Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 896-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-larchmont-pc487-pkt-896-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Larchmont (PC-487), Vol. IV p. 59 - construction, specifications, Aleutian service and 10 June 1943 sinking narrative, postwar milestones (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Larchmont entry (spec block + full service narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'A residential community on Long Island, N.Y.' (namesake). Spec block: dp. 280; l. 173'8"; b. 23'; dr. 10'10"; s. 20 k.; cpl. 65; a. 2 3", 2 20mm., 2 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. PC-461. Laid down by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., New York, N.Y., 6 December 1941; launched 28 February 1942; sponsored by Mrs. John D. Bulkeley; commissioned 2 June 1942, Lt. Walter G. Cornell [sic - Wallace Gordon Cornell, see ev-05] in command. Shakedown New England; departed New York 5 July 1942 via Norfolk, Key West, Panama Canal; San Diego 10 August; ASW sound training; Seattle 4 September; five months escort/patrol/ASW out of Puget Sound; departed Seattle 27 February 1943; Kodiak 4 March; Adak 15 March for patrol/escort duty for the Naval Auxiliary Air Facility. On 10 June 1943 near Shemya Island, escorting LST-451 and Ute (AT-76) to the Semichi Islands, she made sonar contact at 0800 in heavy fog, fired five depth charges, rammed the surfaced submarine twice, and sank it with 3-inch and 20mm fire at 0824 in 2,200 fathoms - identified by DANFS as 'I-9' [correctly I-24, see ev-06]. Bow heavily damaged; emergency repairs Massacre Bay, Attu; further repairs by Black Hawk (AD-9) at Adak; Seattle 9 July for two months overhaul. 'During the entire war only three submarine chasers scored confirmed unassisted kills on enemy submarines'; PC-487 'made the only solo kill against a Japanese submarine.' Returned to Alaskan waters 11 September 1943; convoyed to Hawaii 27 November; Pearl Harbor duty through war's end. Departed Hawaiian waters 20 April 1946; San Pedro 28 April; departed 3 May escorting LSM-281; Charleston, S.C. 22 May; Norfolk 6 August. Decommissioned at Portsmouth, Va., 24 January 1947; Atlantic Reserve Fleet; named Larchmont 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy list 1 July 1960. One battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding construction trades (1941-42); wartime crew (complement 65); Pearl Harbor and Aleutian operating forces
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history and specifications only; no asbestos or material content. The entry carries two errors documented in this record: the victim submarine as 'I-9' (correctly I-24 - see ev-06) and the CO's first name as 'Walter' (correctly Wallace Gordon - see ev-05). Losthistory.net/hazegray transcription additionally renders the May 1946 escort as 'LSM-231' where the live NHHC text reads 'LSM-281' - transcription variant noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-01
-
[3]NARA, RG 38 Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (series NAID 4697018): 'USS PC-487 - War Diary, 6/1-20/43 (Act Rep)', NAID 134238700 - 14 digitized images [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 134238700, digitized images 0071-0084: cover letter Serial 32-43 (signature 'W. G. CORNELL'); Enclosure (A) war-diary narrative pp. -1- through -5- (10 June entries at pp. -3-/-4-)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary-source action documentation for this hull: the CO's own war diary/action report for 1-20 June 1943, forwarded by covering letter Serial 32-43 dated 22 June 1943 signed 'W. G. CORNELL' ('submitted ... as it is an action report and War Diary combined'). The 10 June 1943 narrative records: 0803 sonar/recorder contact ~750 yards with radar confirmation in fog (visibility 400-500 yards); 0809 two periscopes sighted at ~250 yards; 0810 five depth charges at shallow settings; 0811 submarine forced to surface; 0813 first ram (periscopes, antenna, net cutter torn); 0815 20mm and 3"/50 fire; 0817 second ram just forward of conning tower - 'ship seemed to stick and pivot on top of submarine and felt as though it would break in two'; five definite 3-inch hits; 0824 'Sub sank stern first at 45 degree angle; in approximately 2200 fathoms, Latitude: 53 16' N., Longitude: 174 24' E.'; 0830 forward compartments flooding with damage-control parties working; 0835 'Mustered crew on stations, absentees: none. Casualties: none.' Diary note: 'All times quoted herein are William time, +10' - the zone convention underlying the 10 June (U.S.) vs 11 June (Japanese TROM) dating difference. The report identifies the victim only as a Japanese 'submarine' - no hull number, consistent with the wartime uncertainty later resolved as I-24 (see ev-06).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06-01 to 1943-06-22
