Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 1044-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-yms-263-yms263-pkt-1044-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Simon Newcomb (YMS-263 / AGS-14 / AGSC-14) - construction, WWII minesweeping, survey-ship conversion and service, 1949 grounding, disposal (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Simon Newcomb' service narrative and spec block (live page, verified 2026-10-04)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 21 August 1942 by the South Coast Co., Newport Beach, Calif.; launched 2 November 1942; commissioned 11 August 1943. Fitting out and shakedown in the San Diego area 15 October - 3 November 1943, then sweeping operations in Los Angeles Harbor until sailing for Kauai, T.H., 5 January 1944. Ordered to the Marshall Islands to sweep during the amphibious assault on Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls 31 January - 8 February 1944; Majuro was her main base for the next 11 months; July - December she made escort trips to Tarawa and Eniwetok; ordered back to San Pedro 6 December 1944 via Johnston Island and Pearl Harbor, arriving 17 January 1945. Entered the Wilmington Boat Works yard for conversion to an amphibious hydrographic survey ship; on 20 March 1945 redesignated AGS-14 and named Simon Newcomb; ready for sea 21 April, departed for Majuro via Pearl Harbor and Johnston Island; called at Eniwetok 1 June, arrived Guam 7 June, and performed hydrographic work for five months, sometimes as far afield as Okinawa. Returned to the west coast 25 December 1945; routed to Norfolk via the Panama Canal, arriving 21 January 1946; operated with a hydrographic party off the Bahama Islands early February - 2 May; redesignated AGSC-14 on 29 July [1946]. After seven days at Boothbay, Me., in November she moved south on the 26th and operated between Key West, Vera Cruz, and New Orleans until 10 April 1948; then eight months in northern waters 'plying between New York, Argentina [sic - likely Argentia, Newfoundland; see ev-07], and Labrador'; returned to Key West 18 December 1948 - 10 April 1949, resumed her northern station, and on 9 August 1949 ran hard aground at Mother Burns Cove, Labrador; refloated, patched up, and towed to Norfolk for disposal. Decommissioned 10 November 1949; struck from the Navy list 31 January 1950; sold to B. F. M. Industries, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 25 April [1950] for scrap. One battle star for World War II service. DANFS spec block: 'YMS-263: dp. 245; l. 136'; b. 23'4"; dr. 8'7"; s. 14 k.; cpl. 27; a. 1 3"; cl. Admirable' (conflicts flagged in ev-07 and gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1950 (entry coverage)
- Population
- South Coast Co. construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-49); Wilmington Boat Works conversion trades (Jan-Apr 1945); embarked hydrographic parties (1945-49)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS spec block carries three anomalies (class 'Admirable' vs documented YMS-1 class; cpl. 27 vs NavSource 60; dp. 245 vs NavSource 340 t) and the transcription 'Argentina' where the operating pattern reads Argentia, Newfoundland - all flagged for downstream readers rather than silently corrected. The November Boothbay entry's year is unstated in DANFS (sequence implies 1947).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Simon Newcomb (AGSc 14) ex-AGS-14 ex-YMS-263 - designation timeline, specifications, photographic record (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19263.htm header timeline, specifications block, and photo captions (ABSD-6 27 Jun - 1 Jul 1945; Brooklyn Navy Yard; 9 Aug 1949 grounding)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 21 August 1942 by the South Coast Co., Newport Beach, CA; launched 2 November 1942; completed 10 August 1943; commissioned as USS YMS-263 11 August 1943; converted to a Survey Ship January/April 1945 by the Wilmington Boat Works, San Pedro, CA; reclassified Survey Ship and named Simon Newcomb (AGS-14) 20 March 1945; reclassified Coastal Survey Ship AGSc-14 29 July 1946; decommissioned 10 November 1949 at Norfolk, VA; struck from the Navy Register 31 January 1950; sold for scrap 25 April 1950 to B. F. M. Industries of Brooklyn, NY. Specifications: displacement 340 t.; length 136'; beam 23'4"; draft 8'7"; speed 14.1 kts.; complement 60; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth charge tracks, two depth charge projectors; propulsion two 880 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Photographic record places this hull: inboard of USS James M. Gilliss (AGS-13); at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the survey era alongside Harkness (AGS-12) and James M. Gilliss (AGS-13) with 'mother ship' Tanner (AGS-15) astern; drydocked aboard the Advance Base Section Dock ABSD-6 from 27 June to 1 July 1945 (Life magazine photo by J. R. Eyerman, SC-1317 astern); on sea trials c. June 1949 in Gravesend Bay, NY (U.S. Navy photo via 'Our Navy' magazine); and unloading removable gear and ballast on 9 August 1949 prior to salvage attempt by USS Hoist (ARS-40) after grounding at Mother Burns Cove, Labrador, Canada (U.S. Navy photo, Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Population
