USS Hummingbird (AMS-192)

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Humming Bird II (MSC-192)' (published 20 July 2015) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, statistical line and construction/commissioning paragraph

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS 'Humming Bird II (MSC-192)' entry (published 20 July 2015) records: 'The second Humming Bird, usually spelled Hummingbird (MSC-192), was originally classified AMS-192, but reclassified 7 February 1955. She was launched by Quincy Adams Yacht Yard, Inc., Quincy, Mass., 27 January 1954; sponsored by Mrs. Felice Low; and commissioned 9 February 1955, Lt. (j.g.) W. J. Whitley in command.' Statistical line: (MSC-192: dp. 290; l. 144'; b. 28'; dr. 9'; s. 13 k.; cpl. 39; a. 2 20mm.; cl. Bluebird).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1953-1955

   Limitations

   The live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on direct fetch this session (consistent with the NHHC link-rot pattern logged in BATCH-01-REPORT.md); content verified verbatim via Wayback Machine capture 2025-02-20 (web.archive.org/web/20250220175146/...) of the same official URL. DANFS states no laid-down date. The DANFS launch date (27 January 1954) conflicts with NavSource (25 December 1954) - see ev-04; the conflict is reported, not resolved. Establishes construction, reclassification, and commissioning only; no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-01

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Humming Bird II (MSC-192)' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, three service-narrative paragraphs

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS records the U.S. service career: shakedown off Key West June 1955; minesweeping training at Charleston, S.C., July 1955; first amphibious exercises 21 October-14 November 1955 sweeping the landing area and dropping marker buoys off North Carolina; New York 8 January 1956 for Hydrographic Office surveying work until 15 February, then return to Charleston; based at Mine Warfare School, Yorktown, Va., 1957-1958 with the March 1958 amphibious operation at Onslow, N.C.; home port shifted to Little Creek, Va., 1959; Halifax, Nova Scotia, 6 October 1960 for NATO exercise Sweep Clear V with Canadian mine craft, returning 26 October; repeated combined Canadian exercise July 1961; 1962 amphibious operations at Onslow and in the Caribbean, search for a downed Air Force plane off Delaware 1 June, mine experiments at Panama City, Fla., a third NATO minesweeping exercise in September, standby readiness during the October Cuban quarantine, and patrols off Cuba in early 1963; continued training and readiness operations 1963-1967 (where the entry ends).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1955-1967

   Population

   U.S. Navy crew, complement ~39-40 per statistical line/datasheet

   Limitations

   Same NHHC link-rot condition as ev-01; verified via the 2025-02-20 Wayback capture of the official page. Establishes duty type (training, amphibious support, NATO exercises, hydrographic survey support, standby/patrol during the Cuba quarantine - no combat action documented) and Atlantic-coast operating area only; no asbestos, materials, overhaul-yard, or hull-condition content. Entry narrative ends in 1967; events 1967-1971 including the transfer decision are not covered by this source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-02

3. [3]NavSource Naval History, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Hummingbird (MSC 192) ex-Hummingbird (AMS 192)' datasheet (secondary compilation); corroborated where overlapping by DANFS [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource datasheet bullet list and specifications block; CO table; photo index

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource's hull datasheet (secondary compilation reproducing register-type data) records: 'Falcon Class Motor Minesweeper'; laid down 24 October 1953 as AMS-192 by the Quincy Adams Yacht Yard, Inc., Quincy, MA; launched 25 December 1954; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper MSC-192 on 7 February 1955; commissioned USS Hummingbird (MSC 192) 9 February 1955; transferred to Indonesia in 1971 and renamed Pulau Impalasa (M 720); struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1976; returned to U.S. custody and disposed of through the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service; scrapped 1 September 1976. Specifications: 362 t.; 144'3"; 27'2"; 12'; 13.6 kts.; complement 40; one twin 20mm mount; '600shp Packard diesel engines, two shafts.' A commanding-officer list runs to LT Rene Edmond Laguerre, USN (officer-in-charge) from 19 October 1968. NHHC photo catalog numbers NH 81810, NH 81809 (23 April 1956), and NH 83840 (Boston, 7 June 1969) document the ship photographically.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1953-1976

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer-compiled naval-history archive, not an official Navy source; used here only for register-type details DANFS does not state (laid-down date, disposal sequence and dates, spec block, CO list, NHHC photo numbers), each consistent with DANFS where they overlap (reclassification date, commissioning date, sponsor name, ship name). Its launch date (25 December 1954) conflicts with DANFS (27 January 1954) - see ev-04. The navsource.org URL failed direct fetch; identical datasheet text was verified via the navsource.net mirror and indexed extraction of both. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-03

4. [4]NHHC DANFS 'Humming Bird II (MSC-192)' (27 January 1954) vs. NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive datasheet (25 December 1954) and Navypedia Bluebird-class table (25.12.1954) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS launch sentence (via Wayback capture); NavSource datasheet launch line; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_ms_bluebird.htm class table row for MSC192

