Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, Spectacle (AM-305) (builder, dates, full service narrative, damage, stripping, striking and sale; verbatim official text - live NHHC page returns 404; ibiblio/HyperWar transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Spectacle (AM-305)', specifications block + service narrative; NHHC canonical URL /research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/spectacle.html (404 on 2026-09-22)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 24 May 1943 by Associated Shipbuilders, Seattle, Wash.; launched 10 October 1943; commissioned 11 August 1944, Lt. G.B. Williams, USNR, in command. Shakedown 5-24 Sep 1944; West Coast Sonar School San Diego to 27 Oct; Pearl Harbor 5 Nov; San Francisco convoy screen 20 Nov; Hawaiian minesweeping/training 9 Dec 1944-21 Jan 1945. Sortied 22 Jan 1945 with TG 51.13 (Tractor Group Baker) for Iwo Jima; swept mines 16 Feb-7 Mar 1945, escort/patrol and shore bombardment; withdrew to Ulithi with Scurry (AM-304). Sailed 19 Mar with TG 52.4 (MineSweeper Group One) for Okinawa; sweeping/patrol from 25 Mar; 28 Apr whaleboat rescued 14 survivors of kamikaze-hit Pinkney (APH-2); sank small boats 4, 13, 14 May; strafed evening of 4 May. On 22 May near Ie Shima splashed a 'Betty' and at 0805 took a diving kamikaze under her port 40mm gun tub - extensive damage, rudder jammed, crew blown overboard; LSM-135 took survivors then was herself kamikaze-hit and burned; losses 11 killed, 4 died of wounds, 6 wounded, 14 missing. Towed to Ie Shima by 'Takesta' (transcription; fleet tug Tekesta, ATF-93); under starboard engine to Kerama Retto 25 May; temporary repairs by ARD-1; Saipan 14 Jun; Seattle 1 Aug; to Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Co. dock 2 Aug for battle-damage repairs - no work begun. Pacific Board of Inspection and Survey recommended scrapping 5 Sep; all material and equipment removed 6 Sep-18 Oct; decommissioned 19 Oct 1945; struck 5 Dec 1945; sold April 1947 to Northwest Merchandising Service for scrap. Two battle stars. Spec block: dp. 850; l. 184'6"; b. 33'; dr. 9'9"; s. 14.8 k.; cpl. 104; a. 1 3", 4 40mm.; cl. Admirable.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Associated Shipbuilders construction trades, Harbor Island, Seattle 1943-44; wartime crew (complement 104); ARD-1 repair crews, Kerama Retto May-Jun 1945; strip-out workers at PSB&D dock Sep-Oct 1945
- Limitations
- DANFS documents construction, service, battle damage, stripping, and disposition - not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page returns 404 (link rot consistent with Batch-01 findings); verbatim text via the ibiblio/HyperWar transcription. Launch (10 Oct) and commissioning (11 Aug 1944) dates conflict with NavSource/uboat.net registry-derived values (1 Oct / 11 Jun 1944) - DANFS carried, conflict documented in gaps. 'Takesta (ATF-93)' is a transcription artifact - ATF-93 was USS Tekesta. Does not establish any asbestos condition aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-01
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[2]NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, Spectacle (AM 305) - compilation citing the Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 and a commanding-officer roster; NARA photo 19-LCM-AM305-1 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 11/02305, chronology + specifications block + commanding-officer roster; navsource.net mirror concurs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific registry compilation: launched 1 October 1943 (conflicts with DANFS's 10 October); commissioned 11 June 1944 (conflicts with DANFS's 11 August 1944); decommissioned 19 October 1945 at Seattle, WA; struck from the Naval Register 5 December 1945; sold for scrap April 1947 to Northwest Merchandising Service of Toledo, WA; 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists transfer to the War Shipping Administration in May 1947.' Propulsion: two 1,710-shp Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, National Supply Co. single-reduction gear, two shafts. Full-load displacement 945 t.; speed 14.8 kts.; complement 104. CO roster: LT Gordon Bullitt Williams, USNR (11 Jun 1944 - 19 Oct 1945). NARA photo reference 19-LCM-AM305-1.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Construction trades; crew; disposal/scrapping workforce 1945-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary document - values transcribe NVR/registry data but the underlying registers were not independently pulled. Its 1 Oct launch and 11 Jun 1944 commissioning dates conflict with the DANFS transcription (10 Oct / 11 Aug); both readings documented, conflict carried in gaps, not resolved. The NVR 1949 WSA-transfer note is consistent with the ship's documented sale for scrap. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-02
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[3]HistoryLink File 22852, 'Harbor Island (Seattle): Hub of World War II Shipwork' + shipbuildinghistory.com yard compilations (Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging; Lake Union Dry Dock) - builder-joint-venture identity and yard location [other_primary]
- Locator
- historylink.org/File/22852; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/lakeunion.htm (Associated Shipbuilders JV note); Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging compilations listing 14 Admirable-class minesweepers built at the yard
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder identity resolved: 'Associated Shipbuilders' was the wartime joint venture of Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Co. and Lake Union Dry Dock Co.; the venture built its larger minesweepers (the Admirable-class block incl. AM-302 through AM-311 and Auk-class hulls) in Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging's yard on Harbor Island, Elliott Bay, Seattle. This hull therefore was constructed in the PSB&D Harbor Island yard and - per DANFS - returned to 'the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company's dock' in August 1945 where all her material and equipment was removed 6 Sep-18 Oct 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- PSB&D/Associated Shipbuilders construction trades 1943-44; yard and strip-out workers Aug-Oct 1945
