Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[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-543-pc543-pkt-904-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-543 (verified live 2026-10-03 via firecrawl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010543.htm header block, specifications block, 'DANFS' note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: PC-461 class submarine chaser laid down 23 March 1942 by Defoe Shipbuilding Corp., Bay City, MI; launched 5 May 1942; commissioned USS PC-543, 26 May 1942; 'shot down two German bombers in 6 minutes off the landing beaches of Gela, Italy, 10 June 1943' [date erroneous - see limitations]; decommissioned 8 June 1944, transferred to France at Oran, Algeria and named Le Volontaire (W 61); struck from the Navy Register 12 September 1964 and scrapped. Spec block: 280 t (lt)/450 t (fl); 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 kts; complement 65; two 3"/50 DP, three 20mm, two Hedgehog rocket launchers, four depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks; two 2,880 bhp GM 16-258S diesels (serial nos. 6351, 6352), Farrel-Birmingham reduction gear, two shafts. Page explicitly notes 'There is no DANFS History currently available for PC-543.' Captions show a National Archives photo (via HyperWar) and a photo of Le Volontaire (W 61).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1942); crew (1942-44 US; 1944-64 French); 1964 scrappers
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry. Its '10 June 1943' date for the air action is a transcription error - the ship's own action report (ev-02) places the action on the night of 9-10 JULY 1943 off Licata, and Wikipedia's citation of this same NavSource page flags the date error. The 'Gela' location also compresses the record: the action report says off Licata (JOSS Attack Force sector), roughly 30 km west of Gela. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-01
-
[3]NARA, 'USS PC-543 - Action Report, 7/9-10/43', NAID 135904118, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (NAID 4697018), micro serial 53297; digitized, 7 images (read in full 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA NAID 135904118, digitized images 0447-0452b (report text, ammunition summary, three endorsements)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own action report (CO to Commander Escort Sweeper Group Advance Unit, Bizerte, dated 12 July 1943, signed Marvin W. Silverstein, Lieut. (jg), USNR): at 2300 9 July 1943 PC-543 commenced screening HMS SAFARI 5 miles off Licata beach, Sicily; on the morning of 10 July (D-Day, Operation HUSKY) she engaged multiple attacking aircraft - claims the destruction of a German twin-engine bomber (~0458-0500; occupants bailed out, plane crashed into the sea, confirmed by crew and executive officer Lt.(jg) Joseph R. Sutton, USNR, on the bridge) and a German single-engine fighter (~0506-0509; heavy smoke, pilot bailed out, crashed into the sea); expended 1800 rounds 20mm, 256 rounds 40mm, 114 rounds 3"/50; observed bomb hits sinking a 'twin stack United States destroyer' within three minutes with no survivors (consistent with USS Maddox DD-622, sunk off Sicily that morning per Cressman's official chronology); no personnel casualties; starboard engine disabled by internal explosion (piston seizure). SECOND ENDORSEMENT, CTF-86 R. L. Conolly, 28 July 1943: 'Early in the morning of D Day, the escort craft and supporting ships of the JOSS Attack Force were subjected to heavy dive bombing attacks. The PC 543 did an exceptionally good job of shooting down two enemy planes which provided excellent protection to the ship it was escorting, the British submarine, SAFARI.' and 'The Commanding Officer, PC 543 has been recommended for a suitable award for his action.' ComNavNAW endorsement: 'The destruction of two enemy aircraft by the USS PC 543 is noted with gratification.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-07-09 to 1943-07-10 (report dated 1943-07-12)
- Population
- PC-543 crew (~65) under Lt.(jg) M. W. Silverstein; XO Lt.(jg) J. R. Sutton; HMS Safari (Lt. R. B. Lakin RN) escorted
- Limitations
- Vessel-history record only - no asbestos or material content. A wartime kill claim is the ship's own report; the two endorsement layers accept it at face value. Corrects NavSource's '10 June 1943' date (action was 9-10 July, D-Day of HUSKY) and compresses 'Gela' to the JOSS/Licata sector. Establishes crew presence under combat conditions - relevant only as population context, not exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-02
-
