Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images: 'USS Curlew (AMS-8, later MSC(O)-8), 1943-1956, originally named YMS-218' (NHC photo-page text, via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Page text, paragraphs 1-2; NARA photo 80-G-632291 caption (8 Oct 1952, Sasebo)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Naval Historical Center (now NHHC) Online Library summary: USS YMS-218, a 270-ton auxiliary motor minesweeper built at Tacoma, Washington, commissioned June 1943; served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in WWII and took part in occupation activities in late 1945 and early 1946; placed out of commission early 1947; reclassified motor minesweeper and renamed Curlew (AMS-8) February 1947; recommissioned June 1949; sent to the Western Pacific a year later for Korean War operations, active in the combat zone on mine clearance and blockade missions; remained in the Japan-Korea area after mid-1953; redesignated MSC(O)-8 February 1955; transferred to Korea January 1956, serving in the Republic of Korea Navy as Kum Hwa until discarded about 1977.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- Crew (est. ~32 per NavSource, unverified against DANFS/NHHC)
- Limitations
- Summary-level official text only; does not give day precision for decommissioning, renaming, or recommissioning, and gives no WWII operational detail beyond theater and occupation duty. The live history.navy.mil DANFS page was not located this pass (candidate URL patterns returned 404) - text verified via the verbatim ibiblio/HyperWar NHC mirror. Contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-01
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[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Curlew' IV entry (transcription mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS mine-warfare transcription, ams8.htm / yms218.htm (identical stub text under both hull designations)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS print entry for Curlew (IV): 'YMS-218 (q.v.) was reclassified AMS-8 and assigned the name Curlew on 17 February 1947.' The Roman numeral IV confirms this hull as the fourth U.S. Navy ship of the name - distinct from Curlew I (1862 stern-wheel steamer), Curlew II (AM-8, Lapwing-class minesweeper), and Curlew III (AM-69/IX-170, Catbird-class ex-trawler Kittiwake).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1947
- Limitations
- DANFS prints a bare cross-reference stub for this hull - no operational narrative or stats line. Its renaming date (1947-02-17) conflicts with NavSource (1947-02-18); the conflict is carried in gaps, not reconciled. Live hazegray.org and history.navy.mil URLs unreachable/404 this pass; text verified via the losthistory.net hazegray transcription mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Curlew (MSC[O] 8) ex-AMS-8 ex-YMS-218' page (compiled from official records and NARA/Naval Historical Center photography) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page chronology block, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive page for Curlew (MSC[O] 8) ex-AMS-8 ex-YMS-218: full chronology (laid down 18 Jul 1942, J. N. Martinac Ship Building Co., Tacoma WA; launched 23 Dec 1942; commissioned USS YMS-218 23 Jun 1943; decommissioned February 1947 at San Diego; reclassified AMS-8 and named Curlew 18 Feb 1947; recommissioned June 1949; MSC(O)-8 on 7 Feb 1955; transferred to South Korea 6 Jan 1956 as Kum Hwa MSCO 519; struck from the Naval Register 15 Nov 1974; discarded about 1977), specifications (270 t, 136 ft, 24 ft 6 in beam, 8 ft draft, 15 kt, complement 32, one 3"/50 DP mount later replaced by 40mm, two 20mm, two depth charge projectors, two 880 bhp GM 8-268A diesels), call sign November-Charlie-Golf-Uniform, and four commanding officers (LT George S. Grove Nov 1949-Aug 1951; LTJG Robert O. Snure Aug 1951-Aug 1952; LT Isaac W. Metzger from Aug 1952; LT John A. McCook 1953).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1977
- Population
- Crew (32 per NavSource spec block, unverified); listed commanding officers 1949-1953
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of official data, not itself an official record; the complement figure (32) and order date are not verified against DANFS/NHHC (carried in gaps). Renaming date printed as 18 Feb 1947 conflicts with DANFS's 17 Feb. Contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-03
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[4]U.S. Navy photo 429828 caption, National Archives (as transcribed on the NavSource AMS-8 page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AMS-8 page, photo entry '14 June 1951' (photo no. 429828)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- National Archives photo caption (USN photo 429828, dated 14 June 1951): 'Entering port after an extended tour in Korean waters. The little wooden vessel has swept the waters of Wonsan and Chinnampe [Chinnampo] in North Korea since its arrival in the Far East the previous November' - documenting combat-zone mine clearance at Wonsan and Chinnampo beginning about November 1950, i.e., after the October 1950 Wonsan channel operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1950-11 to 1951-06
- Population
- Crew aboard during Korean combat-zone sweeping
- Limitations
- Caption-level detail only: establishes arrival in theater ~November 1950 and sweep areas (Wonsan, Chinnampo) but does not enumerate operations, units, or duration. 'Chinnampe' in the caption is the period romanization of Chinnampo (Namp'o). No asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-04
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[5]U.S. Navy photos 80-G-632291 and associated NHC/NARA photo captions (via NHC Online Library page and NavSource AMS-8 archive) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio NHC page photo block (80-G-632291); NavSource AMS-8 page photo entries (c.1953 Sasebo, Chinhae 27 Jul 1953, Dec 1955)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- National Archives photo 80-G-632291 (dated 8 October 1952): Curlew (AMS-8) nested at Sasebo, Japan, alongside repair ship Laertes (AR-20) with sister motor minesweepers Condor (AMS-5), Kite (AMS-22), Chatterer (AMS-40) and harbor tug Wallacut (YTB-420); additional NHC-sourced photos place her at Sasebo c. 1953 with Mockingbird (AMS-27), Heron (AMS-18), and Gull (AMS-16), on a courtesy visit to the ROK naval base at Chinhae with Heron on 27 July 1953 (armistice-signing day), and at Sasebo December 1955 with Kite (MSC(O)-22) and Mockingbird (MSC(O)-27) immediately before departure for Korea and handover to the ROKN.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1952-1955
