Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 1006-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH (RE-SCOPE).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-pkt-1006-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Motor Gunboat/Patrol Gunboat Photo Archive, PGM-77 (PGM-71 class) - construction, transfer, specifications (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/11077.htm header block, PGM-71 class designation line, specifications block, DANFS-availability note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'Laid down as PGM-77 by Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, WI; Launched 14 May 1965; Delivered 14 January 1966, transferred under the Military Assistance Program to the Dominican Republic and named Betelgeuse (GC 102); Fate unknown.' Header note: 'PGM-77 was built for the Dominican Republic.' No commissioning, decommissioning, or striking date is listed - consistent with a built-for-transfer MAP hull that never entered US Navy commission. Specifications block: displacement 130 t.; length 101'; beam 22'; draft 6'8"; speed 18 kts.; armament one 40mm mount, two twin 20mm mounts, two .50 cal. machine guns (1980 refit: one 20mm mount and two .50 cal. machine guns); propulsion 'Two 975bhp MB820 Mercedes Benz diesel engines/eight 250bhp General Motors 6-71 diesel engines, two shafts' (1980: two 1,450 bhp D-348TA Caterpillar diesel engines). Page also confirms: 'There is no DANFS history available for PGM-77.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1965-1980 (spec refit note)
- Population
- Peterson Builders construction trades (c. 1964-66); Dominican Navy crew (1966-forward)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its dates generally track official records but the laid-down date is not given and the transfer/disposal detail ends at 'Fate unknown.' The propulsion spec carries an unresolved internal variant (two MB820 diesels versus eight GM 6-71s - likely alternate class fit, not both). Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live via firecrawl 2026-10-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton tradition), Peterson Builders construction list (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory Peterson yard list, '30 Motor Gunboats (PGM)' table, PGM-77 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Peterson Builders (Sturgeon Bay WI) yard list row: 'PGM-77 | Betelgeuse (GC-102) | Dom. Rep. | Patrol Gunboat | 130d | 100 | 2 Nov 1965' - i.e., 130-ton, 100-ft patrol gunboat built for the Dominican Republic Navy, delivered/completed 2 November 1965 per the yard-list convention. Sister MAP hulls in the same run include PGM-71 (Thailand T-11), PGM-72/73/74 (South Vietnam), PGM-75/76 (Ecuador), PGM-78 (Peru), PGM-79 (Thailand), PGM-80-83 (South Vietnam).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1965
- Population
- Peterson Builders construction trades (c. 1964-65)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-history compilation, not a primary registry; the 2 Nov 1965 date conflicts with NavSource's delivered date of 14 Jan 1966 (launch vs. delivery vs. transfer conventions may differ - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-02
-
[4]Armada de Republica Dominicana (official), 'Galeria de Excomandantes' - officer career records naming Guardacostas Betelgeuse GC-102 commands (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- armada.mil.do Galeria de Excomandantes - biographical entries at command-date entries for GC-102 Betelgeuse
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Dominican Navy's official ex-commanders gallery documents this hull in active commission across at least a decade: 'Comandante del Guardacostas "Betelgeuse" GC-102 el 27 de junio de 1974' (officer later Subsecretario de Estado de las Fuerzas Armadas 1987); 'Comandante del Guardacosta "Betelgeuse" GC-102 el 01 de febrero de 1983'; 'Comandante del Guardacostas "Betelgeuse" GC-102 el 10 de enero de 1986' (officer later Comandante General de la Armada 2011); plus one undated 'comandante ... Guardacostas "Betelgeuse" GC-102' entry in a fourth career list. ANOMALY: a fifth officer's bio lists 'Comandante del Guardacostas "Betelgeuse" GC-102 el 15 de julio de 1949' - 16 years before PGM-77 was launched - implying either an earlier Dominican namesake carrying the same name/pennant or a source date error (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1974-1986 (documented commands); anomaly entry 1949
- Population
- Dominican Navy commanding officers and crew (1974-1986 documented)
- Limitations
- Official but unofficial-history-format content (biographical gallery); establishes the hull in Dominican commission 1974-1986 minimum, not continuous employment, homeport, or maintenance records. The 1949 entry predates this hull and is flagged as anomaly/predecessor, not attributed to PGM-77. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-03
-
[5]Armada de Republica Dominicana (official), 'Armada de Republica Dominicana Incorpora Nuevo Buque a su Flota Naval' - 6 August 2020 commissioning of a NEW Guardacostas Betelgeuse GC-102 (verified live 2026-10-04); corroborating press: Naval News 2020-08-21 and Baird Maritime vessel review (reputable_press) [other_primary]
- Locator
- armada.mil.do news article, 2020-08-07 (event dated 06/08/2020); corroborating reputable press: Naval News 2020-08-21, Baird Maritime vessel review, Diario Libre
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Dominican Navy record that the name 'Betelgeuse' and pennant GC-102 were reassigned to a different hull: on 6 August 2020 at Base Naval Las Calderas, the Armada commissioned a new Guardacostas 'BETELGEUSE GC-102' - an 87-foot Metal Shark Boats patrol vessel (Defiant-85 class, Damen Stan Patrol 2606 design) with two Caterpillar engines, the first boat donated under the Near Coastal Patrol Vessel regional program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Southern Command (Foreign Military Financing). Baird Maritime's vessel review states the christening kept 'the Dominican tradition of naming the country's military vessels after constellations.' This confirms the ex-PGM-77 hull was out of service by 2020 and that the name/pennant lineage continues on a successor.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2020
