Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 974-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-pkt-974-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS Vol. VI, pp. 744-747, Appendix II 'Eagle-Class Patrol Craft (PE)' - class origin and numerical summary including the Eagle No. 55 line (verbatim transcription; live NHHC DANFS pages 404 on all candidate URLs) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. VI pp. 744-747, Appendix II - class narrative, general characteristics block, and 'Eagle No. 55' numerical-summary line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS line for this hull: 'Keel laid 3/17/19. Launched 7/22/19. Commissioned 10/10/19. Classified as PE--55 7/17/20. Sold 3/3/47.' Class context documented in the same entry: the Eagle program grew out of the Navy's late-1917 requirement for steel antisubmarine vessels larger than the 110-foot wooden submarine chasers; Secretary Daniels asked Henry Ford to undertake construction; Ford was directed in January 1918 to build 100 (later 112), mass-produced at a purpose-built plant on the Rouge River on the outskirts of Detroit; the Armistice cut the contract to 60 boats, seven commissioned in 1918 and 53 in 1919; 'the Eagle Boats never saw service in World War I'; postwar some served as aircraft tenders at Midway (1920) and in the Hawaiian Islands (1921), a number transferred to the Coast Guard in 1919, and 'the balance were sold in the 1930's and early 1940's.' Class spec block: l. 200'9" o.a.; b. 33'1"; s. 18.32k.; dp. 615 t.; dr. 8'6"; cpl. 5 officers + 56 enlisted; 1 shaft, 2,500 shp, Poole geared turbine; a. 2 4"/50, 1 3"/50, 2 .50 cal. mg., 1 Y-gun (Eagles 4-7 only).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1917-1947
- Population
- Ford Rouge plant construction trades (1919); crew (1919-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific for the hull's milestone dates and class design; contains no asbestos or material content. The collective DANFS entry gives only one-line service summaries per boat - interwar status and WWII service come from other rows. Live NHHC DANFS pages returned 404 on 2026-10-04 (eagle.html, eagle-i.html, eagle-class-patrol-craft.html, eagle-boat.html); verbatim transcription used - standing NHHC link-rot defect noted since BATCH-01. The class spec beam (33'1") conflicts with NavSource (25'9") and USNI (25'6") and is a probable DANFS misprint for a 200'9" hull - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Eagle-Class Patrol Craft Photo Archive, PE-55 (ex-Eagle No. 55) - designation timeline, specifications, WWII antisubmarine action, commanding-officer list, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/0455.htm - timeline block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, and photo captions (NH 66889, NH 85438, Portsmouth Navy Yard laid-up photo)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 17 March 1919 by the Ford Motor Co., Detroit, MI; launched 22 July 1919; commissioned USS Eagle No. 55, 10 October 1919; designated PE-55, 17 July 1920; 'The tanker R. P. Resor was torpedoed by the German submarine U-578, 26 February 1942, five miles off Sea Girt, DE at 39 deg 47'N, 73 deg 26'W. PE-55 attacked sound contact in the vicinity without result'; decommissioned 18 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; sold 3 March 1947; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: dp. 710 t.; l. 200'9"; b. 25'9"; dr. 13'6"; s. 18.32 k.; cpl. 68; armament two 4"/50, one 3"/50, two .50 cal. mg., one Y-gun depth-charge projector; propulsion two Thorny-Croft Bureau Model 250-psi boilers, one 2,500-shp Poole geared turbine, Ford single reduction gear, one shaft. Commanding officers listed from LTJG Evan White Yancey, USN (June 1938 - June 1939) through LCDR W. L. Blackwell, Jr., USNR (2 October 1944 - 18 December 1945). Photo captions place the hull at Jersey City, N.J., in 1935 alongside USS Newton (IX-33) and USS YP-11 (NH 66889), in New York harbor prior to World War II (NH 85438), and laid up at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME, with PE-19, PE-27 and PE-26.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Population
- Ford construction trades (1919); crew (1919-45); reserve-training population (interwar); wartime complement (1941-45)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR. The 'Sea Girt, DE' attribution is a state error (Sea Girt is in New Jersey; the official Eastern Sea Frontier diary and uboat.net data place the sinking off Manasquan Inlet/Sea Girt, N.J.) - corrected in ev-07. The '26 February 1942' torpedoing date conflicts with the official Enemy Action Diary's 0035 27 February entry - see ev-07 and gaps. Specification conflicts with DANFS/USNI (beam, draft, displacement, complement) noted in gaps. Contains no asbestos content; no hazmat or material record for the 1947 sale located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-02
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command photograph NH 85438, 'USS EAGLE 55 (PE-55) - In New York harbor prior to World War II' (live NHHC catalog page, verified 2026-10-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC photo catalog, NH 85438 (NH Series); NH 66889 via NavSource caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official NHHC photographic catalog holds and describes this hull: 'USS EAGLE 55 (PE-55) - In New York harbor prior to World War II' (catalog NH 85438, courtesy of William H. Davis, 1977). Confirms the hull's documented presence in New York harbor in the interwar period, consistent with the 1935 Jersey City photograph (NH 66889, captioned via NavSource) showing her alongside the receiving ship USS Newton (IX-33) and USS YP-11.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- pre-1941
