Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet zcm-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-kingbird-ix176-pkt-zcm-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Kingbird I (AMC-56) - verbatim transcription via hazegray.org mirror, Wayback capture 2024-06-18 (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on re-check 2026-09-29) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Kingbird entry, full text (2 paragraphs + spec line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents: the first Kingbird (AMC-56), ex-Governor Saltonstall, built in 1939 by the Quincy Drydock & Yacht Co., Quincy, Mass.; acquired by the Navy 26 December 1940; placed in service as a coastal minesweeper in the 1st Naval District 24 July 1941; following assignment to Portsmouth, N.H., in January 1942, operated in the 1st Naval District as a coastal minesweeper for over 2 years; reclassified IX-176 10 July 1944 and placed out of service 28 July 1944 for use in training sound operators for new submarines; transferred to the WSA 7 June 1946 for disposal. Spec line: '(AMC-56: dp. 206; l. 96'; b. 21.69; dr. 7'; s. 9 k.; a. 2 .30 cal. mg.; T. Wooden Dragger)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1946
- Population
- Crew (complement not stated); sound-operator trainees and training staff, 1944-46; any conversion/maintenance yard workforce (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy ship-history entry; contains no asbestos, materials, or industrial-hygiene information whatsoever. The transcribed beam figure '21.69' is an OCR artifact in the mirror (Ships' Data 1945 gives extreme beam 20'8", matching NavSource). 'Placed in service' is DANFS's wording - NavSource records the same date as a commissioning. The sound-operator training station is not named. DANFS files the entry under the AMC-56 designation though it covers the entire hull history including the IX-176 period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-01
-
[3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships, NAVSHIPS 1851, 'Yachts Acquired Since September 1939 from Private Owners' (24 July 1946) - IX-176 row (scanned official document; no text layer - visually verified from a 200-dpi render of PDF p. 12 on 2026-09-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 1851, IX-section page (PDF p. 12), IX-176 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips register of small-craft acquisitions records the vessel under her final designation: 'IX 176 KINGBIRD - Gov. Saltonstall - Purchase - 12/26/40 - Thomas J. Benham - Quincy, Massachusetts.' Establishes the Navy acquired this hull by purchase (not charter) from former owner Thomas J. Benham of Quincy, Mass., on 26 December 1940 - agreeing with the DANFS acquisition date. The same table carries the neighboring fishing-fleet conversions (IX-165 Flicker ex-Delaware, IX-166 Linnet ex-Georgetown, IX-170 Curlew ex-Kittiwake, IX-171 Albatross ex-Illinois, IX-172 Bluebird ex-Maine, IX-175 Kestrel, IX-177 Nightingale ex-St. Francis), corroborating the row's placement in the acquisition series.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940 (record compiled 1946)
- Limitations
- Acquisition record only - establishes method, date, and seller but says nothing about conversion scope, materials installed or removed, or any asbestos content. The table is ordered by final designation, so the vessel appears as IX-176 rather than AMc-56. 'Quincy, Massachusetts' sits in the rightmost place-of-acquisition column position (no street-style owner-address entry); the scan's columnar separation for this row is narrow, so the Quincy datum could read as owner address - either reading associates Benham/the transaction with Quincy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-02
-
[4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945' Vol. III (NAVSHIPS 250-011) - Miscellaneous-Unclassified (IX) characteristics tables, item 76 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. III, pp. 464-469, IX table item 76 (PDF text-layer extraction confirmed)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official 1945 characteristics entry for IX-176 (item 76, pp. 464-469 block): 'KINGBIRD (ex-AMC 56, ex-Gov. Saltonstall).2' with footnote 2 'Wood hull'; type 'Sound barge, training ship'; length overall 96'7", length on waterline 79'3" (registered dimensions), extreme beam 20'8"; propulsion 1 propeller, Superior diesel, 250 shp, boiler columns blank (no steam plant); ship's service generator 1 diesel-drive, 120 D.C.; armament cell carries footnote (1) for 20-mm AA guns or smaller; builder 'Quincy D. D. & Yacht Co., Quincy, Mass.', date acquired 26 Dec 40, year built 1940, date of first commission 24 Jul 41. Displacement, limiting draft, and accommodations columns are blank for this entry. Re-verified 2026-09-29 by pdftotext extraction of the scanned volume (item-76 row segments in dimensions, propulsion, armament, and builder tables all located).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Training-ship users (sound-operator trainees), 1944-46
- Limitations
