USS Goldcrest (AMCU-24)

Evidence

7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).

1. [1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Goldcrest II (LCI(L)-869)' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, full text - direct URL returned HTTP 503 throughout this session; content taken from Wikipedia's stated verbatim incorporation of the public-domain DANFS text (USS Goldcrest (AMCU-24) article) and cross-checked against three independently phrased search-engine queries returning consistent excerpts

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) entry 'Goldcrest II (LCI(L)-869)': laid down 31 August 1944 by the New Jersey Shipbuilding Company, Barber, NJ; launched 29 September 1944; commissioned 7 October 1944. After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, LCI(L)-869 departed Key West 12 November 1944 for the Pacific, transited the Panama Canal 19 November, and arrived San Diego 1 December; joined LCI Group 57, sailed for Hawaii 29 January 1945, arrived Pearl Harbor 7 February 1945, and reached the Palaus 7 April 1945, where she joined a picket line sealing off by-passed Japanese-held islands from reinforcement and protecting American bases from invasion - while on picket station she repulsed a suicide swimming attack and sank several floating mines threatening American ships. She remained on station through the Japanese surrender (2 September 1945). Decommissioned March 1947 at Norfolk, VA, into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Renamed USS Goldcrest and redesignated AMc(U)-24 on 7 March 1952; converted at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, assigned to the Sixth Naval District, and operated out of Key West, FL. Redesignated MHC-24 (coastal minehunter) 7 February 1955; decommissioned March 1955 at Charleston, SC. Struck from the Navy list 1 January 1960; scrapped.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1944-1960

   Limitations

   Establishes identity, construction, WWII Pacific service, and full disposition history for this hull. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information whatsoever - supports no asbestos claim. The live NHHC URL could not be directly accessed on the research date (2026-09-23); see gaps for the standing link-rot caveat.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-01

2. [2]Naval Vessel Register hull-characteristics data as mirrored in the Wikipedia infobox for USS Goldcrest (AMCU-24), which the article states is built from the public-domain DANFS entry and Navy vessel-register data [other_primary]

   Locator

   Article infobox: Class & type, Displacement, Length, Beam, Draft, Speed, Complement, Armament

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Hull characteristics (LCI(L)-351-class large landing craft, the design of LCI(L)-869/USS Goldcrest): displacement 209 long tons (212 t); length 159 ft (48 m); beam 24 ft (7.3 m); draft 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m); speed 14 knots; complement 21; armament 5 x 20mm AA guns.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1944 design

   Limitations

   The primary Naval Vessel Register hull-characteristics page (nvr.navy.mil) was not directly reachable in this session; these figures are sourced via secondary aggregation (Wikipedia infobox) rather than confirmed against the primary NVR record. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-02

3. [3]This repository, branch origin/master-hull-list-verify, master-hull-list.json (internal production tracking artifact, not a public source) [other_primary]

   Locator

   master-hull-list.json entries for 'USS Goldcrest' (hull_number AMCU-24), 'USS LCI(L)-869', 'USS Goldcrest' (hull_number AM-78, not found as a separate list entry in the branch snapshot reviewed - likely already converted to an Atlas record and removed from the proposed-batch superset) and 'USS Goldcrest' (hull_number AM-80)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Independent cross-check against this project's internally generated master hull-list enumeration (origin/master-hull-list-verify:master-hull-list.json) confirms: (a) 'USS Goldcrest, hull_number AMCU-24, ship_class AMc, tier 2' is a distinct proposed-batch entry from 'USS LCI(L)-869, hull_number LCI(L)-869, ship_class LCI(L)-351' - i.e., the list independently enumerated this single physical hull twice, once under its wartime designation and once under its 1952 minesweeper designation, which this batch's research treats as the same hull (consolidation, not two vessels). (b) The list separately carries 'USS Goldcrest, hull_number AM-78, ship_class AM' and 'USS Goldcrest, hull_number AM-80, ship_class AM' as their own tier-2 entries - two other, unrelated Auk-class-type minesweepers that happen to share the Goldcrest bird-name (a common U.S. Navy minesweeper naming convention), confirmed by DANFS/Wikipedia as separate hulls with different builders and commissioning dates (AM-78 commissioned 1941, built by Mathis Yacht Building Co.; AM-80 commissioned 1941 as a converted trawler, built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy) and are not duplicates of this record.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   2026-09-23

   Limitations

   Internal project bookkeeping, not a public/evidentiary source - included here to document the consolidation decision and same-name disambiguation for audit purposes, not as asbestos evidence. Contains no asbestos information.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-03

