USS YMS-350

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet 1056-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-350-yms350-pkt-1056-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-350 (page 11/19350) - milestone timeline, specifications, call sign, loss, disposal [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/19350.htm header block and specifications block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline and specifications for this hull: laid down 12 October 1942 by Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL; launched 29 January 1943; completed 27 September 1943; 'Sunk by a mine 2 July 1944 off Utah Beach, Normandy, France at 49°38' N., 01°35' W'; struck from the Navy list 22 August 1944. Call sign Nan-Queen-Tare-Victor. Specs: displacement 270 t; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 880 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page states explicitly: 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-350' and no photograph of the hull is available.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1944

   Population

   Gibbs construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-44)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; milestone dates generally track official records and are corroborated here by the shipbuildinghistory yard table (delivery 27-Sep-43) and two official chronologies (loss 2 Jul 1944). Its 'off Utah Beach' wording conflicts with the official chronology's 'off Cherbourg' at identical coordinates - the coordinate 49°38'N 01°35'W lies in the Cherbourg approaches, and the first-person account has her sweeping Cherbourg (carried in gaps). 'Completed' vs 'commissioned' wording for this service-craft type is unresolved. Spec conflicts with the official class block (draft 8' vs 6'1"; speed 15 vs 13 kts; complement 32 vs 33; 2x880 bhp vs 500 h.p.) are carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content. Live page verified on .net 2026-10-04 (navsource.org is dead).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-01

3. [3]National Archives, Special List 44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number edition PDF) [other_primary]

   Locator

   sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 119, row 'YMS-350 9/28/1943 7/2/1944'

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Special List 44 (ship-number edition, PDF page 119) inventories one U.S. Navy logbook span for YMS-350: begin 9/28/1943, end 7/2/1944 - documenting WWII Navy deck logs for this hull inside the 1930-1986 study window. The row carries no other-name and no notes. The coverage start is the day after her 27 September 1943 completion, and the coverage end date is the day she was mined and sunk off Cherbourg - the log span is coterminous with her entire commissioned service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-09-28 to 1944-07-02

   Population

   Crew (deck-log period)

   Limitations

   Log-coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning milestones: the inventory documents that logbooks exist covering 9/28/1943-7/2/1944. Whether the terminal date reflects a surviving log reconstructed to the day of sinking or a contemporaneous loss record is not stated. The logs are physical records (Special List 44 covers holdings through 1947); a National Archives Catalog search surfaced no digitized item for this hull - the catalog is JS-rendered and the search is unverified. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-02

4. [4]Robert J. Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II (Contemporary History Branch, Naval Historical Center, 1999), 1944 chapter (ibiblio/HyperWar verbatim mirror) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   USN-Chron-1944.html, 2 July 1944, Europe section

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official chronology entry for 2 July 1944 (Europe), verbatim: 'Motor minesweeper YMS-350 is sunk by mine off Cherbourg, France, 49°38'N, 01°35'W.' Establishes the loss date, cause (mine), and reported position from a Naval Historical Center publication.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1944-07-02

   Population

   Crew at sinking (casualty count not stated in this source)

   Limitations

   Single-line chronology entry: documents loss date/cause/position only - no casualties, squadron, or mission detail. Wording is 'off Cherbourg' where NavSource says 'off Utah Beach' at identical coordinates - a geographic-label conflict carried in gaps. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none); no live NHHC ship-history page was found. ibiblio transcription of the official NHC text used. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-03

5. [5]Chronology of events, July 1944 - Pearl Harbor Attack Hearings archive transcription (ibiblio /pha/), a U.S. government document series [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio.org/pha/chr/chr44-07.html, 07/02 entry

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Wartime/official compiled chronology entry for 07/02, verbatim: 'United States naval vessel sunk: Motor minesweeper YMS-350, by mine, Normandy area, 49 d. 38'N., 01 d. 35'W.' Independent government-document corroboration of the loss date, cause, and position.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1944-07-02

   Population

   Crew at sinking

   Limitations

   Compiled-hearings chronology appendix (transcription); reports the same underlying Navy loss reporting as the NHC chronology - corroboration, not additional detail. 'Normandy area' wording is vaguer than both 'off Cherbourg' and 'off Utah Beach.' No casualty or squadron detail. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-04

6. [6]shipbuildinghistory.com (T. Colton), Gibbs Gas Engine Works / Aerojet-General yard table, Jacksonville FL - YMS-350 build row [other_primary]

   Locator

   gibbs.htm, 'Built by Gibbs Gas Engine Works' table, row 'YMS 350 ... 27-Sep-43 ... Mined off Normandy and lost 1944'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Yard-table row for this hull: 'YMS 350 | US Navy | Minesweeper | 320d | 136 | 27-Sep-43 | Mined off Normandy and lost 1944' - corroborates the builder (Gibbs Gas Engine Works, Jacksonville), hull type, 136-ft length, the 27 September 1943 delivery/completion date, and the mined-and-lost disposition. YMS-350 sits inside the yard's second YMS block, YMS-346 through YMS-357.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1944

