Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 1070-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (thin sourcing on dates
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (thin sourcing on dates
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-44-yms44-pkt-1070-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-44 (11/19044.htm) - milestones, specifications, striking, and disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19044.htm header block and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper; laid down 18 June 1941 by the Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Brooklyn, NY; launched 10 April 1942; completed 25 May 1942; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission in June 1948; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-Baker-Zebra-Item. 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, and two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Wheeler Shipbuilding trades (1941-42); crew (1942-46); FLC/disposal custodians (1946-48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official records. Contains no asbestos content. The 'Brooklyn, NY' builder location refers to Wheeler Shipbuilding's corporate/original yard; the hull was built at the company's Whitestone NY second yard (see ev-10). No decommissioning date is shown; the gap between end of deck-log coverage (30 June 1945) and striking (19 June 1946) is undocumented here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), Wheeler Shipbuilding yard table, Whitestone NY - hull list and yard corporate history; corroborated by the master YMS table at shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/ym/ [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-emer-small/wheelerw/ yard-history paragraph and Whitestone hull table; us-navy-small/ym/ master table row 'YMS-44 | Wheeler Shipbuilding | Whitestone NY | 136 | 320 | 25 May 1942 | struck 1946'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Wheeler Yacht Company was founded at the turn of the century by Howard E. Wheeler in Brooklyn NY; for WWII the company opened a second yard operating as Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp. at Whitestone NY. The Whitestone table lists YMS-44 - US Navy minesweeper, 278 LDT tons, 136 ft, delivered 25 May 1942, struck 1946. Neighboring hulls in the same Whitestone table document the wartime dispersal of the class: YMS-42 to the USSR 1945 as T-582, YMS-43 to France 1944 as Lotus (D-324), YMS-45 reclassified 1947 as Barbet (AMS-41). The master YMS table records YMS-44 as a Mk I (two-stack) variant built by Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone NY.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1942
- Population
- Wheeler Shipbuilding Whitestone yard workers (1941-42)
- Limitations
- Secondary shipbuilding-data compilation (the Colton table) - generally reliable against contract records but not a government registry. Tonnage figure is light-displacement (278 LDT), differing from NavSource's 270 t and the class's 320 t full-load figure. Contains no asbestos content. Wheeler Shipbuilding is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry - related_shipyards is empty and the yard is carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-02
-
[4]Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, 'Commander South Atlantic Force' (Volume XI administrative history, Historical Section) - Chronology of Important Dates (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 146-SoLant-Chron.html, chronology entry 11 June 1945; force context from the same volume's forward and narrative (TF-3/TF-23/Fourth Fleet/TF-27 sequence, Recife headquarters)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The wartime administrative history records under 11 June 1945: 'YMS 44, 45, 60 and 76 detached, report to CTG 29.' YMS-44 was thus one of four YMS minesweepers attached to the South Atlantic Force (Task Force 23 / Fourth Fleet / Task Force 27), headquartered at Recife, Brazil, and was detached northward as the force drew down after the South Atlantic was designated a non-combat area (29 May 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945 (entry); 1942-1945 (force window)
- Population
- Crew aboard YMS-44, YMS-45, YMS-60, YMS-76 (South Atlantic Force minesweeper detachment)
- Limitations
- Names this hull in a primary Navy document but records only the detachment order - not when she arrived in theater, which ports she served, or what work was done aboard. The destination command 'CTG 29' is not expanded in the source; its parent command is unverified here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-03
-
[5]Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, 'Commander South Atlantic Force' - Narrative, 'The Fourth Fleet' and Operations chapters (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 146-SoLant-2.html, 'The Fourth Fleet' fleet-inventory paragraph (narrative p.127) and Operations-April 1943 convoy passage (narrative pp.129-130)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The same history's March 1943 Fourth Fleet inventory lists 'two Motor Mine Sweepers' among U.S. units, and the April 1943 convoy-escort narrative names 'the Motor Mine Sweepers 60 and 76' - establishing that YMS-60 and YMS-76 were already in theater in early 1943 while YMS-44 and YMS-45 are not yet accounted for in the narrative. This bounds, but does not fix, YMS-44's arrival date in the South Atlantic.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Does not name YMS-44 - context bounding her in-theater arrival only. Negative evidence (absence from the March 1943 inventory) is suggestive, not conclusive: the inventory says 'two Motor Mine Sweepers' without listing the four eventually present. Her deck logs are the open lead for the actual arrival date. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-04
-
[6]Sixtant.net, 'U.S. Navy 4th Fleet at Recife' compiled articles (index of all ships; Camp Ingram article) - secondary compilation on the Fourth Fleet in Brazil [reputable_press]
- Locator
- sixtant.net 4th Fleet index (YMS entry); Camp Ingram article (Recife harbor defenses paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The compilation's Fourth Fleet index lists '4 AUXILIARY MOTOR MINESWEEPER - YMS-44, YMS-45, YMS-60, YMS-76' among the force's vessels, and its Camp Ingram (Recife) article states that '4 minesweepers, YMS 44, 45, 60 and 76 continuously swept the outer access channel where one anti torpedo net was laid.' This corroborates the primary administrative-history record that YMS-44's South Atlantic duty was channel sweeping in the Recife approaches.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Crews of the four-boat Recife minesweeper detachment
