USS Dutton (PCS-1396)

Evidence

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

1. [1]research packet 961-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-dutton-pcs1396-pkt-961-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'Dutton I (PCS-1396)' - live NHHC page (verified live 2026-10-04 via firecrawl and HTTP 200 with browser UA; bare curl is bot-blocked to a 404 shell) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/dutton-i.html - full 'Dutton I (PCS-1396)' entry and spec block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS narrative for this hull: namesake Benjamin Dutton, Jr. (born 3 April 1883, Shippensburg, Pa.; Naval Academy 1905; commanded Nokomis (PY-6) and Wyoming (BB-32); attache duty in Germany 1935; author of 'Navigation and Nautical Astronomy'; died 30 November 1937 at Southgate, Calif., in command of Portland (CA-33)). 'PCS-1396 was launched 7 August 1943 by South Coast Co., Newport Beach, Calif.; sponsored by Miss Cynthia A. Gaffney: and commissioned 29 March 1944, Lieutenant F. E. Sturmer, USNR, in command. She was reclassified AGS-8, 20 March 1945, and assigned the name Dutton 4 days later. She was redesignated AGSC-8 on 29 July 1946.' Service: sailed San Pedro 4 May 1944; arrived off Saipan 17 June to screen transport areas and escort in the Marianas; rescued four Marines off Tinian 29 August; returned to Pearl Harbor 15 October for overhaul; underway 22 January 1945 escorting an LST group for the Iwo Jima landings 19 February with surveying and patrol duty; took part in the 1 April invasion of Okinawa - surveys of prospective landing beaches by day, guard against suicide boats and swimmers by night; on 27 May a Japanese plane crashed the ship, carrying away part of the bridge, blowing one crewman overboard, and holing her above the water line - temporary repairs at Kerama Retto, permanent repairs at San Pedro Bay, Leyte. Far East service until returning to San Diego 20 January 1946; took part in Operation 'Crossroads,' the atomic weapons tests at Bikini, summer 1946; conducted surveys of the waters surrounding Truk 3 February - 13 September 1947; sailed for the east coast 11 July 1948; after preparation at Norfolk joined Hydrographic Survey Group I out of New York 9 September for the Persian Gulf; surveyed uncharted or poorly known waters off Kuwait and Bahrain until return to Norfolk 2 June 1949; decommissioned at New York 26 August 1949; sold 21 February 1950. Three battle stars for World War II service. Spec block: dp. 340; l. 136'; b. 23'4"; dr. 8'7"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 74; a. 1 3"; cl. PCS-1376.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1950

   Population

   South Coast Co. construction trades (1943); Navy crew (1944-49) incl. Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion population (Oct-Dec 1944) and Kerama Retto/Leyte battle-damage repair populations (1945); Operation Crossroads support population (1946)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material-content information. The 'Pearl Harbor 15 October for overhaul' line is corroborated by shipscribe's class notes showing the survey-ship conversion performed at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard Oct-Dec 1944. Spec-block figures are the DANFS printed values - complement 74, beam 23'4", armament '1 3"' differ from compiled class figures (see correction row and gaps). Live NHHC URL verified 2026-10-04.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive, Dutton (AGSC 8) ex-AGS-8 ex-PCS-1396 ex-PC-1396 - designation timeline, specifications, disposal chain, commanding-officer list [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/12/071396.htm - header block, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officers table (live, HTTP 200, verified 2026-10-04)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline for this hull: 'Laid down as PC-1396 by the South Coast Co., Newport Beach, CA; Reclassified PCS-1396 in April 1943; Launched 7 August 1943; Commissioned USS PCS-1396, 29 March 1944; Reclassified as a Hydrographic Survey Ship, AGS-8, 20 March 1945; Named Dutton 24 March 1945; Damaged off Okinawa 27 May 1945 by a Japanese Kamikaze at 26 deg. 00' N., 128 deg. 00' E.; Reclassified as a Coastal Surveying Ship, AGSC-8, 29 July 1946; Decommissioned 26 August 1949 at New York; Acquired in 1954 by Ocean Fisheries, Inc. of Glen Ridge, NJ and renamed Ocean Spray; Acquired in 1957 by Tarpon, Inc. of Reedville, VA; Acquired in 1959 by the Fishing Vessel Tarpon, Inc. of Reedville and renamed Tarpon; Acquired in 1968 by Haynie Products, Inc. of Reedville; Acquired in 1975 by the Atlantic Towing Corp. of Norfolk, VA and renamed Atlantic II; Acquired in 1976 by Shore Sea Products, Inc. of Atlantic, VA and renamed Sea Harvester III; Reacquired in 1978 by the Atlantic Towing Co. and renamed Hustler; Acquired in 1980 by Ocean Cargo and Salvage, Inc. of Norfolk; Out of documentation in 1982; Fate unknown.' Spec block: displacement 245 t. (lt), 338 t. (fl); length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'7"; speed 14.1 kts.; complement 57; armament one 3"/50 dual purpose mount, one single 40mm gun mount, two 20mm gun mounts, four depth charge projectors, one depth charge projector (hedgehog), two depth charge tracks; propulsion two 800bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Tare-Roger-William. Commanding officers: LT Frederick Eugen Sturmer, USNR (29 Mar 1944 - Nov 1945); LTJG Felix Theodore Grous, USN (Nov 1945 - 1948). Photography: NHHC photo NH 84644 (1945 - 3"/50 forward, large hull number typical of western-Pacific 1945 ships); U.S. National Archives photo 80-G-311366 (Bureau of Ships, via USS Hamlin (AV-15)) showing PCS-1396 directing landing craft off Iwo Jima 20 February 1945 alongside USS Hendry (APA-118).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1982

