Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 1074-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-59-yms59-pkt-1074-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-59 page (Radigan/Wright) [other_primary]
- Locator
- YMS-59 page, vitals block, specifications block, photo captions, commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled ship record for this hull: YMS-1-class auxiliary motor minesweeper laid down 14 July 1941 by the Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville, FL; launched 30 December 1941; completed 24 April 1942 and commissioned USS YMS-59; transferred to the Soviet Union 6 June 1945 and reclassified T-521; assigned to the (Soviet) Pacific Fleet 27 June 1945; placed out of service 11 July 1956 and scrapped. Specifications: displacement 270 t.; length 136 ft; beam 24 ft 6 in; draft 8 ft; speed 15 kts; complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Wartime call sign Nan-Easy-Xray-How. Commanding officer listed: LTJG C. C. Gracey, USNR (1945). Photo record places the vessel at Honolulu, HI c. 1944 (collection of EM2c Howard G. Marshall, YMS-59). Page explicitly states 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-59.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1956
- Population
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. construction trades (1941-42); USN crew 1942-45 (complement 32); Soviet crew 1945-56
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive (volunteer-maintained photo archive), not a primary document - vitals uncorroborated by a DANFS entry (none exists). Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information; does not establish or rule out asbestos materials aboard. '880bhp' engine rating is ambiguous (class-standard ratings list ~440 bhp per 8-268A engine).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-01
-
[3]Richard A. Russell, Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan (The U.S. Navy in the Modern World Series No. 4), Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, 1997 - HyperWar/ibiblio scan [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 'U.S. Navy Combatant Ships Transferred ... May-September 1945', YMS table row 'YMS 59 | T-521 | 6 June | 1956-stricken'; program description pp. (training cycles, wooden-hulled vessel notes)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Naval Historical Center monograph on the 1945 Cold Bay transfer program records this hull in its appendix 'U.S. Navy Combatant Ships Transferred ... May-September 1945': 'YMS 59 | T-521 | 6 June | 1956-stricken.' The book documents that the transfer roster included 36 wooden-hulled motor minesweepers (YMS) among 180 planned vessels; that Soviet crews were trained at Cold Bay by Navy Detachment 3294 beginning 16 April 1945; and that transferred ships steamed in convoy to Soviet home ports, usually via Petropavlovsk. On the YMS type it notes: 'Under Soviet colors, the wooden-hulled YMSs performed a variety of combat, auxiliary, and scientific tasks. But they had short service lives, and all were decommissioned by the mid-1950s.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-1956
- Population
- USN crew departing the vessel and Soviet receiving crew at Cold Bay (June 1945); Soviet crew 1945-56
- Limitations
- Official USN history publication naming this hull in the transfer appendix - confirms transfer date, Soviet designation, and disposition year, but contains no detail on this hull's individual operations and no materials or asbestos information. Mirror cited (ibiblio.org HyperWar scan of the NHC/GPO publication, verified live HTTP 206 range fetch); the generalstaff.org HTML transcription of the same book corroborates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-02
-
[4]National Archives Catalog file unit 'YMS-59, 4/27/42-6/5/45' (NAID 193215677), Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, January 1, 1939-January 1, 1949' (NAID 594996), microfilm Roll 8024 - digitized via Ancestry partnership [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/193215677 - file-unit record, 177 digital objects, Roll 8024
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds and has digitized this hull's muster rolls and reports of changes for the entire USN commissioning period, 27 April 1942 through 5 June 1945 (177 images, unrestricted access, verified live in the National Archives Catalog). The end date coincides with the June 1945 Soviet transfer. These rolls name the enlisted crew by quarter and record personnel changes, reporting/transfer dates, and medical-facility detachments - the primary-source basis for identifying individuals who served aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- USN enlisted crew of YMS-59, 1942-1945 (roster-identifiable)
- Limitations
- Personnel record, not a materials or condition record - establishes who served aboard and when, not what materials were present. Contains no asbestos information. Individual exposure cannot be inferred from presence on a muster roll.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-03
-
[5]National Archives Catalog, series 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992' (NAID 594258, RG 24) - deck-log coverage inventory for YMS-59 per batch input data (6/1/1944-6/5/1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 594258 (series record); candidate file units not individually located; NAID 318280744 (Kodiak May 1945 war diary, unverified mention)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA inventories US Navy deck logs for YMS-59 covering 1 June 1944 through 5 June 1945 (per the batch input's NARA inventory data; the logbook series NAID 594258 is confirmed live and partially digitized - 214,063 file units online). A separately surfaced catalog hit, the Naval Operating Base Kodiak / NAS Kodiak war diary for May 1945 (NAID 318280744, RG 181, 32 images), matched a 'YMS-59' catalog text search and may mention the vessel during its Alaska transit; the page images carry no text layer and were not OCR-verified this session.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USN crew, June 1944-June 1945
- Limitations
- Title-matched deck-log file units were not surfaced by catalog UI searches this session (the catalog index is weak on hyphenated numeric titles); the 6/1/1944-6/5/1945 coverage is carried from the batch's NARA inventory input and was not re-verified to individual NAIDs. Deck logs are operational records - they would document movements and personnel events, not hull materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-59 (YMS-59) compiled warship entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 9485, vitals table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled warship record for this hull: built by Gibbs Gas Engine Co. (Jacksonville, Florida); ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 14 July 1941; launched 30 December 1941; commissioned 24 April 1942; end service 6 June 1945 - 'Transferred to the USSR on 6 June 1945.' No commanding officers or operational events are listed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation consistent with NavSource on all shared dates; the 1 April 1941 order date is unverified against contract records. No materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-05
