Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Turkey' II entry - hazegray.org transcription read via Internet Archive Wayback capture 2025-02-21 (hazegray.org unreachable and canonical NHHC small-craft page returns 404 on 2026-09-24) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray /danfs/mine/yms444.htm via Wayback 20250221042846 - full entry text incl. specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for Turkey II (Vol. VII small-craft format): 'The second Turkey was laid down as YMS-444 on 16 November 1943 at Kingston, N.Y., by C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Inc., launched on 20 July 1944, and commissioned on 26 December 1944, Lt. George H. H. Huey, USNR, in command.' Fitting out at New York; January 1945 shakedown to Little Creek, Va.; operated out of Tompkinsville, N.Y. from March 1945; departed New York 20 July 1945 via Miami and the Panama Canal, arriving Los Angeles 8 September 1945; postwar minesweeping out of Saipan and Eniwetok (October 1945), then Ryukyus and Japan sweeping in the Kyushu-Korea and Honshu areas into the new year; departed Kure 24 February 1946 for home via the Canal Zone and Charleston; decommissioned 30 August 1946 and remained in the 3d Naval District as a Naval Reserve training ship operating out of New York ports and on the Great Lakes; named Turkey and redesignated AMS-56 on 1 September 1947; placed in commission in reserve April 1950 and returned to active status 21 November [1950]; returned to the Atlantic March 1952, assigned Mine Forces Atlantic Fleet August 1952, four years of east-coast/Caribbean operations; reclassified MSC(O)-56 on 7 February 1955; arrived Charleston 9 November 1956 and decommissioned there 23 November 1956; departed 1 May 1957 via New York, Halifax, and Montreal, reporting to Commander 4th Naval District at Toledo, Ohio on 27 May 1957 as a Reserve training ship; transferred to the 1st Naval District in 1960 and operated out of Fall River, Mass., until September 1968 when replaced by Jacana (MSC-193); name struck from the Navy list as of October 1968; sold August 1969. Spec block: dp. 320; l. 136'; b. 24'6"; dr. 8' (mean); s. 14 k.; cpl. 33; a. 1 3", 2 20mm., 2 .50-cal. mg., 2 dct., 2 dcp.; cl. YMS-1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 33), C. Hiltebrant construction trades 1943-44, and Naval Reserve trainees 1946-1968
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history and the fullest narrative located for this hull, but it documents service history and specifications - no asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim. The entry leaves gaps the deck logs would fill (1947-50 Great Lakes detail, exact dates of the 1950 return to active status, and no account of the post-sale fate). The 'II' ordinal confirms a prior ship of the name (AM-13) - see correction row ev-06.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Turkey (MSC[O] 56)' page 11/05056 (volunteer-compiled archive keyed to Navy register data and official photos) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/05056.htm - ship data block, specifications, commanding-officer list, photo captions incl. NISMF Philadelphia 1969-01-20 sales-catalog images
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive entry 'Turkey (MSC[O] 56) ex-AMS-56 ex-YMS-444': call sign November-Charlie-Papa-Bravo; laid down 16 November 1943 by C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Kingston NY; launched 20 July 1944; completed 21 December 1944; commissioned USS YMS-444 26 December 1944; decommissioned 30 August 1946; named Turkey and reclassified Motor Minesweeper AMS-56 1 September 1947, placed in service as Naval Reserve training vessel, 3rd Naval District (New York); placed in commission in reserve April 1950; reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Old) MSC(O)-56 7 February 1955; decommissioned 23 November 1956 at Charleston SC; struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1968; sold August 1969; fate unknown. Spec block: 270 t; 136' x 24'6" x 8'; 14 kts; complement 33; one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm, two .50 cal MG, two depth-charge tracks, two depth-charge projectors; two 880 bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow & Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding-officer list: LT George H. H. Huey USNR (from 26 December 1944); Chief Boatswain George Smith USN (1950-June 1951); LT John Ernest Balogh USN (June 1951-April 1952); LT Willis M. Watkins Jr. USNR (April-15 December 1952); LT William Thomas Sanders Jr. USN (15 December 1952-). Photo captions document the hull at Charleston c.1946, underway c. October 1966 'little changed from her original configuration' except gun removal and newer radar, in U.S. Naval Reserve Mine Division 22 at Providence RI c.1965 with Falcon (MSC-190), Turkey, and Siskin (MSC[O]-58), and berthed 20 January 1969 at the U.S. Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF), Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, in a nest with six sister MSC(O)s incl. Reedbird (MSC[O]-51) and Lorikeet (MSC[O]-49) - official Navy photos taken by the shipyard for the sales catalog.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1943-1969
- Population
- Ship's company (complement 33) and Naval Reserve trainees, 3rd/4th/1st Naval Districts (1946-1968); NISMF maintenance personnel (1968-69)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive, not an official record - used for construction dates, designation history, NR assignments, CO roster, and photo-caption detail; key dates agree with DANFS. Ship-page displacement (270 t) differs from the DANFS spec block and NavSource's own class index (320 t); logged in gaps. The NISMF Philadelphia caption is ship-specific documentation of the hull awaiting disposal in January 1969 - the last documented location before the August 1969 sale. Contains no asbestos information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-02
