Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 993-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-jamestown-pg55-pkt-993-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Jamestown II (PG-55) (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. III, pp. 501-503; live NHHC page verified 200 with browser user-agent, 2026-10-04) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Jamestown II (PG-55)', specifications block + service narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: built as yacht Savarona in 1928 by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Del., for Mrs. Thomas S. Cadwallader of Philadelphia; purchased 1929 by Col. William Boyce Thompson and renamed Alder; acquired by the Navy at New York 6 December 1940; converted to a gunboat at the Fletcher Division Shipyard of Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Hoboken, N.J.; renamed Jamestown and designated PG-55; commissioned at New York Navy Yard 26 May 1941, Comdr. A. P. Lawton. Midshipman training summer 1941; fitted out as motor torpedo boat tender; Melville, R.I., MTB Training Center (Squadron 4); departed New York 1 August 1942 for the South Pacific; September 1942 Espiritu Santo; convoy escort New Hebrides-Tulagi towing gasoline/bomb barge; reported Tulagi 22 October 1942; four months servicing Squadron 3 PT boats under constant air attack, plus preliminary repairs to battle-damaged cruisers and ashore water-pipeline work; Jamestown and Squadron 3 explicitly included in the 1st Marine Division Presidential Unit Citation; redesignated AGP-3 13 January 1943; twelve months of Tulagi-New Hebrides-Rendova supply/escort runs; overhaul San Pedro February-July 1944; utility work Solomons-New Guinea (Treasury Island, Bougainville, Milne Bay, Finschhafen); Leyte 12 February 1945, berthing Motor Torpedo Squadron 24 to 15 March; Samar-Woendi convoys; Borneo and Philippine ports; decommissioned San Francisco 6 March 1946; transferred to Maritime Commission for disposal 4 September 1946; sold to Balfour Guthrie and Co., Ltd., 16 December 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-1946
- Population
- Pusey & Jones construction trades 1927-28; Bethlehem Hoboken conversion workers 1940-41; New York Navy Yard outfitting workforce 1941-42; wartime crew (complement 259 per DANFS spec); embarked midshipmen and PT-boat squadron personnel
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Spec block gives displacement 1,780 t and complement 259 - both conflict with Shipscribe figures (1,730 light/2,250 lim; crew 119 + 88 passengers). DANFS says 'acquired' without characterizing purchase vs donation; Shipscribe says purchased from 'W. B. Thompson' (likely the widow). No strike or post-sale fate given.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Gunboat Photo Archive, Jamestown (AGP 3) ex-PG-55 (specifications, timeline, commanding officers, NARA photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 12/09055: specifications block, timeline, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: built 1928 as steel-hulled yacht Savarona at Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington DE; renamed Alder 1929; acquired by the Navy 6 December 1940 at New York; converted to patrol gunboat at Fletcher Division Shipyard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Hoboken NJ; commissioned USS Jamestown (PG-55) 26 May 1941; reclassified motor torpedo boat tender AGP-3 13 January 1943; decommissioned 6 March 1946 at San Francisco; struck from the Naval Register 20 March 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 4 September 1946 (Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists transfer to War Shipping Administration as December 1946); sold 16 December 1946 to Belfour and Gutrie and Co., Ltd., of San Francisco; 'fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 2,250 t; 294' x 38'2" x 16'; 15 kts; complement 259; two 3"/50 dual-purpose mounts and six 20 mm mounts; propulsion two 3,000 shp Cooper Bessemer diesel engines, two shafts. Commanding officers: CDR A. P. Lawton (to 15 Oct 1942), LCDR C. B. Beasley (to 1 Feb 1943), LCDR J. A. E. O'Handley (to 27 Mar 1945), LCDR J. C. Dean, USNR (to 6 Mar 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1928-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew; PT-boat squadron personnel tended
- Limitations
- NavSource is a curated archival compilation, not a government publication - individual items are sourced to NARA/NHHC photo captions and official registers, which is the basis carried here. 'Fate unknown' is superseded by Shipscribe's documented post-sale history (ev-03). Complement 259 and diesel horsepower conflict with Shipscribe figures - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-02
