Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-37 - designation timeline, specifications, Charleston Navy Yard dry-dock photograph caption (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19037.htm header timeline and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 13 October 1941 as YMS-37 by the C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Kingston, NY; launched 28 January 1942; completed 21 August 1942; transferred to France 14 October 1944 and named Balsamine (D 316); sold to France 21 March 1949; struck from the Navy Register 28 April 1949; reclassified D-13 and M-653 (French service); decommissioned 6 August 1960; fate unknown. 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-Baker-Sugar-Easy. Page states: 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-37.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1941-42); U.S. wartime crew (1942-44); French crews (1944-60)
- 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 per-hull specification block conflicts with the NavSource class index on displacement, speed, and complement (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-01
-
[2]uboat.net Allied Warships database, USS YMS-37 (YMS-37) vessel record (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 9457, data table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent registry corroboration of this hull's milestones: built by Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co. (Kingston, New York); ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 13 October 1941; launched 28 January 1942; commissioned 21 August 1942; end service 14 October 1944; 'Transferred to France on 14 October 1944 being renamed Balsamine.' No commanders or events listed for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1941-42); wartime crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a researcher-compiled secondary database - corroborates the NavSource timeline and supplies the order date (found in no other located source), but is not a primary registry. Contains no asbestos content and no post-transfer detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-02
-
[3]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-37 covering 8/22/1942 - 10/14/1944 (Special List 44, verified in the published PDF, p.119: 'YMS-37 8/22/1942 10/14/1944'). Coverage begins the day after completion/placement in service and ends on the transfer-to-France date - the full U.S. Navy service window. 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 - the published online deck-log list contains no plain-numbered YMS hulls (only bird-named ex-YMS AMS/MSC conversions appear in the YMS range), checked 2026-10-04.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1944 (log coverage)
- Population
- U.S. wartime crew (1942-44)
- 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. Log coverage ends at the 1944 transfer; the logs say nothing about French-service records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-03
-
[4]NavSource photo caption, U.S. Navy photo 1756-42 (credit Robert Hall): YMS-37 in Dry Dock No. 2, Charleston Navy Yard, 19 November 1942 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19037.htm photo caption for 111903701.jpg (U.S. Navy photo 1756-42); shipyards.json yard_id charleston-naval-shipyard for yard-level context
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A U.S. Navy photograph dated 19 November 1942 documents YMS-37 in Dry Dock No. 2 at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, SC, moored behind the converted yacht Ruby (PY 21) and sharing the dock with Army dredge Col. G. P. Powell, Army QTR No. 2, Army barges No. 7, 17 and 4, YC-579, and YP-429. This is physical-presence documentation of the hull inside a Navy yard dry dock during the war - Charleston Naval Shipyard is a documented asbestos-era yard in the Atlas shipyards dataset (asbestos gaskets, packing, thermal insulation, electrical insulation, and other products documented at yard level).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-11-19
- Population
- YMS-37 crew; Charleston Navy Yard dry-dock and ship trades (Nov 1942)
- Limitations
- A dry-dock photograph establishes presence in the dock, not what work (if any) was performed, its duration, or any material used - it is not an availability, overhaul, or hazmat record. Yard-level asbestos documentation is not hull-level documentation: nothing about this photograph or the yard dataset establishes asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-04
-
[5]NavalCoverMuseum, YMS 37 wiki page - name/designation history and postmark record (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/YMS_37, Ship Name and Designation History table + postmark table (Locy Type 3z, 1944-07-21)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavalCoverMuseum's designation chain for this hull: 'YMS-37 - Completed and Placed in Service 21 August 1942'; 'BALSAMINE D-316 (French Naval Service) - Transferred to France 14 October 1944; Sold to France 21 March 1949; Struck from the Navy Register 28 April 1949'; 'BALSAMINE D-13' and 'BALSAMINE M-653' reclassifications (dates unknown); 'Decommissioned 6 August 1960; Fate unknown.' A postal cover in the collection carries a Locy Type 3z postmark dated 21 July 1944 - a physical artifact of the hull's U.S. service period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Population
- U.S. wartime crew (1942-44); French crews (1944-60)
- Limitations
