USS Charlottesville (PF-25)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]research packet 977-packet.md [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-charlottesville-pf25-pkt-977-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, Charlottesville (PF-25), Vol. II p. 84 (verbatim transcription via hazegray.org, Wayback capture 2025-05-28 - live hazegray.org DNS fails SERVFAIL; live NHHC page history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/charlottesville.html returns 404) [archived copy cited in place of dead live source] [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS entry, specification block + full service narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull: launched 30 July 1943 by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wis., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Gleason, wife of the mayor of Charlottesville; commissioned 10 April 1944, Lieutenant W. F. Cass, USCG, in command. Departed New York 18 August 1944, arrived Finschhafen, New Guinea, 29 September via Bora Bora; convoy escort and antisubmarine patrol between New Guinea and the Philippines until 6 March 1945, then departed Leyte for Seattle, 'arriving 15 June.' Following training of Russian personnel, decommissioned 12 July 1945 and transferred to the U.S.S.R. the next day under lend-lease. Returned to U.S. custody 17 October 1949 at Yokosuka; lent to Japan 14 January 1953 and renamed Matsu. Two battle stars for World War II. Spec block: displacement 1,430 t; length transcribed '393'11"' (typo for 303'11" - NavSource and Russell agree on ~304 ft); beam 37'6"; draft 13'8"; 20 k.; complement 190; three 3-inch guns; class Tacoma.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1953

   Population

   Walter Butler construction trades, Superior WI 1943; U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-45 (complement 190)

   Limitations

   DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The 'arriving 15 June' Seattle arrival is internally inconsistent with Russell's documented Cold Bay arrival of 14 June 1945 - carried in gaps. The 13 July transfer date conflicts with Russell's appendix date of 12 July - carried in gaps. Transcription cited because both the live NHHC page (404) and live hazegray.org (DNS SERVFAIL) are unreachable.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-01

3. [3]NavSource Online, Frigate Photo Archive, 'Charlottesville (PF 25)' (timeline, specifications, commanding officers) - verified live 2026-10-04 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource page 12/08025 - timeline block, specifications block, commanding-officers table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline for this hull: authorized as patrol gunboat PG-133; reclassified patrol frigate PF-25, 15 April 1943; laid down 12 May 1943 under Maritime Commission contract at Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wis.; launched 30 July 1943; commissioned USS Charlottesville (PF-25) 10 April 1944; decommissioned 12 July 1945 at Cold Harbor, Alaska; transferred under lend-lease 13 July 1945 to the Soviet Union, reclassified EK-1; assigned to the Pacific Fleet 23 July 1945; 'participated in the landing at Seisin, Japan 15 August 1945'; returned to U.S. custody 17 October 1949 at Yokosuka and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; loaned to Japan 14 January 1953 and named Matsu (PF 286); reclassified auxiliary service craft YAS-36, 31 March 1966; decommissioned 31 March 1969; returned to U.S. custody 12 July 1972; fate unknown. Specifications: 1,430 t, 303'11" oa, 37'6" beam, 13'8" draft, 20.3 kts, complement 190; two 3"/50 dual-purpose mounts (after mount later landed for a weather-balloon hangar), two twin 40mm, nine 20mm, one Hedgehog, eight Y-gun, two depth-charge tracks; two 3-drum express boilers, two 5,500-ihp J. Hendy Iron Works vertical triple-expansion steam engines, two shafts. Call sign NZVF. COs: LT W. F. Cass, USCG (10 Apr 1944); LCDR B. D. Shoemaker, Jr., USCGR (1945-12 Jul 1945).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1972

   Population

   U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-45 (complement 190); Soviet crew 1945-49; JMSDF crew 1953-69

   Limitations

   NavSource is the standard non-government photographic/reference archive for this class - reliable for dates and spec lineage but not an official record; contains no materials or asbestos information. 'Seisin' is the Japanese-era name for Chongjin, Korea - NavSource's 'Japan' label is loose geography. Transfer date 13 July conflicts with Russell's 12 July (see gaps). The PF-6 pennant that secondary sources assign to Matsu before the 1957 renumbering to PF-286 is not shown (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-02

4. [4]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,' Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, 1997 (The U.S. Navy in the Modern World series, no. 4; ISBN 0-945274-35-1) - official U.S. Navy historical study based on NARA record groups and Soviet archives [other_primary]

   Locator

   Russell, Project Hula (NHC 1997): p. 25 (Kodiak departure, Cold Bay arrival), p. 27 (Coronado transfer typified the process), appendix p. 39 (EK-1 designation, 12 Jul. transfer date, 1949-returned disposition)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official Navy historical study naming this hull: Charlottesville (PF 25) joined the nine-frigate column that departed Kodiak on 13 June 1945 and arrived at Cold Bay on 14 June 1945, where the ships were turned over to the Project Hula detachment (p. 25). Appendix (p. 39) lists 'Charlottesville (PF 25) -> EK-1' - EK designating a storozhevoi korabl (escort vessel) per Russell's designation table - with transfer date 12 July 1945 and disposition '1949-returned', dating the transfer simultaneous with U.S. decommissioning rather than DANFS's next-day (13 July) reading, consistent with Russell's account of simultaneous decommission/transfer/Soviet commissioning. 'Three days later, the first ten frigates stood out of Cold Bay, formed the sixth USSR-bound convoy, and set course for Petropavlovsk' (i.e., 15 July 1945). Context: the Soviet 10th Frigate Division trained at Cold Bay; of 149 vessels received there the Soviet navy returned 27 frigates; Hula ships participated in Soviet operations against Japanese forces in northern Korea. Russell's class description (sidebar, pp. 22-24) documents that Gibbs & Cox modified the British River-class corvette design for Maritime Commission mass production, that the Navy passed manning responsibility for the frigates to the U.S. Coast Guard, and that the class's triple-expansion reciprocating engines suffered chronic problems.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1945-1949

