Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 992-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: USS Oahu PG-46 → VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-oahu-pg46-pkt-992-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. V p.124), 'Oahu I' - live NHHC page verified 2026-10-04; construction, Yangtze Patrol service, Panay rescue role, 1941-42 Philippines operations, loss. Clean verbatim transcription cross-checked at https://losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/patrol/pr6.htm [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC live page oahu-i.html, full entry text and spec block; hazegray danfs/patrol/pr6.htm transcription
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'The first Oahu (PR-6), a Yangtze River gunboat, was laid down by Kiangnan Dock and Engineering works, Shanghai, China, 18 December 1926; launched as PG-46 26 November 1927; sponsored by Mrs. Bryson Bruce, wife of Comdr. Bruce; and commissioned 22 October 1928, Lt. Comdr. A. C. Thomas in command.' Spec block: dp. 450 t.; l. 191'1"; b. 28'1"; dr. 5'3"; s. 15 k.; cpl 55; a. 2 3". 'One of six river gunboats built for use on the Yangtze Kiang.' Shakedown: departed Shanghai 3 November 1928, proceeded 1,300 miles upriver to Chungking via open treaty ports, returned Shanghai 2 June 1929; then Yangtze Patrol Force service - convoying merchantmen, armed guards to U.S./British river craft, landing parties at threatened treaty ports, evacuating foreign nationals. From 1934, station-ship duty at Ichang, Chungking, Hankow, Wuhu and Nanking into 1937; after Panay was sunk by Japanese planes off Nanking 12 December 1937, 'Oahu picked up the survivors and carried them to Shanghai, returning to the scene of the incident to conduct salvage operations.' Thereafter lower-river operations and station-ship/radio-relay duty for the temporary U.S. embassy at Nanking, shadowed by Japanese minesweepers; departed Shanghai for the Philippines in late November 1941 under Commander, Asiatic Fleet orders; arrived Manila Bay the week before the Pearl Harbor attack; operated in and around Manila Bay and Cavite Navy Yard on inshore patrol in support of U.S.-Filipino forces on Bataan until that peninsula's fall, 'and then continued to operate about the island fortress of Corregidor until sunk by enemy gunfire 5 May. She was struck from the Navy List three days later.' 'Oahu, one of the last "old China hands" that never saw the land she served so well, received one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Kiangnan Dock construction trades (1926-28); crew (~55 complement, 1928-42); Panay survivors embarked Dec 1937
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service history only; contains no asbestos or material-content information. The live NHHC page carries OCR errors: title 'Oahu I (PR-36)' and spec block 'launched as PG-146' / 'l 191'1"' - the correct designations PG-46/PR-6 and figures verified against the verbatim print transcription (hazegray DANFS Vol. V p.124). DANFS dates Bataan's fall '8 April 1942' on the live page ('5 April' in the print transcription); the peninsula surrendered 9 April 1942 - a DANFS-internal error noted in gaps. 'Sunk by enemy gunfire 5 May' conflicts with the DPAA 'scuttled' account (ev-05). Commissioned-date conflict: DANFS 22 October vs NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum 20 October - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: River Gunboat Photo Archive, Oahu (PR 6) / Oahu (PG 46) - designation timeline, specifications, loss position, commanding-officer list, construction and service photography (NHHC photo nos. NH 44570, NH 68440-A, NH 80957, NH 50831) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/1206.htm header timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 18 December 1926 as PG-46 by the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China; launched 26 November 1927; reclassified as a River Gunboat, PR-6; commissioned USS Oahu (PR-6), 20 October 1928; 'Sunk by enemy action 5 May 1942 off Corregidor Island, Philippine Islands (at position 14 deg 23N, 120 deg 35E)'; struck from the Navy Register 8 May 1942. Specifications: displacement 450 t.; length 191'; beam 28'1"; draft 5'3"; speed 15 kts.; complement 55; armament two 3"/50 cal. gun mounts and eight .30 cal. machine guns; propulsion 'Two 1,900hp triple expansion engines, two shafts in tunnels, three rudders.' Commanding-officer list runs LCDR Armit Chester Thomas (22 October 1928 - 29 June 1929) through LCDR Douglas Elwin Smith (1940 - 5 May 1942), last CO. Photo captions document the hull under construction at Kiangnan Dock (3 January 1928, moored between Wo Kwang and sister Tutuila (PG-44); with Panay 3 July 1928; 1 October 1928), a 1936 spar-mooring in Yangtze rapids, Nanking May 1937, alongside HMS Bee and HMS Ladybird 12 December 1937, and 'steaming under forced draft' for the Panay sinking scene 13 December 1937.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Kiangnan Dock construction trades (1926-28); crew 1928-42
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS. Its own CO table begins Thomas's command 22 October 1928 while the header prints 'Commissioned ... 20 October 1928' - internal inconsistency; DANFS (22 October) carried, variant in gaps. Propulsion line does not itemize boilers or say whether 1,900 hp is per engine or total. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-02
