Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 846-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-waxbill-mhc50-pkt-846-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Waxbill II (YMS-479) - construction as PCS-1456, reclassification, commissioning, WWII Pacific service, naming/AMS-39, Naval Reserve training, Korean War combat minesweeping, AMCU-50/MHC-50 redesignations, disposal, awards (live NHHC page; published 26 October 2015) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Waxbill II (YMS-479)' service narrative and spec block; page published 26 Oct 2015
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'The second Waxbill (MHC-50) was originally the wooden-hulled, unnamed motor minesweeper YMS-479.' Laid down as PCS-1456 on 28 April 1943 at Tacoma, Wash., by the Mojean and Ericson Shipbuilding Corp.; reclassified as motor minesweeper YMS-479 on 27 September 1943; launched 30 September 1943; commissioned at the Mojean and Ericson yard on 20 July 1944, Lt. Richard A. Woods, USNR, in command. Fitted out at the Todd Pacific Shipyard, Tacoma; departed Seattle 13 August; shakedown out of Long Beach to 8 September, then antisubmarine training at San Diego; departed 25 September as screen (with YMS-59) for LST-627, LST-1030, and LST-926 to Hawaii. Section Base Pearl Harbor 6 October; patrolled off Kauai and operated in the Hawaiian chain through February 1945. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet 6 March; departed Pearl Harbor 23 March for the Marshalls; operated out of Eniwetok, Kwajalein, and Majuro through the end of the war. Departed Kwajalein 10 December; Pearl Harbor Christmas Day; Hawaiian ops into 1946; departed Pearl Harbor 20 February with Sheldrake (AM-62); San Francisco 1 March; decommissioned 6 August 1946, San Diego group Reserve Fleet. Named Waxbill and reclassified AMS-39 on 18 February 1947 while in reserve; out of 'mothballs' 5 January 1949; placed 'in service' 19 January and assigned to the 13th Naval District; Naval Reserve training ship at the Navy and Marine Corps Training Center, Seattle, through spring 1950. Recommissioned 'in reserve' 1 September 1950; full commission 25 September, Lt. (jg.) F. J. Crozier in command. Departed San Diego 27 February 1951 for the Far East; Korean War service from 12 May in operation area 'S'; combat minesweeping off Wonsan, Pusan, Inchon, Kyoshin Tan, and To Jang Po into 1953, both coasts of the peninsula; swept over 40 mines; Korean Presidential Unit Citation; operated out of Sasebo with port visits to Kobe, Nagasaki, Yokosuka, Moji, and Fukuoka. Remained in the Far East after the Korean armistice; reclassified coastal minehunter AMCU-50 on 1 February 1955; reclassified MHC-50 six days later. After conversion to a coastal minehunter she departed Yokosuka 10 August; via Midway, Pearl Harbor, and Long Beach to San Francisco 8 September; operated off southern California into 1958. 'In commission, in reserve' 1 May 1958; Stockton group Pacific Reserve 16 May; out of commission, in reserve, 30 June 1958. 'While exact details of the ship's ultimate fate are lacking, it is known that Waxbill was struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1959.' Six battle stars for Korean War service. Spec block: dp. 320; l. 136'0"; b. 24'6"; dr. 6'1" (max.); s. 12 k.; cpl. 33; a. 1 3", 2 20mm.; cl. YMS-1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Population
- Mojean & Ericson construction trades (1943-44); Todd Pacific fitting-out trades (1944); crew (1944-46, 1950-58); Naval Reservists (1949-50)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not name the 1955 conversion yard (she was in the Far East), give post-strike disposition details, or date the initial Pacific Fleet assignment's year inline (contextually 1945). Decommissioning of 6 August 1946 is at San Diego; 'out of commission, in reserve' 30 June 1958 at Stockton.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Waxbill (MHC 50) ex-AMCU-50 ex-AMS-39 ex-YMS-479 ex-PCS-1456 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, photo captions (live page, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/05039.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, and photo captions (110503905, NH 79716, NH 96981, 80-G-477118, 80-G-477119)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: built by Mojean & Ericson Shipbuilding Corp., Tacoma WA; laid down as PCS-1456 28 April 1943; reclassified YMS-479 27 September 1943; launched 30 September 1943; 'Completed and commissioned YMS-479, 20 July 1943' [a typographical error for 1944 - see ev-09]; decommissioned at San Diego 6 August 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group; named Waxbill (AMS-39) 18 February 1947; in service as Naval Reserve training ship, 13th Naval District, Seattle, 19 January 1949; in commission in reserve 1 September 1950; recommissioned 25 September 1950; 'Converted to Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator) AMCU-50, 01 February 1955'; reclassified Coastal Minehunter MHC-50 7 February 1955; decommissioned at Stockton CA 30 June 1958; struck from the Naval Register 1 November 1959; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Specs: 270 t., 136', 24'6", 8' draft, 15 kts., complement 32; one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm, two depth charge