Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet 967-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS PCS-1440 → **MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-472-pkt-967-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-472 page (archives/11/19472.htm) - build, designation, specification, commanding-officer, and loss entries [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource YMS-472 page - title block, spec block, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laid down 17 September 1943 as patrol craft sweeper PCS-1440 (PCS-1376 class) by Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL; reclassified auxiliary motor minesweeper YMS-472 on 27 September 1943 (pre-completion - never served as PCS-1440); launched 21 June 1944; completed 10 November 1944; capsized and sunk in Typhoon Ida/Makurazaki off Okinawa 16 September 1945; struck from the Naval Register 24 October 1945. Specs: 270 t., 136 ft, 24'6" beam, 6'1" draft, 13 kt, complement 33; two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts; one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm, two depth-charge tracks, two depth-charge projectors. CO: LTJG Willard Blaser, USNR (November 1944 - 16 September 1945). Page states no DANFS history exists for YMS-472.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- 33 (spec complement)
- Limitations
- Compiled photo-archive reference, not an official Navy document. 'Completed 10 November 1944' corresponds to commissioning per corroborating sources. Complement 33 and dimensions are the class spec block, not a measured record for this hull. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'Casualties Navy and Coast Guard Ships' - motor minesweeper casualty list [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC casualties page, U.S. Navy Motor Minesweepers section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC casualty entry: 'USS YMS-472 sunk off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 16 September 1945.' Same page lists sister motor minesweeper YMS-421 sunk off Okinawa the same date, and PC-584 sunk by typhoon at Okinawa 9 October 1945 (the separate Typhoon Louise event).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-16
- Limitations
- One-line official entry: establishes the loss date and locality only - no cause detail, no personnel accounting, no material-condition or asbestos information. Distinguishes the 16 September 1945 typhoon loss (Ida/Makurazaki) from the separate 9 October 1945 Typhoon Louise casualties.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-02
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online transcription of the wartime organization tables) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Minecraft, Pacific Fleet section, YMS roster (pp. ~133-137 of the transcription)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- YMS-472 is listed among motor minesweepers under MINECRAFT, PACIFIC FLEET (Commander Minecraft, Pacific Fleet, R. Adm. A. Sharp) in the Navy's 1 May 1945 organization tables - official documentation that the hull was in active Pacific Fleet mine-force service five months after commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- Roster-format listing: names the hull but shows no commanding-officer entry ('..........') and the left-column numeric annotations in the transcription are not interpreted here; establishes fleet assignment only, not specific operations or locations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-03
-
[5]National Archives, RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, file unit 'YMS-472, 11/10/44-9/16/45', NAID 193179402, Roll 9240 - digitized (65 images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/193179402 - Report of Changes pp. 1-2 at reel frames 58-59; Recapitulation Sheet at frames 60-61 (read directly this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own muster rolls cover her entire commissioned life, 10 November 1944 to 16 September 1945. The final Report of Changes (period ending 16 Sep 1945, signed by engineering officer LTJG Elmer J. Renner - himself a survivor) accounts for all 28 enlisted men on the closing roll: one pre-loss transfer on 8 Sep 1945 (S1c Harry M. Arias to a stateside separation center); 21 men listed 'Missing' on 16 Sep whose status was changed to 'Dead' between 17 and 21 Sep 1945; one man listed 'Dead' (PhM1c John R. Eaves Jr.; report of death received 24 Sep 1945); and five 'Survivor Trans.' entries - HARRISON Herbert R. (MoMM2c) to Receiving Station Shoemaker, CA (12 Dec 1945); HETZER and HICKS R.C. to USS Pine Island for further transfer to Naval Hospital Okinawa; NEYLAND to USNR New Orleans (4 Dec 1945); WADE to USNR Norfolk, South Annex (6 Dec 1945). The closing recapitulation sheet brings forward 28 enlisted, records 28 losses, and carries zero remaining aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-11-10 to 1945-09-16 (roll); status changes through 24 Sep 1945; sheet received Feb 1946
- Population
- 28 enlisted on closing roll: 22 dead or missing-presumed-dead, 5 survivor transfers, 1 pre-loss transfer; officers mustered separately
- Limitations
