USS YMS-397

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet 1064-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-397-yms397-pkt-1064-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-397 (11/19397) [other_primary]

   Locator

   YMS-397 page, milestones block and specifications block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource record for this hull: laid down 9 June 1942 by Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, NY; launched 5 December 1942; completed 25 January 1943; commissioned USS YMS-397 on 26 January 1943 under LT Richard E. Danielson, Jr., USNR; decommissioned 2 January 1947; struck from the Naval Register 14 March 1947; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 10 July 1947; acquired 1948 by Brunswick Navigation Co. of Southport, NC for use as a fishing boat named George F. Nickerson; renamed H. W. Anderson 7 May 1958; acquired 1970 by Standard Products Co., Inc. of Kilmarnock, VA; out of documentation 1988; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-George-Sugar-Victor. Page states explicitly that no DANFS history is available for this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1988

   Population

   Nevins construction trades, City Island, 1942-43; wartime crew

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-compiled naval photo archive, not an official record; its timeline is consistent with NARA Special List 44 (deck logs open 26 January 1943) and uboat.net. Establishes dates and dispositions only - no operational narrative, no homeport, no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-01

3. [3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS YMS-397 (ship/9816) [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net ship page, build/history table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   uboat.net warship record for this hull: ordered 15 May 1942; built by Henry B. Nevins Inc., City Island, New York; laid down 9 June 1942; launched 5 December 1942; commissioned 25 January 1943; stricken 14 March 1947; sold 10 July 1947. No commanding-officer or event entries are listed.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1947

   Limitations

   Secondary-compiled specialist database; its 25 January 'commissioned' date corresponds to NavSource's 'completed' date - NavSource's 26 January commissioning is corroborated by the NARA deck-log start date and is carried in the record. uboat.net adds the 15 May 1942 order date only. No operational or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-02

4. [4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number PDF, page 120); RG 24 Entry 118, NAID 581208 [other_primary]

   Locator

   sl-44-ship-number.pdf page 120, YMS-397 row (1/26/1943 - 7/31/1946); holdings note at https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy/

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA Special List 44 inventories U.S. Navy deck logs for YMS-397 covering 1/26/1943 through 7/31/1946 - a single continuous run from commissioning through mid-1946. These logs are the principal surviving primary documentation of the vessel's movements, personnel, and daily operations (held at Archives II, College Park, under RG 24 Entry 118).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   Wartime crew (names, transfers, casualties recorded in the logs themselves)

   Limitations

   The inventory documents that logs exist and their date span; it does not describe their contents. The logs are not digitized in the National Archives Catalog as of this search - no war diary or muster roll for this hull was located in online indexes (NARA catalog is JS-rendered; Fold3 war-diary digitization status unverified). Deck-log coverage ends 31 July 1946 though the ship remained in commission to 2 January 1947 - later-period logs, if they exist, are outside the SL44 listing as inventoried.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-03

5. [5]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (motor minesweeper roster) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Motor minesweeper (YMS) roster, pages numbered 135-136 in original document

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The official Pacific Fleet organization list of 1 May 1945 enumerates the YMS force hull-by-hull with commanding officers - including sister Nevins hulls YMS 390, 394, 395, 396, 398, and 401-404 - but does not include YMS-397. The omission is consistent with YMS-397 serving outside the Pacific Fleet as of that date (Atlantic, Gulf, Caribbean, or continental home waters).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1945-05-01

   Limitations

   Absence from a snapshot organization list is documentary evidence about the list, not a direct record of the ship's position: the list is one date (1 May 1945), vessels in transit or under non-fleet commands may be absent, and it does not establish where YMS-397 actually served. No NHHC Atlantic-frontier organization document for this hull was located.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-04

6. [6]Library of Virginia, World War II Separation Notices: Navy (NAVPERS-553), Willey Benton Cronk Jr., QM3c, serial 659-61-21; crowd-transcribed at FromThePage [other_primary]

   Locator

   FromThePage work 1142098_016_074_001 (page 1 of 1), 'Service Vessels and Stations' and 'Remarks' fields

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A U.S. Navy notice of separation (NAVPERS-553, Rev. 8-45) lists 'USS YMS 397' among the service vessels of Quartermaster 3rd Class Willey Benton Cronk Jr. (V6 USNR; entered service 5 February 1943; separated at USN Personnel Separation Center, Shelton, Norfolk, VA). His recorded awards are American Area, Victory WW II, Asiatic-Pacific, and Philippine Liberation (1 star); his prior vessels include USS LST 267.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1946 (service); separation 1946

