USS YMS-94

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet 1080-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-94-yms94-pkt-1080-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, YMS-94 page (11/19094.htm) - milestone chronology, specifications, commanding officer list, post-Navy disposition [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/19094.htm - header chronology block, specifications block, commanding-officer table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource entry for this hull: laid down 6 June 1941 by Colberg Works and Stephen Brothers, Stockton, CA; launched 15 December 1941; completed 11 March 1942 and commissioned USS YMS-94; struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; transferred to the War Shipping Administration September 1947; registered in 1949 to Material Service Corp. of Chicago, IL as the tug Sandy out of Chicago; fate unknown. Call sign Nan-William-George-Sugar. Specifications: displacement 270 t (249 t in 1949); length 136 ft (127 ft in 1949); beam 24 ft 6 in; draft 8 ft (10 ft in 1949); speed 15 kts; complement 32 (nine in 1949); armament one 3-inch/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20 mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two General Motors 8-268A diesel engines (listed 880 bhp), Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding officer LT J. R. Stanfield, USNR (1945). Page states 'There is no DANFS History currently available for YMS-94.' Photo on file shows YMS-271, YMS-94, and YMS-183 alongside an unidentified tender.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1941-1949

   Population

   Wartime crew (32 complement); construction trades at Stockton yards (1941-42); tug crews (1949-forward)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation of Navy records - milestone dates are consistent with NARA, NHHC, and shipbuilding-history sources cited in this record but the page itself is not a primary registry. Contains no asbestos or material content. The 880 bhp engine rating is as published; other class references list 440 bhp per engine (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-01

3. [3]Shipbuilding History, 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS)' construction table; corroborated by Stocktonia News, 'Stockton at War: Tales of WWII, Part IV' (1 Aug 2022) drawing on San Joaquin County Historical Society material [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/ym/ YMS-94 row; stocktonia.org article paragraphs 4 and 10

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipbuilding History's YMS construction table lists YMS-94 as built by Stephens Bros./Colberg BW, Stockton CA, commissioned 11 March 1942, struck 1947 - consistent with NavSource milestones. Stocktonia News (nonprofit local newsroom; photos courtesy San Joaquin County Historical Society) reports that Stephens Brothers launched its first war vessel for the Navy on 15 December 1941 - eight days after Pearl Harbor - and that the first two boats were YMS-94 and YMS-95; it also records the post-war 'Stephens-Colberg Yards (a merger)', explaining why both yard names attach to this contract.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1941-1947

   Population

   Stockton yard construction trades, 1941-42

   Limitations

   Secondary compilations - shipbuildinghistory is a researcher's reference site and Stocktonia is local journalism drawing on the county historical society; both are consistent with the NARA-documented dates but neither is a primary registry. No asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-02

4. [4]National Archives, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, by ship number (PDF on archives.gov) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Special List 44 by-ship-number listing, YMS-94 row: 3/11/1942 - 6/30/1945

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NARA's Special List 44 ship-number listing inventories deck logs for YMS-94 covering 3/11/1942 to 6/30/1945 - the full commissioned service from commissioning day through mid-1945, held in Record Group 24 at the National Archives at College Park, MD.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-1945

   Population

   All hands listed in ship's logs, 1942-1945

   Limitations

   Inventory coverage dates only - log coverage dates are NOT asserted to be commissioning/decommissioning dates. The underlying WWII logbooks are not digitized; content was not reviewed beyond the one-month November 1943 segment digitized under NAID 78316160 (see ev-uss-yms-94-04). No asbestos content; deck logs may contain overhaul, repair, or casualty references relevant to material disturbance.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-03

5. [5]NARA file unit NAID 78316160, 'USS YMS-94 - War Diary, 11/1-30/43' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries; Roll A838, Micro Serial 65965) - 32 digitized images of the ship's November 1943 deck-log sheets, Fold3 scan [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 78316160, images 1-32 (deck-log pages 305-336); esp. 1 Nov (p.305), 10 Nov (p.314), 20 Nov (p.323), 30 Nov (pp.335-336 incl. NAVPERS-136 Part III operational remarks)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Digitized deck-log pages for this hull document: 1-2 November 1943 moored port side to Malapoa Dock, Port Vila, Efate, New Hebrides, conducting routine contact minesweeping of Mele Bay Channel with 'O'-type gear (200 fathoms sweep wire, 180-ft depressor, 90-ft float pendant); on 1 November she swept a mine on the no. 6 run and a Mark 6 mine, each sunk by small boat; 10 November moored alongside USS Echo at Havannah Harbor, Efate, then underway for a routine sweep of Havannah Channel, passing the entrance net (YMS-136 alongside); 20 November steaming to rendezvous, fired one 'Y'-gun depth charge (concussion temporarily knocked the gyro out of commission), rendezvoused with USS Antigua at point 'K', and temporarily lost starboard engine control and gyro; late November steaming east, sighting Niuafo'ou Island, exchanging calls with USS Wharton (AP-7) and SS Sea Bass, and crossing the 180th meridian. Daily entries approved by W. J. Brandstetter, commanding officer.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1943-11

