USS Acme (AM-508)

Evidence

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

1. [1]DANFS, Acme II (MSO-508), NHHC page (published 2015-06-11); verbatim text via Wayback capture 2024-07-14 - live NHHC URL returns 404 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry 'Acme II (MSO-508)', specifications block + service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: laid down 16 November 1954 by the Frank L. Sample Shipyard, Boothbay Harbor, Maine; launched 23 June 1955, sponsored by Mrs. Cornelius M. Sullivan (wife of Capt. Sullivan, chief of staff of the 3d Naval District); commissioned 27 September 1956, Lt. James W. Foust in command. After east-coast shakedown she transited the Panama Canal to Long Beach (arrived 8 December) and joined Mine Division 73, Mine Squadron 7. WestPac deployments: Far East cruise March-August (DANFS dates the 4 March sailing '1956,' an internal typo - read as 1957), visiting Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Japan; 1959-60 deployment with MineDiv 73 (Yokosuka, Sasebo, Fukuoka, Kure, Pusan, Chinhae; joint ops with the ROK Navy and JMSDF; Hong Kong; Subic Bay; Bangkok exercises with the Royal Thai Navy). Long Beach Naval Shipyard availabilities: extensive sound-reduction repair work 7 October-6 March 1958; overhaul beginning 13 January 1961 with installation of experimental mine countermeasures equipment she had been chosen to test; new sonar installation from 11 January 1965; restricted availability 1 May-4 August 1967 removing all experimental equipment (ending her R&D role), followed by regular overhaul at San Pedro during which a twin 20mm gun was mounted on the forecastle. Other documented yard work: repairs at Harbor Boat Building Company, Long Beach, 7 June-19 August 1965; drydock at Terminal Island 13 January-20 March 1969 for controllable-pitch propeller repairs. Vietnam service: barrier patrol off Vietnam June-July 1968 (relieving Firm MSO-445); Market Time patrols 19 December 1969-11 January 1970 (relieving Excel MSO-439) and 12 February-6 April 1970. Reported to Naval Inactive Ship Facility Long Beach 1 September 1970; decommissioned 6 November 1970; struck from the Navy list 15 May 1976; sold 6 January 1977 to Oskco Edwards, Capistrano Beach, Calif. Two battle stars for Vietnam service. Specs: dp. 633; l. 172'; b. 35'; dr. 10'; s. 15 k.; cpl. 80; a. none; cl. Acme.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1954-1977

   Population

   Frank L. Sample Shipyard construction trades 1954-55; Pacific Mine Force crew (design complement 80); Long Beach Naval Shipyard workers during 1957-58, 1965, and 1967 availabilities; Harbor Boat Building Co. workers 1965

   Limitations

   DANFS documents identity, construction, and service history - not materials or asbestos content. Internal inconsistency: the first Far East deployment is dated '4 March 1956,' pre-dating the 27 September 1956 commissioning (read as 1957). The spec block lists armament 'none' though the narrative documents a twin 20mm mounted in 1967. Live NHHC page returns 404; Wayback capture cited.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-01

2. [2]Naval Vessel Register (NAVSEA/NAVSHIPSO) ship detail for ACME (MSO 508) (ex-AM 508); Wayback capture 2016-07-26 - live page 302-redirects [other_primary]

   Locator

   NVR ship-detail table, MSO-508 (UIC 08156)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official inventory record for this hull: 'ACME (MSO 508) (ex-AM 508), MINESWEEPER,OCEAN'; UIC 08156; Class MSO 508 (Acme-class lead hull number); status 'Disposed of, by Navy Sale,' date status changed 11/01/1976; Stricken Date 05/15/1976.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1976-1977 (record events)

   Limitations

   NVR backfilled record - commission, decommission, builder, and dimension fields are blank; disposal-status and strike dates only. The 11/01/1976 status-change date precedes the documented 6 January 1977 DRMS sale (DANFS/NavSource) - likely the transfer-to-disposal date rather than the sale contract date (carried in gaps). Documents inventory status, not materials or asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-02

3. [3]NavSource Online Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Acme (MSO-508) ex-AM-508 page (volunteer-maintained transcription archive) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource MSO-508 page, specifications block + commanding-officer table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Secondary archive record for this hull: laid down 16 November 1954 as AM-508 at Frank L. Sample Inc., Boothbay Harbor, Maine; reclassified ocean minesweeper MSO-508 on 7 February 1955 (the fleet-wide AM-to-MSO reclassification date); launched 23 June 1955; decommissioned 6 November 1970 at Naval Inactive Ship Facility Long Beach and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck 15 May 1976 (matches NVR); sold for scrap 6 January 1977 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to Oskco Edwards of Capistrano Beach, CA, for $30,000. Specifications: displacement 633 t. (lt), 750 t. (fl); 173' x 36' x 14'; 14 kts; complement 78; one 40mm mount and two .50 cal. machine guns; propulsion four General Motors diesel engines, two shafts, two controllable-pitch propellers. Call sign November-Echo-Whiskey-Victor. Commanding-officer list runs LT/LCDR James Warren Foust (from 27 September 1956) through LCDR Donald Andrew Stoufer (to 6 November 1970).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1954-1977

