Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 911-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-houghton-pc588-pkt-911-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Houghton (PC-588), Vol. III p. 370 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, WWII service narrative, 1956 naming, 1960 strike/sale (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Houghton' (Vol. III p. 370), namesake line + spec block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., 22 November 1941; launched 3 May 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Joshua L. Johns; commissioned 22 June 1942, Lt. J. R. Hinton in command. After shakedown off Florida, assigned to patrol and escort duty out of Key West and in the Gulf of Mexico; joined a Pacific-bound convoy late September 1942, arrived Pearl Harbor 28 November; patrol and escort duty in the Hawaiian Islands November 1942 - January 1944; departed Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 escorting SS Richard Yates to Makin, Gilbert Islands; patrol and escort duty in the South Pacific for the remainder of WWII; returned to the United States late 1945; decommissioned at Puget Sound 29 July 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. 'While berthed with the Columbia River Group, PC-588 was named Houghton 15 February 1956. She was struck from the Navy List and sold to Geomarine Services, Inc., 11 March 1960.' Namesake: 'Communities in northwestern Michigan and southwestern New York.' Spec block: dp. 295; l. 174'; b. 23'; dr. 8'; s. 20 k.; cpl. 65; a. 1 3", 5 20mm., 2 rkt., 2 dep.; cl. PC-461.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1941-42); wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS Vol. III (published after reclassification) narrates her as 'PCC-588' throughout though she was commissioned PC-588. Live NHHC DANFS pages returned 404 on 2026-10-03 for all candidate URLs; verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror used. Strike/sale date conflicts with NavSource (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Houghton (PCC 588) ex-PCC-588 ex-PC-588 - designation timeline, specifications, service photographs, commanding officers [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010588.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 22 November 1941 by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched 3 May 1942; commissioned USS PC-588, 22 June 1942; 'Suffered blast damages 29 January 1945 after Serpens (AK 97) was sunk by explosion of undetermined origin at Guadalcanal, Solomons'; visited Auckland, New Zealand 27 May - 8 June 1945; reclassified Control Submarine Chaser PCC-588 August 1945 (September 1945 photograph at Hagushi Harbor, Okinawa); decommissioned 29 July 1946 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and laid up in the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as January 1947; named Houghton 15 February 1956; struck from the Naval Register 1 April 1959; sold 11 May 1960 to Geomarine Services Inc.; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: 280 t. (lt), 450 t. (fl); length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts.; complement 65; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; two 1,440 bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Commanding officers listed: LT J. R. Hinton, USNR (listed from 22 January 1942 - predates commissioning, see gaps); LTJG W. Madison, USNR (1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1941-42); wartime crew (1942-46); Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inactivation trades (1946); Columbia River Group reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-60)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS but strike and sale dates conflict with DANFS (carried in gaps). The 29 January 1945 blast-damage entry is NavSource-only; the Serpens explosion itself is corroborated by DANFS (see ev-03) but that entry does not name PC-588. The 'January 1947' reserve-plan note attributed to the 1 January 1949 NVR postdates her actual July 1946 decommissioning - apparently a stale register projection, flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-02
-
[4]DANFS, Serpens (AK-97), Vol. 6 pp. 452-453 - loss narrative (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Serpens (AK-97) entry, final loss paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Corroborates the event NavSource records as damaging this hull: on 29 January 1945 Serpens (AK-97), anchored off Lunga Beach, Guadalcanal, exploded while 198 crew members and 57 Army stevedores were aboard loading depth charges; only two aboard survived; the bow alone remained visible and sank shortly after; cause of the explosion unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-01-29
- Population
- Serpens crew and Army stevedores (255 killed); nearby vessels incl. PC-588 per NavSource
- Limitations
- Corroborates the explosion event only - the DANFS Serpens entry does not name PC-588 or any other vessel damaged by the blast; PC-588's blast damage itself rests on NavSource alone (ev-02). Not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-03
-
[5]NavSource Online, Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser index - PC-461 class overview (362 WWII-built 173-foot steel-hulled twin-diesel PCs; construction series PC-461 to PC-496, PC-542 to PC-627, PC-776 to PC-826, PC-1077 to PC-1265; PCC conversion program) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/01idx.htm PC-461 class introduction paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class context for this hull: PC-588 belongs to the second production series (PC-542 to PC-627) of the PC-461 class - 362 steel-hulled, 173-foot, twin-diesel submarine chasers built during WWII by small yards on both coasts and the Great Lakes, which 'replaced the larger and more valuable DD's and DE's around harbors and restricted waters.' Class armament/description matches this hull's NavSource spec (3"/50 dual-purpose, 40mm, 20mm guns; detection and ranging gear for submarine location; ~18-20 knots). PCs converted to amphibious control vessels were reclassified PCC - the conversion program that produced this hull's August 1945 PCC-588 designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (class production)
- Population
- PC-461-class crews and construction trades (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Class-level description only - no asbestos content and no hull-specific material data; used to place this hull within its documented production series and conversion program. NavSource is a secondary compilation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (PC-461 class, diesel); NavSource specifications (2 x GM 16-258S diesels, 2 shafts) and class overview (steel-hulled twin-diesel chasers); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos program documentation (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications and class overview
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel-powered patrol craft built November 1941 - June 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. As a diesel-driven craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-46); Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inactivation trades (1946); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-60)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-588/PCC-588. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-05
-
[7]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 entire construction (1941-42), service era (1942-46), and reserve-fleet layup (1946-60).
