Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Nightingale V (YMS-290)' entry (NHHC page published 2015-08-13) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full DANFS entry text. Live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-09-24 (standing NHHC link rot); text verified verbatim via Wayback capture 2021-02-26 (web.archive.org/web/20210226012609/.../nightingale-v.html) and the hazegray DANFS transcription (Wayback capture 2025-04-06, hazegray.org/danfs/mine/yms290.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry 'Nightingale V (YMS-290)' (full text): 'The fifth Nightingale was built by the Associated Shipbuilding Co., Seattle, Wash. as YMS-290; launched 27 February 1943; sponsored by Miss Suzanne Marion, granddaughter of A. F. Marion, General Manager of Lake Union Drydock and Machine Works; and commissioned 17 July 1943.' After shakedown and training in Puget Sound she departed for the western Pacific via Pearl Harbor; 'Throughout World War II she operated exclusively in the Pacific,' participating 'in the Gilbert Island operations 13 November through 8 December,' continuing minesweeping until the end of hostilities, then assigned to minesweeping in the Kobe-Fukuoka area of Japan. She reached Boston and was assigned to the 1st Naval District as a Naval Reserve training ship; 'Effective 1 September 1947 her classification was changed from YMS-290 to AMS-50.' She decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla. in March 1950; recommissioned February 1951 and served with the Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet out of Charleston, S.C. (services along the East Coast, Yorktown Va. to Panama City Fla.); homeport temporarily shifted to Panama City 1 January 1955 for services to the Navy's Mine Defense Laboratory; redesignated MSC(O)-50 on 7 February; 'She remained in an active status until 1 November 1959, when she decommissioned, was struck from the Navy List, and was sold for scrap.' DANFS spec line: 'YMS-290: dp. 270; l. 136'; b. 25'; dr. 8'; s. 13 k.; cpl. 26; a. 1 40mm., 4 20mm.; cl. YMS-1.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1959
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crew (DANFS complement 26; NavSource lists 32); Naval Reserve trainees, 1st Naval District (1947-1950); Mine Force crews (1951-1959)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy source establishing identity, construction (builder, launch, sponsorship, commissioning), the wartime Pacific/Gilbert Islands narrative, postwar Japan sweeping, the 1947-09-01 reclassification, the 1950/1951 reserve and recommissioning cycle, Charleston Mine Force service, the 1955 Mine Defense Laboratory assignment and MSC(O)-50 redesignation, and the 1959-11-01 strike/scrapping. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information whatsoever - supports no asbestos claim. The narrative uses the name 'Nightingale' anachronistically for the pre-1947 YMS-290 period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Nightingale (MSC[O] 50) ex-AMS-50 ex-YMS-290, navsource.net/archives/11/19290.htm; shipbuildinghistory (T. Colton) 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS and BYMS)' table (Wayback 2010-04-13 capture); uboat.net Allied Warships USS YMS-290 (ship 9712) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource hull page (specs, CO table, photo captions); shipbuildinghistory YMS/BYMS table row for YMS 290 (web.archive.org/web/20100413220221/shipbuildinghistory.com/history/smallships/yms.htm); uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9712.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry for Nightingale (MSC[O] 50) ex-AMS-50 ex-YMS-290: laid down 30 November 1942 by the Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, WA; launched 27 February 1943; delivered 14 June 1943; completed and commissioned USS YMS-290, 17 July 1943; named Nightingale, reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-50, 1 September 1947 and placed in service as a Naval Reserve training ship in the 1st Naval District (Boston); decommissioned March 1950 at Green Cove Springs, FL; recommissioned February 1951; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-50 7 February 1955; decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register and sold 1 November 1959; 'Fate unknown.' Call sign November-Golf-Victor-Quebec. Spec block: displacement 270 t., length 136', beam 24'6", draft 8', speed 15 kts., complement 32; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two 20mm mounts, two depth-charge projectors; propulsion two 800-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Photo record: NHHC photo NH 84974, USS YMS-290 in San Francisco Bay c. 1945 (courtesy Donald McPherson, 1976); launch-day photo of sponsor Suzanne Marion, 27 February 1943. Commanding-officer table: LT Mark Goedjen USNR (February-October 1951); LT Charles W. Knowlton USNR (October 1951-September 1952); LT Frank M. Powell Jr. USNR (September 1952-); LCDR James Ellis Baker Jr. USN (1955-November 1957); LCDR John Halvor McKay USN (November 1957-). Shipbuilding History (T. Colton compilation) 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS and BYMS)' table corroborates: 'YMS 290 | Associated Shipbuilders | Mk. II | 17-Jul-43 | Reclassified 1947 as Nightingale (AMS 50), struck 1959, disposition unknown.' uboat.net Allied Warships YMS-290 page adds 'Ordered 30 Mar 1942' and 'End service 1 Nov 1959'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (construction); 1943-1959 (service)
