Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 954-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-buttress-pce878-pkt-954-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Buttress I (PCE-878/ACM-4) - construction, Mare Island conversion, naming/redesignation, WWII Pacific service, disposal (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Buttress' entry - spec block and full service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 11 May 1943 at Portland, Oreg., by the Albina Engine & Machine Works; launched 26 August 1943; commissioned 13 March 1944. Following commissioning she entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for conversion to a drill mine laying and recovery ship; on 15 June 1944 PCE-878 was named Buttress and redesignated ACM-4. Assigned to Service Squadron (ServRon) 6, she saw duty at advanced bases in the central and western Pacific through the end of the war; returned to the west coast at San Francisco late December 1946; moved to Bremerton, Wash., decommissioned 24 February 1947; name struck from the Navy list 5 March 1947; sold to J. W. Rumsey 30 October 1947. Spec block: PCE-878; dp. 903 (f.); l. 184'6"; b. 33'1"; dr. 9'5"; s. 15.4 k.; cpl. 99; a. 1 3", 6 40mm.; cl. PCE-842. No battle star or campaign award is recorded in the entry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island Navy Yard conversion trades (1944); commissioned crew (1944-1947; complement 99)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The Mare Island conversion is stated as an event without dates or work-package detail - shipscribe (ev-03) and NavSource (ev-02) supply those. Sale is stated without mechanism or the later commercial chain. No engine spec given.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Buttress (ACM 4) - designation timeline, conversion dates, specifications incl. propulsion plant, commercial-career chain, Bureau of Ships conversion photography, commanding-officer list (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0104.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, disposal notes, photo captions, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: originally planned as PC-878 but reclassified PCE-878 in April 1943; laid down 11 May 1943 by Albina Engine and Machine Works, Portland, Oregon; launched 26 August 1943; delivered and commissioned USS PCE-878 13 March 1944; converted to an Auxiliary Minelayer ACM-4, 27 March - 26 April 1944 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard; reclassified and named Buttress (ACM 4) 15 June 1944; decommissioned 24 February 1947 at Bremerton, WA; struck from the Navy list 5 March 1947. Commercial chain: acquired 1952 by Pacific Reefer Fisheries of Tacoma, WA, renamed Pacific Reefer; acquired 1967 by Roy D. Furfiord of Seattle, renamed Aleutian Fjord; acquired 1975 by Greyhound Leasing and Financial Corp. of Chicago, operated out of Seattle; acquired 1977 by Trident Seafoods Corp. of Seattle, renamed Mr. J, used as a crab processor at Akutan Harbor in the Aleutian Islands; acquired 1989 by I. D. Logan of Bothell, WA; 'Towed out to sea sometime in the 1990s and sunk.' Specifications: 850 t.; 184'6" x 33' x 9'5"; 15.7 kts.; complement 102; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount; propulsion two 900 bhp General Motors Electro-Motive 12-567A diesel engines, two shafts. Photographic record includes six Bureau of Ships conversion-period photos of this hull at Mare Island dated 27 March and 25 April 1944 (arrival and conversion states, aft gun tubs removed, mine rails being fitted) and NHHC photo NH 79738 c. 1945. CO list: LT Blake H. Beatty, Jr., USNR (3 March 1944); LT Kenneth Francis Xavier Smith, USN - USNA Class of 1944 (10 June 1946 - 10 January 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1990s
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island yard trades (1944); crew (1944-1947); commercial fishing/processing crews (1947-1990s)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS but its spec block conflicts on three points (displacement 850 vs 903 t.; speed 15.7 vs 15.4 kts.; complement 102 vs 99 - see gaps; shipscribe reconciles displacement as 850 trial / 903 limiting). The commercial chain is corroborated by shipbuildinghistory and BalticShipping IMO record; the 1952 Pacific Reefer acquisition date vs NavalCoverMuseum's rename-at-sale (1947) is carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Buttress ACM-4 class page - design lineage, official-order conversion chronology, specifications, Maritime Commission disposal (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipscribe.com/usnaux/ACM/ACM04.html - class data block, construction/disposition tables, class notes; companion photo page ACM04-p.html cites NARA RG-19-LCM photos 19-N-66139 and 19-N-79421 of this hull's conversion