   Population

   Crew (complement 78 per NavSource)

   Limitations

   Volunteer-maintained secondary archive - not an official Navy publication; used for propulsion, complement, reclassification, and disposal-sale detail corroborated where possible against DANFS/NVR (decommission, strike, and sale dates match). Its headline 'Commissioned USS Acme (MSO-508), 4 March 1957' conflicts with DANFS (27 September 1956) and with NavSource's own CO table (Foust from 27 September 1956) - appears to conflate the first-deployment sailing; documented conflict. The $30,000 sale price is single-source. No asbestos or materials information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-03

4. [4]NavSource Minesweeper (AM/MSF/MSO) index - 1950s MSO program class description; Federation of American Scientists dod-101 'MSO 508 Acme' class page (man.fas.org, updated 1999-03-04) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource archives/11/02idx.htm program description; https://man.fas.org/dod-101/sys/ship/mso-508.htm

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Class/program context: NavSource's MSO index describes the postwar ocean-minesweeper program - sixty-five new minesweepers built during the 1950s in three classes (Agile/Aggressive, hulls 421-507; Acme, hulls 508-518; Ability, hulls 519-522), 'smaller and built primarily of wood, with bronze and stainless (non-magnetic) steel fittings to minimize their magnetic signature,' all carrying UQS-1 mine-locating sonar later updated to SQQ-14. Of the Acme-class hull numbers, only four served the U.S. Navy - Acme (MSO-508), Adroit (MSO-509), Advance (MSO-510), Affray (MSO-511); MSO-512/513/514 went to France, MSO-515/516 to Belgium, MSO-517/518 to Italy. FAS lists the class power plant as four aluminum-block diesels on two shafts (2,800 bhp), describes the class as Naval Reserve Force ships performing Mine Division flagship duties, and records two class units stricken in the mid-1970s with the remaining two discarded in the mid-1990s.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1950s program; class dispositions 1976-1995

   Population

   MSO-program construction trades and crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Class-level documentation - establishes construction type (wooden non-magnetic hull, diesel plant) and program disposition for the class, not any material fact about this specific hull. FAS's 'Naval Reserve Force flagship' framing fits the class sisters that survived into NRF service (Adroit/Affray, to the 1990s), not Acme's documented active-duty Pacific Mine Force service 1956-70; carried as class framing only.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-04

5. [5]NavSource MSO program description (wooden hull, diesel era) + NavSource MSO-508 specifications block (four GM diesels) + FAS class power plant (aluminum-block diesels, 2,800 bhp) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource MSO-508 specifications block; NavSource MSO index program description; FAS MSO-508 class page

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era inference: an Acme-class ocean minesweeper built 1954-55 with a wooden non-magnetic hull and a diesel plant (four GM/aluminum-block diesels, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers - no boilers, turbines, or steam lines) would have carried the lower-density asbestos set era-typical for a small diesel warship - diesel exhaust/muffler insulation, flange and sheet gaskets, machinery packing, electrical and switchboard insulation, minesweeping-winch brake linings, and deck coverings - but no boiler or steam-line lagging, the largest asbestos categories aboard steam ships.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1954-1977

   Population

   Frank L. Sample Shipyard construction trades 1954-55; crew 1956-70; Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Harbor Boat Building Co. workers during documented availabilities

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No construction-era materials manifest, survey, or spec sheet naming AM-508/MSO-508 was located; the product list describes typical applications for the type, not documented presence aboard this hull. Does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-05

6. [6]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program and its 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies, with fieldwork at naval shipyards including Long Beach Naval Shipyard - the yard where this hull underwent documented availabilities: extensive sound-reduction repair work October 1957-6 March 1958, new sonar installation beginning 11 January 1965, and a restricted availability 1 May-4 August 1967 (per DANFS).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1979 (report); 1957-1967 (Acme availabilities)

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers (program-level)

   Limitations

   Yard/program-level documentation, not hull-specific; the GAO fieldwork (1979) postdates Acme's documented yard periods and does not describe conditions aboard or during her availabilities. Supports era/yard context only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - standing since batch-01); content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-06

7. [7]U.S. EPA news releases: 'Maryland Company and President Convicted' (1997-06-06) and 'Maryland Company and Owner Sentenced for Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act Violations' (1998-02-20), EPA archive [other_primary]

   Locator

   EPA archive releases 9abdca2a... and b95598b8... (newsroom_archive); 4th Cir. No. 98-4150

