Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 992-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Mindanao PG-48 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-mindanao-pg48-pkt-992-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Mindanao I (PR-8)' (live NHHC URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-04; cited via Wayback capture 2025-12-09; verbatim transcription independently verified live at the losthistory.net/hazegray DANFS mirror) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry header paragraph, spec block, and service narrative; live transcription at https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/patrol/pr8.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents this hull under 'Mindanao I (PR-8)': laid down 20 November 1926 by Kiangnan Dock & Engineering Works, Shanghai, China; launched 28 September 1927; sponsored by Mrs. E. A. McIntyre, wife of Lieutenant Commander McIntyre; commissioned at Shanghai 10 July 1928, Lt. Comdr. A. W. Ashbrook in command. Spec block: dp. 560; l. 210'9"; b. 31'1"; dr. 5'7"; s. 16 k.; cpl. 65; a. 2 3", 10 mg. Service: shakedown up the Yangtze to Chungking and Wansien (July-August 1928); station at Wansien from 22 September 1928; flagship of the South China Patrol Force from 14 June 1929 at Canton; 12.5 years on the southern China coast based alternately at Hong Kong and Canton; neutrality-patrol operations from October 1938. Ordered to the Philippines 2 December 1941; departed Hong Kong 4 December; at 0340 on the night of 8 December received word of the Pearl Harbor attack; on the 9th intercepted and sank a small Japanese trawler, taking 10 prisoners - 'the first taken by Americans in World War II'; arrived Manila Bay 10 December. Inshore patrol and guardship duty around the Corregidor minefield channels; nightly patrols east of Bataan with Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6); engaged nine enemy boats 25 March 1942; harassed enemy artillery and helped rescue some 60 American soldiers 6 April; crew ordered ashore 10 April to help defend Fort Hugheson [sic - Fort Hughes]; hit by shell fire the same day and stripped; on 2 May, after suffering an aerial bomb hit in the engine room, sunk to prevent capture. Awarded one battle star for World War II service. The same DANFS page documents an earlier namesake: a former Spanish unarmored gunboat Mindanao, laid down at Cavite Navy Yard 1894, captured by the Army 1 May 1898, acquired by the Navy 17 January 1899, never commissioned, stricken 11 February 1905 and sold for scrap.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Construction workers, Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works (1926-28); crew (1928-1942)
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship-history entry; establishes identity, construction, milestones, service, loss, and spec block only - contains no asbestos or materials statement. Live NHHC URL is dead (standing NHHC link-rot defect); archived capture and independent verbatim transcription agree except on one date (hazegray prints 'night of 5 December' where NHHC prints 'night of 8 December' for the Pearl Harbor news).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: River Gunboat Photo Archive, Mindanao (PR-8) page 12/1208 (navsource.net; .net domain verified live - navsource.org is defunct) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Timeline block, specifications block, photo captions (NH 2059/60512/51848/51849/51850), commanding-officer roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and specifications for this hull: laid down 20 November 1926 'as a Patrol Gunboat, PG-48' at Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai; launched 28 September 1927; reclassified as a River Gunboat, PR-8 (no date given on this page); commissioned USS Mindanao (PR-8) 10 July 1928; sunk 2 May 1942 in Manila Bay to prevent capture by the Japanese; struck from the Naval Register 8 May 1942. Specs: 560 t.; 210'9"; 31'1"; 5'7"; 16 kts.; complement 65; two 3-inch gun mounts and ten .30 cal. machine guns. Commanding-officer roster: LCDR Alan Withers Ashbrook (10 Jul 1928-8 Mar 1929), CDR George Christian Logan, CDR George William Kenyon, LCDR James Powell Clay (1938), CDR Charles Edward Coney (1939), LCDR James Joseph McGlynn (1940), LCDR Alan Reed McCracken (December 1941-2 May 1942; awarded the Navy Cross 1942; retired as Rear Admiral), LT David Nash (2 May 1942-; 'scuttled the ship'; awarded the Navy Cross 1941). Page captions credit NHHC photos NH 2059, NH 60512, NH 51848 (standardization trials at 8 knots off Woosung, 27 June 1928), NH 51849 (off Shameen Island, Canton, early 1937, as flagship South China Patrol), and NH 51850 (West River between Hong Kong and Canton, early 1937).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Crew under successive commanding officers (1928-1942)
- Limitations
