Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 860-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lapeer-pc1138-pkt-860-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, PC-1138 (1943-1956) - spec block, construction, full wartime service narrative, decommissioning, 1956 naming (updated 2 October 2023 by Robert J. Cressman; live NHHC page verified) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS PC-1138 entry - spec block and full service narrative (live NHHC page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS): spec block - 'PC-1138: displacement 295; length 173'8"; beam 23'0"; draft 8'0"; speed 20 knots; complement 66; armament 1 3-inch, 1 40 millimeter, 5 20 millimeter, 2 depth charge tracks, 2 depth charge projectors, 2 rocket launchers [Mousetrap]; class PC-461.' Laid down 9 January 1943 at Bay City, Mich., by Defoe Shipbuilding Co.; launched 19 April 1943; commissioned at New Orleans 17 September 1943, Lt. Gilbert N. Cooper, D-V(G), USNR, in command (Lt. Ernest A. Burguieres Jr., USNR, relieved 4 October 1943). Shakedown at the Submarine Chaser Training Center, Miami; escort commander of New Orleans Convoy 13 (nine LSTs and four SCs) to Coco Solo, C.Z., 14-22 November 1943; sortied 25 November with the salvage group for the tanker Elizabeth Kellogg, torpedoed by U-516 north of Cristobal (survivors recovered; tanker sank). Convoyed repair ship Luzon (ARG-2) from Balboa to Funafuti, Ellice Islands, 8 December 1943-4 January 1944, with repeated propulsion casualties en route; scuttled the torpedoed fuel-oil barge YO-159 (damaged 14 January by RO-42) on 15 January 1944. Escort duty from Funafuti to 1 May 1944, then patrol and escort in the Solomons until departing for Ulithi (arrived 14 December 1944). December 1944-July 1945 escorted ships supporting the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns (Ulithi-Palaus-Eniwetok-Guam); arrived Pearl Harbor 8 August 1945. Sailed for the west coast 20 May 1946; reached Astoria, Oregon, 21 June; decommissioned there 13 September 1946 into the Nineteenth Fleet. Named Lapeer 1 February 1956 while berthed in the Columbia River Group reserve.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); wartime crew (1943-46, complement 66 per DANFS); reserve-fleet caretakers, Columbia River Group (1946-59)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only - no asbestos, materials, or exposure content. Modern NHHC compilation from war diaries and deck logs. The naming date (1 February 1956) conflicts with NavSource's 15 February 1956 - carried as DANFS gives it, conflict logged in gaps. Complement (66), draft (8'0"), and armament counts conflict with NavSource's spec block - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-01
-
[3]DANFS, Lapeer (PC-1138) (1956-1959) - namesake, naming, striking, and post-Navy ownership/Peruvian-service chain (updated 3 October 2023 by Robert J. Cressman; live NHHC page verified) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Lapeer (PC-1138) entry - namesake paragraph and post-Navy narrative (live NHHC page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS Lapeer entry, 1956-1959 span): namesake - 'The county seat of Lapeer County in eastern Michigan.' The PC-461-class submarine chaser 'performed escort missions in the Caribbean and Pacific Theaters of War, and was decommissioned on 13 September 1946. While berthed in reserve in the Columbia River Group, PC-1138 was named Lapeer on 1 February 1956, but never served actively under that name. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1959.' Post-Navy chain per DANFS: 'Ken Hinche had the submarine chaser converted to an icebreaker, and, giving her the name Knit Bay, employed her in Alaskan climes. Dave Updyke converted the vessel to a tug while, subsequently, Belco Petroleum of Houston, Texas, renamed the former warship Mister B, and utilized her in work in Peruvian oil fields.' The Peruvian Navy acquired her in 1984 and commissioned her as Duenas (ARB-126) on 5 June 1985; she served as a tugboat until inactivated in 2014 and decommissioned in 2015; she 'apparently has been earmarked to be broken up for a scrap.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1956-2015
- Population
- Reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-59); merchant conversion-yard workforces (icebreaker and tug conversions); Peruvian Navy crew and yard trades (1984-2015)
- Limitations
- Official secondary history; the post-Navy chain is asserted without dates or documents for individual transactions, and the icebreaker name differs between DANFS ('Knit Bay') and NavSource/Lake Union ('Knik Bay') - logged in gaps. 'Apparently ... earmarked' is DANFS's own hedge; post-2015 status unverified. No asbestos, hazmat, or material content - the 1959 sale and the successive industrial conversions carry no located hazmat or material disclosure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Lapeer (PC 1138) ex-PC-1138 - designation timeline, specifications incl. propulsion detail, NVR note, disposal chain, CO roster (verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/011138.