projectors; two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow-Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign NQZZ. Commanding officers from LT Richard A. Woods (20 July 1944) through LTJG Clinton Robert Vail (September 1953), with LCDR Joseph Francis Friend undated. Photo captions document: 24 July 1944 moored astern of St. George (AV-16) 'during her commissioning ceremony at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. Inc., Tacoma, WA' (U.S. Navy photo); San Francisco Bay return c. 1945-46 (NH 79716); berthed at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Seattle, c. April 1949 replacing PC-786 (NH 96981); maneuvering and laying smokescreen under fire from enemy shore batteries off Wonsan, North Korea, 12 December 1952 (National Archives 80-G-477118 and 80-G-477119); underway West Coast late 1950s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Population
- Mojean & Ericson construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-46, 1950-58); Naval Reservists (1949-50)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but its timeline line 'commissioned ... 20 July 1943' is a demonstrated typo (the hull launched 30 September 1943; its own photo caption and CO table say July 1944) - see ev-09; the DANFS 20 July 1944 date is carried. Its spec block differs from DANFS (270t/8'/15kt/32 vs 320t/6'1"/12kt/33 - variants in gaps). Its AMCU-50 line says 'Converted to' where DANFS says 'reclassified as' - designation vs work-scope wording. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-02
-
[4]NavSource Online, Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper (YMS) / British Motor Minesweeper (BYMS) Index - class construction and characteristics (live page, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class narrative, characteristics block, and hull table (YMS-479 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class documentation for the type: the YMS-1 class were WOODEN-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers - 'the first wooden minesweeper of this class' (YMS-1, built by Henry B. Nevins Inc., City Island NY, keel laid 4 March 1941) - 561 built at 35 yacht yards (12 East Coast, 19 West Coast, four Great Lakes). Subclass variation by stacks: 'YMS-1 through 134 had two stacks, YMS-135 through 445, 480, and 481 had one, while YMS-446 through 479 had none' - this hull (YMS-479, ex-PCS-1456) is the last boat of the no-stack subclass; the index's own table lists her as 'YMS-479 ex-PC-1456' [PCS-1456 per DANFS - the index uses PC shorthand]. Class characteristics: 136' LOA, 24'6" beam, 320 tons, 6'1" max draft, complement 33, designed 12 kts, GM 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts. Surviving YMS's were reclassified AMS in 1947 and given names; in 1955 they received the new type symbol MSC(O) for those retained as minesweepers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1969 (type service window)
- Population
- YMS-class construction trades at 35 yards (1942-45); class crews
- Limitations
- Class-level description, not a hull record - establishes construction material (wooden hull), machinery type, subclass configuration, and the class-wide 1947 AMS renaming/redesignation program, not anything installed aboard YMS-479 specifically. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Colton), Mojean & Ericson Shipbuilding, Tacoma WA - yard history and hull table (live page, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Mojean & Ericson yard narrative and hull table row for PCS 1456
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder documentation for this hull: Mojean & Ericson was founded 1925 by William Mojean and Olaf Ericson and closed at the end of the war; located at the extreme inland end of the Thea Foss Waterway, on East D Street between Dock Street and South 21st, Tacoma. The yard's hull table lists 'PCS 1456, US Navy, Sub Chaser, 278d tons, 136 ft, delivery 20-Jul-44, Completed as YMS 479, Waxbill (AMS 39) 1947, struck 1959'. The same table lists sister Mojean & Ericson Navy hulls: YMS 222-225 and YMS 426-429 (of which YMS 223, 225 went to Britain as BYMS and YMS 428 to the USSR as T-525), plus PCS 1455 (sold 1948 as Margaret Root).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1959 (build and Navy disposition)
- Population
- Mojean & Ericson construction trades (1925-1945 yard window)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-compilation, not a registry - the delivery date (20-Jul-44) agrees with the DANFS commissioning date and is further evidence against NavSource's 1943 typo (ev-09). The table describes PCS-1456 as 'Sub Chaser' - the PCS-1376 type designation was Patrol Craft Sweeper. Contains no asbestos content; the yard is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-04
-
[6]NARA-held photography referenced in NavSource captions: National Archives photos 80-G-477118 and 80-G-477119 (Waxbill under shore-battery fire off Wonsan, 12 December 1952); Naval Historical Center photos NH 79716 (San Francisco Bay, c. 1945-46) and NH 96981 (Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Seattle, c. April 1949); plus a U.S. Navy commissioning-ceremony photo of 24 July 1944 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog (JS-rendered; identifiers via NavSource 11/05039.htm captions): 80-G-477118, 80-G-477119, NH 79716, NH 96981