- Population
- Crew and New York harbor / naval-district personnel (interwar)
- Limitations
- Photographic presence record only - no asbestos content, no work or status record. The NHHC page for companion photo NH 66889 returned 404 on 2026-10-04; that caption is carried via the NavSource row (ev-02). 'Prior to World War II' is the catalog's dating - not precise.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-03
-
[5]Robert J. Cressman (NHHC historian), 'Historic Fleets - Prepared for the Work of War,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), Vol. 28 No. 4, August 2014 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Aug 2014, 'Historic Fleets' article body (interwar-disposition and reactivation paragraphs) and class spec box
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific fact for this hull: as war approached, the Navy earmarked the remaining Eagles for naval-district local defense; 'The Eagle 48 (PE-48) and the Eagle 55 (PE-55) rounded out the program, both being placed in full commission on 16 September 1941.' Class context in the same source: 60 boats built at Ford's River Rouge plant; Eagles 61-112 canceled on Armistice day; by New Year's Day 1921 fifteen Eagles lay in ordinary at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard while three were in active commission; others served at naval air stations, tended submarines, or trained naval reservists in seven naval districts; eight Eagles survived to serve in WWII; the only Eagle lost to enemy action was PE-56, torpedoed by U-853 off Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 23 April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1918-1945
- Population
- Eagle-class crews and reserve-training populations (interwar); WWII crews (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Professional naval-history secondary source (USNI Naval History, by an NHHC historian) - not a primary document; the 16 September 1941 full-commissioning fact is accepted as ship-specific documentation consistent with the NavSource CO roster (USNR command begins 1941). 'Full commission' implies reduced or inactive status before - the interwar status sequence (ordinary at Portsmouth vs. reserve-training commission in New York) is not fully resolved; the source does not name which 15 Eagles lay at Portsmouth in 1921. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-04
-
[6]History of the Eastern Sea Frontier (official U.S. Navy administrative history, WWII), Chapter 2 - task organization and ship assignments; verbatim transcription hosted on HyperWar/ibiblio [other_primary]
- Locator
- History of the Eastern Sea Frontier, Ch. 2 (OpPlan structure; Eagle Division ONE order of battle; task group 26.1.2 Narragansett Force)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy documentation of this hull's WWII assignment: PE-55 is listed in 'Eagle Division ONE (PE 19, 27, 48, 55, 56)' of the Eastern Sea Frontier order of battle, and is named in the task organization under 26.1.2 Narragansett Force (Rear Admiral E. C. Kalbfus) - 'Narragansett Ship Lane Patrol (Assigned: PE 55, CGC's, Argo, General Greene; undesignated 70-83 foot cutters).' The companion New York Force ship-lane patrol carried sister PE-48. This establishes PE-55's operational station out of N.O.B. Newport, Rhode Island, in early 1942 - consistent with the dated war-diary patrol entries in ev-06.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1942 (administrative history coverage)
- Population
- PE-55 wartime complement and Narragansett Force personnel (1942)
- Limitations
- Administrative-history assignment record, not an operations log - it documents intended station and task organization, which the dated patrol log entries (ev-06) confirm in execution. No asbestos content. HyperWar is a volunteer transcription of the official document - transcription fidelity assumed; underlying record is NARA-held.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-05
-
[7]Eastern Sea Frontier War Diary, official U.S. Navy wartime record (NARA) - verbatim transcriptions hosted at uboatarchive.net: February 1942 Appendix IV 'Enemy Action Diary'; March 1942 Appendix V 'Patrol Log'; April 1942 Appendix VIII daily operations/status [other_primary]
- Locator
- ESF War Diary Feb 1942 Appendix IV (Enemy Action Diary, entries 0035/0935 of 27 Feb); Mar 1942 Appendix V (Patrol Log entries of 2, 21, 23, 24 March); Apr 1942 Appendix VIII (entries of 5, 6, 11, 14 April)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Dated official-diary entries documenting this hull's wartime employment out of N.O.B. Newport (First Naval District / Narragansett Force): 2 March 1942 - 'PE-55 and the Argo patrolling off Beavertail'; 21 March 1942 - 'ARGO & PE-55 | Off Point Judith Light'; 23 March 1942 - 'ZIRCON, PE-55, ICARUS, GENERAL GREENE & PC-473 | from Nantucket Shoals Light south 55 miles'; 24 March 1942 - same group 'South of Nantucket Light'; 5 April 1942 - PE-55 'standby'; 6 April 1942 - PE-55 'Target Service'; 11 April 1942 - 'Two patrol boats, PE-55 and GENERAL GREENE, sent from NOB to investigate report of sub sighted 41-07 deg N, 71-32 deg W at 1915 Q'; 14 April 1942 - 'PE55 | Patrol harbor entrance during night, and until 1200. General Greene escort.' The February 1942 Enemy Action Diary separately documents the event NavSource associates with PE-55's sound-contact attack: at 0035 on 27 February 1942, 'Great light and explosion 095 deg T and about 5 miles from Sea Girt. Vessel torpedoed and afire' (initially unidentified); at 0935, 'The VALPARAISO positively identified as R. P. RESOR (Esso Tanker)... 15 miles bearing 75T. from Manasquan Inlet.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-02-27 to 1942-04-14