   Population

   South Coast construction trades (1943); Navy crew (1944-49); post-Navy merchant crews (1950-82)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track the Naval Register but the page cites no underlying document. Its spec block is the generic class fit; DANFS's hull-specific spec block differs (complement 74, beam 23'4", armament '1 3"'). Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-02

4. [4]Shipscribe, 'USS Derickson (AGS-6) Class' - construction/disposition tables, class notes, and ship notes covering AGS-8 Dutton (ex-PCS-1396) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe.com/usnaux/AGS/AGS06.html - class data block, construction/disposition tables, class notes, AGS-8 ship note (live, HTTP 200)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe's AGS-6-class data sheet carries this hull: construction row '8 DUTTON - Reclas. 20 Mar 45 - South Coast - keel 23 Mar 43 - launch 7 Aug 43 - commiss. 29 Mar 44'; disposition row 'Decomm. 26 Aug 49 - Strike 27 Oct 49 - Disposal 21 Feb 50 - Fate Sold'; ship note 'Ex PCS-1396 20 Mar 45, ex-PC-1396 8 Apr 43. Converted by the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard Oct-Dec 44. To AGSC-8 29 Jul 46. Merc. OCEAN SPRAY 1950, TARPON 1960.' Class notes: 'On 20 Jun 42 VCNO directed the construction of 90 wooden-hulled patrol craft (PC 1376-1465) using the design of the 136-foot YMS... The four vessels that became AGS 7-10 were commissioned as patrol craft (PCS) between December 1943 and March 1944. On 18 Jul 44 CinCPac requested authority to convert PCS-1388 for hydrographic use and on 5 Aug 44 CNO authorized the conversion. The other three were nominated on 5 Oct 44 by Commander Service Forces Pacific for conversion to small auxiliary surveying ships for duty with Commander Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet, and all four appear to have been converted at Pearl Harbor between October and December 1944. They were reclassified to AGS on 26 Feb 45 effective 20 Mar 45, and their names were assigned on 23 Mar 45.' Class data: 244 t. light / 340 t. lim.; 136.0' oa x 23.3' e x 8.6' lim.; complement 59 (1944); 14.1 kts.; propulsion 1,000 HP, G.M. diesels, 2 screws; 1945 armament for AGS 7-9 '1-3"/50, 2<4-20mm'.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1950

   Population

   Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion trades (Oct-Dec 1944); crew (1944-49)

   Limitations

   Specialist secondary compilation (shipscribe.com, maintained from Naval Register/BuShips-derived data) - not a primary document, but the most detailed source for this hull's formal dates and the only located source for laid-down (23 Mar 1943) and stricken (27 Oct 1949) dates. The 'names assigned 23 Mar 45' class-level date conflicts with DANFS/NavSource's hull-specific 24 Mar 1945 naming (see gaps). 'Appear to have been' hedges the Pearl Harbor conversion location at class level - DANFS's own 'returned to Pearl Harbor 15 October for overhaul' corroborates for this hull. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-03

5. [5]Shipbuilding History, 'South Coast Shipyard, Newport Beach CA' - construction list PCS-1396 delivery row; yard history [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-yacht-small/southcoast/ - delivery table row for PCS-1396 (O/N 268461) and yard-history preamble

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The South Coast Shipyard delivery table lists this hull as 'O/N 268461, PCS-1396, US Navy, subchaser, LDT 278, LOA 136, Delivered 29 Mar 1944' with the note 'reclassified Dutton (AGS-8) 1945, sold 1950 as Tarpon'. Yard history on the same page: South Coast Shipyard - 'also known by several similar names' - was started in the late 1930s by Walton Hubbard, located at 2300 Newport Boulevard, Newport Beach CA, and closed in 1963; the table documents its wartime output of YMS minesweepers, PCS subchasers, and crash boats on the same 136-foot wooden YMS hull design.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1930s-1963 (yard) / 1943-44 (this hull)