- Population
- Wartime and postwar crew (complement 26-32 per source); Naval Reserve trainees, 1st Naval District; named commanding officers 1951-1957
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation (NavSource) and reference compilations (shipbuildinghistory, uboat.net), not official records - corroborated against DANFS where they overlap (launch, commission, 1947-09-01 reclassification, 1955 MSC(O) date, 1959-11-01 strike/sale all agree). Sole consulted source for the laid-down and delivery dates, CO list, call sign, and the 1950 Green Cove Springs lay-up location detail beyond DANFS. Spec variances against DANFS's own spec block (beam 24'6" vs 25', speed 15 vs 13 kts, complement 32 vs 26, armament 3"/50 + 2x20mm vs 1x40mm + 4x20mm) and NavSource's 800-bhp rating vs 880 bhp on sibling-hull NavSource pages are carried in gaps. NavSource 'Fate unknown' is weaker than DANFS's 'sold for scrap' - DANFS carried. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-02
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[3]DANFS 'Nightingale I' (Vol. V pp. 89-91, hazegray sail transcription), 'Nightingale II (SP-523)' via NavSource 12/170523, 'Nightingale' III/IV per Atlas records uss-nightingale-amc18 (batch-1529) and uss-nightingale-amc149 (batch-1495); NavSource hull pages [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray DANFS sail transcription (losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/sail/nighting.htm); NavSource SP-523 page; batch-1495 and batch-1529 Atlas records in this collection
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-lineage disambiguation (five U.S. Navy Nightingales, five different hulls): DANFS and NavSource identify this vessel as 'the fifth Nightingale.' The first was the 1851 extreme clipper (built by Samuel Hanscomb Jr., Eliot, Maine) captured by USS Saratoga as a slaver off Cabinda in April 1861, purchased by the Navy and commissioned 18 August 1861, employed as a Civil War coal, store, and ordnance ship, sold 1865 (DANFS Vol. V pp. 89-91). The second was SP-523, a 46-foot motor pleasure boat built by C. W. Ferguson, Groton, Conn., acquired 11 June 1917, commissioned 29 June 1917, a 2nd Naval District patrol craft, sold 15 December 1919 (DANFS via NavSource archive 12/170523). The third was AMc-18, the converted purse seiner Majestic (1934, Al Larson Boat Building), later patrol craft YP-166 - Atlas record uss-nightingale-amc18. The fourth was AMc-149, the converted purse seiner Saint Francis (1940, Western Boat Building), redesignated IX-177 on 10 July 1944 - Atlas record uss-nightingale-amc149. The PRIMARY same-name candidate flagged in the batch brief (USS Nightingale IX-177, tier 2) is therefore a different hull - the fourth Nightingale - and not a duplicate of this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1851-1959 (name lineage)
- Limitations
- Disambiguation documentation only - establishes that the four earlier Nightingales (and specifically the IX-177/AMc-149 hull carried elsewhere in this database) are different vessels from AMS-50/ex-YMS-290, so litigation or exposure records under those designations do not attach to this hull. No materials or asbestos information is asserted for any of the five hulls by this row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-03
-
[4]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 by Ship Number (sl-44-ship-number.pdf); NARA 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' and 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' research pages [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 ship-number PDF, YMS-290 row ('7/17/1943 - 12/31/1945'); https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (digitized list, no YMS-290/Nightingale entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 ('List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947'), ship-number list, catalogs a single run of YMS-290 deck logs: 1943-07-17 to 1945-12-31 - the full wartime commissioned period from commissioning day through the end of 1945. These wartime logs are the definitive hull-specific primary source for the 1943-1945 period (Gilbert Islands operations, postwar Japan sweeping); postwar logs fall in the U.S. Navy Ship Deck Logs series, RG 24, Entry 118 (NAID 581208), at Archives II, College Park. YMS-290/Nightingale does not appear on NARA's 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' digitized-online list (checked 2026-09-24).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-07-17 to 1945-12-31 (cataloged wartime log run)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level confirmation that wartime deck logs for this hull exist in NARA custody - not a retrieved record: the log text was not pulled or reviewed. Deck logs record daily ship activity and would document operations and availabilities, not necessarily materials; retrieval is a lead, not a finding. Does not establish any asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-04
