Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 963-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Elsmere (PCS-1413) → **VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-elsmere-pcs1413-pkt-963-packet-md
-
[2]NARA, World War II War Diaries (RG 38, Roll A748), 'USS PCS 1413 - War Diary, 11/16-30/43', NAID 78225113 (27 digitized pages) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78225113, Roll A748, pages 1-2 (commissioning detail) and pages 25-27 (28-30 November transit entries)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous war diary: USS PCS 1413 was commissioned 16 November 1943 at the Stadium Yacht Basin, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, 'builders of USS PCS 1413 and the sister ship, USS PCS 1414' - commissioning orders read by Commander H.H. Harrison, USN, Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Cleveland; ship accepted by Ensign G.G. Roessner, USNR, who assumed command with four officers and about 50 enlisted. The diary logs the delivery transit from Cleveland: moored at Cote St. Paul (Lachine Canal), Montreal, 29 November 1943, and underway 30 November in company with PCS-1414 down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec, P.Q.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-11
- Population
- Commissioning crew: 4 officers, about 50 enlisted (November 1943)
- Limitations
- Covers only 16-30 November 1943 - the only digitized war diary located for this hull; subsequent wartime service is not described by this record. Contains no asbestos information. Establishes builder, commissioning, first commanding officer, and the St. Lawrence River delivery route only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-01
-
[3]NARA, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships (RG 24, Roll 6129), 'PCS-1413, 11/16/43-8/1/46', NAID 192601095 (291 digitized pages) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 192601095, Roll 6129; quarterly roll page ending 1946-07-01 (final crew list)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's muster rolls span commissioning (16 November 1943) through the quarterly roll ending 1 July 1946, which lists about 30 enlisted under Lt.(jg) J.M. Davison, USNR, commanding - a postwar drawdown from the wartime complement of 57. The roll series ends 1 August 1946, consistent with the ship's subsequent 'In Service' status.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-11 to 1946-08
- Population
- Ship's company, roughly 30 enlisted by mid-1946
- Limitations
- Personnel rolls only - wartime rolls omit ship location, so the rolls do not by themselves establish where PCS-1413 served between December 1943 and July 1946. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-02
-
[4]NARA, Muster Rolls (RG 24, Roll S-5244), 'In Service Craft E-PCS-1413 Naval Powder Factory Indian Head, MD, 7/25/47 - 1/1/49', NAID 190966000 (33 digitized pages) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 190966000, Roll S-5244, opening diary page dated 1947-07-25
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Daily personnel diary opened 25 July 1947 as 'IN SERVICE CRAFT DIARY, Naval Powder Factory, Indian Head, Md.' for USS E-PCS-1413 - establishing that the craft was in 'In Service' status attached to the Naval Powder Factory, Indian Head, Maryland, and that the experimental (E-PCS) designation was already in use by mid-1947. About 20 enlisted were carried on the diary.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947-07 to 1949-01
- Population
- Approximately 20 enlisted, 'In Service' craft complement
- Limitations
- Personnel diary only - it does not describe the craft's experimental function or test program at Indian Head, and does not give the effective date of the EPCS reclassification. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-03
-
[5]NavSource Online, Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive, 'Elsmere (EPCS 1413) ex-PCS-1413' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PCS-1413 archive page (timeline block, specifications block, photo captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Aggregated ship record: laid down 25 January 1943 as PC-1413 by the Stadium Yacht Basin, Cleveland, OH; reclassified PCS-1413 April 1943; launched 21 August 1943; commissioned USS PCS-1413 16 November 1943; completed 22 November 1943; named Elsmere 15 February 1956 'after a town in New Castle County, Delaware'; reclassified Experimental Patrol Craft Sweeper EPCS-1413; decommissioned 1 October 1960 and struck from the Naval Register; fate 'Sank while in storage in Miami FL and scrapped.' Specifications: 245 t. (lt) / 338 t. (fl), 136 ft, complement 57, two 800 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels; a 1952 refit replaced the 3-inch/50 mount with a Hedgehog projector and removed the 40mm and 20mm mounts. A Philadelphia Evening Bulletin photograph (George D. McDowell Collection) shows her moored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 28 September 1960, shortly before decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Crew and reserve/test personnel, 1943-1960
- Limitations
- Secondary volunteer archive, not a Navy-issued source - the naming-attribution ('after a town in New Castle County, Delaware'), the 1952 armament refit, and the Miami sinking/scrapping detail are asserted here without an identified primary instrument; dates otherwise agree with the NARA war diary and muster rolls. NavSource also notes 'There is no DANFS history available for Elsmere (PCS 1413).' Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-04
-
[6]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, 'Lawrence Ferrell Howard Collection', AFC/2001/001/21136 [other_primary]
- Locator
- LOC VHP item page, 'Veterans History Project Service Summary' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Veterans History Project service summary for Lawrence Ferrell Howard, Electrician's Mate Third Class, U.S. Navy, service dates 1944-1946, service unit/ship 'USS PCS 1413 (Patrol Craft Sweepe)'; recorded locations of service: 'Sampson, New York; Gulf of Mexico; Pacific Theater.' Documents that at least one veteran of record served aboard this hull in 1944-1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Individual veteran (EM3c), 1944-1946
- Limitations
- A veteran's service summary - the listed locations cover his service (including the Sampson, NY training station) and may span more than one unit; the entry does not by itself establish that this hull deployed to the Pacific. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-05
-
