Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 905-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-545-pc545-pkt-905-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-545 page (construction milestones, campaign list, specification block, French/Moroccan service chain, disposal record, call sign, CO list) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PC-545 page, chronology list + campaign list + specifications block + commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 31 March 1942 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Corp., Bay City, MI; launched 8 May 1942; commissioned USS PC-545, 27 June 1942 'with a Coast Guard crew.' Campaigns listed: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July and 28 July-17 August 1943; Salerno landings 9-12 September 1943; Anzio-Netturno advanced landings 28 January-February 1944; invasion of Southern France 15 August-September 1944. 'Sank a German E-boat 19 March 1944 west of Anzio, Italy.' Decommissioned 17 October 1944, transferred to France at Toulon and named Goumier (W 91), Coast Guard crew removed the same day; reclassified W-04 and P-603; loaned to Morocco 14 October 1960 and renamed Agadir (Q 390) - named for the city destroyed by the earthquake of 29 February-1 March 1960, whose survivors Goumier's crew helped search for; returned to France and struck from the Naval Register 8 December 1964; sunk as a target in 1964. Call sign November-Bravo-November-Romeo. Specifications: 280 t.(lt)/450 t.(fl) displacement, 175' length, 23' beam, 10'10" draft, 20.2 kts, complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm, three 20mm, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440-bhp General Motors 16-258S diesels (Serial No. 6359 and 6360), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. CO list: LT John F. String, Jr., USCGR (Silver Star 1944) and LT Joseph Alban (Stormy) Weber, Jr., USNR. Page notes 'There is no DANFS history currently available for PC-545' and carries Bureau of Ships and French-service photographs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); U.S. Coast Guard crew (1942-44, complement 65); French Navy crew (1944-60); Royal Moroccan Navy crew (1960-64)
- Limitations
- Compiled archival-photo-archive data (NavSource transcribes official register dates and campaign lists); documents milestones, campaigns, and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. Campaign list is not corroborated at hull level for Salerno or Southern France by the other sources searched (the official USCG history independently covers Sicily and Anzio). Spec block shows 175' length vs class-standard 173'8" - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-01
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (by Ship Numbers), PC-545 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PC-545 row: '6/27/1942 10/17/1944'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 (verified live, PDF downloaded and text-extracted) lists a PC-545 logbook entry covering 6/27/1942 - 10/17/1944. The begin date is the vessel's commissioning date and the end date is her decommissioning/transfer-to-France date - the listed coverage spans her entire U.S. Navy career and independently corroborates both NavSource milestones.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-06-27 to 1944-10-17
- Limitations
- Logbook-coverage locator only, not a service narrative: it establishes that records for this hull covering the stated period exist in NARA RG 24 holdings (Archives II, College Park) but conveys nothing about operations, locations, crew, materials, or asbestos content. The logs themselves are not digitized (PC-545 is absent from the online digitized deck-log index, which lists only PC-572, PC-580, PC-581, PC-618, PC-1263, PC-1264, PC-1265 among PCs).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard, 'The Coast Guard at War - Transports and Escorts, Vol. I: Escorts' (official USCG wartime history, Historical Section; HyperWar transcription), Part I manning table and Part II Ships' Histories, PC-545 entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG-V1-Escorts index page, escort-craft manning table ('PC-545 6-27-42'); USCG-V1-2.html, Part II ship-history entry under 'PC-545 - TRANSFERRED TO FRENCH'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Coast Guard wartime history documents this hull as Coast Guard-manned: the Part I escort-craft table lists PC-545 commissioned 6-27-42 among the ten submarine chasers (4 PC, 6 SC) manned for the Navy by the Coast Guard, and the Part II ship-history entry reads: 'The PC-545 was commissioned June 27, 1942. (Further reports on her activities are not available). On March 25, 1944, she arrived in the Mediterranean Area and was at Naples and Oran. On October 17, 1944, she was transferred to the French.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Official USCG history but a thin entry: it confirms Coast Guard manning, the commissioning date, and the transfer date, yet states reports on her activities were unavailable to its compilers. Its 'March 25, 1944' Mediterranean-arrival date conflicts with this hull's documented Sicily (July-August 1943) and Anzio (January 1944) participation in the companion volume and with NavSource - likely a printed typo for 1943 but carried as printed, and logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-03
-
