Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 867-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (hull number, name, and class confirmed by two independent sources).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-1203-pc1203-pkt-867-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-1203 page (build/disposal timeline + specifications; URL verified live 2026-10-03 - navsource.net, not the dead .org domain) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-1203 page - heading block (timeline) and Specifications block; archives/12/01idx.htm '173' Steel Hull' class overview
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser, laid down 23 January 1943 by Consolidated Shipbuilding Co., Morris Heights, NY; launched 14 March 1943; commissioned 17 July 1943; identified for disposal as a target November 1945; struck from the Naval Register 28 March 1946; destroyed as a target in 1949. Specifications: displacement 450 t.; length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, five 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440 bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines (serials 7013 and 7014), Westinghouse single-reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign NQJP (Nan-Queen-Jig-Peter). Page states 'There is no DANFS History currently available for PC-1203.' The NavSource Submarine Chaser index (class context) records the PC-461 class built in four series totaling 362 hulls - PC-461 to PC-496 (36), PC-542 to PC-627 (86), PC-776 to PC-826 (51), PC-1077 to PC-1265 (189); this hull falls in the final series.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding construction trades, Morris Heights, 1943; wartime crew (listed complement 65)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled secondary reference assembled from official records and contributed photography; its data are not independently cross-verified here against primary records (engine serials, complement, and the exact struck date rest on this source). Contains no asbestos or materials information whatsoever.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-01
-
[3]Chute v. United States, 449 F. Supp. 172 (D. Mass. 1978), Civ. A. No. 72-3412-F (Freedman, D.J.) - full opinion text via Justia (verified live 2026-10-03) [court_record]
- Locator
- 449 F. Supp. 172, pp. 174-175 (facts: grounding, wreck marking), pp. 177-181 (findings), pp. 184-186 (holding and notes)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal opinion naming this hull (OTHER litigation - not asbestos-related): 'The wreck consists of a Navy ship, PC1203, which had been deliberately grounded on Horseshoe Shoals in 1949 for use as a bombing target.' The court found the wreck site (Horseshoe Shoals, Nantucket Sound, approximately 7-8 miles south-southwest of Hyannis Port, MA) was a designated danger area 1949-1961; that the submerged wreck was marked only by a buoy positioned roughly 100 yards away; that the fishing boat AD LIB II struck the wreck on 30 September 1971 and sank, killing Dr. James L. Chute and Harlan L. Matthews; and that the Coast Guard then contracted to demolish the wreck remains and wire-drag the area to five feet below the reference plane. Held: the United States was liable for the deaths because the marking was negligent - a daymark adjacent to the wreck should have been erected or the wreck demolished earlier (Suits in Admiralty Act jurisdiction; damages reserved for a separate trial).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1949-1978 (wreck history); 1971 (accident); 1978 (opinion)
- Population
- Occupants of AD LIB II (5 persons; 2 fatalities), 30 September 1971
- Limitations
- Navigational-liability litigation about the hull's post-service wreck - it establishes the vessel's fate and the wreck's marking history, nothing about shipboard materials or asbestos. Liability-phase opinion only; damages were reserved for a separate proceeding (footnote 1). No appellate history located. Establishes no exposure, no product identification, no quantity, and no legal eligibility for any asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton's U.S. shipyard production lists), Consolidated Shipbuilding, Morris Heights NY - yard production table, hull 3133 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Consolidated yard table, row 'PC 1203' (hull 3133)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard production table row for this hull: yard hull number 3133, 'PC 1203', US Navy, Sub Chaser, type 463d, 173 ft, date 17-Jul-43 (commissioning/delivery date), disposition 'Destroyed 1949' - corroborating builder identity, hull sequence, and the destruction year against the NavSource record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding construction trades, Morris Heights, 1943