[7]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Grafton II (PCS-1431)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS, Grafton II (PCS-1431) entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for a sister ship of the class (whose specifications block styles the class 'cl. PCS-1413'): PCS-1431 served the Fleet Sonar School, Key West, Fla., through the war years and continued similar services out of Florida 1946-1955, was named Grafton 15 February 1956 - the same naming date applied to this hull - and was the class's other EPCS conversion. Establishes the class's sonar-school/Key West duty pattern and the 15 February 1956 group naming of laid-up PCS hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Sister-ship crew (class context)
- Limitations
- Sister-ship record used for class context only - it does not describe this hull's assignments, and the class duty pattern is not itself proof this hull performed the same service (though see ev-08 for independent Key West diary matches). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-06
-
[8]NARA Catalog full-text matches for 'PCS-1413' inside digitized NOB Key West station war diaries, February-November 1944 (e.g., NAID 78332813 'NOB KEY WEST - War Diary, 2/1-29/44'; NAID 78387958, 3/44; NAID 78408459, 4/44; NAID 78506486, 6/44; NAID 78697551, 11/44), RG 38 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog search 'PCS-1413', WWII War Diaries series, NOB Key West monthly diaries 1944
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA Catalog's full-text index returns 'PCS-1413' matches inside multiple monthly Naval Operating Base Key West war diaries spanning February through November 1944, consistent with this hull operating out of the Key West / Fleet Sonar School area during 1944 - the duty pattern DANFS documents for sister PCS-1431 and the 'Gulf of Mexico' location on the LOC veteran record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Ship's company (potential), 1944
- Limitations
- Catalog full-text match on OCR'd diary text - individual mention context was not page-verified this session, and a station-diary mention does not alone prove an attachment order. Does not establish the ship's station before or after 1944, and contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-07
-
[9]ShipbuildingHistory.com (T. Colton), 'Stadium Boat Works, Cleveland OH' yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Stadium Boat Works yard table, rows PCS 1413/1414/1415/1416
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The standard small-yard build register: Stadium Boat Works (started as Stadium Yacht Basin about 1935, closed 1957; yard at the foot of West 3rd Street by the Cleveland stadium) delivered 'PCS 1413' to the U.S. Navy 16 November 1943 with the disposition note 'Named Elsmere 1956.' The yard's wartime output was wood-hulled Navy minesweepers and patrol craft (YMS series plus PCS 1413-1416). Corroborates the war-diary builder, the delivery/commissioning date, and the 'Elsmere' spelling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Stadium Boat Works yard workforce, 1943
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary register - corroborating, not itself a primary instrument. Confirms builder identity, hull spelling, and delivery date only; contains no asbestos information and no detail on construction materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-08
-
[10]Patrol Craft Sailors Association, 'Information on WWII PCSs - 136-foot Patrol Craft Sweeper (PCS)' + Berkshire County Historical Society PCSA Collection index ('PATROL CRAFT SWEEPER (WOOD HULL) - PCS') [other_primary]
- Locator
- ww2pcsa.org class specifications block; bchsmuseum.org PCSA Collection index PDF ('PATROL CRAFT SWEEPER (WOOD HULL)')
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/design documentation: the PCS-1376 class was a 136-foot wood-hulled patrol craft sweeper (PCSA collection index) powered by two geared diesel engines - no boilers, no steam plant, no steam-line lagging aboard. Era-typical asbestos candidates aboard this type are diesel-engine exhaust-system lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, joiner and fireproof panel materials in accommodations, and brake linings on winches and windlass. Asbestos aboard this specific hull is era inference, not ship-proven.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Population
- Construction yard workers (Stadium Boat Works, 1943); ship's company 1943-1960 (class inference)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record - names the type, not this vessel, and lists no asbestos-containing products as such. Does not establish presence, quantity, or location of asbestos aboard this hull, nor any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-09
-
[11]Naval Cover Museum wiki, 'ELSMERE PCS 1413' designation-history table (corroborating the Elsmere spelling and timeline); TogetherWeServed unit page 'USS Elsmore (PCS-1413)' and Wikipedia class-template link 'USS Elsmore (PCS-1413)' (variant spelling) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org designation-history table; navy.togetherweserved.com unit 2317; Wikipedia 'List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy' row for PCS-1413
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-spelling note: 'Elsmere' is the spelling carried by NavSource, the Naval Cover Museum designation history, the shipbuildinghistory.com delivery record, and Wikipedia's List of patrol vessels; a variant 'Elsmore' circulates in secondary sources (TogetherWeServed unit directory; one Wikipedia class-template link). The 1956 naming instrument itself was not located; the record adopts 'Elsmere' on the weight of the concordant sources, which agree with the town named in New Castle County, Delaware.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1956-1960
- Limitations
- The SECNAV/NAVSO naming action of 15 February 1956 was not located in a primary source this session, so the orthography is settled on best available authority rather than the naming instrument itself. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-10
-
[12]Batch-8331 search ledger (this record): NARA Catalog (war diary, muster rolls, In Service Craft diary); NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com yard register; LOC Veterans History Project; NHHC/DANFS index; NVR; CourtListener opinion and docket search (see ledger rows for status); ww2pcsa.org class data; uboat.net warship entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-01 through sl-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Elsmere / PCS-1413 / EPCS-1413 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). NHHC publishes no DANFS history for this hull, and NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals.
- 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 - it establishes only that the public sources searched carry no ship-specific asbestos record. The hull was scrapped after sinking in storage; no salvage or demolition disclosure was located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-elsmere-pcs1413-11