- Covers enlisted personnel only - officers were mustered separately, so total complement at loss cannot be read from this roll alone. 'Missing changed to Dead' dates of 17-21 Sep 1945 are administrative presumption-of-death entries; the loss event is dated 16 Sep. Some recapitulation handwriting is partially ambiguous (bracketed figure corrections). Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-04
-
[6]Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), Suzanne Hurt, 'Hemet: Sailor, 92, recalls surviving 6 days on a raft', 9 November 2014 - interview with USS YMS-472 survivor Herbert 'Bill' Harrison [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Press-Enterprise article text and photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand survivor account of the ship described as 'the U.S. Navy's 135-foot, wooden-hulled minesweeper': after a 4 a.m. typhoon warning, YMS-472 failed to round Okinawa's north side, turned into the storm, and capsized shortly after midnight while riding a ~65-foot wave, rolling three to four times. Nine men reached a raft; sharks took one, others swam off delirious or paddled away; four remained when aircraft spotted them on the sixth day ~40 miles from the sinking, and they were flown to USS Pine Island. 'Six men survived the sinking' of a crew of 31 - including the man who left the raft in a life vest (later rescued by a Japanese ship) and one who never boarded the raft. Harrison (MoMM2c on the NARA muster) co-wrote '6 Days on a Raft' (2007); LT Elmer Renner, the raft's only officer, died 2012.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-16/17 (loss) and six-day raft drift; published 2014-11-09
- Population
- Crew of 31 aboard per survivor account; 6 survivors
- Limitations
- Eyewitness memory published ~69 years after the event - figures are the survivor's account, not an official finding. Crew-of-31 and six-survivor counts reconcile with the NARA enlisted muster (27 enlisted aboard after one pre-loss transfer: 22 dead + 5 survivor transfers) only if ~4 officers were aboard; officers are not on this roll. Article's internal date ambiguity ('Sept. 16' text vs 'Sept. 17' photo caption) and its '135-foot' description vs the 136-ft spec are flagged in gaps. Calls Pine Island a 'hospital ship'; the muster describes the same movement as transfer to Naval Hospital Okinawa.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-05
-
[7]East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association, veteran page for PhM1c John R. Eaves Jr., USS YMS-472 - transcribes the squadron loss report in war-diary form [other_primary]
- Locator
- ETVMA John R. Eaves Jr. veteran page, narrative section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Transcribed loss-report entries: YMS-472's last radio contact was between 1600 and 1700 on 16 September 1945; last known position about 1530 bearing 085 deg true, 12 miles from the northern tip of Okinawa; at 1935 the position and condition of YMS-98 and YMS-472 was reported to Commander Mine Squadron Four (SOPA Unten Ko) with a tug request refused by weather; on 17 September both ships unreported-in and Commander Mine Squadron Four / Commander Task Force 52 informed, search planned by YMS-147, YMS-283, YMS-394, and YMS-434. Page documents Eaves as PhM1c who died 16 September 1945, memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial (Pillar VI, Top Panel).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-16/17
- Population
- YMS-472 and YMS-98 crews; Mine Squadron Four staff; PhM1c Eaves
- Limitations
- Memorial-association transcription of what appears to be a Mine Squadron Four war diary or action report - the underlying document is not identified and the transcription contains visible errors ('UMS 472'). Carried as an archival lead to the original record (likely NARA WWII war diaries), not as verified text. Eaves's name, rating, and death are independently corroborated by the NARA muster (EAVES, John Roy Jr., PhM1c, 'Dead' 16 Sep).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-06
-
[8]uboat.net, Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-472 (YMS-472), ship no. 9889 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net YMS-472 warship fact table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent compiled warship entry: ordered 16 November 1942; laid down 17 September 1943; launched 21 June 1944; commissioned 10 November 1944; lost 16 September 1945 - 'foundered off Okinawa during a typhoon'; former name PCS-1440; builder Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Reputable specialist reference (secondary, compiled); the 'Ordered 16 November 1942' contract date is uncorroborated by other sources in this record. 'Former name PCS-1440' corroborates the pre-completion redesignation; 'commissioned 10 Nov 1944' corroborates NavSource's 'completed' entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-07
-
[9]shipbuildinghistory.com, 'Gibbs Gas Engine, Aerojet-General, Jacksonville Shipyards' - Gibbs Gas Engine Works (Jacksonville FL) hull production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Gibbs yard table, 'Built by Gibbs Gas Engine Works' section, rows YMS-464 through YMS-472
