mar 1951; Atlantic coast Salem MA to Key West through mid-1955; Havana, Nassau, Halifax; MSC(O)-54 7 Feb 1955; minesweeping-gear evaluation for U.S. Naval Mine Defense Laboratory at Panama City; Seattle Dec 1957, berthed at the Lake Union N&MCRTC; pennant down 13 Dec 1957 (decommissioned in service, in reserve); NRT ship, 13th Naval District, NRTC Everett WA from 30 Oct 1959 with a nucleus crew of 8 petty officers + 1 OINC; Long Beach 1965, San Diego refresher 1966 and 1968, Ensenada, Vancouver; decommissioned and struck 14 Nov 1969 'the last ship of her class to leave the Navy'; sold. 'Ruff earned six battle stars for World War II service.' Spec block: '(YMS-327: dp. 320; l. 136'0"; b. 24'6"; dr. 10' cpl. 32; a. 1 3", 2 20mm., 2 .50 cal., 2 dct., 2 dcp.; cl. YMS-135)'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1969 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Ballard Marine Railway construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (complement ~32); 1951-57 Atlantic-coast crew; 1959-69 reserve nucleus crew and rotating reserve crews
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The DANFS entry covers this hull under both designations. Live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-10-04 (standing NHHC link-rot defect); verbatim transcription at the losthistory.net/hazegray mirror used. Spec-block displacement (320) conflicts with NavSource (270 t) - carried in gaps; DANFS lists 'cl. YMS-135' where NavSource labels the class 'YMS-1' (numbered subclass notation - carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-01
-
[3]NARA Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (Claudia Bradley, Michael Kurtz, et al., comp.) - YMS-327 logbook entry, scanned page via ACPL Genealogy Center mirror [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, printed p. 519, 'Ships with Symbol and Number Designations' section, YMS block, row 'YMS-327' (ACPL mirror scan 551.jpg, live-verified 2026-10-04)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 inventories U.S. Navy deck logbooks held for this hull: 'YMS-327 | Apr. 19, 1943-June 30, 1945 | 7' - seven logbooks spanning commissioning day through the end of the WWII accession window, covering her entire combat service (Pearl Harbor transit, Ulithi year, Lingayen, Okinawa, post-surrender Japan mine clearance). The logs are the primary operational and personnel record source for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-04-19 to 1945-06-30 (log coverage); 1970s (list publication era)
- Population
- Wartime crew of YMS-327 (officers and enlisted named in logs; complement ~32)
- Limitations
- An inventory entry, not the logs themselves: establishes that seven logbooks exist for this hull at NARA, not their contents. Logs are not digitized; deck-log research is an open archival lead. Coverage ends 30 Jun 1945 (the SL44 accession window), so Okinawa-to-Kobe post-surrender months and the entire 1947-1969 Ruff era fall outside this inventory. No asbestos content - logbooks record operations and personnel, not materials. Locator note: entry verified on printed page 519 of the list (ACPL mirror scan 'display' page 551); a secondary task citation referencing 'PDF page 118' reflects different PDF pagination of the same document, not a different record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Ruff (MSC[O] 54) ex-Ruff (AMS 54) ex-YMS-327' - designation timeline, specifications, NVR 1949 reserve-training plan note, commanding-officer roster, disposal chain, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19327.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officer roster, photo caption for NARA 80-G-316816
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 2 June 1942 Ballard Marine Railway Co. Inc, Seattle WA; launched 5 Dec 1942; completed and commissioned USS YMS-327 19 Apr 1943; decommissioned 20 Aug 1946, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Green Cove Springs FL; 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for placing in service as a Naval Reserve training ship in the 1st Naval District (Boston) as September 1947'; named Ruff, reclassified AMS-54, 1 Sep 1947; recommissioned 10 Mar 1951; MSC(O)-54 7 Feb 1955; decommissioned 13 Dec 1957 placed in service in reserve; reserve training ship 30 Oct 1959; out of service and struck 14 Nov 1969, subsequently sold; 'the last ship of her class to leave the Navy'; acquired 1971 by Ernest J. Silva, LaJolla CA, passenger barge renamed Libra; acquired 1979 by Glenn Couch, Chula Vista CA; out of documentation 1984; fate unknown. Specs: 270 t., 136', beam 24'6", draft 8', 15 kts, complement 32; armament one 3"/50 DP, two 20mm, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page also carries the NARA-captioned 2 Apr 1945 Kerama Retto photo (80-G-316816) showing YMS-327 forward of the damaged Indianapolis (CA-35) with New Mexico (BB-40), NHHC photo NH 84981 (c. 1945), and a commanding-officer roster (Lt. Robert S. Marshall, USNR, 19 Apr 1943 - 4 May 1945, onward through reserve-era officers-in-charge).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1984
- Population
- Ballard construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-69); civilian owners/scrappers post-1969
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates here track DANFS and are consistent where they overlap, but secondary sourcing. Spec conflicts with DANFS carried in gaps (displacement 270 vs 320; draft 8' vs 10'; armament omits the two .50 cal and depth-charge tracks DANFS lists). Contains no asbestos content. The 1969 sale predates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat or material record for the disposal was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-03
-
[5]NARA photo 80-G-316816 (metadata transcribed in NavSource caption): '2 April 1945, Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands - Indianapolis (CA 35) listing noticeably... Photo was taken from New Mexico (BB 40) and YMS-327 is forward of Indianapolis. LCT-1414 is approaching Indianapolis starboard'; also NHHC photo NH 84981 (c. 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19327.htm photo caption block citing 'National Archives photo 80-G-316816' and 'Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 84981'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-held photograph places this hull at Kerama Retto, Okinawa area, on 2 April 1945 - inside the DANFS-documented window of minesweeping off the invasion beaches (24 Mar-2 Apr 1945). NHHC photo NH 84981 documents the ship c. 1945. Physical-presence documentation consistent with the operational record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew aboard at Kerama Retto, 2 Apr 1945
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: a photograph establishes presence, not work performed or materials aboard. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched; NAID and caption metadata transcribed via NavSource. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (YMS-135 class, YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper); NavSource specifications (wooden hull; two 880bhp GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts, no steam plant); shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net mine-warfare build table corroborating Ballard Marine Railway as builder; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net mine-warfare table (AMS-54 / YMS-327 / Ruff / Ballard MR row)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper built 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard small-vessel applications aboard an auxiliary of this type and period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical/accommodation insulation in the small engineering and berthing volume. As a diesel-powered wooden hull she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her installed insulation load was materially smaller than a steel combatant of the era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Ballard Marine Railway construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-69); reserve-training and refit-period trades (Lake Union Drydock 1960-61 per crew account); disposal/shipbreaking workers post-1969
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for this hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The wooden-hull construction materially reduces the era-typical asbestos load relative to steam-driven steel ships; inference is weaker than for a comparable steam vessel. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-05
-
[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 service era (1943-1969) and her whole Naval Reserve training period.