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Launch-date discrepancy documented: DANFS (the official Navy history) records launch on 27 January 1954, while the NavSource datasheet records 25 December 1954 and Navypedia's Bluebird-class table agrees with 25 December 1954. Laid down 24 October 1953 (NavSource), the NavSource date implies ~14 months on the ways - consistent with the documented build rhythm of sister hull Jacana (AMS-193: laid down 25 February 1954, launched 25 February 1955, same yard) - while the DANFS date implies ~3 months on the ways and ~12 months fitting out. Both dates fall inside the 1953-1955 construction window; the conflict is reported exactly as documented rather than resolved to a single date.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1954

   Limitations

   Resolves how the record handles a documented date conflict between the official history and two secondary renderings of the same event; does not affect identity, custody, or the service-window finding. Which date is the true launch date is unresolved in the sources reviewed - the builder's launch record or the ship's commissioning booklet/first deck log (NARA) would be dispositive. Sister-hull build rhythm (Jacana) favors the NavSource date but cannot substitute for a primary record. No asbestos content in any of the three sources.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-04

5. [5]NavSource 'Falcon Class' header + DANFS statistical line ('cl. Bluebird') + Navypedia 'BLUEBIRD coastal minesweepers (1953-1961)' design history [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource datasheet header; DANFS statistical line; Navypedia class page, project-history paragraph

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Class-identity correction: this hull is a postwar (1953-55) coastal minesweeper of the SCB-69 program - 'Falcon class' per NavSource (name-ship USS Falcon, MSC-190), 'Bluebird class' per the DANFS statistical line ('cl. Bluebird') and Navypedia/Wikipedia - NOT a member of the WWII YMS-1 class, an assignment appearing in upstream metadata for this record. The WWII-era namesake USS Humming Bird (AMc-26), in service 1941-1945, is likewise a different hull. Navypedia documents that the Bluebird design was 'essentially versions of the Second World War YMS,' which explains the erroneous YMS-1 label; the SCB-69 ships were a distinct postwar construction program built largely for MDAP transfer.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1953-1955 (construction); 1941-1945 (namesake distinction)

   Limitations

   Corrects upstream metadata that tagged this hull as WWII/YMS-1-class; the documented program is the postwar SCB-69 series (laid down October 1953, eight years postwar). Naming convention varies by source ('Falcon' vs 'Bluebird' vs 'Adjutant') for the same hull group - recorded as variation, not resolved to one label; the batch assignment's 'postwar Falcon class' designation is adopted. Navypedia is a secondary compilation - the YMS-lineage statement is design history, not a construction record. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-05

6. [6]Hedley-Whyte, John, and Debra R. Milamed, 'Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,' Ulster Medical Journal 77(3):191-200 (2008), PMCID PMC2604477 / PMID 18956802 [other_primary]

   Locator

   Article sections on U.S. Navy asbestos specification history (1922 submarine specification; 1939 critical-material classification; WWII asbestos-board standard) and Table I (U.S. asbestos use 1930-1985)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical scholarship documents that the U.S. Navy specified asbestos use in new ship construction decades before this hull was built - in 1922 the Navy specified South African chrysotile asbestos for gaskets, insulation, packing, and tape and Transvaal amosite for light-weight, high-insulation applications in new submarines; the U.S. classified asbestos as a critical material in 1939; and by WWII asbestos board had become the standard noncombustible fire-protection material, with heavy national consumption continuing through the postwar decades in which this ship was built (1953-55) and served (1955-1971). This is Navy-wide policy scholarship; it does not name this vessel, its class, or the SCB-69 program.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1922-1985 (article scope); 1953-1971 relevant here

   Population

   U.S. Navy shipboard and shipyard population, mid-20th century (class/fleet context)

   Limitations

   General Navy-fleet policy documentation, not hull- or class-specific; this vessel and the Falcon/Bluebird (SCB-69) type are not mentioned. Does not establish that asbestos was installed on, or remained aboard, this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Does not distinguish diesel-powered wooden-framed small craft (this hull) from steam-powered vessels, so no propulsion-specific claim is drawn from it. Note: a sibling record in this dataset (uss-kestrel-amcu26, ev-05) cited this same PMC article under a different author attribution ('Tweedale'); the actual PMC2604477 authors are Hedley-Whyte and Milamed - corrected attribution used here, per the Batch-1663 Oriole finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-06

7. [7]Navypedia 'BLUEBIRD coastal minesweepers (1953-1961)' + Shipbuildinghistory (T. Colton compilation), Quincy Adams Yacht Yard construction table [other_primary]

   Locator

   Navypedia class page project history and class table; shipbuildinghistory Quincy Adams yard table rows for MSC-190 through MSC-194