- Population
- PC-487 wartime crew (65 complement); USS Ute (AT-76) assistance
- Limitations
- Primary operational record: documents the engagement, the ship's damage, and zero U.S. casualties; contains no asbestos or material content and names neither I-24 nor I-9. 14 of 14 images digitized (Fold3-provided scans via catalog.archives.gov); pages 3-5 of the diary enclosure read directly this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Larchmont (PC 487) ex-PC-487 - designation timeline, specifications incl. propulsion, CO roster, Venezuelan transfer, National Archives photography (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010487.htm header block, specifications block, CO table, and photo captions (NARA-credited launch photography)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: call sign November-Bravo-Tango-Alpha; 'served the Navies of the United States and Venezuela.' PC-461 class: laid down 6 December 1941 by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, New York, NY; launched 28 February 1942 (National Archives launch photos captioned); commissioned USS PC-487 2 June 1942; 'Damaged when she intentionally rammed and sank the Japanese submarine I-24, 10 June 1943, 40 miles north, north-east of Shemua [sic - Shemya] Island, Aleutians, AK'; assigned as a Naval Reserve training vessel in January 1947 at the 5th Naval District (Norfolk, VA); decommissioned 24 July 1947 at Portsmouth, VA and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk Group; named Larchmont 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 1 July 1960 and transferred to Venezuela; 'Fate unknown.' One battle star for World War II; 'Among the medals awarded her crew were the Navy Cross, three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit and a Navy Citation.' CO roster: LT Wallace Gordon Cornell, USNR - awarded the Navy Cross (1943) - from 2 June 1942. Specifications: displacement 280 lt / 450 fl; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 DP, one 40mm, three 20mm, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks; propulsion 'Two 1,440bhp Fairbanks Morse 38D8 1/8 diesel engines (Serial No. 832239 and 832240), Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1960 (page coverage)
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding trades (1941-42); crew incl. Naval Reserve trainees (1947); Venezuelan crew (1962-77)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestones generally track DANFS/NVR but conflicts exist on the decommissioning date (24 July 1947 vs DANFS 24 January 1947), armament fit, and the 'Fate unknown' disposition vs navypedia's 1976-77 Venezuelan striking (all in gaps). Diesel propulsion documented (Fairbanks Morse opposed-piston, no steam plant). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-03
-
[5]NARA, RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (series NAID 594996): 'PC-487, 5/31/43-1/24/47', NAID 192387751 - 332 digitized images [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 192387751 (RG 24 muster rolls file unit, 5/31/43-1/24/47)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized muster rolls for this hull covering 31 May 1943 - 24 January 1947 (332 images, Ancestry-partnership scans) - the personnel roster record of who served aboard across the Aleutian, Pearl Harbor, and postwar periods, including the 10 June 1943 engagement complement. The file's closing date of 1/24/47 coincides with the DANFS decommissioning date of 24 January 1947, lending it weight in the decommission-date conflict (see gaps). These rolls are the starting point for identifying any individual crew member aboard this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- All hands aboard PC-487, May 1943 - January 1947
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the catalog page is verified live and digitization confirmed (332 images via Ancestry partner scans); individual rolls were not read page-by-page this session. Muster rolls establish who was aboard, not materials or exposure. RG 24 deck logs for this hull not separately located in the digitized catalog.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-04
-
