USS Cythera (PY-26)

Evidence

13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).

1. [1]research packet 1011-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-cythera-py26-pkt-1011-packet-md

2. [2]DANFS, 'USS Cythera I (PY-26)' - construction, WWI SP-575 service, WWII reacquisition and loss (verbatim transcription; live NHHC DANFS page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   ibiblio HyperWar DANFS transcription py26.html - full entry and spec block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS record for this hull (SP-575/PY-26): launched 20 September 1906 by Ramage and Ferguson Ltd., Leith, Scotland; sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Harkness; leased by the Navy in 1917 and commissioned 20 October 1917, Lt. Cmdr. W. G. Roper in command. Patrol Force, Atlantic Fleet; departed Newport 1 November 1917 escorting and towing submarine chasers to European waters, arriving Gibraltar 29 December. U.S. Patrol Squadron at Gibraltar; convoy escort to Mediterranean ports; 27 May 1918 rescued 35 survivors of SS Ariel and dropped depth charges; 3 October 1918 rescued crew of SS Uganda. Cleared Gibraltar 21 December 1918, arrived New York 5 February 1919; decommissioned 17 March 1919 and returned to owner two days later. Reacquired 31 December 1941, converted to patrol vessel PY-26; conversion completed 28 February, placed in service 3 March 1942. Hit by two torpedoes off North Carolina 2 May 1942 and sank so quickly only two of her crew survived; survivors picked up by the attacking German submarine U-402 and interned in Germany until end of war. Spec block: dp. 1,000; l. 215'; b. 27'6"; dr. 12'; s. 12 k.; cpl. 113; a. 3 3".

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1906-1942

   Population

   WWI crew (1917-1919); WWII conversion-yard workers and crew (1942)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. Live NHHC DANFS page for Cythera I 404'd on 2026-10-04 (standing NHHC link-rot, cf. Batch-01); verbatim transcription cited per house practice. DANFS spec 'cpl. 113' is a design figure, not the crew aboard at sinking (68/70/71 across sources - see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive, Cythera (PY-26) ex-Cythera (SP-575) - designation timeline, specifications, CO list (verified live on navsource.net) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 12/170575.htm header block, patrol-yacht timeline, specifications block, commanding-officers table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline for this hull: built by Ramage and Ferguson Ltd., Leith, Scotland (YN 205); launched 20 September 1906; completed for Charles W. Harkness as the yacht Agawa (ON 213125) 1907; ownership passed to William L. Harkness 1917; leased by the Navy and commissioned USS Cythera (SP-575) 20 October 1917; decommissioned 17 March 1919; returned to owner as Cythera 19 March 1919; registered to W. L. Harkness's widow Edith Hale Harkness, New York, 1919; reacquired by the Navy for $1 on 31 December 1941; converted to Patrol Yacht PY-26 on 28 February 1942; placed in service 3 March 1942; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-402 off North Carolina 2 May 1942; struck from the Navy Register 24 June 1942. Specs: displacement 1,000 t. (602 t. 1933); length 215' (192.2' 1933); beam 27'6"; draft 12' (16.1' 1933); speed 15.5 kts.; complement 113 (30 in 1933; 71 at time of sinking); armament three 3"/50 mounts and two machine guns; propulsion two single-ended boilers, one 1,500 hp vertical triple-expansion steam engine, one shaft. COs incl. LCDR Walter G. Roper (1917), LCDR George E. Lake (1918), CAPT Raymond L. Jack USCG (1918-19), LCDR Thomas W. Rudderow USNR (3 Mar - 2 May 1942; namesake of USS Rudderow DE-224).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1906-1942

   Population

   WWI crew; interwar civilian crew; WWII conversion workforce (Philadelphia Navy Yard) and PY-26 crew

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; milestone dates corroborate DANFS where overlapping. Contains no asbestos content. Engine type (triple-expansion, 1,500 hp) conflicts with Lloyd's Register via NOAA (quadruple-expansion, 1,350 IHP) - see gaps. 1933 Lloyd's-derived figures shown as alternates on page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-02

4. [4]NOAA, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, 'ex-USS Cythera' shipwreck profile (ship stats, Lloyd's Register machinery record, loss narrative, wreck status) [other_primary]

