Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS Vol. IV p. 124, 'Littlehales' (PCS-1388) - verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror (live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-09-20) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Littlehales' (PCS-1388), Vol. IV p. 124 - spec block and service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS establishes this hull's identity chain and service record: laid down as PCS-1388 on 1942-12-17 by Robert Jacob Inc., City Island NY (NavSource records the original designation as PC-1388, reclassified PCS-1388 April 1943); launched 1943-07-17, sponsored by Miss Elaine B. Wolfe; commissioned USS PCS-1388 on 1943-12-11; converted to a hydrographic survey ship at San Diego Aug-Dec 1944; Iwo Jima D-Day survey/navigation-light work 1945-02-17; redesignated AGS-7 on 1945-02-28; named Littlehales 1945-03-24; four months of Okinawa hydrographic surveys; postwar surveys in Japan, the Ryukyus, Saipan, the U.S. west coast and Hawaii; Red Sea and Persian Gulf survey cruise 1948-49; decommissioned 1949-10-12 and sold 1950-01-24. Named for George Washington Littlehales (1860-1943), Hydrographic Office scientist.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Population
- Commissioning crew and embarked hydrographic parties (1943-1949)
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, designations, and service narrative; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information - supports no asbestos claim. Transcribed text contains an internal date error ('left the west coast 11 July 1945' where chronology requires 1948) and differs from NavSource on complement, buyer-name spelling, and commissioning CO - see gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page not located (404); citation is a verbatim transcription mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-littlehales-ags7-01
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[2]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 and program under which this PCS-1376-class hull was built (1942-43) and converted (1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-littlehales-ags7-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive - Littlehales (AGSC-7) ex-AGS-7 ex-PCS-1388, compiled spec block and chronology (hosts NHHC photos NH 51413, NH 64671) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PCS-1388 archive page - specifications block, designation chronology, commanding officers roster, photo credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiled archive records the hull's machinery spec (two 1,000-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, single-reduction gear, two shafts - a diesel plant with no steam boilers), its designation sequence including the July 1946 reclassification to AGSC-7, and its post-Navy disposition chain: sold 1950-01-24 to a Reedville VA fisheries firm, converted to menhaden fisherman 'John-O'; acquired by Haynie Products Inc., Moss Point MS (1972); acquired by Atlantic Towing Corp., Norfolk VA and renamed 'Atlantic I' (1975); out of documentation 1976; fate unknown. Page also archives NHHC photos NH 51413 (post-conversion configuration, added deckhouse aft) and NH 64671 (Dec 1944).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1942-1976
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not a primary Navy record; designation dates corroborate DANFS and NavalCoverMuseum. Machinery spec and post-1950 ownership chain are compiled data not here traceable to a BuShips spec sheet or USCG documentation file - treated as archival lead. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-littlehales-ags7-03
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[4]ShipScribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'USS Littlehales (AGSC 15, ex YF) Class' - compiled from NHHC/NVR records; corroborated by NavSource AGSC index (AGSC-15 Littlehales ex YF-854) and NavalCoverMuseum namesake note ('Two ships have been named in his honor') [other_primary]
- Locator
- ShipScribe AGSC-15 class page - construction/disposition tables and class notes quoting the 1958 CO letter to CNO; NavSource AGSC index
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Correction: the name 'USS Littlehales' was carried by two different Navy hulls. THIS record's hull is ex-PC-1388/PCS-1388, AGS-7 then AGSC-7 (sold 1950). The later USS Littlehales (AGSC-15) was a different vessel: ex-YF-854, a 132-ft self-propelled covered lighter built by Erie Concrete & Steel (keel 1945-05-31, launched 1945-08-28, completed 1945-10-28), placed in commission as a service craft in December 1952 for Hydrographic Office survey work, redesignated AGSC-15 and named Littlehales effective 1959-02-14 (name assigned 1959-03-03), struck 1968-02-20, decommissioned 1968-04-01, disposed 1969-04-03 as a target. Any 'Littlehales AGSC-15' pairing resolves to that lighter, not to this hull; upstream registry rows pairing the name with AGSC-15 under this hull's identity are a data error requiring correction, not a second hull of this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 1945-1969 (AGSC-15); disambiguation of this hull's 1942-1950 record
- Limitations
- ShipScribe is a specialist compiled source (NHHC/NVR-derived), not the primary record itself; dates as tabulated there. The row disambiguates identity only - it asserts nothing about asbestos aboard either hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-littlehales-ags7-04
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[5]Batch-774 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS, NavSource, ShipScribe, NVR, MARAD ShipHistory, CourtListener (blocked), web-index litigation sweeps; collision opinion via syndicated case text [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-littlehales-ags7-01 through sl-uss-littlehales-ags7-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, shipyard hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming PC-1388/PCS-1388/AGS-7/AGSC-7 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The sole legal hit on the name is Littlehale v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 268 F. Supp. 791 (S.D.N.Y. 1966), aff'd 380 F.2d 274 (2d Cir. 1967) - a surname collision: plaintiff Adelbert Littlehale, a civilian Navy employee, was injured by a blasting cap aboard USS Somersworth in 1957; the case names no vessel of this record and involves no asbestos claim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Study period
- 2026-09-20
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - only that none was found in sources searched. CourtListener API was rate-limited (HTTP 429, daily quota exhausted) and its web UI returned HTTP 403 at research time, so the litigation negative rests on web-index sweeps and is provisional pending a direct CourtListener re-run. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-littlehales-ags7-05