- Authoritative characteristics record compiled while the hull was still on the Navy List; contains no asbestos or materials information - the blank boiler columns establish absence of a steam plant as documented configuration, not absence of asbestos. Year-built 1940 conflicts with DANFS's 1939 (carried unresolved). The 79'3" waterline figure is the table's registry-style measurement, distinct from the 96'7" overall length.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships, 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945' Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011) - list of naval vessels (minesweeper index) and alphabetical ship index [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. II, minesweeper list (AM056 line) and alphabetical ship index (Gov. Saltonstall / Kingbird entries)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1945 index carries the vessel under both identities: the coastal-minesweeper (AMc) index column lists 'AM056 KINGBIRD (now IX176)' with no '(returned)'/'(sunk)' disposition marker, and the alphabetical ship index carries 'Gov. Saltonstall (now Kingbird) IX176 - Miscellaneous-Unclassified' and 'Kingbird (ex-Gov. Saltonstall) (ex-AMc56) IX176 - Miscellaneous-Unclassified - X' - the volume's 'X' marker denotes vessels whose characteristics data appears in Vol. III, corroborating the hull was still carried on the Navy List at compilation. Re-verified 2026-09-29 by pdftotext extraction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Index entries only - they establish designation trail (Gov. Saltonstall -> AMc-56 -> IX-176) and continued Navy List carriage in 1945, but no characteristics, materials, or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-04
-
[6]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Kingbird (IX 176) ex-AMc-56 page (secondary compilation citing NHHC photo NH 81375 and researcher credits) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Kingbird (IX 176) ex-AMc-56 page, spec block and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource compiles: built 1939 as Governor Saltonstall by the James Shipyard, Essex, MA (noting DANFS lists Quincy Drydock and Yacht Co., Quincy, MA); acquired 26 December 1940; placed in service 24 July 1941; reclassified IX-176 10 July 1944 'for use as a sound barge training ship'; placed out of service 28 July 1944; transferred to WSA for disposal 7 June 1946; 'Fate unknown.' Specs: 206 t., 96'7", 20'8", 7' draft, 9 kts, two .30 cal. machine guns, one 250shp Superior diesel, one shaft; call sign Nan-Baker-Charlie-Sugar; photo NH 81375 (c. 1941, courtesy D.M. McPherson 1974) and an under-construction view credited to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum; namesake note identifies Gurdon Saltonstall, colonial governor of Connecticut (1708-1724).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1946
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary source - used here for the photo identifiers, call sign, namesake note, and the explicit builder-attribution discrepancy (James Shipyard, Essex vs. the Quincy yard named by DANFS and Ships' Data 1945). Its James Shipyard claim conflicts with two official sources and is carried as unresolved, not adopted. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-05
-
[7]HyperWar, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - IX Unclassified Vessels' index (ibiblio.org mirror of official-derived compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar ships-ix.html, IX-176 table row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HyperWar IX index carries the row 'IX-176 Kingbird 1944, 183, Converted from Minesweeper AMc-56' - corroborating the IX designation, the 1944 conversion date, and the AMc-56 origin hull. Its 183-ton displacement figure conflicts with the 206 t. given by DANFS and NavSource (carried in gaps; the official Ships' Data 1945 leaves the displacement cell blank).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary index compilation, not a primary source; corroborates identity/designation only. Displacement conflict unresolved. No asbestos, materials, or configuration detail beyond the index line.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-06
-
[8]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) - era documentation of asbestos use in naval vessel insulation, gasketing, packing, and deck materials [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO-era documentation establishes that asbestos was standard in Navy ship construction and overhaul materials of the period (thermal insulation, gaskets, packing, deck tile). For a wooden-hulled diesel dragger conversion with no steam plant, the plausible subset on this hull type is confined to machinery-exhaust lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, and deck materials - a materially smaller asbestos profile than steam-powered combatants.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1939-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement unknown); undocumented conversion/maintenance workforce; sound-operator trainees 1944-46