   Population

   QM3c Willey Benton Cronk Jr. - one documented YMS-397 crew member

   Limitations

   The notice documents the individual sailor and his awards, not the ship's itinerary: Asiatic-Pacific and Philippine Liberation service may attach to his earlier assignment aboard LST 267 rather than to YMS-397, and cannot by itself place this hull in the Pacific. No exposure claim of any kind is implied. Transcription status 'needs review' per FromThePage.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-05

7. [7]DANFS (NHHC Online edition) - no entry for YMS-397; live URL verified HTTP 404; NavSource likewise states 'no DANFS History currently available for YMS-397' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/y/yms-397.html (404); NavSource page statement

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   No DANFS entry exists for this hull - consistent with the general pattern for numbered YMS craft, most of which never received ship names or DANFS treatment. There is therefore no official narrative service history; the documentary backbone for this vessel is the NARA deck-log run plus compiled registry data.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   2026-10-04

   Limitations

   Absence of a DANFS entry means no NHHC narrative exists to verify; it does not mean the ship lacked notable service. Candidate DANFS URL patterns both returned 404 on 2026-10-04.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-06

8. [8]YMS-1 class design/specification context: NavSource Auxiliary Minesweeper index (481 built at 35 yacht yards, wooden hull, class characteristics) + NavSource YMS-397 specifications block + uboat.net YMS class record [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource YMS index (type description) + YMS-397 specifications block (propulsion: two 880 shp GM 8-268A diesels)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference only: YMS-397 was a wooden-hulled, diesel-powered auxiliary motor minesweeper - two General Motors 8-268A diesels on two shafts with no boilers or steam system. The large steamship asbestos loads (boiler and steam-line lagging) therefore did not exist aboard this type. The plausible era-standard applications on a 1942-43 diesel minesweeper are diesel exhaust lagging and engine-room insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical and panel insulation, galley fireproofing, and brake linings on the sweep winch and anchor windlass.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942-1947 (Navy); merchant 1948-1988

   Population

   Nevins construction trades 1942-43; wartime engineering crew; postwar fishing-vessel crews (unverified)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference, not a hull record - no building specification, survey, or material list naming YMS-397 was located, and no source states that asbestos was installed aboard this specific hull. The application list describes period-standard fittings for the type; actual content aboard this vessel is unproven in either direction.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-07

9. [9]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979, released 22 October 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2, highlights block

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented that the U.S. Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships during the period covering this hull's construction and service, and reviewed the Navy's shipyard worker-protection and selective asbestos-insulation replacement policies (1975 policy: replace only damaged insulation or that removed for repairs; modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). Program-level context for the asbestos era this ship was built and served in.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1940s-1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers (program-level)

   Limitations

   Program-level report focused on Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - names no vessel, much less this hull; establishes the Navy asbestos-policy environment only. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to non-browser fetches; product page (incl. publication dates and highlights) verified via rendered fetch 2026-10-04; full-text PDF not extracted this session.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-08

10. [10]CourtListener API v4, exact-name and hull-number searches (opinion + docket) - see search_ledger sl-uss-yms-397-yms397-08 through -11 [court_record]

    Locator

    CourtListener /api/rest/v4/search, type=o and type=r, limit 20; helper cl-auth-search.py

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    CourtListener base searches incomplete: "USS YMS-397" type=o returned 0 opinion hits; the remaining three required base queries ("USS YMS-397" type=r; "YMS-397" type=o; "YMS-397" type=r) could not be executed - the fleet-wide request budget was momentarily spent on five spaced attempts across ~35 minutes and the helper directed stand-down (see search_ledger rows 09-11).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    2026-10-04

    Limitations

    The single completed query is a verified negative for exact-name opinions only. The three unexecuted queries are logged as blocked, NOT as no-result - litigation status for this hull is open, not negative. Asbestos-qualified variants were not run (zero result on the completed base query makes its variant a guaranteed-empty subset; variants of unrun base queries are prohibited).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-09

11. [11]Batch-9033 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; NARA Special List 44; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization list; NHHC DANFS index; Library of Virginia separation notices; GAO HRD-80-2; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog; CourtListener [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-397-yms397-01 through -16

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or docketed asbestos case naming YMS-397 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The deck-log run (1943-1946) is uninventoried for content beyond dates.

    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 inference for the type is documented separately (ev-07). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-397-yms397-10