- Crew and embarked hydrographic parties (1943-49); Wilmington Boat Works conversion trades; ABSD-6 floating-dock crews at Guam (Jun-Jul 1945); USS Hoist (ARS-40) salvage party (Aug 1949); B. F. M. Industries shipbreakers (1950)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but specs conflict with the DANFS spec block (cpl. 60 vs 27; 340 t vs 245 t; 880 vs secondary 1,000 bhp - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. Photo captions document physical presence (Brooklyn Navy Yard, ABSD-6 drydock, Gravesend Bay trials, Labrador grounding/salvage) - a presence record, not a work or material record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-02
-
[4]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - named-vessels list (archives.gov, live) and number-designated vessels list (printed p. 517; ACPL Genealogy Center scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov 'Special List 44 - Named Vessels' table (Simon Newcomb row); ACPL Genealogy Center SL44 scan, printed p. 517 (genealogycenter.net/nara/images/narasl44/549.jpg)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 records two contiguous runs of deck logbooks for this hull: the number-designated list records 'YMS-263 - Sept. 15, 1943-Feb. 28, 1945' (4 logbooks; printed p. 517 of Special List 44, verified against the ACPL Genealogy Center page-image transcription), and the named-vessels list records 'Simon Newcomb (YMS-263, AGS-14) - 3/1/1945-12/31/1945' (archives.gov table verified live 2026-10-04). Together the logged coverage runs continuously 15 September 1943 through 31 December 1945 - spanning her entire commissioned minesweeper career and the first nine months as Simon Newcomb (AGS-14). Logbooks are held by NARA (RG 24) but are not among the deck logs digitized in the National Archives Catalog.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (listed coverage); 1978 (SL44 compilation era)
- Population
- Crew aboard 1943-09-15 to 1945-12-31 (log coverage window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: Special List 44 establishes that logbooks exist and their date coverage - it is NOT log content and establishes nothing about asbestos, materials, or personnel. Coverage is a logbook date span, not a commissioning/decommissioning claim. The minesweeper-era logs (through Feb 1945) end before her March 1945 conversion, and no SL44 coverage is listed for 1946-49 (the list terminates at 1947 and the named entry ends 12/31/1945). ACPL page image verified 2026-10-04 (printed page 517; scan image file 549.jpg).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), South Coast Shipyard, Newport Beach CA - yard construction table and yard history (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-emer-small/southcoast/ - construction table rows YMS-259 through YMS-264 and yard-history paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The South Coast Shipyard production table lists YMS-263 as a U.S. Navy minesweeper of 278 (tons), 136 (ft), dated 10 September 1943, with disposition note 'later Simon Newcomb (AGS-14) 1945, scrapped 1950.' The same table places her in a consecutive run of sisters built at the yard: YMS-259 through YMS-264 (incl. YMS-262, later James M. Gilliss AGS-13) plus earlier YMS-88-93, YMS-317-319, and the PCS-1398-1401/YMS-449-452 series - documenting South Coast as a small wood-boat yard (started in the late 1930s by Walton Hubbard, closed 1963, at 2300 Newport Boulevard) producing wooden motor minesweepers in series through the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (production window)
- Population
- South Coast Co. construction trades (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-production compilation, not a builder's record - the 10 September 1943 date (delivery or acceptance) conflicts with NavSource's 'completed 10 August 1943'; both carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or material content; yard's wood-boat character is consistent with wooden YMS construction but the table itself does not state hull material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block and service narrative (this hull); NavSource specifications and class statement (two GM 8-268A diesels; 'YMS-1 Class Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper'); NavSource AMS/MSC index class note ('Their hulls, though made of wood, were too magnetic and susceptible to magnetic mines'); shipbuildinghistory South Coast yard table; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19263.htm specifications; NavSource 11/05idx.htm class note; GAO HRD-80-2 product description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled motor minesweeper built 1942-43 and diesel-powered throughout her career sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2: asbestos insulation used extensively aboard ships until substitution began in the early 1970s), but the highest-density pathways of steam combatants - boiler, turbine, and steam-line lagging - do not apply: she carried no boilers and no steam plant. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were confined to diesel-exhaust lagging and muffler insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, winch and windlass brake linings, and joiner/accommodation insulation where fitted. Her 1945 survey-ship conversion at Wilmington Boat Works and postwar availabilities (incl. a documented ABSD-6 drydocking at Guam, 27 June - 1 July 1945) are the maintenance-disturbance windows for any era-installed materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Population