-
[4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), 'Jamestown (AGP-3)' class page - compiled from BuShips/OpNav records and Ships' Histories Branch files (compiled 2006-02-23) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Shipscribe AGP-3 class page: class data block, construction table, disposition table, class notes, ship notes
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipscribe class record for this hull: 294' diesel cruising yacht Savarona designed by Henry J. Gielow, built by Pusey & Jones at Wilmington, Del., for Mrs. Emily Roebling Cadwallader (granddaughter of John Roebling) - second of three successively larger Savaronas built 1926-31; launched 12 September 1927, completed January 1928; sold 1929 to Col. William Boyce Thompson, renamed Alder; Navy purchased her from 'W. B. Thompson,' most likely the widow; sent to Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Hoboken (formerly W. & A. Fletcher Co.) where as of late April 1941 conversion work had not begun; austere conversion, commissioned May 1941; considered for exchange for C&GS salvage ship Discoverer June-September 1941; Auxiliary Vessels Board conversion options considered 6 September 1941; conversion to MTB tender completed March 1942; further modifications New York July 1942; reclassified AGP-3 13 January 1943; rated May 1944 capacity 88 passengers/troops in addition to crew of 119; armament progression 1-3"/50 (Mar 42), 2-3"/50 + 4-20mm (Jul 42), 2-3"/50 + 6<8-20mm (1944-45); San Pedro overhaul February-July 1944 with six 20 mm added; decommissioned 6 March 1946; struck 20 March 1946; disposal 30 June 1946; Maritime Commission sale 16 December 1946. Post-sale: became Jamestown under British registry 1947, Marosanna 1953; serving the Cayman Islands Co. as a banana carrier, sprang a leak and sank 1 August 1961 off the west coast of Colombia on a voyage from Ecuador to Tampa, Fla.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-1961
- Population
- Yacht builders (Pusey & Jones, 1927-28); conversion yard workers (Bethlehem Hoboken 1940-41); New York Navy Yard 1941-42; San Pedro overhaul workforce Feb-Jul 1944; wartime crew of 119 plus up to 88 embarked passengers/troops
- Limitations
- Shipscribe is a secondary compilation, but one built on BuShips/OpNav records and Ships' Histories Branch (now NHHC) files - it is the strongest located source for launch date, design attribution, complement breakdown, armament progression, and post-1946 fate. 'Disposal 30 Jun 46' vs DANFS 'transferred to the Maritime Commission 4 September 1946' is a documented date conflict carried in gaps. Not an asbestos source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-03
-
[5]NHHC photo catalog 19-N-23948 (and companions 19-N-23949, 19-N-23950): USS Jamestown (PG-55) at Hoboken, New Jersey, prior to conversion to a naval vessel, 24 April 1941; NARA RG-19 source photos; also 19-N-25720 (New York Navy Yard, 11 Oct 1941), 19-N-32984 (New York Navy Yard, 23 Jul 1942), 19-N-70864 (post-San Pedro overhaul, camouflage Measure 31/11P) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC photo catalog entries 19-N-23948, 19-N-23949, 19-N-23950 (Hoboken, 24 Apr 1941); 19-N-25720, 19-N-32984 (NY Navy Yard); 19-N-70864 (1944)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA RG-19/NHHC photographic record documents this hull's yard periods: at Hoboken 24 April 1941 with little conversion work begun (19-N-23948/-49/-50); at the New York Navy Yard 11 October 1941 unarmed and tending PT boats (19-N-25720); at the New York Navy Yard 23 July 1942 receiving Pacific-service modifications (19-N-32984); and post-overhaul 1944 in Measure 31 Design 11P camouflage (19-N-70864). These fix the conversion and outfitting windows during the Navy's peak asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1940-1944
- Population
- Conversion-yard and Navy-yard workforces at Hoboken and Brooklyn, 1940-1942; San Pedro overhaul workforce 1944
- Limitations
- Photographs document where and when yard work occurred; they do not identify materials installed. No caption mentions asbestos, insulation type, or hazardous material. The images themselves are the archival lead - full-resolution scans and any accompanying RG-19 work documentation are retrievable from NARA.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-04
-
[6]NHHC H-Gram 011-2, 'Forgotten Valor' (October 2017) - Guadalcanal fuel convoy narrative [other_primary]
- Locator
