Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 896-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-482-pc482-pkt-896-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-482 (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010482.htm header block, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and specifications for this hull: laid down 16 February 1942 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Michigan; launched 9 April 1942; commissioned USS PC-482, 30 April 1942; assigned to the European theater of operations during WWII; decommissioned 15 July 1944, transferred to France at Casablanca, Morocco and named L'Enjoué (W 44); sunk off Cape Spartel near the Straits of Gibraltar by German submarine U-870; struck from the Navy Register 8 February 1945. Spec block: 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, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440 bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Baker-Oboe-Fox. 'There is no DANFS History currently available for PC-482.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1942); USN crew (1942-44, design complement 65); Free French crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track NVR/DANFS-era records. DATE CONFLICT: NavSource prints the sinking as 11 January 1945; the French national memorial narrative and the uboat.net U-870 attack log both give 9 January 1945 - 9 January carried, variant flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-01
-
[3]Naval History Division / NHHC, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - PC Submarine Chasers (Steel Hull)' (HyperWar/ibiblio verbatim mirror of the official USN vessel index) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-sc.html, 'PC Submarine Chasers (Steel Hull)' table, row 'PC-480-82'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official USN vessel index records hull PC-482 within the group line 'PC-480-82 | 1942-44 | Lend-Lease to France' - confirming that this hull was transferred to France under Lend-Lease within the 1942-44 service window. This is the USN-published record of the transfer; no individual DANFS entry exists for PC-482 (confirmed 404 at NHHC this session and flagged 'no DANFS history' by NavSource).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- USN crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- The index entry is a group line (PC-480 through PC-482), not a hull-level narrative - it confirms the Lend-Lease transfer program for the hull group but supplies no individual service or materials detail. Mirrored official publication, not a digitized original document. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-02
-
[4]uboat.net, 'FFL L'Enjoué (W 44) - Ships hit by German U-boats' attack entry + USS PC-482 warship page 8504 + U-870 successes log (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net allies/merchants/ship/3520.html (attack notes); allies/warships/ship/8504.html (command list, notable events); boats/successes/u870.html (9 Jan 1945 entry, convoy GC-107)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The U-870 attack record for this hull: at 17.15 hours on 9 January 1945, FFL L'Enjoué (W 44) - commissioned April 1942 as USS PC-482, transferred to the Free French Navy at Casablanca 15 July 1944 and reclassified corvette - was hit by a Gnat (acoustic homing) torpedo from U-870 (KrvKpt. Ernst Hechler) while escorting convoy GC-107, route Gibraltar-Casablanca, and sank off Cape Spartel in position 35°56'N, 05°49'W (grid CG 9591). U-870's log credits the sinking dated 9 January 1945; the boat itself was sunk 30 March 1945 at Bremen. The companion warship page records PC-482's USN commanders (Lt.Cdr. Howard H. Hansen; Lt. Leslie W. Bennett; Lt. Norwood Penrose Hallowell, Jr.; Donald W. Hunter) and her convoy-escort employment: 25 April 1943 she picked up 36 survivors of the French merchant Rouennais mined 17 miles north of Casablanca; through 1943-44 she escorted convoys SL-132, SL-133, SL-134, UGF-10, SL-142, GUS-24, UGS-36, GUS-35, GUS-38, OS 77/KMS 51, OS 78/KMS 52, UGS-45 and GUS-44 on the Casablanca/Gibraltar/Mediterranean/West-Africa routes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- USN crew on convoy escort (1942-44); Free French crew of 59-63 at loss (1945)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a specialist secondary compilation built from U-boat war diaries and convoy records - not a primary source document, though its U-boat attack log is the authoritative specialist record for the sinking mechanics. Time of attack differs from the French memorial (17.15 vs 16h40) - flagged in gaps. Contains no asbestos content; establishes loss date/position/circumstances only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-03
-
[5]Mémorial national des marins morts pour la France (Association Aux Marins, reconnue d'utilité publique), fiche 'L'Enjoué - Patrouilleur' (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- memorial-national-des-marins.fr fiche marin/3231-l-enjoue.html (biography text, L'Effronté eyewitness quotation, citation text)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The French national memorial for sailors lost for France records: ex-USS PC-482, built 1942 (Defoe boat motor works), ceded to France 15/07/1944 as a corvette-type escort of 335 ts at Casablanca under pennant W44; torpedoed 9 January 1945 at 16h40 by U-boat U-870 10 miles NE of Cape Spartel (position 35 56N 05 49W) under the orders of LV Decugis while escorting, with L'Effronté, the cargo Agen from Gibraltar to Casablanca (convoy GC 107). Eyewitness account from consort L'Effronté (herself ex-USS PC-481): a high plume of spray amidships; when it fell L'Enjoué 'appeared cut in two,' the stern vanished in seconds, the bow heeled to port, stood vertical and disappeared - 'the whole thing lasted 25 to 30 seconds... This torpedoing caused 63 victims, there were no survivors.' L'Enjoué was cited à l'ordre de l'armée de mer: '...armed by an elite crew, distinguished itself by its ardor and valor in the course of the numerous missions entrusted to it.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (French service); 1945-01-09 (loss)