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only - the GAO report does not name this hull, the AMc/IX types, or small diesel conversions, and its fieldwork concerned naval shipyards, not district-craft conversions. No application aboard this hull is established; equally, absence of the steam-plant pathway is a structural inference from the documented diesel propulsion, not a certification that no asbestos was present. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description, same limitation as Batches 01, 1563, and 1592.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 opinion + docket search (cl-auth-search.py authenticated helper, fleet-paced) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kingbird-ix176-08/-09/-10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep, fresh runs 2026-09-29: 'USS Kingbird' opinion re-verify returned 0 hits; 'Governor Saltonstall' (former name) opinion search returned 1 hit - Baird v. Davoren, 346 F. Supp. 515 (D. Mass. 1972), a ballot-access/voting-rights case matching a gubernatorial-historical reference, classified name collision (not vessel-related, not asbestos), closing the former-name sweep left open in Batch 1592; 'IX-176' OR 'IX 176' opinion re-run returned 2 hits, both previously-classified name collisions (Coon v. Illinois Educational Labor Relations Bd., Ill. App. 1994; Bostock v. Clayton County, SCOTUS 2020 - Title VII). Carried forward from the Batch-1592 authenticated sweep of the same physical hull (2026-09-23): 'Kingbird' asbestos 0; 'USS Kingbird' OR 'AMC-56' OR 'AMc-56' OR 'IX-176' OR 'IX 176' 3 hits, all name collisions (the two above plus Southport Transit Co. v. Avondale Marine Ways, 5th Cir. - 1946 tug fire, maritime but not this vessel and not asbestos); 'Kingbird' opinion index 23 hits sampled - all Minnesota Kingbird-surname matters; 'Kingbird' RECAP docket index 294 dockets, top-20 all person-surname (U.S. v. Kingbird criminal dockets, bankruptcies, pro se matters). No qualifying asbestos litigation or docketed case naming this hull under any designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-23/2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Sweep covers CourtListener opinion and docket indexes only; state-court dockets and non-digitized filings are outside coverage. 'Kingbird' is a common bird name and recurring surname - all hits were classified as collisions, not cases. Absence of a qualifying hit means no located vessel-named litigation in the index, not proof none exists. The 'IX-176' docket-index re-run remained fleet-pacing-gated at session end; the carried-forward 2026-09-23 'Kingbird' RECAP sweep (294 dockets, all surname collisions) covers the vessel's docket exposure for the same physical hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-08
-
[10]Batch-4739 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS; NAVSHIPS 1851; Ships' Data 1945 Vols. II-III; NavSource; HyperWar IX index; CourtListener API v4 opinion and RECAP docket indexes; MARAD vesselhistory; open-web legal index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-kingbird-ix176-01 through sl-uss-kingbird-ix176-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming USS Kingbird under any designation (AMc-56 / IX-176 / Governor Saltonstall) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The vessel left federal custody in 1946, before the Navy's asbestos-control era and before the exposure-litigation era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record is not proof asbestos was absent aboard - era materials on small diesel craft are plausible but undocumented. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-09
-
[11]NARA photo NH 81375 (c. 1941 view, identified via NavSource, courtesy D.M. McPherson 1974); NARA RG-19 (BuShips) acquisition/alteration files and RG-181 (1st Naval District) records; the WSA/Maritime Commission disposal case file for the 7 June 1946 transfer; under-construction photograph held by the Essex Shipbuilding Museum [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource AMc-56/IX-176 photo captions (NH 81375); NARA RG-19/RG-181 series (not digitized); shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive Quincy Dry Dock yard table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Identified archival leads not yet digitized: NHHC photo NH 81375 (a c. 1941 view of the vessel) and an under-construction photograph held by the Essex Shipbuilding Museum; BuShips/1st Naval District records of the 1940-41 acquisition and any conversion work; and the WSA/MC disposal case file - the most promising lead for closing the post-1946 fate, which a shipbuilding-history compilation records only as 'to MARAD 1946.'
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these files was examined; catalog.archives.gov record pages render as a JS application and could not be machine-read in session, and the MARAD vesselhistory search endpoint is admin-gated to automated fetch (HTTP 302 redirect on API path, re-checked 2026-09-29). The 'to MARAD 1946' datum is a secondary compilation, not a primary record. No asbestos content is expected or implied by these leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-kingbird-ix176-10