- 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 in prior sessions of this project) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-06
-
[8]Green Bay Press-Gazette (24 Jan 2020), 'Navy's World War II ships from Sturgeon Bay focus of museum exhibit' - Door County Maritime Museum 'Built for Battle' exhibit on Sturgeon Bay WWII naval construction [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Press-Gazette article body (Kuzdas quotes; '42 PC-class ships built at Leathem Smith')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context for this hull: the Door County Maritime Museum's 'Built for Battle' exhibit documents the submarine chasers (SC) and patrol craft (PC) built for the U.S. Navy by Peterson Boat Works and Leathem D. Smith in Sturgeon Bay - 42 PC-class ships built at Leathem Smith and 17 SCs from Peterson - and the crews that served on them. Corroborates that this hull's builder ran a dedicated WWII patrol-craft production line.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (production); 2020 (exhibit)
- Population
- Sturgeon Bay construction trades (Leathem D. Smith; Peterson Boat Works), WWII
- Limitations
- Local-press museum coverage - builder/production context only. Contains no asbestos content and no material documentation for this hull or the yard. Article text partially paywalled; exhibit description and production counts verified from the page's accessible body.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-07
-
[9]Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU University Libraries) vessel-name index - 'PC 588 (USS HOUGHTON)', begin 1956, end 1960, official number U.S. NAVY; plus NARA RG 80 photographs 80-G-276603 and 80-G-276614 credited in NavSource captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- BGSU HCGL vessel index (name record, transcribed via catalog search results); NavSource 12/010588.htm photo caption block (NARA 80-G numbers)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: BGSU's Historical Collections of the Great Lakes vessel index carries a 'PC 588 (USS HOUGHTON)' name record active 1956-1960 under U.S. Navy registry - matching her 1956 naming and 1960 disposal - and supplied the 'soon after launching' photograph on NavSource. Separately, NavSource captions credit National Archives photographs 80-G-276603 (c. 1942 sea trial on Lake Michigan; replacement photo 4 February 1943 underway in the Hawaiian area, NHHC-sourced) and 80-G-276614 to this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1960 (records coverage)
- Population
- Crew depicted 1942-45; record-holding populations
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - index entries and photo captions establish existence and custody of records, not their content; neither catalog (greatlakes.bgsu.edu, catalog.archives.gov) is fully retrievable without JS rendering. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-08
-
[10]Batch-7963 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource ship page and class index; DANFS Serpens corroboration; BGSU HCGL index; NARA photo numbers via NavSource captions; Green Bay Press-Gazette; GAO product page; NVR (login-blocked); CourtListener API v4 (7 queries: 4 base + 3 asbestos-qualified variants); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-houghton-pc588-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS PC-588 / USS PCC-588 / USS Houghton was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated, API v4) searched 2026-10-03: 'USS Houghton' opinions returned 4 hits, all name collisions (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishing litigation - Bertelsmann antitrust x2, Dr. Seuss copyright - and a civil-rights case); 'USS Houghton' dockets returned 231 hits, page-1 all name collisions including one asbestos personal-injury docket (Brian Houghton v. ABB, Inc., C.D. Cal. 2:18-cv-03133) matching on the plaintiff's surname, not the vessel; 'PC-588' opinions returned 2,691 hits and 'PC-588' dockets 24,012 hits - term/number collisions (professional-corporation suffixes, statute and document numbers), page-1 all non-vessel. Both bases overflowed their 20-result pages on these high-collision names, so phrase-qualified asbestos variants ran: '"USS Houghton" asbestos' dockets = 0; '"PC-588" asbestos' opinions = 0; '"PC-588" asbestos' dockets = 1 (Winn-Dixie Stores bankruptcy 3:05-bk-03817, a document/claim-number match, not the vessel). No qualifying asbestos litigation names this hull in CourtListener's index. Secondary web sweeps likewise surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'PCC' asbestos material is the Pittsburgh Corning bankruptcy trust - a designation collision, not a vessel record.
- 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. The CourtListener negative is an index-level result: state-court dockets and non-indexed filings are outside its coverage, and pleading-stage vessel lists would in any case be allegations, not findings. Deck logs, Leathem D. Smith work packages, and the Geomarine Services sale/disposal record are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-houghton-pc588-09