Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 1070-packet.md (5 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-439-yms439-pkt-1070-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-439 - construction, commissioning, CO, disposal, post-Navy ownership chain, specs, call signs (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19439.htm header block (call signs, milestones, ownership chain), specifications block, photo credit lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper; call sign Nan-Charlie-Fox-George (La Cienta call sign 1948: King-Queen-Love-Oboe); laid down 21 October 1943 by Robert Jacob Inc., City Island, NY; launched 14 July 1944; completed 18 November 1944; 'Commissioned USS YMS-439, 20 November 1944' under LTJG Thomas B. Rhodes, Jr., USNR; decommissioned 1 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 19 July 1946; transferred to the War Shipping Administration 17 March 1947. Post-Navy chain per NavSource: registered 1948 to the Macco Corporation of Clearwater, CA as the miscellaneous vessel La Cienta out of Los Angeles; registered 1956 to the Richfield Oil Corp. of Los Angeles (La Cienta); acquired 1970 by Global Marine, Inc. of Los Angeles; 1971 by Arthur B. Church of Bellevue, WA; 1987 by Imperial Imports, Inc. and renamed Pegasus; 1992 by Craig L. Belshe of Lynnwood, WA; renamed Manta Ray 10 November 1992; acquired 2002 by Bennie E. Nelson and Scott M. Edson; defaulted on moorage fees in 2003 and sold to creditors Bakketun and Thomas Boat Co., LLC of Seattle, WA; acquired by Joe Moeller of Seattle for use as a yacht and renamed YMS-439; acquired 21 June 2010 by Michael D. Robinson of North Bend, WA; purchased November 2011 by David L. Saia of Stanwood, WA; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 270 t. (1948: 250 t.); length 136' (1948: 126.5'); beam 24'6"; draft 8' (1948: 11.5'); speed 15 kts.; complement 32 (1948: six); armament one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, two 20mm mounts, and two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Two undated photos credited to Johnny Moeller. 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-439.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-2011
- Population
- Robert Jacob yard construction trades (1943-44); crew (Nov 1944 - May 1946); civilian owners/crew and refit trades (1947 onward)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track NVR/DANFS-era data and the post-Navy ownership chain is a registry summary with underlying documentation not shown; it is single-source here, though ShipSpotting independently corroborates the hull's survival as a Seattle-area vessel into July 2009 (ev-07). The 20 Nov 1944 commissioning is corroborated by the NARA deck-log coverage start (ev-03) against uboat.net's 18 Nov listing (ev-10). Spec block prints speed 15 kts vs the 13-kt class figure - variance carried. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS YMS-439 (YMS-439) - milestones table (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 9858, milestones table ('History' lines)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net documents for this hull: built by Robert Jacob Inc. (City Island, New York); ordered 15 September 1943; laid down 21 October 1943; launched 14 July 1944; commissioned 18 November 1944; 'Stricken on 19 July 1946'; 'Sold on 17 March 1947.' The page lists no commanding officers and no notable events; the 'End service' field is blank.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Crew (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a curated secondary database (Gudmundur Helgason) compiled from operational records - not a primary document; the deck logs (ev-03) would be the primary record. Its 'Commissioned 18 Nov 1944' matches NavSource's completion date, not NavSource's explicit 20 Nov commissioning - flagged as a discrepancy (ev-10); the NARA log coverage beginning 11/20/1944 supports 20 Nov. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-02
-
[4]National Archives Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number ordering), PDF page 121 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf p. 121, entry 'YMS-439 11/20/1944 7/20/1945' (verified via pdftotext -layout; matches the prompt's stated coverage)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official inventory lists one deck-log entry for YMS-439: coverage 20 November 1944 - 20 July 1945, beginning on her commissioning date (ev-01) and spanning her first eight months of commissioned service. The logs are held at NARA in the deck-log series inventoried by Special List 44 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-11-20 to 1945-07-20
- Population
- Crew (Nov 1944 - Jul 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 Online' listing (checked 2026-10-04; the only YMS hulls there are named ex-YMS AMS-conversions, e.g. Sanderling ex-YMS-446, Seagull ex-YMS-402, Siskin ex-YMS-425, Turkey ex-YMS-444, Waxbill ex-YMS-479, with 1950s coverage). YMS-439 served until decommissioning 1 May 1946, but no post-20-July-1945 logbook for her appears in this inventory - her post-surrender Japanese-waters minesweeping (Nov 1945 - Feb 1946, ev-05) falls outside the inventoried coverage; whether later logs exist in another accession series is unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-03
-
[5]Secondary reproduction of U.S. Navy WWII campaign/battle-star data (officialmilitaryribbons.com, 'Navy Ship World War 2 Campaign Battle Stars, YMS 362 to YMS 481') [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page block 'YMS 439:' - two credit rows (P207-10 Kure-Hiroshima 8 Jan - 10 Feb 46; P207-18 Fukuoka 20 Nov - 29 Nov 45)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A secondary compilation of Navy WWII campaign-credit data lists two entries for YMS-439: P207-10 'Kure-Hiroshima (Honshu Area)' (8 January - 10 February 1946) and P207-18 'Fukuoka (Kyushu-Korea Area)' (20 November - 29 November 1945). Both are post-surrender minesweeping-operation credits in Japanese home waters; no pre-surrender combat credits are listed for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-11-20 to 1946-02-10
