Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 876-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity chain to the Republic of China Navy confirmed; final fate carries a source conflict
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-1262-pc1262-pkt-876-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online, Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-1262 page (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PC-1262 entry, timeline block + specifications block + commanding officers block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- PC-461 Class Submarine Chaser: laid down 21 January 1943 by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI; launched 27 March 1943; commissioned USS PC-1262, 29 June 1943; assigned to the European theater in WWII and participated in the invasion of Normandy; placed in service as a Naval Reserve training vessel January 1947, 4th Naval District (Philadelphia); decommissioned 19 May 1954; transferred to the Republic of China June 1954 as Chung Kiang (PC 115); decommissioned 1 November 1970; struck from the Navy Register 1972; scrapped 1974; one battle star for WWII service. Specifications: 450 t; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 DP, one 40mm, five 20mm, two depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks, two rocket launchers; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 diesels, 1,440 bhp each (serial nos. 833283, 833284), Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts; call sign Nan-Fox-King-Sugar. Page confirms 'There is no DANFS History currently available for PC-1262.' Postwar CO listed: LTJG Robert Anthony Kanak, USN, 1952-1953.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1974
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith construction trades (Sturgeon Bay, 1943); wartime and reserve-era crew (complement ~65); ROC Navy crew 1954-1970; Taiwan breakers 1974
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archival photo/service record — a reliable secondary source for dates and specifications, but not a primary government document and contains no asbestos or materials information. ROC-service dates (1970/1972/1974) are as stated on the page without further attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-1262 (PC-1262) page (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ship data table + commands table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating record: PC-461-class patrol craft built by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI; ordered 18 May 1942; laid down 21 Jan 1943; launched 27 Mar 1943; commissioned 29 Jun 1943; end service 19 May 1954; transferred to Taiwan June 1954 renamed Chung Kiang. Wartime commanding officers listed: Vermont C. Royster USNR (29 Jun 1943 – late 1943), J. M. Ewing USNR (late 1943 – late 1944), J. W. Lehrer USNR (late 1944 – early 1945), D. F. Ross USNR (early – mid/late 1945), P. H. Finn USNR (mid/late 1945 – early 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- Wartime crew
- Limitations
- Specialist reference site — corroborates NavSource dates and adds the order date and command list; secondary source with no asbestos content. CO tour boundaries are approximations ('late 1943', etc.). 'Leatham D. Smith' spelling on this page is a typo for Leathem.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-02
-
[4]A. D. Baker III, 'Historic Fleets,' Naval History Vol. 10 No. 1 (U.S. Naval Institute, February 1996) — PC-1262 caption (verified live 2026-10-03) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Historic Fleets photo caption for PC-1262
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI photograph caption names this hull: 'PC-1262 is shown here just prior to transfer to Taiwan as the Chung Kiang in 1954.' Documents ship-specific configuration detail: 20-mm guns in twin mountings atop the superstructure forward of the dummy funnel — 'the main engines discharged over the sides, near the waterline' — i.e., the funnel was a dummy and diesel exhaust exited at waterline level; anchor hawse low on the hull side, noted as a builder-detail difference.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1954 (photograph); 1996 (publication)
- Population
- Crew at time of 1954 transfer
- Limitations
- Confirms transfer-era configuration and the waterline diesel-exhaust arrangement relevant to where insulation would have been fitted; contains no asbestos or materials statement. Naval History is a reputable service journal, not an official record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-03
-
