Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 909-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-577-pc577-pkt-909-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-577 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-577 page, class chronology block, specifications block, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource vessel record for this hull: laid down 6 May 1942 by the Dravo Corp., Wilmington, DE; launched 25 July 1942; commissioned 15 October 1942; transferred 21 December 1945 to the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Center, Edgewood Arsenal, MD; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; sunk 12 November 1948 between Norfolk, VA and Bermuda 'due to high contamination from chemical tests'; page notes she 'served both the U. S. Navy and U. S. Army' and that no DANFS history is available. Specifications: displacement 450 t.; length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440-bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines (serial nos. 6684 and 6685), Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. Photography includes a mast detail captioned 2 November 1942, Philadelphia Navy Yard (SF radar transmission line), and a crew photograph naming enlisted men (MoMMC Bruce, Bernie Dierocki, PO Cox, SM3/c Elmer Fisher, S1/c Art Knauser).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Corp. construction workers (1942); U.S. Navy crew (1942-1945); U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Center test personnel (1945-1948)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary document - the standard NavSource hull chronology used across this dataset. Contains no asbestos, materials, or exposure detail. The Army transfer and contamination/scuttling statements are the only detailed fate account located; the sinking position is given only as 'between Norfolk, VA and Bermuda.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-01
-
[3]U.S. Navy, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011), Patrol Vessels - Submarine Chasers (PC) tables [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data Vol. II, Patrol Vessels - Submarine Chasers (PC) machinery table p. 88 (PC577 row) and construction table p. 89 (PC577 row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official 1945 Navy publication entries for PC577: construction table lists 'Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.' with keel laid 6 May 42, launched 25 Jul 42, first commission 15 Oct 42; machinery table lists engine manufacturer/model 'H.O.R. R-99DA' (Hooven-Owen-Rentschler diesel), shaft horsepower 2,880 (brake horsepower), reduction gear 'Westgh.' (Westinghouse), trial displacement 348 tons, trial speed 20.2 knots.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (publication 1945)
- Population
- Dravo Corp. construction workers (1942); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Official primary source for construction dates, machinery, and trial figures as of the 1945 edition; the builder entry names 'Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.' - the corporate home and Neville Island yard - while NavSource and ShipbuildingHistory attribute the physical build to Dravo's Wilmington, Delaware yard (conflict carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos, materials, or crew-exposure content; the table documents machinery and dates only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory (Colton compilation, Naval Marine Archive mirror), 'Sub Chasers Built During WWII' table and 'Dravo Wilmington' yard output table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/pc2.html PC-577 row; navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/large/dravow.htm Wilmington table; dravoboats.html Pittsburgh table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard production table entries: master PC table lists 'PC-577 | Dravo Corp. | Wilmington DE | 463 [LDT] | 173 [LOA] | 15 Oct 1942 | Scuttled 1948'; the Dravo Wilmington yard output table independently lists 'PC577 | US Navy | patrol craft | 463 | 173 | 15 Oct 1942 | Scuttled 1948'. The same compilation's Dravo Pittsburgh (Neville Island) boats table also lists PC-577, an internal inconsistency - the corpus attributes the hull to both Dravo yards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Corp. construction workers (1942)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation from U.S. documentation and yard records, not a primary document; the Pittsburgh/Wilmington duplication within the same corpus is carried in gaps (Wilmington carried, consistent with NavSource). 'Scuttled 1948' corroborates the disposition without detail. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-03
-
[5]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44, by Ship Numbers: PC-577 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, by Ship Numbers, PC-577 row: 10/15/1942-12/21/1945
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's Special List 44, the National Archives guide to Navy deck logs, lists PC-577 with logbook coverage 15 October 1942 through 21 December 1945 - from commissioning to the day of transfer to the U.S. Army, i.e., the entire Navy service of this hull. The logs are the primary lead for contemporaneous operational, movement, and repair documentation (including the January 1943 rescue operations).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-10-15 to 1945-12-21
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew recorded in deck logs
- Limitations
- The list identifies deck-log coverage, not the contents of a log; the underlying logs were not retrieved (RG 24, undigitized for this hull). Establishes nothing about asbestos, materials, personnel exposure, or litigation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-577 (PC-577) page; corroborated in outline by Sixtant South Atlantic research compilation [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8554.html (events + commands sections); sixtant.net 4th Fleet at Recife, entry 17) PC-577; world-war.co.uk 1943 US losses table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Wartime operations for this hull (secondary compilations): ordered 1 April 1941; assigned to the U.S. Fourth Fleet, South Atlantic, operating out of Recife, Brazil (Sixtant). On 9 January 1943, during the U-124 attack on convoy TB-1 about 50 nautical miles north of Paramaribo, Suriname, PC-577 picked up 46 survivors of the merchant Birmingham City, 24 of the tanker Broad Arrow, 34 of Collingsworth, and 46 of Minotaur - approximately 150 survivors of the four ships U-124 sank that day. Commanding officers listed: Donald M. Kerr USNR (commissioning-early 1943), Joseph Peter Farley USNR (early-mid 1943), Lt. (jg) Earl M. Foltz USNR (mid 1943-mid/late 1944), W. B. Sanderson USNR (mid/late 1944-mid 1945), Thomas C. Roberts USNR (mid 1945-21 Dec 1945). Fate stated as 'Sunk during Chemical Warfare tests by the US Army on 12 November 1948.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Wartime crew (complement ~65); ~150 rescued merchant mariners 9 January 1943
