Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 928-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: PHANTOM
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-707-pc707-pkt-928-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'SC-701 - SC-800' compilation - SC-707 entry (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS SC-701 - SC-800 page, SC-707 paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records for this hull, verbatim: 'Built at Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City, N.C. Keel laid 4/11/42. Launched 6/10/42. Commissioned 10/24/42. Transferred to Maritime Commission 8/13/46.' The entry is a one-line milestone record with no service narrative - it does not carry the PC-707 commissioning designation, the April 1943 reclassification, the decommissioning and striking dates, or any merchant-career detail.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Elizabeth City Shipyard construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific milestones only; no asbestos or material content, no spec block, no service narrative. NavSource's page note 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-707' refers to the absence of a full narrative entry - this one-line compilation entry does exist and was verified live 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200 under a browser user-agent; the page returns 404 to non-browser fetch agents, an NHHC user-agent filter, not link rot).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-707 ex-PC-707 (page verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150707.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 11 April 1942 by the Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City, NC; launched 10 June 1942; commissioned PC-707 on 24 October 1942; reclassified SC-707 in April 1943; decommissioned 1 February 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 13 August 1946; struck from the Naval Register 12 March 1946. Merchant chain: acquired in 1946 by the Humble Oil and Refining Co. of Houston, TX and named Friendswood; acquired in 1959 by Elmer C. Hartman of New York, NY for use as a yacht; acquired in 1966 by the Junior Sea Knights of America of Brooklyn, NY and renamed Sea Knight 101; acquired in 1970 by Cyril B. Hamblett of Glens Falls, NY and renamed Mi Tesoro; out of documentation in 1977; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: 148 t.; 110'10" x 17' x 6'6"; 15.6 kts.; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, two .50 cal. machine guns, two depth charge projector 'Y Guns,' two depth charge tracks; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Xray-Baker-Xray; Friendswood call sign Alpha-Yankee-Delta-Echo. Commanding officer at commissioning: LTJG Eugene de Kieffer, USNR (24 October 1942). No photograph of this hull is carried.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1977
- Population
- Elizabeth City yard construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); merchant crews and owners (1946-77)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS where DANFS covers them (build, launch, commission, Maritime Commission transfer all match), and the commissioning designation (PC-707), reclassification month, decommission/stricken dates, spec block, call signs, CO, and merchant chain come from this source alone among those searched. Its 'no DANFS history' note is stale - the one-line DANFS compilation entry exists (ev-01). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: 110' Submarine Chaser photo index - class introduction and SC-497-class roster (verified live 2026-10-03); corroborated by the SC index 12/15idx.htm ('SC-707 ex-PC-707') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/01idx.htm class introduction paragraph; 12/15idx.htm SC-497-class roster row 'SC-707 ex-PC-707'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- CORRECTION / designation-chain support: the class index explains the PC-707 -> SC-707 reclassification as class-wide, not hull-unique - 'World War II expansion programs led to construction of two large groups of subchasers, the new 110-foot wooden-hulled craft and the 173-foot steel-hulled type. By 1943, it was felt desirable to differentiate between the two types. The type symbol PC was retained for the steel 173-footers, and the separate symbol SC was adopted for the 110-foot vessels. These now dropped the dual "S.C.-PC" identification, and were simply identified as "USS SC-."' The roster lists 'SC-707 ex-PC-707' alongside the same ex-PC pattern for every early class boat. This hull was therefore never a PC-461-class steel patrol craft: PC-707 was the shared-series number carried by a wooden 110' boat until the April 1943 re-symboling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Corrects the batch-scope risk of reading 'PC-707' as a PC-461-class vessel - it is a designation-history fact, not a material claim. The 1943 dual-to-SC re-symboling is stated at class level; this hull's specific April 1943 reclassification month rests on the vessel page (ev-02). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), Elizabeth City Shipyard construction table, Elizabeth City NC; corroborated by the site's WWII sub-chaser production table at shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/pc2.htm and by the Naval Marine Archive's copy of the same yard table (navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/elizabeth.html) - all verified live 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Elizabeth City yard table, SC 707 row (O.N. 250816); smallships/pc2.htm SC 707 row; yard-history header; navalmarinearchive.com identical table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's-yard table records for this hull: O.N. '250816 | SC 707 | US Navy | Sub Chaser | 136 LDT | 110 ft | delivery 24-Oct-42 | Sold 1947 as Friendswood' - corroborating the 24 October 1942 delivery/commissioning date, supplying the U.S. official number (250816) the hull carried in merchant documentation, and dating the Friendswood sale to 1947 (vs NavSource's 'acquired in 1946'). The companion production table lists 'SC | 707 | Elizabeth City SY | Elizabeth City NC | 148 | 110 | 24-Oct-42 | To MARAD 1946.' The yard page documents Elizabeth City Shipyard as originally a division of the Elizabeth City Iron Works and Supply Company, formed in 1914 from the merger of the T. B. Hayman and E. S. Willey shipyards, continuing as a repair yard after the war and closing in the mid-1960s; the Riverside Avenue site is now a marina.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1977
- Population
- Merchant crews and owners, Friendswood era forward (1946/47-77)
- Limitations
- Shipbuildinghistory and the Naval Marine Archive are secondary reference compilations (yard records and delivery tables), not official registries - the 1947 sale year vs NavSource's 1946 acquisition year is unresolved (the Maritime Commission transfer was August 1946; a 1947 closing is consistent with paperwork lag). 'To MARAD 1946' matches the documented 13 August 1946 transfer. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-04
