Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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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-331-yms331-pkt-1053-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-331 - designation timeline, specifications, hulk photograph caption (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19331.htm header timeline, specifications block, and Robin Tremblay photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 19 December 1942 by Ballard Marine Railway Co., Inc., Seattle, WA; launched 24 April 1943; completed 10 September 1943; damaged by a Japanese assault demolition boat 15 April 1945 off Okinawa; struck from the Naval Register 29 October 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 18 February 1948 and sold; fate listed as unknown on the timeline, but the photographic record identifies the hull: 'Hulk of YMS-331 at Wolfson (Lang) Creek in Brew Bay, Powell River, BC during the mid 1950's. It was later dismantled by locals for resources. How the minesweeper got there remains unknown' (photo credited to Robin Tremblay). Specifications: 270 t., 136' length, 24'6" beam, 8' draft, 15 kts, complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880-bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Queen-George-Charlie. Commanding officer listed: LT E. D. Dougherty, USNR (1945). Page states: 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-331.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1950s (page coverage)
- Population
- Ballard construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (1943-46); post-sale civilian handlers (1948-1960s)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS but no DANFS entry exists to cross-check against. Contains no asbestos content. The Brew Bay hulk identification rests on the photo contributor's caption; the stated mid-1950s date and 'dismantled by locals' outcome come from the caption alone and the Squirrel Cove survival reported by Nauticapedia postdates it (see ev-05 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships database, USS YMS-331 (YMS-331) vessel record (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 9751, data table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent registry corroboration of this hull's milestones: built by Ballard Marine Railway Co. (Seattle, Washington); ordered 13 April 1942; laid down 19 December 1942; launched 24 April 1943; commissioned 10 September 1943; stricken 29 October 1946; sold 18 February 1948. No commands/events listed for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ballard construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a researcher-compiled secondary database - corroborates the NavSource timeline and supplies the order date and an explicit commissioning date, but is not a primary registry. Contains no asbestos content and no post-sale disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-02
-
[4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number sequence, PDF p.119) - deck-log holdings inventory [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf p.119, YMS block; cross-checked against archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online digitized list (hull absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds deck logs for YMS-331 covering 9/10/1943 - 6/30/1945 (Special List 44, verified in the published PDF, p.119: 'YMS-331 9/10/1943 6/30/1945'). Coverage begins at commissioning/completion and extends through the Okinawa EMB damage (15 April 1945) to two months after. The logs are held at the National Archives at College Park, MD (RG 24); they are NOT among the deck logs digitized in the National Archives Catalog - YMS-331 does not appear on NARA's published online deck-log list (checked 2026-10-04).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- Wartime crew (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the logs are inventoried, not read. Deck logs record events, not material inventories; even when pulled they may contain no asbestos information. Post-June 1945 logs (through the 1946 striking) are not in this inventory line - additional holdings may exist outside Special List 44's 1947 cutoff.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-03
-
[5]combinedfleet.com, 'Explosive Motorboats based at Okinawa 1944-1945' (TROM-style history of the IJN EMB squadrons) - YMS-331 damage entry (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- combinedfleet.com OkinawaEMB.htm, 15 April 1945 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Under 15 April 1945: 'W of Naha. Motor minesweeper YMS-331 is damaged by an EMB at 26-15N, 127-36E' - a Japanese explosive motorboat (suicide surface attack craft) attack during the Okinawa campaign, consistent with NavSource's 'damaged by a Japanese assault demolition boat 15 April 1945 off Okinawa.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-04-15
- Population
- Wartime crew (April 1945)
- Limitations
- combinedfleet.com is a serious researcher-compiled secondary history, not an official record - it supplies the position and the W-of-Naha localization; NavSource independently confirms the damage event and date. Neither source states casualty figures, extent of damage, or repair disposition - the hull's status between April 1945 and October 1946 is undocumented. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-04
-
[6]Nauticapedia: BC's Heritage Vessel Database, YMS-331 (U.S.S.) vessel profile, citing named BC marine historians John Campbell (2016) and Dirk Septer (2019) of the British Columbia Nautical History group; Septer photograph dated May 2026 (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- nauticapedia.ca vessel.php?id=51702, Historical Notes section + 2026 photo credit
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-WSA disposition of this hull in British Columbia waters: per John Campbell, the hull was 'one of two YMS that were used as breakwater hulks for a time at Mahood's log pond at Wolfson (Lang) Creek, south of Powell River' and 'was towed up there by Henry Pavid sometime in the sixties' - a boatbuilder at Squirrel Cove (Cortes Island, BC) wanted it for a breakwater. Per Dirk Septer, the Squirrel Cove resident intended to use the vessel as a tour boat, but a storm pushed it too high onto the beach to refloat and an attempt to burn it failed ('too waterlogged'). Nauticapedia's May 8, 2026 photograph by Septer documents the surviving wooden remains at Squirrel Cove. Nauticapedia independently corroborates the Navy milestones (Ballard build 1943; EMB damage 15 April 1945; struck 29 October 1946; WSA transfer and sale 18 February 1948).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1948-2026
- Population
- Post-sale civilian owners/handlers; log-pond and breakwater work (1950s-60s); present-day beach proximity
- Limitations
- Nauticapedia is a curated heritage-vessel database; the disposition detail is attributed testimony from named local historians, not registry documentation - the 1948-to-1950s chain of custody between the WSA sale and the Brew Bay/Powell River hulk remains undocumented ('how the minesweeper got there remains unknown' - NavSource). The NavSource 'dismantled by locals' caption and the surviving Squirrel Cove remains are reconciled as partial dismantling followed by relocation (see gaps) but the sequence is not fully resolved. Contains no asbestos or hazmat content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (wooden-hulled YMS-1 class, GM diesel plant); GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - Navy asbestos-use era documentation [gao]
- Locator
- NavSource specs (270 t., GM 8-268A diesels); GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered wooden minesweeper built 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era: GAO found the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel vessel of this type and period were exhaust and stack lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation/galley fireproofing. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of larger combatants does not apply, and her wooden hull carried no structural fireproofing of the steel-ship type.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (naval era); inference window through the BC hulk period
- Population
- Ballard construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); post-sale dismantlers/handlers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-331. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. GAO is program-level documentation (full text blocked, gao.gov HTTP 403 confirmed this session - product-page description used).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-06
-
[8]Batch-8961 search ledger (this record): NavSource (full page + class index); uboat.net; NARA Special List 44 PDF + digitized deck-log list; NHHC DANFS (404); NVR (no entry, pre-1987 disposal); combinedfleet.com EMB history; Nauticapedia; GAO HRD-80-2 (blocked); CourtListener authenticated queries; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-331-01 through sl-uss-yms-331-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No environmental or wreck-remediation record for the Squirrel Cove remains was located in the sweep; the surviving wooden hulk has no documented hazmat survey.
- 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 - the wreck was dismantled for resources and subjected to a burn attempt, and whatever era materials it once carried are undocumented for hazmat content. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-331-07