- Population
- Crew (Nov 1945 - Feb 1946)
- Limitations
- Commercial vendor page reproducing official Navy battle-star/campaign-credit data - not itself an authoritative source, and the reproduction is unverified against the OPNAV source document. The page prints the credits in reverse chronological order (Jan-Feb 1946 first, then Nov 1945). Both windows postdate the inventoried deck-log coverage ending 20 Jul 1945 (ev-03) - the operations they credit are documented only by this secondary source. Absence from the NHHC Tokyo Bay surrender-ceremony list (search_ledger sl-06) and the 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet minecraft roster (sl-05) is consistent with an operating record that reached Japanese waters only after the surrender. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-04
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton yard compilation), Yard Minesweepers (YMS) table - live njscuba mirror; also mirrored at navalmarinearchive.com (sbh/smallships/ym.html) [other_primary]
- Locator
- njscuba mirror ym table row 'YMS-439 | Robert Jacob | City Island NY | 136 | 320 | 18 Nov 1944 | struck 1946, sold as La Ciencia, still afloat in Seattle WA'; header production note; original table row at shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/ym.htm reads 'YMS 439 Robert Jacob City Island NY 136 320 [delivery] | Struck 1946'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The YMS yard table carries the row 'YMS-439 | Robert Jacob | City Island NY | 136 | 320 | 18 Nov 1944 | struck 1946, sold as La Ciencia, still afloat in Seattle WA' - corroborating the builder, the 136-ft length, the 18 Nov 1944 delivery (her completion date), the 1946 strike, and post-sale survival under the name La Ciencia in Seattle. The table's header note documents the class production: 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers built at 35 boatyards spring 1942 - spring 1945, all of essentially the same 136-ft/13-kt design; the Mk II variant (single stack) covered YMS 135-445, which includes this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Robert Jacob yard construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard compilation (Tim Colton), not a primary registry. Delivery dates in the table are completion/delivery, not laid-down. 'La Ciencia' spelling differs from NavSource's 'La Cienta' - variant carried in gaps. 'Still afloat in Seattle WA' is undated within the table; ShipSpotting independently dates survival to Jul 2009 (ev-07). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-05
-
[7]Naval Marine Archive (navalmarinearchive.com), 'Robert Jacob Shipyard, City Island, NY' - yard history and build table [other_primary]
- Locator
- jacob.html yard-history paragraph and build-table row 'YMS 439 US Navy Minesweeper 18-Nov-44 Sold 1947 as La Ciencia, still afloat in Seattle WA'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Robert Jacob Shipyard page documents the builder: established in the 1850s by George W. Horton; sold 1860 to David Carll; bought by Henry Piepgras 1886 and by Robert Jacob 1900; built subchasers in WWI and returned to yachtbuilding between the wars; sold in 1946 to Consolidated Shipbuilding (which moved to City Island from Morris Heights, closed 1958; the site continued as a yacht repair yard, operating as Consolidated Yacht Yard). Its build table carries 'YMS 439 | US Navy | Minesweeper | 18-Nov-44 | Sold 1947 as La Ciencia, still afloat in Seattle WA' alongside sister hulls YMS 438, YMS 440, and YMS 441.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Robert Jacob yard construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation page (Naval Marine Archive, data per Tim Colton's shipbuildinghistory), not a primary registry. 'Sold 1947' is consistent with the WSA transfer of 17 Mar 1947 (ev-01/-02). Carries no asbestos content - yard-level materials practices are not documented on this page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-06
-
[8]ShipSpotting.com photo record 965464 (photographer Kyle Stubbs): YMS-439, IMO 5200514, photographed from the Ballard Bridge, Seattle, WA, 29 July 2009 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipSpotting photo page 965464 - vessel data block (IMO 5200514, callsign WA6901, former names) and photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipSpotting's vessel record for IMO 5200514 carries: title 'YMS-439', flag USA, callsign WA6901, former names 'MANTA BAY, LA CIENTA, YMS-439'; the photo caption reads 'Seen from the Ballard Bridge in Seattle, Washington on July 29, 2009. She is a World War II US Navy auxiliary minesweeper.' This independently corroborates the NavSource ownership chain's endpoint - that the hull survived into the 2000s as a Seattle-area yacht carrying her Navy hull number, under IMO 5200514.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2009
- Population
- Civilian owners/crew and refit trades (post-1947)
- Limitations
- User-contributed photo database - the IMO and callsign values are database fields, not registry extracts; the IMO linkage rests on the site contributor's identification. 'MANTA BAY' spelling conflicts with NavSource's 'Manta Ray' - variant flagged in gaps. The photo dates survival to July 2009; NavSource's chain continues to a November 2011 purchase with 'fate unknown' thereafter. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product-page highlights [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-04)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, including 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships'; the product-page highlights document that the Navy's 1975 policy was to 'remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed to accomplish necessary repairs,' modified in 1979 to include selectively replacing asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas where repairs would be expected during a ship's next operating cycle - i.e., asbestos insulation was present and managed (not systematically removed) aboard Navy ships through the era covering this hull's construction (1943-44) and U.S. service (1944-46).
