Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 968-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: **VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-conneaut-pcs1444-pkt-968-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive - Conneaut (PCS 1444) ex-PCS-1444 ex-YMS-474 ex-PC-1444 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/071444.htm - designation/construction chronology block, specifications block, commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive page for this hull: 'Originally planned as PC-1444, but reclassified PCS-1444 in April 1943. Laid down 14 May 1943 by the Harbor Boatbuilding Co., Terminal Island, CA. Reclassified as an Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper, YMS-474, 7 October 1943. Launched 23 May 1944. Reclassified back to PCS-1444, 23 June 1944. Commissioned USS PCS-1444, 20 December 1944. Decommissioned in 1950. Named Conneaut 15 February 1956. Struck from the Navy Register 5 September 1957 and sold. Fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 270 t; length 136'; beam 24'6"; draft 8'7"; speed 14.1 kts; complement 57; armament one 3"/50 dual purpose mount, one 40mm mount, two 20mm mounts, four depth charge projectors, one hedgehog, two depth charge tracks; propulsion two 800bhp GM 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Queen-Zebra-Nan. Commanding officers: LT A. H. Morrison, USNR (1945); LT Robert Dunlap Pace, Jr., USN (March 1950). Page notes 'There is no DANFS history available for Conneaut (PCS 1444).' No photographs of this hull are on file.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1943-44); wartime crew (complement 57); any post-1950 training/reserve crews
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track Navy records but the 'decommissioned in 1950' line gives no month/day and does not state the ship's status afterward (crew accounts place sailors aboard 1953-57 - see ev-06). Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - supports no asbestos claim. The class-standard spec block may be boilerplate shared with sister pages rather than measured for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-01
-
[3]Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Navy Department, 'Composition of Task Forces - 1 March 1945' (declassified 1994; FDR Library Map Room Papers mr0683) [other_primary]
- Locator
- mr0683.pdf - Task Force 14 section, item 14.5 'Precommissioning School' sub-unit ship list (scanned typescript; OCR imperfect)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A declassified Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, 'Composition of Task Forces' memorandum dated 1 March 1945 (FDR Library Map Room Papers, NARA) lists 'PCS 1444' in the 'Precommissioning School' unit of Task Force 14 - the Pacific Fleet training organization whose sub-items include 'Precommissioning Training, Treasure Island' (Capt. Thornton) - alongside PCS 1397, 1399, 1400, 1401, 1441, 1442, 1445, 1446, and 1448. This is a contemporaneous ship-specific record placing this hull in school-craft (nucleus-crew training) service on the U.S. west coast within two and a half months of her 20 December 1944 commissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1945-03
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 57); precommissioning-school staff and nucleus-crew students training aboard
- Limitations
- Primary document, but a one-date organizational snapshot: it establishes PCS-1444's assignment to a Pacific training organization school unit on 1 March 1945 - not the full span or exact station of her school duty, and not combat service. The scanned page OCR is degraded; the school-ship list itself is legible. Establishes presence/assignment only - no asbestos, materials, or individual-exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Harbor Boat Building, Terminal Island CA' construction table - hull 184 row (PCS 1444/YMS 474) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Harbor Boat Building table, hull no. 184 row; yard history paragraph (page updated 23 December 2020); corroborated by the njscuba.net mirror
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton) yard table for Harbor Boat Building, Terminal Island CA records this hull as yard hull no. 184, 'PCS 1444/YMS 474', type 'Sub Chaser', 245 dwt, 136 ft, delivered 23 June 1944, disposition 'Sold 1956 as Conneaut, later Sioux City', and assigns U.S. official number 278744 - a merchant documentation number implying a documented post-Navy civilian identity. The same table records the yard's history: founded by Romolo Rados in 1919, later styled Harco, sold to LTV in 1959, to Omega-Alpha Inc. in 1971, closed in the 1970s.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1943-44); post-sale civilian owners/crews or scrapping workforce (1957-58+)
- Limitations
- Delivery date 23 June 1944 (not the 20 December 1944 commissioning) explains uboat.net's misdated 'commissioned 23 Jun 1944' entry. 'Sold 1956' cannot be right as stated - the ship remained on the Navy Register until 5 September 1957; the sale must postdate striking (1957-58). 'Later Sioux City' is ambiguous between a renamed civilian vessel and delivery to Western Contracting Corp. of Sioux City, Iowa (the firm that scrapped sister Rushville PCS-1380 on 29 April 1958) - unresolved and carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII - USS PCS-1444 (ship 9891) + commander page 14946; navypedia 'PCS submarine-chasers (PCS1376)' class table; uswarships.jounin.jp PCS table [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 9891 spec/command table; navypedia us_sc_pcs.htm row PCS1444; uswarships.jounin.jp/pcs.htm row PCS-1444