- Limitations
- Identifies the physical yard and the documented final strip-out location; contains no asbestos information. The joint-venture name 'Associated Shipbuilders' does not itself appear in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset; the physical yard (puget-sound-bridge-dredging) does. Whether any asbestos-containing material was present in the stripped equipment is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-03
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[4]DANFS specifications block (Admirable class; built 1943-44) + HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' class sheet for AM-305 ('Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.') + NavSource propulsion spec (2x Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesels) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar class sheet AM-305 (propulsion line 'Diesel-electric engines, twin screws, 1,800 h.p.'); DANFS spec block (construction era); NavSource spec block (Cooper Bessemer GSB-8)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/class inference: a steel-hulled Admirable-class minesweeper built 1943-44 under wartime Navy specifications would have carried period-standard asbestos applications - thermal insulation on machinery and exhaust uptakes, pipe and valve packing and gaskets, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and deck/joiner materials. As a diesel-driven hull (no boilers, no steam turbines), the classic boiler-lagging exposure pathway does not apply; the residual pathways are machinery/exhaust insulation, gaskets/packing, electrical materials, and accommodation fireproofing disturbed by maintenance, battle-damage repair, or strip-out.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Associated Shipbuilders construction trades 1943-44; crew 1944-45; ARD-1 repair and PSB&D strip-out workers 1945; scrapping workforce 1947
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-level material specification, survey, or shipyard work package was located for AM-305. The inference describes what was typical for the type and era, not what is proven aboard this hull; establishes neither presence nor absence of asbestos aboard, no quantities, and no individual exposure. NARA RG19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specs) and the BuShips/Inspection and Survey records for the 1945 battle-damage survey are the archival leads for upgrading this row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-04
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[5]Batch-1278 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live; ibiblio/HyperWar DANFS transcription; hazegray transcription; NavSource; CourtListener API v4 (blocked - daily quota exhausted); CourtListener web index (HTTP 403); web index litigation queries; NVR ship-detail lookup; shipyards.json cross-check; UNT/Lee College archival lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-spectacle-am305-01 through sl-uss-spectacle-am305-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government report, or published court opinion naming USS Spectacle (AM-305) was found in the public sources searched. Web-index litigation queries returned only law-firm marketing list pages (mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomahelp.org) naming the ship in generic minesweeper lists - non-qualifying, excluded per source rules. The CourtListener API sweep could not be executed - authenticated daily quota (2,800/day) exhausted, HTTP 429, ~10-hour reset - and the web interface returned HTTP 403, so the litigation picture is incomplete rather than affirmatively empty.
- 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 or of exposure; a 1943-44 steel warship is era-consistent with retained asbestos materials. The CourtListener gap is material; collision risk is moderate - 'spectacle' is a common noun appearing in opinion text (e.g., 'media spectacle'), so unfiltered name queries would need 'USS Spectacle'/'AM-305' precision strings. A docket-level sweep is still required before 'no litigation' can be asserted. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-05
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[6]UNT Portal to Texas History / Lee College Baytown Veteran Oral Histories: 'Oral History Interview with Paul F. Lemmon, August 16, 2002' (text ark:/67531/metapth845120; sound ark:/67531/metapth845275) - 1st Class Fireman, USN, served on USS Spectacle; NARA archival leads (deck logs; RG19 General Information Books; photo 19-LCM-AM305-1) [other_primary]
- Locator
- texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth845120 (transcript); metapth845275 (audio); NARA photo 19-LCM-AM305-1 per NavSource
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Named crew record confirms personnel served aboard this hull: Paul F. Lemmon, 1st Class Fireman, boarded USS Spectacle in October 1944, participated in minesweeping off Iwo Jima, and was wounded in action 17 February 1945 (shore fire during the sweep; evacuated through the task force flagship to Eniwetok, Hawaii, San Francisco/Oakland, and Corpus Christi; discharged 1946). He describes his duty as a fireman tending the anchor windlass (electric motor). Archival leads not yet pursued: NARA deck logs and war-damage/action reports for AM-305, RG19 General Information Books (per-vessel material specifications - the standard path to hull-level material specs for WWII construction), and NARA still photo 19-LCM-AM305-1.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-22
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service); leads open
- Population
- Wartime crew member (1st Class Fireman aboard Oct 1944 - Feb 1945)
- Limitations
- The oral history documents service and one machinery-adjacent duty only - it contains no asbestos, health, or materials information; oral-history recollection is imperfect (dates recalled loosely). NARA holdings are not digitized in the sources reviewed; retrieval not performed. None of these leads has been confirmed to contain asbestos-relevant material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-spectacle-am305-06