-
[4]NavalCoverMuseum (Naval Cover Museum philatelic archive), OAHU PR-6 - ship name and designation history, postmarks [museum_official]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum OAHU PR-6 'Ship Name and Designation History' section and postmarks table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Designation history documented: 'Keel Laid as Gunboat PG-46 December 18 1926; Launched November 26 1927; Reclassified River Gunboat (PR) June 15 1928; USS OAHU PR-6 Commissioned October 20 1928; SUNK May 5 1942 by enemy action off Corregidor Island, Philippine Islands; Struck from Naval Register May 8 1942.' The 15 June 1928 reclassification date - before commissioning - explains why the hull commissioned as PR-6 despite having been launched as PG-46. Postal covers document the ship's Nanking station period (1938-02-15 Locy Type 3r 'NANKING / CHINA' postmark; a memorial cachet for Panay (PR-5)).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- crew 1928-42
- Limitations
- Philatelic-museum compilation - designation dates track official reclassification records but the page cites no primary registry; its 'Commissioned October 20 1928' is one side of the 20-vs-22-October conflict (DANFS 22 October carried - see gaps). 'SUNK ... by enemy action' does not resolve the gunfire-vs-scuttled mechanism conflict. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-03
-
[5]Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers 1937, The Far East, Vol. IV - Panay incident telegrams 394.115 Panay/45 (Ambassador Johnson to Secretary of State, 14 Dec 1937) and 394.115 Panay/46 (CINC Asiatic Fleet Yarnell to CNO Leahy, sent from U.S.S. 'Oahu', 14 Dec 1937) [other_primary]
- Locator
- FRUS 1937 vol. IV, docs 394.115 Panay/45 and Panay/46 (history.state.gov d640, d642)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous U.S. diplomatic traffic documents this hull's role in the Panay incident response: Ambassador Johnson reported 14 December 1937 that 'Oahu is now at Hohsien' and that Commander-in-Chief Asiatic Fleet had arranged 'for Oahu to proceed to Shanghai with Panay survivors, Japanese naval ship Hozu cooperating,' a downriver route being forced because a river barrier below Kiukiang made reaching Hankow impossible. The same day CINCAF Yarnell's report to CNO Leahy was transmitted from aboard 'U.S.S. Oahu': 'As nearly as can be ascertained Panay capsized and sunk directly abreast lower entrance Hohsien channel about 500 yards from left bank 7 fathoms water, nothing showing; bombed about 1330, sank about 1430.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1937-12-12 to 1937-12-14
- Population
- Oahu crew; embarked Panay survivors (Dec 1937)
- Limitations
- Primary diplomatic documents that independently corroborate the DANFS rescue account; they do not mention any work aboard Oahu, her materials, or asbestos. FRUS is an official documentary edition (Office of the Historian) - telegram texts as transmitted. d642 is at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1937v04/d642.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-04
-
[6]Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency service-member profile, MM2 William George Jamison, USN, USS Oahu (PR-6) - unaccounted-for casualty, Fort Hughes, Manila Bay [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPAA profile page narrative (Service Member, MM2 William George Jamison; Conflict WWII, Status Unaccounted For)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A named casualty of this hull's crew is documented by DPAA: 'Machinist's Mate Second Class William G. Jamison ... served aboard the river gunboat USS Oahu (PR-6). The Oahu operated around the mouth of Manila Bay during the defense of the Philippines until Allied forces on the Bataan peninsula surrendered in April 1942. MM2 Jamison and the crew of the Oahu scuttled their boat to help man the old artillery guns at Fort Hughes. On April 17, 1942, MM2 Jamison and another crew member from Oahu were seriously wounded by anti-personnel bombs while crossing the parade ground. MM2 Jamison died of his wounds in the sick bay and was reportedly buried on the parade ground.' Fort Hughes (Caballo Island) surrendered with Corregidor 6 May 1942; Jamison remains unaccounted for and is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery. The profile confirms crew of this hull were serving ashore at Fort Hughes in April 1942 before the ship's recorded loss.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-04 to 1942-05
- Population
- Oahu crew detached to Fort Hughes batteries (Apr-May 1942); POWs after 6 May 1942
- Limitations
- Casualty-accounting narrative, not an engineering record: DPAA's 'the crew of the Oahu scuttled their boat' conflicts with DANFS's 'sunk by enemy gunfire 5 May' and uboat.net's 'scuttled ... 6 May 1942' - the loss mechanism is unresolved (see gaps). The profile's loose sequencing (scuttling described before the April 17 wounding) suggests the crew was ashore incrementally, not a precise date for the ship's loss. Individual-level record; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-05
-
