Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 893-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bluffton-pc461-pkt-893-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Bluffton I (PC-461) - construction, namesake, service narrative, spec block (Raymond A. Mann, 30 January 2006; published 25 June 2015) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: PC-461 laid down 10 July 1941 at Neponset, Mass., by George Lawley & Sons, Inc.; launched 23 December 1941; placed in commission at the Boston Navy Yard 19 March 1942. After fitting out and shakedown she served briefly with the Caribbean Sea Frontier (June-early July 1942), then reported 30 July 1942 to her permanent assignment with the Panama Sea Frontier: for over two years she escorted convoys between the Canal Zone and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and patrolled the approaches to the Panama Canal. Ordered 19 September 1944 to join the Pacific Fleet; reported 20 October to the Pacific Fleet Service Force; departed Panama 31 October via the Galapagos and Bora Bora, arriving Noumea, New Caledonia, 25 November. New Caledonia service until late December, then the southern Solomons; plied the waters around Guadalcanal through the end of April 1945. Departed 1 May for the central Pacific; arrived Tarawa 13 May; escort missions between Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, and Iwo Jima through the end of WWII. Returned via Pearl Harbor to San Diego (remainder of 1945); departed San Diego 21 December, arrived Key West 3 January 1946 (Service Force, Atlantic Fleet); joined the 16th Fleet at Green Cove Springs 8 February 1946 for 'some unspecified variety of active service' with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Placed out of commission, in reserve, 15 August 1946, berthed at Green Cove Springs. Named Bluffton 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy list 5 September 1957; sold to Ships & Power, Inc., of Miami, Fla., 5 August 1958. Spec block: dp. 280; l. 173'8"; b. 23'0"; dr. 10'10"; s. 20.2 k.; cpl. 65; a. 2 3", 2 20mm., 2 .50-cal. mg., 2 .30-cal. mg., 2 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. PC-461. Namesake: a city in northeastern Indiana about 25 miles south of Fort Wayne.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1958
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1941-42); wartime and postwar crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; DANFS documents service and milestones, not materials or asbestos content. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03. Displacement (280 t) and 3"-gun count (2) in the DANFS spec block conflict with NavSource/PCSA figures - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Bluffton (PC 461) ex-PC-461 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, NARA-captioned photography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010461.htm header block, specifications block, photo captions, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull concurs with DANFS on every milestone: laid down 10 July 1941 by George Lawley and Sons, Inc., Neponset, MA; launched 23 December 1941; commissioned USS PC-461 19 March 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA; decommissioned 15 August 1946 and laid up in the Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, FL (Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as of January 1947); named Bluffton 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 5 September 1957; sold 5 August 1958 to Ships and Power Inc. of Miami, FL for $72,000.00; fate unknown. Page photography adds ship-specific documentation: launch caption notes PC-461 was 'the first of this new type of steel constructed vessel to be launched in New England,' sponsored by Mrs. Everett Paradise, 'recent bride of a Lawley workman' (AP Wirephoto); National Archives photo 80-G-K-426 shows her underway in 1942; a 1 October 1942 photo places her at the Submarine Chaser Training Center, Miami, FL. Commanding officers listed: LT Thomas Albert Peacock, USNR (19 March 1942); LTJG Charles E. Camper, USNR (1945); LT William C. Schulenberg, Jr., USNR (dates not given). Call sign Nan-Able-Dog-Mike. Specs: 450 t; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; cpl. 65; one 3"/50 DP mount, two 20mm, two .50-cal, two .30-cal, two depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; two 1,440-bhp Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8 diesels (serial nos. 832219, 832220), Westinghouse single-reduction gear, two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1958
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1941-42); crew incl. SCTC Miami period (1942-46); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-58)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones here concur with DANFS. Displacement (450 t, presumably full load) and main-battery count (one 3"/50) conflict with the DANFS spec block - carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content; the 1958 sale predates modern ACM-handling regulation and no material record for the vessel's commercial fate was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-02
-