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe register entry for this hull, compiled from official records: Class BUTTRESS (ACM-4), Design 'Navy 180' PCE'; displacement 850 t. trial / 903 lim.; dimensions 184.5' oa, 180.0' wl x 33.0' e x 9.4' lim; original armament 1-3"/50, 4-20mm; complement 98 (1944); 15.7 kts.; 1,800 hp diesel, two screws. Construction table: keel 11 May 43, launch 26 Aug 43, commissioned 13 Mar 44 by Albina Engine & Machine, reclassified 15 Jun 44. Disposition: decommissioned 24 Feb 47, struck 5 Mar 47, disposal MC/S 31 Oct 47, MA sale 30 Oct 47 - 'Sold (delivered) by MC to J. W. Rumsey, Seattle, Wash.' Class notes: FY1942 (as PCE); construction of 150 antisubmarine vessels (PC 827-976) using the design of the 180' minesweeper (AM-136 class) directed 17 Jan 42; reclassified PCE 827-976 on 28 Mar 43; on 17 Jan 44 CominCh cancelled PCE-878's assignment to the Western Sea Frontier and made her available for conversion to a drill mine laying and mine recovery vessel; CNO indicated three days later no change in classification was then contemplated; on 8 Feb 44 BuShips assigned the conversion to the Mare Island Navy Yard; she completed outfitting at her builder's yard at Portland 23 Mar 44 and transferred to Mare Island; the relatively brief conversion, affecting primarily the after portion of the ship, was completed circa 27 Apr 44 when she reported ready for operational duty; reclassified ACM-4 effective 15 Jun 44; served for the remainder of the war as a unit of Service Squadron 6; at Pearl Harbor February 1946; returned to the West Coast December 1946 for disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard conversion trades (Feb-Apr 1944); Albina outfitting trades (to 23 Mar 1944); crew (1944-1947)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary register (Stephen S. Roberts) working from official records - the dated CominCh/CNO/BuShips order chronology is consistent with the BuShips photo record at Mare Island but the underlying order documents were not independently retrieved. 'Original armament' (1-3"/50, 4-20mm) conflicts with DANFS spec block (1-3", 6-40mm) and NavSource (1-3"/50 only) - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History, Albina Engine & Machine Works (Portland OR) construction table - yard hull 78, U.S. Official Number 263890, delivered 13-Mar-44, disposition chain (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/albina.htm - Albina hull table, row for yard hull 78 (PCE 878)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Albina yard production table entry for this hull: hull number 78, U.S. Official Number 263890, 'PCE 878', U.S. Navy, Sub Chaser, 795 (tons), 184 ft, delivered 13-Mar-44; fate column: 'Later Buttress (ACM 4) 1944, sold 1947, later Pacific Reefer, Mr. J, scuttled 1990s.' Corroborates the builder, delivery/commissioning date, and the commercial-scuttling chain, and supplies the federal documentation number (ON 263890) carried on this hull's commercial registry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1990s
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Compiled yard table (shipbuildinghistory.com, the Colton/Roberts ship-reference operation) - consistent with DANFS/NavSource on dates and with NavSource on the commercial chain, but the table is a compilation, not a primary registry; the ON 263890 enrollment itself was not pulled. 'Sub Chaser' is the table's generic type label. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-04
-
[6]NARA Special List 44 - Named Vessels (deck-log finding aid): 'Buttress (ACMA, PCE-878), 6/1/1944 - 6/30/1945' (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Special List 44 page - 'Buttress (ACMA, PCE-878), 6/1/1944-6/30/1945' table row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's own finding aid locates deck logs for this hull in archival custody: 'Buttress | (ACMA, PCE-878) | 6/1/1944 | 6/30/1945' - deck-log coverage beginning with the ACM-4 naming month and running through the month before the war's end. Combined with the NARA asbestos guided topic (ev-10), this identifies a retrievable hull-specific record series: deck logs can date the ship's Mare Island conversion arrival/departure and her West Loch mine-base operating periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (listed log window)
- Population
- Archival researchers
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - establishes that deck logs exist in custody for the stated window, not that they were retrieved or what they contain. Per the NARA asbestos guide, deck logs 'do not provide any information on the use of or presence of asbestos' - they can date work periods only. The listed window (to 30 June 1945) does not cover her 1945-47 service or 1947 disposal. The entry's 'ACMA' designation string is reproduced as printed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-05
-
[7]NHHC online reading room, U.S. Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 - official fleet organizational listing naming ACM-4 Buttress under Lt. B. H. Beatty, USNR, in the minecraft section (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online reading room doc - minecraft section, Mine Division Sixty table, row 'ACM 4 BUTTRESS Lt. B. H. Beatty (USNR)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official fleet-organization document for this hull: the 1 May 1945 U.S. Pacific Fleet organization lists 'ACM 4, BUTTRESS, Lt. B. H. Beatty (USNR)' in the minecraft listing (Mine Division Sixty section, under Commander Minecraft, Pacific Fleet, First Fleet organization), alongside the other auxiliary minelayers ACM-1 through ACM-9. Confirms her operational assignment, commanding officer, and hull designation as of 1 May 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Commissioned crew under Lt. Beatty (May 1945)