- Volunteer naval-history archive using U.S. Navy/NHHC-sourced imagery and data; establishes designation timeline, specifications, stricken date, and command history. Contains no asbestos or materials statement. Does not date the PG-48-to-PR-8 reclassification (dated 15 June 1928 on sister-ship pages). No propulsion specification on this page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-02
-
[4]NavalCoverMuseum (naval postal-history museum archive), MINDANAO PR 8 designation history, postmark gallery, and Covers Page 1 (1931-41) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Ship Name and Designation History section; postmark table and Mindanao_PR_8_Covers_Page_1 (verified live)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavalCoverMuseum designation history confirms the hull as USS MINDANAO PR-8 - commissioned July 10 1928; scuttled May 2 1942 in Manila Bay to prevent capture by the Japanese; struck from the Naval Register May 8 1942 - and museum-held postmarks document her South China Patrol stations: 'SOUTH CHINA / PATROL' (1931-03-17, 1932-02-22, 1934-08-13), 'CANTON / CHINA' (1932-09-01 postmark type 5s; 1934-01-05), 'WANGTUNG / SOUTH CHINA' (1938-03-21), 'CANTON / SOUTH CHINA' (1939-03-14), 'SOUTH CHINA / HONG KONG' (1941-04-15), 'WUCHOW / CHINA' (1936-08-15), and a 1941-11-06 cover weeks before the Pacific war. Museum's own data line records: keel laid November 20 1926 as Patrol Gunboat PG-48; launched September 28 1927; reclassified River Gunboat (PR) June 15 1928. Notes one battle star for WWII service and the namesake (second largest and most southerly of the Philippine Islands).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1931-1942
- Population
- Crew at documented South China stations (1931-1941)
- Limitations
- Philatelic archive - corroborates designation sequence, stricken date, and South China Patrol station presence via dated covers; contains no asbestos, condition, or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-03
-
[5]U.S. Navy, Navy Filing Manual (1941), patrol-vessel designation lists (National Archives PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- p. 296 - 'PG48 Mindanao (now PR8)' and 'PR8 Mindanao (ex-PG48)'; p. 477 - 'PR8 MINDANAO (ex-PG48)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 1941 Navy Filing Manual's patrol-vessel lists carry both designations of this hull: 'PG48 Mindanao (now PR8)' in the PG list and 'PR8 MINDANAO (ex-PG48)' in the PR list. PG-48 and PR-8 are therefore designations of one hull, not separate vessels - the ship was laid down as PG-48 and reclassified PR-8 at the 15 June 1928 creation of the River Gunboat type, commissioning under the PR designation. CORRECTION: any classification of this hull as a Gato-class (or any) submarine is a designation/name collision - the hull documented is a shallow-draft river gunboat sunk in Manila Bay 1942; no submarine ever carried PG-48 or PR-8.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1941 (publication); designations 1926-1942
- Limitations
- Designation reference only; establishes hull-designation equivalence, not construction details, asbestos conditions, or litigation facts. The Gato-class correction addresses indexing/dataset collisions, not any authoritative source consulted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-04
-
[6]Franke, Kara S., and Dennis J. Paustenbach, 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: A state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970),' Inhalation Toxicology 23(S3):1-20 (2011), DOI 10.3109/08958378.2011.643417 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article 'Regarding historical asbestos use in the Navy' passage; DOI resolves to tandfonline.com (HTTP 403 to automated fetch in prior session verification); content verified via accessible PDF mirror
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull is a 1926-28 steam river gunboat - sisters of the same 210'9" Kiangnan design carried triple-expansion steam machinery (NavSource, Luzon PR-7 specs, class context) - a plant type for which period marine practice used asbestos-containing boiler and steam-line insulation, flange gaskets, and machinery packing. Peer-reviewed era literature documents that 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s, amosite and chrysotile fibers, and to a much lesser extent, crocidolite, were used extensively as insulating materials on naval ships' - a period covering this hull's entire construction and service life (1926-1942). The same source notes the Navy approved amosite asbestos only in the mid-to-late 1930s, so any original-era insulation aboard would have been primarily chrysotile-type.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Yangtze Patrol / South China Patrol / Manila Bay crews 1928-1942 (era context); Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works construction workers 1926-28 (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarly review; does not name this vessel and does not establish asbestos presence aboard this hull, nor quantity, condition, exposure, or causation - presence here is era inference consistent with period marine steam-plant practice. Authors are ChemRisk consultants who have testified for asbestos defendants; the row is used solely for the uncontested historical use-pattern claim, not for hazard-threshold conclusions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-05