[4]NARA file unit 'PC-461, 3/19/42-8/15/46', NAID 192296003 (Container ID: Roll 5729) - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel); 339 images digitized via Ancestry-NARA collaboration [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/192296003 (file-unit page; RG 24, series NAID 594996, roll 5729)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized ship-specific personnel record: PC-461's muster rolls span her entire commissioned life, 19 March 1942 - 15 August 1946, on microfilm roll 5729 (339 page-images, unrestricted, NARA College Park). The muster rolls document by name the crew population aboard this hull across the full exposure era - the population frame for any future exposure-window or service-verification claim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- PC-461 ship's company, 1942-1946 (roster documentation)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: muster rolls document crew rosters, not materials or conditions aboard. No asbestos content; does not establish exposure, ACM presence, or any individual's duties. Images are digitized but untranscribed (0 of 339); contents not reviewed this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-03
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[5]Mystic Seaport Museum, Lawley Family Collection (Coll. 279) - George Lawley and Son business papers including vessel records, cost sheets, and scantlings for the Neponset yard [other_primary]
- Locator
- research.mysticseaport.org/coll/coll279 (collection description)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder's surviving records are an open archival lead for hull-level material specifications: the Lawley Family Collection holds George Lawley and Son business papers including vessel records, cost sheets, scantlings, owners, wage information, lists, and time sheets for the South Boston, Neponset, and Quincy yards - the era-and-yard archive most likely to contain a material list or subcontractor specifications for PC-461's construction. Collection verified live 2026-10-03.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- yard records, 1860s-1940s
- Population
- Lawley yard workforce records (era)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: collection-level description verified; PC-461-specific contents (if any) not established - no vessel-level finding aid was located. Builder documentation, not a hull record; establishes nothing about asbestos aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel PC-461 class); NavSource specifications (Fairbanks-Morse diesels, Westinghouse gear, 2 shafts); Patrol Craft Sailors Association class data (173-ft steel-hull PC-461 class; 284 t; 5 officers + 60 enlisted; 421 ordered / 361 delivered incl. 59 conversions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; ww2pcsa.org/patrol-craft.html class data table
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2); era-standard applications aboard a small diesel patrol craft of this period were engine and exhaust lagging, thermal insulation in machinery and accommodation spaces, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and fireproofing/deck coverings in the confined hull volume. As a diesel-powered vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but the small-ship confined-space exposure dynamic applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1958
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-46); yard/base trades during availabilities
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-461; the Lawley collection (ev-04) is the open lead. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-05
-
[7]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 entire construction (1941-42) and service era (1942-46), reserve-fleet period, and 1958 disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-06
-
[8]Batch-7836 search ledger (this record): live DANFS entry; NavSource 12/010461; NARA RG 24 muster-roll file unit NAID 192296003 + war-diary sweep; Mystic Seaport Lawley collection lead; PCSA class data; GAO product page; NVR check; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bluffton-pc461-01 through sl-uss-bluffton-pc461-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS PC-461 / Bluffton was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion-index search for the exact name "USS Bluffton" returned zero hits (verified 2026-10-03); the three remaining base queries (exact-name docket, hull-number opinion, hull-number docket) could not be completed - the fleet-wide request pacer was exhausted across the session (logged blocked, not negative). The modern Naval Vessel Register excludes ships disposed before 1987, so no NVR entry exists. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; 'PC-461'-named hits are class-designation or sibling-hull references, not this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull survives documentation-poor after a 1958 commercial sale with fate unknown, and crew exposure claims would rest on the era inference plus muster-roll population frame, not on any ship-specific finding. Litigation coverage is partial: opinion index verified zero for the exact name, but the docket index and hull-number queries are an open gap (blocked, not searched). Deck logs (RG 24) and Lawley build records are undigitized or unexamined leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bluffton-pc461-07