[7]U.S. Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall, unit page 'USS Oahu (PR 6)' - two honorees: LCDR Douglas E. Smith (USNA 1925; KIA 24 October 1944 aboard POW transport Arisan Maru; Navy Cross) and LT Richard B. Williams (USNA 1937; KIA 15 December 1944; POW, tagged Oryoku Maru; Fort Hughes detail from his linked honoree bio at /honorees/lt-richard-b-williams-usn/) [museum_official]
- Locator
- usnamemorialhall.org unit page 'USS Oahu (PR 6)' honoree cards
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Alumni memorial records document the fate of this hull's surviving officers: the last commanding officer LCDR Douglas E. Smith (command 1940 - 5 May 1942 per NavSource) survived the loss, became a prisoner of war, and died 24 October 1944 aboard the Japanese POW transport Arisan Maru; executive officer LT Richard B. Williams had been ordered ashore in charge of gun crews at Fort Hughes, was taken prisoner 6 May 1942, and died 15 December 1944 in the Oryoku Maru POW-transport sinking. This establishes that surviving crew of this hull became POWs at the fall of Corregidor and that some died in the 1944 'hell ship' sinkings.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Oahu commissioned officers and crew captured 6 May 1942
- Limitations
- Institutional memorial compilation (alumni records), not casualty files: names/dates consistent with known POW-transport losses but the page cites no muster roll. Establishes crew fate, not materials or exposure. Rutgers Oral History index additionally lists Oahu crewman Austin L. Andrews (POW 3.5 years, Cabanatuan, Nagata Maru, Osaka) - an unfetched archival lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource propulsion spec for this hull (two 1,900-hp triple-expansion engines = steam plant with boilers and steam piping); Navy's 1979 statement to GAO HRD-80-2 listing shipboard asbestos application categories; Franke & Paustenbach 2011 (PMID 22200078) on the 1900-1970 window of Navy asbestos-material requirements [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/1206.htm specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-response letter; PMID 22200078
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This is a steam-reciprocating gunboat: NavSource's specification block lists 'Two 1,900hp triple expansion engines, two shafts in tunnels, three rudders' - a steam plant carrying boilers and steam piping, so the marine steam-plant thermal-insulation pathway applies. For a naval steam vessel built 1926-28, era-standard asbestos applications were thermal insulation/lagging on boilers, machinery and steam piping; gaskets and valve packing; electrical cabling insulation; and deck tiling - the application categories the Navy itself enumerated for GAO in 1979, used across the 1900-1970 window that a peer-reviewed review describes as the Navy's asbestos-requirement era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942
- Population
- Kiangnan Dock construction trades (1926-28); engine-room/black gang and maintenance rates aboard (1928-42); any repair-yard trades during Yangtze-era refits at Hankow
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification sheet, or work package located for PR-6/PG-46. The hull was built in a Chinese commercial yard to U.S. Navy contract design; whether U.S.-spec insulation materials were installed is undocumented. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. The GAO report's ship-level data covers post-1973 deliveries; its application-category statement is program-level. Steam-plant construction is verified (NavSource spec); asbestos content of that plant aboard this hull is not.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) - full text [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, transmittal summary and Navy-response attachment (application categories)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level documentation of Navy shipboard asbestos applications: in its 1979 response to GAO the Navy stated that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard its ships, that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos,' and enumerated other shipboard applications - deck tiling, electric cabling, galley ranges, piping-system gaskets and packing, brakes and clutches, and electrical resistors. Product specifications for thermal insulation were revised to asbestos-free materials in 1973, yet 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.' These are the application categories relevant to a steam-reciprocating hull of this era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1979 (retrospective on Navy use era)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; ship crews (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not a hull record: GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and the Navy's ship-level attachment lists only ships delivered since 1973 or under construction - this 1926-28 hull is not named. Supports era/application-pattern context only. Full text fetched this session via the gao.gov /assets/ PDF path (the product page https://www.gao.gov/products/hrd-80-2 returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch, the standing access defect noted in prior batches - worked around, documented in search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-08
-
