Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]research packet 1078-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-84-yms84-pkt-1078-packet-md
-
[2]National Archives, Special List 44, List of Logbooks of the United States Navy, 1941-1945, by Ship Number (YMS-84 entry) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 ship-number index, YMS block: 'YMS-84 6/1/1942 4/30/1945'; following line 'YMS-85 7/13/1942 8/25/1942 see YMS-84, 1942'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List 44 index of U.S. Navy deck logs by ship number lists YMS-84 with logbook coverage 6/1/1942 through 4/30/1945. The adjacent entry files the earliest logbooks of sister hull YMS-85 (7/13/1942-8/25/1942) under YMS-84 ('see YMS-84, 1942') - YMS-85 was built at the same yard, Henry C. Grebe and Co., and laid down the same day, 2 June 1941. Coverage ending 30 April 1945 is consistent with the ship's loss on 9 July 1945 - final-month logs were not submitted or did not survive.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1942-06-01 to 1945-04-30 (listed coverage)
- Limitations
- A logbook index is a holdings locator, not a commissioning order, operational narrative, or material record. It supports the record's commission-window framing but does not itself establish commissioning or decommissioning dates, and per NARA's own asbestos guide deck logs are not direct asbestos evidence. The logs themselves (NARA College Park, not in the digitized online set) were not reviewed at page level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Casualties: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Ships, WWII - Motor Minesweepers (YMS) section (Wayback Machine capture 2025-12-08; live page 404 on access date) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Archived page, Motor Minesweepers (YMS) subsection, 'USS YMS-84' entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC casualty list 'Casualties: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Ships' (live URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-05; cited via the 2025-12-08 Wayback Machine capture) records under Motor Minesweepers (YMS): 'USS YMS-84 sunk by a mine off Balikpapan, Philippine Islands, 8 July 1945.' Establishes the official loss record: sunk by a mine during the Balikpapan operation, July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-07
- Limitations
- Archived copy of an official NHHC list (live page returned 404 on access date; archive URL is labeled and not presented as live). Two source-level quirks carried, not resolved: the list dates the loss 8 July 1945 while the official chronology, NavSource, uboat.net, and the YMS-339 crew memoir all give 9 July 1945 (see gaps); and the list places the loss 'off Balikpapan, Philippine Islands' - the same geographic label it applies to all Balikpapan-area YMS losses, although Balikpapan is in Borneo, Netherlands East Indies. The entry contains no casualty figures, no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-84 page (11/19084) - milestone block, specification block, call sign, and unsigned unofficial narrative [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19084.htm - milestone bullets, specification block, and 'Unofficial History of YMS-84' paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's hull page for YMS-84 (verified live at navsource.net 2026-10-05) reports: laid down 2 June 1941 by Henry C. Grebe and Co., Chicago, IL; launched 3 March 1942; completed 23 May 1942; 'Sunk by a mine 9 July 1945 off Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies, at 01 deg 19' S, 116 deg 48' E'; call sign Nan-Uncle-King-King; 'There is no DANFS history available for YMS-84.' Specification block: displacement 270 t, length 136 ft, beam 24 ft 6 in, draft 8 ft, speed 15 kts, complement 32, one 3-inch/50 dual-purpose mount plus two 20mm mounts and two depth-charge projectors, two 880 bhp GM 8-268A diesels on two shafts. The page's unsigned 'Unofficial History of YMS-84' narrates: first US Navy vessel built in Illinois during WWII; down the Mississippi to New Orleans and Gulf training/convoy escort through early 1943; Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor to the Southwest Pacific Force in the Solomons; Philippines in late 1944; upkeep at a staging base the text calls 'Manaus'; Tarakan sweep from 1 May 1945; Balikpapan sweeping from late June; on 9 July 1945 struck a drifting mine 'likely cut loose from its anchor by other minesweepers,' took the blast aft, seams opened, listed to starboard, and sank stern-first with all crew evacuating to other ships and landing craft, several wounded.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew of YMS-84 (design complement ~32); Henry C. Grebe and Co. construction workforce, Chicago, 1941-42
- Limitations