- Limitations
- Photographic captions document locations, dates, and co-located sister ships; they do not document materials, maintenance, or conditions aboard. Establishes sustained Japan-Korea presence 1952-1955 consistent with the NHHC summary. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-05
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[6]NARA Special List #44 by ship number (sl-44-ship-number.pdf, entry 'YMS-218 6/23/1943 6/30/1945'); NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list; NARA deck-log research guidance (catalog.archives.gov/id/594258) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number index, YMS block, line 'YMS-218 6/23/1943 6/30/1945'; navy-online digitized-logs list (hull absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, by ship number) indexes one deck-log run for this hull under 'YMS-218': 6/23/1943 - 6/30/1945, held in Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), Entry 118, at the National Archives at College Park. The hull does not appear on NARA's published list of digitized deck logs in the National Archives Catalog (checked 2026-09-24), so the run is retrievable only via Archives II textual reference; contents unsurveyed. This verifies the batch brief's assertion that NARA lists wartime deck logs under the YMS number. Coverage limitation: the run ends 6/30/1945, so the late-1945/early-1946 occupation window and the 1947 inactivation are outside this index entry; any later logs (AMS-8 era, 1949-1956) would fall in the 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978' series (NAID 594258), but the catalog API requires a key and could not be machine-verified this pass.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-06-23 to 1945-06-30 (indexed coverage)
- Population
- Crew named in 1943-1945 monthly officer lists if present (small-craft logs sometimes omit)
- Limitations
- Index listing only - establishes that a deck-log run exists and its date coverage, not its contents; log coverage is not treated as commissioning-date evidence beyond the official NHHC record. Not digitized: absent from the public online list, so the run requires an Archives II request. Post-June-1945 coverage (occupation period, Korea service as AMS-8/MSC(O)-8) not represented in this index entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-06
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[7]'Saga of a YMS,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 74/1/539 (January 1948); class-production figures per shipbuilding-history YMS list and NavSource class references [other_primary]
- Locator
- Proceedings Jan 1948 article, machinery description paragraphs; shipbuildinghistory.us YMS class list (35 yards, 561 hulls - content reviewed via search-index snippet; direct fetch returned HTTP 500 this pass)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous class-machinery documentation: a 1948 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings account by a YMS commanding officer describes the type's plant as all-diesel - two General Motors diesels for main propulsion (electro-pneumatically controlled from the bridge), a similar diesel direct-connected to a generator for magnetic minesweeping, and two Hercules 30-kW diesels for auxiliary power - consistent with the wooden-hulled, no-boiler, no-steam-plant design of the 561-boat YMS program built at 35 yacht yards 1942-45.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- YMS-class crews (type context)
- Limitations
- Class-level account describing a different YMS hull; establishes the type's all-diesel machinery arrangement (the dominant shipboard asbestos pathway - steam-plant insulation - is absent by design), but does not enumerate this hull's materials and contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-07
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[8]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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era and program under which this wooden-hulled motor minesweeper was built at a small yacht yard in 1942-43.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel or the YMS class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull. Its shipbuilding focus centers on major yards; a 270-ton wooden-hulled all-diesel auxiliary carried a materially smaller asbestos-relevant scope (machinery/electrical fittings only, if any) - inference, not documentation. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-08
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[9]Batch-1752 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS and mirrors, NavSource, NARA SL-44 index + digitized-logs list, CourtListener API v4 (partial - fleet pacing), BVA decisions (index-level web search), shipyards.json cross-check, master hull list [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-curlew-ams8-01 through sl-uss-curlew-ams8-16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum or government hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming YMS-218 / Curlew (AMS-8 / MSC(O)-8) / Kum Hwa (MSC 519) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches (2026-09-24): 'USS Curlew' - zero results; 'YMS-218' - zero results; '"Curlew" asbestos' - five hits, all name collisions ('Curlew' appears as a non-ship entity/place name in unrelated bankruptcy and appellate litigation; none reference the vessel); 'AMS-8' - four hits, all name collisions (non-ship part/form/entity string in unrelated litigation). Docket-index (type=r) searches were budget-limited this pass and are logged as coverage-incomplete rather than as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-typical machinery fittings may have contained asbestos and no survey exists either way. CourtListener coverage is incomplete (fleet pacing this pass) so 'no litigation' is not asserted. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-curlew-ams8-09