Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 904-packet.md (4 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-542-pc542-pkt-904-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, PC-542 entry (verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio; live NHHC page 404s and the entry is absent from printed 1970 DANFS Vol. V - provenance unclear, see gaps) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org HyperWar DANFS transcription, PC-542 page (spec block + 3-paragraph narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS-format record for this hull: laid down 26 February 1942 at Defoe Ship Building Co., Bay City, Mich.; launched '40 April' (impossible date - resolved to 20 April 1942 by three independent secondary sources; see ev-08); commissioned 25 May 1942. After commissioning she ran convoys to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before sailing for the Mediterranean, arriving at Arzew, Algeria; she participated in the invasions of 'Scoglihi' [Scoglitti] and 'Brollo' [Brolo], Salerno, and Anzio in Italy, and in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. On 30 September 1944 she was transferred to France under Lend-Lease, serving as Tirailleur and credited with shooting down two German planes in the Mediterranean; condemned by the French Navy in 1957. Spec block: dp. 284; l. 173'8"; b. 23'; dr. 10'10"; a. 1 3", 2 dct., 2 k-guns, 2 dc; s. 21 k.; cpl 65; cl. PC-461.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; USN crew 1942-44 (design complement 65); Free French/French Navy crew 1944-57
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The transcription contains a corrupted launch date ('40 April') and two place-name misspellings ('Scoglihi' for Scoglitti, 'Brollo' for Brolo), corrected here per geographic record. The two-aircraft credit appears in the French-service sentence without date or engagement detail. The entry is absent from the printed 1970 DANFS Volume V (verified against the archive.org scan - unnamed numbered craft were not in the named-ship run), so its provenance within DANFS is unresolved; NavSource's hull page states 'There is no DANFS history currently available for PC-542'.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-542 (page created by Joseph M. Radigan, maintained by Tom Bateman) - designation timeline, specifications, propulsion serials, call sign [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-542 page: class data block, specifications block, call-sign flags, photograph (12/010542.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 26 February 1942 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Corp., Bay City, MI; launched 20 April 1942; commissioned USS PC-542, 25 May 1942 at Algiers Naval Station, New Orleans, LA; decommissioned 30 September 1944 and transferred to France as Tirailleur (W 102) at Toulon, France; struck from the Navy Register 2 January 1958; scrapped. Specifications: displacement 280 t (lt) / 450 t (fl); length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectiles, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 2,880bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines (serial nos. 6347 and 6348), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Baker-King-Zebra. Page carries one photograph (Robert Hurst).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; USN crew 1942-44; French Navy crew 1944-58
- Limitations
- NavSource is an enthusiast-compiled volunteer archive drawing on official records - a reputable secondary source, not an official Navy publication. Documents chronology, specifications, and captions only; says nothing about construction materials or asbestos content. The launch date (20 April 1942) conflicts with the DANFS-derived 4 April figure - see ev-08 and gaps. Armament and displacement figures differ from the DANFS spec block - variance carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard, 'The Coast Guard at War - Vol. X: Sicily-Italy Landings' (official USCG historical monograph), Appendix K - official action report of USS Joseph T. Dickman attack group at Salerno, verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG 'The Coast Guard at War X' Appendix K, Dickman action-report narrative (wave-sequence paragraph)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official action-report text naming this hull at the Salerno landings (9 September 1943): 'The primary control vessel, PC-625, led the first three waves of boats from the rendezvous area, passed the restricted area marker boat PC-542, and proceeded on to the line of departure.' PC-542 served as the restricted-area marker boat for the assault waves of the USS Joseph T. Dickman attack group - an amphibious control-craft role consistent with the DANFS statement that she participated in the Salerno invasion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-09-09
- Population
- PC-542 crew on marker-boat station; assault-wave boat crews
- Limitations
- Documents one tactical assignment at Salerno from the Dickman group's own report - not a complete war record for the hull (the report names her only in the marker-boat passage; it does not describe her subsequent movements, casualties, or other operations). Transcription is of the published 1940s USCG monograph, which prints the official report text. Says nothing about materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-542 (PC-542) entry 8519 - contract order date, milestone cross-check, commanding-officer table [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net warship entry 8519, data table and 'Commands listed' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Secondary compilation for this hull: ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 26 February 1942; launched 20 April 1942; commissioned 25 May 1942; built by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. (Bay City, Michigan); end service 30 September 1944, transferred to France renamed Tirailleur; PC-461 class. Commanding officers listed (all USNR): Lt. S. M. Decker (25 May 1942 - early 1943); Lt. K. K. Wilton (early 1943 - 6 October 1943); Lt. R. B. Anderson (6 October 1943 - early 1944); Lt. E. N. Walsh (early 1944 - 30 September 1944).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- USN crew 1942-44 under four successive USNR lieutenants