-
[3]National Archives Catalog, file unit 'YMS-444, 12/26/44-8/1/46', NAID 193177030 (series: Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/proxy/records/search q="YMS-444" - first-ranked file unit; microfilm container 'Roll 9218'; digitalObjects JPG set via Ancestry partnership
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives Catalog file unit 'YMS-444, 12/26/44-8/1/46' (NAID 193177030) - the ship's wartime deck logs as a single archival unit, held by NARA College Park (Textual Reference), preservation microfilm Roll 9218, with Ancestry-partnership JPG scans attached to the catalog record (unrestricted). Coverage runs from commissioning (26 Dec 1944) through 1 August 1946 - the vessel's entire YMS-444 active-service period including the postwar Pacific minesweeping deployment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company Dec 1944-Aug 1946
- Limitations
- Archival record establishes continuous commissioned service Dec 1944-Aug 1946 and is the retrieval path for stations, operations, and personnel - but the log pages were not read. Deck logs record operational events, not materials - no asbestos content expected or asserted. Scan completeness/legibility unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-03
-
[4]National Archives Catalog, file unit 'Activity Number 0204 0056 - TURKEY (YMS-444 / AMS-56 / MSCO-56) - 1952', NAID 99924208 (series: Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities / Navy_Muster_Rolls_post1949 microfilm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/proxy/records/search q="YMS-444" - activity file unit; Fold3-partnership images dated 1951 (e.g., 27-JUN-1951 roster naming ~28 crew)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives Catalog file unit 'Activity Number 0204 0056 - TURKEY (YMS-444 / AMS-56 / MSCO-56) - 1952' (NAID 99924208) - a post-1949 Navy muster-rolls file unit whose title consolidates all three of this hull's designations, with Fold3-partnership scans attached; the indexed page images are dated January-June 1951 (quarterly/monthly muster sheets naming individual crew members and rates). The catalog title authoritatively ties YMS-444 = AMS-56 = MSCO-56 to one hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1951-1952
- Population
- Ship's company 1951-1952 (named individual crew on the muster images)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level identification plus indexed muster-roll page images: the title's '1952' vs. the images' 1951 dates is a minor catalog-spread artifact (the unit spans adjacent quarters). Muster rolls are the authoritative source for who served aboard in 1951 - relevant to any future individual-exposure reconstruction - but record personnel, not materials. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-04
-
[5]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online), Turkey entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov navy-online page, 'T' section, Turkey (AMS/MSC/MSCO-56/YMS-444) panel - monthly catalog links 1956, 1960-1968
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's curated 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' page lists 'Turkey (AMS/MSC/MSCO-56/YMS-444)' with commission December 1944 / decommission August 1946 / recommission April 1950 / decommission November 1956, and links fully digitized monthly deck-log file units for January-November 1956 (e.g., NAID 210790396) and May 1960 through September 1968 (e.g., NAID 220201334 for January 1968, NAID 215339099 for September 1968) - the Naval Reserve training era out of Toledo and Fall River, ending the month she was replaced by Jacana.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1956-1968
- Population
- NR training crews and ship's company 1956-1968
- Limitations
- Confirms digitized deck-log coverage for the NR training years (1956; 1960-09/1968) - the retrieval path for station and underway detail; the wartime logs sit in the separate file unit NAID 193177030. Deck logs document operations and locations, not materials - no asbestos content expected or asserted. Coverage gap 1946-1950 and 1957-04/1960 on this list is unexplained (logs may exist unfilmed or under other units).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-05
-
[6]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, 'Turkey (AT[O] 143) ex-AT-143 ex-AM-13 ex-Minesweeper No. 13' page 11/02013 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/02013.htm - ship data block and specifications for Turkey I
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision control: the FIRST USS Turkey was AM-13 - a Lapwing-class minesweeper laid down 19 August 1917 at Chester Shipbuilding Co., Chester PA; launched 30 April 1918; commissioned USS Turkey, Minesweeper No. 13, on 13 December 1918; designated AM-13 17 February 1920; decommissioned 12 April 1922; recommissioned 15 August 1938; reclassified ocean tug AT-143 on 1 June 1942 and AT(O)-143 on 15 May 1944; decommissioned 6 November 1945; struck 28 November 1945; sold for scrap 30 December 1946. Critically, AM-13 had a STEAM plant (two Babcock & Wilcox boilers, triple-expansion reciprocating engine) - the classic high-asbestos configuration - while this hull (AMS-56) is all-diesel. Any 'USS Turkey' reference in litigation, exposure lists, or archival catalogs must be filtered on hull number and era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1917-1946 (other hull)
- Limitations