   Locator

   monitor.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/cythera.html - Ship Stats block, Lloyd's Register Details, Historical Background, Wreck Site sections

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary wreck-profile page for ex-USS Cythera: vessel type 'converted steel-hulled yacht'; length 214.8 ft, breadth 27.6 ft, gross tonnage 602; built 1907 Ramage and Ferguson Ltd., Scotland; official no. 213125. Lloyd's Register details: steel hull, steam screw, single screw, machinery amidships, oil-fired steam, quadruple-expansion four-cylinder steam engine, 2 boilers, 1,350 IHP. Former names: steam yacht Agawa (Harkness family 1907-1917 and 1919-1941), USS Cythera SP-575 (1917-1919). Sold to the Navy for one dollar on New Year's Eve 1941; converted and re-commissioned as USS Cythera (PY-26) January-March 1942; departed Norfolk 1 May 1942 for Pearl Harbor via Panama Canal; torpedoed by U-402 in the early morning of 2 May 1942 - three torpedoes fired, two hits, ship broke in half, preset depth charges detonated; 2 of 71 survived (69 dead): James M. Brown and Charles H. Carter, taken aboard U-402 to Germany as POWs. NOAA states this is the only instance in the American theater where survivors were brought aboard a U-boat and taken to Germany as prisoners of war. The wreck has not been located; only position information derives from the U-boat commander's war diary.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1907-1942; page accessed 2026-10-04

   Population

   PY-26 crew of 71 (NOAA figure; see gaps for 68/70 variants)

   Limitations

   Authoritative federal wreck-sanctuary profile; establishes machinery type (oil-fired steam, 2 boilers, quadruple-expansion engine - conflicts with NavSource's triple-expansion description, see gaps), loss details, and that the wreck is unlocated (no site, no survey, no present-day material question). Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-03

5. [5]Cressman, Robert J., 'A Stylish Veteran of Two Wars,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), Vol. 24, No. 5, October 2010 [reputable_press]

   Locator

   USNI Naval History, October 2010 - conversion-scope section (29 Jan 1942 CNO directive verbatim), commissioning and loss narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Conversion-scope and loss detail for this hull (Robert J. Cressman, Naval History magazine): designed by Cox and King for Charles W. Harkness; renamed Cythera after his 1916 death when she passed to half-brother William L. Harkness; delivered to Philadelphia Navy Yard by owner's representatives 12 January 1942; acting SecNav James Forrestal approved retention of the name Cythera for PY-26 (exception to gem/mineral naming practice for converted yachts); CNO directive of 29 January 1942 ordered BuShips/BuOrd to give conversion 'the highest practicable priority' - two 3-inch AA guns, four .50-caliber machine guns, two depth-charge tracks, permanent degaussing, berthing for ~7 officers/6 CPOs/50 ratings (she had accommodated 113 in WWI), echo-ranging/listening, echo-sounding, and radio equipment; Fourth Naval District directed to complete the work at the earliest possible date. Equipment diverted to her: TCE-1 transmitter/RAS-2 receiver/Janette converters from Pepperwood (YN-31); QCN-2 sonar slated for PC-554 with generator slated for Vixen (PG-53). Commissioned 3 March 1942 short an executive officer and two watch officers with no one trained on sound gear; pre-commissioning inspection noted engine-room temperatures above 110 degrees with the darkening-ship hood over the engine-room hatch. Crew of 70 (5 officers + 65 enlisted). Sailed Norfolk 1 May 1942 for Cristobal CZ en route Pearl Harbor; at 0641 on 2 May, ~100 miles east of Cape Fear, U-402 (Kptlt. Siegfried von Forstner) fired three torpedoes at 1,900 yards, two hit; ship broke in two and preset 300-lb Mk. 6 depth charges detonated; survivors PhM1c Charles H. Carter and Sea2c James H. Brown III taken prisoner. USS Rudderow (DE-224) and USS Brister (DE-327) named for officers lost aboard; second Cythera (PY-31) commissioned October 1942.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1942 (conversion window); 1906-1943 narrative scope

