Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]DANFS, 'Pinnacle (AM-274)' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (print-era text; live NHHC page not located for this hull - verbatim transcription verified via hazegray.org DANFS mirror, Wayback capture 2024-05-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray.org/danfs/mine/am274.htm via Wayback 20240526124901 - full narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry documents the hull's full U.S. service history: laid down by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Ala., 1 Feb 1943; launched 11 Sep 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Francis W. Osborn; commissioned 24 May 1944, Lt. Joseph B. Williams in command. After shakedown joined MinRon 11; sailed 24 Jul 1944 for the Mediterranean; Mers el-Kebir 10 Aug; southern France 20 Aug; first minesweeping off St. Tropez 27 Aug; with MinDiv 32 in Sep cleared a fire-support channel Cape Martin to Bordighera, Italy; worked under German shore batteries into late Oct without damage; Toulon 23 Oct, then Bizerte and Cagliari, Sardinia; swept Gulf of Cagliari 25 Nov 1944-10 Jan 1945 (one interruption, a Dec escort run to Palermo). With Catoctin (AGC-5) to Istanbul, arriving 25 Jan; entered the Black Sea 26 Jan sweeping ahead of the AGC; on to Sevastopol and Yalta, where she 'supplied guards for the Yalta Conference'; departed 13 Feb for Sicily repairs; resumed sweeping off Sardinia early Mar; Malta run late Mar; departed 31 Mar for Palermo, Oran, and the U.S. Norfolk 5 May 1945; west coast 5 Jul, San Pedro 26 Jul; mid-Aug Pearl Harbor, thence Marianas, Okinawa, Japan for minesweeping operation 'Skagway'; cleared East China Sea-Ryukyu lanes 27 Oct-9 Nov; Formosa and the Pescadores to 22 Dec; Shanghai; departed 21 Jan 1946; San Pedro 18 Mar 1946. West again Jul 1946; Subic Bay 14 Sep; decommissioned 9 Oct 1946 and 'remained in reserve there' until 15 Jun 1948 permanent transfer to the Nationalist Chinese Navy; struck from the U.S. Navy List 13 Jul 1948; renamed Yung-Hsiu (MSF-48); patrolled Taiwan coast and offshore islands into 1970. Two battle stars, WWII. Spec block: dp. 945 (f.); l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 15 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 4 40mm; cl. Admirable.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction workforce (1943-44); wartime complement ~104 across Atlantic/Mediterranean/Pacific service
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for identity, milestones, and operations; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content. Decommissioning location reads Subic Bay by narrative flow ('remained in reserve there' after Subic arrival) but secondary sources say Sasebo - conflict carried, not resolved. Print-era text ends its Chinese-service coverage at 'into 1970'; the July 1972 ROC striking comes from NavSource. Live NHHC URL for this hull was not located; citation is the archived verbatim mirror.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pinnacle-am274-01
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[2]NavSource Online, Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - Pinnacle (AM 274) page (live navsource.org unreachable 2026-09-22; verified via Wayback capture 2024-12-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.org/archives/11/02274.htm via Wayback 20241205060714 - spec block, CO table, yard note, photo credits (catalog.archives.gov)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive page for Pinnacle (AM 274) supplies the ship-specific machinery and outfitting spec block and post-USN disposition detail: two 855-shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single reduction gear, two shafts; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one twin 40mm mount, six 20mm mounts, one Hedgehog projector, four K-guns, two depth-charge tracks; decommissioned 9 Oct 1946 (NavSource states 'at Sasebo, Japan' - conflicting with the DANFS Subic Bay reading); transferred 15 Jun 1948 to the Nationalist Chinese Navy, renamed Yung Hsiu (MSF 48); decommissioned and struck from the Chinese naval list July 1972; fate unknown. Commanding-officer table: LT Joseph Barry Williams, USNR (24 May 1944 - 10 Nov 1945); LT Stanley Jaworski, USNR (10 Nov 1945 - 9 Oct 1946). Yard history note: Chickasaw Shipbuilding established by U.S. Steel Aug 1917, closed after WWI, reopened 1940 by Waterman Steamship Corp. as Gulf Shipbuilding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Crew (104 complement); ROC Navy crews 1948-1972
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival photo/data site - secondary to DANFS but internally consistent with it on dates and agrees on machinery specifics DANFS omits. 'Sasebo' decommissioning claim conflicts with DANFS narrative flow; carried as a noted conflict, not adopted. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pinnacle-am274-02