- Documents a different hull to prevent misattribution: bare-name 'USS Turkey' hits spanning 1918-1945 belong to the steam-powered AM-13/AT-143, not this diesel YMS hull (which did not carry the name until 1947-09-01). The two hulls' asbestos envelopes differ substantially (steam vs. diesel). No asbestos content asserted for either hull by this row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-06
-
[7]NavSource Auxiliary Minesweeper Photo Index (class specs: wooden-hulled YMS, GM 8-268A diesel, 880 shp, two shafts; single-stack variant YMS-135 to -445/480/481); Lt. j.g. USNR, 'Saga of a YMS,' U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 74/1/539 (Jan 1948) - class power-plant description [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/19idx.htm class data block and design narrative; usni.org Proceedings Jan 1948 article (class-level plant narrative)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference with narrowed scope: the YMS-1 class was a wooden-hulled, all-diesel design - per NavSource's class index, 561 hulls built to a common 136' Nevins design at 35 yacht yards (YMS-135 through -445, -480, -481 being the single-stack variant, so this hull is that subclass); per a serving officer's class description (USNI Proceedings, Jan 1948, 'Saga of a YMS'), the plant was two GM propulsion diesels plus a diesel generator set driving the magnetic-sweep circuit and auxiliary diesels - no boilers, no steam lines. For a 1943-44 naval craft of this configuration, era-typical asbestos applications were exhaust lagging on the diesel machinery, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, accommodation/galley outfitting, and winch/windlass brake linings - a narrower asbestos envelope than a steam vessel of the same era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1969 (hull); class built 1942-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., 1943-44); ship's company engineering/galley spaces
- Limitations
- Inference from documented class design and construction era - NOT a hull record, and neither source names asbestos: the NavSource and USNI texts establish the wooden hull and diesel machinery (which bounds plausible ACM locations), while asbestos content of those applications is era inference, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, remaining material, individual exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-07
-
[8]Franke, K., and Paustenbach, D., 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 2011; Corn, J.K., and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1987 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Peer-reviewed literature (same era-level scholarship cited in batch-10xx and batch-17xx records)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that the U.S. Navy used and had institutional knowledge of asbestos-containing shipboard materials across 1900-1970 - spanning this hull's entire 1944-1969 service period; WWII shipbuilding generally made extensive use of asbestos fireproofing and insulating materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1969 (hull service era)
- Population
- Navy shipboard personnel generally (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship; does not name this vessel, the YMS-1 class, or the C. Hiltebrant yard, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Notably, the heavy-use applications these works describe center on steam plants and fireproofing - a diesel wooden minesweeper sits at the low end of the era's asbestos envelope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-08
-
[9]Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU University Libraries), vessel registry record for YMS-444 / AMS-56 / MSC(O)-56 [other_primary]
- Locator
- greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/441083 - Registry/Rig, Dimensions, Vessel History, Disposition, Build Information, Vessel Names tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bowling Green State University's Historical Collections of the Great Lakes vessel registry entry for YMS-444: wood hull; 136' x 24.5' x 10'; built 1944 by Hiltebrant, C., Drydock Co., Kingston NY; 'Redesignated AMS 56 (USS TURKEY) on September 1, 1947. On Great Lakes in late 1940's with U.S. Naval Reserve. Redesignated MSC(0) 56 (USS TURKEY) on February 7, 1955.'; 'Stricken from Navy List on October 1, 1968, and sold.' Registry dates the Great Lakes NR assignment to the late 1940s - corroborating DANFS's 'New York ports and on the Great Lakes' for 1946-1952.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1968
- Population
- Naval Reserve trainees on the Great Lakes, late 1940s (and Toledo 1957-60 per DANFS)
- Limitations
- University maritime-archive registry record - authoritative for Great Lakes presence and consistent with DANFS/NavSource on designations and the 1968-10-01 strike; gives no commissioning/decommissioning dates and no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-09
-
[10]Fillmore, A., 'WWII vet recalls time aboard YMS-444,' Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, FL), 2014-10-06 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ocala.com article body - veteran profile and quoted DANFS passages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press account of a named crew member aboard this hull: Ocala Star-Banner (2014-10-06) profiles WWII veteran Elwood Vick Jr., who enlisted in 1944, trained at Bremerton, and was 'assigned to the minesweeper YMS 444'; the article quotes the DANFS operational narrative and recounts Vick's work setting up radar stations on U.S. ships off Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the August 1945 atomic bombings, and the ship's June 1946 return to New York. Documents individual crew presence aboard this hull during the postwar Japan minesweeping period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service); 2014 (article)
- Population
- Ship's company 1945-46 (named individual: Elwood Vick Jr.)