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: 'Laid down 9 January 1943 at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Michigan; Launched 19 April 1943; Commissioned USS PC-1138, 17 September 1943 at New Orleans, LA' - plus the YO-159 scuttling of 15 January 1944 - 'Decommissioned 13 September 1946 at Astoria, Oregon and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group', with the note 'Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as January 1947'; 'Named Lapeer, 15 February 1956; Struck from the Naval Register 1 April 1959; Sold to Ken Hinche, converted to an Icebreaker, renamed Knik Bay and operated in Alaskan waters; Sold to Dave Updyke and converted to a Tug; Sold to Belco Petroleum of Houston, TX, renamed Mister B and operated in the Peruvian Oil Fields; Sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1984; Commissioned BAP Duenas (ARB-126), 5 June 1985; Still in service as of 2014.' 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 DP 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 diesel engines, ... Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts' (engines replaced with two Fairbanks Morse diesels after conversion to a tug). Call signs NGVY (USN) and OBGA (Duenas). CO roster: LT Gilbert N. Cooper USNR (17 September 1943); LTC. D. Hargrove USNR (1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-2014
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1943); USN crew (1943-46); merchant and Peruvian crews (1959-2015)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation - corroborates DANFS on all milestones but conflicts on details: naming date 15 February 1956 (vs DANFS 1 February), complement 65 (vs 66), draft 10'10" (vs 8'0"), armament (three 20mm and four DCPs vs DANFS's five 20mm and two DCPs), speed 20.2 kts (vs 20), icebreaker 'Knik Bay' (vs DANFS 'Knit Bay'); the page header misprints the class as 'PC-451' while index, DANFS, and class literature confirm PC-461. Propulsion and complement details are single-source (absent from DANFS). The quoted NVR-1949 'January 1947' plan note post-dates the actual September 1946 decommissioning - probable stale plan line. CO roster is incomplete (omits Burguieres, whom DANFS documents). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-1138 (PC-1138), patrol craft of the PC-461 class - build data, ordered date, disposal line, WWII CO roster (secondary compilation; verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 8683 - data table and Commands section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's entry for this hull records: ordered 27 February 1942; built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. (Bay City, Michigan); laid down 9 January 1943; launched 19 April 1943; commissioned 17 September 1943; end of service 13 September 1946 - 'Decommissioned on 13 September 1946; Stricken on 1 April 1959; Sold into mercantile service.' WWII commanding officers listed: Gilbert N. Cooper USNR (17 Sep 1943 - 3 Oct 1943); Lt. Ernest A. Burguieres Jr. USNR (3 Oct 1943 - mid/late 1944); C. D. Hargrove USNR (mid/late 1944 - mid 1945); D. C. Morrell USNR (mid 1945 - late 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1959
- Population
- Wartime crew under the listed COs (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation - corroborates DANFS milestones exactly and independently confirms the 1959 strike. The ordered date and the CO roster are unverified against commissioning or deck-log records; the Burguieres relief date (3 October) differs trivially from DANFS's 4 October 1943. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-04
-
[6]Lake Union history site (lakeunionhistory.org), USS Lapeer exhibit page - post-Navy buyer identity and Lake Union wreckage documentation (verified live) [museum_official]
- Locator
- lakeunionhistory.org/Lapeer.html - narrative text and photo captions (Knik Bay, Mister B, wreck interiors)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Lake Union history exhibit page for this hull: identifies the post-Navy buyer as the Alaska Aggregate Corporation (1959), which 're-designed her to be an icebreaker named Knik Bay'; and documents that 'the wreckage of the Lapeer found in Lake Union are parts of the ship that were cut off during this renovation, including her pilot house and 60 feet of her bow' - i.e., severed sections of this hull remain submerged in Lake Union, Seattle, as a dive site (page shows the inverted pilot house and interior photography). Confirms the subsequent Belco Petroleum tug 'Mr. B' (photographed in Seattle, 1977) and the later Peruvian Navy service.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1959-present (page undated)
- Population
- Conversion-yard workers (1959-60s icebreaker refit, Seattle); recreational divers on the wreckage (undated)
- Limitations
- Local-history exhibit page, not a primary registry - the buyer entity (Alaska Aggregate Corp.) and the Lake Union wreckage are single-source claims unverified against disposal documents; the page's 'still in service' line is stale (DANFS: inactivated 2014, decommissioned 2015). It corroborates the 'Knik Bay' spelling against DANFS's 'Knit Bay'. No hazmat or material survey of the submerged sections is cited - asbestos-relevant condition of the wreckage unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (steel-hulled PC-461-class submarine chaser); NavSource specifications (2 x GM 16-258S diesels, Farrel-Birmingham reduction gear, 2 shafts - no boilers); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS PC-1138 spec block; NavSource specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel submarine chaser built January-September 1943 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a patrol craft of this type and period were thermal insulation around machinery spaces and diesel exhaust/muffler runs, gaskets and valve packing in fuel, cooling and exhaust systems, electrical insulation, and deck-covering materials in accommodation spaces. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-drum and turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; exposure-relevant systems are confined-space machinery insulation, gaskets, and packing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-2015