- Limitations
- Secondary enthusiast compilation, not an official record - corroborating detail consistent with the primary administrative history, but not independently authoritative. 'Reputable_press' is the nearest citation_type; the source is a published historical compilation site. Does not date YMS-44's arrival or departure from Recife. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-05
-
[7]National Archives and Records Service, Special List No. 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number edition, PDF page 121) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 121, line 'YMS-44 5/27/1942 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 inventories NARA-held deck logs for YMS-44 covering 27 May 1942 through 30 June 1945 (Record Group 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel logs). The coverage window brackets essentially her entire U.S. commissioned service - from two days after her documented 25 May 1942 completion through the month she was detached from the South Atlantic Force (11 June 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- Commissioned crews, 1942-45 (approx. 32-33 aboard at a time)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not a read record: the log contents were not reviewed - station-by-station movements, availabilities, and any 1945-46 inactivation detail await the logs themselves. NARA's online catalog could not be queried from this environment (JavaScript-rendered; API requires authentication) - whether the YMS-44 logs are digitized is unverified. The 6/30/1945 end date is a log-coverage cutoff, not a documented end-of-service date. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-06
-
[8]NavSource Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) class index - program totals, construction practice, and characteristics; corroborated by shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/ym/ master table [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class characteristics block and program narrative; shipbuildinghistory ym/ table design summary
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- YMS-44 sits inside the documented YMS construction pattern: 561 wooden-hulled minesweepers built 1942-45 at 35 small yacht yards to a common Navy design (diesel propulsion - two GM 8-268A engines on two shafts - not steam). Era-standard applications aboard a 1941-42 small combatant of this type: diesel-exhaust lagging, engine and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation and switchboard/panel-board material, galley and domestic insulation, and brake linings on the anchor windlass and sweep-handling winches. As a diesel craft she carried no boilers - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Wheeler Whitestone construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-46); any maintenance trades at Recife and postwar yard visits
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-44. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity and no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Wood-hulled diesel craft carried materially less asbestos than steel steamships of the same era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- 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 (1941-42) and U.S. service era (1942-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1979 (report); exposure era back through WWII construction
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-05) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-08
-
[10]Batch-9081 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull and class pages; shipbuildinghistory yard and master tables; HyperWar CinCLant South Atlantic administrative history; uboat.net; Sixtant.net; NARA Special List 44; NHHC/DANFS lookup; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA catalog; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-44-yms44-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming YMS-44 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). There is no DANFS entry or NHHC page for this numbered craft. The only 'asbestos aboard' material encountered is law-firm/listicle content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CourtListener: three of four base queries ran 2026-10-05 ('USS YMS-44' opinion - 7 hits, all name collisions or unrelated litigation including the YMS-12/John Worthington collision case which does not name this hull; 'USS YMS-44' docket - 2,183 tokenizer-noise hits, top-20 scanned, none vessel-related; 'YMS-44' opinion - 227 hits, all tokenizer noise); the 'YMS-44' docket query could not be run - fleet pacing limiter refused a token across ~9 spaced retries over ~30 minutes. Logged as blocked, not a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 2026-10-05
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era inference remains reasonable and consistent for a 1941-42 naval craft. Deck logs (NARA RG 24), Wheeler yard contract records, and any FLC disposal file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-09
-
[11]Designation cross-check: NavSource YMS-44 page ('Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Brooklyn, NY') vs shipbuildinghistory Wheeler yard history (Brooklyn parent yard vs Whitestone second yard, hull listed on the Whitestone table) and uboat.net ('Whitestone, Long Island, New York') [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory Wheeler page yard-history paragraph and Whitestone table; NavSource 11/19044.htm header; uboat.net ship/9464 builder line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's 'Brooklyn, NY' builder location conflates the Wheeler company's original Brooklyn yard (which spent WWII on Coast Guard patrol craft) with the second wartime yard the company operated as Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp. at Whitestone, Long Island, NY. The Whitestone yard table lists YMS-44 among its own hulls (delivered 25 May 1942), and uboat.net independently gives Whitestone - so the hull was built at Whitestone, NY. uboat.net further lists the contract date: ordered 1 April 1941.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1942
- Limitations
- Corrects a builder-location attribution, not a material claim - both sites are the same company's facilities within New York City/Queens-Long Island. Corporate name 'Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.' is consistent across sources. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-44-yms44-10