- 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 from the product-page highlights; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - the reviewed fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk, not City Island. Full report PDF returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch. The policy language postdates this hull's 1946 strike and 1947 sale; it characterizes the era's asbestos-management posture, not this vessel's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, 880 bhp) and NavSource YMS/BYMS index class description (wooden-hulled type; 561 built at 35 yacht yards - 12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, 4 Great Lakes); shipbuildinghistory class note (Mk II single-stack variant YMS 135-445); uboat.net class data; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19439.htm spec block and 11/19idx.htm class description; shipbuildinghistory njscuba ym class note; uboat.net YMS class data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel-powered motor minesweeper completed in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this type and period were exhaust-system lagging, machinery and engine gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings on winch and sweep gear. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - and her wooden hull lacked the pipe runs and hull insulation typical of steel steam ships, narrowing (not eliminating) the era-typical asbestos applications.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-2011
- Population
- Robert Jacob construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-46); civilian owners/refit trades (1947-2011+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-439. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Additional caveat: the hull survived in civilian service through at least 2011 with repeated ownership changes and refits - any original-era materials were likely removed or replaced, so surviving fabric cannot be presumed to reflect 1944 construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-09
-
[11]Commission-date cross-check: NavSource YMS-439 page ('Completed 18 November 1944' / 'Commissioned USS YMS-439, 20 November 1944'); uboat.net ship 9858 ('Commissioned 18 Nov 1944'); NARA Special List 44 (deck-log coverage begins 11/20/1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19439.htm header block; uboat.net ship 9858 milestones table; sl-44-ship-number.pdf p. 121
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CONFLICT NOTED: uboat.net prints 'Commissioned 18 Nov 1944' while NavSource prints 'Completed 18 November 1944' and 'Commissioned USS YMS-439, 20 November 1944.' The NARA Special List 44 inventory begins YMS-439's deck-log coverage on 11/20/1944 - independently supporting the 20 Nov commissioning; uboat.net appears to carry the completion date in its commissioned field. The record carries 1944-11-20.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Corrects/flags a milestone conflict, not a material or asbestos claim. Neither secondary source is a primary registry; the (undigitized) deck log itself would settle the commissioning date. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-10
-
[12]Batch-9080 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; NARA Special List 44 PDF; NARA digitized-deck-log listing; NHHC U.S. Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945 (probed - hull not listed); NHHC Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay (probed - hull not listed); NHHC Pacific Typhoon extract (probed - hull not listed); NHHC DANFS probe; NVR live probe; NavalCoverMuseum; battle-star compilation; shipbuildinghistory YMS table (njscuba + original); Naval Marine Archive Robert Jacob yard page; ShipSpotting IMO record; secondary web litigation sweep; Wikipedia cross-check; CourtListener (see search_ledger sl-17) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-439-yms439-01 through -17
- 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-439 - or her post-Navy identities La Cienta, Pegasus, or Manta Ray - was found in the public sources searched. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing content naming this hull; surfaced material was historical/registry only (NavSource, uboat.net, shipbuildinghistory, ShipSpotting, Wikimapia, Nauticapedia). Unlike most scrapped-or-lost-track sisters, this hull demonstrably survived into the 2000s as a documented Seattle yacht (IMO 5200514) - but no modern hazmat, survey, or abatement record for the vessel was located. CourtListener base queries were only partially run this session: 'USS YMS-439' opinion search returned 0 results (HTTP 200); the remaining three base queries could not be run - the fleet-wide pacing budget stayed spent through spaced retries (helper exit 2; shared ~58/hr cap under fleet load) - logged as blocked in search_ledger sl-17, not as a negative result.
- 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 only partially run (1 of 4 base queries; remaining 3 blocked, a genuine open gap). Deck logs (NARA, undigitized) and Robert Jacob yard records are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-439-yms439-11