Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 899-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (NOT an SC-497-class hull)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-509-pc509-pkt-899-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Valiant II (PYc-51)' - live NHHC entry, updated by Robert J. Cressman, 11 April 2022 (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03; plain webfetch returned 404 - UA-dependent) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS entry 'Valiant II (PYc-51),' full text and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: the yacht 'Vara,' built 1929 by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I., was acquired from Harold S. Vanderbilt on 7 October 1940, converted for naval service at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., designated PC-509, and 'commissioned at New York City on 27 December 1940, Lt. Cmdr. Abraham C. Ten Eyck, D-V(S), USNR, in command.' Assigned to the Panama Canal Zone; reached the Canal Zone 2 February 1941; escorted convoys in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea; first 14 months on a varied itinerary (Guantanamo Bay and Havana, Cuba; Jacksonville, Miami, and Key West, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.); from May 1943 concentrated exclusively on the Canal Zone-Guantanamo Bay circuit. On 15 July 1943 named Valiant and redesignated coastal yacht PYc-51 (second Valiant: 'given a general word classification name'). Last 15 months: escorted seven convoys Panama-to-Guantanamo, returning in the screen of a Panama-bound convoy after the first six; routine patrols and submarine searches; no combat. Seventh convoy into Guantanamo 25 August 1944, then north for inactivation: Charleston 28 August, Philadelphia 31 August; out of commission sometime in September 1944; to Commandant, Fourth Naval District, for disposal; stricken from the Navy Register 14 October 1944; sold by the War Shipping Administration 15 June 1945. Spec block: displacement 190; length 150'0"; beam 24'0"; draft 8'6" mean (full load); speed 15 knots; armament 1 3-inch/23 AA, 4 .50-caliber machine guns, 2 depth charge tracks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1929-1945
- Population
- Herreshoff construction trades (1927-29); New York Navy Yard conversion trades (1940); crew (1940-44); Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The current entry revises the print DANFS (Vol. VII p.439) commissioning date from 27 December 1941 to 27 December 1940 and adds the commissioning officer's name - the superseded 1941 variant is handled in ev-08 (correction) and gaps. Spec block reflects the as-converted fit; wartime armament variants in ev-04.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, 'Valiant (PYc 51) ex-PC-509' - construction/service timeline, specifications, commanding officers, post-Navy merchant career and loss (verified live 2026-10-03; navsource.net, not the dead navsource.org domain) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010509.htm header timeline, specifications block, commanding-officers list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, RI (YN 385p); ordered 15 November [1925 per page - error, HMCo record says 1927, see ev-08/gaps]; launched 25 March 1929; completed for Harold Stirling 'Mike' Vanderbilt, New York, as yacht Vara (ON 228424) in 1929; acquired by the Navy 7 October 1940; converted at the New York Navy Yard; commissioned USS PC-509 on 27 December 1940 (concurs with revised DANFS); reclassified coastal patrol yacht and named USS Valiant (PYc-51) 15 July 1943; decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard September 1944; struck from the Naval Register 14 October 1944; sold by WSA 15 June 1945 for $32,000 to Hamilton Brothers, Inc. (Walling B. Hamilton), Tampa, FL, renamed Susie Mae Hamilton, homeported Roatan, Honduras, 1945; registered to Fair Steamship S.A., Panama, renamed Narwhal, 1948; stranded on a reef NE of Cozumel, Mexico and subsequently sank 14 February 1948. Specifications: 190 t displacement (356 gross / 207 net tons); 150'0" oa / 149'0" wl; beam 24'; draft 8'6" mean (fl); 15 knots; complement 'unknown'; armament one 3"/50 gun mount, three 20mm AA; propulsion two Treiber 12-cylinder diesels, twin screws. CO list: LCDR Abraham Cuyler Ten Eyck D-V(S), USNR (USNA 1912) from 27 December 1940; LT James H. Gilman, Jr., USNR, 15 July 1943 - September 1944. Photo captions: Vara 'the only motor yacht of her size that was ever fitted with an outboard rudder'; PC-509 underway circa 1943 (U.S. Navy photo); Valiant moored at Pier No. 3, John T. Mathis shipyard, Camden, NJ, undergoing conversion to a banana boat, June 1945 (Mathis Collection, Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1927-1948
- Population
- Herreshoff trades (1927-29); NY Navy Yard conversion trades (1940); crew 1940-44; Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation (1944); John T. Mathis yard trades, Camden (1945 civilian conversion); merchant crew 1945-48
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track the revised DANFS on this hull but the 'Ordered, 15 November 1925' year conflicts with the HMCo construction record (1927-11-15, ev-03) and is logged as an error. Post-Navy merchant chain (Hamilton Brothers sale price, Susie Mae Hamilton, Narwhal, Cozumel loss) is unattributed secondary detail. Contains no asbestos content; no hazmat record for the 1948 loss exists or is expected - the hull predates modern ACM regulation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-02
-
[4]Herreshoff Marine Museum / Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonne, 'HMCo #385p Vara' - construction-record particulars, name chain, final disposition, MIT Museum drawing archive (verified live 2026-10-03) [museum_official]
- Locator