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[3]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Asbestos: Information on the Navy's Program to Remove Asbestos-Containing Materials From Its Ships' (program-level documentation that Navy ships built before the early 1970s contain asbestos; gao.gov product-page description - full text returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) + DANFS spec block (build dates, class) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (description text); DANFS spec block via Wayback capture above
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: AM-274 was built and outfitted Feb 1943-May 1944 at Gulf Shipbuilding under wartime Navy contracts, squarely inside the period when asbestos-containing materials were standard in naval vessel construction - machinery gaskets and packing, exhaust and hot-surface insulation, electrical insulation, and interior fireproofing, joiner, and deck materials - and every insulation installation on this hull predates the Navy's early-1970s substitution of alternative insulation materials (GAO HRD-80-2 program-level finding). Her Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 geared-diesel plant carries no boiler or steam-line lagging of the kind dominating steam-ship asbestos inventories; era-consistent applications on a diesel minesweeper would be engine exhaust/muffler lagging, fuel- and cooling-system valve/flange gaskets, machinery packing, cable insulation, compartment insulation, and deck coverings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- Gulf Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-46); ROC Navy crews (1948-1972); unknown 1972 disposition workforce
- Limitations
- Program-level and class-era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or yard work package was located. The GAO finding establishes Navy-wide era practice, not this hull's inventory; the diesel plant materially narrows (does not eliminate) the plausible application set versus steam vessels. Does not establish quantity, location, present-day presence, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pinnacle-am274-03
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[4]Naval Historical Center / NHHC Online Library, 'Spring Styles Book #3 (1939-1944), Lot S-511 - Escort Vessel and Mine Vessel Preliminary Design Drawings' (S-511-34, 'Proposed Mine Sweeper - Design Study,' dated 2 May 1941) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/albums/s511-mp.htm - album commentary and drawing list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC Online Library's 'Spring Styles' Book #3 (1939-1944) album (Bureau of Ships preliminary design drawings, Lot S-511) documents the Admirable-class design lineage: a May 2, 1941 design study for a 750-ton, 180-foot minesweeper 'probably prepared during consideration of what became the Admirable (AM-136) class.' The class design was a mass-production simplification of the preceding Auk type, and AM-274 was one of the Gulf Shipbuilding-built units.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (design/production era)
- Limitations
- Documents the class's Navy design origin only; the album contains no materials or insulation schedules and names no individual hull. Provides design context, not ship-specific material evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pinnacle-am274-04
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[5]Batch-1247 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NavSource vessel pages; NHHC/NPS designation checks; CourtListener sweep (throttled - see ledger); indexed-web litigation substitute; NVR check; NARA catalog lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pinnacle-am274-01 through sl-uss-pinnacle-am274-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull insulation survey, abatement contract, donation-condition hazmat disclosure, court filing, or material schedule naming AM-274 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener 'USS Pinnacle' opinion search returned zero hits; the docket-level sweep was throttled (see ledger sl-03). The hull's 1948 foreign transfer places it outside NDRF/MARAD custody records and outside U.S. disposal-era survey regimes; ROC Navy records are not indexed in U.S. public sources.
- 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 - era-consistent construction makes ACM likely at class level, and the undocumented ROC refit/disposition phases close no questions. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, and establishes or defeats no claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation sweep is partially complete: the opinion index returned zero hits for 'USS Pinnacle'; the docket-level sweep was throttled and is excluded from this finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pinnacle-am274-05