- Population
- Dominican Navy (2020 commissioning)
- Limitations
- Documents the successor namesake, NOT the ex-PGM-77 hull - establishes only that the pennant was free to reuse by 2020, not when or how the original left service. Press/official-news source, not a disposal record. Additional bound from a secondary source (Wikipedia Dominican Navy fleet table, not authoritative): the ex-PGM-77 GC-102 does not appear in the current fleet list and was not among the guardacostas renovated 2003-05 - consistent with retirement before that window but not proven by it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-04
-
[6]Judith C. Erdheim, 'Market Time' (Department of the Navy, September 1975), Appendix A - Characteristics of VNN PCE and PGM (HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of official DoN publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Market Time (Dept of the Navy 1975) Appendix A figure A-2, via ibiblio HyperWar; history.state.gov FRUS 1955-57 vol VI d328/d330; SIPRI mirror of DSCA Historical Facts Book (DR row)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official US Navy documentation of the MAP gunboat type's characteristics: 'PGM (102 foot patrol motor gunboats)' - Appendix A figure A-2 lists the PGM as 100 feet length, 21 feet beam, 7 feet draft, 17 knots, crew of 1 officer + 14 crew, endurance 1,000 n.mi. at 12 knots, armament one 40mm single-mount Mk 3, two .50-caliber, two 20mm single-mount Mk 10 Mod 2. The PGM-39/59/71 family was purpose-designed for the Military Assistance Program from the USCG 95-foot Cape-class cutter design with a five-foot hull extension (steel hull, aluminum superstructure) - the same design family as PGM-77. Dominican MAP channel corroborated by US government records: FRUS 1955-57 documents the bilateral Military Assistance agreement with the Dominican Republic (signed 6 March 1953) and Dominican requests for patrol craft; the DSCA Historical Facts Book tabulates Dominican Republic MAP deliveries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1959-1970 (class build era); documentation 1975
- Population
- MAP PGM crews class-wide
- Limitations
- Class/type-level characteristics for the MAP PGM family as documented for Vietnamese Navy service - PGM-77 was built to the same class design for the Dominican Republic but the DoN table is not a hull-specific spec sheet. The Cape-class lineage and steel/aluminum construction rest partly on secondary class literature (Wikipedia class article, flagged needs-more-citations). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource PGM-77 spec block (diesel plant, 130t, 1965 build); DoN Market Time Appendix A class characteristics; ShipbuildingHistory Peterson yard record; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-substitution timeline (see ev-09); NIOSH/EPA yard records (ev-07, ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; Market Time App. A; shipyards.json product conventions (era terms)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 130-ton diesel-powered patrol gunboat built 1965-66 at a US yard sits inside the documented era of asbestos use in US naval/boat construction (Navy substitution began early 1970s). Era-standard small-craft applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging, thermal insulation on hot machinery and piping, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and brake/lining materials. As a diesel boat she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - but the small enclosed hull volume concentrates whatever lagging and gasket materials were installed. Dominican service era (1966-c.1986+) adds a maintenance-era exposure population about which nothing is documented.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1965-c.1990s (service envelope)
- Population
- Peterson Builders construction trades (c. 1964-66); Dominican Navy crew and maintenance personnel (1966-forward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, build specification, or work package located for PGM-77. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Dominican maintenance history is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-06
-
[8]NIOSH, 'Walk-through survey report, Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin' - Levine & Schott, Industry Wide Field Studies series, report dated 1979; survey 15 December 1978 (CDC Stacks record, full text not digitized) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC Stacks record cdc/233468 (NIOSH report description); PDF endpoint returns 'Notice of Missing Digital File' placeholder
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government occupational-health documentation exists for this hull's builder: NIOSH surveyed Peterson Builders Inc. (SIC-3731 ship building and repairing), Sturgeon Bay WI, on 15 December 1978 for its epidemiological study of painting trades; the yard employed approximately 731 workers in boat production, had no industrial hygiene program, used personal respirators with poor ventilation in paint areas, and was judged 'an excellent facility to study from an industrial hygiene standpoint.' Establishes the builder yard's occupational-exposure profile in the decade after this hull's construction.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1978-1979 (survey/report)
- Population
- Peterson Builders workforce, ~731 employees (1978)
- Limitations
- Yard-level record, not a hull record - and not an asbestos evaluation: the survey targeted paint materials; the NIOSHTIC-2/Stacks abstract makes no asbestos finding and the full text is NOT digitized (Stacks serves an index-record placeholder; confirmed 2026-10-04). Documents the builder's occupational environment, not materials aboard PGM-77.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-07