- research.herreshoff.info HMCo #385p record - Particulars block, images captions, drawings list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Herreshoff construction record for hull #385p (Vara): power yacht designed by Purdy Boat Co.; order to build 1927-11-15; launched 1929-3-25; steel construction; LOA 150', LWL 149', beam 24', draft 8'6"; 190 short tons; propulsion 'Diesel, Treiber, 2 engines, 1500 h.p.' (750 h.p. each); twin propellers; built for Harold S. Vanderbilt on a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract; later names 'Vara PC-509 (1940), Valiant PYc-51 (1943), Susie Mae Hamilton (ca1946), Narwhal (-1948)'; final disposition 'Foundered off Cozumel, Mexico on February 14, 1948.' Companion craft: owner's launch #386p and crew launch #387p (1928), launch #390p (1929), sailing cutter #193509es (1935). Museum photo captions document Vara as tender to Vanderbilt's 1930 America's Cup defender Enterprise and note she was 'the only motor yacht of her size that was ever fitted with an outboard rudder.' An extensive drawing list survives at the MIT Museum (HH.5.xxxxx series) - hull structure, machinery, and accommodation plans - an archival lead for any future material-level inquiry.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1927-1948
- Population
- Herreshoff construction trades (1927-29); Vanderbilt's civilian crew (1929-40)
- Limitations
- Builder's construction record and museum catalogue - establishes design, materials list at the contract level only (steel hull; no insulation/material schedule quoted), no asbestos content either way. The MIT/HH drawing archive could contain insulation schedules but was not examined - logged as an archival lead, not evidence. Order date here (1927-11-15) supersedes NavSource's '1925.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-03
-
[5]A.D. Baker III, 'Historic Fleets,' Naval History Magazine, U.S. Naval Institute, Vol. 8 No. 1 (February 1994) - PYc program context and March-1943 armament fit for this hull (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03; plain webfetch returned 403) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Feb 1994 'Historic Fleets,' Vara/PC-509 paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI describes the WWII yacht-mobilization typing scheme (largest yachts PG; smaller PY; 52 smallest craft eventually typed PYc-Coastal Yacht, this hull among them) and documents this hull's wartime appearance: 'The yacht Vara, built by Herreshoff in 1929, served initially as the nameless submarine chaser PC-509 (as seen in this March 1943 view) but was redesignated PYc-51 and named Valiant in July 1943. After serving from 1942 into 1944 as a convoy escort between Panama and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she was decommissioned in September 1944. Her antisubmarine armament included two Mk 20 Mousetrap rocket launchers, two depth charge racks, and two K-guns, while a 3-inch and three 20-mm guns provided surface and air defense.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Crew (1943-44 wartime fit period)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary (Baker was editor of Combat Fleets of the World), not a primary record. The 'from 1942' escort phrasing sits against DANFS's 2-February-1941 Canal Zone arrival - likely loose phrasing for the post-varied-itinerary period; carried as narrative context only. Armament described is the March-1943 wartime fit and differs from the DANFS spec block (as-converted: 1x3"/23 AA, 4x.50-cal, 2 DC tracks) and NavSource's listing (1x3"/50, 3x20mm) - armament variants logged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: HMCo construction record (steel diesel yacht, 2x Treiber diesels, no steam plant); DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications; companion-dataset shipyards.json records for the two Navy yards on this hull's record (New York Navy Yard conversion 1940; Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation 1944); Navy-wide asbestos-use era per GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HMCo #385p particulars (propulsion); DANFS spec block; shipyards.json brooklyn-navy-yard and philadelphia-naval-shipyard product lists; GAO HRD-80-2 program description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel diesel-powered yacht built 1929 and converted to a Navy patrol craft at the New York Navy Yard in late 1940 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a converted diesel patrol craft of this size were: diesel-engine exhaust and muffler lagging; machinery-space thermal and acoustic insulation; gaskets on piping, pumps, and engine systems; valve and shaft packing; electrical insulation; and accommodation/galley insulation and deck compounds. As a diesel craft she carried no boiler or steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the relevant pathway is confined-volume machinery insulation plus whatever fireproofing and piping insulation the Navy-yard conversion installed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1929-1948
- Population
- HMCo construction trades (1927-29); NY Navy Yard conversion trades (Oct-Dec 1940); crew (1940-44); Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation trades (Aug-Sep 1944); Mathis yard Camden conversion trades (1945)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, survey, or conversion work package located for this hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The 1929 yacht's original insulation predates Navy specifications; the 1940 conversion work scope is undocumented. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-05
-
[7]In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litigation (Joint Eastern and Southern District Asbestos Litigation), 971 F.2d 831 (2d Cir. 1992) - decided June 30, 1992 (Justia mirror verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03; companion shipyards.json yard record 'brooklyn-navy-yard,' evidence tier 3) [court_record]
- Locator
- 971 F.2d 831 (2d Cir. 1992) opinion text (Justia mirror); shipyards.json brooklyn-navy-yard and philadelphia-naval-shipyard records