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating secondary registries: uboat.net Allied Warships records this hull as PCS-1376 class, built by Harbor Boat Building Co. (Terminal Island), ordered 16 November 1942, laid down 14 May 1943, launched 23 May 1944, stricken 5 September 1957, former name YMS-474, and lists LT A. H. Morrison, USNR as wartime commander (from 23 June 1944 to late 1945); navypedia prints 'PCS1444 / 2.1956- Conneaut / Harbor Boat, Terminal I / 5.1943 / 23.5.1944 / 12.1944 / stricken 9.1957'; uswarships.jounin.jp prints commissioned 1944/12/20, out of service 1950, stricken 1957/9/5, reclassified YMS-474 1943/10/7, reclassified back 1944/6/23, named Conneaut 1956/2/15, sold after striking.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Limitations
- Three independent secondary registries agreeing with NavSource on construction, designation, and disposal dates. uboat.net alone prints 'Commissioned 23 Jun 1944' - the delivery/reclassification-back date, not the commissioning - carried as a correction in ev-09. The 'ordered 16 November 1942' date is uboat-only. Secondary registries, not primary records; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-04
-
[6]NavSource PCS-1445 photo captions quoting Norman Friedman, U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History (sister sound-school conversion); Wikipedia, 'List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy' (PCS section - uncited 'sonar school ship' label for this hull); Cominch memo (ev-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia patrol-vessel list PCS block; NavSource 12/071445.htm photo captions (sound-school conversion)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- School-craft role context: Wikipedia's List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy labels this hull 'USS Conneaut (PCS-1444), ex-YMS-474, sonar school ship', and its class note states the ~90 YMS-derived patrol craft 'were judged to not be successful, and many were converted to sonar school ships or back to minesweepers.' For the Harbor Boat/San Diego-built block of sisters the conversion is photographically documented: NavSource captions for sister PCS-1445 (quoting Friedman, U.S. Small Combatants) describe her 'modified as a sound-school craft with single Hedgehogs forward so that students could carry out dummy attacks', with the 1945 modification replacing the 3"/50 mount with a Hedgehog and removing K-guns and after 20mm guns. The 1 March 1945 Cominch document (ev-02) groups this hull with exactly those school-craft sisters.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1950
- Population
- School-craft crew; sonar/precommissioning trainees aboard
- Limitations
- The 'sonar school ship' label for THIS hull rests on Wikipedia's uncited list entry; the documented sound-school conversion is photographed on sister PCS-1445, not this hull. The Cominch memo (ev-02) ship-specifically places PCS-1444 in the same school unit, making the school-craft role itself verified - but the exact character (sound-school vs. precommissioning training) and any physical conversion of THIS hull are documented only at class/sister level. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-05
-
[7]Together We Served Navy Unit Directory - USS Conneaut (PCS-1444) unit page; E. E. Pickle Funeral Home obituary of Samuel J. Roye (March 2024); sister-page NavSource timelines for the in-service pattern [other_primary]
- Locator
- TWS unit 2348 member list (Reeves BT3 1953-57; Roye EN2); eepicklefuneralhome.com Samuel J. Roye obituary; NavSource 071376/071387/071401 timelines
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Post-1950 crewing: Together We Served lists two members aboard this unit - William Pink Reeves, BT3 (Boiler Tender), service years 1953-1957, and Samuel James Roye, EN2 - and Roye's published obituary (E. E. Pickle Funeral Home, Amory MS, d. 1 March 2024) states that after basic training at San Diego he 'was first stationed on the USS PCS 1444' - i.e., aboard in 1953-54. Two independent crew accounts thus place sailors on this hull in 1953-57, after NavSource's 'decommissioned in 1950' - consistent with the documented sister-boat pattern of decommissioned PCS hulls placed in service as Naval Reserve training vessels (e.g., Winder PCS-1376 in service January 1947-January 1950; Beaufort PCS-1387 'placed in service as a naval reserve training ship' 1956; McMinnville PCS-1401 at Chattanooga TN).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1950-1957
- Population
- Post-1950 crew/training personnel (1950-57)
- Limitations
- Crew accounts are self-reported veteran registrations and a family funeral-home obituary - they document individuals remembering service aboard, not the ship's official status. They indicate the hull was crewed/used in 1953-57 but do NOT prove in-service Naval Reserve training status for this specific hull - that status is certain for named sisters (Winder, Beaufort, McMinnville) and probable here, but unverified for PCS-1444; her 1950-57 duty station is unknown (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-06
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-level inference only: peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this wooden-hulled patrol craft sweeper was built (1943-44 at a small commercial boat yard). Period marine diesel installations and auxiliary machinery commonly used asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and exhaust-system insulation; aboard a ~245-278-ton, 136-ft diesel patrol craft the plausible applications, if any, would be confined to such machinery fittings. The 1957 striking, sale, and any post-Navy conversion or scrapping are documented-era ownership events that would have disturbed whatever materials were fitted - but nothing documents the materials themselves.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1943-1958
