The USS Vigor (AM-473/MSO-473) was an Agile-class minesweeper laid down in 1952, launched in 1953, and commissioned in 1954. After shakedown training in 1955, the ship was redesignated MSO-473. Following refresher training, she served as a training ship and joined Operation Springboard. In 1956, the vessel made her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, touching at the usual 6th Fleet ports of call along the Mediterranean coast. Until late 1957, the minesweeper served at the Naval Mine Defense Laboratory in Panama City, supporting experimental projects with Mine Division 85. Over the next 14 years, she conducted testing operations, deployed five times to the Mediterranean with the United States Sixth Fleet, and patrolled near Cuba and Haiti during the Cuban Missile Crisis, operating with the 6th Fleet for six months at a time. Each time she resumed normal duty after returning Stateside, only breaking routine for periodic overhauls at various locations. After a 15-month service period with the Mine Force, the USS Vigor was decommissioned and struck from the Register in 1972. Between the 1930s and early 1980s, Navy minesweepers extensively used asbestos, especially for insulation and fireproofing. By working in the ship’s confined and often poorly ventilated spaces, sailors aboard were at an elevated risk of asbestos exposure.
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