Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 923-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-sc-672-sc672-pkt-923-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, USCGC Air Gull (WAVR 427) ex-USS SC-672 - construction, designation, and disposal timeline; specifications; commanding officers; Hudson crew-photo collection (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150672.htm header block, SC-497-class timeline, and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 29 October 1941 by Thomas Knutson Shipbuilding Corp., Halesite, Long Island, NY; launched 2 May 1942; delivered 22 June 1942 and commissioned USS PC-672; reclassified SC-672 in April 1943; decommissioned 28 August 1945; transferred to the Coast Guard 11 October 1945 and commissioned USCGC Air Gull (WAVR-427); struck from the Naval Register 16 November 1945; acquired 1950 by Beaufort By-Products Co. Inc. of Lennoxville, NC for use as a fishing boat and renamed Ensign; acquired 1961 by Ensign Inc. of Beaufort; scrapped 1975. Spec block: displacement 100 t; length 110'10"; beam 17'; draft 6'6"; speed 21 kts; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, two .50 cal MGs, two 'Y gun' depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,540 bhp GM (EMD) 16-184A diesels, two shafts. Call sign Nan-William-Victor-Baker. Commanding officers listed: LT Joseph C. Crooker, USNR (from 22 July 1942); LTJG Patrick Hudson, USNR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1975
- Population
- Knutson construction trades (1941-42); USN crew (1942-45, ~28); USCG crew/caretakers (1945-47); fishing-vessel crew (ca. 1950/59-1975); 1975 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track Navy/USCG records and the USCG transfer and WAVR designation are independently confirmed by Flynn and the USCG Historian's Office, but the 1950 Beaufort By-Products acquisition date conflicts with shipbuildinghistory's 'sold 1959' (see gaps). The CO-table name 'Crooker' conflicts with 'Crocker' variants elsewhere on the same page and at uboat.net (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. Disposal dates (1961/1975) rest on this single source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-01
-
[3]HMC James T. Flynn, Jr. USNR(ret), 'U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Craft - Major Classes, 100-feet to 150-feet in Length, 1915 to 2012' (USCG Historian's Office hosted compilation, CG-09224); corroborated by Flynn, 'U.S. Coast Guard W Numbers' (2014) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FLYNNPATROLCRAFT2012.PDF, Part 2, '110-foot World War II SC's - Air Class WAVR's' section, WAVR 427 row; FLYNN_USCG-W-NUMBERS2014.PDF WAVR 427 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG Historian's Office documentation of this hull's Coast Guard service: 'WAVR 427 Air Gull ex. SC-672' entered Coast Guard service 11 October 1945; fate listed 'Unknown' in Flynn's table (and confirmed in the companion 'W Numbers' list). Air-class context: at war's end a surplus of USN 110-foot wooden submarine chasers was chosen for air-sea-rescue (WAVR) conversion because they already carried most needed electronics and gear; quickly stripped of armament, they were intended for offshore rescue during the demobilization airlift. A USCG Reserve personnel shortage meant 'very few WAVR's actually entered full service, but instead were placed In Commission in Reserve with a two man skeleton crew of care takers.' Class data block: displ. 134 T fl; 110'10" x 17' x 6.5'; 2 diesels 1,540 (or 800) hp, 2 screws, 21 (or 15.6) kts; complement 3 officers + 25 enlisted; armament 1-3"/23, 2-.50cal, 2 mousetrap, 2 DC tracks (removed in CG service).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1947 (CG service window)
- Population
- USCG crews/caretakers (1945+); prior USN crews on the transferred hulls
- Limitations
- Confirms the transfer and designation but not the operational detail: Flynn does not state whether Air Gull reached full service or spent her CG career in caretaker status, gives her fate as 'Unknown,' and the 11 Oct 1945 date is 'date entered CG' in his table (NavSource gives the same date as transfer + commissioning). Flynn is a USCG-compiled secondary reference hosted by the Historian's Office - the standard source on USCG patrol craft, but a compilation, not the underlying register. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Air Class Cutters' (official asset history page, history.uscg.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.uscg.mil Air Class Cutters article (Article 2148105), program narrative and transferred-cutter list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program-level documentation of the conversion this hull underwent: 'The Air Class cutters were 70 Navy SC 497-class patrol boats the Coast Guard requested to be permanently transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard for air-sea-rescue duties. Initially, 36 were provided on a loan basis. However, due to a shortage of CG personnel immediately following World War II, few 110-foot SCs became operational and those that did saw little service. Those units placed in commission in reserve status were assigned one deck petty officer and one engine-room rate as caretakers.' NOTE: the page's own transferred-cutter name list (69 names, with several misspellings) omits Air Gull entirely, although the USCG muster-rolls finding aid lists 'Air Gull' for 1946 and Flynn's USCG register table lists WAVR-427 Air Gull ex-SC-672 - the official page's name list is incomplete on this hull (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1947
- Population
- USCG personnel on Air-class hulls (1945-47)
- Limitations