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1943-44); wartime crew (complement 57); training/reserve crews (1944-57); post-sale civilian or scrapping workforce (1957-58+)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarship only - does not name this vessel or the PCS-1376 class and does not establish that asbestos was or is aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. No class- or design-specific material documentation for PCS patrol craft was located; the diesel/wooden-hull profile limits plausible scope relative to steam-driven vessels (no boiler-room or steam-line insulation envelope). The machinery-fitting applications named are general era practice, not documented aboard this class; the post-Navy disposition's material scope is entirely undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-07
-
[9]Batch-8362 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA NAID 594258 deck-log series; NVR; FDR Library Cominch memo; shipbuilding-history; uboat.net/navypedia/jounin; PCSA archives index; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Conneaut / PCS-1444 / YMS-474 was found in the public sources searched (NavSource, NARA catalog incl. digitized deck-log series NAID 594258, NVR, shipbuilding-history, FDR Library Map Room Cominch memo, ww2pcsa/PCSA archives index, secondary registries and web sweeps). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper returned fleet-pacing refusal (shared ~58/hr budget momentarily spent) on all attempts; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced anywhere is law-firm marketing listicle content of the banned-source class - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (fleet-paced, not run). Deck logs for this hull are not indexed in the digitized NARA logbook series; builder's records, the Navy sale file, and any scrapping-yard records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-08
-
[10]Cross-source correction: uboat.net ship page 9891 vs NavSource 071444 + shipbuilding-history hull 184 row (delivery date); en-academic ROK Navy ship list vs NavSource/jounin striking-and-sale record + NavSource sister pages (1445/1446/1448 ROK transfers) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship 9891 'Commissioned' field; en-academic.com ROK Navy list PCS block; NavSource 071444/071445/071446/071448 chronologies
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTIONS: (a) uboat.net prints 'Commissioned 23 Jun 1944' - but 23 June 1944 is the documented reclassification-back-to-PCS and yard-delivery date (NavSource chronology; shipbuilding-history 'delivered 23-Jun-44'); commissioning was 20 December 1944 (NavSource, corroborated by navypedia '12.1944' and jounin '1944/12/20'). (b) An en-academic Republic of Korea Navy list claims this hull went 'to South Korea 1947' - impossible: she is documented in U.S. Navy service through her 5 September 1957 striking (named Conneaut February 1956; crew accounts aboard 1953-57), and NavSource records her sold to U.S. disposal, not transferred. The Korea claim is a table garble - sisters PCS-1442/1445/1446/1448 really did go to the ROK Navy (1948-52), which is the likely source of the misparse.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Limitations
- Corrects two circulating errors, not a material claim. The commissioning-date correction is solid (two corroborating sources + the delivery-date explanation). The Korea-transfer correction relies on the ship's documented U.S. presence through 1957 plus NavSource's 'sold' disposal line - the en-academic entry is internally garbled ('PCS ?' pennant unknown). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-09
-
[11]National Archives Catalog - 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' series (NAID 594258), search-within queries for PCS-1444 / PCS 1444 / Conneaut [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search-within/594258 result sets (all returned file units examined; none for this hull)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA deck-log check: the digitized 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' series (NAID 594258, ~236,000 file units) returns zero file units for this hull - searches for 'PCS-1444', 'PCS 1444', and 'Conneaut' return only fuzzy full-text matches on unrelated ships' logs (Dextrous AM-341, Estes AGC-12, Cree ATF-84, Blenny SS-324, and others). Her deck logs are either undigitized or unindexed under searchable titles - an open archival lead, not a confirmed absence.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1944-1957 (coverage sought)
- Limitations
- Verifies only that no digitized, title-indexed deck log exists for this hull in NAID 594258 as of 2026-10-04 - the catalog's fuzzy matching returned false positives, not coverage. Paper logs may exist at NARA (WWII-era deck logs are routinely retained); the digitized set is still incomplete. Logbooks, if extant, would document the 1950-57 duty station and daily operations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-10
-
[12]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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403 - product-page description used)
- 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 (1943-44) and U.S. service era (1944-1957).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (review of prior decades)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. The finding addresses steam-era fleet insulation practice - a wooden diesel patrol craft is at the low end of plausible application scope. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing since batch-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-conneaut-pcs1444-11