-
[7]NHHC photo identifiers transcribed from NavSource page 12/1208 captions; NavSource document page 12/1208d; NARA 'Navy Logbooks: Catalog Links to Logs Through 1940' index [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/1208 photo captions and 12/1208d document thumbnails; NARA logbook index https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online-thru-1940 (no Mindanao entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's archival footprint documented in museum/archive photography: NHHC photos NH 2059, NH 60512, NH 51848 (standardization trials off Woosung, 27 June 1928), NH 51849 (off Shameen Island, Canton, early 1937, as South China Patrol flagship), and NH 51850 (West River between Hong Kong and Canton, early 1937) - identifiers transcribed from NavSource captions. NavSource also hosts a scanned unattributed typed document, 'Sinking of USS Mindanao (PR 8) and Captivity of the Crew' (contributed by Juliette LeComte Leshik, daughter of POW Lt. Charles F. LeComte, MC, USN), recounting the crew's POW fate after the fall of Corregidor. NARA's pre-1941 digitized Navy logbook index contains no Mindanao entry; wartime deck logs and loss/POW records are undigitized archival leads (RG 24; RG 389 POW records).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1928-1945
- Population
- Mindanao crew taken POW after the fall of Corregidor (1942-1945, per the document's scope)
- Limitations
- Photo identifiers are transcribed from NavSource captions rather than verified in the NARA catalog (JS-rendered). The captivity document is a scanned typescript of unstated authorship - an archival lead for the crew's POW fate, not a verified record; contents not machine-readable this session. None of these holdings was examined for materials content and none supports an asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-06
-
[8]Batch-8534 reconciliation of DANFS spec block / NavSource specifications vs. HyperWar compiled listing, USCS page, and hazegray transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar PR-8 data block ('Complement: 80'); uscs.org/uss-mindanao-pr-8 ('sunk on May 2, 1941'); losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/patrol/pr8.htm ('night of 5 December')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION - secondary-source discrepancies not propagated: (a) HyperWar/ibiblio's compiled PR-8 listing carries complement 80, conflicting with the DANFS/NavSource spec-block figure 65 (80 likely propagated from sister Luzon's spec); (b) a USCS philatelic-society page prints the sinking as 'May 2, 1941' - a typo for 1942; (c) the hazegray DANFS transcription prints 'night of 5 December' where the NHHC text reads 'night of 8 December' for the Pearl Harbor news. DANFS-derived values (65; 8 December; 2 May 1942) are carried throughout this record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating secondary figures; the correcting sources are official (DANFS) and museum-held (NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-07
-
[9]Batch-8534 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (Wayback), hazegray mirror, NavSource 12/1208 + 12/1208d, NavalCoverMuseum, NARA logbook index, 1941 Navy Filing Manual, NavSource sister-ship pages, secondary web sweep, CourtListener (blocked - see ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-mindanao-pg48-01 through sl-uss-mindanao-pg48-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS Mindanao, PG-48, or PR-8 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sunk in Manila Bay on 2 May 1942 - predating every modern documentation regime (no NVR entry; NVR excludes vessels disposed before 1987). Secondary web sweeps surfaced one marketing-listicle mention naming this hull (mesothelioma.net patrol-boats listicle) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy; the asbestos-ships.com Mindanao page covers the ARG-3 namesake, not this hull. CAVEAT: the CourtListener sweep could not be completed this session (fleet pacing stand-down on all four base queries) - litigation status is logged as blocked, not as a negative result.
- 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 absence of asbestos aboard - a 1926-28 steam gunboat's plant is consistent with era asbestos insulation practice. Establishes only that no ship-specific public record was located; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener sweep is logged as blocked, not as a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-mindanao-pg48-08