- H-Gram 011-2 (October 2017), convoy narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC-published account names this hull: 'the cargo ships USS Alchiba (AKA-6) and USS Bellatrix (AKA-3), along with the PT-boat tender USS Jamestown (PG-55), were each towing a fuel barge' in the October 1942 convoy to relieve the aviation-fuel crisis at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal - the convoy ordered back on 15 October 1942 when Japanese carriers were detected (the covering destroyer Meredith was sunk by a Zuikaku strike).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-10
- Population
- Convoy crews, October 1942
- Limitations
- Corroborates the DANFS convoy-escort narrative and places the hull on the Guadalcanal supply run in October 1942; a historical narrative, not a materials or asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 exact-name base queries, 2026-10-04 (authenticated helper): "USS Jamestown" opinion search count 0; "USS Jamestown" RECAP docket search count 0 [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py type=o and type=r, query '"USS Jamestown"', limit 20, count 0 both
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No docketed matter naming this hull located: the exact-name opinion and docket searches for 'USS Jamestown' each returned zero results. Combined with the survey/abatement negative finding (ev-07), no public ship-specific asbestos record exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Exact-name and hull-number base queries: 'PG-55' opinion returned 131 and docket returned 6,326 string-collision hits (page/exhibit citations - no vessel or asbestos matter on the returned pages); the asbestos-qualified variant was deferred by the fleet-wide pacing limiter and is logged in the search ledger. A zero result does not prove no case ever named the vessel; it establishes that no indexed opinion or RECAP docket carries the phrase. 'Jamestown' collides with the 1844 sloop-of-war and AGTR-3 (1963), but neither base query returned any hit to classify.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-06
-
[8]Batch-8540 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS, NavSource, Shipscribe, NHHC photo catalog, NHHC h-gram, NVR, NPS NRHP/NHL, HAER, Naval Marine Archive builder's list, CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-jamestown-pg55-01 through sl-uss-jamestown-pg55-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or preservation-era documentation naming PG-55/AGP-3 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull sank at sea in 1961, so no preserved-fabric record (museum survey, NRHP/NHL nomination, HAER documentation) exists or can be generated.
- 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 asbestos was absent aboard - the 1940-44 conversion and outfitting windows fall in the Navy's peak asbestos-use era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-07
-
[9]Era/yard inference row: NavSource propulsion spec (diesel) + Atlas shipyard dataset records for bethlehem-shipbuilding (tier 3) and brooklyn-navy-yard (tier 3, Kaylo documented, WWII industrial-hygiene survey) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json records 'bethlehem-shipbuilding' and 'brooklyn-navy-yard'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: this is a diesel-propelled vessel (two Cooper Bessemer diesels, two shafts - NavSource), so no boiler or steam-turbine lagging claim applies. The asbestos-relevant exposure window is the 1940-44 Navy conversion and outfitting work at Bethlehem's Hoboken (Fletcher Division) yard, the New York Navy Yard, and the 1944 San Pedro overhaul, plus any retained yacht insulation from the 1928 build. Era-standard applications for a vessel of this type: machinery and exhaust insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and deck coverings. The Atlas shipyard dataset documents asbestos products at both named conversion yards (Bethlehem Shipbuilding: block, cement, lagging, gaskets, packing, Marinite, Transite, Unibestos, Raybestos cloth; New York Naval Shipyard: Kaylo, WWII pipe-covering industrial-hygiene survey) - yard-level documentation, not hull records.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1927-1946
- Population
- Pusey & Jones builders 1927-28; Bethlehem Hoboken conversion workers 1940-41; New York Navy Yard workforce 1941-42; San Pedro overhaul workers 1944; wartime crew
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - no ship-specific finding. Which materials were actually installed or disturbed aboard this hull is undocumented; yacht-era (1928) insulation content is unknown; NARA RG-19 General Information Books and conversion work packages are the open archival lead for hull-level specs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-jamestown-pg55-08