- NavSource is a curated secondary compilation, not an official record - milestones and specs corroborate official sources but the 'Unofficial History' is unattributed narrative: its 'first US Navy vessel built in Illinois' superlative, the 'Manaus' staging-base name (almost certainly an error - Manus in the Admiralty Islands and Morotai were the documented Allied bases for these operations; see gaps), the 'drifting mine' framing, and the 'all crew got off' detail are carried as its claims, not independently verified facts. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS YMS-84 (YMS-84) ship page - build/milestone data block, loss position, and embedded Operation Oboe II minesweeping-force narrative [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/9504 data block (ordered/laid down/launched/commissioned/lost/loss position) and 'Notable events' Operation Oboe II narrative (printed 'TU 72.2.92' roster entry; 1 Jul 1945 1815I reporting entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The uboat.net Allied Warships data block for USS YMS-84 (verified live 2026-10-05) records: ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 2 June 1941; launched 3 March 1942; commissioned 23 May 1942; lost 9 July 1945; loss position 1 deg 19' S, 116 deg 48' E; 'Mined and sunk off Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies.' Its embedded Operation Oboe II narrative (a compiled transcription of the Balikpapan Attack Group operation-report chain) places YMS-84, Lt. J.V. Barton USNR commanding, in the YMS task unit printed 'TU 72.2.92' under Lt.Cdr. D.W. Blakeslee USNR - within TG 78.2.9, the Minesweeping Unit under Lt.Cdr. T.R. Fonick USNR, of TG 78.2 (Vice-Adm. D.E. Barbey USN), and records that 'at 1815I/1, USS YMS-84, USS YMS-224 and USS YMS-367 reported for duty with TU 78.2.9' on Fox day, 1 July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945; Oboe II narrative June-July 1945
- Population
- Lt. J.V. Barton USNR and crew; TG 78.2.9 minesweeping force
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation - the Oboe II narrative reads as near-verbatim operation-report text (time-stamped, Item-time zone) but is not itself the primary document, and it consistently prints the YMS sub-unit designators as '72.2.9x' (e.g., TU 72.2.92, TU 72.2.93) although the parent formation is TG 78.2.9 - transcribed verbatim, not silently corrected. Establishes the assignment, commanding officer, and arrival timing only; contains no asbestos or material content. 'Commissioned' wording for 23 May 1942 is uboat.net's; NavSource labels the same date 'Completed.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-04
-
[6]Robert J. Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II (Naval Historical Center publication), 1945 volume (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USN-Chron-1945.html, '9 July, Mon.' Pacific paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NHHC-published chronology records under 9 July 1945: 'Motor minesweeper YMS-84 is sunk by mine off Balikpapan, Borneo, 01 deg 19' S, 116 deg 48' E.' The same day's entry records Operation STARVATION B-29 mining of Japanese home-island waters and other 9 July Pacific events.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-07-09
- Limitations
- Official Navy-published secondary chronology viewed via the HyperWar transcription mirror. Establishes the loss, its 9 July 1945 date (against the NHHC casualty list's 8 July - conflict carried in gaps), position, and Borneo location, but no casualty, mine-type, or rescue detail. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-05
-
[7]Department of the Navy, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part IV campaign-participation list (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Awards-IV-16.html ship-list row 'YMS 84: 15 Jun 45 - 15 Jul 45 P37-3'; Asiatic-Pacific operation-code definitions in the same document (P37-1 Tarakan; P37-2 Brunei Bay; P37-3 Balikpapan)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (NAVPERS 15,790, Rev. 1953) Part IV ship list credits 'YMS 84: 15 Jun 45 - 15 Jul 45 P37-3' - an Asiatic-Pacific engagement-star participation credit under operation code P37-3, which the same document's code table defines as the Balikpapan operation (operation window 15 Jun - 20 Jul 1945). The credit brackets the hull's final weeks: operations in the Balikpapan sweep force, the 1 July Fox-day landings, and her 9 July loss.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-06-15 to 1945-07-15 (credited window)
- Population
- YMS-84 crew eligible for the Asiatic-Pacific engagement star under P37-3
- Limitations
- Official Department of the Navy publication (viewed via the HyperWar transcription mirror) documenting credited combat participation for medal purposes - establishes participation credit, not a narrative of the ship's actions. The listed end date (15 Jul 45) postdates the 9 July sinking by six days; the manual applies credited-participation windows, so the discrepancy is a convention artifact, not an error to resolve. Contains no asbestos, material, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-06
-
[8]Department of the Navy, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part II Section 1, Presidential Unit Citation - Task Unit 78.2.9 roster and period (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Awards-II.html, Presidential Unit Citation list, 'Task Unit 78.2.9' unit roster and '15 Jun-1 Jul 45 - Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies' period line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Awards Manual's Presidential Unit Citation roster lists Task Unit 78.2.9 - USS Sentry (AM-299), USS Scout (AM-296), USS Scuffle (AM-298, printed 'Scuffie'), and twenty-one motor minesweepers - for '15 Jun - 1 Jul 45 - Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies.' YMS-84 is not among the listed YMS hulls; this is consistent with the operation-report narrative timing, which has YMS-84 reporting for duty with TU 78.2.9 only at 1815I on 1 July, the day the cited period closed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-06-15 to 1945-07-01
