Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 1039-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-218-yms218-pkt-1039-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Curlew (MSC(O) 8), ex-AMS-8, ex-YMS-218 (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/05008.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource identifies this hull as YMS-218, later Curlew (AMS-8) and Curlew (MSC(O)-8). It records laying down 18 July 1942 by the J. N. Martinac Ship Building Co., Tacoma, Washington; launching 23 December 1942; completion and commissioning as USS YMS-218 on 23 June 1943; Asiatic-Pacific Theater service in World War II with occupation activities in late 1945 and early 1946; decommissioning in February 1947 at San Diego, CA; reclassification as Motor Minesweeper AMS-8 and naming as Curlew on 18 February 1947; recommissioning in June 1949 with deployment to the Western Pacific a year later for Korean War mine clearance and blockade missions; reclassification as Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-8 on 7 February 1955; transfer to South Korea on 6 January 1956 as Kum Hwa (MSCO 519); striking from the Naval Register 15 November 1974; and discard about 1977. The page lists 270 tons, 136 feet, beam 24'6", draft 8', 15 knots, a 32-person complement, one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount (later replaced by one 40mm mount), two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors, and two 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels on two shafts through Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear. Photo captions document: the 'little wooden vessel' sweeping Wonsan and Chinnampo in North Korea after arriving in the Far East in November 1950 (caption to USN photo 429828, dated 14 June 1951); nesting with Laertes (AR-20) at Sasebo 8 October 1952 (National Archives photo 80-G-63229); a courtesy visit to the South Korean Naval Base at Chinhae on 27 July 1953, the day the Panmunjom armistice was signed; and a December 1955 Sasebo photo before departure for Korea and ROKN handover. Commanding officers listed: LT George Sargent Grove (Nov 1949-Aug 1951), LTJG Robert Orr Snure (Aug 1951-Aug 1952), LT Isaac William Metzger (Aug 1952), LT John Anson McCook (1953).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1977
- Population
- Martinac construction trades (1942-43); U.S. Navy crew (1943-47, 1949-56); ROKN crew (1956-c.1977)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but the naming date conflicts with DANFS by one day (18 vs 17 February 1947; see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. The 1977 discard predates no applicable documentation located; no hazmat or material record for the disposal was found.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-01
-
[3]DANFS, Curlew (AMS-8) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC Curlew page not found - all candidate history.navy.mil URLs returned 404 on 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Curlew (AMS-8) entry, hazegray mirror /danfs/mine/ams8.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records: 'Curlew - A large bird having long legs and a long, slender, downward-curved bill. IV - YMS-218 (q. v.) was reclassified AMS-8 and assigned the name Curlew on 17 February 1947.' This establishes the hull as the fourth U.S. Navy ship named Curlew and gives the AMS-8 reclassification and naming date as 17 February 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1947
- Limitations
- Stub entry only - DANFS published no fuller Curlew IV narrative and no separate YMS-218 entry was located (the 'q. v.' cross-reference resolves to no published entry). Conflicts with NavSource by one day on the naming/reclassification date (17 vs 18 February 1947) - carried in gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page not found (404 on candidate URLs); verbatim transcription via the losthistory.net hazegray mirror. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-02
-
[4]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images: USS Curlew (AMS-8, later MSC(O)-8), 1943-1956, originally named YMS-218 (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the official NHC page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHC Online Library usnsh-c/ams8.htm narrative and 80-G-632291 photo catalog block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Historical Center's ship page states: 'USS YMS-218, a 270-ton auxiliary motor minesweeper built at Tacoma, Washington, was commissioned in June 1943. She served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II, and took part in occupation activities in late 1945 and early 1946. In early 1947, after returning to the U.S. West Coast, she was placed out of commission. YMS-218 was reclassified as a motor minesweeper (AMS) and renamed Curlew (AMS-8) in February of that year. Curlew recommissioned in June 1949. She was sent to the Western Pacific a year later to support Korean War operations. During most of that conflict, she was active in the combat zone, performing mine clearance and blockade missions. Curlew remained in the Japan-Korea area after the war ended in mid-1953. She was redesignated MSC(O)-8 in February 1955 and transferred to Korea in January 1956. She served in the Republic of Korea Navy as Kum Hwa until discarded in about 1977.' The page catalogs official U.S. Navy photograph 80-G-632291 (8 October 1952, Sasebo, Japan) showing Curlew nested alongside Laertes (AR-20) with eight other minesweepers and a harbor tug, original held by the National Archives.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1977
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew (1943-47, 1949-56); ROKN crew (1956-c.1977)
- Limitations
- Official NHC narrative hosted on the HyperWar/ibiblio transcription mirror (the former history.navy.mil Online Library); page verified live 2026-10-04. Dates are given at month/year granularity only; the 17 vs 18 February 1947 naming-date conflict is carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-03
-
[5]National Archives, Special List #44 by Ship Numbers, Navy logbooks available online through the National Archives Catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- PDF page 116; YMS-218 row (6/23/1943 - 6/30/1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List #44 lists YMS-218 with Navy deck-log coverage from 6/23/1943 through 6/30/1945. This establishes the existence and date span of the cataloged log record for the hull - coverage beginning the day of commissioning; it does not itself establish commissioning or decommissioning dates and the logs were not examined for this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-06-23 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- YMS-218 crew and ship operations during the listed log period
- Limitations
- Archival finding aid and coverage index only. Deck logs may help locate operational or maintenance events, but NARA's asbestos guide states that deck logs do not directly establish asbestos presence or material content. Individual log pages were not reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-04
-
[6]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Beginning Research; RG 19; General Information Books; Other records and their usefulness
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NARA's official research guide says documenting asbestos aboard a particular U.S. naval vessel requires layered research and identifies RG 19 Bureau of Ships correspondence, minesweeper/minelayer General Information Books, specifications, and hull engineering drawings as potential sources. It also explains that deck logs and muster rolls do not directly establish asbestos presence or material content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Navy vessels and shipyard/crew research populations within the guide's 1941-1961 scope
- Limitations
- This is a research pathway, not a YMS-218 material record. The cited RG 19 series were not retrieved or examined; it neither proves nor disproves asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights (full report linked, 26 pages)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos use, removal costs, and worker-protection efforts at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. The report describes a 1975 policy of removing and replacing with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to include selectively replacing asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy/review period
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and Navy asbestos-control program
- Limitations
- Program-level review, not a YMS-218/Curlew survey or finding. It does not establish asbestos installation, remaining material, disturbance, or exposure aboard this wooden minesweeper. The report's shipyard study sites were not this hull's builder or documented service yards. Direct fetch of the product page returns HTTP 403 to automated requests; content retrieved via firecrawl extraction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-06
-
[8]Independent public-source search and CourtListener sweep documented in search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-218-yms218-09 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos litigation or asbestos material record is asserted in this record. The exact-name opinion base query for "USS Curlew" ran through the authenticated helper and returned zero CourtListener results; the fleet-wide pacing gate then stopped the sweep, so the exact-name docket and both hull-number base queries were not run. Litigation status is therefore incomplete rather than negative.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04 search session
- Population
- CourtListener indexed opinions and RECAP dockets
- Limitations
- This is a process limitation, not evidence that no case exists. Only the exact-name opinion query for "USS Curlew" completed (zero results) before the helper reported the fleet-wide pacing budget was momentarily spent. Exact-name docket, hull-number opinion, and hull-number docket queries were not run; no asbestos-qualified variants were run. The zero opinion result does not cover RECAP dockets, and a name match would in any case require distinguishing this hull from the earlier minesweeper Curlew (AM-8).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-218-yms218-07