[5]A. D. Baker III, 'Historic Fleets,' Naval History Vol. 10 No. 1 (U.S. Naval Institute, February 1996) — PC-461-class program figures [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Historic Fleets opening text (class program paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context: the WWII PC-series submarine chasers were built to one basic design for coastal escort; the original PC-461-class program ran to 403 hulls, of which 24 were completed as PGM gunboats, 60 canceled, 35 adapted as PCC amphibious-assault control vessels, and 46 transferred to Allied navies under Lend-Lease (France 32, Brazil 8); 15 yards participated; the first (PC-461) commissioned March 1942 and the last in 1944; detail differences existed between units built at different times by different builders.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944 (program)
- Population
- PC-461-class crews and builders (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level class data — establishes the production context for this hull but says nothing about this hull's materials; the documented builder-to-builder variation is itself a reason not to infer ship-specific detail from sister hulls.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-04
-
[6]'The Military History of Arthur Emil Henriksen, GM3c' — family-compiled crew history (compiler Cathy Petersen, niece; built on the ship's muster sheets, Report of Change sheets, and interviews with crewmen Robert W. Cupples and John W. Holmes; PCSA Newsletter editor Mark Matyas correspondence), hosted on NavSource (PDF verified HTTP 200, 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource-hosted PDF, 39 pp. — commissioning/muster data, SCTC, England/Normandy/Le Havre narrative, Report of Change transcription, Matyas letter
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific service narrative derived from crew records: Henriksen (service no. 621-30-93) was a plankowner received aboard 29 June 1943 at commissioning, Algiers Naval Station, New Orleans, after the hull transited the Chicago River/Ship Canal–Illinois–Mississippi route from Sturgeon Bay; trained at the Miami Sub-Chaser Training Center (ready-for-sea report 11 July 1943; Cuba shakedown mid-August); Tompkinsville, Staten Island patrol/escort duty from 1 September 1943; departed New York 26 March 1944 for England, arriving Fowey 14 April; escorted an LST in the April rehearsal window — a 28 April log entry describes bodies recovered between Falmouth and Portland, which the compiler associates (as probable, not confirmed) with the Exercise Tiger disaster off Slapton Sands; in the first wave off Utah Beach on D-Day 6 June 1944 leading landing barges/Higgins boats and running picket-rescue duty, with sister PC-1261 alongside (sunk that morning); weeks off the Normandy coast, then 14 months escorting England–Channel–France; Le Havre harbor defense from November 1944 and patrols off German-held Alderney and Guernsey until after V-E Day (9 May 1945 Le Havre parade); returned to Miami 21 June 1945 in a 12-PC/2-DE convoy for extensive overhaul; Kingston, NY Navy Day open ship 27-29 October 1945; Henriksen and ten others transferred to Brooklyn NRS 27 November 1945, the Report of Change recording the ship 'sailing to Tercia [Terceira], Azores.' Includes PCSA editor's figures: Defoe (designer of the class) built 58 PCs, Leathem D. Smith built 42.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- USS PC-1262 wartime crew (5 officers + ~59 enlisted); crewman Henriksen GM3c 1943-45
- Limitations
- Privately compiled family history — not an official record; muster/report-of-change data transcribed at second hand. The Exercise Tiger association is the compiler's inference (section quotes Wikipedia). 'Sailing to Tercia, Azores' and the commissioning-week details are not independently verified. Contains no asbestos content. Verification set to partial accordingly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-05
-
[7]Michael Junge, 'A Tradition Older,' The Strategy Bridge (19 Feb 2019); corroborated by WSJ obituary and Pulitzer.org for Royster's later career [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Strategy Bridge article text (Royster paragraph); wsj.com obituary; pulitzer.org year pages
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents this hull's first commanding officer: Vermont Connecticut Royster (1914-1996) joined the Naval Reserve in 1940, reached lieutenant commander by 1944, and 'ran his training patrol boat, PC-1262, aground on the Miami Beach causeway' during the Miami training period — a formal inquiry found him blameless, mechanical failure faulted. He afterward commanded USS Jack Miller (DE-410) 1944-45 and returned to journalism at the Wall Street Journal (editor 1958-1971, two Pulitzer Prizes per the paper's obituary record and Pulitzer.org); his unsigned 14 May 1952 'Hobson's Choice' editorial on the Wasp/Hobson collision became the canonical statement of naval command accountability.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943; 2019 (article)
- Population
- PC-1262 crew under Royster, 1943
- Limitations
- Vessel-history detail only — establishes command provenance, nothing about materials or exposure; the grounding date within the July-August 1943 Miami window is inferred from Royster's command tenure, not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-06
-
