Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, vol. I p. 15, 'Agate' (hazegray/losthistory.net transcription mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS vol. I p. 15; mirror page danfs/patrol/pyc4.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (Agate entry): PYc-4, dp. 168, l. 110'6", b. 21', s. 13 k., a. 1 x 3". Originally classified AM-78, Agate became PYc-4 on 20 December 1940. Built in 1930 by Mathis Yacht Building Co., Camden, NJ as Armina (later renamed Stella Polaris); acquired by the Navy 27 October 1940; commissioned 31 January 1941. Assigned to the 15th Naval District patrolling the Panama Canal for most of WWII; departed the Canal Zone 12 August 1944 en route to Philadelphia; decommissioned 29 September 1944; turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal 3 July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1930-1945
- Limitations
- Transcription mirror of DANFS - the live NHHC page (history.navy.mil) returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-22, the same link-rot issue logged in BATCH-01. Establishes identity and service history only; contains no asbestos, materials, complement, or strike-date information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-01
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Goldcrest' (AM-78) entry (hazegray/losthistory.net transcription mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Goldcrest (AM-78) entry; mirror page danfs/mine/am78.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (Goldcrest entry): Stella Polaris, a yacht acquired by the Navy 27 October 1940, was classified a minesweeper; designated AM-78 on 2 November 1940 and named Goldcrest on 14 November 1940; she was reclassified a coastal yacht 23 November 1940, redesignated PYc-4, and renamed Agate on 19 December 1940. The hull held the AM-78 minesweeper designation about three weeks and the Goldcrest name about nine days; she never completed a minesweeper conversion and never commissioned under the Goldcrest name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940
- Limitations
- Transcription mirror (live NHHC page not retrievable 2026-09-22). Establishes the AM-78 to PYc-4 same-hull identity - the basis for keeping one canonical Agate record. One-day offset between the two DANFS entries (renamed Agate 19 Dec vs PYc-4 effective 20 Dec) carried in gaps. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-02
-
[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Goldcrest' (AM-80) entry (hazegray/losthistory.net transcription mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Goldcrest (AM-80) entry; mirror page danfs/mine/am80.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision control. DANFS numbers Goldcrest (AM-80) as 'the first Goldcrest': a steel merchant trawler built as Shawmut in 1928 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA; acquired from the Massachusetts Trawling Co. of Boston; commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 15 May 1941; served as 3d Naval District inshore patrol and NROTC schoolship (sank three drifted mines by gunfire in Sandy Hook Bay, NJ, 11 March 1943); transferred to Charleston for minesweeping duty August 1945; decommissioned 12 December 1945; sold 20 June 1946. This is a different hull that carried the same name at nearly the same time; a postwar Goldcrest (AMCU-24) is also a different hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1928-1946
- Limitations
- Documents a different hull. Any 'USS Goldcrest' records, photos, or litigation hits may reference AM-80 (or postwar AMCU-24), not this hull - the AM-78 name-holding was so brief (November 1940) that DANFS treats AM-80 as the first Goldcrest. Contains no asbestos information about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-03
-
[4]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era covering this vessel's 1940-41 Navy acquisition and conversion to a coastal patrol yacht.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- 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. The documented applications concentrate on steam-plant and large-hull construction - this diesel-powered yacht had no boilers or steam lines, so even era inference is materially weaker for this hull than for steam-driven Navy ships. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-04
-
[5]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: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - establishing that asbestos-containing insulation was standard aboard Navy vessels and typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - large steam-plant vessels, not converted yachts - and this hull left Navy custody in 1944-45, decades before the documented program. Supports era context only; establishes nothing specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - description via product page, consistent with Batch-01 treatment.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-05
-
[6]NavSource Naval History, Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive - Agate (PYc-4), ex-Goldcrest (AM-78) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PYc-4 page, chronology block and photo credits
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource photo archive entry for Agate (PYc-4): conversion to a minesweeper began 27 October 1940 at George Lawley and Son, Neponset, MA; canceled 23 November 1940; completed as coastal patrol yacht Agate (PYc-4) on 20 December 1940; struck from the Navy list 14 October 1944; sold and renamed Vallarta Alegre, operated as a dinner-cruise vessel out of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; reported (2010) owned by William Glad and undergoing overhaul at San Diego, CA. Page also references USN photos NY2 247-41 and NY2 249-41 (14 February 1941) held in the Boston National Historical Park collection.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1940-2010
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary source - used as archival lead only, not as authority. Facts resting solely on NavSource (conversion yard, strike date, post-Navy chain, dimensions/propulsion figures) are flagged in gaps and not asserted as verified. The Boston National Historical Park photo references are leads toward a primary collection. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-06
-
[7]Batch-1429 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription mirrors; NHHC live DANFS; HyperWar transcriptions; NavSource archive; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener API v4 and public site; general web search for litigation naming the vessel [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-goldcrest-am78-01 through sl-uss-goldcrest-am78-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, owner/museum hazmat disclosure, government materials record, or docketed case naming Agate (PYc-4) or the AM-78 Goldcrest designation was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The CourtListener docket search could not be completed this session (shared API quota exhausted, HTTP 429; public website 403) - the litigation surface is unverified, not confirmed empty.
- 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 - 1940-41 Navy conversion practice is era-consistent with asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and insulation even on a small diesel yacht. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-goldcrest-am78-07