[5]U.S. Coast Guard, 'The Coast Guard at War - Vol. X: Sicily-Italy Landings' (official USCG wartime history; HyperWar transcription), body text and Appendix C award citations - LT John F. String, Jr., USCGR Silver Star (PC-545 off Anzio, 18 March 1944) and Lt. Comdr. Edward C. Thompson, Jr., USCG Silver Star (captain of PC-545 at the Sicily assault and 8 August 1943 screening action) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG-X-2.html page ~162 (String award text); USCG-X-C.html Appendix C, Maryland table (String, Silver Star) and Massachusetts table (Thompson, Silver Star + second citation)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official award citations naming this hull document two combat episodes. (1) LT John F. String, Jr., USCGR, Silver Star: 'For conspicuous gallantry in action while serving as commanding officer of the USS PC-545 off Anzio, Italy, on March 18, 1944. When an enemy motor torpedo boat was sighted at night Lieut, String immediately ordered the attack. With an expert display of seamanship, he so skillfully maneuvered the ship that the first shots scored hits on the enemy craft before it was able to maneuver into position to effectively use its torpedoes, and the resulting fire caused it to disintegrate in an explosion. This successful action against the enemy contributed materially to the protection of shipping in the Anzio area, and to the successful maintenance of forces ashore.' (2) Lt. Comdr. Edward C. Thompson, Jr., USCG, Silver Star as 'captain of the USS PC 545 in action against enemy forces during the assault on the Island of Sicily,' holding a hazardous anchorage 3,000 yards offshore to direct landing craft under fire silence, plus a second citation in the same table for meritorious conduct as commanding officer of a patrol craft escorting landing craft under enemy fire and employing his ship as screening vessel for a behind-enemy-lines amphibious landing on the night of 8 August 1943. Confirms Coast Guard officers commanding this hull in the Sicily and Anzio assaults and the destruction of a German motor torpedo boat (E-boat) off Anzio.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-07 to 1944-03
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew under LT John F. String, Jr., USCGR and Lt. Comdr. Edward C. Thompson, Jr., USCG (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Award-citation record of combat service, not materials: confirms the ship, the USCG command, and the actions but says nothing about asbestos or construction materials. The citation dates the E-boat action March 18, 1944; NavSource records the sinking 19 March 1944 and secondary compilations vary (24 March) - a night-action date variance carried in gaps, not silently reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-04
-
[6]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Chronology of Coast Guard History' (January 22 entry) and 'USS PC-469' oral-history page (history.uscg.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.uscg.mil/research/chronology, January 22, 1944 entry; history.uscg.mil/Our-Collections/Oral-Histories-Memoirs/USS-PC-469/ opening paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The USCG Historian's Office chronology entry for January 22 reads: '1944 - Coast Guardsmen participated in Operation Shingle - the landings at Anzio-Nettuno, Italy. Coast Guard units involved were USS PC-545 and LSTs 16, 326, 327, and 381' - official confirmation of this hull (with its Coast Guard crew) at the Anzio landings on D-Day, 22 January 1944. The Historian's Office PC-469 oral-history page states: 'The Coast Guard manned and operated four of these unusual ships - PC-469, PC-545, PC-556 and the PC-590. All were commissioned in 1942.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- U.S. Coast Guard crew at Anzio (22 January 1944)
- Limitations
- Official USCG historical-office material: confirms Coast Guard manning and Anzio participation but contains no materials or asbestos information. The oral-history page is a first-person account of PC-469 used here only for its official framing of the four-ship Coast Guard PC program; it describes that sister ship's fit, not PC-545's.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-05
-
[7]HyperWar transcription of 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' (official Navy compilation), Submarine Chasers (Steel Hull) - PC-461 Class listing, PC-545 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org HyperWar ships-sc.html, PC-461 Class table, PC-545 row: '1942-44 Lend-Lease to France'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy compilation lists PC-545 under 'Submarine Chasers (Steel Hull), PC-461 Class' with service years '1942-44' and the disposition note 'Lend-Lease to France' - confirming class membership, the U.S. Navy service window, and that the 17 October 1944 transfer to France was a Lend-Lease transfer (not a sale), consistent with the hull remaining on the Naval Register until struck 8 December 1964.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Limitations
- Official-listing confirmation of class, service window, and transfer mechanism only; contains no operational narrative and no asbestos or materials information. The '1942-44' U.S. service window is the Navy-custody window and does not cover the hull's 1944-64 French/Moroccan service.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-06
-
