Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 1055-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-343-yms343-pkt-1055-packet-md
-
[2]National Archives, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, ship-number ordering [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List #44 ship-number PDF, p. 119 (YMS-343: 12/1/1943 - 6/30/1945); digitization status per https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 inventories deck logs held for YMS-343 in ONE coverage block: 12/1/1943 - 6/30/1945 (p. 119). The window opens twenty days after her 11 November 1943 completion/commissioning and closes mid-1945 while she was still in commission - the 6/30/1945 endpoint is a systematic cutoff shared by numerous Pacific-theater YMS entries on the same page (YMS-331, -332, -335, -340, -342, -345, -349 all end 6/30/1945), indicating the wartime log accession rather than a service endpoint. These are log-coverage dates, not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates. YMS-343 does not appear on NARA's list of digitized deck logs in the National Archives Catalog (the digitized YMS entries are hulls later named under the AMS/MSCO program, which this hull never received); the logs are an undigitized primary record held in RG 24 at College Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew and officers keeping the logs (1943-1945)
- Limitations
- Inventory listing only - establishes that deck logs exist and their date coverage, not their content. Log coverage is not proof of commissioning/decommissioning dates. Postwar logs (7/1945 through her 1947 disposal) are not inventoried in this accession - whether they survive separately cannot be told from the inventory alone. The deck logs themselves are undigitized; no page-level content reviewed this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-343 - construction/milestone timeline, specifications, disposal, merchant conversion, photo and commanding-officer entries (live, verified via firecrawl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19343.htm header block, specifications block, photo caption (alongside USS Putnam), commanding-officer entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: 'Laid down 10 February 1943 by the Bellingham Marine Railway and Boat Building Co., Bellingham, WA; Launched 1 May 1943; Completed 11 November 1943; Present in Tokyo Bay during Japanese surrender ceremony in September 1945; Struck from the Naval Register 14 March 1947; Transferred to the War Shipping Administration 17 July 1947 and sold; Registered in 1949 to the Pure Oil Co. of Port Arthur, TX as the miscellaneous vessel K. A. Covell out of Port Arthur; Fate unknown.' Call sign Nan-Queen-Nan-Xray. Specifications: displacement 270 t. (1949: 254 t.); length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts.; complement 32 (1949: four); armament one 3"/50 dual purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. One photo: 'Coming alongside USS Putnam (DD 757) during mainland Japan occupation activities September - November 1945' (George Hansen Putnam photo set, via Eric Hansen and John Chiquoine). Commanding officer listed: LTJG C. V. N. Westcott, USNR, 1945. Page states 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-343.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Construction trades at the Bellingham yard (1943); U.S. crew (1943-1947); merchant crew as K. A. Covell (1949 on)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track NVR-style data. The 'two 880bhp' engine phrasing reads as a per-engine rating but conflicts with class-level data (880 shp total designed; 440 bhp per engine - see gaps). The 1949 parenthetical figures are merchant-register particulars. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-343 (YMS-343) - build/milestone data block [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/9763 data block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net data block: built by Bellingham Marine Railway and Boatbuilding Co. (Bellingham, Washington); ordered 13 April 1942; laid down 10 February 1943; launched 1 May 1943; commissioned 11 November 1943; 'Stricken on 14 March 1947'; 'Sold on 17 July 1947'. The page lists no commanding officers and no wartime events for this hull ('We don't have any commands listed for USS YMS-343').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Crew (1943-1947)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a specialist secondary database compiled from official records - the milestone data is consistent with NavSource and the yard tables, but the absence of events/commands reflects the site's coverage gaps for small craft, not a documented quiet career. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Bellingham Shipyards / Bellingham Marine, Bellingham WA' yard history and vessel list + 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' type table (njscuba.net mirror) - builder's production record [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Bellingham yard page (history paragraph + YMS-343 row: ON 254858, 278t, 11-Nov-43, 'Sold 1946 as K. A. Covell'); shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/ym/ type table, YMS-343 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's production table lists YMS-343 as US Navy minesweeper, 278 tons, official number 254858, delivered 11-Nov-43, disposition 'Sold 1946 as K. A. Covell.' Yard history per Colton: Bellingham Marine Railway Co. was a boat-repair business going back to the early years of the 20th century; it became Bellingham Marine Railway and Boatbuilding Co. in 1921 with a new facility on the west side of the Whatcom Creek waterway on Squalicum Creek; in 1941 it became Bellingham Shipyards when it merged with Bellingham Iron Works; after the war it was renamed Bellingham Marine and closed in 1963 (site now occupied by B & J Fiberglass). The YMS type table files this hull's row under 'Bellingham Iron Works' with disposition 'struck 1946.' The same yard complex built the adjacent block YMS-342 through -345 plus YMS-269 through -276, YMS-410 through -413, and earlier BYMS-17 through -20.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Bellingham yard construction trades (1943)
- Limitations
- Independent secondary yard register compiled from yard and government records. Builder-name label differs across sources (NavSource/uboat.net 'Bellingham Marine Railway and Boat Building Co.' vs shipbuildinghistory type table 'Bellingham Iron Works') - the yard-history page documents the 1941 merger into Bellingham Shipyards, so the labels refer to one merged operation, but the contemporaneous 1943 entity name is not stated on the Navy sources. Disposition dates differ ('sold 1946'/'struck 1946' vs NavSource's struck 14 Mar 1947 / WSA 17 Jul 1947 - see gaps). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-04