[6]Navy Cross citation, Lieutenant Wallace Gordon Cornell, USNR - Commanding Officer USS Patrol Craft 487 (PC-487), 10 June 1943; Commander Northern Pacific Forces Serial 0437 (16 June 1943); Hall of Valor (Military Times) transcription verified live; corroborated by DoD valor.defense.gov WWII Navy Cross recipients list ('Cornell Wallace G') [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hall of Valor recipient page 19038 (full Navy Cross citation text); DoD NavyCross-WWII.pdf recipient list (search-verified)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION of a DANFS name error: DANFS records the commissioning CO as 'Lt. Walter G. Cornell.' The Navy Cross citation for the 10 June 1943 action names him 'Lieutenant Wallace Gordon Cornell, United States Naval Reserve,' commanding officer of PC-487; the war-diary forwarding letter is signed 'W. G. CORNELL' (ev-02); NavSource and combinedfleet.com carry Wallace G. Cornell; the contemporaneous Time article calls him 'W. Gordon Cornell.' Award-citation narrative independently corroborates the engagement: 'made contact with a hostile submarine ... forces her to the surface, then turned and, at full speed, rammed the submarine and passed completely over her ... opened fire with his three-inch and 20-mm. guns, scoring direct hits and sending the Japanese craft, stern first, to her destruction. With the bow of his ship partly flooded, her bulkheads stove in, and seams leaking dangerously, he directed the control of damage and brought his ship safely into port under her own power.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06-10 (action); 1943-06-16 (award serial)
- Population
- LT Wallace Gordon Cornell, USNR (CO, PC-487)
- Limitations
- Corrects a personnel-name error in DANFS, not a material claim; no asbestos content. The DoD recipient-list PDF was verified in search results but could not be fetched directly from this network (DNS resolution failure) - the Hall of Valor citation transcription carries the award text verbatim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-05
-
[7]combinedfleet.com, Tabular Record of Movement I-24 (Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp); companion TROM I-9 (sunk 13 June 1943 by USS Frazier (DD-607) at 52-08N, 177-38E off Kiska) [other_primary]
- Locator
- combinedfleet.com I-24 TROM entry for 11 June 1943 and footnote [7]; I-9 TROM entry for 13 June 1943 and footnote [3]
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION of a DANFS identification error: DANFS identifies PC-487's 10 June 1943 victim as 'I-9.' The accepted identification is I-24: the I-24 TROM records her departing Kiska for Paramushiro on 11 June 1943 (Japanese dating; 10 June U.S. time) and being depth-charged and twice rammed by 'Lt Wallace G. Cornell's subchaser PC-487' 40 miles NNE of Shemya, sinking at 53-16N, 174-24E with all 104 hands - matching the PC-487 action-report position exactly (ev-02). The TROM notes 'Some older sources identify PC-487's victim as I-9, confusing her with I-24.' The real I-9 was sunk three days later, 13 June 1943, by USS Frazier (DD-607) off Kiska at 52-08N, 177-38E - a separate Aleutian kill in the same week. NavSource, the PC-461 class record, and Japanese-side compilations concur on I-24.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06-10/11
- Population
- I-24 crew (104 lost); PC-487 crew (no casualties)
- Limitations
- combinedfleet.com is a specialist secondary compilation built on Japanese records and U.S. action reports, not a primary registry; the I-24 identification is nonetheless the consensus across NavSource, secondary literature, and Japanese-side records, and matches the action-report position and date. The wartime attribution confusion ran both directions (Frazier's victim was itself first identified as I-31 in Morison's history). Corrects an enemy-unit identification only; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-06
-
[8]navypedia.org, 'MEJILLON patrol craft (1942-1944/1962-1963)' - Venezuelan Navy ex-PC roster (specialist secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia.org ven_cf_mejillon.htm roster table (Mejillon P01 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-U.S. disposition for this hull: navypedia's Venezuelan patrol-craft roster lists 'Mejillon (ex-Larchmont, ex-PC487)', pennant P01, built by Consolidated SB, New York; commissioned into Venezuelan service 14 May 1962; fate 'stricken 1976-77.' A Venezuelan naval-history blog roster independently lists 'ARV MEJILLON P-01' among the ex-U.S. PC transfers. NavSource likewise shows Venezuelan service but ends the record at 'transferred to Venezuela; fate unknown.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1960-1977
- Population
- Venezuelan Navy crew, ARV Mejillon (1962-1976/77)
- Limitations
