Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 904-packet.md (4 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-544-pc544-pkt-904-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online, Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-544 (live URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PC-544 timeline and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents this hull as a PC-461-class submarine chaser laid down 24 March 1942 by Defoe Boat and Motor Works, Bay City, Michigan; launched 30 May 1942; commissioned USS PC-544 on 5 June 1942; transferred to Brazil 24 September 1942 and renamed Guaporé (CS 1) at Natal, Brazil; reclassified G-1 after World War II; decommissioned 4 January 1958; transferred to the Brazilian Army 5 February 1958 to serve as a munitions transport; fate unknown. Specification block gives 280 tons light / 450 tons full load, 173 ft 8 in length, 23 ft beam, 10 ft 10 in draft, 20.2 knots, complement 65, one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, three 20 mm guns, two Mousetrap and four K-gun depth-charge projectors and two depth-charge tracks, and two 2,880 bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines (serial numbers 6355 and 6356) with Farrel-Birmingham single-reduction gear on two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Defoe construction trades (1942); U.S. Navy crew (June-September 1942); Brazilian Navy crew (1942-1958); Brazilian Army custodial population (1958-unknown)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history and specifications only; the page does not document asbestos, material content, exposure, abatement, or litigation. NavSource is a volunteer archival compilation rather than a Navy registry; its explicit 'fate unknown' is carried without speculation. Its 30 May 1942 launch date conflicts with Brazilian sources giving 30 April 1942 (carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-01
-
[3]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers (live PDF verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List #44 PDF, PC-numbered block, line 'PC-544 6/6/1942 9/24/1942'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives Special List #44 lists PC-544 in the ship-number logbook series with a begin date of 6/6/1942 and an end date of 9/24/1942 - coverage matching this hull's U.S. Navy career (commissioned 5 June 1942, transferred to Brazil 24 September 1942). The adjacent PC-547 entry shows the same 9/24/1942 end date, consistent with the two boats' simultaneous handover to Brazil.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Navy logbook series; PC-544 (June-September 1942)
- Limitations
- This official index confirms logbook coverage dates only; it does not provide service detail, a materials record, or asbestos information. The underlying PC-544 logbooks were not retrieved and are an archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-02
-
[4]East Carolina University, East Carolina Manuscript Collection, James M. Mertz oral history interview, July 18, 1989 (interview by Donald R. Lennon; live URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ECU Digital Collections item 10949, transcript pp. 2-3 (PC-544 discussion)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- First-person account from a plankowner officer of this hull: James M. Mertz, USNR, joined PC-544 out of the Submarine Chaser Training Center (Miami) as executive officer in 1942. He states the ship was 'built in Bay City, and barged down the Mississippi to New Orleans'; that the ship performed 'convoy duty between Key West and Norfolk from June through September' 1942 with no convoy attacked; and that 'in early September of '42 the ship was given to the Brazilians. We took it to Natal, Brazil, and gave it to them' - one of the first two subchasers handed over (with PC-547), the recipient navy's 'first anti-submarine vessel.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942 (service); 1989 (interview)
- Population
- USS PC-544 U.S. Navy crew, June-September 1942; Submarine Chaser Training Center pipeline
- Limitations
- Oral-history recollection recorded 47 years after the fact; identifies service pattern and the handover process, not materials or asbestos content. 'Early September' in the interview vs the documented 24 September 1942 formal transfer reflects memory vs the ceremony record; the formal date is carried. No exposure claim is made for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-03
-
[5]Marinha do Brasil, Diretoria do Patrimônio Histórico e Documentação da Marinha (DPHDM), 'Guaporé, Caça Submarino (1942-1958)' Histórico de Navios PDF (repository record verified live 2026-10-03; PDF GuaporeCacaSubmarino1942-1958.pdf retrieved) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPHDM repository item ripcmb/847156, PDF pp. 1-5 (characteristics block, commissions list, disposition paragraph, commanders table)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Brazilian Navy heritage history of this hull as Guaporé (CS 1, later G 1): 'Caça-Submarino da classe G (ex-USS Patrol-Craft 544), primeiro de uma série de oito' (lead ship of the eight G-class chasers Gurupi, Guaíba, Gurupá, Goiana, Grajaú, Guajará, Graúna). Incorporated into the Brazilian Navy at Natal 24 September 1942 by Aviso Ministerial nº 1.598; hull of 3/16-inch steel plate with 19 watertight compartments; manned by 4 officers and 60 ratings; nicknamed 'caça-ferro' (iron hunter) for its steel hull vs the wooden J-class 'caças-pau'; credited with participation in 62 convoys during WWII and 113,869 miles / 427 days at sea over more than 15 years of Brazilian service; decommissioned 4 January 1958 by Aviso Ministerial nº 0025 and handed to the Brazilian Army on 5 February for employment as a munitions transport. Lists all commanding officers 1942-1958 with dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Brazilian Navy crew (1942-1958); 62 convoy escort commissions; Brazilian Army custodial population from 5 February 1958
- Limitations