- Class/program documentation only - the page describes the Air-class program generically and mixes one representative unit's particulars (Dooley's Basin build, 111'6" length, 16-person CG complement, SF-1 radar) that differ from this hull's documented particulars; none of those unit figures are carried for SC-672. The omission of Air Gull from the page's name list is a source defect on their side, not evidence the transfer did not occur: Flynn's register and the muster-roll finding aid both confirm her. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton) yard table, 'Knutson Shipbuilding, Halesite NY' - hull list including SC 672; corroborating WAVR table at shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/wavr.htm (navalmarinearchive.com mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/knutson.html row 'O.N. 259780 SC 672'; /sbh/smallships/wavr.html Air-class table row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-record compilation for this hull: yard entry 'O.N. 259780 | SC 672 | US Navy | Sub Chaser | 110 ft | 136 tons | delivered 22-Jun-42 | To USCG 1945 as Air Gull (WAVR 427), sold 1959 as Ensign.' U.S. Official Number 259780 documents the hull's post-service merchant registration as the fishing vessel Ensign. The WAVR class table gives the same row: '672 | 427 | Air Gull | Knutson SB | Halesite NY | 22-Jun-42 | Sold 1959 as fishing vessel Ensign' and notes 71 Air-class cutters were delivered to the Coast Guard for air-sea-rescue conversion, with few seeing actual service. Yard context: Thomas Knutson Shipbuilding Corp., founded 1935 at Halesite on Huntington harbor, Long Island, built 16 SC-497-class chasers (SC 672-673, 678-681, 1333-1340, 1498-1499) plus two 260-ton tugs.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1959 (build record and disposal note)
- Population
- Knutson yard trades (1941-42)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-record compilation (Colton's shipbuildinghistory, the standard merchant-yard reference) - not the underlying registry. The 'sold 1959' disposal date conflicts with NavSource's 'acquired 1950 by Beaufort By-Products' (see gaps); the O.N. and the 22-Jun-42 delivery corroborate the other sources. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS SC-672 (SC-672) entry - order/build dates and wartime event sourced to UK National Archives ADM 173/17542 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8889.html - data table, 'Notable events' 1 Sep 1942 entry, sources footnote (1) ADM 173/17542
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Service-history detail for this hull: ordered 18 September 1941; laid down 29 October 1941; launched 2 May 1942; commissioned 22 June 1942; end service 11 October 1945 ('transferred to the United States Coast Guard'). Documented wartime event: on 1 September 1942, around 1330Q/1, HMS Regent (Lt. W.N.R. Knox, DSC, RN) departed New London for Philadelphia, escorted by USS SC-672 under Lt. J.C. Crocker, USNR - sourced to ADM 173/17542 (submarine movement log series at the UK National Archives, Kew). uboat.net's commander listing gives the CO's full name as Joseph Clement Crocker, USNR.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- SC-672 crew (1942); HMS Regent liaison
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - but the escort event is anchored to a named archival document (ADM 173/17542), which is itself the open primary lead. uboat.net records no PC-672 interim designation (shows her simply as SC-672) and gives CO spelling 'Crocker' against NavSource's 'Crooker' (see gaps). No asbestos content; no other 1942-45 movements are documented in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-05
-
[7]NavSource SC-672 page - LTJG O. Patrick Hudson, USNR (Executive Officer) photo collection and 'Hudson Family Stories' crew memoir [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150672.htm - Hudson photo block (items 1-15), 'Hudson Family Stories' narrative, Duncan photo block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Crew documentation for this hull: a 15-photo collection from LTJG O. Patrick Hudson, USNR, SC-672's Executive Officer (contributed by Patrick R. Hudson), showing named crew including the commanding officer, ENS Hudson, Stewards Mate Phillips, crewmember Green, and PhM1c Morris Lane Young (the latter via Jeff Duncan's photos), plus snow-clearing and 40mm-gun-crew scenes consistent with a northeastern operating area. Hudson's memoir recounts a repair episode at the 'Charleston Navy Yard - no, the one in Boston Harbor' (i.e., the Charlestown/Boston Navy Yard): a broken jack-staff socket required yard welding, during which a welder's electrical ground accidentally triggered three armed Mousetrap rockets; the boat was then ordered to the ammo dump to unload depth charges before the socket was brazed back in place.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (narrative undated)
- Population
- SC-672 officers and crew (~28); Boston Navy Yard welders/trades during the repair visit
- Limitations
- Crew memoir and photo collection - firsthand but unverified against deck logs or yard records; it establishes presence at the Boston (Charlestown) Navy Yard for a repair, not a formal availability or overhaul, and no date is given. The photo caption names the CO 'LT James C. Crocker' against the CO table's 'Joseph C. Crooker' (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-06
-
[8]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office finding aid, 'CG Military Muster Rolls 1941-49' (NARA USCG muster-roll holdings, box inventory) [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.uscg.mil finding-aid box inventory, 'Air Gull 1946' entry (alphabetical Air-class block)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official USCG finding aid lists muster rolls for 'Air Gull - 1946' among the 1941-49 Coast Guard muster-roll holdings - confirming the cutter was on the CG personnel rolls in 1946 and identifying the archival series where her CG crew (full or caretaker) is recorded. Companion open lead: USN deck logs for PC-672/SC-672 (1942-45) sit in NARA RG 24 at College Park, not publicly digitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- Air Gull CG personnel recorded on 1946 muster rolls