- Population
- PE-55 wartime complement; Narragansett Force task-group crews (Feb-Apr 1942)
- Limitations
- These diary entries establish operational tasking - patrol sectors, standby/target service, and one dispatched submarine-sighting investigation - but do NOT name PE-55 as the unit that attacked the Resor-scene contact; that attribution rests on NavSource (ev-02). The February-diary appendices transcribed on uboatarchive.net carry no PE-55 line; the ship's own war diary (Fold3/NARA RG 38) remains the open primary lead for her 26/27 February movements. No asbestos content. Transcription fidelity assumed - underlying record is the official NARA war diary.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-06
-
[8]Cross-check: NavSource PE-55 timeline ('Sea Girt, DE', 26 February 1942) vs. Eastern Sea Frontier Enemy Action Diary (official) and uboat.net Allied-warship/shipwreck data (position 39-47N, 73-26W; torpedo hit at 06.36 hrs German time 27 Feb = about 00.36 local) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/0455.htm timeline line; ESF War Diary Feb 1942 App. IV, entries of 27 Feb 0035 and 0935; uboat.net ship pages 8480 and R. P. Resor hit record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's PE-55 line locates the R. P. Resor sinking 'five miles off Sea Girt, DE' on 26 February 1942 - the state is an error (Sea Girt is in New Jersey) and the date is off by the local-time convention: the official Eastern Sea Frontier Enemy Action Diary records the torpedoing report at 0035 on 27 February 1942 'about 5 miles from Sea Girt' with the position reported as 15 miles bearing 075T from Manasquan Inlet, N.J.; uboat.net records the hit at 06.36 hours (German time) 27 February at 39-47N 73-26W, 'about 20 miles east of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey.' The NavSource '26 February' dating reflects the night of 26-27 February under which secondary literature variously files the event. The event and PE-55's sound-contact attack are not in dispute - only the state attribution and the 26-vs-27-February dating convention.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-02-26 to 1942-02-28
- Limitations
- Corrects a geographic attribution and a one-day dating conflict, not the substance of the event. The tanker burned for ~46-48 hours before capsizing/sinking - 'date lost' conventions in secondary sources range 26-28 February. PE-55's own deck log/war diary (undigitized) is the authority for her dated attack entry; whether her log records 26 or 27 February is unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-07
-
[9]NavalCoverMuseum (Naval Cover Museum / USCS reference), 'EAGLE 55 PE 55' - designation chronology and postal-cover record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum 'EAGLE 55 PE 55' - names/designations table and cover gallery (FDPS New London CT 25 Apr 1941; censored cover 27 Oct 1941)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Postal-cover documentation for this hull: first-day-of-postal-service covers canceled 'NEW LONDON / CT' dated 25 April 1941 (Locy FDPS types, three cachets listed) and a censored WWII-use cover dated 27 October 1941 (Navy Day 1941) - corroborating activity under her pre-full-commission status at New London in spring-autumn 1941, consistent with First Naval District assignment before the 16 September 1941 full commissioning documented by USNI.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941
- Population
- PE-55 crew (postal service aboard; 1941)
- Limitations
- Philatelic evidence establishes the ship operated a post office at New London, CT, on 25 April 1941 - a station/activity marker, not a work record. The same page's 'Decommissioned January 8 1946' conflates the decommissioning (18 December 1945, per NavSource) with the stricken date (8 January 1946) - corrected in gaps. Volunteer secondary compilation; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-08
-
[10]The Dreadnought Project, 'U.S.S. Eagle 55 (1919)' (milestones footnoted to Silverstone, The New Navy p.108, and Friedman, U.S. Small Combatants p.491); and uboat.net Allied Warships, 'USS PE-55 (PE-55)' (ship 8480) - WWII commanding-officer roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- Dreadnought Project 'U.S.S. Eagle 55 (1919)' infobox and footnotes; uboat.net Allied Warships ship 8480 'Commands listed' table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Specialist secondary compilations add two ship-specific data points: a completion date of 30 September 1919 (Dreadnought Project, citing Friedman p.491) between the 22 July launch and the 10 October commissioning; and a commanding-officer entry bridging NavSource's 1938-1941 gap - Lt. Willis Ormond Johnson, USN, from 28 July 1939, followed by Matthew F. Stiling, USNR, from 30 September 1941 (uboat.net Allied Warships roster; NavSource's own list begins Stiling '1941'). uboat.net carries 'Laid down 19 Mar 1919' vs. the 17 March 1919 of DANFS/NavSource - a two-day variant carried in gaps.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1919-1945
- Population