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Documented asbestos litigation arising from the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn - the yard that converted this hull Oct-Dec 1940: the Second Circuit's 1992 consolidated opinion addresses the Brooklyn Navy Yard asbestos cases, in which proof showed Owens-Illinois supplied Kaylo asbestos pipe insulation to Owens-Corning for distribution in that market; the companion yard dataset (shipyards.json, tier 3) documents Kaylo at this yard, WWII peak employment of 71,000 (1940: ~9,700 - this hull's conversion window), and a WWII-era Navy pipe-covering industrial-hygiene survey (Fleischer, Viles, Gade & Drinker, J. Ind. Hyg. Toxicol. 1946). The hull's other Navy-yard touchpoint - Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation, Aug-Sep 1944 - is likewise a tier-3 documented asbestos yard (Eagle-Picher Super 60, Thermasil, Unibestos, Kaylo, Garlock packing/gaskets per appellate-opinion product identification).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940-1944 (hull presence); litigation decided 1992
- Population
- New York Navy Yard conversion trades working this hull (Oct-Dec 1940); Philadelphia Navy Yard inactivation trades (Aug-Sep 1944); yard workforce generally (WWII)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: establishes that asbestos products were used at the yards where this hull was converted and inactivated, NOT that Kaylo or any asbestos product was installed aboard or disturbed on PC-509. No conversion work order, material requisition, or inactivation report for this hull was located. Fleischer/Drinker surveyed four anonymized yards - attribution to Brooklyn specifically is inferential. Does not establish individual exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) - product page and highlights verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03 (plain curl returns 403 - UA block) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards) and documented the Navy's asbestos use aboard ships and its removal/replacement policy - 1975 policy to replace only damaged or necessarily-disturbed insulation, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Establishes the Navy-wide era within which this hull's 1940 conversion and 1940-44 service occurred.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (review); era documented spans this hull's entire Navy service
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program review)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not this hull's documented yards. Full report PDF linked from the product page; content described here is the GAO's own highlights text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-07
-
[9]DANFS print text, Vol. VII p. 439 (verbatim transcription via hazegray mirror) vs. current NHHC online entry 'Valiant II (PYc-51)' updated 2022-04-11; NavSource timeline and CO list; Wikipedia 'USS Valiant (PYc-51)' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- hazegray print-DANFS transcription (pc509.htm); live NHHC valiant-ii.html; NavSource 12/010509.htm; Wikipedia article
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: sources split on this hull's commissioning year. Print DANFS (Vol. VII p.439) reads 'commissioned at New York City on 27 December 1941' and Wikipedia/derivative sources repeat 1941. The current official NHHC DANFS entry - updated by Robert J. Cressman in April 2022 with the commissioning officer's name added ('Lt. Cmdr. Abraham C. Ten Eyck, D-V(S), USNR') - reads '27 December 1940' and 'reached the Canal Zone on 2 February 1941.' NavSource concurs: 'Commissioned USS PC-509, 27 December 1940' with Ten Eyck's command commencing 27 December 1940. The 1940 date is carried in this record (current official entry plus corroborating compilation); the 1941 print/DANFS variant is the superseded reading still propagating in secondary sources.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940-1941
- Limitations
- Corrects a date propagating in derivative sources, not a material/exposure claim. Residual ambiguity disclosed in gaps: the entry's own 'first 14 months' itinerary phrasing fits the superseded 1941 reading marginally better (a Feb-1941 arrival puts the May-1943 circuit shift at month ~27), and USNI loosely describes escort service 'from 1942.' The revised official entry plus NavSource agreement is the stronger evidence; the wrinkle is disclosed rather than resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-08
-
[10]Batch-7884 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS entry; print DANFS transcription (hazegray); NavSource; Herreshoff Marine Museum HMCo record; USNI; NVR coverage policy; NARA deck-log series; CourtListener authenticated API (opinion + docket, both designations); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-509-pc509-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS PC-509 / Valiant (PYc-51) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated API search of the opinion index returned 4 'PC-509' hits - all name collisions (Indiana criminal appeals, a Michigan 'P.C.' law-firm case, Kiwanis International) - and 0 'PYc-51' hits; the docket index returned 42 'PC-509' hits all of which classify as collisions on 'P.C.' firm suffixes and '509' tokens, and 0 'PYc-51' hits. No maritime, asbestos, or personal-injury case names this hull. None is expected for this hull profile - a 190-ton converted yacht lost in 1948 predates modern ACM documentation regimes.
- 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 inference (ev-05) and conversion-yard documentation (ev-06) keep asbestos presence plausible-but-unproven. Deck logs (NARA RG 24, College Park; Dec-1940 portion possibly Archives I per NARA's own arrangement note) and any NY Navy Yard conversion work orders remain undigitized archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-509-pc509-09