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Government-archived photographs documenting this hull exist in the National Archives and Naval Historical Center holdings: two NARA 80-G images of Waxbill maneuvering under enemy shore-battery fire off Wonsan, North Korea, on 12 December 1952 (during her documented Korean combat minesweeping tour); NH 79716 showing her post-war San Francisco Bay return; NH 96981 showing her April 1949 Seattle reserve-training berth (replacing PC-786); and a U.S. Navy photo of the 24 July 1944 commissioning scene moored astern of St. George (AV-16) at Tacoma.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1952 (image dates)
- Population
- Crew aboard during the documented events (1944, 1949, 1952)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the NARA online catalog is JS-rendered and the 80-G and NH records could not be fetched and verified directly this session - the identifiers are transcribed from NavSource photo captions. Photographs document presence and events, not materials; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (YMS-1 class, diesel craft, wooden hull); NavSource specifications (2 x GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts); NavSource class index (wooden hull, no-stack YMS-446 subclass, class characteristics); DANFS Todd Pacific Shipyard fitting-out reference; shipyard-exposure-map Atlas shipyards.json corporate-level entry todd-shipyards; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and fitting-out line; NavSource 11/05039 specifications; NavSource 11/19idx class page; shipyards.json entry todd-shipyards (corporate-level record; includes Washington Supreme Court Herring v. Texaco documentation of Todd's Seattle-area operations)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel motor minesweeper built 1943-44 and retained in Navy service through 1958 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel small craft of this type and period were diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior finishes (deck tile, bulkhead panels, accommodation insulation). Her documented post-construction yard event is the 1944 fitting-out at the Todd Pacific Shipyard, Tacoma - part of the Todd Shipyards corporate entity whose Atlas record documents era asbestos products including pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and electrical insulation - while her 1955 conversion to a coastal minehunter occurred in the Far East at an undocumented yard. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; her asbestos-relevant scope is narrower than a steel steam ship's.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1959
- Population
- Mojean & Ericson construction trades (1943-44); Todd Pacific fitting-out trades (1944); crew (1944-46, 1950-58); Far East conversion-yard trades (1955); Stockton reserve-fleet caretakers (1958-59)
- Limitations
- Class/era and yard-level inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, conversion work package, or crew record located for PCS-1456/YMS-479/AMS-39/AMCU-50/MHC-50. The Todd Shipyards product list documents the corporate entity's products, not that any were installed aboard this hull; the fitting-out's and the 1955 conversion's material scopes are undocumented. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 full report, digest pp. i-ii and enclosure correspondence (thermal-insulation major application; 1973 specification change; May 1978 deliveries; 1975/1979 policies); product page https://www.gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards) that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard Navy ships, that 'all ships' in service contain some asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables, and that other (older) Navy ships 'contain large quantities of asbestos.' Product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, but asbestos already purchased/installed meant some ships were delivered with asbestos thermal insulation as late as May 1978; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove/replace only damaged or work-required insulation, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. This spans the hull's entire era: 1943-44 construction, 1944 Todd Pacific fitting-out, 1955 MHC-50 conversion, and 1958 decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (report); asbestos thermal-insulation era documented through May 1978 deliveries
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither is a documented Waxbill availability site. Full 26-page report extracted via firecrawl (direct fetch returns HTTP 403 to automated requests).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-07
-
[9]Batch-7552 search ledger (this record): live DANFS; NavSource ship page and class index; shipbuildinghistory Mojean & Ericson yard table; NARA photo leads; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-waxbill-mhc50-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming PCS-1456, USS YMS-479, USS Waxbill (AMS-39), Waxbill (AMCU-50), or Waxbill (MHC-50) was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper reported the daily quota exhausted (~5.7 h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' marketing content found lists 'AMc-15 Waxbill' (duboselawfirm.com coastal-minesweeper page) - the earlier, different hull - excluded by source policy and flagged for collision (see ev-10).