- Official Brazilian source, in Portuguese; documents service history and technical characteristics, not asbestos content or exposure. Its builder attribution ('Estaleiros Luders Marine Construction Co., Stanford, Connecticut') conflicts with every other source (NavSource, NGB, uboat.net, Defoe's own company history, and the ship's own executive officer, who says Bay City) - the Luders attribution is treated as a documentable source conflict and Defoe is carried (see gaps). Its displacement (403t) and power (3,600 HP total) figures also differ from NavSource (280/450t; 2 x 2,880 bhp).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-04
-
[6]Navios de Guerra Brasileiros (NGB), 'CS Guaporé - G 1' page (live URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NGB page G068, 'Datas', 'Características', 'Histórico' sections and convoy/commander tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Brazilian naval-history compilation's operational record for this hull: transferred and incorporated at Natal 24 September 1942, first commander Capitão-Tenente Dário Camillo Monteiro; assigned 5 October 1942 to the Força Naval do Nordeste (Northeast Naval Force) under the U.S. Fourth Fleet/South Atlantic command; initially employed with CS Gurupi (G 2) as a training ship for crews of the remaining G-class deliveries; escorted the cable ship Cambria; positive sonar contact and depth-charge attack 23 July 1943; convoy escort commissions tabulated at 45 (Recife/Salvador, Recife-Trinidad JT/TJ series and others); reflagged indicativo CS 1 under the 1955 hull-designation standardization; 'em 4 de janeiro [1958], foi transferido em definitivo para o Brasil. Deu baixa do serviço ativo e foi para desmanche.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Brazilian Navy crew (1942-1958)
- Limitations
- Reputable but unofficial compilation; several points conflict with primary sources: launch 30 April 1942 (vs NavSource 30 May); 'terceiro navio' named Guaporé (vs DPHDM 'segundo'); 45 convoys (vs DPHDM 62); 'went to be broken up' (vs DPHDM/NavSource Army munitions-transport transfer). Used for operational color the official sources corroborate in outline; conflicts carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-05
-
[7]F. A. Swanson, Defoe Shipbuilding Company History, presented to the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 21 May 1964 (company historical record; live URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Swanson history paragraphs on the PC-boat design and wartime quantity production
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Defoe company history documents the builder's wartime PC production program: the hull design of prototype PC-452 'was adopted for the whole remaining PC fleet'; the yard completed 'some 56' of the 170-foot PC boats during the war, built upside down on a cradle, rolled over for machinery installation, and moved through three construction stations at a rate of up to one per week. PC-544 was one of these wartime-series Bay City PC boats (its own executive officer confirms 'built in Bay City').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1939-1945; retrospective presented 1964
- Population
- Defoe design and construction workforce; PC-program production workforce
- Limitations
- Builder-program context; does not name PC-544 and does not provide an asbestos inventory, work package, exposure measurement, or ship-specific material finding. Documents construction method and production scale only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, Navy response on shipboard asbestos applications
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The GAO report describes Navy shipboard asbestos applications at program level: thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping was the major application, with additional uses in electrical equipment, deck tile, piping-system gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes. PC-544's 1942 construction and 1942-1958 naval service fall within the historical Navy shipbuilding era addressed by this program context; the hull is diesel-powered, so era-relevant candidate applications aboard would be machinery/exhaust insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, and deck coverings rather than boiler/turbine lagging.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1979 context; report published 1979
- Population
- Navy shipbuilding, repair, and operating populations at program level
- Limitations
- Class/era and Navy-program context only. The report does not name PC-544, does not establish that any listed product was installed aboard this hull, and does not establish quantity, condition, individual exposure, causation, or present-day asbestos status. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session (standing access defect, BATCH-01); report content per the established product description verified in same-day sibling batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-07
-
[9]Batch-7919 source sweep across NavSource, NARA Special List #44, ECU oral history, DPHDM official history, NGB, and Defoe company history; see search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-544-pc544-05 through -11
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, material inventory, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or exposure account for USS PC-544 / Guaporé was located in the sources searched. Reviewed official and archival records (NavSource timeline, NARA logbook index, DPHDM Brazilian Navy history, ECU plankowner oral history) document construction, service, and disposition but contain no asbestos-related statement for this hull. Of the four required CourtListener base searches, the exact-name opinion search completed with zero results; the remaining three were denied by the fleet pacing limiter before result payloads returned, so litigation status beyond that completed search is an access gap, not a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- A negative public-source search does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. Asbestos aboard this hull remains a reasonable era-consistent inference (1942 wartime steel construction), not a ship-proven fact. Underlying logbooks, Bureau of Ships records, and Brazilian archival holdings were not retrieved. No asbestos-qualified CourtListener variants were run - the completed base query returned zero and variants are permitted only on base-query overflow; no anonymous or raw request was made.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-544-pc544-08