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the finding aid documents that rolls exist for 1946, not what they contain (crew size, status, stations). Neither the muster rolls nor the deck logs have been pulled; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource/Flynn specifications for this hull (2 x GM/EMD 16-184A diesels, twin screws, wooden hull); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' SC-497-class data (diesel engines, 110'10" wooden hull); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-09) - Navy asbestos-use era spanning this hull's 1941-42 construction and 1942-45 service [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150672.htm spec block; Flynn patrol-craft class data block; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/SC/SC-497.html class data; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled, diesel-powered SC-497-class submarine chaser built in 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were insulation/lagging on diesel engines and exhaust runs, machinery-space insulation, gaskets, valve and flange packing, and electrical cable insulation - within a 110-foot, 28-man hull where living and working spaces sat immediately adjacent to the machinery spaces. She carried no steam plant, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply; the residual pathways are engine/exhaust insulation, gaskets, packing, and wiring insulation, plus any insulation disturbed during the 1945 WAVR conversion stripping or later fishing-vessel refits.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1975
- Population
- Knutson construction trades (1941-42); USN crew 1942-45; USCG crew/caretakers 1945-47; WAVR-conversion yard trades (1945); fishing-vessel crew; 1975 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or muster record located for SC-672. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity and no manufacturer attribution. Wooden construction and diesel propulsion reduce - but do not eliminate - the asbestos footprint relative to steam-driven steel hulls. The 1945 armament-stripping and post-service conversions are plausible disturbance events but undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-08
-
[10]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 entire construction (1941-42) and service era (1942-47 across both services).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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 across batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-09
-
[11]Batch-8046 search ledger (this record): NavSource SC-672 page and SC index; Flynn USCG Patrol Craft PDF and W-Numbers PDF (media.defense.gov); USCG Historian Air-Class page and muster-rolls finding aid; shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive yard and WAVR tables; uboat.net warships entry (ADM 173/17542); HyperWar Ships Data SC-497; GAO HRD-80-2; NHHC DANFS candidate URLs; NVR; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-672-sc672-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS SC-672, PC-672, or Air Gull (WAVR-427) was found in the public sources searched. On litigation specifically: both '"USS SC-672"' base queries (CourtListener type=o and type=r) returned zero results - no opinion or docket names the ship in that form. The '"SC-672"' opinion query executed once and returned results; the hit captured in-session (Tracinda Corp. v. DaimlerChrysler AG, D. Del. 2005, CL opinion 2344395) is a NAME COLLISION - 'SC-672' occurs in that corporate-dispute opinion's text as a non-vessel token. The complete '"SC-672"' hit list and the '"SC-672"' docket query could not be re-fetched - the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent on repeated attempts (helper exit 2, ~58/hr shared pace); logged per-query in the search ledger, not as negative results. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only generic 'SC Submarine Chaser (110ft)' entries on law-firm listicles (mesotheliomahope.com, simmonsfirm.com, sokolovelaw.com, mesothelioma.net, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy; none name this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the litigation repository search is a partial open gap (exact-name opinion and docket both zero; the bare-hull opinion query returned hits of which the captured one is a name collision, but the full hit list and the bare-hull docket query remain unclassified/unrun - a qualifying record could still exist). USCG muster rolls (1946), USN deck logs (1942-45), and Knutson/USCG conversion work records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-10
-
[12]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC-672 timeline ('commissioned USS PC-672... reclassified SC-672 in April 1943'); NavSource SC index ex-PC annotation pattern; Flynn WAVR 427 Air Gull ex-SC-672; uboat.net SC-672 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150672.htm timeline; NavSource 12/15idx.htm index; Flynn FLYNNPATROLCRAFT2012.PDF WAVR table; uboat.net ship/8889
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: this hull was never a PC-461-class patrol craft - no steel PC-461 vessel PC-672 was built (the class's numbering skipped the subchaser blocks). The wooden SC-497-class hull built by Knutson was delivered and commissioned as USS PC-672 on 22 June 1942 - a subchaser carrying a PC designation on paper - and reclassified SC-672 in April 1943, the form in which she served out the war. She was unnamed throughout U.S. Navy service; the only names she ever carried were USCGC Air Gull (WAVR-427, 1945) and the fishing vessel Ensign. Records keyed to 'PC-672' and 'SC-672' refer to the same hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a numbering-system ambiguity, not a material claim. The April 1943 reclassification is month-level only in NavSource; uboat.net omits the PC stage entirely. Whether the hull's commissioning papers styled her PC-672 throughout Jun 1942-Apr 1943 rests on the NavSource timeline alone among the sources reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-672-sc672-11