USS YMS-71

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]research packet 1076-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-71-yms71-pkt-1076-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-71 page (build timeline, specifications, loss, striking; NARA photo 80-G-49330 credit); corroborated by shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net Yard Minesweepers builder table (Weaver Shipyard, Orange TX) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource YMS-71 page, timeline and specifications block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper: laid down 22 July 1941 by Weaver Brothers Shipyards, Orange, TX; launched 26 March 1942; completed 23 September 1942; sunk by a mine off Borneo 3 April 1945 at 04 deg 59' N, 119 deg 47' E; struck from the Navy list 19 May 1945. Specifications: 270 t., 136' length, 24' 6" beam, 8' draft, 15 kts., complement 32, one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Page notes 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-71.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Weaver Brothers Shipyards construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (design complement 32)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a compiled archival index (secondary aggregation of official records), not a primary document; it documents identity, dates, and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Its 'off Borneo' regional label is loose - the loss position lies in Sulu Archipelago waters off Sanga Sanga, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines (see ev-02). Does not establish asbestos presence or absence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-01

3. [3]Robert J. Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II (Contemporary History Branch, Naval Historical Center, revised 1999), April 1945 entries (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   USN-Chron-1945.html, entries for 2 April and 3 April 1945 (Pacific)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Navy chronology records under 3 April 1945: 'Motor minesweeper YMS-71 is sunk by mine off Sanga Sanga, 04 deg 59' N, 119 deg 47' E.' Under 2 April 1945: 'Army 163rd RCT (Reinforced) of the 41st Division, supported by three destroyers, land on Sanga Sanga, Sulu Archipelago, P.I., without encountering any resistance.' YMS-71 was lost by mine the day after U.S. forces landed on Sanga Sanga.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1945-04-02 to 1945-04-03

   Population

   Wartime crew of YMS-71

   Limitations

   Chronology documents the loss event and position, not the tactical tasking (the chronology does not itself state YMS-71 was sweeping for the Sanga Sanga landing - co-occurrence is context, not asserted fact). No materials or asbestos content. Names the hull and confirms the loss as enemy action.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-02

4. [4]NARA file unit 'USS YMS-71 - Rep of AA Acts in Leyte Gulf, Philippines, 10/19-28/44', NAID 78690455; RG 38, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories'; microfilm roll A1269, micro serial 95969 (32 digitized images) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA catalog file unit page; digitized roll A1269 images 1045-1076 (cover letter = image 1045; first and last AA reports = images 1046 and 1075)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The ship's own action-report file (cover letter, file YMS-71/A9-8, dated 28 October 1944, signed Ernest O. Saltmarsh, Commanding Officer) encloses 14 A.A. Action Reports covering 19-28 October 1944 in Leyte Gulf, P.I. - the Leyte invasion period. Individual reports place YMS-71 in Leyte Gulf (approx. 10-55 N 125-03 E on 19 October; 11-01 N 125-09 E on 28 October), under repeated Japanese air attack, firing 20mm, .50-caliber, and 3-inch batteries; ships in company included USS YMS-73, YMS-311, YMS-314, and YMS-341. The routing chain shows Mine Squadron TWO, Seventh Fleet.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1944-10-19 to 1944-10-28

   Population

   Wartime crew of YMS-71 (Leyte operations, October 1944)

   Limitations

   Operational record only - documents combat employment, position, command (CO Lt. Ernest O. Saltmarsh, USNR, per the signed cover letter), and unit assignment; contains no materials or asbestos content. Read from digitized microfilm images; page-level transcription of all 14 reports not undertaken.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-03

5. [5]NARA file unit 'YMS-71, 9/24/42-4/3/45', NAID 192920358; RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities'; microfilm roll 8036 (148 digitized images) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA catalog file unit page; digitized roll 8036 images (final Report of Changes = images 141-143 of 148)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA inventories YMS-71 personnel records covering the vessel's entire service life, 24 September 1942 - 3 April 1945. The final Report of Changes (for the month ending 3rd day of April 1945, signed Ernest O. Saltmarsh, Lieutenant, USNR, Commanding) carries a handwritten annotation: 'This vessel was sunk as result of enemy action 3 Apr 1945.' The report lists 32 personnel: 30 transferred as survivors 3 April 1945 to R/S San Francisco, Calif., under ComSerFor7th authority, and two - Andrew Gilbert Hancock, SC3/c, and Dallas Edward Kerley, SC2/c(T) - carried 'Missing/Dead' with 'Status changed to killed in action 22 May 1945.' One survivor (Milburn Alfred Ratliff, S1/c) is annotated 'Wounded Survivor,' transferred to USA 2nd Field Hospital, Navy 3070.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-09-24 to 1945-04-03