- 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, standing defect noted in prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-06
-
[8]USS Ruff MSC(O)-54 veteran-maintained site (shadetreephysics.com): Robert Fritzius crew account Jun 1960-Nov 1961; Phillip Hays account, Officer-in-Charge of decommissioning, Oct-Nov 1969 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shadetreephysics.com/ships/ruff.htm, 'USS Ruff Recollections - Jun 1960-Nov 1961' (Fritzius) and '17 Nov 2014 Comments from Phillip Hays, Officer In Charge of Ruff Decommissioning'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- First-person crew accounts document yard and disposal-era detail for this hull: electronics technician Robert Fritzius reports that when he joined USS Ruff at the Naval Reserve Training Center, Everett WA (1960), the ship was 'undergoing a refitting at the Lake Union Drydock in Seattle,' with a skeleton crew commuting between Everett and Seattle; reserve-era ops included monthly underway exercises in Puget Sound and annual summer underway training at Long Beach Naval Station. Ensign Phillip Hays, her last Officer-in-Charge (Oct-Nov 1969), places the decommissioning work 'somewhere on the north side of Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Inner Harbor' with 'about a dozen fellows working on the Ruff,' and notes 'the engines had been removed before I came aboard.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1960-1969
- Population
- Reserve-era nucleus crew (~9) and rotating reserve crews (1959-69); Lake Union Drydock refit trades (1960-61); decommissioning work party (~12, 1969)
- Limitations
- Veteran first-person recollections on a personal site - not an official record; names, dates, and yard identity are witness testimony, verification partial (the Lake Union Drydock refit and Terminal Island disposal site are consistent with DANFS's Lake Union/Everett and LA-area end-of-service framing but are not independently documented). Establishes locations and activities, not materials or asbestos content. A drydock refit period is a relevant maintenance-disturbance window for era-inference purposes only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-07
-
[9]Batch-8956 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NARA Special List 44 scanned page; NavSource; NARA photo lead; GAO product page; NavalCoverMuseum; shipbuildinghistory; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener base queries (see sl-uss-yms-327-yms327-04 through -07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-327-yms327-01 through sl-uss-yms-327-yms327-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum or owner hazmat record, or verified litigation naming USS YMS-327 / USS Ruff (AMS-54 / MSC(O)-54) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener base queries run this session via the authenticated helper (4 queries - 'YMS-327' and 'USS Ruff' across opinion and RECAP docket indexes, --limit 20): zero qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. 'YMS-327' returned 52 opinion and 3,680 docket token matches - all returned hits reviewed, every one a name/text collision; 'USS Ruff' returned 5 opinion and 157 docket matches - all collisions; the single asbestos opinion surfaced (Holdren v. Buffalo Pumps, D. Mass. 2009) matched only a 'Gay v. Ruff', 292 U.S. 25 (1934) citation, not this hull.
- 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 - era inference remains reasonable; the hull served 1943-1969 entirely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Deck logs (seven logbooks at NARA), builder work packages, and disposal/sale records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-08
-
[10]Designation cross-check: NavSource designation line (YMS-327 -> AMS-54 Ruff -> MSC(O)-54 -> Libra); DANFS 'Ruff' entry covering both designations; Wikipedia USS Ruff disambiguation page (AMc-59 vs YMS-327 - cross-check only, not a record source) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource header designation line; DANFS 'Ruff' entry header ('The second Ruff'); Wikipedia USS Ruff disambiguation page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION / collision control: two different Navy minesweepers were named Ruff - this hull (ex-YMS-327, Ruff AMS-54/MSC(O)-54, 1943-1969) and USS Ruff AMc-59 (ex-Speaker, Martinolich Shipbuilding, 1940-1946), a smaller coastal minesweeper that spent the war in Hawaiian waters. Any source citing 'USS Ruff' requires hull disambiguation: litigation, photograph, or service references to 'Ruff' without a hull number are ambiguous until the hull is confirmed. This record treats YMS-327/AMS-54/MSC(O)-54/Libra as one physical hull and AMc-59 as a different vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1940-1969 (both hulls' Navy window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a name-collision risk, not a material claim. No asbestos content. Wikipedia used only for disambiguation cross-check - not cited as a record source for vessel facts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-327-yms327-09
