Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 880-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-grinnell-pc1230-pkt-880-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Grinnell (PC-1230) - construction, sponsor, commissioning, war service, 1956 naming, disposal (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, spec block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'A city in Iowa.' PC-1230 laid down by Leathern [Leathem] D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 20 December 1942; launched 10 March 1943; sponsored by Miss Ann Duffy; commissioned 15 July [1943], Lt. Carrol E. Church in command. After shakedown, escort duty between Florida and the West Indies; departed New Orleans 7 December [1943], transited the Panama Canal, arrived Bora Bora, Society Islands, 13 February 1944; six months convoy-escort duty across the South Pacific. Palau operation: departed Tulagi 4 September, arrived Peleliu 15 September 1944; ten days of harbor entrance control. November 1944 - March 1945 patrol/escort in the Palau and Marshall Islands; departed Eniwetok 4 March [1945] for Pearl Harbor conversion to Landing Control Ship; after overhaul and amphibious training returned Eniwetok 18 June; rest of war training/patrol/escort in the Marshalls, Marianas, and Philippines; post-VJ-Day escort duty in the Philippines and harbor control out of Tokyo Bay. Decommissioned March 1946; Pacific Reserve Fleet; named Grinnell 15 February 1956; sold April 1960. One battle star for World War II service. Spec block: dp. 315; l. 174'; b. 23'; dr. 8'; s. 20 k.; cpl. 59; a. 1 3", 1 40mm., 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dcp., 2 dct.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service history only; no asbestos or materials content. Entry predates the PCC-1230 redesignation detail (20 August 1945) and the 1959 striking - those come from other rows. Live page returned full content via firecrawl and HTTP 200 with a browser user-agent on 2026-10-03; plain-agent fetches are bot-blocked (404/403) - an access quirk, not link rot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Grinnell (PC 1230) ex-PCC-1230 ex-PC-1230 - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, photo captions, post-Navy narrative (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/011230.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions, contributed narrative 'USS PC-1230 and the Church of Scientology'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: reclassified Control Submarine Chaser PCC-1230 on 20 August 1945; decommissioned March 1946 and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria, WA (the contributed narrative specifies Tongue Point, Astoria, Oregon, mothballed January 1947); Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 'lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as January 1947'; named Grinnell 15 February 1956 and reclassified PC-1230; sold in the 1960s to the Western Milling Company; resold 1970 to the National Metals and Steel Company of Terminal Island, California; sold April 1971 to L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology and renamed Bolivar (California license CF 3871-EM; painted white, davits fitted port side aft for a whaleboat tender); sighted in the San Pedro/Long Beach sections of Los Angeles Harbor through 1976; observed in the early 1980s moored to the Indies dock on Terminal Island, painted gray, renamed Grinnell (California license CF 9892-LA); 'fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 295 t.(lt)/450 t.(fl); length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts.; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440bhp General Motors 16-258S diesels (serial nos. 10869 and 10872), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign November-Charlie-India-Golf. Commanding officers: LT Carrol E. Church USNR (15 July 1943); LTJG L. I. Miller USNR (1945). Contributed narrative (R.W. Daly/PC-1181) adds: commissioned at New Orleans Thursday 15 July 1943; six weeks Subchaser Training Center Miami + Fleet Sound School Key West; convoy duty Key West-Guantanamo Bay; escorted a commercial tug towing a floating machine shop to Bora Bora arriving 13 February 1944; Peleliu harbor control and firepower support; Kossol Reef anchorage air-sea-rescue; battle star for Western Caroline Islands Operations 6 September - 14 October 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1980s
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); post-Navy owners/crews incl. Sea Org complement (~44 trainees, 1970-74); terminal/storage workers Terminal Island
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but conflicts exist on three points (commission day, Scientology purchase date, sale year; see gaps and ev-11). The post-Navy section is a contributed narrative; its 'sold April 1971' date conflicts with contemporaneous press placing the Sea Org purchase in mid-1970. Contains no asbestos content; no hazmat record for any ownership period was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-02
-
[4]Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (Bowling Green State University University Libraries), vessel registry record PC-1230 (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BGSU HCGL item 439202 - Registry and Rig Information, Vessel History, Disposition, Build Information, Vessel Names tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Maritime registry record for this hull: commissioned 15 July 1943; served in the South and Central Pacific, Philippines, and Japan; decommissioned March 1946 and placed in the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; 'Stricken from Navy List on April 1, 1959. Sold in April, 1960, presumably for scrapping.' Builder Smith, Leathem D. Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI; built 1943; steel hull; length 173.66, width 23.00, depth 8.00; propeller rig, U.S. Navy official number. Vessel-name chronology: PCC-1230 (1945-1955); PC-1230/USS Grinnell (1956-1959); U.S. Navy owner 1943-1959.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1960
- Limitations
- Academic archival registry (Great Lakes vessel documentation), not a federal register. The 'presumably for scrapping' disposition is the registry's own inference and is wrong as a final fate - the hull demonstrably continued under private owners into the 1980s (ev-02, ev-04). The April 1, 1959 strike date it supplies is the only located strike record; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-03
-