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard production table lists YMS-472, US Navy minesweeper, 136 ft, completed/delivered 10 November 1944, 'Lost 1945' - part of a consecutive Gibbs-built sweeper sequence YMS-464 through YMS-472, several sisters transferred postwar to the USSR, Turkey, or sold.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Compiled shipyard production reference (secondary, drawn from official records); corroborates builder and delivery date but adds no construction-materials detail. Plain-HTTP site. Sister-hull dispositions shown for contract context only - they say nothing about this hull's materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-08
-
[10]Era/design inference built on: NavSource YMS-446-class / PCS-1376-class spec block (twin GM 8-268A diesels, wooden-hulled 136-ft small craft); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-program context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion/design); GAO HRD-80-2 highlights
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No source names this hull's materials - inference only. A 1943-44 wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper carried no boilers or steam plant, bounding plausible asbestos applications to the era's standard diesel-craft items: engine and exhaust lagging, machinery-space thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and flange packing, valve stem packing, electrical cable and panel insulation, deck covering compounds, and winch/windlass brake linings - material classes that in WWII Navy construction commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-09-17 to 1945-09-16
- Population
- Gibbs yard construction trades (1943-44); commissioned crew, Nov 1944 - Sep 1945
- Limitations
- Class/design-level inference, not a hull record: no specification, survey, or ship's document for YMS-472 was located, and none can postdate her September 1945 foundering (no refit or scrapping ever occurred). Does not establish presence, quantity, or any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-09
-
[11]U.S. GAO report HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (published 18 Oct 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page, highlights section (full report 26 pp. linked)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, removal costs, and compensation programs - documenting that asbestos insulation was used in Navy ships and that the Navy's 1975 policy of removing only damaged insulation was modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policy period); WWII-through-1970s asbestos use context
- Population
- Naval shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only: fieldwork was at two naval shipyards in the late 1970s - not this small craft, its builder, or the WWII small-craft fleet. Establishes era use of asbestos insulation in Navy ships generally; says nothing about YMS-472 specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-10
-
[12]DPAA service-member profiles for YMS-341 casualties (e.g., Ensign Ralph Dallinger, Ensign Samuel W. Sloan, SOM2 Don A. Thompson) - name-collision control row [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPAA service-member profile pages (YMS-341 crew)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DPAA profiles state that minesweeper YMS-341 foundered and sank in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, during Typhoon Ida on 17 September 1945 with only one survivor out of a crew of 33, leaving 32 unaccounted-for. This is a different hull lost in the same typhoon one day later - YMS-341 casualty figures ('32 of 33 unaccounted-for') must not be attributed to YMS-472, whose own accounting (NARA muster: 22 enlisted dead/missing-presumed-dead, 5 enlisted survivor transfers, plus officers) is distinct.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-09-17
- Population
- YMS-341 crew (different hull)
- Limitations
- Collision-control row citing a different vessel's official record: corrects a real misattribution risk surfaced during research (search engines return YMS-341 profiles for YMS-472 queries). Does not itself document YMS-472.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-11
-
[13]Batch-8358 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC casualties page and Pacific Fleet organization tables; NARA catalog and digitized muster images; Press-Enterprise; ETVMA; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory.com; NVR; DPAA; DANFS index; CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-472-01 through sl-uss-yms-472-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no materials specification, asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming YMS-472 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull foundered in 1945 and has no post-service lifecycle - no overhaul, reserve-fleet period, transfer, or scrapping - in which asbestos could have been documented.
- 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-consistent inference stands on its own footing. Does not establish or defeat any exposure, causation, or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-472-12