- Limitations
- uboat.net is an enthusiast-run research database, not an official source - the order date and officer roster are carried as secondary-sourced context only; every milestone it shares with NavSource agrees (including the 20 April 1942 launch). Documents milestones and officers, not materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-04
-
[6]fringant.net, 'Escorteurs côtiers d'origine américaine: Tirailleur' hull page (French naval-history compilation reproducing official fleet-situation data) + pagepcus.htm fleet-situation table [other_primary]
- Locator
- fringant.net pagetirailleur.htm hull table; pagepcus.htm 'situation au 1er janvier 1946' division list (8eme DE)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- French-service record for this hull as Tirailleur: hull numbers W 102, W 18, P 619 (successive pennants; the W 102 / P 619 pair independently confirmed by the seaforces.org French fleet index); laid down 26 February 1942 at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City MI; launched 20 April 1942 (a third independent source for the 20 April date); admitted to active service 25 May 1942 (USN) / 3 October 1944 (French); assignments: Casablanca 1944 (11eme division d'escorteurs), Toulon 1945 (10eme DE), Brest from 27 August 1945 (10eme DE), Cherbourg from 1953; the 1 January 1946 official fleet situation ('situation des forces maritimes et aeronavales de la marine nationale') reproduced by fringant places W 102 Tirailleur in the 8eme division d'escorteurs (Premar II, reserve normale); last colors ceremony 1957; condemned 2 January 1958; demolished 1958 at an undocumented location under disposal hull number Q 106. Class context from the same fringant fleet page: 'les PC americains sont construits au nombre de 319 entre 1942 et 1945. Quarante trois d'entre eux sont cedes a la France' - 319 PCs built 1942-45, 43 transferred to France.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- French Navy crews 1944-58 (escorteur divisions at Casablanca, Toulon, Brest, Cherbourg)
- Limitations
- French enthusiast/history compilation, not an official Marine Nationale archive - but its division table is explicitly sourced to the official 1 January 1946 fleet situation, and its condemnation date (2 January 1958) exactly matches NavSource's U.S. Navy Register strike date, suggesting one administrative disposal event. French admission date (3 October 1944) differs three days from the U.S. transfer date (30 September 1944) - carried in gaps. Documents French career and disposal, not materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-05
-
[7]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Sub Chasers PC SC PCE PCS WWII' construction table - PC-542 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com smallships/pc2.htm, PC-542 row (verified live HTTP 200)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Construction-table row for this hull: PC 542 built by Defoe SB at Bay City MI, yard hull number 463, type 173-ft class, commissioned 25 May 1942; 'To Free French 1944 as Tirailleur (W 102), scrapped'. Confirms builder identity, the Defoe hull-series numbering (the PC-461-through-PC-553 block was Defoe's Bay City run), the commissioning date, and the French-transfer disposition.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Limitations
- Secondary industry-history compilation - consistent with NavSource/DANFS on every overlapping datum but not an official record; documents construction and disposition, not materials or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-06
-
[8]East Carolina University Joyner Library Manuscript Collection finding aid #677-022 - U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation Collection: Joseph J. Smith Papers (1943-1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ECU Joyner Library EAD #677-022 (collection overview + custodial history, accession 13 September 1995)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead - a ship-specific primary source in private archival custody: the Joseph J. Smith Papers hold one volume described in the finding aid as 'USS PC-542: A Radioman's Daily Report from July 1, 1943 to September 27, 1944 and Descriptions of Four Important Invasions'. The volume covers this hull's entire Mediterranean campaign (Sicily/Brolo, Salerno, Anzio, and the Dragoon window) through three days before her transfer to France on 30 September 1944. Donated by the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation; access unrestricted per the finding aid. Collection-level key terms name 'PC 542 (Submarine chaser)', 'United States. Navy--Radiomen', 'Operation Dragoon, 1944', and 'World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Italy'.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (volume); accessioned 1995
- Population
- PC-542 radioman Joseph J. Smith (diarist); ship's company 1943-44
- Limitations
- Lead only - the volume was not retrieved; the finding aid describes scope, not contents. Digitization status unconfirmed (the EAD page describes physical custody, 0.1 cubic feet, one volume). 'Four important invasions' is the donor's own description; which four landings the volume narrates is not itemized in the finding aid (DANFS lists four-plus operations in her record).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (PC-461-class diesel patrol craft, built 1941-42); class construction context (Defoe Bay City run PC-461 through PC-553 block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-542 specifications block; shipbuildinghistory Defoe construction block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: a steel-hulled patrol craft ordered April 1941 and built in 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard small-combatant asbestos applications for a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation around machinery and exhaust systems, machinery and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck coverings. Propulsion was diesel (two 2,880bhp General Motors 16-258S engines, Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts per NavSource) - no steam plant, so no boiler/turbine lagging pathway applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades 1942; USN crew 1942-44; French Navy crew 1944-57; 1958 demolition workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - NOT a ship-specific finding. No material schedule, specification sheet, or survey naming this hull was located; builder Defoe Shipbuilding Co. is absent from the Atlas shipyards dataset (carried in gaps); NARA RG19 'General Information Books' per-vessel material specifications were not retrieved and remain the archival lead for hull-level specs. Her 1944-1958 French career and 1958 demolition fell outside U.S. Navy material control - any French-era asbestos documentation would sit in Service Historique de la Defense custody, not searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-08