   Population

   South Coast Shipyard Newport Beach construction trades (1943-44)

   Limitations

   Secondary construction-list compilation (shipbuildinghistory, maintained by Tim Colton's successors). 'Delivered 29 Mar 1944' coincides with the commissioning date - probable paperwork-delivery vs commissioning conflation, shared with sister-hull tables. The 'sold 1950 as Tarpon' note compresses the documented merchant chain (Ocean Spray 1954, Tarpon 1959 per NavSource). Contains no asbestos content; no yard-level asbestos documentation for South Coast Shipyard was located (the site is now a marina redevelopment).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-04

6. [6]Era inference built on: shipscribe class notes ('90 wooden-hulled patrol craft (PC 1376-1465) using the design of the 136-foot YMS'; GM diesels, 2 screws); NavSource spec block (twin 800bhp GM 8-268A diesel plant, no steam); DANFS (Pearl Harbor overhaul Oct 1944 - the survey conversion per shipscribe; May 1945 kamikaze damage, Kerama Retto and Leyte repairs); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-06, Navy asbestos use through the early 1970s) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe AGS06 class notes; NavSource 12/071396.htm spec block; DANFS Dutton entry (live NHHC); GAO HRD-80-2 product page

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A wooden-hulled patrol craft sweeper built 1943 on the YMS-class minesweeper hull design sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this type and period were engine and exhaust lagging, machinery thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and joiner/deck coverings. As a direct-drive diesel vessel on a wood hull she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and the wood hull presents a narrower insulated-surface footprint than a steel vessel. Her documented October-December 1944 survey-ship conversion at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and her 1945 kamikaze-damage repairs (temporary at Kerama Retto, permanent at San Pedro Bay, Leyte) are in-era refit/repair events - each a period-typical insulation disturbance/installation opportunity, undocumented as to materials.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1982

   Population

   South Coast construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-49) incl. Pearl Harbor Navy Yard conversion and Kerama Retto/Leyte repair populations; merchant conversion/crews (1950-82); any disposal population after 1982 (fate unknown)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or conversion/repair record located for PC-1396/PCS-1396/AGS-8/AGSC-8. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Conversion and repair events are documented (DANFS, shipscribe); any asbestos content of the materials involved is not. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-05

7. [7]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's construction (1943-44), service era (1944-49), and early merchant conversion (1950s).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed in prior batches of this program) - content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-06

8. [8]Correction built on: DANFS, NavSource, shipscribe, and shipbuildinghistory builder attributions vs ibiblio/HyperWar 'Built at Robert Jacob'; DANFS spec block vs NavSource class spec block; shipscribe class-note dates vs DANFS/NavSource operational dates [other_primary]

   Locator

   ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AGS/AGS-8_Dutton.html ('Built at Robert Jacob'); DANFS dutton-i.html spec block; NavSource 12/071396.htm spec block; shipscribe AGS06 tables

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CORRECTIONS: (1) ibiblio/HyperWar's 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' AGS-8 stub states 'Built at Robert Jacob' - incorrect; DANFS ('launched 7 August 1943 by South Coast Co., Newport Beach, Calif.'), NavSource, shipscribe ('South Coast'), and the South Coast yard delivery table (O/N 268461) all confirm South Coast Co., Newport Beach CA. Robert Jacob Inc. of City Island NY built sister AGS-7 Littlehales (ex-PCS-1388) - the HyperWar stub evidently bled the sister's builder onto this hull. (2) Complement: DANFS carries 74 for this hull; NavSource's generic class spec carries 57; shipscribe's AGS-class sheet carries 59 (1944) - all flagged, DANFS value carried in the complement field. (3) Naming date: shipscribe class notes give 'names assigned 23 Mar 45' for the four PCS-to-AGS conversions; DANFS ('4 days later' than the 20 Mar reclassification) and NavSource give 24 March 1945 - 24 Mar carried. (4) AGS-8 reclassification: shipscribe 'reclassified to AGS on 26 Feb 45 effective 20 Mar 45' vs DANFS/NavSource 'reclassified AGS-8, 20 March 1945' - formal-action vs effective-date distinction; 20 Mar carried. (5) Spec conflicts: DANFS beam 23'4" (consistent with shipscribe's 23.3' extreme for the AGS conversions) vs NavSource class figure 24'6"; displacement 340 (DANFS, shipscribe lim.) vs 245 lt / 338 fl (NavSource) vs 251 (HyperWar stub); engine rating 'two 800bhp' (NavSource) vs '1,000 HP' (shipscribe class) vs '500 hp' (HyperWar stub).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1950