- NavalCoverMuseum is a collector-run reference; the designation chain matches NavSource but the reclassification dates are unrecorded there, and 'Completed and Placed in Service' vs uboat.net's 'Commissioned' differs in terminology (see gaps). The postmark documents the ship's postal existence on that date, not location or activity. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-05
-
[6]envelopmer.blogspot.com (Marcophilie navale), 'Dragueur D316 Balsamine YMS 37 31e division Saigon M653' (9 August 2026) - French-service history; corroborated by postenavalemilitaire.com BALSAMINE (1944/1960) fiche [other_primary]
- Locator
- envelopmer.blogspot.com 2026/08 dragueur-d316-balsamine article body; postenavalemilitaire.com t400-balsamine-1944-1960 fiche
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French-service detail for this hull from naval postal-history sources: transferred to the Marine Nationale in October 1944, numbered D 316 and named Balsamine per the flower-naming tradition for dragueurs; assigned to the 31e Division des Dragueurs de Mines and participated in mine clearance of the French coasts for the post-Liberation reopening of ports; deployed to the Far East in 1948, based at Saigon for three years of Indochina operations (channel sweeping, convoy escort, river-route surveillance, port-approach protection); returned to Brest in 1951; renumbered M 653 in the minesweeper reorganization; withdrawn from service in 1960. The postenavalemilitaire fiche independently lists: D316/D13/M653 pennants, in service 14 October 1944, disarmed 6 August 1960, displacement 280 t, length 41.45 m, crew 30 - consistent with NavSource's chain within secondary-source tolerances.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- French crews (1944-60); Indochina theater operations (1948-51)
- Limitations
- Collector-compiled secondary sources, not French official records - the 31e Division assignment, Saigon deployment window (1948-51), and coastal-clearance detail come from these pages alone and are not verified against Service historique de la Defense documents (the blog cites archive references 'DRAGUEUR 316' activity report 1945 and ship's-state 1946 as leads). The postenavalemilitaire figures (280 t, 30 crew) differ slightly from NavSource's U.S.-side figures (270 t, 32) - treated as French-service fit vs U.S. spec difference, unresolved. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-06
-
[7]shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net, Hiltebrant Dry Dock yard page (Kingston NY) + U.S. Navy small-vessel YMS production list (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/hiltebrant/ yard notes + YMS production table rows (YMS-32..-37, YMS-195..-206, YMS-442..-445, YMS-462/-463)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context and corroboration: the Hiltebrant Dry Dock Company yard operated on the south side of Rondout Creek in Kingston, NY (site of today's Rondout Yacht Basin), was in operation in World War I (SC-type subchasers), and was still building minesweepers in the 1950s. Its WWII deliveries included the YMS-32 through YMS-37 block (YMS-37 delivered 21 August 1942, 'to France 1944 as Balsamine (D-316), decom. 1960'), the YMS-195 through -206 block, the YMS-442 through -445 block, and YMS-462/-463 (completed from PCS hulls). Sister Hiltebrant hulls YMS-34 and YMS-36 also went to France in 1944 (as Anemone D-311 and Campanule D-321).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1941-45 window for this hull's cohort)
- Limitations
- shipbuildinghistory is a researcher-compiled secondary compilation, not a primary registry - it corroborates NavSource/uboat.net but no yard business records, contracts, or worker documentation were located for Hiltebrant. The yard is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry. Contains no asbestos content and no asbestos documentation for the yard was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-37-07
-
[8]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) and class index; GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered wooden minesweeper built 1941-42 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
- 1941-1960 (naval service era)
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1941-42); U.S. crew (1942-44); French crews (1944-60)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-37. 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-37-08
-
[9]Batch-9003 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, 1949 disposal); NavalCoverMuseum; shipbuildinghistory Hiltebrant yard page; French postal-history sources; GAO HRD-80-2 (blocked); CourtListener authenticated queries; secondary web asbestos/litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-37-01 through sl-uss-yms-37-18
- 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). All four mandated CourtListener base queries completed authenticated HTTP 200 - opinion/docket counts were pure name collisions (5 / 2,146 / 186 / 18,558), and the three asbestos-qualified variants returned count 0: verified negative, not a blocked state. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos-litigation content naming YMS-37 or Balsamine - not even the generic law-firm listicle material that appears for higher-profile hulls.
- 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 undigitized deck logs, Hiltebrant yard records, the November 1942 Charleston dry-dock work records, French-service maintenance records, and the post-1960 disposal chain are all unexamined archival leads. The CourtListener docket bases overflowed massively (2,146 / 18,558) via tokenized numeric collisions; only the sampled top results were individually classified, with the asbestos-qualified variants covering the overflow. 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-37-09