- Population
- Free French crew: 63 dead, no survivors (incl. LV Georges Auguste Decugis, commanding officer)
- Limitations
- Memorial-association record, not a service document - but it is the authoritative casualty record for this loss. INTERNAL DATE CONFLICT: the page metadata field prints 'Date du naufrage 08 Janvier 1945' while the narrative gives 9 January at 16h40; 9 January is corroborated by the U-870 attack log - metadata variant flagged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-04
-
[6]Defoe Shipbuilding Company historical record (defoenet.com, company archive site) - design-agent role for the 173-ft subchaser type (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- defoenet.com/shipbuild/defoe-story (company history narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder's own history for the yard that built this hull: Defoe (founded 1905 as Defoe Boat and Motor Works, Bay City, MI; renamed Defoe Shipbuilding Company 1941) was 'awarded a U.S. Navy contract for the design and construction of the first U.S. 173-foot Subchaser' in 1939 and 'after building the first such subchasers to be constructed in this country, Defoe was named design agent for additional subchaser contractors' - i.e., PC-482 was built at the design yard for her entire class. The company 'delivered over 160 vessels to the Navy Department during the World War II emergency' (patrol craft, minesweepers, DEs/APDs, rescue tugs, LCI/LCT types).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1939-1945
- Population
- Defoe construction trades, Bay City MI (1942)
- Limitations
- Company-published history - builder's own narrative, not a government survey; confirms the yard's design-agent role and wartime output only. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Bowling Green State University holds the Defoe corporate records (correspondence, yard layout, building schedules) - logged in search_ledger as an archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (2 x GM 16-258S diesels, single-reduction geared, 2 shafts - no steam plant); Defoe company history (design yard for the 173-ft subchaser class); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-era documentation (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; defoenet.com company history; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven steel patrol craft built February-April 1942 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a patrol craft of this type and period were machinery and diesel-exhaust insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and insulation/finish materials in accommodation spaces. As a diesel vessel with no steam plant, she lacked the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships, but the era-standard small-craft applications remain a reasonable inference; engine-room and machinery-space confined-volume exposure dynamics apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1942); USN crew (1942-44); Free French crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package exists or can exist for this hull (sunk in action 1945). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-06
-
[8]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 that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1942) and service era (1942-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-07
-
[9]Batch-7857 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC DANFS (no entry exists); NHHC/HyperWar USN sub-chaser index; uboat.net attack entry and warship page; French national memorial; Defoe company history + BGSU archives lead; CourtListener API v4 (4 base queries); NVR (not applicable); NARA deck logs (undigitized); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-482-pc482-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS PC-482 or L'Enjoué (W 44) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener base queries ran clean this session: 'USS PC-482' returned zero opinion and zero docket results; 'PC-482' returned 7 opinion and 23 docket hits (20 of 23 docket hits returned at --limit 20), every reviewed hit a name collision (Indiana post-conviction docket numbers of the form XXA-PC-482 in the opinion index; tokenized PC + 482 matches in the docket index - no verbatim 'PC-482' and nothing maritime or asbestos-related among the 20 reviewed). The hull was sunk in action in 1945 with no survivors and was never scrapped - so the usual post-service documentation channels (scrapping contracts, museum hazmat disclosures, reserve-fleet surveys) do not exist for this vessel. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' material touching the builder is law-firm marketing content (mesothelioma.net, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org pages on Defoe Shipbuilding) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - 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 1942 wartime build at a Navy-contract yard is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The hull's 1945 loss forecloses the normal paper trails; what survives is class/era inference only. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-482-pc482-08