   Population

   Gibbs construction trades (1942-43)

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation: valuable and consistently accurate for build/delivery data, but fallible on dispositions elsewhere in the same table (sister YMS-346 is mislabeled 'To China 1948, struck 1976' against the NHC record) - this hull's disposition line happens to agree with the official chronologies. The '320d' GT figure is a yard-table tonnage basis differing from NavSource's 270 t displacement - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-05

7. [7]California State Library Foundation Bulletin No. 77 (Spring 2004) - 'USS YMS-350, July 2, 1944' by Mead B. Kibbey (the ship's executive officer; originally in The Silent Defenders, Naval Warfare Association, Summer 2003) and 'The Loss of YMS-350: As Seen from HMML 137' by Brendan Maher (HMML-137's RNVR commander, excerpted from his USNI book A Passage to Sword Beach) [other_primary]

   Locator

   bulletin_77.pdf pp. 12-24: Kibbey article pp. 12-17 (citation p. 17); Maher article pp. 18-24

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Published first-person accounts of this hull's service and sinking. XO Lt.(jg) Mead B. Kibbey: 'a small (136 feet long and 300 tons) wooden minesweeper'; crossed the North Atlantic on convoy duty, fought German E-boats while towing in the English Channel, 'swept mines off Omaha Beach hours before the first D-Day landings,' rescued soldiers from a sinking LCT under overhead battleship fire, and watched USS Osprey strike a mine and sink nearby. On 2 July 1944, sweeping the mined approaches to Cherbourg with sweep cables out at ~6 knots, a mine exploded under the stern; the ship sank stern-first within about 2-3 minutes. Kibbey: 'fifteen of the crew had been blown overboard and of our crew of thirty, ten were seriously wounded and nine killed or missing'; he identified the weapon by its half-inch flaxen detonating line with cork floats - a German 'snag mine.' Survivors, including Kibbey and Electrician's Mate John Hamilton, reached HMML-137 (Lt. Brendan Maher, RNVR), which rescued them; Ship's Cook 2c Sterling D. Shaffer, resuscitated aboard ML-137, died days later - the tenth death. CO was Lt.(jg) George Hammer; Yeoman Ron Alexander and Ensign Steve Petro are named. The bulletin reproduces Kibbey's Navy and Marine Corps Medal citation verbatim: 'For heroic conduct in effecting the rescue of two men serving with him on board the USS YMS-350, when that vessel was sunk off the Coast of France, on July 2, 1944' (presented by letter signed by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal). Maher's companion account confirms HMML-137's rescue work and the 'ten men of YMS 350 who died' total.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1944 (memoir coverage); published 2003-2004

   Population

   YMS-350 crew of ~30 at sinking (10 dead total incl. Shaffer's post-rescue death; ~10 seriously wounded per Kibbey); HMML-137 rescuers

   Limitations

   First-person memoirs published ~60 years after the event (Silent Defenders 2003; CSL Foundation Bulletin 2004), not the official action or loss report - no BuShips/BuPers casualty report for this hull was located to cross-check the casualty figures, which rest on the XO's published recollection. The medal citation is quoted verbatim in the article; the underlying orders were not independently inspected. 'Omaha Beach' and 'off Cherbourg' wording are the participant's own, consistent with the coordinate position but conflicting with NavSource's 'off Utah Beach' label. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-06

8. [8]Crew-family archive site minesweeperyms346.com - post 'Sinking of the YMS-350 and YMS-304' (built on a YMS-346 crewman's wartime letters and the family-written book We Have Been; includes a photograph of Kibbey's Navy and Marine Corps Medal) [other_primary]

   Locator

   minesweeperyms346.com, post 'Sinking of the YMS-350 and YMS-304' (medal photograph and narrative)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Family-compiled account of this hull's loss from the perspective of squadron sister YMS-346 (same Gibbs builder, four hull numbers earlier): YMS-350 and YMS-346 'were both launched in January of 1943, only 24 days apart,' crossed the Atlantic and the Channel together, and worked together clearing Normandy lanes. The site places both hulls in 'Yoke Squadron Y2,' sweeping the Bay of Seine and then the Cherbourg approaches; on 2 July 1944 YMS-350 was mined while sweeping off Cherbourg; 'ten of her crew' were lost; survivors were picked up by HMML-137 under Lt. Brendan Maher (whose lost cap Kibbey recovered from the water); 'two days later the remaining YMSs in the squadron would enter Cherbourg and would have the distinction of being the first US ships to do so.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1944

   Population

   YMS-350 and YMS-346 crews; Y2 squadron crews (1944)

   Limitations

   Archival lead only: a non-official Wix-hosted family site built on a crewman's letters and a family-written book - the underlying letters were not independently inspected. Its narrative is consistent with Kibbey's published first-person account (ev-06), which is the stronger version of the same underlying record (medal photograph included); the 'Yoke Squadron Y2' squadron assignment and 'first US ships into Cherbourg' detail rest on this compilation - no official squadron roster was located. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-07