[5]Long Beach Press-Telegram features of 10 September 1970 (Ed Goldman, 'Girls in This Man's Navy') and 7 February 1971 (Noel Swann, 'Scientology Group Has Party Aboard Bolivar'), republished and analyzed by investigative journalist Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, 23 May 2024 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Underground Bunker post of 2024-05-23, republished Press-Telegram articles 'Girls in This Man's Navy' (1970-09-10) and 'Scientology Group Has Party Aboard Bolivar' (1971-02-07)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press documentation of this hull in Sea Org service: the 10 September 1970 feature describes 'the converted submarine chaser Bolivar, now a floating school for 44 young followers of Scientology' at Berth 10, Long Beach, and reports 'the Sea Org bought the Bolivar a month ago' (i.e., about August 1970). The 7 February 1971 feature describes 'the 174-foot TSMY Bolivar, an erstwhile submarine chaser which has been in and out of mothballs more than once before being whipped into its present shape as a research and training vessel for the Church of Scientology' at Pier 'A', Long Beach; states she 'was bought about May last year after it had been lying idle and decrepit at a dockside in Long Beach,' that the Church 'rebuilt it all with volunteer labor and ingenuity,' that her maiden voyage under new colors ran about November 1970 to Vancouver, Seattle, and San Francisco; and names port captain Rev. Neil Sarfati and skipper Bob Young. Crews stayed aboard two to three months qualifying as able-bodied seamen; families and women served throughout, including engine-room and bridge duty.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1970-1971
- Population
- Sea Org trainees/crew aboard Bolivar (~44 per the 1970 article), Long Beach harbor, 1970-71
- Limitations
- Feature journalism, not a registry: identifies the vessel as 'an erstwhile submarine chaser' of 174 feet named Bolivar in Sea Org service at Long Beach - consistent with the documented ex-PC-1230 ownership chain (ev-02) but not itself a hull-number record. The mid-1970 purchase dates in both articles conflict with NavSource's April 1971 (see gaps); Ortega is a reputable specialist reporter but the identification chain ex-PC-1230 = Bolivar rests on NavSource's ownership narrative corroborated by the Vancouver Archives photograph caption.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-04
-
[6]Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California, 212 Cal. App. 3d 872 (1989) (Justia; full opinion text verified via firecrawl 2026-10-03) [court_record]
- Locator
- 212 Cal. App. 3d 872, factual recital (auditing aboard the ship, 1974) and judgment posture; Ortega identification in the 2024-05-23 Underground Bunker article
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate opinion in which this hull (as the Sea Org ship Bolivar) is the situs of adjudicated conduct: in 1974 Lawrence Wollersheim 'was persuaded to participate in auditing aboard a ship maintained by Scientology'; aboard, he was forced into a regime running about 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., slept 'nine deep in the ship's hold,' lost fifteen pounds over six weeks, attempted escape, and 'was thwarted by Scientology members who seized Wollersheim and held him captive until he agreed to remain.' A jury awarded $5 million compensatory and $25 million punitive damages; the Court of Appeal affirmed liability for intentional infliction of emotional distress against First Amendment defenses. The opinion itself names only 'a ship'; investigative journalist Tony Ortega identifies the vessel as the Bolivar (the former PC-1230), correcting the Wikipedia summary that had placed Wollersheim aboard the flagship Apollo.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1974 (events); 1980-1989 (litigation); opinion filed 1989
- Population
- Lawrence Wollersheim and fellow Sea Org members aboard the ship, 1974
- Limitations
- NON-ASBESTOS litigation - intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and related claims against the Church; carried as vessel history, not exposure evidence. Hull identification is secondary: the opinion says only 'a ship maintained by Scientology' and the Bolivar identification rests on Ortega's 2024 reporting (reputable but not a primary court record). Describes conditions aboard in 1974, not materials; establishes nothing about asbestos presence, exposure, or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (diesel PC-461-class patrol craft); NavSource specifications (2 x GM 16-258S diesels, no steam plant); Patrol Craft Sailors Association class data; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications block; PCSA class page; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered steel-hulled patrol craft built 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small combatant of this type and period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; her asbestos-relevant systems are the auxiliary and machinery-space applications listed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1980s
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); post-Navy workforces including Sea Org rebuild volunteers (1970-71) and any later owners' repair crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-1230. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Marketing pages asserting PC-461 asbestos content (navyshipexposure.com, mesotheliomahope.com) are excluded sources and cannot serve as the anchor.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-06
-
[8]Wisconsin Labor History Society, 'L.D. Smith Shipbuilding (Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)'; corroborated by Door County Pulse, 'A Half-century of Building Ships at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding' [other_primary]
- Locator
- wisconsinlaborhistory.org L.D. Smith Shipbuilding entry; doorcountypulse.com shipbuilding retrospective
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context for this hull: during World War II the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding yard at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, produced 'ninety-three frigates, net tenders, tankers, cargo vessels, and gun boats, including thirty-eight submarine chasers one-hundred-seventy-three-feet-long (known as PCs)' (Wisconsin Labor History Society) - the type this hull belongs to. The wartime yard peaked at about 5,000 workers and averaged a ship delivered every 20 days; after the war it became the Christy Corporation (1947), was absorbed into Bay Shipbuilding under Manitowoc (1968), and operates today as Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (Door County Pulse).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith yard workforce (~5,000 peak)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history only - documents production volume and workforce at the builder, not materials used on this or any specific hull; no asbestos-specific record for the Leathem D. Smith yard was located, and the yard is absent from the atlas shipyards.json dataset (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-07
-
[9]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 construction (1942-43) and her entire naval service era (1943-46) plus reserve retention to 1959.