[4]U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), WWII battle-star/campaign credits (vendor-hosted scan of the official manual; PC list at p. 59 of the scan, OCR-verified; EAME campaign legend cross-checked on the vendor's code page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 2a-WWII-battle-stars.pdf scan p. 59 (PC 543 entry, OCR-verified); EAME legend E2/E3/E4-1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official campaign-credit entries for PC 543: '9 Jul 43-15 Jul 43 ... E2' (Sicilian occupation), '9 Sept 43-21 Sept 43 ... E3' (Salerno landings), '22 Jan 44 ... E4-1' (Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings). The vendor's HTML transcription at uss_pc462_pc584_world_war_2.html matches the scanned line exactly, and the official EAME legend confirms E2 = 'Sicilian occupation 9-15 Jul 43; 29 Jul-17 Aug 43' (the vendor's per-ship table mislabels E2 'Actions off Casablanca' - E1-2, a transcription artifact). Confirms presence at three amphibious operations: Sicily (the window containing the 9-10 July air action), Salerno, and Anzio.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-07-09 to 1944-01-22
- Population
- PC-543 crew during Sicily, Salerno, Anzio operations
- Limitations
- Vendor-hosted scan of the official manual - transcription verified against the PDF image at page 59, but the PDF is image-only and the PC-543 line was located by OCR, not by a stable page anchor. Campaign credit documents presence in a named operation window; it is not an action narrative and carries no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-543 (PC-543) - build/milestone table, commanding officers, notable events citing ADM 199/1839 (UK National Archives) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8520.html - specification table, CO table, notable-events entry 30 Jun 1943
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-compilation record for this hull: ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 23 March 1942; launched 5 May 1942; commissioned 26 May 1942; end of US service 8 June 1944 - 'Transferred to France on 8 June 1944 being renamed Le Volontaire.' Commanding officers listed: Blaney Calatis Turner, USNR (26 May 1942 - 1 Feb 1943); M. W. Silverstein, USNR (1 Feb 1943 - mid 1943); Joseph R. Sutton, USNR (mid 1943 - 8 Jun 1944). Notable event: 30 June 1943, HMS Safari departed Algiers for Bizerte escorted by USS PC 543 (Lt.(jg) M. V. Silverstein, USNR), sourced to ADM 199/1839.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- PC-543 officers and crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a secondary compilation (sourced here to British Admiralty records it does not reproduce). CO sequence corroborated by the action report (ev-02: Silverstein signed the 12 July 1943 report as CO; Sutton was then executive officer, consistent with 'mid 1943' handover). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-04
-
[6]Poste Navale Militaire fiche, 'LE VOLONTAIRE (1944/1964)' (French naval postal-history community compilation; corroborated in outline by seaforces.org listing 'W 61 / P 615 FS Le Volontaire - ex PC543 (1944-64)') [other_primary]
- Locator
- postenavalemilitaire.com topic t12870, ship fiche (type, pennants, service narrative, characteristics)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French-service record for this hull: ex-PC-543 transferred to the Royale in June 1944; assigned to the 4e Division d'Escorteurs in the Mediterranean, participating in the Provence operations (consistent with Operation Dragoon, August 1944, under the French flag); in 1945 joined the Groupe Ecole de Canonnage for one year; then the 7e Division des Escorteurs Cotiers; prolonged port calls at Ajaccio, Algiers and Philippeville. Hull symbols W61, W14, P615; 'Mis en service: 08 juin 1944; Desarme: 15 septembre 1964.' French characteristics listed: 325 t, 52.95 m, 5,760 cv, 19 kts, 60 crew, armament 1 x 76mm, 1 x 40mm, 5 x 20mm, 2 mortars, 24 depth charges.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1964
- Population
- French crew (1944-64)
- Limitations
- Community-compiled fiche (naval postal-history forum), not an official French Navy record - verification partial. French-language figures conflict with US sources on displacement (325 t vs NavSource 280 lt/450 fl) and crew (60 vs 65). The Provence-operations claim is consistent with the transfer date and French organization but is not independently verified here. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-05
-
[7]ShipbuildingHistory (navalmarinearchive.com mirror), Defoe Shipbuilding yard list, Bay City, MI [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/large/defoe.html, yard table row 188
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard record for this hull: Defoe yard number 188, 'PC 543 - US Navy - Sub Chaser - 463d - 173 - 26-May-42 - To Free French 1944 as Le Volontaire (W 61), reduced to pontoon and scrapped 1964.' The Defoe page documents the yard context: founded 1905 as Defoe Boat & Motor Works by Harry J. Defoe, renamed Defoe Shipbuilding Company at the start of WWII, closed 1976. Sister-hull rows adjacent: PC 542 (Le Tirailleur), PC 544 (Brazil Guapore), PC 545 (Goumier), PC 546 (Franc-Tireur).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1964
- Population
- Defoe yard workforce (1942); scrappers (1964)
- Limitations