- PE-55 crew under successive commanding officers (1939-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations - Dreadnought Project footnotes print standard references (Silverstone, Friedman); uboat.net's WWII-focused CO roster notes it is still being worked on. The 30 September 1919 'completed' date and Johnson's 1939 assumption of command are carried as best-available, unverified against the ship's own records. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (two Thorny-Croft Bureau Model 250-psi boilers; one 2,500-shp Poole geared turbine; Ford single reduction gear; one shaft); DANFS class characteristics (1 shaft, 2,500 shp, Poole geared turbine); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos program context (ev-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/0455.htm specifications block; DANFS general-characteristics block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A single-screw steam vessel built in 1919 - two 250-psi water-tube boilers feeding a geared steam turbine - sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era; era-standard applications aboard a steam patrol craft of this type and period were boiler casing and steam-line lagging, turbine insulation, gaskets, and valve packing. The confined 200-foot hull carried these systems in close proximity to the crew spaces typical of the class.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1919-1947
- Population
- Ford Rouge plant construction trades (1919); crew (1919-45, incl. interwar reserve-training and WWII full-commission populations); any Navy-yard availability trades
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation specification, material list, survey, or work package was located for Eagle No. 55/PE-55. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The 1919 build predates even the Navy's earliest documented asbestos-handling rules by decades; original lagging composition is undetermined by any located source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-10
-
[12]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (highlights; full report PDF not fetched)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos problem at program level: the service used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - a span covering this hull's entire construction (1919) and service era (to 1945). The report reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and the 1975/1979 insulation-removal policies.
- 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. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - PE-55's yard/availability history is not addressed. Full text not retrieved this session (gao.gov serves the product page; the 26-page PDF was not fetched); content via product-page description and highlights.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-11
-
[13]Batch-8406 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource; NHHC photo catalog; USNI Naval History; ESF war-diary/admin-history transcriptions (uboatarchive.net, HyperWar); NavalCoverMuseum; Dreadnought Project; uboat.net; NVR; NARA catalog; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation specification, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Eagle No. 55 / PE-55 was found in the public sources searched. The only 'asbestos aboard' material encountered is law-firm/mesothelioma marketing content listing the hull generically (e.g., navyship listicles) with no primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CourtListener could not be queried to completion this session - the fleet-paced helper reported the shared hourly budget spent on each attempt; logged as blocked in search_ledger, NOT as a negative result. A 1919 steam vessel's asbestos presence is a reasonable era-consistent inference only (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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). The ship's own war diary (NARA RG 38, digitized on paywalled Fold3) and RG 24 deck logs are the open primary leads for any material/maintenance content. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-12
-
[14]NARA RG 38 'US, World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945' (digitized collection, Fold3/NARA publication 750); NARA RG 24 ship deck logs (Eagle No. 55/PE-55, 1919-1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fold3 publication 750 (NARA RG 38 WWII war diaries); NARA RG 24 deck-log series (College Park)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Open primary-source leads for this hull: PE-55's own ship war diary, if submitted, would sit in NARA RG 38 - the collection is digitized (2,038,066 images, marked complete) but paywalled on Fold3; the Eastern Sea Frontier war diaries already transcribed (ev-06) confirm this record series exists and names the hull. RG 24 deck logs for Eagle No. 55/PE-55 (1919-1945) are held at NARA but are not publicly digitized; NARA's catalog is JS-rendered and could not be machine-searched this session. These are the authorities for her exact 26/27 February 1942 movements and any material/maintenance entries.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (war diaries); 1919-1945 (deck logs)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - nothing asserted from these series; the Fold3 collection was identified by publication record, not page-level search. Deck-log existence for this specific hull is inferred from the record series' coverage, not confirmed item-by-item.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-eagle-no-55-pe55-13