[10]Franke K, Paustenbach D. 'Government and Navy knowledge regarding health hazards of asbestos: a state of the science evaluation (1900 to 1970).' Inhal Toxicol. 2011 Dec;23 Suppl 3:1-20. doi:10.3109/08958378.2011.643417 (PMID 22200078) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 22200078; article at doi:10.3109/08958378.2011.643417 (403)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A peer-reviewed state-of-the-science evaluation of Navy asbestos knowledge across 1900-1970 (analysis blocks 1900-1929, 1930-1959, 1960-1970 - the first block covering this hull's construction) concludes that 'the Navy continued to require the use of asbestos-containing materials on ships' through the study window. The review's full text (search-index extraction; full text access-blocked) dates extensive naval-ship insulation use of amosite and chrysotile 'beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 1950s.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1900-1970 (review window)
- Population
- Navy personnel and shipyard workers (era-level)
- Limitations
- Review-level literature, not a primary document for this hull; authored by ChemRisk consultants (a firm associated with defense-side asbestos work) - provenance caveat noted, though the era-use finding itself is uncontroversial and consistent with GAO. Full text returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch; citation verified via PubMed abstract (PMID 22200078); the '1880s-1950s' sentence reached via search index of the article page, not independently re-verified in the article body.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-09
-
[11]Batch-8532 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; hazegray DANFS transcription; NavSource archive and PR index; NavalCoverMuseum; FRUS 1937 vol. IV; DPAA casualty profile; USNA Virtual Memorial Hall; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; PubMed/DOI; NVR; CourtListener authenticated queries (6); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-oahu-pg46-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Oahu (PR-6/PG-46) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener was queried this session via the authenticated helper: exact-name 'USS Oahu' returned 0 opinion and 0 docket results; hull-number 'PR-6' returned 145 opinion and 1,786 docket results, all name collisions (reporter abbreviations, rule numbers, pro se docket tokens - the string 'Oahu' appears in zero returned records); because both hull-number base queries overflowed the 20-result page, the authorized asbestos-qualified variants 'PR-6 asbestos' ran - 0 opinion results and 63 docket results, all document-token collisions including the MDL-875 asbestos MDL docket (matched via RECAP document text, not any case naming this hull). No qualifying asbestos litigation or other litigation naming this hull located. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm/marketing listicles and secondary history sites; none is a qualifying source. The hull's combat loss in 1942 forecloses the usual documentation paths (no postwar overhaul, conversion, or scrapping record exists to generate hazmat documentation).
- 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. CourtListener coverage is limited to digitized opinions and federal RECAP dockets - settled claims, state trial filings, and non-asbestos veteran/POW claims fall outside it. Undigitized leads remain: NARA RG 24 deck logs, Bureau of Construction & Repair contract specifications for the Kiangnan gunboats, and any Asiatic Fleet material records. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-10
-
[12]Designation cross-check: live NHHC DANFS page (title 'Oahu I (PR-36)', spec block 'PG-146' - OCR errors); hazegray verbatim transcription ('PR-6'/'PG-46'); NavSource ('PG-46' to 'PR-6'); NavalCoverMuseum ('Reclassified River Gunboat (PR) June 15 1928'); Wikipedia infobox ('PY-6' typo); uboat.net (class label 'Panay') [other_primary]
- Locator
- live NHHC oahu-i.html header; Wikipedia USS Oahu (PR-6) infobox; uboat.net warship page 9343; NavalCoverMuseum designation history
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: this hull's designation is PR-6 (built as PG-46, reclassified 15 June 1928 before commissioning). Three cataloging errors circulate: (1) the live NHHC DANFS page mis-OCRs the designations as 'PR-36' in its title and 'PG-146' in its spec block; (2) Wikipedia's infobox prints 'Commissioned 22 October 1928, as PY-6' - 'PY' is a yacht-patrol designation never applied to this hull; (3) input data for this batch labeled the ship a Gato-class submarine - wrong hull type entirely (a fleet-submarine class), and the 'USS Oahu' name is shared with ARG-5, a 1944 internal-combustion-engine repair ship of a different class. Also conflicting: uboat.net dates the loss '6 May 1942' and describes scuttling, versus DANFS 'sunk by enemy gunfire 5 May' - carried as an unresolved conflict (gaps), not adopted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-04
- Study period
- 1926-1942 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating designation/type errors that materially affect retrieval (a 'PR-36' or 'Gato-class Oahu' search would mislead); it asserts nothing about materials. The correct sequence PG-46 (laid down) -> PR-6 (reclassified 15 June 1928, commissioned) is consistent across DANFS print transcription, NavSource and NavalCoverMuseum.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-oahu-pg46-11