- Limitations
- Human-interest press account: establishes a named sailor's service aboard YMS-444 (1944-46 window) and corroborates the DANFS narrative it quotes, but recollections are unsworn and the ship's '160 feet' remark is a memory error (actual 136'). No asbestos, materials, or exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-10
-
[11]Naval Marine Archive / shipbuildinghistory yard table 'Hiltebrant Dry Dock, Kingston NY' (Colton-derived small-shipyard build list); shipbuildinghistory.com 'Minesweepers MSO MSC MSI MHC MCM Post-War' table row AMS-56 [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/small/hiltebrant.html - YMS-444 row; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/minesweepers3.htm - AMS-56 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder history from the shipbuilding-history yard table: C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Company, Kingston NY (on Rondout Creek; in operation since WWI and 'still building minesweepers in the 1950s'), delivered YMS-444 on 21 December 1944 (278 t) - 'Reclassified 1947 as Turkey (AMS 56), sold private 1969.' The same yard built sisters YMS-442 (Plover AMS-33), YMS-443 (Redhead AMS-34), and YMS-445, plus MSO-430/431-class ocean minesweepers in the 1950s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Study period
- 1916-1960s (yard); hull built 1943-44
- Population
- C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock workforce (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Yard-level build list establishing the builder's identity, output, and the 21-Dec-1944 delivery date (which explains uboat.net's mislabeled 'commissioned 21 Dec 1944'). A small wooden-craft yard; not an Atlas shipyards.json entry - logged in gaps. No asbestos information in these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-11
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 24 (deck logs) record-group pages; NARA catalog file units described in ev-03/04/05 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA record-group guide pages; catalog file units NAID 193177030, 99924208, and the curated deck-log list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Additional archival leads (located, unretrieved): BuShips contract plans/specifications for the YMS-1 design and the Hiltebrant construction contract (RG 19, Records of the Bureau of Ships) - the most promising lead for any materials/insulation schedule; postwar disposition files (the August 1969 sale) would be in Naval Ship Systems Command/NAVSEA sale records and MARAD-adjacent disposal files; the NISMF Philadelphia sales-catalog photographs (NavSource, taken January 1969) imply a shipyard-generated sales package that may describe material condition.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-24
- Limitations
- Record-group and file mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-12
-
[13]Batch-1746 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion+docket sweeps across all aliases via authenticated helper; VA BVA index check; NavSource/DANFS/NARA surfaces [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-turkey-ams56-06 and sl-uss-turkey-ams56-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, insulation specification, hazmat disclosure, court finding, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Turkey / YMS-444 / AMS-56 / MSC(O)-56 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation sweep (authenticated CourtListener API v4, 2026-09-24): opinions - 'USS Turkey' 0, 'YMS-444' 0, 'AMS-56' 0, 'MSCO-56/MSC(O)-56/MSC-56' 3 (all name collisions - 'MSC' strings in a music-publishing case and a maritime limitation case, none naming this hull or involving asbestos), '"Turkey" minesweeper' 1 (Van Dorn v. M1 Support Services, Tex. App. 2020 - an MH-53E Sea Dragon minesweeping-helicopter crash case, a collision on 'minesweeper,' not this ship), '"Turkey" asbestos' 67 (all collisions on the bird/country - zero Navy, ship, vessel, or minesweeper references in any returned metadata); dockets - 'USS Turkey' 0, 'YMS-444' 0, 'AMS-56' 9 (all name collisions - 'AMS-56' as a document/exhibit/page string in unrelated civil and criminal dockets), 'MSCO-56/MSC(O)-56/MSC-56' 7 (all collisions - MSC Cruises, bankruptcy, and criminal dockets). VA BVA index check: no decision naming the vessel.
- 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 - a 1944 naval craft is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials in the applications described in ev-07, and her undocumented post-1969 disposition is an unknown disturbance phase. CourtListener coverage is indexed opinions and RECAP dockets - it does not exhaust state trial courts, settled/undocketed claims, or PACER-only dockets; absence here establishes only that no qualifying case is indexed under her names or hull numbers.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-turkey-ams56-13