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled yard list assembled from official registers; the table's single date column corresponds to the commissioning date and no laid-down/launch dates are given for this row. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS PC-1203 (PC-1203) entry (Guomundur Helgason's reference database) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 8730 - data table and 'Commands listed' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Reference-database entry for this hull: ordered 27 February 1942; laid down 23 January 1943; launched 14 March 1943; commissioned 17 July 1943 (dates corroborate NavSource). Lists five wartime commanding officers: John Rockwell Furman, USNR (17 Jul 1943 - early 1944); W. A. Wagner, USNR (early 1944 - late 1944); L. M. Trice, Jr., USNR (late 1944 - early 1945); Lt. (jg) Arthur A. Kimmel, USNR (early 1945 - mid/late 1945); John S. Magiera, USNR (mid/late 1945 - ).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a respected but unofficial compiled database - the order date and commanding-officer roster are unverified against primary records (they are carried as leads, not established facts). The entry's 'End service' and 'History' fields are blank, consistent with the absence of a digitized service narrative for this hull. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-04
-
[6]NavSource PC-1203 specifications block (diesel plant, no boilers) + GAO HRD-80-2 era context + Cannon-class (DET diesel-electric) class-profile precedent for the diesel-vessel application set [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-1203 Specifications block (propulsion line); GAO product page HRD-80-2; class-c/cannon-class.class.json ev-cannon-class-03 (diesel application set)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a steel-hulled patrol craft built in 1943 - inside the Navy's documented shipboard asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2: substitution not begun until the early 1970s) - would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel-driven vessel: machinery and exhaust insulation/lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, and deck coverings. The propulsion plant is two Hooven-Owen-Rentschler diesels - there is no boiler, no steam-distribution system, and therefore no boiler/steam-line lagging pathway, the largest asbestos category on steam ships.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding construction trades 1943; wartime crew (listed complement 65); Navy and contractor personnel involved in the 1949 target grounding
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. No insulation specification, material schedule, or survey for this hull or the PC-461 class was located; the application set is inferred for a diesel vessel of 1943 construction and does not establish that asbestos was actually installed aboard, its quantity, or any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-05
-
[7]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 the Navy's extensive shipboard asbestos insulation use with substitution not beginning until the early 1970s - this hull (built 1943) falls inside the documented asbestos-use era, and its destruction in 1949 predates every Navy substitution/abatement program the report covers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Program-level era context only, not class- or hull-specific. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetches, HTTP 403); content via product-page description. Says nothing about this vessel's actual materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-06
-
[8]U.S. Coast Guard History Program, Disasters Finding Aid (USCG Historian's Office collection inventory) - entry 'PC 1203 - 1949 - Photographs', Box 180 (locating copy via yumpu document mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Disasters Finding Aid, alphabetical vessel listing, 'PC 1203 - 1949' (Box 180)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USCG Historian's Office Disasters collection finding aid lists a dedicated file 'PC 1203 - 1949 - Photographs' (Box 180) - Coast Guard-held photographic material on this hull's 1949 grounding/target-wreck disposition, consistent with the Coast Guard's documented role in marking and later demolishing the wreck (Chute v. United States).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1949
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Finding-aid listing only - the photographs were not retrieved and their content is unverified. Repository is the USCG Historian's Office, Washington, DC; the finding aid text was located via a yumpu mirror, not the official history.uscg.mil URL. Establishes the existence of a USCG file on this hull, not its contents.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-07
-
[9]Batch-7699 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; NHHC DANFS (no entry exists); shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; uboat.net; NVR; USCG Historian finding aid; PCSA site; secondary web sweeps for service history and asbestos litigation [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-01 through sl-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or asbestos litigation naming PC-1203 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NHHC page not found; NavSource confirms none). Not on the Naval Vessel Register (hulls disposed of before 1987 are not listed). The only litigation located naming this hull is the non-asbestos navigational-liability case Chute v. United States (ev-02). CourtListener could not be searched this session - daily quota exhausted; litigation status for asbestos is OPEN, not negative.
- 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 is not proof of absence - the hull was destroyed in 1949, before asbestos hazards were documented or tracked, so ship-specific documentation may never have existed. CourtListener unsearched (quota): a docketed asbestos case naming this hull cannot be ruled out. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1203-pc1203-08