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Class/program context from secondary compilations: Navypedia documents the Bluebird (SCB-69) coastal minesweepers as 'essentially versions of the Second World War YMS, initially for transfer abroad under the MDAP programme,' with wooden frames, controllable-pitch propellers for minefield agility, and diesel plants (new Packard ~1,200 bhp total or GM 8-268A ~880 bhp); of ~159 units launched from 1953, all but twenty were transferred. Shipbuildinghistory's Quincy Adams Yacht Yard table documents this yard's contiguous Falcon-group run - MSC-190 Falcon, MSC-191 Frigate Bird, MSC-192 Hummingbird (completed 9 Feb 1955), MSC-193 Jacana, MSC-194 Kingbird - and records all four named ships (190-193) transferred to Indonesia in 1971: Pulau Aru (M-722), Pulau Atang (M-721), Pulau Impalasa (M-720), and Pulau Aruan (M-718).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   1953-1976

   Limitations

   Secondary compilations, not official Navy sources; used for design-lineage, construction-material (wooden framing), and group-transfer context that DANFS/NavSource do not state. The yard table's dates corroborate the commissioned/delivered dates where they overlap. Engine fit for this specific hull (Packard vs. GM; 600 shp per NavSource vs. ~1,200 bhp total per Navypedia) is unresolved at hull level - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-07

8. [8]CourtListener API v4 (courtlistener.com), opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) searches via authenticated helper [court_record]

   Locator

   See search_ledger rows sl-uss-hummingbird-ams192-06 through sl-uss-hummingbird-ams192-11 for individual query strings and result counts

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. Authenticated CourtListener API v4 searches for the exact ship name combined with 'asbestos' returned zero results in both opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) indexes, and each designation searched alone - 'MSC-192', 'AMS-192', 'Pulau Impalasa' - returned zero results. A broad 'Hummingbird asbestos' opinion search returned a single hit classified as a name collision: In re Milo's Kitchen Dog Treats Consolidated Cases, 307 F.R.D. 177 (W.D. Pa. 2015), a consumer class action in which the matched terms appear in unrelated context (a Facebook-data discovery dispute); no naval party or vessel is involved.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-23

   Study period

   Search conducted 2026-09-23

   Limitations

   Absence of a located litigation record does not establish absence of exposure or of unfiled/settled claims; CourtListener's opinion index is not a complete record of all filed cases (many settle or are unpublished at trial level), and Indonesian-era claims would be outside U.S. court coverage entirely. The single 'Hummingbird asbestos' hit was classified by case-name and party review; none involve a naval vessel. Does not establish or defeat any exposure claim, causation, or legal eligibility for any individual.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-08

9. [9]Batch-1694 search ledger (this record): DANFS (via Wayback capture); NavSource datasheet; NPS/NRHP check (no listing); NARA Navy asbestos-records research guide; CourtListener searches; asbestos-specific web sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-hummingbird-ams192-01 through sl-uss-hummingbird-ams192-15

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located under any of this hull's designations (AMS-192, MSC-192, Pulau Impalasa M-720): no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, GAO report, or NPS/NRHP note was found in the public official sources searched (DANFS, NavSource datasheet, NARA finding-aid guides, an asbestos/survey/abatement web sweep, and the sources listed in the search ledger). The hull was never preserved as a museum or memorial ship (transferred to Indonesia 1971, scrapped via DRMS 1976), so it has none of the museum-disclosure or hull-survey documentation seen for preserved vessels in this dataset.

   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 the hull during its 1953-1976 life - postwar Navy construction of this era is class/era-consistent with asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, packing, electrical insulation, and deck/fireproofing materials (see ev-06). Does not establish presence or absence aboard this specific hull, quantity, condition, individual exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-09

10. [10]National Archives and Records Administration, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (Navy asbestos-records research guide) [other_primary]

    Locator

    Guide sections: Beginning Research; Bureau of Ships General, Confidential, and Secret Correspondence; record-group list

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Archival lead (not retrieved - no in-person research or reproduction order performed, no spend authorized): NARA's own published research guide, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961,' directs researchers first to Record Group 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships), specifically General/Confidential/Secret Correspondence 1940-1961 filed by hull designation (this hull would be filed as 'AMS-192' or 'MSC-192'), class correspondence under the class namesake ('MSC-190' Falcon group), shipyard correspondence (Quincy Adams Yacht Yard as a private 'QM' contractor), General Information Books, and Board of Inspection and Survey material-condition reports; and secondarily to RG 38 (Chief of Naval Operations, Board of Inspection and Survey reports), RG 143 (Bureau of Supplies and Accounts specification indices, including Navy Filing Manual code S39 for insulation/lagging), and RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel deck logs/muster rolls). The guide's scope - 'U.S. Navy materiel from 1941-1961' - squarely covers this hull's 1953-55 construction. NARA's guide states it 'cannot perform the research required for this topic' and that such research 'may quickly become layered and complex.'

    Verification

    unverified

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-09-23

    Study period

    Guide reflects current NARA finding aids; underlying records 1940-1961

    Limitations

    Record-group and finding-aid mapping only; no box-level or correspondence-level retrieval was performed for this hull. Whether any hull-specific asbestos-relevant correspondence exists for AMS-192/MSC-192 in RG 19 or the other named groups is unknown until an in-person or contracted archival search is conducted. Nothing in this row is itself an asbestos finding.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-hummingbird-ams192-10