- Secondary shipbuilding compilation (the shipbuildinghistory.com corpus, mirrored at navalmarinearchive.com/sbh); 'reduced to pontoon and scrapped 1964' is the only located source for the pontoon detail - mechanism and date of scrapping unresolved. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-06
-
[8]NARA catalog holdings for PC-543 (search verified live 2026-10-03): war diaries Nov 1942-Mar 1943 (NAIDs 134043791, 134069782, 134058672, 134091828, 134119290, in series NAID 4697018); personnel file unit 'PC-543, 5/30/42-6/8/44' NAID 192384259 (Roll 5766, Bureau of Navigation/BuPers); photograph 'PATROL VESSEL (PC-543) UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN DEFOE SHIPYARD, MICHIGAN' NAID 80383 (local ID 428-NPC-16388) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'PC-543' (file-unit results); NAIDs 134043791, 134069782, 134058672, 134091828, 134119290, 192384259, 80383
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a run of ship-specific records for this hull: monthly war diaries covering at least November 1942 through March 1943 (digitized in the WWII War Diaries series); a personnel/muster file unit spanning the entire US career 30 May 1942 - 8 June 1944 on microfilm roll 5766; and a Naval Photographic Center image of the hull under construction at Defoe. These are open archival leads for construction detail, crew composition, and operating history - none was exhaustively reviewed beyond the action report (ev-02).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- PC-543 crew (1942-44); Defoe trades (1942)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only: file-unit existence verified in the live catalog; contents not reviewed except the action report. War-diary months outside Nov 1942-Mar 1943 may exist in the series (catalog search is fuzzy full-text). No asbestos content reviewed; insulation/material records are not what these series typically contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-07
-
[9]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), US service era (1942-44), and French service era (1944-64).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, previously confirmed 2026-09-18 and treated as standing). Content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM 16-258S diesels, no steam plant); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' PC-461 class spec block (diesel engines, 2 screws); PC-461 class design history (steel-hulled mass-production subchaser, 341 built 1941-44 - secondary literature); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-sc.html PC-461 spec block; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel submarine chaser built March-May 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel patrol craft of this type and period were engine exhaust lagging, machinery thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation, in a small confined hull volume. As a diesel-powered craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Her 20-year French career (1944-64) lies inside the same Western-naval asbestos era, but no French refit or material record for this hull was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1942); US crew (1942-44); French crew and any French-yard refit trades (1944-64); 1964 scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction work package, or French refit record located for PC-543. 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-543-pc543-09
-
[11]Batch-7918 search ledger (this record): NARA catalog + digitized action report; NAVPERS 15790 scan (OCR-verified); NavSource; uboat.net; postenavalemilitaire; ShipbuildingHistory Defoe yard list; HyperWar ships-sc; Cressman USN chronology (context); Wikipedia class article (cross-check only); CourtListener (partial - see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-543-pc543-01 through -21 (see ledger)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS PC-543 (or Le Volontaire) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener searched this session via the fleet helper (4 base queries + 1 authorized asbestos variant after a base overflow): '"USS PC-543"' opinions 0 hits, dockets 0 hits; '"PC-543"' opinions 1 hit (name collision - an Indiana post-conviction docket number, not the vessel); '"PC-543"' dockets 37 hits, all name collisions (the string appears in bankruptcy/contract filing text); '"PC-543" asbestos' docket variant 0 hits - zero qualifying litigation of any kind. Secondary web sweeps surfaced NO hull-specific marketing claims at all - 'PC-543' asbestos queries return only the vessel-history sources and unrelated product-code collisions (a laboratory antibody catalog number).
- 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 - wartime small-craft construction records for this yard type are thin, and her 20-year French career produced French-language records not systematically searched. The Defoe construction photo (NAID 80383), war diaries, and personnel file unit are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-543-pc543-10