- South Coast construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-49); Wilmington Boat Works conversion trades (Jan-Apr 1945); ABSD-6 dock crews (1945); salvage and disposal trades (1949-50)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or conversion specification located for YMS-263/AGS-14. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. Wooden construction narrows the plausible scope versus steel steam combatants but does not eliminate it. No quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (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 (1942-43) and service era (1943-49).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- 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, reconfirmed 2026-10-04) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-06
-
[8]NavalCoverMuseum, SIMON NEWCOMB AGSc 14 page - designation chronology and postmark record (live page verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/SIMON_NEWCOMB_AGSc_14 - designation table and postmark table (1947-03-12 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavalCoverMuseum independently confirms the designation sequence: USS YMS-263 commissioned 11 August 1943; converted to a survey ship January/April 1945; renamed/reclassified Simon Newcomb (AGS-14) 20 March 1945; reclassified coastal survey ship AGSc-14 29 July 1946; decommissioned 10 November 1949; struck 31 January 1950; sold for scrap 25 April 1950. Its postmark record includes a Locy Type 7 ('Naval Air Branch' killer-bar text) postmark dated 12 March 1947 for Simon Newcomb AGSc-14 - postal usage documenting the hull in service under her coastal-survey designation; the museum notes the ship had no postal facilities.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1950
- Limitations
- Volunteer philatelic compilation - corroborates designation dates and demonstrates AGSc-14 service in March 1947, nothing more. 'The ship had no postal facilities' means the postmark was applied ashore/elsewhere, not aboard. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-07
-
[9]Cross-source anomaly review: DANFS spec block ('cl. Admirable'; cpl. 27; dp. 245) vs NavSource specs (YMS-1 class; cpl. 60; 340 t) vs shipbuildinghistory yard table (278 t) vs DANFS narrative ('Argentina' vs Wikipedia's 'Argentia' rendering) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block and northern-station passage; NavSource 11/19263.htm specs; shipbuildinghistory South Coast table; Wikipedia USS Simon Newcomb (secondary, for the Argentia reading only)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the DANFS spec block for this entry reads 'cl. Admirable' - the steel-hulled AM-class minesweeper - but this hull is documented as a YMS-1-class (YMS-135 subclass) wooden motor minesweeper by every other source including DANFS's own narrative (laid down at South Coast Co., YMS-263), NavSource, the South Coast yard production table, and NavalCoverMuseum. The spec block also lists cpl. 27 and dp. 245 where NavSource carries 60 and 340 t and the yard table carries 278 t - wartime-minesweeper vs post-conversion survey-ship figures likely differ, but the sources cannot be reconciled from public documentation. Separately, the DANFS narrative's 'plying between New York, Argentina, and Labrador' names a station geographically implausible for a coastal survey ship on a 'northern station'; secondary renderings (Wikipedia) read 'Argentia' - the U.S. Navy base in Newfoundland paired with Labrador surveys - which is almost certainly the intended place. Record carries DANFS as written and flags the reading.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1946-1949 (northern-station window); 1942-50 (spec conflicts)
- Limitations
- Corrects spec-block and toponym anomalies, not a material or exposure claim. 'Admirable' is flagged as a spec-block error; the correct class is YMS-1 (YMS-135 subclass). 'Argentia' rests on secondary rendering of the same DANFS text; carried as the likely intended toponym, not asserted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-08
-
[10]Batch-8893 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource 11/19263 and 11/05idx; NARA Special List 44 (named list live + ACPL scan printed p. 517); shipbuildinghistory South Coast yard table; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA digitized-logs index; NVR; GAO product page; secondary web sweep; CourtListener (see sl-07 for status) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-yms-263-01 through sl-uss-yms-263-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS YMS-263 / Simon Newcomb (AGS-14/AGSc-14) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was wooden and diesel-powered - the narrowest asbestos pathway of the WWII fleet - and was scrapped in 1950, two decades before federal ACM-handling rules existed; no disposal-yard hazmat record was expected or located. The only 'asbestos aboard' material located is a law-firm marketing listicle (freeasbestostesting.com) listing the hull under both AGS-14 and AGSC-14 without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the helper returned fleet-wide pacing stand-down on all 7 spaced attempts (~75 min); logged as blocked in sl-07, not as a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-consistent applications (exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, brake linings) remain plausible and unverified either way, and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (blocked, not run). NARA RG 24 logbooks (4 minesweeper-era + named-era logbooks in SL44) and any Wilmington Boat Works conversion work package are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-yms-263-09