   Population

   Ship's crew, November 1943 (complement ~32); alongside crews of USS Echo and YMS-136

   Limitations

   Primary record of one operating month only; establishes South Pacific minesweeping duty (Efate, New Hebrides, November 1943) and an eastward passage late that month, not the full cruise history. Handwritten cursive entries - officer-signature and ship-name readings carry ordinary transcription risk. Contains no asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-04

6. [6]NARA file unit NAID 192922093, 'YMS-94, 6/15/42-5/3/46' - RG 24, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, Roll 8058 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA catalog file unit 192922093, Roll 8058

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA inventories microfilmed muster rolls for this vessel covering 15 June 1942 to 3 May 1946 - the personnel roster source identifying every crew member who served aboard during the war and immediate post-war period.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   All hands, 1942-1946

   Limitations

   Catalog-level metadata verified; roll contents not reviewed page-by-page. Muster rolls are personnel records - they establish who served aboard, not material conditions. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-05

7. [7]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online reading room) - minecraft order of battle with commanding officers [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC page, 'Minecraft, Pacific Fleet' - Mine Squadron Twenty / Mine Division Sixty section, YMS-94 row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NHHC's official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization list places YMS-94 under Commander Minecraft, Pacific Fleet (R. Adm. A. Sharp), in the Mine Squadron Twenty (Capt. R. A. Larkin) / Mine Division Sixty listing, commanded by Lt. J. R. Stanfield (USNR) - matching the commanding officer shown on the NavSource page.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1945-05-01

   Population

   Ship's crew under Lt. J. R. Stanfield, USNR

   Limitations

   Organizational roster only - establishes fleet assignment and command on 1 May 1945, within the credited Okinawa Gunto window; it is not a positional or operational log and contains no asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-06

8. [8]U.S. Navy, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part IV, Section 16 - Area Campaign Medals and operation/engagement stars, ship listings (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Awards-IV-16.html, YMS-numbered ship listing, 'YMS 94' entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The official awards manual lists YMS-94 credited with two World War II engagement stars: 2 April - 18 June 1945, code P34-1 (Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto); and 10 July - 31 July 1945, code P35 (3d Fleet operations against Japan).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1945-04 to 1945-07

   Population

   Ship's crew during the credited operation windows

   Limitations

   Award-credit listing only - establishes the operation windows credited to this hull, not day-by-day positions or actions within them. Transcribed from the 1953 printed manual onto HyperWar (an ibiblio-hosted scholarly transcription); no asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-07

9. [9]NavSource Online, Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) index and class narrative - design and construction description of the YMS-1 class [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative and YMS-94 page specifications block

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era inference only: the YMS-1 class was a wood-hulled auxiliary motor minesweeper built at 35 yacht yards (YMS-1 through -134 carried two stacks; YMS-94 falls in that subseries), propelled by two General Motors 8-268A diesel engines - a diesel plant with no boilers or steam systems. For a small wooden diesel combatant of 1941-42 wartime construction, era-standard asbestos-containing applications were insulation on diesel exhaust runs, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical cable and component insulation, and brake/shoe linings on winch and windlass gear. The steam-plant lagging pathway of larger vessels does not apply.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-05

   Study period

   1941-1949

   Population

   Construction trades at the Stockton yards (1941-42); crew (1942-47); Material Service Corp. tug crews (1949-forward); any later breakers (unknown)

   Limitations

   Class/design context, not a hull record - names era-standard applications aboard a type of this construction, not confirmed installed materials on YMS-94. No ship-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package was located. Does not establish quantity, presence, exposure, or causation. The '880 bhp' rating is NavSource's published figure; class references elsewhere list 440 bhp per engine (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-yms-94-08

10. [10]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), PMID 3555021 [other_primary]

    Locator

    PubMed PMID 3555021; AJIM 11(3):359-373

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Peer-reviewed historical study documenting that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the program and era under which this wooden motor minesweeper was built at Stockton, CA - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.

    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 the motor-minesweeper type, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Bibliographic record verified via NCBI/PubMed (PMID 3555021); the DOI resolves to the Wiley landing page, which returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches - access gap noted, content per the published bibliographic record and prior batch use.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-94-09

11. [11]Batch-9177 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship and class pages; Shipbuilding History YMS table; Stocktonia News; NARA catalog (muster rolls NAID 192922093, war diary NAID 78316160, Special List 44 NAID 178406296); NARA deck-log research pages; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization; NAVPERS 15,790 (HyperWar); PubMed; CourtListener; general web litigation sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-94-01 through sl-uss-yms-94-13

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS YMS-94 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this vessel (NavSource states none; NHHC ship-histories index consistent). Post-Navy registry as the tug Sandy (Material Service Corp., Chicago, 1949) carried a reduced crew of nine, and the vessel's subsequent fate is unknown - no disposal or demolition record was located that would carry material handling.

    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 - a 1942-built wooden diesel combatant is consistent with era-standard asbestos applications, and no hull survey was ever located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener four-query base search completed this session with zero results on all queries - no qualifying litigation, other litigation, or name collisions located (see search_ledger).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-yms-94-10