- 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-grinnell-pc1230-08
-
[10]Archival leads transcribed from NavSource photo captions: National Archives photo 80-G-43559 (16 November 1943, via National Museum of the U.S. Navy flickr collection); City of Vancouver Archives photograph by Walter E. Frost of M/V Bolivar, Vancouver BC, 17 April 1971; NARA RG 24 deck logs for PC-1230/PCC-1230 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/011230.htm photo captions (80-G-43559; Walter E. Frost/City of Vancouver Archives Bolivar, 17 April 1971)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Located archival leads for primary documentation of this hull: a November 1943 NARA still photo (80-G-43559) in the Bureau of Ships/general Navy photo series; a City of Vancouver Archives photograph (Walter E. Frost) documenting M/V Bolivar at Vancouver on 17 April 1971 - independent photographic confirmation of her Sea Org-era identity and northern cruise; and RG 24 deck logs for PC-1230 (1943-46) held at NARA, undigitized.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943; 1971
- Limitations
- Leads only: the NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be fetched for direct NAID confirmation this session (same access limit noted in Batch 98); photo identifiers are transcribed from NavSource captions. Deck logs and any pre-sale survey/condition records are undigitized open leads. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-09
-
[11]Batch-7726 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource; BGSU HCGL; Press-Telegram via Underground Bunker; Wollersheim opinion; Scientolipedia; WW2PCSA; Wisconsin labor/regional press; CourtListener (blocked); NARA lead; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-grinnell-pc1230-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified asbestos litigation naming PC-1230/PCC-1230/Grinnell/Bolivar was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper reported the fleet request budget spent and then a daily-quota reset of approximately 2 hours; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content (navyshipexposure.com PC-461 class page, mesotheliomahope.com patrol-boat page) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - and the litigation-repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-blocked, not run). Deck logs, yard work packages, and ownership-transfer condition records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-10
-
[12]Date cross-check: DANFS + NavSource + BGSU (15 July 1943 commissioning); Wikipedia infobox (12 July 1943); NavSource contributed narrative ('commissioned in New Orleans on Thursday, 15 July 1943' - 1943-07-15 was a Thursday); Press-Telegram purchase dates (mid-1970) vs NavSource 'April 1971' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS entry; NavSource header + narrative; BGSU HCGL; Wikipedia infobox; Press-Telegram 1970-09-10/1971-02-07; Scientolipedia Bolivar entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: secondary sources carry two date errors against the documented record. (1) Commissioning: Wikipedia gives 12 July 1943; DANFS, NavSource, and BGSU all give 15 July 1943, and NavSource's contributed narrative specifies 'Thursday, 15 July 1943' - 15 July 1943 was in fact a Thursday. The 15 July date is carried. (2) Sea Org purchase: NavSource gives 'sold April 1971 to L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology'; two contemporaneous Press-Telegram features place the purchase about August 1970 and 'about May' 1970, and a Church-documents-derived source dates the renaming to an Orders of the Day of 22 June 1970 - the documented acquisition is mid-1970, not April 1971.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943; 1970-1971
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating date errors, not a material/exposure claim. The mid-1970 acquisition is documented by contemporaneous press but the precise transfer date (NM&S to Sea Org) is not fixed; 'April 1971' may reflect a later title formality or confusion with the documented April 1971 Vancouver photo date. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-grinnell-pc1230-11