Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 908-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-honesdale-pc566-pkt-908-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Honesdale (PC-566) entry, Naval History and Heritage Command (live page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + service narrative (entire entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser (dp. 277; l. 178'; b. 23'; dr. 8'; s. 20 k.; cpl. 59; armament 1x3in, 1x40mm, 2x20mm, 2 rocket launchers, 2 depth-charge projectors, 2 depth-charge tracks); laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., 14 August 1941; launched 31 March 1942, sponsored by Miss Ruby Joyce Halfin; commissioned 15 June [1942], Lt. Comdr. H. C. Claudius in command; Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean patrol/escort duty and training-ship service out of Miami; March 1945 attached to Fleet Experimental Sonar School, Key West, then Naval Training Center Miami; postwar training East Coast and Caribbean until late 1946; decommissioned 8 January 1947 and joined Atlantic Reserve Fleet; named Honesdale 1 February 1956 while berthed at Norfolk; struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960; sold to Venezuela June 1961. Namesake: the borough of Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce 1941-42; wartime and postwar crew (design complement 59)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents identity, dates, and service history - not materials or asbestos content, and the DANFS narrative does not mention the 30 July 1942 U-166 action (that event is documented by BOEM/NOAA records, ev-03). Launch date conflicts with NavSource (31 vs 21 March 1942) - carried in gaps. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Honesdale (PC 566) ex-PC-566 - timeline, specifications, commanding-officer list (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-566 page - timeline bullet list, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser; laid down 14 August 1941 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston TX; launched 21 March 1942; commissioned USS PC-566, 15 June 1942; placed in service as a Naval Reserve training vessel September 1946 at the 4th Naval District (Philadelphia); decommissioned 8 January 1947 at Norfolk, VA and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk Group; named Honesdale 1 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 1 July 1960; sold to Venezuela June 1961 and renamed Calamar (P 02); struck from Venezuelan naval list 1978; fate unknown. Specifications: 280 t. light / 450 t. full; 173'8in length; 23' beam; 10'10in draft; 20.2 kts; complement 65; propulsion two 1,440 bhp Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 diesel engines (serials 832235, 832236), Westinghouse single-reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding-officer list of 13 officers from Lt. Herbert Gordon Claudius (15 June 1942) through Ens. Donald J. Pratt (15 December 1946 - 8 January 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1978
- Population
- Naval Reserve trainees 4th Naval District 1946-47; Venezuelan Navy crew 1961-1978
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archival aggregation, not an official record - dates not in DANFS (Reserve-training detail, Venezuelan disposition) are carried from NavSource with that caveat. Launch date (21 March) conflicts with DANFS (31 March); complement (65) and displacement (280/450 t vs 277) differ from DANFS - conflicts carried in gaps. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, World War II Shipwrecks (Gulf of Mexico archaeology program) + Minerals Management Service News Release 010615, 'MMS Ensures Nation's Historic Shipwrecks are Protected as Archaeologists Share in U-Boat Discovery' (15 June 2001) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BOEM WWII Shipwrecks page, 'U-166' section; MMS News Release 010615 PDF
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Federal archaeological record naming this hull: U-166 was the only German U-boat sunk in the Gulf of Mexico; discovered in May 2001 in 5,000 feet of water within a mile of her last victim, the passenger ship SS Robert E. Lee, during a C&C Technologies pipeline survey for BP and Shell required under MMS outer-continental-shelf archaeological regulations. Credit had long been assigned to a Coast Guard J4F aircraft attack 1 August 1942 over 100 miles away; BOEM states 'It is now believed that the sub was sunk two days earlier by depth charges from the Robert E. Lee's naval escort, the U.S. Navy sub-chaser, PC-566.' On 16 December 2014 the Secretary of the Navy posthumously awarded PC-566's wartime commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Herbert G. Claudius, the Legion of Merit with Combat 'V' after an NHHC review recommended PC-566 be credited with the sinking (Navy Times, 22 December 2014; U.S. Navy photo 141216-N-ZI511-951).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942; 2001 (wreck discovery); 2014 (award)
- Population
- PC-566 crew, 30 July 1942 action (13-officer CO list begins with Claudius)
- Limitations
