Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 879-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (thin
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (thin
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-1239-pc1239-pkt-879-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online, Submarine Chaser Photo Archive: PC-1239 (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PC-1239 page, chronology and specifications blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser; laid down 14 April 1943 by Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, NY; launched 9 June 1943; commissioned 27 September 1943; grounded 9 October 1945 by Typhoon Louise at Okinawa; destroyed 5 February 1946; struck from the Naval Register 25 February 1946. Specifications: 450 t displacement; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 knots; complement 65; one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40 mm mount, five 20 mm guns, two rocket launchers, two depth-charge tracks; two 1,440 bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines, Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. NavSource notes no DANFS history exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Consolidated Shipbuilding construction trades, 1943; wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled register entry, not a primary Navy document; documents identity, timeline, and specifications only - contains no materials or asbestos information. Displacement figure (450 t) differs from the class spec (284 t) - see gaps. Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-01
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[3]NARA Catalog, file unit 'PC-1239, 9/27/43-1/1/46', NAID 192141507 - Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), series Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, Roll 6010; 299 digitized images [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog file unit NAID 192141507 (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/192141507), roll images 00002 (quarter ending 30 Sep 1943, forwarded Tompkinsville 5 Oct 1943) and 00003 ('Commissioning', 27 Sep 1943, Navy Yard NY); deck-log coverage per batch-7735 VERIFY line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A digitized ship-specific primary record exists and was sampled for this record: NARA holds the PC-1239 muster rolls covering 27 September 1943 through 1 January 1946 - the personnel roster of every man carried on this hull across its entire commissioned life, 299 scanned images. The first pages of the file unit are the Bureau of Naval Personnel forwarding sheets for the commissioning and first-quarter rolls: the sheet headed 'Commissioning' is dated 27 September 1943 and certified by J. T. West, Lt., Executive Officer, approved and signed by J. S. Peterson, Commanding Officer, forwarded 2 October 1943 'From Navy Yard, New York, N.Y.' - primary confirmation of the commissioning date and of the first commanding and executive officers; the next roll (quarter ending 30 September 1943) was forwarded 5 October 1943 'From Naval Section Base, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, N.Y.', placing the hull at Tompkinsville a week after commissioning. At the other end of the roll, the Recapitulation Sheet for the quarter ending 1 January 1946 records 61 enlisted brought forward, 4 gained, 23 lost, and 42 'remaining on board and carried forward' - the hull still carried a 42-man caretaker crew after the typhoon write-off and was not formally unmanned within roll coverage. Batch-level VERIFY additionally identifies NARA deck-log coverage for this hull beginning 27 September 1943 and continuing through June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- All hands aboard USS PC-1239, 1943-09-27 to 1946-01-01
- Limitations
- Muster rolls document who was aboard, not what materials were aboard - they contain no asbestos, insulation, or materials information. Only the forwarding-sheet images were reviewed for this record; the full 299-image roll was not transcribed (0/299 catalog transcriptions at access time). Later commanding-officer changes remain unverified at primary level. Deck-log file units were identified at batch VERIFY stage but were not individually enumerated in this pass; both are leads for any future crew-level exposure research, not exposure evidence. Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-02
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[4]Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa - Maritime Heritage Gallery artifact record SBB-29, 'Patrol Craft USS PC-1239' (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SBB-29 artifact record, 'Artifact History', 'Artifact Condition', and 'Additional Information' fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A University of Hawai'i deep-submergence program record documents this hull's final disposition: the wreck was found 6 March 2016 off Barber's Point, Oahu, in 834 m depth on dive PIV-287/P5-848. Artifact history: commissioned September 1943; ran aground at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 9 October 1945 after Typhoon Louise; refloated 10 days later; final fate listed as 'destroyed' 5 February 1946 and stricken 25 February 1946; 'no serious damage to this vessel. All evidence shows it was likely scuttled.' Harbor records cited on the page show PC-1239 departed Pearl Harbor 30 January 1946 at 0907 under tow of ATR-85 (ATR-85 reentered at 1407; USS Apagon departed and returned roughly 25 minutes behind it each direction). Wreck condition: excellent, stripped of armament and rigging; depth-charge racks and vessel name still present on the stern.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (loss/disposal); 2016 (wreck survey)