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   EPA-documented criminal prosecution over asbestos handling during disposal of a sister-type ocean minesweeper: Seawitch Salvage Inc. and owner/president Kerry L. Ellis Sr. were convicted 30 May 1997 (D. Md.) on seven felony counts - Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Rivers and Harbors Act, and a false statement to DoD - for unlicensed removal of asbestos-containing material, with workers exposed without protective equipment, during Navy-contracted breaking of USS Illusive (MSO-448, an Aggressive-class ocean minesweeper) and USS Coral Sea (CV-43) between May 1993 and September 1995. Ellis was sentenced 13 February 1998 to 30 months and a $50,000 fine; the convictions were affirmed by the Fourth Circuit on 22 February 1999 (unpublished per curiam, 172 F.3d 864 (Table), No. 98-4150).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1993-1999 (offenses through affirmance)

   Population

   Shipbreaking workers (era context)

   Limitations

   Class/era disposal documentation naming different hulls - establishes that a 1950s-built ocean minesweeper contained asbestos requiring removal at breaking and that unlicensed removal during Navy-sale scrapping was prosecuted; does NOT name or establish any fact about MSO-508. Acme's own 1977 scrapping (Oskco Edwards) has no located hazmat/abatement record. The appellate disposition is unpublished/table - reported as an affirmed outcome, not precedent.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-07

8. [8]DANFS, Acme (AMc-61), hazegray.org transcription via Wayback capture 2002-01-10 + DANFS Acme II + NVR MSO-508 record [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Acme' (AMc-61) entry via hazegray; DANFS 'Acme II (MSO-508)' entry; NavSource MSO-508 page

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Identity and metadata corrections: (a) USS Acme (AMc-61) is a different hull - an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper laid down unnamed 31 March 1941 by Greenport Basin & Construction Co., Greenport, N.Y. (named Adamant 17 May 1941; renamed Acme 23 May 1941), launched 31 May 1941, commissioned 11 September 1941, decommissioned 8 March 1942 and placed in service, out of service 13 December 1945 at Charleston, stricken 3 January 1946, transferred to the Maritime Commission 3 March 1947; WWII-era records for that hull do not apply to this postwar MSO. (b) The AM-508 designation is this hull's as-built number only - she was laid down 16 November 1954 and reclassified MSO-508 on 7 February 1955 (NavSource), before launch; she was never a WWII-era AM, and hull-list 'Korea-era / AM-508' metadata is corrected to the postwar/Cold War MSO program (canonical operational designation MSO-508). (c) NavSource's headline commission date '4 March 1957' conflicts with DANFS (27 September 1956) and with NavSource's own CO table (Foust in command from 27 September 1956) - the 4 March date is the first-deployment sailing and appears conflated; DANFS date carried. (d) DANFS's own narrative contains a '4 March 1956' typo for that deployment, pre-dating the September 1956 commissioning - read as 1957.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   1941-1947 (AMc-61); 1954-1957 (designation corrections)

   Limitations

   Correction row documenting disambiguation and metadata fixes. The AMc-61 transcription renders the laid-down hull number as 'AMc-1' (the hull file is AMc-61) and shows class 'Accentor' - secondary sources variously group the AMc-61-64 subgroup as 'Acme class,' a class-name collision with this MSO's true class.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-08

9. [9]Batch-1398 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS via Wayback; NVR via Wayback; NavSource; FAS; EPA archive; CourtListener API (throttled) + web-index litigation fallback [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-acme-am508-07 through sl-uss-acme-am508-09

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for AM-508/MSO-508: no hull ACM survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, and no qualifying asbestos case names the vessel. The CourtListener API was throttled for the day (HTTP 429, 2,800/day exhausted, retry-after ~20,246 s); the web-index fallback over CourtListener and general sources returned only law-firm marketing list mentions (mesothelioma.com, asbestos.com, mesotheliomahelp.org, freeasbestostesting.com - excluded per source rules) and name collisions (Campbell v. Acme Insulations; Acme Markets mass-tort docket; USACM Liquidating Trust), none involving this hull.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-22

   Study period

   2026-09-22

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era materials could have been present; the ship was scrapped in 1977 and no present-day survey exists. CourtListener direct docket search remains an open lead. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-acme-am508-09

10. [10]Unretrieved archival repositories: NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); NARA deck-log holdings; DRMS disposal records [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger row sl-uss-acme-am508-10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Unretrieved archival leads where ship-specific materials documentation may exist: NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) construction and outfitting records for the Sample-built MSO hulls; USS Acme deck logs 1956-1970 (NARA); Long Beach Naval Shipyard availability work packages for the documented 1957-58 sound-reduction work, 1965 sonar installation, and 1967 restricted availability - the records that would itemize disturbed materials; and the DRMS disposal file for the 6 January 1977 sale to Oskco Edwards.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-22

    Limitations

    Lead list only - none of these records was retrieved or reviewed; inclusion records where ship-specific materials documentation may exist, not that it does.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-acme-am508-10