- Limitations
- Organizational listing only - establishes assignment and command as of that date; contains no asbestos or material content and no operational detail. DANFS/shipscribe describe her as a Service Squadron 6 unit at advanced bases - the document's minecraft listing vs the ServRon 6 administrative assignment is noted in gaps rather than reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-06
-
[8]Jack P. Womack autobiography (NMCB 58 veteran-unit site, hosted PDF) - firsthand crew memoir: ~15 months aboard USS Buttress ACM-4 as mine-disposal petty officer and diver, operating from the West Loch mine base, Territory of Hawaii (live PDF verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- womack-autobiography.pdf - 'Ordered to USS Buttress ACM 4' passage and 'THE BENDS AIN'T NO FUN' chapter
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Firsthand crew account for this hull: after mine-disposal and deep-sea-diving training, Womack was 'Ordered to USS Buttress ACM 4 (Ship designed and fitted for mine disposal, mine recovery, and diving operations). Served aboard approximately 15 months as the M.D. P.O. diver with Lt. Robert W. Lister USNR M.D.O. and diver and later with Ensign C. Gluek.' A second passage describes the ship as 'especially designed and built for mine disposal and diving operations, equipped with mine tracks, special booms for mine recovery and air systems for both deep sea and shallow water diving,' 'operating out of the mine base, West Loch, Territory of Hawaii,' the crew's job being 'planting and recovering mines and stripping them to determine the workability and proper functions of the mines and their components.' He recounts recovering a Mark 27 magnetic torpedo mine from 170 feet off West Loch.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (approximate, undated in source)
- Population
- Buttress crew including embarked mine-disposal officers and divers (c. 1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Personal memoir self-published on a veteran-unit (NMCB 58) website - a firsthand but unofficial and undated source; consistent with DANFS's drill-mine role and shipscribe's conversion detail, but no service dates are given for his tour and 'designed and built' overstates a conversion. Contains no asbestos content; used here for mission-fit and operating-base context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (PCE-842 class, 1943 build); NavSource specifications (two GM EM 12-567A diesels); shipscribe design notes (180' AM-136-derived PCE design; Mare Island conversion Feb-Apr 1944); GAO HRD-80-2 program-era documentation (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; shipscribe class notes; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-09)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled patrol craft escort built 1943 for the U.S. Navy - taken in hand by a navy yard in early 1944 for conversion into a drill minelayer with mine rails, special booms, and diving air systems - sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant/auxiliary of this period were thermal insulation around machinery and piping, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and deck coverings. Her twin GM diesel plant means no steam boilers - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the small-hull confined-space exposure dynamic of escort types applies instead.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1990s
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1943-44); Mare Island Navy Yard conversion trades (Feb-Apr 1944); crew incl. mine-disposal divers (1944-1947); commercial fishing/processing and conversion trades (1947-1990s)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification sheet, or conversion work package located for this hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The asbestos scope of the documented Mare Island conversion period is specifically unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979), incl. the Navy's letter response on asbestos applications in shipbuilding/repair (full report text extracted via firecrawl, 2026-10-04) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page https://www.gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2; full report https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf (Navy letter response, 'major application' passage, applications itemization, 1971/1973 spec-change chronology, May 1978 delivery note; Conclusions section)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Navy program-era documentation spanning this hull's construction (1943), Mare Island conversion (1944), entire naval service (1944-1947), and commercial working life (1947-1990s). The Navy's own letter to GAO states 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard ships, that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' and itemizes non-insulation shipboard applications: asbestos fibers in electrical resistors in Navy electronic equipment, asbestos in deck tiling, asbestos in electric cabling in Navy galley ranges, asbestos in piping-system gaskets and packing, and asbestos in Navy ship equipment brakes and clutches - 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral.' Insulation specifications moved to little/no asbestos as early as 1971 and asbestos-free by late 1973, yet ships already insulated 'continued through to delivery as late as May 1978 with asbestos insulation.' GAO's conclusion: 'other Navy ships contain large quantities of asbestos ... shipyard employees will continue to work with or near asbestos for many years as ships are repaired and overhauled.' Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (report); ship-delivery window described to May 1978
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyard fieldwork); asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - a 1943 diesel patrol craft/minelayer is not enumerated in the report. Note on access: gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to curl but both product page and full report PDF were retrievable via firecrawl this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-09
-
[11]NARA guided topic, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence filed by hull designation; Ship Engineering Drawings 'Hull Series' arranged by hull number and Material Group (S39 Insulation and Lagging, S48 Piping, S103 Booklets of General Plans); microfilm series 19-Micro (1945-1955) (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page sections: Bureau of Ships correspondence; Cartographic Branch (Hull Series / S39 / S48 / 19-Micro); 'Other Records' (deck logs limitation); NHHC NH 89240 catalog page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's own asbestos-research guide identifies where a hull-specific record for this vessel would live: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) general/confidential correspondence filed under the hull designation (PCE-878 or ACM-4 files, or class correspondence under 'PCE-842 Class', or type correspondence under 'PCE'/'ACM'); RG 19 Ship Engineering Drawings 'Hull Series' (local identifier 19-Hull) arranged by ship hull number and Material Group - including S39 Insulation and Lagging and S48 Piping drawings; and microfilm series 19-Micro covering 1945-1955. Contemporaneous BuShips photographs of this hull's Mare Island conversion exist in RG-19-LCM (19-N-66139, 19-N-79421, per the shipscribe photo page) and at NHHC (NH 89240, 'USS PCE-878 ... circa 1944, shortly before she became USS BUTTRESS (ACM-4)'), confirming photographic coverage. NARA Special List 44 (ev-05) locates her 1944-45 deck logs. The conversion orders shipscribe cites (CominCh 17 Jan 44; BuShips 8 Feb 44 assignment to Mare Island) imply BuShips correspondence files exist for this hull's conversion. RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls can date work periods but, per NARA, 'do not provide any information on the use of or presence of asbestos.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (guide coverage window)
- Population
- Archival researchers; VA-claim researchers (guide's stated audience)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - establishes where hull-specific asbestos records would be found, not that they exist or what they contain. No RG 19 retrieval was performed; the NARA catalog is JS-rendered and not directly fetchable. The Mare Island conversion work package (BuShips-assigned 8 Feb 44) is the highest-value unretrieved record for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-10
-
[12]Batch-8266 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS page; NavSource 11/0104 and ACM index; shipscribe ACM-4 class and photo pages; shipbuildinghistory Albina table; NARA asbestos guide and Special List 44; NHHC Pacific Fleet org doc and NH 89240; Womack memoir; NavalCoverMuseum; NVR (no entry); BalticShipping IMO record; CourtListener API v4; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-buttress-pce878-01 through -18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/conservancy disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Buttress / PCE-878 / ACM-4 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener base queries returned count=45 ("USS Buttress" opinions), count=41 ("PCE-878" opinions), and count=337 ("USS Buttress" RECAP dockets) - every returned hit classified as a name collision (surname, common word 'buttress', or tokenized 'pce'/'878' in unrelated cases; zero literal hull/name or vessel references in returned metadata). The "PCE-878" docket base remained deferred by the fleet pace limiter at commit [see search_ledger sl-14]; no asbestos-qualified variants run. Law-firm ship-list pages surfaced in the web sweep cover patrol boats generically; none assert asbestos aboard this hull specifically.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1943 Navy steel combatant converted at a navy yard in 1944 sits squarely inside the documented use era. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-buttress-pce878-11