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilations (uboat.net; sixtant.net), not primary documents; survivor counts differ slightly from a war-loss tabulation (world-war.co.uk gives Collingsworth 55 rescued by PC-577 and Norwegian merchant Dalvangen jointly, and notes one Broad Arrow survivor died of injuries). Deck logs (ev-04) are the primary source for these events. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-05
-
[7]U.S. Army RDECOM Historical Research and Response Team, 'Off-shore Disposal of Chemical Agents and Weapons Conducted by the United States' (March 29, 2001), via AquaDocs repository; summarized in CRS RL33432 (2007) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AquaDocs handle 1834/39266 (SS89 Off-Shore CW Disposals 2001 version, public release), sections III.4-III.5 (off Norfolk; Area Number 1) and Edgewood-origin entries; CRS RL33432 summary table
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The Army's own historical compilation documents that the service - including Edgewood Arsenal, MD, PC-577's postwar custodian - routinely disposed of chemical agents and munitions at sea in this era: a WWII-era disposal 'off Nansemond, Norfolk, Virginia' of unknown material; the September-December 1945 'Area Number 1' Atlantic dumps of Edgewood Arsenal material (arsenic trichloride, adamsite smoke candles, mustard shells, smoke projectiles in seven trips, the last ending 21 December 1945 - the day PC-577 was transferred to Edgewood); and later Edgewood-origin Atlantic disposals through 1962. CRS RL33432 summarizes the catalog as 74 disposal instances, 32 off U.S. shores.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1962 (report 2001)
- Population
- Army Chemical Warfare Center / Army Chemical Center test and disposal personnel
- Limitations
- Era context only: the Army's 2001 catalog documents munitions/agent disposal operations and does NOT list PC-577, patrol craft, or any contaminated test vessel by name - it corroborates the institutional practice behind NavSource's scuttling account but does not independently verify this hull's disposal. A contaminated ship's scuttling differs in kind from the munitions dumps cataloged. Establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-06
-
[8]U.S. Army installation history, Edgewood Arsenal / Army Chemical Center (OSTI OpenNet release) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSTI OpenNet PDF 16007116, postwar organization section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official installation history documents the custodian named in this hull's chronology: Edgewood Arsenal (a Chemical Warfare Service/Corps installation since 1918) hosted the Chemical Warfare Center during WWII with roughly 10,000 personnel; on 2 August 1946 the designation Chemical Warfare Center was changed to Army Chemical Center. PC-577 was transferred to the 'Chemical Warfare Center' in December 1945 and was sunk while under Army Chemical Center-era custody in November 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1918-1950s
- Population
- Edgewood Arsenal / Army Chemical Center workforce (~10,000 at wartime peak)
- Limitations
- Installation-level context only; the document contains no ship, vessel, or test-platform content and does not mention PC-577. It supports the custodian's identity and designation timeline only, not any fact about this hull's test use, contamination, or materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-07
-
[9]Era inference anchored to this record's own verified specifications (1945 Ships' Data Book machinery table; NavSource specifications; HyperWar PC-461-class block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Derived from ev-02 (SDB machinery row) and ev-01 (NavSource specifications); GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Asbestos-relevant inference only: as a 1942-built steel-hulled PC-461-class sub chaser with two Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesels and no boilers or steam plant, this hull had no boiler/turbine/steam-line lagging - the dominant asbestos pathway on steam vessels is absent here. Era-standard applications that could have contained asbestos aboard a diesel patrol craft of this vintage concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and machinery packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on deck machinery. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin systematic asbestos substitution until the early 1970s - decades after this hull was scuttled.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Corp. construction workers (1942); wartime crew; Army test personnel 1945-1948
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey exists in the public record for this ship, and the hull itself was scuttled in 1948, foreclosing any later documentation. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-08
-
[10]Batch-7952 search ledger (this record): NavSource; 1945 Ships' Data Book Vol. II; ShipbuildingHistory tables; NARA Special List 44; NHHC DANFS lookup; Naval Vessel Register; uboat.net/Sixtant compilations; U.S. Army 2001 off-shore disposal report + CRS RL33432; OSTI Edgewood history; CourtListener; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-577-pc577-01 through sl-uss-pc-577-pc577-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, product record, or qualifying litigation naming USS PC-577 / PC-577 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's disposition forecloses future documentation: she was deliberately scuttled at sea in 1948, before any asbestos-survey or abatement regime existed, and no wreck documentation was located. The only documented hazmat story for this hull is chemical-warfare-agent contamination, not asbestos.
- 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 diesel hull is consistent with era-standard ACM applications, but no source documents any asbestos product aboard this hull. CourtListener sweep status is recorded in the search_ledger: 1 of 4 mandated base queries completed (exact-name opinions, 8 results, 0 qualifying); the remaining three were attempted but blocked by fleet pacing at delivery - litigation status is open, not negative, for the unsearched bases. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-577-pc577-09