Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[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-399-yms399-pkt-1064-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-399 page - construction timeline, specifications, assignment, disposal, commanding officer [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19399.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 27 June 1942 by Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, NY; launched 8 February 1943; completed 9 April 1943; assigned to the Caribbean Sea Frontier; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 22 January 1947 and sold; struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-George-Tare-Victor. Specifications: 270 t.; 136' x 24'6" x 8'; 15 kts.; complement 32; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow-Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. One commanding officer listed: LTJG James Wade Cruthers, USNR (1944). Page states there is no DANFS history for YMS-399 and no photograph is held.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Nevins construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); WSA buyer/breaker (1947)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track official sources but each would ideally confirm against a primary document; the NARA Special List 44 row (ev-03) independently confirms in-service dates. Contains no asbestos or material content. 'Fate unknown' post-1947 sale.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / BYMS index - class history and characteristics [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm 'Auxiliary Motor Minesweepers (YMS)' narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context for YMS-399: the YMS (Yard-class Motor Minesweeper) type was designed by the Henry B. Nevins, Inc. yard of City Island, NY - keel of class prototype YMS-1 laid there 4 March 1941, launched 10 January 1942, completed 25 March 1942. The type was wooden-hulled; 481 U.S. Navy YMS were built at 35 yacht yards (12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, four Great Lakes) rather than major shipyards. YMS-1 through YMS-134 carried two stacks; YMS-135 through YMS-445, 480, and 481 (the block containing YMS-399) carried one. YMS were used for inshore sweeping; U.S. boats swept enemy mines off Jacksonville, FL and Charleston, SC as early as 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (construction era)
- Population
- YMS-class construction trades at 35 yacht yards (1941-45); YMS-class crews
- Limitations
- Class-level background only - does not establish any fact specific to this hull beyond class membership. NavSource class text adapts standard reference works; figures (481 built, 35 yards) are class-level, not hull-level. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-02
-
[4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (1978), printed p. 522 - YMS-399 entry; digitized as NARA NAID 178406296 (RG 64, Publications of the National Archives); page image verified via ACPL Genealogy Center scan (narasl44/554.jpg) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, printed p. 522 (Ships with Symbol and Number Designations, T-Y section); ACPL mirror scan image 554; NARA NAID 178406296 (836 images)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 inventories U.S. Navy deck logs for YMS-399 covering 10 April 1943 through 8 May 1946 - twelve logbooks. This documents the official log coverage of her wartime service and provides the primary archival handle for ship-day detail (movements, moorings, maintenance notations) for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-04-10 to 1946-05-08
- Population
- Crew (1943-46), as documented in the logs
- Limitations
- An inventory entry, not the logs themselves: establishes that twelve logbooks exist in NARA custody and their date span, not their content. The batch intake date range (4/10/1943-5/8/1946) is log coverage, not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates. Deck logs for this hull were not located as a separately digitized catalog file unit; the companion digitized unit is her muster rolls (ev-04).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-03
-
[5]NARA catalog file unit 'YMS-399, 4/10/43-5/1/46', NAID 193221858 - RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), series Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities; 181 images online; container Roll 9183 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/193221858 - file-unit title, series placement, image count
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- YMS-399's muster rolls are digitized in the National Archives catalog: 181 images covering 10 April 1943 through 1 May 1946 - the complete crew-by-name record of the hull's wartime complement from completion through post-surrender service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-04-10 to 1946-05-01
- Population
- All hands aboard, 1943-46 (named individuals on the rolls)
- Limitations
- Muster rolls document personnel aboard by name and rating; they contain no asbestos, material, or exposure information. The unit's 5/1/46 end date versus SL44's 5/8/46 logbook end reflects the differing record types, not a discrepancy of service. Source is the scanned record itself (Ancestry-provided images on the catalog).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-04
-
[6]NARA catalog: WWII War Diaries series (RG 38, 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories', NAID 4697018) - monthly war diaries of COMALLFOR Aruba-Curaçao sector returned for full-text query 'YMS-399'; example file unit NAID 135936672 (COMALLFOR, ARUBA-CURACAO - War Diary, 8/1-31/43, 104 images, microfilm Roll A534) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'YMS-399' - 176 file-unit results, overwhelmingly COMALLFOR Aruba-Curaçao war diaries (Rolls A430-A1391 range, 1943-45)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives catalog full-text index returns dozens of monthly war diaries of the Commander, Allied Forces, Aruba-Curaçao sector (1943-1945) on the query 'YMS-399' - the hull is named inside these operational records, consistent with her documented Caribbean Sea Frontier assignment and placing her on-station in the Aruba-Curaçao operating area during the war.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- YMS-399 crew on Aruba-Curaçao station; sector command staff
- Limitations
- Full-text index hits, not individually inspected pages: the catalog's OCR matched 'YMS-399' within these file units; page-level content was not read this session. Establishes presence/operations context, not any material or asbestos fact. The war diaries are the richest located primary lead for her day-to-day wartime employment.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource YMS-399 specifications (two GM 8-268A diesels, 880 bhp, two shafts; wooden hull per class text); NavSource YMS index (wooden-hulled class built at yacht yards); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-use documentation (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19399.htm specifications; NavSource 11/19idx.htm class text; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1942-43 wooden-hulled diesel minesweeper sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but her type narrows the plausible exposure surface: no boilers, no steam plant, no boiler/turbine lagging pathway. Era-standard candidate applications aboard a small diesel craft of the period were diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, and possible asbestos-cement or insulation board. These are era-standard possibilities for the type, not documented installations aboard this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Nevins construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); any yard/base trades at Caribbean availabilities; 1947 disposal workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or crew account located for YMS-399. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The wooden hull and diesel plant make the asbestos profile plausibly much thinner than steam-driven steel ships of the same era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 (1943-47).
- 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 - and the class's wooden diesel design bounds what 'extensive' could mean aboard her. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 per prior batch sessions) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-07
-
[9]Batch-9035 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page and YMS class index; NARA Special List 44 scan verification (printed p. 522); NARA catalog muster-roll file unit and war-diary full-text hits; NVR check; secondary build/disposal compilations; CourtListener base queries (blocked - fleet pace budget); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-399-01 through sl-uss-yms-399-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming YMS-399 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-paced request budget returned stand-down responses on every attempt; logged as blocked in the search ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm/listicle content asserting asbestos aboard WWII Navy vessels without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 (paced/blocked, not run to completion). The strongest undigitized leads are the twelve deck-log books (SL44 p. 522) and WSA disposal records. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-399-08