Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Heron II (YMS-369)' entry - Naval History and Heritage Command (live page; serves HTTP 404 to non-browser user agents, returns full entry to browser UA / rendering fetch - verified live 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Heron II (YMS-369)', spec block + full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: the second Heron (YMS-369) was launched as YMS-369 on 24 July 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone, N.Y.; sponsored by Miss Frances J. McCarthy, an employee of the firm; commissioned 9 October 1943, Lt. H. A. Wilson, Jr., in command. YMS-369's World War II service consisted of mine-sweeping operations around the home islands after the Japanese surrender; on 2 March 1946 she sailed for home after 4 months in Japanese waters and decommissioned. Named Heron and reclassified AMS-18 '7 February 1947' (as printed). Recommissioned 15 July 1949; training exercises on the West Coast until 4 October 1950, when she sailed for Korea; patrolled off the peninsula and 'was of invaluable assistance for her clearing of channels for blockading ships in the siege of Wonsan Harbor, Korea, in March 1951'; maintained surveillance of North Korean sea traffic after the cease-fire until January 1954, then retired to Sasebo, Japan, for training duties. 'Reclassified MSC(O)-18 on 17 February 1955' (as printed); decommissioned again 21 March and turned over to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force the same day to serve as 'Numajima'; returned to Navy custody 31 March 1967, struck from the Navy List the same day, and used as a fire target by the Japanese Maritime Staff Office. Earned one battle star for World War II service and eight stars for the Korean conflict. Spec block: (YMS-369: dp. 215; l. 136'; b. 24'6"; s. 13 k.; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.; cpl. 50).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1967
- Population
- Construction trades (Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone, 1943); crews and trainees 1943-1946 and 1949-1955 (DANFS spec block cpl. 50)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, construction, service, and disposal chain - not materials or asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim. The two printed reclassification dates (7 Feb 1947 and 17 Feb 1955) conflict with NavSource, uboat.net, a second DANFS transcription, and the Japanese-side record (17-18 Feb 1947 / 7 Feb 1955), which also match the fleet-wide MSC(O) reclassification date of sister hulls - probable digit transposition in the NHHC page; carried as a discrepancy rather than adjudicated. JMSDF name printed 'Numajima' where NavSource and Japanese-language sources read 'Nuwajima.' The live page serves 404 to bare/default HTTP clients but returns full content to browser user agents - verified live 2026-10-04; Wayback capture 2025-02-01 (web.archive.org/web/20250201211757) exists as fallback.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Heron (MSC[O] 18) ex-AMS-18 ex-YMS-369 (contributed archive; milestone list, spec block, commanding-officer roster, photo captions, disposition chain) - live page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19369.htm - milestone list, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo-caption set, disposition chain
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull adds construction and disposition detail DANFS omits: laid down 13 January 1943 by Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone, Long Island, NY; launched 24 July 1943; completed and commissioned USS YMS-369 on 9 October 1943; decommissioned 2 March 1946 at San Diego, CA - and notes 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as February 1947'; reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-18 and named Heron 17 February 1947; recommissioned 15 July 1949; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-18 on 7 February 1955; decommissioned 21 March 1955, turned over to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force and renamed Nuwajima (MCS 657); returned to U.S. Navy custody 31 March 1967 and struck from the Naval Register; sunk as a target 1 August 1969 by order of the Japanese Maritime Staff Office. Specifications: 270 t.; 136' x 24'6" x 6'; 13 kts.; complement 50; 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; call sign November-Charlie-Uniform-Xray. CO roster: LT Harry A. Wilson, Jr., USN (9 October 1943); LT Dixon Lademan, USN (April 1950 - August 1951); LT Emil Steiger Roth, USN (August 1951 - October 1953); LT Jack Ross, USN (October 1952); LT George Ira Thompson, USN (1953). Photo captions place the hull off Yang-do Islands, Korea (c. 1952), in dry dock at Sasebo, Japan (c. November 1952, alongside APL-30), and nested at Sasebo with Curlew (AMS-8), Mockingbird (AMS-27), and Gull (AMS-16) (c. 1953).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archival compilation, not an official source - consistent with DANFS on the main milestone sequence but conflicts on three points carried in gaps: AMS-18 renaming 17 Feb 1947 vs DANFS's printed 7 Feb 1947; MSC(O)-18 reclassification 7 Feb 1955 vs DANFS's printed 17 Feb 1955; target sinking 1 Aug 1969 vs NavalCoverMuseum's 15 Aug 1969. Its decommissioning location (San Diego) and the NVR-of-1949 reserve note are detail DANFS lacks. Contains no asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim. The diesel twin-screw plant detail is asbestos-relevant only as context - no boilers or steam system aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-02