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1943); USN crew (1943-46); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-59); conversion-yard and merchant crews (1959-84); Peruvian crew and yard trades (1984-2015); eventual breakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only, never a ship-specific finding - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or conversion-era hazmat record located for PC-1138. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Successive merchant conversions (icebreaker, tug) and 31 years of Peruvian service are undocumented material events.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 - Highlights section (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities' at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. Product-page Highlights document the Navy's asbestos-use era and its removal policy: the 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. This era-level record spans the hull's 1943 construction, USN service (1943-46), and reserve lay-up (1946-59).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period; historical Navy ship use
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. The reviewed yards (Long Beach, Norfolk) are not this hull's builder or lay-up site. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to direct programmatic fetches (confirmed 2026-10-03); the product-page Highlights were retrieved through the Firecrawl scrape path and the full report PDF was not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-07
-
[9]National Archives, Special List #44, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, 1941-1978, by Ship Number - PC-1138 coverage row [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 ship-number PDF p. 66, PC-1138 row (dates 9/17/1943 - 6/30/1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's ship-number index lists PC-1138 with logbook coverage dates 9/17/1943-6/30/1945 - official finding-aid confirmation of deck-log holdings for this hull from commissioning through mid-1945. The underlying logs (RG 24) are an archival route to operational and maintenance detail; digitized copies were not located in this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-09-17 to 1945-06-30 (listed coverage)
- Population
- Navy deck-log records
- Limitations
- Finding aid, not the logs themselves - establishes record existence and coverage dates, not operational events, materials, or asbestos content. Coverage ends 6/30/1945, leaving the hull's final ~15 months of USN service (Okinawa-era escort through decommissioning) uncovered in this listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-08
-
[10]Patrol Craft Sailors Association (PCSA) Collection & Archives index, Historical Museum of Bay County, Bay City, MI - ship-number index lists 1138; museum collections page documents Defoe Shipbuilding's PC program output [museum_official]
- Locator
- PCSACollectionArchives.pdf, patrol-craft ship-number sequence ('1138' present); bchsmuseum.org/collections.html, PCSA collection description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The PCSA Collection & Archives index (a veterans-organization collection held at the Historical Museum of Bay County) lists '1138' in its patrol-craft ship-number sequence - indicating the collection holds, or catalogs, research materials and/or artifacts keyed to this hull. The museum's collections page additionally documents builder context for this hull's yard: Defoe Shipbuilding Co. of Bay City 'built the first two prototype, pre World War II, 173-foot Patrol Craft there in 1939-1940, as well as constructing another 56 PCs during WW II, more than any of the other fifteen shipbuilders in the PC program.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- collection index, undated
- Limitations
- Index entry only - the PDF lists hull numbers without describing content, so what (if anything) the collection holds for PC-1138 is unverified. A veterans' archive, not a government repository; any asbestos-relevant content would itself be secondary. Builder-output figures are the museum's own description. No asbestos content in the index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-09
-
[11]Batch-7652 search ledger (this record): two live DANFS entries; NavSource; uboat.net; NARA SL-44; GAO product page; Lake Union history page; PCSA collection index; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lapeer-pc1138-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation material list, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Lapeer / PC-1138 / Knik Bay / Mister B / Duenas (ARB-126) was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-wide daily API quota was already exhausted (helper script reported server-requested wait ~13,339 s, a multi-hour daily-quota event); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only generic law-firm/marketing asbestos material (excluded as sources) and Lapeer County/City (Michigan) name collisions - no qualifying case naming this hull.
- 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; 'Lapeer' is a high-collision Michigan jurisdiction name requiring careful hit classification when run). RG 24 deck logs, Defoe work packages, conversion-yard records, and Peruvian refit/disposal records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lapeer-pc1138-10