- Limitations
- Documents which hulls the PUC roster names - a roster absence, not a finding about YMS-84's conduct; the hull's exclusion aligns with its documented 1 July reporting time but the manual states no reason for non-inclusion. Contains no asbestos, material, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-07
-
[9]Bureau of Naval Personnel WWII casualty entries by date, 1945 (naval-history.net transcription of the BUPERS lists) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WW2UScasaaDB-USNBPbyDate1945.htm - no YMS-84 entry anywhere on the page; Balikpapan operations entries present for YMS-335 (21 Jun) and YMS-36/YMS-39 (26 Jun)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The transcribed Bureau of Naval Personnel WWII killed-and-died list (by date, 1945) carries entries for sister Balikpapan sweepers - four men under 'USS YMS-335, Balikpapan operations' (21 June), and entries under 'USS YMS-36' and 'USS YMS-39' for 26 June - but contains no entry attributed to USS YMS-84 on any date. Zero death entries for the hull is consistent with the unofficial account that all crew evacuated the sinking ship, several wounded.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-07-09 and full 1945 coverage
- Population
- YMS-84 crew (no deaths recorded in the transcribed BUPERS list)
- Limitations
- Private-site transcription of official BUPERS killed-and-died lists - the page scope is deaths, so the absence of YMS-84 entries establishes no recorded deaths for the hull but says nothing about wounded (the unofficial narrative reports several). Transcription coverage marked 'in progress' on the page; not verified against muster rolls or DPAA accounting. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-08
-
[10]'MEF YMS 339' chapter 7 (YMS-339 crew memoir drawing on the ship's deck log, a crewman's diary, and the operation action report; hosted by the Westport, CT Navy League council) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MEF YMS 339 Chap 7.pdf, pp. 6-7 (9 July entry; sweeper-casualty paragraph)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A YMS-339 crew memoir chapter covering the Balikpapan operation records for 9 July 1945: 'a mine exploded under YMS 84 while it was sweeping and the ship went down,' and summarizes the operation's sweeper cost as 'four YMS's ... sunk and seven others had battle damage,' noting 'the operation action report, written before YMS 84 was sunk on July 9th, lists 7 sweeper men killed and 43 wounded, not counting the 10 evacuated stress cases. It is not known how many more casualties came from the sinking of YMS 84.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1945-06 to 1945-07-14
- Population
- TU 78.2.9 minesweeping-force crews (7 killed, 43 wounded, 10 stress evacuations through early July per the quoted action report); YMS-84 casualties beyond that tally unknown
- Limitations
- A veteran-crew memoir (secondary source) hosted on a Navy League council site - corroborates the 9 July sinking date and the four-YMS loss count at Balikpapan, and quotes a pre-9-July action-report tally (7 killed, 43 wounded, 10 stress evacuations) that explicitly excludes YMS-84's own casualties. Not an official record; names and the action-report figures are unverified against the primary report. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-09
-
[11]NavSource Online, Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) Index - class description and header specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class-description paragraph and header specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NavSource YMS/BYMS class index (verified live 2026-10-05) documents the type: designed by Henry B. Nevins, Inc. shipyard, City Island, NY (YMS-1 keel laid 4 March 1941); 561 of the type built (481 USN plus 80 BYMS) at 35 yacht yards - 12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, four Great Lakes; wooden hulls; YMS-1 through YMS-134 carried the two-stack configuration, placing YMS-84 in the base-configuration group; surviving YMSs were reclassified AMS and named in 1947 and MSC(O) in 1955. Class-header specs: 136 ft, 24 ft 6 in beam, 320 t displacement, 6 ft 1 in draft, complement 33, designed speed 12 kts, GM 8-268A diesels, 880 designed shaft horsepower.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1969 (class description)
- Limitations
- Class-level description, not a hull record - establishes type configuration, builder count, designer attribution (consistent with the International Maritime Library card's 'Designer: Nevins Yard, City Island, NY'), and postwar reclassification scheme that this hull never reached (sunk 1945). Class-header specs (320 t, 33 complement, 12 kts) conflict with the hull page's values (270 t, 32, 15 kts) - carried in gaps unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-10
-