- 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 genuine open gap (throttled, not run). Deck logs (RG 24), Mojean & Ericson build records, the undocumented 1955 conversion work package, and any disposal record are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-08
-
[10]Commissioning-date cross-check: DANFS Waxbill II entry (commissioned 20 July 1944 at the Mojean and Ericson yard); NavSource 11/05039 timeline ('Completed and commissioned YMS-479, 20 July 1943') vs its own 24 July 1944 commissioning-ceremony photo caption and CO-table entry (LT Richard A. Woods, 20 July 1944); shipbuildinghistory Mojean & Ericson table (delivery 20-Jul-44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/05039.htm timeline line vs photo caption 110503905 and CO table; DANFS Waxbill II narrative; shipbuildinghistory PCS 1456 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's timeline prints 'Completed and commissioned YMS-479, 20 July 1943' - impossible, since the same timeline and DANFS both date her launch 30 September 1943. The correct year is 1944: DANFS states commissioned 20 July 1944; the shipbuildinghistory yard table gives delivery 20-Jul-44; NavSource's own commanding-officer table begins LT Richard A. Woods on 20 July 1944; and its own U.S. Navy photo caption shows the hull moored astern of St. George (AV-16) 'during her commissioning ceremony' at Tacoma on 24 July 1944. The 1943 figure is a typographical error carried only on the timeline line; DANFS's 20 July 1944 is the date this record asserts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (milestone window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating date error, not a material claim. The NavSource photo caption additionally places the ceremony at 'Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. Inc.' where DANFS says she 'commissioned at the Mojean and Ericson yard' - a four-day gap between the 20 July commissioning and the 24 July photo likely reflects ceremony vs. commission or fitting-out movement; unresolved but immaterial (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-09
-
[11]Designation cross-check: DANFS 'Waxbill II (YMS-479)' title and its closing footnote (AM-414 contract, Defoe Shipbuilding, named Waxbill 16 May 1945, cancelled 11 August 1945 before keel laying); DANFS 'Waxbill I (AMc-15)' (live NHHC page); NavSource 11/03015 Waxbill (AMc-15) page; duboselawfirm.com coastal-minesweeper marketing table (excluded source) listing 'AMc-15 Waxbill' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS waxbill-i and waxbill-ii pages (Waxbill II footnote on AM-414); NavSource 11/03015 designation block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DISAMBIGUATION: the Navy assigned the name Waxbill three times. Waxbill I - AMc-15 - was a wooden-hulled purse seiner (Leslie J. Fulton) built 1936 by F. L. Fulton, Antioch CA, commissioned as USS AMc-15 on 26 November 1940, named Waxbill the next day, decommissioned 12 September 1944, struck 14 October 1944, and returned to commercial ownership 6 January 1945; the Atlas record for that hull is uss-waxbill-amc15. This record's hull - 'Waxbill II' in DANFS - is the PCS-1456/YMS-479 wooden motor minesweeper named Waxbill in 1947. A third Waxbill was projected: the Admirable-class minesweeper AM-414, contract awarded to Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City MI, 27 April 1945, named Waxbill 16 May 1945, contract cancelled 11 August 1945 before the keel was laid - never a physical hull. Marketing-source asbestos content does not distinguish the hulls: duboselawfirm.com's coastal-minesweeper table lists 'AMc-15 Waxbill' - the earlier vessel. Any future litigation or exposure hit keyed to 'USS Waxbill' must be hull-resolved before attachment to this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1936-1959 (all hulls' combined windows)
- Limitations
- Name-disambiguation note, not a material claim. AMc-15 details rest on DANFS Waxbill I and NavSource 11/03015; the AM-414 details come from the DANFS Waxbill II footnote itself; the marketing-table attribution is noted only to flag the collision risk (that source is excluded and carries no evidentiary weight).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-waxbill-mhc50-10