- Documents the hull's combat history and the federal attribution of the U-166 kill - vessel history only, no asbestos or materials content. The BOEM page uses 'now believed' phrasing; the 2014 decoration is reported by Navy Times (reputable press) with an official Navy photo credit, not located as a navy.mil release.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-03
-
[5]NARA, National Archives at College Park - 'USS PC-566 - War Diary, 11/1-30/43,' World War II War Diaries series, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (micro serial 61226), via DPLA item record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog ID 139730493; DPLA item 12370f8c5a20af1ca7517c3ffb6c343f
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A ship-specific wartime record for this hull exists in NARA custody: the November 1943 war diary of USS PC-566 (NARA catalog ID 139730493, micro serial 61226), within the WWII War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories series. War diaries of this series record operations, movements, and sometimes maintenance activity - a lead for any hull-level repair or materiel documentation during her Miami/Key West training and escort period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- November 1943
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the diary's contents were not reviewed (microfilm; digitization status not verified beyond the catalog record). No asbestos content is asserted or implied; whether it documents materiel relevant to this record is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-04
-
[6]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2025 feature article, production paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard record: Brown Shipbuilding Company was established 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root at Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; it built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts (38 Edsall-class, 23 John C. Butler-class), 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 LSMs; employed more than 25,000 workers at its late-1942 peak; used assembly-line section fabrication with sideways launches into the narrow bayou; and was sold to Todd Shipyards after the war. PC-566 is within the class Brown built (DANFS confirms this hull by name).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 at late-1942 peak)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not hull documentation - the article does not name PC-566 and contains no asbestos or materials information. It establishes the size and character of the wartime workforce that built this hull; any exposure at the yard is litigation-context, not a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-05
-
[7]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 28:9-16 (Jan 1946), PMID 21016030; with Kelly RJ, 'When errors become etched in stone: The U.S. Navy's deeply flawed, never retracted World War II asbestos epidemiology study,' New Solut 36(2):138-150 (2026), PMID 42307414 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed records: PMID 21016030 (Fleischer 1946); PMID 42307414 (Kelly 2026, New Solut 36(2):138-150, DOI 10.1177/10482911261446696)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Era-level documentation that asbestos-containing insulation materials were standard in WWII naval-vessel construction: the 1946 survey of pipe-covering operations in naval shipbuilding - characterized by Kelly (2026) as 'the U.S. Navy's... World War II asbestos epidemiology study' - examined insulation work with asbestos-containing materials and erroneously concluded the trade was 'not a dangerous occupation'; Kelly documents that this error led the Navy to neglect asbestos protection for approximately 25 years and was later used in 'state of the art' defenses by asbestos manufacturers.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s (survey); 2026 (critique)
- Population
- WWII naval-vessel construction insulation trades (era-level)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level evidence - the 1946 survey did not examine Brown Shipbuilding or this hull and does not establish asbestos aboard PC-566; it documents period practice and its consequences. Per Kelly 2026 the study's exculpating conclusion is discredited; the survey remains evidence that asbestos pipe covering was in use, not that any specific hull carried it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-06
-
[8]Batch-7941 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live); NavSource; NVR (no entry - pre-1987 disposal); BOEM/NOAA; NARA catalog; USNI; PubMed; CourtListener base queries; shipyards.json yard list [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-honesdale-pc566-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming PC-566 / Honesdale / Calamar was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only asbestos claims about this hull or its builder found on the open web are law-firm marketing pages (mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomaveterans.org, asbestosexposuresites.com and similar) asserting asbestos use 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 - a 1941-42 naval combatant of this type is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and packing. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-honesdale-pc566-07