Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 1063-packet.md (4 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-393-yms393-pkt-1063-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-393 - construction timeline, invasion list, Naval Register action, disposition, specifications, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19393.htm header block, specifications block, photo caption table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper; laid down 27 June 1942 by Harbor Boat Building Co., Terminal Island, CA; launched 29 May 1943; completed 14 September 1943; commissioned October 1943. Participated in the Biak, New Guinea invasion (27 May 1944), Morotai, Netherlands East Indies (15 September 1944), and Leyte, Philippines (25 October 1944). Struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; transferred to the State Department Foreign Liquidation Commission 21 October 1947 and sold; fate unknown. Specifications: displacement 270 t.; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'; speed 15 kts.; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun 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. A June 1945 photograph (Australian War Memorial photo P02305.049, per caption) places the ship in Mariveles Harbor, Luzon, 'undertaking hydrographic surveys, sweeping anchorages, fixing navigational beacons, along with charting and buoying wrecks of ports and harbors in the northern Philippines.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); crew (~32, 1943-47); FLC/successor disposal population (1947-48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its dates generally track official records but 'commissioned October 1943' conflicts with uboat.net's 14 September 1943 (the completion date; war-diary coverage beginning 16 October 1943 supports an in-service date in mid-October - see ev-03). No asbestos content. The AWM-credited photograph is hosted on NavSource; the AWM catalog record itself could not be located for direct verification (awm.gov.au search returned no P02305.049 record this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-01
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number ordering; NARA-generated PDF from the 1978 publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 120, row 'YMS-393 10/16/1943 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Special List 44 inventories deck logs for YMS-393 covering 16 October 1943 - 30 June 1945 (PDF page 120, verified live by text extraction 2026-10-04). This documents the official inventory of this hull's deck logs for essentially her entire WWII service - logs begin the same week the war diary opens and run through 30 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-10-16 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Crew across the logged period (1943-45)
- Limitations
- An inventory entry, not the logs themselves: establishes that NARA holds (or held at compilation) deck logs for this hull across 1943-10-16 to 1945-06-30; the logs are in RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208) at College Park and are not publicly digitized. Coverage dates are log coverage, not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-02
-
[4]NARA National Archives Identifier 135984158, 'USS YMS-393 - War Diary, 10/16-31/43' - micro serial 59128, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, WWII War Diaries (National Archives at College Park); 16 digitized page images also hosted on Wikimedia Commons via the NARA-DPLA donation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 135984158 (catalog.archives.gov, verified live HTTP 200); page images 1-2 on Wikimedia Commons, category 'YMS-1 class minesweepers'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's war diary for 16-31 October 1943 is a digitized primary record (16 pages). Page 1 (Saturday, 16 October 1943) is the first surviving diary sheet, marked 'No remarks' and approved by the Commanding Officer, William B. Hale - consistent with the ship entering service in mid-October 1943. The 17 October 1943 entry records the ship underway 'from Harbor Boat dock to go to Section Base for ammunition,' i.e., still at the builder's dock in her first week of diary coverage; navigator signature E. O. Layman.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-10-16 to 1943-10-31
- Population
- Commissioning-era crew under LT William B. Hale (October 1943)
- Limitations
- Primary document inspected directly (page images 1-2 read this session). Covers 16-31 October 1943 only - it corroborates the in-service date and CO identity but establishes no asbestos/material content and no operational detail beyond outfitting movements at Terminal Island. The Hale signature corroborates the 'LTJG Hale' remembered in the oral history (ev-04).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-03
-
[5]NavSource-hosted oral history: 'An Oral History of the YMS-393' by Roger C. 'Smitty' Smith, crew member from commissioning (~October 1943) to ~September 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19393h.htm oral-history text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A plankowner's first-person account: Smith served aboard from commissioning 'about October 1943' to 'about September 1945.' He recounts a first mission as sub screen for a convoy from San Pedro to Pearl Harbor; then Australia/New Guinea via Townsville or Gladstone, Cairns, Milne Bay, Langemak, Buna, and Hollandia; then Morotai, Biak, Leyte, the Manila area, and Aparri, before he left the ship in the Leyte area. He remembers the commanding officer as 'LTJG Hale.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew, October 1943 - September 1945
- Limitations
- Post-war recollection with self-flagged approximation ('about,' 'as I remember,' one forgotten island) - treated as corroborating testimony, not a schedule of record; the documented invasion dates come from ev-01. Contains no asbestos or material-content information - a service-track source only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-04