-
[7]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com successor site), 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS and BYMS)' construction table - YMS-59 row and Gibbs Gas Engine yard block [other_primary]
- Locator
- YMS/BYMS table, Gibbs Gas Engine block, row 'YMS-59'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard-minesweeper construction table records: 'YMS-59 | Gibbs Gas Engine | Jacksonville FL | 136 | 320 | 24 Apr 1942 | to the USSR (T-521) 1945' - confirming builder, 136-ft design, delivery/commissioning date, and Soviet transfer with the T-521 designation. The same table shows YMS-59 was part of a Gibbs-built block (YMS-54 through YMS-65 delivered February-July 1942, of which YMS-55, -58, -62, -63, -64 went to France and YMS-59 to the USSR). The same table enumerates the type's production run (YMS-1 through YMS-481) - the 136-ft wooden-hulled YMS-1-class design was the Navy's standard WW2 motor minesweeper, 481 completed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. construction workforce (1941-42)
- Limitations
- Compiled construction table - not a primary contract document. Its displacement column (320 t, full-load basis) differs from NavSource's 270 t specification figure (different load state or typo); not an asbestos or materials record. Page intermittently returns HTTP 500 to plain-curl fetches; content verified via rendered scrape this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-06
-
[8]SeWar (sewar.ru) Russian-language Soviet-naval compilation, 'Тип "YMS". Т-521 (YMS-59)' vessel entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- sewar.ru tralschiki (minesweeper) section, T-521/YMS-59 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Russian-language compilation of the hull's Soviet service: launched 30 December 1941, entered (US) service 24 April 1942; accepted by a Soviet crew under Lend-Lease on 5 June 1945; arrived Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 27 June 1945 and entered the Pacific Ocean Fleet (TOF); withdrawn from the combat roster and mothballed 15 April 1955; disarmed and stricken from the Navy list 11 July 1956 for transfer to the stock-property (disposal) department.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-1956
- Population
- Soviet crew, T-521, 1945-1956
- Limitations
- Secondary Russian-language compilation unverified against Soviet archival records; consistent with NavSource/NHC on transfer and 1956 striking. Its printed laid-down date (14.02.1941) conflicts with all US sources (14 July 1941) and is treated as a typo. The one-day-earlier Soviet crew-acceptance date (5 June vs the 6 June transfer date in US sources) is carried as a minor discrepancy in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, 2 shafts - no steam plant; wooden-hulled YMS-1 class per NHC Project Hula description of the type); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-09); 1941-42 wartime construction date [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource YMS-59 specifications; NHC Project Hula YMS-type description; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper completed April 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; period naval construction specifications and the wartime asbestos-supply reservation made asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, packing, and electrical materials standard aboard small combatants. Era-standard applications aboard a 136-ft YMS-1-class craft: diesel exhaust lagging, machinery and piping insulation, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior insulation/joiner materials. Diesel plant - no boilers or steam turbines, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1956
- Population
- Gibbs Gas Engine Co. construction trades (1941-42); USN crew (1942-45); Soviet crew (1945-56); Soviet scrapping workers (1956)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for YMS-59. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Wooden-hull construction reduced - but did not eliminate - era asbestos applications relative to steam-driven steel combatants.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-08
-
[10]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 construction (1941-42), entire USN service era (1942-45), and Soviet service era (1945-56).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, per batch precedent) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-09
-
[11]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this wooden-hulled motor minesweeper was built at a small yacht-type yard (Gibbs Gas Engine Co.) in 1941-42.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-10
-
[12]Batch-9139 search ledger (this record): NavSource YMS-59 page; NHC Project Hula (ibiblio scan + generalstaff transcription); NARA catalog (muster rolls NAID 193215677; logbooks series NAID 594258; Kodiak war diary NAID 318280744); uboat.net ship record; Shipbuilding History YMS/BYMS table and Gibbs yard table; sewar.ru Soviet-service entry; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; CourtListener base queries (3 of 4 completed, hull-number docket pacing-blocked); secondary web sweep - see search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-59-yms59-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming YMS-59 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull. The hull left U.S. custody in 1945 and was scrapped in the Soviet Union in 1956 - no preservation or disposal-record pathway for a ship-specific survey exists. CourtListener: 'USS YMS-59' returned 0 opinions and 0 dockets; 'YMS-59' returned 0 opinions; the 'YMS-59' docket base query could not be run - fleet-wide pacing budget saturated throughout the session (logged 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 - 1941-42 naval construction is era-consistent with asbestos materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The hull-number docket query went unanswered (pacing throttle, ~75 minutes of spaced retries); given the precision of the identifier and 0-hit opinion queries, a docket collision set is unlikely, but litigation status on the bare hull number is open, not negative. CourtListener results recorded in search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-59-yms59-08 through -11.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-59-yms59-11