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[3]National Archives Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number ordering), PDF page 119 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf p. 119, entry 'YMS-369 10/11/1943 - 6/30/1945' (verified live; pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official inventory lists one deck-log entry for YMS-369: coverage 11 October 1943 - 30 June 1945, spanning commissioning through the end of her WWII period (post-surrender Japanese home-islands sweeping per DANFS; the log span ends before her March 1946 homeward passage). The logbooks are held at NARA (Record Group 24, U.S. Navy Ship Deck Logs series).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-10-11 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Crew (1943-1945); names and daily movements inside the undigitized log
- Limitations
- Inventory entry only - the logbook itself is not digitized on the National Archives 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' listing (checked 2026-10-04; the listing indexes named vessels only and shows no YMS craft or Heron entry), so its contents are an unexamined primary source. The 10/11/1943 start is consistent with either claimed commissioning date (9 vs 11 October). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-03
-
[4]NHHC Online Library of Selected Images (mirrored at HyperWar/ibiblio) - official U.S. Navy photograph 80-G-478506, 'USS Ajax (AR-6) Tending destroyers and patrol vessels at Sasebo, Japan,' 14 December 1952; image in National Archives collections - live page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Photo 80-G-478506 caption, NHHC Online Library 'Korean War - Logistics & Support Activities in Japan during 1951-1953' (ibiblio HyperWar mirror)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy photograph 80-G-478506 (14 December 1952, Sasebo, Japan; National Archives collections) documents USS Heron (AMS-18) nested with four other minesweepers - Curlew (AMS-8), Mockingbird (AMS-27), Gull (AMS-16), and Chatterer (AMS-40) - in the left distance of a fleet-tender scene at Sasebo during the Korean deployment window DANFS describes (sailed for Korea 4 October 1950; Far East service through the cease-fire and into 1954).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1952-12-14 (photo); 1950-1954 (deployment window)
- Population
- Crew aboard during Korean deployment (design complement 50)
- Limitations
- Confirms presence at Sasebo in December 1952 - a location/operational fact only. The photo caption contains no materials, maintenance, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-04
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[5]NHHC, 'U.S. Navy Ships: Sunk & Damaged in Action during the Korean Conflict' (official U.S. Navy FAQ page; live page retired - Wayback Machine capture 2000-01-21 verified 2026-10-04, labeled as archived copy) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Archived NHHC FAQ page faq82-4 (Wayback capture 2000-01-21), 'Heron (AMS-18)' line item
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official Korean-conflict damage list names this hull: 'USS Heron (AMS-18) superficial damage after being hit by a shore battery at Wonsan, North Korea, no casualties, 10 September 1951' - a documented combat-repair event (superficial damage, no casualties) inside the siege-of-Wonsan service window DANFS describes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1951-09-10
- Population
- Crew aboard at Wonsan, 10 September 1951 (no casualties reported)
- Limitations
- Documents a damage event only - 'superficial damage' with no stated repair scope, yard, or materials. Does not establish where repairs were performed or whether any era materials were disturbed; no asbestos content. Archived copy cited because the live history.navy.mil FAQ path is retired.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-05
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[6]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Colton compilation), 'Wheeler Shipbuilding - Whitestone NY' yard table; Wheeler Yacht Co. corporate history note (Brooklyn yard, Cropsey Ave., Coney Island; second yard at Whitestone operating as Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.) - live page verified 2026-10-04 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone yard table, YMS 368-370 row block; yard history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Colton yard table for Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone NY, independently lists this hull: 'YMS 369,' U.S. Navy, minesweeper, 278 LDT, 136 ft, delivered 9-Oct-43, disposition 'Later Heron (AMS 18) 1947, to Japan 1955 as Nuwajima (MCS 657), sunk as target 1967' - corroborating the builder attribution, the Whitestone yard (distinct from Wheeler's Brooklyn/Coney Island yard, which built the Coast Guard patrol-craft series), the 9 October 1943 delivery/commissioning date, and the Japan transfer. Yard history: founded by Howard E. Wheeler in Brooklyn at the turn of the 19th century; WWI sub chasers; the Whitestone yard built minesweepers then tugs and coastal freighters; closed 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943 (build); yard history 1917-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Wheeler Whitestone yard, 1943)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference, not an official record - consistent with DANFS and NavSource on build and transfer; its 'sunk as target 1967' compresses the 1967 return/strike and the 1969 target sinking into one line. Contains no asbestos or materials information; the yard's wartime production context is documented, but no yard asbestos record for Wheeler Whitestone was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-06