   Population

   Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion trades (Jan-Mar 1942); PY-26 crew of 70 (Cressman figure)

   Limitations

   Cressman is an NHHC-affiliated historian writing from Navy records; ship-specific conversion scope is documented in detail. Contains no asbestos content - the conversion-scope list (armament, degaussing, electronics, berthing) does not enumerate insulation materials, so it cannot carry an asbestos claim; it establishes only that Navy-yard work was performed on this hull Jan-Mar 1942 at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Survivor surname spelled 'James H. Brown III' here vs 'James M. Brown' elsewhere - see gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-04

6. [6]Era inference built on: NOAA/Lloyd's machinery record for this hull (oil-fired steam, 2 boilers); USNI conversion documentation (Philadelphia Navy Yard, Jan-Mar 1942); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-insulation era to 1973); shipyard-exposure-map documented product list for philadelphia-naval-shipyard [other_primary]

   Locator

   NOAA Ship Stats (Lloyd's Register details); USNI Oct 2010 conversion section; GAO HRD-80-2 pp. 2-3, agency comments; shipyards.json philadelphia-naval-shipyard entry

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era-consistent inference for this hull: a 1906 Scottish-built steel steam yacht with an oil-fired plant (two boilers, single screw, expansion engine per Lloyd's Register via NOAA) that underwent a Navy refit in 1917 (SP-575) and a Navy patrol-yacht conversion at Philadelphia Navy Yard in January-March 1942 (PY-26). Both conversions sit inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era (GAO HRD-80-2: thermal insulation of machinery, equipment, and piping systems was the Navy's major asbestos application; asbestos-free thermal-insulation product specs date only from 1973). Era-standard applications aboard a steam vessel of this type: boiler and steam-line insulation/lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets, packing. A 36-year-old steam plant receiving 1942 Navy-yard work implies disturbance of, or addition adjacent to, era insulation materials - as inference only.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1906-1942

   Population

   Ramage & Ferguson construction trades (1906-07, Scotland); WWI refit workers and crew (1917-19); Philadelphia Navy Yard conversion trades (Jan-Mar 1942); PY-26 crew (Mar-May 1942)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for SP-575 or PY-26. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Scottish builder (Ramage and Ferguson) records were not consulted - 1906 original construction materials undocumented. Does not establish individual exposure or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-05

7. [7]GAO, Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers from Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 / B-163375 (October 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO HRD-80-2 full text (https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf): digest pp. 1-3 (1973 spec change, May 1978 deliveries, Oct 1975 policy); Navy agency-comments attachment (major application quote, non-insulation applications list); fieldwork scope Long Beach/Norfolk NSY

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented Navy asbestos policy and use covering this hull's entire Naval-service era: 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard Navy ships (Navy response, p. att.); product specifications for thermal insulation were changed in 1973 to specify asbestos-free materials, with asbestos-insulated ships delivered as late as May 1978; the Navy's elimination policy issued October 1975; 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' via non-insulation applications (gaskets, packing, brakes/clutches, deck tile, galley ranges, electrical resistors); fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; no one-time removal program (est. $2 billion). Cythera's 1917 lease-refit and January-March 1942 Philadelphia conversion both predate the 1973 asbestos-free spec change - both fall inside the documented asbestos-insulation era. Her final pre-sailing yard period was at Norfolk - one of the two GAO fieldwork yards.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1979 (report); policy era 1942-1978 relevant here

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation; names no individual vessel - supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text retrieved via Firecrawl render of the PDF asset; direct curl to gao.gov returned HTTP 403 (standing block, cf. Batch-01). Norfolk NSY was a GAO fieldwork yard but the report does not document work on this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-06

8. [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

   AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   Peer-reviewed historical study 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 hull's PY-26 conversion was executed at Philadelphia Navy Yard (Jan-Mar 1942) - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard vessels.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1940s era documented; article 1987

   Population

   WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)

   Limitations

   Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. Applies to the 1942 conversion window; the 1906 Scottish construction era is outside its scope.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-07