- Secondary sourcing only (navypedia + a Venezuelan blogger's fleet roster); no Venezuelan official record located. Commissioning date, striking window, and ultimate disposal are unverified against a primary source; 'fate unknown' stands. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (PC-461 class, 1941-42 construction); NavSource propulsion entry (Fairbanks Morse diesels, no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation (ev-09); Atlas shipyards.json cross-check (builder absent from dataset) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-09)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled submarine chaser built December 1941 - June 1942 at a private New York yard sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel patrol craft of this period were thermal insulation and lagging on engines and exhaust runs, gaskets and valve packing on machinery and fluid systems, electrical insulation, fireproofing, and deck coverings in the confined 173-foot hull. As a diesel-powered vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply - but the small-ship confined-space exposure dynamic applies with full force to engine-room work.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1977
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding trades (1941-42); crew (1942-47); Seattle overhaul trades (1943); Naval Reserve trainees (1947); reserve-fleet and transfer handlers (1947-60); Venezuelan crew (1962-77)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only: no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey located for PC-487. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Builder-level asbestos documentation for Consolidated Shipbuilding is limited to law-firm marketing pages - excluded by source policy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-08
-
[10]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) and U.S. service era (1942-60), and reaching into her Venezuelan service (to 1976-77).
- 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 this session); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-09
-
[11]Time magazine, 'Little Fellow's Big Day' (1943, Time archive) - contemporaneous account of the PC-487 action; direct automated fetch blocked (HTTP 406), content verified via live-search extract [reputable_press]
- Locator
- time.com/archive/6866324/little-fellows-big-day/ (HTTP 406 to automated fetch; content via search extract)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press record: Time's 1943 account calls PC-487 'The Little Fellow' - 'a modest, unspectacular little warship, about 170 ft. long, of 600 tons displacement' - and describes 'a reserve lieutenant, chubby, ruddy W. Gordon Cornell, a Staten Islander' as her commander. The article recounts the fog contact, the depth-charge surfacing, the two rammings (the second 'just forward of the conning tower'), and the sinking 'fifteen minutes after she had been sighted' - consistent in sequence with the action report (ev-02).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943 (publication)
- Population
- PC-487 wartime crew
- Limitations
- Blocked source: time.com returns HTTP 406 to automated fetches and no Wayback capture exists; the account is cited from live-search-extracted text and is therefore verification_status partial. Wartime press accounts are censored retellings - the action report is authoritative for details. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-10
-
[12]Batch-7862 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live; NARA RG 38 war diary/action report (read) and RG 24 muster rolls (digitized); NavSource.net; NVR (no entry); Hall of Valor; combinedfleet; navypedia; GAO product page; Time archive (blocked); shipyards.json cross-check; secondary web sweeps; CourtListener base queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-larchmont-pc487-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, insulation schedule, or verified litigation naming USS PC-487 / USS Larchmont was found in the public sources searched. The only 'asbestos' content surfaced by secondary sweeps is law-firm marketing material (e.g., a mesothelioma-firm jobsite page for the Consolidated Shipbuilding yard) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. CAVEAT: CourtListener coverage is partial - a parallel batch session completed the exact-name opinion query (0 results, a true negative on opinions) and the exact-name docket query (68 results, all first-page hits name collisions, no qualifying asbestos matter); the hull-number "PC-487" queries were never sent and the docket tail is unreviewed (fleet pacing). Logged as partial/blocked in search_ledger - NOT a negative litigation result.
- 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. Genuine open leads: the digitized RG 38 war-diary series and RG 24 muster rolls are online but were only partially read; BuShips/RG 19 material specifications (General Information Books) for the PC-461 class are undigitized; no Venezuelan-era record was located at all. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-larchmont-pc487-11