   Limitations

   Corrects attribution, transcription, and spec conflicts across the secondary record; the corrections affect which source is carried, not the milestone sequence itself. AGS-conversion-era figures (beam, complement, armament) legitimately differ from PCS wartime-fit figures - partially explaining the conflicts rather than all being errors. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-07

9. [9]DANFS (live NHHC, same entry as ev-01): Operation 'Crossroads' participation documented for this hull, summer 1946 [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS Dutton entry, postwar-service paragraph ('In the summer of that year she took part in Operation "Crossroads," the atomic weapons tests at Bikini')

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents that Dutton 'took part in Operation "Crossroads," the atomic weapons tests at Bikini' in the summer of 1946 - participation in the Navy's postwar atmospheric nuclear test series at Bikini Atoll, a documented hazardous-environment service event independent of any asbestos question.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1946

   Population

   Crew embarked during Operation Crossroads participation (summer 1946)

   Limitations

   Participation record only - DANFS establishes presence in the Crossroads operation, not the ship's role, station relative to the detonations, radiological dose, contamination status, or any individual exposure. This is not an asbestos record and is carried for completeness of documented hazardous service; it does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure of any kind.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-08

10. [10]Batch-8314 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; NavSource; shipscribe; shipbuildinghistory South Coast; ibiblio/HyperWar stub; NVR; CourtListener (authenticated API v4); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-dutton-pcs1396-01 through -10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: the DANFS entry, NavSource page, shipscribe data sheet, and shipbuildinghistory yard table contain no asbestos content; there is no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum/owner condition report for this hull (it survives only as 'fate unknown' merchant tonnage after 1982); no NVR entry exists (disposed 1950, before the NVR's 1987 inclusion cutoff); and all four CourtListener base queries returned zero - "USS Dutton" type=o count 0, "USS Dutton" type=r count 0, "PCS-1396" type=o count 0, "PCS-1396" type=r count 0 (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-04). A secondary-web sweep surfaced only law-firm marketing listicles (mesothelioma.net listing 'USS Dutton (AGS-8)' and 'USS PCS-1396'; freeasbestostesting.com listing 'USS Dutton (AGS-8)' and 'USS Dutton (AGSC-8)') asserting asbestos aboard with no primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.

    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 1943-44 Navy-built combatant is era-consistent with installed asbestos materials, and this hull's documented 1944 survey-ship conversion and 1945 battle-damage repairs are period-typical insulation disturbance events. Undigitized leads: RG 24 deck logs (1944-49), BuShips/PHNY conversion work packages for the October-December 1944 Pearl Harbor Navy Yard survey conversion, Kerama Retto/Leyte repair records (1945), and USCG merchant documentation files for the Ocean Spray/Tarpon/Atlantic II/Sea Harvester III/Hustler chain (O/N trail from the Navy's 268461). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-09

11. [11]Archival leads assembled from: NARA catalog (JS-rendered, unqueryable this session); NavSource photo credits (NHHC NH 84644; NARA 80-G-311366); shipscribe/NavSource merchant-chain documentation trail [other_primary]

    Locator

    catalog.archives.gov (app-shell response, no query results); NavSource 12/071396.htm photo credit lines

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Undigitized primary leads for this hull: (1) RG 24 deck logs, USS PCS-1396 / Dutton AGS-8 / AGSC-8, March 1944 - August 1949 (NARA) - the logs would document the Pearl Harbor conversion availability, the 27 May 1945 kamikaze damage and Kerama Retto/Leyte repairs, Crossroads duty stations, and Truk/Persian Gulf survey work; (2) Bureau of Ships work packages for the October-December 1944 Pearl Harbor Navy Yard hydrographic-survey conversion (RG 19) and the 1945 battle-damage repair records; (3) USCG vessel documentation files for the merchant chain (Ocean Spray 1954, Tarpon 1959-68, Atlantic II 1975, Sea Harvester III 1976, Hustler 1978, Ocean Cargo and Salvage 1980) - the 'out of documentation 1982' event implies a documentation file with ownership and possibly disposition notes; (4) Operation Crossroads radiological records - ship's dose/contamination data, if any survive, sit in the Crossroads target-vessel and Joint Task Force One records.

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1944-1982

    Limitations

    Leads, not findings - none of these records was examined. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and returned only the app shell to API and page requests this session (confirmed 2026-10-04); NAIDs not yet located. No asbestos implication attached to any lead.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-dutton-pcs1396-10