   Population

   U.S. Coast Guard crew and Soviet 10th Frigate Division trainees, Cold Bay, June-July 1945

   Limitations

   Ship-specific for the transfer chronology (hull named at pp. 25 and 39) but silent on materials and asbestos. The 'Seisin landing' hull-specific claim is NavSource's, not Russell's - Russell documents northern-Korea operations at program level. Simultaneous-transfer reading is Russell's interpretive framework; DANFS/NavSource's 13 July is carried as a documented conflict, not resolved by fiat.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-03

5. [5]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (Tacoma class, T. S2-S2-AQ1, steam plant); NavSource specifications (two 3-drum express boilers, two J. Hendy vertical triple-expansion engines, two shafts); Russell Project Hula class description (MC River-class-derived frigate mass-produced 1943-45); shipyards.json (builder not listed) [other_primary]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications block; Russell class sidebar (Tacoma PF 3-class frigates)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/class inference: a Maritime Commission type T. S2-S2-AQ1 patrol frigate built 1943-44 with a reciprocating steam plant (two 3-drum express boilers; two 5,500-ihp vertical triple-expansion engines) would have carried period-standard asbestos applications typical of steam warships of the period - boiler and steam-drum insulation, steam-line lagging between machinery spaces, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and electrical insulation.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Population

   Walter Butler construction trades 1943; U.S. Coast Guard crew 1944-45

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - none of the cited sources names asbestos, and no ship-specific survey, manifest, or specification for this hull was located. Does not establish quantities, specific products, or present-day presence; the hull's post-1945 Soviet and Japanese service history is outside located documentation entirely.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-04

6. [6]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page (gao.gov blocks automated full-text fetch, HTTP 403 - standing limitation carried from Batch 01) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2

   Finding type

   regulatory

   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 (1943-44) and U.S. service era (1944-45).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   through early 1970s (policy period)

   Population

   Navy ships and shipyard workers, program-wide

   Limitations

   Program-level record - does not name this hull or this class; establishes the era policy environment, not ship-specific conditions. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov 403 to automated fetches); description taken from the product page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-05

7. [7]ShipbuildingHistory.com (T. Colton), 'Walter Butler Shipbuilders - Superior WI' yard production list - secondary reference, not an official record [other_primary]

   Locator

   Butler Superior yard table, row for yard hull 22 / PF-25

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Secondary yard-production list naming this hull: Butler Superior yard hull 22 = PF-25 Charlottesville, Maritime Commission hull 1436, WSA frigate contract, commissioned 10 April 1944; carried as 'to USSR 1945 as EK-1, to Japan 1953 ... scrapped 1972.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1943-1972

   Population

   Walter Butler Shipbuilders workforce, Superior WI

   Limitations

   Secondary reference - the same row misnames the JMSDF ship as 'Maki (PF-298)' (Maki was ex-USS Bath PF-55; Charlottesville was Matsu per NavSource), so the row's 'scrapped 1972' disposition is carried as an unverified claim against NavSource's 'fate unknown,' not as fact. Yard hull 22 and MC hull 1436 are plausible and consistent with the class build sequence but are not corroborated by an official source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-06

8. [8]Batch-8428 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription (Wayback); NavSource; Russell NHHC Project Hula PDF; NVR; NARA catalog; shipbuildinghistory yard list; CourtListener (paced-blocked); secondary web sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-charlottesville-pf25-01 through sl-uss-charlottesville-pf25-10

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Charlottesville (PF-25/PG-133/EK-1/Matsu/YAS-36) was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion-index searches completed: "USS Charlottesville" returned zero opinions and "PF-25" returned five opinions, all name collisions (no vessel involvement). CAVEAT: the two docket-index queries were pace-blocked at each attempt this session (fleet-wide budget) - the docket check is logged as blocked, not as a negative result.

   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 - a 1943-44 steam warship of this type is era-consistent with asbestos applications (see ev-04). Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. The docket-index gap means litigation naming this hull may exist in unsearched docket records.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-07

9. [9]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (digitization program page) + NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992' (series) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA deck-log program page; RG 24 series description

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Archival lead: this hull's U.S. Navy deck logs (April 1944 - July 1945) should exist in NARA RG 24 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992); the digitized-deck-log index does not confirm digitization for this hull, and the JS-rendered catalog could not be programmatically verified this session. NARA RG 19 General Information Books may hold per-vessel material specifications (standing lead from Batch 01).

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1944-1945 (record coverage)

   Limitations

   Lead only - the records' contents (including any material specifications bearing on insulation) are unexamined. Digitization status for the 1944-45 logs unverified.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-charlottesville-pf25-08