-
[7]U.S. Dept. of the Navy / DOE, Final EIS/OEIS for Disposal of Decommissioned, Defueled Ex-Enterprise (CVN 65), DOE/EIS-0524 (June 2023), Section 3.2.2.1.1; DOE/EA-1889 (2012) ('Asbestos insulation is commonly found in older ships'); Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311; class designation per NavSource 'YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper' with two GM 8-268A diesels [other_primary]
- Locator
- EIS-0524 Section 3.2.2.1.1 era statement; DOE/EA-1889 asbestos section; AJIM 11(3):359-373; NavSource 'YMS-1 Class' header and propulsion entry
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class context: the Navy's own disposal EIS states asbestos-containing material 'is found throughout Navy ships in insulating materials on piping systems, in electrical cables, and on ship structures,' and the 2012 companion EA states 'asbestos insulation is commonly found in older ships' - era-generic statements covering a 1943 Navy build; Corn & Starr document extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulation in WWII-era U.S. shipbuilding. This hull was a YMS-1-class wooden-hulled motor minesweeper with a diesel plant (two GM 8-268A diesels, twin screw - no boilers, no steam system), so the era-typical asbestos footprint is materially smaller than a steam combatant's - principally engine exhaust lagging, valve/flange gaskets, pump and shaft packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1955 (U.S. service); 1987/2012/2023 (documentation)
- Population
- Construction trades (Whitestone, 1943) and crews 1943-1946, 1949-1955 (class context)
- Limitations
- Generic Navy-wide era statements plus class-design inference only - prioritizes research; it is NOT a ship-specific finding. No material list, survey, or hull record for this vessel exists in located sources. Does not establish presence, quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-07
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[8]Batch-9002 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page (browser-UA fetch); NavSource live page; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF + digitized deck-log listing; NHHC Online Library photo via ibiblio mirror; archived NHHC Korean-conflict damage list; shipbuildinghistory.com corroboration; uboat.net; NVR online check; VA BVA indexed sweep; shipyards.json slug lookup; CourtListener API v4 (status per search_ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-369-yms369-01 through sl-uss-yms-369-yms369-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, docketed case, or VA decision naming YMS-369, AMS-18, MSC(O)-18, USS Heron, or Nuwajima was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Two law-firm 'minesweeper asbestos' listicles name a 'USS Heron' - mesothelioma.com's table actually lists the AM-10 Lapwing-class namesake (1918-1947), and mesotheliomahelp.org lists 'USS Heron' in an undifferentiated ship list; both excluded under the batch source rules, logged in the ledger, not cited.
- 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 materials in a 1943 diesel minesweeper would still be consistent with class inference. CourtListener coverage this session is recorded query-by-query in the search ledger, including any fleet-pacing stand-downs; coverage is not exhaustive for unreported or settled matters. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-08
-
[9]Archival leads (not yet retrieved): NARA RG 24 deck logs - YMS-369 1943-10-11 to 1945-06-30 per Special List 44 p.119, plus post-1947 AMS-18/MSC(O)-18 logs outside SL44's coverage window (1949-1955 Korean deployments, Sasebo upkeep/dry-dock periods); Bureau of Ships RG 19 design/construction files for the YMS-1 type and the Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone contract (ordered 1942-04-13 per uboat.net); Navy foreign-transfer file for the 1955-03-21 JMSDF handover and the 1967 return/strike and target-use disposition; JMSDF records for Nuwajima MSC-657 (1955-1967) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (RG 24) / Bureau of Ships (RG 19) / foreign-transfer records; JMSDF archives
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads where a hull-level material record would live: the YMS-369 deck log (NARA RG 24, inventory-confirmed but undigitized) covering the WWII build-out/shakedown and post-surrender Japan sweeping period; the AMS-18-era deck logs (1949-1955) covering the Korean deployments and the Sasebo dry-dock/upkeep periods photographed in November 1952 - the single most likely Navy-period events to have generated a material-level record; Bureau of Ships design and contract files (RG 19) for the YMS-1 type and the Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp. Whitestone build; the Navy foreign-transfer file for the March 1955 JMSDF handover; and JMSDF-side records for Nuwajima's 1955-1967 service and the 1969 target disposal.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1969 records
- Limitations
- Leads only - the YMS-369 log's existence and coverage are verified by the NARA inventory (ev-03), but the log's contents are unexamined; the post-1947 logs, BuShips files, transfer file, and JMSDF records are standard record classes for the period, not individually verified. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-369-yms369-09