-
[5]shipbuildinghistory (T. Colton), 'Yard Minesweepers (YMS and BYMS)' program preamble and table ('561 wooden-hulled minesweepers ... all of essentially the same design'; YMS 290 row 'Mk. II') + NavSource YMS/BYMS class index (class spec block: GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory YMS program preamble and YMS-290 row (Wayback 2010-04-13 capture); NavSource class index https://www.navsource.net/archives/11/19idx.htm
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class-design documentation: the YMS-1 class comprised 561 wood-hulled auxiliary motor minesweepers built at 35 yacht yards to one design - 136 ft, ~270-320 tons, twin General Motors 8-268A diesel engines on two shafts - for coastal sweeping of acoustic and magnetic mines ('561 wooden-hulled minesweepers ... all of essentially the same design'; shipbuildinghistory's Mk. II designation for this hull is the single-stack variant, matching the 'YMS-135 subclass' naming used by secondary indexes). Because the class is wood-hulled and diesel-powered, the dominant WWII-era shipboard asbestos pathway (boiler and steam-line lagging insulation) does not apply to this design. Any asbestos aboard would be limited to era-typical small-craft applications (engine gaskets and packing, diesel exhaust insulation, electrical materials, winch/windlass brake linings); none of these is verified for the class or this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (class production era)
- Population
- Construction trades at Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle (1942-1943); crew (class context)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference works, not a hull record: they establish the class design (wood hull, diesel plant, no boilers or steam system) but contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement for the class and none for this hull. The absence of the steam-lagging pathway is a design-level inference from the documented machinery type; residual era-typical applications are possibilities only and are not established as installed, present, or absent aboard this hull. Does not establish individual exposure or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-05
-
[6]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and program under which this 1942-1943 naval vessel was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally, focused on production workers at major shipyards; does not name this vessel or class, does not address wood-hulled small-craft construction, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-06
-
[7]Batch-1740 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource hull and class pages; shipbuildinghistory yard/class tables; uboat.net; NARA Special List 44 and deck-log guidance; MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; CourtListener opinion/docket searches by name and hull number [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-nightingale-ams50-01 through sl-uss-nightingale-ams50-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat or demolition disclosure, litigation naming the hull, or official materials documentation was found for this vessel under any designation (YMS-290, Nightingale AMS-50, MSC(O)-50) in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage: 'YMS-290' 0 opinions/0 dockets; 'USS Nightingale' 0 opinions/0 dockets; 'Nightingale' + asbestos 28 opinion hits - all name collisions (insurance-defense attorney Stephen L. Nightingale across the D.D.C./appellate asbestos-coverage cluster; attorneys Beth A. Nightingale, Elana Nightingale Dawson, Hope G. Nightingale, and a 'Mr. Nightingale'; deponent Alice Nightingale; plaintiff Sean Nightingale; the Nightingale, Liles, Dennard & Jordan law firm; and Nightingale Group LLC); 'AMS-50' 1 opinion hit (Natural Resources Defense Council v. Raimondo, D.D.C. 2024 - 'AMS-50' is a fisheries-management identifier) and 18 docket hits, all name collisions on exhibit/form identifiers in unrelated civil, bankruptcy, and criminal dockets.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era-typical small-craft materials are unverified either way. The hull was sold for scrap in 1959, so no museum/hazmat disclosure was expected or found; disposal-point disturbance is undocumented beyond DANFS's 'sold for scrap.' Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-nightingale-ams50-07