Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]DANFS 'Fidelity' entry (stub - 'Fidelity (AM-96) was redesignated PC-1600 (q.v.) on 1 June 1944'; verbatim transcription via Wayback capture of the Haze Gray DANFS mirror - live NHHC pages return 404); NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, PC-1600 ex-Fidelity (AM-96); NavalCoverMuseum PC-1600 designation history [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02096 (specs, dates, CO list); Wayback 20240618215039 capture of hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am96.htm; navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/PC_1600 (designation history)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Build and service record for this hull: Adroit-class minesweeper laid down 15 October 1941 by Nashville Bridge Co., Nashville, TN; launched 28 February 1942; commissioned USS Fidelity (AM-96) 9 September 1942; reclassified submarine chaser PC-1600 (name dropped) 1 June 1944; decommissioned March 1946 (NavalCoverMuseum reads 3 March; NavSource CO list ends 6 March); struck from the Naval Register 17 April 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 15 June 1948 and sold to Charles Weaver; fate unknown. NavSource commanding officers: LT Carl Raymond Cunningham Jr. USNR (9 Sep-1 Nov 1942), LT Willard Alfred Nicholson USN (1 Nov 1942-Jan 1944), LT Richard Robert Lee Jr. USNR (Jan-Dec 1944), LT George B. Evans Jr. USNR (Dec 1944-Mar 1945), LTJG Donald W. Grentzer USNR (Mar-Jun 1945), LTJG Walter H. Ekberg Jr. USNR (Jun 1945-6 Mar 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Nashville Bridge construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (design complement 65 as minesweeper)
- Limitations
- Documents service history and dates, not materials or asbestos content. The official DANFS text is a one-line stub - the fuller record here is NavSource (a curated photo/archive compilation), not a primary document; live NHHC DANFS pages for Fidelity and PC-1600 return 404. Commissioning-date conflict (9 Sep vs 1 Nov 1942) carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fidelity-am96-01
-
[2]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), WWII battle-star listing for PC-1600 (verbatim transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- officialmilitaryribbons.com PC 1130-to-PC 1603 listing, 'PC 1600' rows (P31-1 Leyte 20 Oct 44; P32-2 Lingayen Gulf 9 Jan 45)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The awards-manual listing names PC-1600 for two Asiatic-Pacific campaign engagements: Leyte landings (P31-1, 20 October 1944) and Lingayen Gulf landing (P32-2, 9 January 1945) - the two battle stars NavSource also credits to this hull. Confirms Pacific deployment as a submarine chaser after the June 1944 reclassification.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- PC-1600 crew at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf operations
- Limitations
- Vendor-site verbatim transcription of the official NAVPERS 15,790 listing, not the manual scan itself - campaign attribution therefore partial-verified; NavSource independently corroborates only the star count ('two battle stars'). Establishes presence at two operations; does not document day-to-day movements, materials, or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fidelity-am96-02
-
[3]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) + HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' Adroit-class specification [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403); ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-dm.html 'Adroit Class' specification block; navsource.org 11/02096 propulsion line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: this hull was one of eighteen Adroit-class minesweepers - PC-461-family steel hulls completed as minesweepers in 1941-42, diesel-powered (two 1,440 bhp Busch-Sulzer BS 539 engines on this hull, serials BS1141/BS1142) and all reclassified submarine chasers PC-1586 through PC-1603 in June 1944. Navy combatants of this construction era carried asbestos-containing thermal insulation and lagging on engine exhausts, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and fireproofing; the GAO documented the Navy's era-wide asbestos exposure problem and its 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1946 (construction/service); 1979 (GAO program documentation)
- Population
- Nashville Bridge construction trades 1941-42; Navy crew 1942-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era and program-level documentation only - GAO fieldwork was at major naval shipyards, not this small commercial river yard, and no hull-specific survey exists. Diesel propulsion means the boiler/turbine-insulation inference used for steam vessels does NOT apply here; the inference set is limited to exhaust lagging, gaskets/packing, electrical and structural insulation typical of the era. Does not establish presence or absence aboard this hull, quantity, or any individual exposure. GAO full text unreachable (gao.gov HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - product-page description used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fidelity-am96-03
-
[4]Naval Marine Archive (The Canadian Collection), Nashville Bridge Co. (NABRICO) boats database [museum_official]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/small/nashvilleboats.html, 'Fidelity (AM 96)' row (delivery 9-Sep-42); yard-history header paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context for this hull: Nashville Bridge Company (NABRICO) of Nashville, TN - founded in the 1890s as a bridge builder, converted to shipbuilding in 1915, and by the 1960s described as the world's largest builder of inland barges - delivered Fidelity (AM-96) to the US Navy on 9 September 1942 and also built sister minesweeper Fierce (AM-97) and numerous PC-type subchasers for the Navy; yard later sold to Trinity Marine Group 1995 and closed 1996.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1942 (construction); 1890s-1996 (yard history)
- Population
- Nashville Bridge construction workforce (inland river yard, Cumberland River)
- Limitations
- Private maritime-archive database of shipyard construction records - secondary compilation, not a primary contract document; contains no asbestos, materials, or workforce-hygiene information. Confirms builder identity and the 9 Sep 1942 delivery date. Nashville Bridge Co. is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fidelity-am96-04
-
[5]Batch-1448 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live pages + Wayback mirror); NavSource; NavalCoverMuseum; HyperWar USN reference; NAVPERS 15,790 transcription; navalmarinearchive builder table; CourtListener API v4 (blocked - HTTP 429) plus site-index web searches for litigation [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-fidelity-am96-01 through sl-uss-fidelity-am96-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Fidelity (AM-96) or PC-1600 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API was throttled mid-session (HTTP 429, shared daily quota exhausted, ~4 h to reset); site-index web searches of the CourtListener corpus returned only name collisions (e.g., 'United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.', 'Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland') - no vessel-related litigation identified, but litigation-index coverage is incomplete.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 2026-09-22
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull was sold into private hands in 1948 with fate unknown, so no museum or present-day record exists. The litigation search is honestly incomplete: API access was blocked and only secondary index coverage was possible. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-fidelity-am96-05