9. [9]shipyard-exposure-map dataset, philadelphia-naval-shipyard entry (asbestos_products_documented list; Pa. appellate product-ID citations; OSHA inspection 17999079); conversion-at-PNSY fact from USNI Oct 2010 [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipyards.json philadelphia-naval-shipyard evidence rows ev-philadelphia-naval-shipyard-01/-02/-osha-1989-17999079; USNI conversion narrative

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Yard-level documentation for this hull's conversion site: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (League Island; America's first federal naval shipyard, 1801-1996; WWII peak employment ~47,695) is a documented asbestos venue in the Atlas shipyard dataset - named products include Thermasil pipe covering and block, Unibestos, Kaylo, Cary/Carey asbestos products, Garlock asbestos sheet gaskets and packing, and Johns-Manville pipe insulation, with appellate opinions identifying asbestos products at the yard (Taylor v. Celotex, 393 Pa. Super. 566 (1990); Junge v. Garlock, 427 Pa. Super. 592 (1993); Gross v. Johns-Manville, 410 Pa. Super. 486 (1991)) and a 1989 OSHA health inspection citing 29 CFR 1910.1001. Cythera's PY-26 conversion was performed at this yard January-March 1942 under Fourth Naval District direction (USNI).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-04

   Study period

   1941-1984 (yard documentation window); conversion work 1942-01 to 1942-03

   Population

   Philadelphia Navy Yard trades during the Jan-Mar 1942 conversion (inference population)

   Limitations

   Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: the product list and litigation document asbestos at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard generally - no source ties a specific product or work package to this hull. The cited Pa. opinions (Taylor/Junge/Gross, exposure windows 1941-1984) and OSHA inspection (1989) postdate the 1942 conversion; they document the yard's asbestos era, not contemporaneous 1942 conditions aboard this vessel.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-cythera-py26-08

10. [10]Sables, Robert P., 'Overdue Atlantic - USS Cythera (PY 26),' NavSource-hosted monograph (bibliography: Navy Casualty Case Files, USS Cythera Box 20, NARA College Park) [other_primary]

    Locator

    NavSource 12/170575s.htm - Bibliography/Documents section; Brown survivor statement (dated 4 July 1945) reproduced in text; 21h45m at-sea figure

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Archival lead plus loss-timeline detail: the NavSource 'Overdue Atlantic' monograph on this hull records that Cythera sank at 0047 on 2 May 1942 after 21 hours 45 minutes at sea (departed Norfolk 0300 on 1 May per survivor Brown's statement), and cites 'Navy Casualty Case Files, USS Cythera Box 20, National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD' in its bibliography - a Navy casualty-file series documenting the loss, next-of-kin notifications (2 June 1942 'missing status' letters), and the 23 January 1943 Chief of Naval Personnel letter identifying Carter and Brown as POWs at Marlag-Milag Nord. These files document the loss administration, not materials - but a casualty file is the likeliest government repository to hold survivor statements (e.g., Brown's 4 July 1945 statement, reproduced verbatim in the monograph) and any technical detail on the hull's final configuration.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1942-1945

    Population

    Deceased crew (69 per NOAA figure), 2 POW survivors, next of kin

    Limitations

    Archival lead only: the casualty-file box is cited via the monograph's bibliography; box contents were not examined and are not digitized publicly. Casualty files document loss administration - no indication they contain asbestos or material information. The monograph is a volunteer-researched secondary work; its quoted primary documents (CNO/BuShips correspondence via Cressman's USNI article, survivor statement) carry the weight.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cythera-py26-09

11. [11]Batch-8665 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource timeline and 'Overdue Atlantic' monograph; NOAA Monitor NMS profile; USNI/Cressman; NHHC photo page; GAO HRD-80-2; shipyards.json; NARA casualty-file lead; CourtListener (5 queries complete - collisions only) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-cythera-py26-01 through sl-uss-cythera-py26-12