-
[9]US EPA Superfund Site Profile, PETERSON BUILDERS INC, 107 East Walnut Street, Sturgeon Bay WI 54325 (EPA ID WID096828975) (verified live 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA Cumulative site profile WID096828975; Door County Pulse Peterson Builders history coverage
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The former Peterson Builders shipyard site carries a federal environmental-track record: EPA Superfund profile (EPA ID WID096828975), NPL status 'Not on the NPL,' non-NPL status 'Deferred to RCRA (Subtitle C)' - i.e., site contamination concerns handled under hazardous-waste corrective-action authority rather than Superfund listing. Documents that the builder yard site warranted federal environmental tracking; shipyard closed January 1996 and the site is now Graham Park (local history reporting).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- ongoing site record (yard operated 1933-1996)
- Population
- Peterson Builders workforce; post-closure site users
- Limitations
- Yard-site environmental record, not a vessel or asbestos record - the EPA profile does not enumerate contaminants in the public summary view and does not mention asbestos. Shipyard-closure context from reputable local press (Door County Pulse). No bearing on materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's 1965-66 construction era. The MAP gunboat program used US commercial yards and US-design specifications, so the era framing applies to the build environment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - GAO fieldwork concerned Navy shipyards, not small commercial MAP contractors, and says nothing about Dominican service. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing limitation since 2026-09-14 batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py: base queries '"Betelgeuse"' (opinion) plus '"PGM-77"' (opinion), name-docket and hull-docket [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-11 (pending); batch report
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- PENDING - see search_ledger. CourtListener base queries for this hull could not be executed during the research session: the fleet-wide pacing budget (~58 req/hr shared across concurrent batch sessions against the 1,400/day account quota) was exhausted; helper returned 'budget momentarily spent' on each attempt. This is a blocked/open item, not a negative result. No other litigation repository surfaced a qualifying case naming PGM-77 or the Dominican Betelgeuse GC-102.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Litigation status of this hull is unresolved pending a successful CourtListener run - a Dominican Navy patrol boat that never entered US service is an unlikely asbestos-litigation subject, but the prediction is not a finding. Name-collision hazard when the query runs: 'Betelgeuse' also names two US Navy cargo ships (AK-28/AKA-11, AK-260) that are plausible asbestos-litigation subjects - every hit must be classified for hull identity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-10
-
[12]Batch-8633 search ledger (this record): NavSource PGM-77 page and PGM index; ShipbuildingHistory Peterson yard list; NHHC DANFS direct URL checks (404); hazegray DANFS patrol index; NVR hull lookup; Armada RD official site (news + ex-commander gallery + historia); DoN Market Time via HyperWar; NIOSH/CDC Stacks; EPA Superfund; DSCA/FRUS program records; Wikipedia class and Dominican Navy articles (secondary); globalsecurity DR equipment (secondary); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for PGM-77 / Betelgeuse GC-102: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, donation-condition disclosure, or litigation naming this hull was found in the public sources searched. The hull never entered US Navy commission (built-for-transfer MAP boat), so the usual USN record channels (deck logs, NVR, DANFS, yard availabilities) do not exist for it; Dominican Navy records are not publicly digitized. CAVEAT: CourtListener base queries remain pending - the litigation sweep is incomplete (ev-10).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1965-66 US commercial build era supports era-level inference only. Dominican Navy service records, any MAP transfer-condition documents, and the disposal record are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-11
-
[13]Identity cross-check: NavSource PGM-77 page ('built for the Dominican Republic'; transfer under MAP; named Betelgeuse GC 102); hazegray DANFS patrol index (DANFS entries exist only for commissioned/named USN gunboats PGM-84-89 - no PGM-77); NHHC DANFS direct URLs 404; batch hull-list entry 'USS Betelgeuse / PGM-77 / Motor Gunboat / PGM-59/71' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/11077.htm + 12/11idx.htm; hazegray danfs/patrol index; history.navy.mil 404 checks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the batch manifest styles this hull 'USS Betelgeuse' - a misnomer on two counts. (1) This hull was never commissioned in the US Navy: PGM-77 was a Military Assistance Program contract designation only, built by Peterson Builders for direct transfer to the Dominican Republic on delivery (14 Jan 1966 per NavSource), and never carried a USS prefix or USN crew. (2) The name 'Betelgeuse' is Dominican Navy-assigned - it is not the US Navy name for this hull. The name collides with two genuinely-USN ships (USS Betelgeuse AK-28/AKA-11, WWII attack cargo ship; USS Betelgeuse AK-260, 1952-1971 Greenville Victory-class cargo ship) and with at least one successor and possibly one predecessor Dominican namesake (see gaps on the 1949 command entry).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1965-1966 (attribution window)
- Limitations
- Corrects identity/prefix attribution, not a material or asbestos claim. The USN never-named status is confirmed indirectly (no DANFS entry, no NVR entry, NavSource 'built for the Dominican Republic'); a USN contract-delivery registry entry for PGM-77 was not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-betelgeuse-pgm77-12