-
[6]NavSource Online: Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) index - class overview (wooden hull, builders, wartime role, postwar AMS reclassification) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context for this hull: the YMS ('Yard class Minesweeper') type was a wooden-hulled inshore motor minesweeper designed by Henry B. Nevins, Inc.; 561 were built at 35 U.S. yacht yards (12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, four Great Lakes) rather than larger shipyards. YMS-393 falls in the YMS-135 to YMS-445 one-stack appearance group. Surviving YMSs were reclassified AMS in 1947 and given names; YMS-393 was struck 10 June 1947 and sold before that program reached her, so she was never renamed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1969 (class era)
- Population
- YMS-class crews (1942-1969)
- Limitations
- Class-level context only - describes the type, not this hull's material outfit. No asbestos content. Wooden hull and diesel plant confirmed at class level; consistent with this hull's NavSource specification block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979); plus NavSource specifications (GM 8-268A diesel plant; wooden-hulled class) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403); NavSource specification block and class index
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: 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 (1943-47). Aboard a wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper the steam-plant lagging pathway does not apply; the era-standard asbestos applications relevant to a vessel of this type are machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); crew (~32, 1943-47); any repair-yard population during availabilities
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-393; names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity; no manufacturer attribution. GAO full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-04) - GAO content via product-page description. A wooden hull materially narrows the plausible application set versus steel steam vessels - this row should not be read as a ship-proven finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-06
-
[8]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-393 (YMS-393) - builder, order date, construction milestones, stricken/sold entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/9812 data table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating database record: built by Harbor Boat Building Co. (Terminal Island, California); ordered 13 April 1942; laid down 27 June 1942; launched 29 May 1943; commissioned 14 September 1943; stricken 10 June 1947; sold 21 October 1947. No commands listed; no further service detail on the page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Limitations
- Research-grade secondary database, not a primary registry. Its 'commissioned 14 September 1943' equals NavSource's 'completed' date - treated here as the completion/in-service discrepancy carried in gaps; the war-diary start of 16 October 1943 supports October in-service. The order date (13 April 1942) has no independent primary confirmation in this record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-07
-
[9]Shipbuilding History (Colton yard table), Harbor Boat Building Company, Terminal Island CA - hull 165 'YMS-393, US Navy minesweeper, 278d/136 ft, 14 Sep 1943, to China 1948, struck 1976' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/harbor/ yard production table, yard hull 165
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Colton yard table for the builder resolves NavSource's 'fate unknown' at secondary level: Harbor Boat Building hull 165 is listed as YMS-393, delivered/completed 14 September 1943, 'to China 1948,' struck 1976 - i.e., the 21 October 1947 Foreign Liquidation Commission sale resulted in transfer to China in 1948, with a reported 1976 stricken date under a subsequent flag.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947-1976
- Population
- Subsequent (post-1948) operators under reported Chinese ownership
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (shipbuildinghistory.com mirror), not an official registry: the China transfer and 1976 strike are unverified against any primary source - no Republic of China Navy pennant/name for this hull was located, and no corroborating official record was found this session. Carried as a disposition lead, not established fact. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-08
-
[10]Batch-9029 search ledger (this record): NavSource vessel page + oral history + class index; NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; NARA catalog NAID 135984158 (war diary); uboat.net; Shipbuilding History yard table; NHHC site search; NVR; HyperWar NAVPERS awards transcription; GAO product page; CourtListener (paced - not run); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-393-01 through sl-uss-yms-393-10
- 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-393 / YMS-393 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet pacing governor refused all four base queries ('fleet-wide request budget momentarily spent') on 2026-10-04; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing pages specific to this hull. A commercial ribbon site lists three WWII battle stars (Morotai, Leyte, post-war Pacific minesweeping) derived from NAVPERS 15,790 - the official manual listing could not be located for direct verification (see gaps).
- 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 litigation-repository search is a genuine open gap (paced, not run). Undigitized RG 24 deck logs and any FLC sale-file records are open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-393-09