-
[10]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (HRD-80-2, Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 - a window covering this hull's construction (1941-42) and entire USN career (1942-44).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- program review published 1979
- Population
- Navy ship construction/overhaul workforce, era context
- Limitations
- Program-level finding only - the report does not name this hull or class; it establishes era context, not that asbestos was present aboard PC-542. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (standing defect since Batch-01; product-page description used, full text not extracted this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-09
-
[11]Launch-date conflict resolution: NavSource PC-542 page (20 April 1942), uboat.net entry 8519 (20 April 1942), fringant.net Tirailleur page (20 avril 1942) vs. ibiblio DANFS transcription ('40 April') and Wikipedia (4 April 1942) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource, uboat.net 8519, fringant.net (20 April) vs. ibiblio DANFS transcription ('40 April'), Wikipedia (4 April)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the accessible DANFS transcription prints an impossible launch date, 'launched 40 April'. Wikipedia prints 4 April 1942 (the Wikipedia article explicitly 'incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships', so its 4 April is presumably the DANFS-printed figure). Three independent secondary compilations - NavSource, uboat.net, and the French fringant.net hull page - all give 20 April 1942. Carried: launched 20 April 1942, with the 4 April / '40 April' variant documented rather than silently reconciled.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-04
- Limitations
- The 20 April reading rests on three secondary compilations agreeing with each other; the 4 April reading traces to the DANFS lineage. No primary launch document (yard launch record, commissioning booklet) was located, so the correction is a documented consensus choice, not a primary-verified fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-10
-
[12]NARA RG 24, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations - PC-542 deck logs, 1942-1944 (holdings exist by record-group definition; digitization status unconfirmed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog entry point (catalog.archives.gov); RG 24 deck-log series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead: deck logs for USS PC-542 (commissioned 25 May 1942 - transferred 30 September 1944) are held in NARA RG 24 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations). These are the primary source for the hull's employment detail (Guantanamo convoy runs, the transit to Arzew, and her station assignments at Scoglitti, Brolo, Salerno, Anzio, and Dragoon) that DANFS compresses into one paragraph. catalog.archives.gov is JavaScript-rendered; per-hull digitization status was not confirmed this session. WWII-era PC deck logs are also partially indexed on commercial platforms (Fold3) behind paywalls.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Limitations
- Lead only - no deck-log page was retrieved, so nothing in the logs is asserted. Digitized WWII PC deck logs exist for some hulls; status for PC-542 unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-11
-
[13]Batch-7917 search ledger (this record): ibiblio DANFS transcription; NavSource; USCG HyperWar Salerno action report; uboat.net; fringant.net; shipbuildinghistory; ECU finding aid; NHHC DANFS URL probe (404); printed DANFS Vol. V scan check (no PC-542 entry); NVR probe (redirect); NARA catalog probe (JS shell); PCSA index (no per-hull page); alabordache (name collision - later Tirailleur); CourtListener base queries via authenticated fleet helper (per-query disposition in sl-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-pc-542-pc542-01 through -NN (this file)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/operator ACM statement, or verified litigation naming USS PC-542 or Tirailleur was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener partial negative: 2 of 4 base queries completed - "USS PC-542" opinion returned ZERO results (no published opinion names this hull) and "PC-542" opinion returned 2 hits, both Indiana appellate post-conviction docket-number name collisions with no vessel or asbestos content; the two docket-layer base queries could not be run due to fleet-pacer exhaustion (see sl-11). The only 'asbestos' content associated with the hull or her builder on the open web is law-firm/marketing listicle material (mesothelioma.net, mesowatch, and similar pages asserting asbestos use at Defoe Shipbuilding and aboard WWII-era craft with no primary sourcing) - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- A negative search result is bounded by the repositories searched and their accessibility; it does not prove no documentation exists anywhere (undigitized NARA records, the ECU Smith Papers volume, French Service Historique de la Defense custody files, and French demolition-yard records remain open). CourtListener per-query results are itemized in the search ledger; any unrun base query is logged as a gap, not as a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-542-pc542-12