4. [4]Rushworth, Denis H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Abstract and article, Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed engineering-society scholarship describes the evolution of U.S. Navy shipboard thermal insulation systems in WWII and post-WWII-era ships, documents that Navy and national asbestos consumption patterns tracked shipbuilding and ship-overhaul activity, and identifies dry, friable, easily accessible thermal insulation on shipboard pipe and machinery systems as the most likely source of the Navy shipboard asbestos exposures underlying subsequent litigation. This covers the general Navy-wide practice and period (WWII construction through post-WWII overhaul/conversion work) within which both this hull's 1944 construction and its 1952-53 Charleston Naval Shipyard conversion fall.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1940s-1970s era documented; article published 2005

   Population

   U.S. Navy shipyard workers and shipboard crews, WWII through post-WWII era (class/era context)

   Limitations

   Fleet-wide, program-level engineering-history scholarship - does not name this hull and does not itself state that asbestos was installed aboard LCI(L)-869/USS Goldcrest specifically. This vessel has no boilers (diesel small craft), so the article's steam-plant/boiler-insulation content is less directly analogous than for a steam-powered hull; applicable class-era content here is limited to general pipe/machinery insulation, gaskets, and packing. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-04

5. [5]National Archives and Records Administration, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' research guide [other_primary]

   Locator

   Guide sections: Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships), Record Group 38 (Chief of Naval Operations), Research Methodology, Navy Specifications Approach

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room visit or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) holds General, Confidential, and Secret Correspondence (1940-1961) organized by hull designation and Navy filing codes, General Information/Ship Information Books, and Specification and Standard Development Case Files (frequently arranged by MIL-SPEC or QPL number) that could hold conversion-era (1952-53, Charleston Naval Shipyard) specification or correspondence records for AMc(U)-24; RG 19 Engineering Drawings (Hull Series and Microfilm Series, including S39 codes for insulation/lagging and S48 for piping) are a further lead. NARA Record Group 38 (Chief of Naval Operations) holds Board of Inspection and Survey Reports documenting material condition before commissioning, after major conversions, or before decommissioning, which could bear on this hull's 1952-53 conversion and 1955 final decommissioning.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1940-1961 records

   Limitations

   Record-group and series mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed for this hull; whether any asbestos-specific document exists for AMCU-24/AMc(U)-24 is unknown until surveyed in person. NARA's own guide states it 'is staffed to provide basic referencing services and cannot perform the research required for this topic.' Nothing in this row is itself an asbestos finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-05

6. [6]CourtListener API v4 (courtlistener.com), Opinion, Docket, and RECAP Document search collections [court_record]

   Locator

   Search queries logged in search_ledger rows sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-04 and sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-05

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener API v4 search (opinions, RECAP dockets, and RECAP documents) for the exact ship name 'USS Goldcrest' and for every hull-number/designation variant researched (LCI(L)-869, LCI-869, LSIL-869, AMc(U)-24, AMCU-24, MHC-24) returned zero results in every collection. A broader unquoted search on 'Goldcrest' (with and without 'asbestos'/'mesothelioma') returned only unrelated commercial and civil-rights litigation involving entities that share the word 'Goldcrest' in their name - e.g., Goldcrest v. LAT Long Infrastructure, LLC (E.D.N.Y. 1:23-cv-05200, contract dispute), Goldcrest Farms, LLC and Goldcrest Farms, Inc. (multiple unrelated Arkansas/California bankruptcy and contract matters), Goldcrest Properties, LLC (D.N.J. ADA employment matter), and Goldcrest Apartments Ltd (Tennessee bankruptcy adversary proceeding) - none of which concern the vessel, asbestos, or maritime exposure.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   2026-09-23

   Limitations

   Absence of a docketed or reported case does not establish that no exposure occurred aboard this hull - it establishes only that no qualifying litigation record was located in CourtListener's indexed collections as of the search date. CourtListener's RECAP collection is not a complete index of every state or federal filing (particularly older or state-court matters); a negative result there is not exhaustive. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-06

7. [7]Batch-1653 search ledger (this record): all rows sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-01 through sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-08 [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-01 through sl-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-08

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located anywhere searched: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, historic-register nomination, or docketed case names this hull. This is the honest state of the record for USS Goldcrest (AMCU-24) - a real, well-documented WWII landing craft with a distinctive Pacific and postwar-conversion service history, but with no asbestos-specific documentation of any kind located in the official/authoritative sources this batch's rules permit.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   2026-09-23

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - this hull's 1944 wartime construction and 1952-53 Navy-yard conversion both fall within the era Navy-wide practice used asbestos-containing insulation extensively, which is era-consistent with retained materials, but that is inference, not a ship-specific finding. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-goldcrest-amcu24-07