-
[6]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library, 'Allied Ships present in Tokyo Bay' (2 September 1945) - Motor Mine Sweeper (YMS) section [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC 'Allied Ships present in Tokyo Bay' page, Motor Mine Sweeper (YMS) section ('YMS-343' line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Navy Department Library list of Allied ships present in Tokyo Bay at the 2 September 1945 surrender ceremony names YMS-343 in its Motor Mine Sweeper (YMS) section, alongside YMS-177, YMS-268, YMS-276, YMS-362, YMS-371, YMS-390, YMS-415, YMS-426, YMS-441, YMS-461, and YMS-467. The page flags known errata for other entries (USS Hughes vs USS Charles F. Hughes); no erratum attaches to YMS-343. This corroborates the NavSource hull page's 'Present in Tokyo Bay during Japanese surrender ceremony in September 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-02
- Population
- YMS-343 crew (September 1945)
- Limitations
- Presence list only - establishes the ship was in Tokyo Bay for the 2 September 1945 ceremony; does not document which pre-surrender minesweeping operation (if any) this hull performed, nor the sweeping unit she belonged to. The list carries a compiler's note correcting one ship entry, so line-level accuracy is good but the document is a compiled list, not the ship's own record. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-05
-
[7]NavSource Online: Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) Index - class description; AMS index 11/05idx.htm for the 1947 reclassification roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative; 11/05idx.htm AMS roster (YMS-343 absent)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context for this hull: 'The wood-hulled YMS proved to be one of the U.S. Navy's more durable and versatile types' - 561 yard minesweepers were built at 35 U.S. yacht yards (12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, 4 Great Lakes) beginning with YMS-1, laid down 4 March 1941 at Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, NY. YMS-135 through -445 (which includes this hull) carried one stack; YMS-1 through -134 had two; YMS-446 through -479 none. The index records one of the type's heaviest single losses on 9 October 1945, when seven U.S. YMS were sunk in a typhoon off Okinawa - this hull, then on mainland-Japan occupation duty, was not among them. Surviving YMS were reclassified as AMS and given bird names in 1947 (the AMS index lists the first 39 named on 18 February 1947, later 58 total); YMS-343, struck 14 March 1947 en route to disposal, never appears in the AMS roster.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Class-wide construction and crew populations (1941-1969)
- Limitations
- Class-level description only - names the type's shared characteristics, not anything specific to hull 343 beyond her place in the one-stack production group and her absence from the AMS roster. Spec figures on the index differ from hull-page values (see gaps). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource class index (wood-hulled YMS type); NavSource/uboat.net hull data (two GM 8-268A diesels, reduction gear, two shafts - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-use documentation (ev-uss-yms-343-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class description; NavSource 11/19343.htm propulsion spec; GAO HRD-80-2 product page (ev-08)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wood-hulled, diesel-driven minesweeper delivered in November 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications on a small wooden diesel combatant of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and muffler lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, and electrical insulation. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - and her wood hull and small machinery spaces imply a substantially smaller insulation footprint than a steam combatant. Her post-Navy conversion to the merchant vessel K. A. Covell (sold 1947, registered 1949) extends the era context into commercial service without adding hull-specific materials documentation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Bellingham yard construction trades (1943); engine-room and maintenance crew (1943-1947 U.S.; merchant crew post-1947)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or merchant-conversion record located for YMS-343/K. A. Covell. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no ship-proven presence. The small craft's reduced systems footprint makes the inference weaker than for steam-powered hulls of the same era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-07
-
[9]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 (1943) and U.S. service era (1943-1947).
- 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. Covers the U.S. Navy program only - says nothing about merchant conversion or service as K. A. Covell after 1947. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, re-confirmed 2026-10-04 - same standing defect as Batches 01/98/8948/8970) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-08
-
[10]Batch-8974 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 and digitized-log list; NHHC DANFS (no entry exists); NHHC 'Allied Ships present in Tokyo Bay' list; NavSource hull page, class index, and AMS index; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory Bellingham yard page and YMS type table; NVR; VA Board of Veterans' Appeals search; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-343-01 through sl-uss-yms-343-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, VA/BVA decision, or docketed case naming YMS-343 or K. A. Covell was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only 'asbestos aboard' material for YMS-class hulls is law-firm marketing listicle content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - it is consistent with both genuinely light insulation fit and simple non-digitization of small-craft records (this hull's own deck logs are undigitized). CourtListener coverage partial this session (fleet pacing stand-down - see ledger). Undigitized deck logs (RG 24), WSA/FMC disposal file, and USCG merchant documentation for ON 254858 remain open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-343-09