[12]Era inference built on: NavSource class index (wood-hulled YMS type, Nevins design); NavSource hull-page propulsion spec (two GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts); NARA asbestos research guide (1941-1961 use era and research path); GAO HRD-80-2 product-page context (ev-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class description; NavSource 11/19084.htm propulsion spec; NARA asbestos guide page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wood-hulled, diesel-driven minesweeper completed in May 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (1941-1961 per NARA's research guide). Era-standard applications on a small wooden diesel combatant of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and muffler lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings on the sweeping winch and windlass. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - and her wooden hull and small machinery spaces imply a substantially smaller insulation footprint than a steam combatant. She was sunk in action in July 1945, so no postwar survey, overhaul, or abatement paper trail exists.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Henry C. Grebe and Co. construction workforce (1941-42); wartime engine-room and deck-force crew (design complement ~32)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, drawing, or work package located for YMS-84, and none is realistically extant for a hull sunk in action in 1945. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials: no quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no ship-proven presence. The small craft's reduced systems footprint makes the inference weaker than for steam-powered hulls of the same era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-11
-
[13]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 Oct. 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page (live full-text access returned HTTP 403 on access date; product description only)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's Navy asbestos-program report (HRD-80-2) is era context for a Navy craft built in 1941-42 - it documents that the Navy's asbestos-exposure problem was concentrated in shipyard construction, overhaul, and repair environments and that federal asbestos supply was reserved for shipbuilding during the WWII period in which this hull was built. It is not a hull-specific survey or material list for YMS-84 and names no YMS craft.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- 1979 report covering WWII-era shipbuilding context
- Limitations
- Program-level report, not a hull record - gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval on 2026-10-05 (consistent with prior batch access), so the product-page description alone was used. Contains no reference to YMS-84 or the YMS type; establishes era/program context only and does not document materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-12
-
[14]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' guided topic (RG 19/RG 143 research path) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page - Bureau of Ships correspondence section (hull/class/type filing scheme; QM private-yard files) and record-series accordion
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's guided research topic 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (verified live 2026-10-05) names the primary route to a hull-level determination for this ship: RG 19 Bureau of Ships general/confidential/secret correspondence filed by hull ('YMS-84'), class ('YMS-1 class' correspondence filed under the class namesake's hull code), and type ('YMS'); private-yard 'QM' correspondence for Henry C. Grebe and Co.; S39 Insulation-and-Lagging and S48 Piping drawings; and RG 143 specification files. The guide also cautions that deck logs and muster rolls are not direct asbestos evidence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-05
- Study period
- Records series 1940-1961
- Limitations
- Research-pathway documentation only - identifies the record series where a hull-level answer could exist; none of those files was examined for this record. Establishes nothing about YMS-84's materials. The class-namesake filing convention ('YMS-1 class') follows the guide's stated scheme.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-13
-
[15]Batch-9167 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 and online digitized-log list; NHHC casualty list (archived); NHHC DANFS (no entry exists for this unnamed hull, per NavSource); official chronology; official awards manual; NavSource; uboat.net; BUPERS casualty transcription; crew memoir; NARA asbestos guide; GAO; NVR; shipbuildinghistory; NavalCoverMuseum; CourtListener (partial) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-84-yms84-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, material specification, engineering drawing, Bureau of Ships correspondence, or qualifying asbestos litigation was located in the sources reviewed for USS YMS-84 (see search_ledger). The CourtListener litigation sweep is incomplete: the exact-name docket query returned 1,673 loose-token matches with all 20 page-1 results classified non-qualifying (none name this hull), while the exact-name opinion query and both hull-number queries were refused by the shared fleet pacing limiter - pending, 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 - and the litigation-repository search is a genuine open gap (3 of 4 base queries plus the overflow-permitted asbestos variant not completed within the session's pacing window). NARA identifies undigitized RG 19/RG 143 research paths and neither those files nor the College Park deck logs were examined at page level. The wooden-hull/diesel design bounds what asbestos inference is even plausible for this type. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-84-yms84-14