Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 895-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-477-pc477-pkt-895-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-477 page (construction, builder, theater service, decommissioning, disposal, specifications; live-verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-477 page, history block + specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser; laid down 22 November 1941 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, MI; launched 28 January 1942; commissioned 30 March 1942; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the Noemfoor Island operation, 2-3 July 1944, and the Cape Sansapor operation, 16-22 August 1944; visited Auckland, New Zealand on 21 June and 6 July 1945; decommissioned 15 August 1946 at Terminal Island, CA; sold for scrap in January 1947 to J. C. Berkwit and Co. of New York. Specifications: 450 t.; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 DP, one 40mm, three 20mm, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440 bhp General Motors 16-258S diesels (serial nos. 6325 and 6326), Farrel-Birmingham single-reduction gear, two shafts. Page states no DANFS history exists for PC-477.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- NavSource documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Disposal date conflicts with uboat.net (4 December 1946) - carried in gaps. No stricken date is given.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-01
-
[3]Aryeh Wetherhorn, 'Midget Submarines at Guadalcanal,' Naval History Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute), Vol. 36 No. 6, December 2022 - sourced to the USS Alchiba torpedo-damage report and war diary [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Magazine Dec-2022 article, HA-38/I-24 passage and endnote 3
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI Naval History account of this hull's best-documented action: on 7 December 1942 the Japanese Type A midget submarine HA-38 (carried by I-24) torpedoed the beached USS Alchiba (AKA-6) off Guadalcanal; 'a little 173-foot long sub chaser, PC-477, spotted her. A pattern of eight depth charges followed. Officially, the PC-477 shared the kill with an SBD-3 from VMSB-142.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-12
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Documents a combat event, not materials or asbestos. The article is a secondary account sourced to the Alchiba torpedo-damage report and war diary; the Patrol Craft Sailors Association tabulation dates the kill 8 December 1942 (variant carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-02
-
[4]Ewan M. Stevenson, Archaehistoria.org, 'Site SAVO13 Japanese midget submarine Kohyoteki 30, 11 November 1942' - Guadalcanal Kohyoteki operations table (marine-archaeology specialist source cited by the USNI article; live-verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Archaehistoria SAVO13 page, Kohyoteki operations summary table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Marine-archaeology tabulation corroborating the 7 December 1942 action: 'Kohyoteki 38 (I-24) | 7 December 1942 | Lt. (jg) Tomio Tsuji, PO1. Daiseiki Tsubokura | Torpedoed Alchiba and sunk by PC-477 and SBD-3 dive bomber of VMSB-142 | IBS45. Sunk in 700 meters in IBS. Undiscovered. Located approx. half way between Savo and Lunga Point.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-12
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation, not an official record; consistent with USNI's war-diary-sourced account. Documents the opponent's loss and wreck location, not PC-477's materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-477 (PC-477) entry (order date, milestone dates, commanding-officer list, disposal date variant; live-verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 8499, data table + 'Commands listed' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net record for this hull: ordered 26 December 1940; built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. (Bay City, Michigan); laid down 22 November 1941; launched 28 January 1942; commissioned 30 March 1942; end of service (decommissioned) 15 August 1946; 'sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 December 1946.' Wartime commanding-officer list: David C. Miller USNR (30 Mar 1942 - 9 Jun 1943); Lt. Victor G. Barry USNR (9 Jun - 4 Sep 1943); Lt.(jg) Arthur Scott Bell Jr. USNR (4 Sep - Oct 1943); R. W. McKenney USNR (Oct 1943 - mid 1944); W. R. Langston USNR (mid 1944 - Nov 1944); G. T. Merton USNR (Nov 1944 - mid 1945); Lt.(jg) Ralph L. Beshears USNR (mid 1945 - 17 Dec 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 65)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation used for the order date, CO list, and the disposal-date variant; milestones agree with NavSource except the disposal date (4 December 1946 vs January 1947) - conflict carried in gaps. Not an asbestos source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-04
-
[6]Arthur Bell, 'Peter Charlie: The Cruise of the PC 477' (self-published, Courtroom Compendiums/Compendium Press; ISBN 0-910355-00-2) - publisher's author page; bibliographic record corroborated by books-by-isbn registry (1982) and splinterfleet.org listing (1992); US Navy Memorial log lists LCDR Arthur S. Bell Jr. with USS PC-477 as significant duty station [other_primary]
- Locator
- compendiumpress.com author page; ISBN 0-910355-00-2 registry; navylog.navymemorial.org 'BELL-ARTHUR'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand crew memoir exists for this hull: Arthur S. Bell Jr. shipped aboard PC-477 as a 23-year-old ensign in 1942 and later commanded her (his first command; he later commanded USS Dallas and USS Kinzer). The crew called the ship 'Peter Charlie.' Per publisher and bookseller descriptions, the memoir covers the ship's route from the East Coast through the Panama Canal to Hawaii, the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and the Philippines - consistent with NavSource's Pacific-theater record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement 65); memoir readership
- Limitations
- Bibliographic verification only - the book itself was not examined; publisher/bookseller descriptions (1982 ISBN record vs 1992 listing) conflict on edition year. A self-published memoir is not an official record and does not address shipboard materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-05
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[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (PC-461 class, 1941-42 construction, twin GM diesel plant - no boilers or steam system) and WWII-era Navy construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; PC-461-class design data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference: a PC-461-class submarine chaser built at Defoe Shipbuilding in 1941-42 - peak of the Navy's asbestos era - would have carried era-standard asbestos applications appropriate to a diesel patrol craft: engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and friction linings on winches and deck machinery - but no boilers or steam-line lagging.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1947
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1941-42; wartime crew 1942-46
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - NOT a hull-specific finding. The diesel plant means the largest asbestos categories of steam ships (boiler and steam-line insulation) do not apply; does not quantify material or establish any individual's exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-06
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[8]Batch-7852 search ledger (this record): NavSource PC-477 page; NHHC DANFS index/URL; NVR ship-detail page; USNI Naval History; archaehistoria; uboat.net; Bell memoir bibliographic records; NARA catalog; CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-477-pc477-01 through sl-uss-pc-477-pc477-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for PC-477: no DANFS entry exists (NavSource states and NHHC search confirms), the hull predates NVR coverage (disposed before 1987), no hull ACM survey or abatement/scrapping hazmat disclosure was found, and CourtListener sweeps returned no qualifying case - the 'PC-477' opinion query produced only identifier collisions in unrelated Indiana dockets and both 'USS PC-477' exact-name queries returned zero hits (the 'PC-477' docket sweep is open - fleet pacing blocked it all session). Asbestos claims for builder Defoe Shipbuilding appear only in excluded law-firm/marketing sources - no authoritative yard-level record was located.
- 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 - era materials are plausible by design inference; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-477-pc477-07