[8]Patrol Craft Sailors Association, WWII PC casualties/status table (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PCSA patrol-craft page, casualties table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Squadron-context corroboration for the D-Day account: the PCSA table records 'PC 1261 — Sunk By German Shore Battery, Normandy — 06-06-44,' matching the Henriksen crew history's account that PC-1261 was alongside PC-1262 in the first wave off Utah Beach and was the first ship lost on D-Day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- PC squadron context
- Limitations
- Documents the sister hull's loss, not this hull's condition or materials; casualty mechanism (shore battery vs. mine/shellfire variants elsewhere) is beyond this record's scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) + USNI Historic Fleets exhaust-configuration detail for this hull [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page; USNI caption (dummy funnel / waterline exhaust)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-consistent asbestos applications for a 1943 diesel patrol craft: GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships of this period and, under its 1975/1979 policies, left original insulation in place for decades unless damaged or obstructing repairs. Adjusted for propulsion type (no steam plant), the relevant applications aboard this class of vessel are diesel exhaust insulation near the documented waterline discharges, machinery and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior insulation/deck coverings of wartime manufacture.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1979
- Population
- Construction trades 1943; crew in insulated spaces; overhaul workers (Miami 1945); ROC Navy crew; breakers
- Limitations
- Era/program documentation plus design detail — NOT a hull record. The GAO report does not name PC-1262 or patrol craft; asbestos presence aboard this hull is inference from construction era and documented configuration, not ship-proven. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence, or individual exposure. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing access gap); citation is the GAO product page as in Batch-01 records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-08
-
[10]Wu WT et al., 'Cancer Attributable to Asbestos Exposure in Shipbreaking Workers: A Matched-Cohort Study,' PLoS ONE (2015), PMID 26192180 / PMC4507997; and Wu WT et al., 'Mortality among shipbreaking workers in Taiwan — a retrospective cohort study from 1985 to 2008,' Am J Ind Med (2013), PMID 23532723 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMC4507997 (PLoS ONE 2015); PubMed 23532723 (Am J Ind Med 2013)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Disposition-era exposure context: this hull was scrapped in Taiwan in 1974 (NavSource). Peer-reviewed cohort studies of Kaohsiung shipbreaking workers document that Taiwanese breakers of the industry era worked amid substantial asbestos exposure, with significantly elevated asbestos-attributable cancer incidence and mortality including mesothelioma and asbestosis cases.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1974 (disposition); cohort 1985-2008
- Population
- Taiwanese shipbreaking workers (industry era)
- Limitations
- Industry-level literature — does not name this hull, its scrap yard, or its breakers; the union cohort database begins 1985, roughly a decade after this hull's 1974 scrapping, so even the temporal link is contextual. Establishes that shipbreaking-era Taiwan was an asbestos-exposure environment, nothing more.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-09
-
[11]Batch-7757 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC DANFS (404 — no entry exists); uboat.net; USNI Naval History; NVR; NARA deck-log index; PCSA; Henriksen crew-history PDF; CourtListener (4 base queries completed — see ledger); web search for hull+asbestos and yard+asbestos (law-firm listicles only, excluded) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government document, or docketed case naming PC-1262 was found in the public sources searched. All four required CourtListener base queries completed: three returned verified empty result sets and the fourth (hull-number docket) returned two name collisions — a hospital chapter-7 bankruptcy and a state habeas petition, neither asbestos-related and neither referencing the vessel (see search_ledger sl-09 through sl-12). NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull; NVR does not cover pre-1987 disposals; no asbestos content exists in the NavSource archive material. Asbestos assertions for this hull and for the Leathem D. Smith yard exist only on law-firm marketing pages — excluded by source policy.
- 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 wartime combatant is era-consistent with ACM in the applications listed in ev-08, and scrapping-era records were not located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-1262-pc1262-10