-
[6]NARA, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (series NAID 594258) - SC-707 deck-log holdings; batch VERI NARA corroboration lists coverage 10/24/1942 - 8/31/1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Series NAID 594258 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations'; SC-707 file-unit coverage 1942-10-24 to 1945-08-31 (batch VERI lookup); digitized-logs guide archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds deck logs for this hull covering 24 October 1942 to 31 August 1945 (per the batch's NARA corroboration lookup) - the only located operational-record source for her wartime employment, which is otherwise undocumented in every public source searched (no DANFS narrative, no NavSource service prose, zero entries in Cressman's official USN WWII chronology 1942-45). These are log-coverage dates, not commissioning or decommissioning dates.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Crew (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: log coverage establishes that logs exist in the series, not what they record - no war diary, action report, or patrol-area assignment was located online. catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and returns the SPA shell to fetches, so the individual file-unit NAID for this hull's logs could not be confirmed this session; the coverage dates come from the batch VERI lookup, marked partial. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NARA-authored Unwritten Record blog (improved wooden 110' SC put into production for WWII); NavSource spec block (GM 8-268A diesels, no steam plant); NavSource class index (580 SC-497-class boats built); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Unwritten Record 'Spotlight: Submarine Chasers' (26 Apr 2016); NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json (no Elizabeth City entry)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled, diesel-powered 110' submarine chaser built in 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era but at the low end of its material intensity: no boilers, no steam lines, no turbine lagging - the dominant shipboard asbestos pathways do not exist on this hull type. Era-standard diesel-craft applications aboard a boat of this type and period were engine and exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets, valve packing, and electrical/wiring insulation in a small wooden hull volume.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1977
- Population
- Elizabeth City yard construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); merchant/private owners and refit workforces (1946-77)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for SC-707. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity. The wooden-hull type plausibly carried materially less asbestos than steel steam vessels of the same era - an inference about degree, not an exemption claim. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-06
-
[8]National Archives, The Unwritten Record (NARA staff blog), 'Spotlight: Submarine Chasers' (26 April 2016) - wooden-hull and RG 19 engineering-record context for the 110' chaser type (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov post, RG 19 drawing links (NAIDs 28264940, 30010079, series 559623)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-authored record on the type: '440 of these wooden SC boats were constructed and placed in service during the World War I era. The design proved very effective, and an improved wooden 110' SC was put into production for World War II' - confirming the wooden-hull construction of this hull's class from a government archival source, and pointing to RG 19 Alphabetical Series of Ship Engineering Drawings holdings for the 110' chaser type (NAID 28264940 outboard profile; NAID 30010079; series NAID 559623).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (WWII production statement)
- Limitations
- Confirms the class's wooden construction - a material-context fact relevant to how much asbestos the type could plausibly carry - but contains no asbestos content and documents the WWI predecessor design directly; the WWII production statement is at type level. The linked NARA catalog records are JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product-page highlights (live page HTTP 403 to automated fetch; content verified via Wayback capture 2025-04-02) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights block (live 403; Wayback capture web.archive.org/web/20250402135701)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's review of Navy asbestos-exposure protection documented asbestos insulation in use aboard Navy ships; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs - modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. The program-level finding places asbestos insulation aboard Navy ships throughout this hull's U.S. service era (1942-46).
- 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. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-10-03); content via product-page highlights verified in Wayback capture 2025-04-02; the 26-page full-report PDF was not retrieved. Fieldwork shipyards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not this hull's builder.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-08
-
[10]Batch-8081 search ledger (this record): DANFS compilation; NavSource vessel + class indexes; shipbuildinghistory yard + production tables; Naval Marine Archive yard table; NARA deck-log coverage (batch VERI); NARA blog; GAO product page via Wayback; Cressman chronology 1942-45; NVR check; CourtListener (API v4 - blocked); secondary web corroboration + asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-707-01 through sl-uss-pc-707-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming SC-707, PC-707, or her merchant names (Friendswood, Sea Knight 101, Mi Tesoro) was found in the public sources searched. No wartime service narrative of any kind was located for this hull - no DANFS narrative, no NavSource service prose, zero entries in the official USN WWII chronology. CourtListener: both opinion queries ran - 'PC-707' returned 2,798 and 'SC-707' returned 2,739 loose-match hits; first-page results all name collisions (state-court 'P.C.'/'S.C.' reporter and statute citations plus page-707 pins, none referencing the vessel), no qualifying case surfaced on either results page; both docket queries and the asbestos-qualified variant could not be run - fleet-wide pacing budget saturated across spaced retries - logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. No law-firm marketing or asbestos claims of any kind surfaced for this hull in the web sweep.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (blocked, not run). NARA deck logs (coverage through Aug 1945), Elizabeth City yard work records, USCG merchant documentation, and any MARAD sale/disposal file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-707-09