[8]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), Defoe Shipbuilding, Bay City MI production table - yard hull no. 190, PC 545 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Defoe Shipbuilding production table, hull no. 190 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The standard-compiled production table for the builder lists this hull: Defoe yard hull no. 190, 'PC 545,' owner U.S. Navy, type Sub Chaser, Defoe design '463d,' 173 ft., delivery 27-Jun-42 (the commissioning date), disposition 'To Free French 1944 as Goumier (W 91), to Morocco 1960 as Agadir (Q 390), returned and sunk as target 1964.' The table confirms Bay City as the construction site and matches NavSource on the French and Moroccan identity chain.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1964
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (1942)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference (Colton's shipbuilding-history tables), not an official record; consistent with NavSource and uboat.net on builder, dates, and the Goumier/Agadir chain. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-07
-
[9]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS PC-545 (PC-545) - order date, PC-461 class assignment, milestone chronology [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS PC-545 ship page, data table + history line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's compiled warship entry for this hull confirms PC-461 class, builder Defoe Shipbuilding Co. (Bay City, Michigan), ordered 1 April 1941, laid down 31 March 1942, launched 8 May 1942, commissioned 27 June 1942, end service 17 October 1944: 'Transferred to France on 17 October 1944 being renamed Goumier.' No commanding-officer roster is carried for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary database (Allied Warships of WWII section); consistent with NavSource and the official listings on class, builder, and dates but independently unverified against muster rolls or deck logs. Contains no operational history, no CO roster for this hull, and no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (twin General Motors 16-258S diesels, two shafts - no steam plant); PC-461-class design data (Patrol Craft Sailors Association class page; HyperWar class listing); GAO HRD-80-2 program context (ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-545 specifications; ww2pcsa.org patrol-craft class page; HyperWar PC-461 class spec block; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1942 steel-hulled diesel-powered patrol craft of this type and period carried era-standard asbestos applications: thermal insulation on diesel engines and exhaust uptakes, machinery-space insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation; GAO documented Navy-wide asbestos insulation use through the early 1970s, covering this build era. As a diesel craft she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the steam-lagging pathway of larger combatants does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1964
- Population
- Defoe Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); U.S. Coast Guard crew (1942-44); French Navy crew (1944-60); Royal Moroccan Navy crew (1960-64); any target-towing/sinking crews (1964)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-545. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Small-craft scope (65-man crew, two diesel engines) bounds but does not eliminate the inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-09
-
[11]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov product page for HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships through the early 1970s and examined Navy efforts to protect shipyard workers from asbestos exposure - program-level documentation establishing that this hull's construction era (1942) fell squarely within the Navy's asbestos-use period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (report); wartime construction era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workforce (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only; does not name this hull, this class, or this builder, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard PC-545. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches (confirmed this session); the product-page description was used and full text remains an open lead - same standing defect as prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-10
-
[12]Batch-7920 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NARA Special List #44 and digitized deck-log index; Naval Vessel Register; NavSource; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory.com; HyperWar official listings (Ships of the U.S. Navy; Coast Guard at War Vols. I and X); USCG Historian's Office chronology and oral-history pages; PCSA class page; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-545-pc545-01 through sl-uss-pc-545-pc545-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed asbestos case naming PC-545 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener could not be searched this session - 33 attempts across ~1 hour all returned fleet-wide pacing exhaustion (shared ~58/hr budget under heavy concurrent load), so litigation status is open, not negative. Secondary web searches surfaced no qualifying case.
- 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 combatant of this type plausibly carried era-standard materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-545-pc545-11