   Population

   Wartime crew of YMS-71, 1942-1945 (32 personnel at loss, incl. 2 KIA)

   Limitations

   Personnel accounting document, not a materials record - no asbestos content. Documents 2 dead and 1 explicitly wounded-annotated survivor; secondary-source claims of 19 wounded are neither confirmed nor contradicted by this report (wounded men could be routed via R/S without annotation). Muster-roll series, not deck logs - the coverage dates in the tasking correspond to this file unit; a separately cataloged deck-log file unit for YMS-71 was not located.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-04

6. [6]Era inference built on: NavSource Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) index ('The first wooden minesweeper of this class'; 'The wood-hulled YMS...'; 481 built at 35 yacht yards, used for inshore sweeping ahead of amphibious assaults); NavSource YMS-71 specifications (GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-06) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource YMS class index narrative; NavSource YMS-71 specifications block; GAO product page HRD-80-2

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   YMS-71 was a wood-hulled, diesel-powered yard minesweeper built 1941-42 - squarely inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. With no steam plant, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation/wiring, and insulating board in accommodation spaces. The wood hull removes the steel-ship structural fireproofing pathway but not the machinery/electrical applications.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Weaver Brothers Shipyards construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work order located for YMS-71. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The vessel sank in 1945, so there is no present-day abatement record to find.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-05

7. [7]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 service era (1942-45).

   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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-05) - content via product-page description, same standing limitation as Batch-98.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-06

8. [8]NARA still-picture local ID 80-G-49330 (credited 'National Archives photos' on the NavSource YMS-71 page: YMS-71 underway c. 1942, Tracy White collection) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource YMS-71 page photo table (image 2, 'National Archives photos 80-G-49330'); NARA catalog search '80-G-49330' (no result, 2026-10-05)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A NARA General Photographic File (80-G) image of YMS-71 circa 1942 is credited by NavSource; direct search of the NARA catalog for '80-G-49330' returns no item-level catalog record - the image's digitization status at NARA is unconfirmed.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   c. 1942

   Limitations

   Archival lead only - existence inferred from NavSource's photo credit, not verified against a NARA item record. No materials content expected in any case (a photographic print does not document insulation).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-07

9. [9]Batch-9153 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (no entry); NARA catalog (muster rolls, war diary, still-picture); NavSource; Cressman official chronology; shipbuildinghistory builder table; shipyards.json cross-check; CourtListener (blocked this session); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-71-yms71-01 through sl-uss-yms-71-yms71-11

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming YMS-71 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The vessel's loss in 1945 forecloses the museum-era disclosure pathway (survey/abatement during preservation) that produces ship-specific records for surviving hulls. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be fully queried this session - repeated attempts returned the fleet-wide pacing block; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content (asbestos-ships and similar listicles) asserting asbestos aboard - excluded by source policy.

   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-consistent asbestos applications remain a reasonable inference for a 1941-42 diesel combatant. The litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (paced, not run to completion). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-08

10. [10]Geographic cross-check: Cressman official chronology ('off Sanga Sanga' + 2 April entry placing Sanga Sanga in the Sulu Archipelago, P.I.) vs. NavSource/uboat.net/shipbuildinghistory 'off Borneo' regional label [nhhc_danfs]

    Locator

    USN-Chron-1945.html (3 April entry); NavSource YMS-71; uboat.net ship/9495; shipbuildinghistory YM table

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Loss-position labeling conflicts across sources: the official chronology and the loss coordinates (04 deg 59' N, 119 deg 47' E) place the wreck in Philippine waters off Sanga Sanga (Bongao municipality, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu Archipelago), while NavSource, uboat.net, and the shipbuildinghistory table label it 'off Borneo' (world-war.co.uk lists 'Brunei Bay; Borneo'). 'Sulu Archipelago, Philippines' is carried here as the geographically accurate description; 'off Borneo' survives in secondary sources as a loose regional label for the Borneo-campaign-era operations area.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-05

    Study period

    1945-04-03

    Limitations

    All sources agree on the coordinates (04 deg 59' N, 119 deg 47' E); only the regional label differs. Modern administrative geography (Tawi-Tawi province) postdates the 1945 operational labeling - neither is fabricated, but 'off Borneo' should not be propagated as the wreck's political location.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-71-yms71-09