9. [9]'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' minecraft section (Naval Historical Division publication; ibiblio/HyperWar transcription) - YMS type description, class spec block, and per-hull table [other_primary]

   Locator

   ships-dm.html, 'YMS -- Motor Minesweepers' section, class spec block, and per-hull table row 'YMS-350'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Class/type documentation: 'The wood-hulled YMS proved to be one of the U.S. Navy's more durable and versatile types through a quarter-century of service, filling a variety of roles for a number of navies. All 481 ships of this type had the same general characteristics... Originally rated as service craft, they were used during World War II for inshore sweeping to prepare the way for amphibious assaults.' YMS-350 falls in the one-stack subclass (YMS-135 through -445). The publication's per-hull table carries this hull's own loss line: 'YMS-350 ... 2Jul44; mined at Normandy.' Class spec block: displacement 320 tons (full); length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 6'1"; speed 13 knots; armament 1 3"/50, 2 20mm, 2 depth charge tracks + 2 extensions, 2 depth charge projectors; complement 4 officers + 29 crew; diesel engines, twin screws, 500 h.p.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1941-1969 (type service life); 1944-07-02 (per-hull loss line)

   Population

   YMS-type construction trades and crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Type/class-level publication with per-hull lines: the YMS-350 row corroborates loss date/cause but adds no detail. Class-nominal figures (draft 6'1", 13 kts, complement 33, 500 h.p.) conflict with NavSource's per-hull spec block - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-350-08

10. [10]MCDOA (Minewarfare & Clearance Diving Officers' Association), 'The Minesweeping Operation June 5-6 1944' - Operation NEPTUNE order of battle of the MS flotillas [other_primary]

    Locator

    MCDOA Operation Neptune minesweeping page, 'Order of Battle of the MS Flotillas' section

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Flotilla-level order of battle for the Normandy assault minesweeping: alongside the Fleet Minesweeping Flotillas, BYMS flotillas, and MMS flotillas, the 'YMS Flotillas (US) - Y1 and Y2' swept the inshore assault channels under Operation NEPTUNE on 5-6 June 1944; the British YMS, US YMS, and British motor minesweepers 'were given the role to sweep the inshore areas, especially the boat lanes between the transport ... areas.' Combined with Kibbey's first-person claim of sweeping off Omaha Beach hours before the first landings (ev-06) and the family compilation's 'Yoke Squadron Y2' assignment (ev-07), this is the operational context for her June 1944 service and the continued sweeping of the Cherbourg approaches where she was lost.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1944-06

    Population

    US YMS flotilla crews (class/flotilla context)

    Limitations

    Order-of-battle context only: the OOB names flotillas (Y1, Y2), not individual hulls; this row does not by itself place YMS-350 in a specific flotilla or on D-Day - the hull-level placement rests on the memoir and family accounts cited. No asbestos content.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-350-09

11. [11]Era inference built on: NavSource/shipbuildinghistory vessel record (wood-hulled YMS-1-class motor minesweeper, GM diesel plant, 1942-43 construction at Gibbs Gas Engine, Jacksonville); official 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' class block (diesel engines, twin screws); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, ev-11) [other_primary]

    Locator

    NavSource specifications; shipbuildinghistory Gibbs table; 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' class block; GAO HRD-80-2

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    A wood-hulled, diesel-driven auxiliary motor minesweeper built in 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel minesweeper of this period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined machinery spaces. As a diesel-driven wooden vessel she carried no steam plant and no boiler lagging - the boiler/turbine insulation pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her wood-hulled construction reduced (but did not eliminate) insulation scope relative to steel steam vessels of the era.

    Verification

    inferred

    Role

    supporting

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1942-1944

    Population

    Gibbs construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-44); maintenance trades during work-up/UK base periods

    Limitations

    Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-350. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The reduced-insulation framing for a wooden diesel craft is itself inference in the conservative direction.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-350-10

12. [12]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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-04) - content via product-page description.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-350-11

13. [13]Batch-8982 search ledger (this record): NavSource 11/19350; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF (page 119); Cressman official NHC chronology (ibiblio); Pearl Harbor Hearings chronology (ibiblio /pha/); shipbuildinghistory Gibbs table; CSL Foundation Bulletin 77 (Kibbey + Maher first-person accounts); crew-family archive site; 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' minecraft section; MCDOA NEPTUNE OOB; NVR probe; NARA Catalog probe; ABMC decedent search; CourtListener (blocked by fleet pacing at session time); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-350-01 through -14

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS YMS-350 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be searched this session - the helper reported the fleet-wide pacing budget momentarily spent on every attempt; logged as blocked/pending in the search ledger, not as a negative result. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none) and NVR carries no entry (sunk 1944, pre-1987 coverage). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos on generic ship lists without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. Wreck documentation (dive surveys, condition, residual materials) not located.

    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 is a genuine open gap (pacing-blocked, not run). The 9/28/1943-7/2/1944 deck logs, any Gibbs yard work packages, the WWII action/loss report for the 2 July 1944 sinking (expected in RG 38 action reports), and the BuPers casualty listing are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-350-12