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material list, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming SP-575 or PY-26 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: all 4 base queries completed 2026-10-04 and classified - 'Cythera' opinion (5 hits: all name collisions - litigant Cythera M. Rappleye x3; a different civilian yacht Cythera in the 1888 Stewart probate; an 1887 yacht-collision case), 'Cythera' docket (12 hits: personal-name bankruptcies and unrelated civil dockets), 'PY-26' opinion (2 hits: same case twice - City of New York v. Shalala, program-year collision), 'PY-26' docket (75 hits: textual collisions - exhibit/program-year codes; page 1 reviewed: zero vessel or asbestos-ship hits), plus the overflow-qualified variant 'PY-26' asbestos docket (7 hits: all name collisions - employment, bankruptcy, automotive product-liability, CFIUS, and patent dockets; none maritime, none naming a vessel). ZERO qualifying asbestos litigation and zero litigation naming this hull. The question is largely foreclosed for the present day - the hull sank in deep water off North Carolina in 1942 and the wreck has never been located (NOAA). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm listicle content asserting asbestos aboard converted yachts without primary sourcing - 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 - a 1906 steam yacht's insulation/gasket/packing materials were era-typical and the 1942 Navy-yard conversion adds a documented-venue pathway. CourtListener coverage note: the 75-hit 'PY-26' docket base was reviewed at page 1 plus via its asbestos-qualified subset (7 hits, all collisions); unreviewed middle pages of the base could theoretically contain a non-asbestos-indexed mention, but the variant returned zero vessel hits. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cythera-py26-10

12. [12]Naval Historical Center (NHHC), Online Library of Selected Images - 'USS Cythera (SP-575, later PY-26)' photo page with captions NH 83392, NH 99658, NH 55550, NH 55551 (ibiblio HyperWar mirror of the official page) [nhhc_danfs]

    Locator

    usnsh-c/sp575.htm - intro narrative and photo captions NH 99658, NH 55550/55551, NH 83392

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    NHHC Online Library of Selected Images photo page for this hull (SP-575, later PY-26): describes her as a '1000-ton (displacement) patrol vessel' completed 1907 at Leith as a '603 gross ton steam yacht,' named 'Agwa' [sic - variant of Agawa] and Cythera during the next decade; leased for WWI patrol service, commissioned October 1917; Gibraltar-based western-Mediterranean escort/patrol with enemy-submarine encounters on at least two occasions; decommissioned mid-March 1919. Photo captions: NH 99658 - in port 1917, possibly when inspected by the Third Naval District on 5 July 1917; NH 55550/55551 - preparing to take and towing USS Margaret (SP-527) during the Bermuda-to-Azores passage November 1917 (towed 13 of 19 days, photographed from Margaret by Raymond D. Borden); NH 83392 - USS Cythera (PY-26) in port 2 March 1942. Narrative gives 'only two of her 68-man crew survived' - the 68-figure variant (see gaps).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1906-1942

    Population

    WWI crew; 1942 crew (photographed subjects)

    Limitations

    Official Naval Historical Center photo-catalog page (via verbatim ibiblio mirror; original NHC site retired). Establishes photographic record and the Third Naval District inspection date; gives the 68-crew variant and the 'Agwa' name-spelling variant - both logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cythera-py26-12

13. [13]Sables, 'Overdue Atlantic' (NavSource 170575s.htm) - In Memoriam section (PY-31 ex-Abril dates); Cressman/USNI Oct 2010 ('A second Cythera (PY-31) had been commissioned in October 1942') [other_primary]

    Locator

    NavSource 170575s.htm 'In Memoriam'; USNI article closing paragraphs

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    DISAMBIGUATION: two hulls bore the name USS Cythera in WWII. This record covers only the first - the yacht Agawa/Cythera, SP-575 (1917-19), reacquired 31 December 1941 as PY-26, sunk by U-402 on 2 May 1942. The second Cythera (PY-31) was a different hull - the yacht Abril, purchased 14 July 1942, commissioned 26 October 1942, which trained with submarines at New London and transferred to the Maritime Commission 6 November 1946 (Sables monograph; corroborated by Cressman/USNI). Any post-May-1942 documentation or litigation naming 'Cythera' requires hull discrimination - PY-31 material does not apply to this record, and vice versa.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-04

    Study period

    1942-1946

    Limitations

    Identity disambiguation, not a material claim. Prevents conflation of the two WWII Cythera hulls - relevant because PY-31 (New London submarine-training duty, survived the war, transferred 1946) has a materially different service profile and any asbestos-era documentation attaching to it cannot be used here.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-cythera-py26-11