- Population
- n/a (disposal and wreck documentation)
- Limitations
- Documents the disposal pathway (grounded - refloated - towed out of Pearl Harbor - scuttled in deep water) and present wreck condition; contains no asbestos or materials information. The page's 'Built/Launched' field reads '7 September, 1943', which conflicts with the NavSource-documented 9 June 1943 launch and appears to conflate the September 1943 commissioning - see gaps. Location given only as 'Barber's Pt.'; no coordinates published.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-03
-
[5]'US Navy Sub Chasers, 1940-1945', HyperWar mirror of NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' series - PC-461 class entry (verified live 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- PC-461 class specifications block; PC-1239-1243 roster line
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- PC-461-class submarine chasers were steel-hulled diesel-driven patrol craft mass-produced 1942-44 (PC-1239 carried in the PC-1239-1243 group; class specs: 284 t, 173'8" x 23' x 10'10", 21 knots, complement 65, diesel engines on two screws, 2,280 shp). Built under peak-era Navy insulation and gasket/packing practice, a vessel of this type would have carried era-standard asbestos applications: engine and exhaust-line lagging, machinery and compartment insulation, piping gaskets and flange packing, valve stem packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, and joiner/bulkhead insulation. As a diesel vessel the class had no boilers, so the boiler-room lagging pathway prominent in steamship records does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Construction trades at class builders (1942-44); class crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - the cited page documents class specifications and the build window, not installed materials; no hull-specific insulation survey, construction specification, or asbestos record was located for PC-1239. Nothing here establishes that asbestos was present aboard this hull, in what quantity, or that any individual was exposed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-04
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[6]NARA Catalog full-text search 'PC-1239' - returns WWII war-diary file units of Caribbean Sea Frontier commands whose indexed text references PC-1239 (e.g., NOB Guantanamo Bay, NOB Trinidad, COMALLFOR Aruba-Curacao, COMCARIBSEAFRON war diaries, Nov 1943-Mar 1945 rolls) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog search results for quoted query 'PC-1239' (RG 38, World War II War Diaries series; example rolls incl. A707/A741/A778/A793/A800/A849/A889/A909/A942/A1028/A1035/A1135/A1165/A1347/A1410/A1434/A1720/A1828/A1864/A1903/A2024/A2028)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA catalog's indexed text returns dozens of WWII war-diary file units containing 'PC-1239' references that trace a coherent movement path: Caribbean Sea Frontier commands (NOB Guantanamo Bay, NOB Trinidad, COMALLFOR Aruba-Curacao, COMCARIBSEAFRON) in late 1943 through mid-1944; Western Sea Frontier war diaries April-July 1945; and the NOB Okinawa war diary covering July-December 1945 - the file unit that would cover her Typhoon Louise grounding - plus COM 5th Fleet and CINCLANT diaries for October-December 1945. Consistent with Caribbean convoy-escort service, a 1945 Pacific transit, and presence at Okinawa at the time of the documented grounding.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Crew during Caribbean-phase service, if references are substantiated
- Limitations
- Catalog-search metadata lead only - the underlying war-diary page images were not reviewed for this record, so what the references say about PC-1239's movements, assignments, or grounding is unverified. Establishes nothing about materials or asbestos. Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-05
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[7]Batch-7735 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA Catalog (muster rolls NAID 192141507; full-text war-diary index); HURL/SOEST maritime-heritage record SBB-29; HyperWar/NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' sub-chaser page; NHHC DANFS direct check; Naval Vessel Register; uboat.net allied-warships entry; CourtListener base queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-01 through sl-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, construction-specification materials list, disposal/environmental record, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming PC-1239 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NHHC page 404; NavSource confirms none available). CourtListener coverage: exact-name and hull-number queries across opinion and RECAP docket indexes returned zero qualifying results - the only docket hits are six unrelated name collisions.
- 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 - a 1943-built steel-hulled patrol craft is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, packing, and deck/interior materials. The hull is not extant (scuttled 1946 in 834 m of water), so no physical survey is possible. CourtListener base queries completed 2026-10-03 after a fleet-wide throttle delay - all four returned no qualifying result; asbestos-qualified variants were not run because no base query overflowed its 20-result page. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1239-pc1239-06