Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, combined volume SC-701 - SC-800 (v1), capsule entry for SC-729 (Naval History and Heritage Command) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SC-729 capsule within the alphabetical SC-701 - SC-800 DANFS volume page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: 'SC-729 - Built at Harbor Boat Building Co., Terminal Island, Calif. Keel laid 5/9/42. Launched 1/25/43. Commissioned 4/19/43. Transferred to Maritime Commission 3/8/48.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific construction and disposal milestones only; no asbestos or material content, no service narrative, no decommissioning or striking date (capsule entries in this volume carry construction + disposal only). Transfer date reads 3/8/48 (8 March 1948); NavSource carries 3 March 1948 - unresolved conflict noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-729 (ex-PC-729) - milestones, specifications, commanding officers, merchant fate [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150729.htm header block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 9 May 1942 as PC-729 by the Harbor Boat Building Co., Terminal Island, CA; launched 25 January 1943; reclassified and commissioned SC-729, 19 April 1943; decommissioned 1 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 3 March 1948; acquired 1948 by Ernest A. Judd of Los Angeles, CA for use as a tug boat and named Pacific Explorer; acquired 1950 by the Pacific Towboat and Salvage Co. of Long Beach, CA; out of documentation in 1951; fate unknown. Commanding officers: LTJG Gerald C. Maechler, USNR (19 April 1943); LTJG W. K. Fohl, USNR (1945). Hull spec block: displacement 95 t.; length 110'10"; beam 17'; draft 6'6"; speed 21 kts.; complement 28; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, two twin .50 cal. machine guns, two K-gun depth-charge projectors, 14 depth charges with six single release chocks, two Mk 20 Mousetrap rails with four 7.2" projectiles; propulsion two 800 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. Photographs document K-gun armament and fitting-out at the builder's yard c. 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1951
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); crew ~28 (1943-45); merchant tug crews (1948-51)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestones generally track DANFS/Ships' Data but conflict with DANFS on the Maritime Commission transfer date (3 March vs 8 March 1948 - see gaps). Spec block conflicts with NHHC-era class table on displacement, speed, and complement (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. NavSource's note 'There is no DANFS History currently available for SC-729' refers to a standalone vessel entry - a capsule entry does exist in the combined SC-701 - SC-800 DANFS volume (ev-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-02
-
[3]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' - ship listing with task-force codes and commanding officers [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- U.S. Pacific Fleet organization tables, SC hull block; task-force key at 'Tactical Organization' (Task Force 94 = Forward Area, CentPac)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- SC 729 appears in the official U.S. Pacific Fleet organization as of 1 May 1945, assignment code 94 (Task Force 94, Forward Area, Central Pacific - V. Adm. J. H. Hoover), with commanding officer Lt. (jg) W. K. Fohl (USNR) - corroborating NavSource's 1945 CO listing. Establishes Pacific Fleet assignment in the war's final months.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew under Lt. (jg) W. K. Fohl, USNR (May 1945)
- Limitations
- Organizational snapshot only: establishes assignment to TF 94 (Forward Area, Central Pacific) on 1945-05-01, not the hull's movement or operational history. Says nothing about asbestos or materials. The obituary-sourced operational narrative (South Pacific/Southwest Pacific service, Mindoro and Lingayen Gulf operations under a later CO) could not be verified against an official record - carried in gaps, not asserted here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-03
-
[4]NARA, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (by ship number); RG 24 logbooks [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, ship-number sequence, entry 'SC-729 5/1/1943 12/13/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List #44 indexes SC-729's logbooks with coverage 5/1/1943 - 12/13/1945 - a single logbook entry spanning her commissioned life (commissioned 19 April 1943, decommissioned 1 December 1945; the final log page runs to 13 December 1945). The logs are the authoritative source for her operational movements, but they are textual holdings at the National Archives - not digitized in the Catalog's Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations series (NAID 594258 search returned no SC-729 file units).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- Crew (May 1943 - December 1945 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: logbook existence and date coverage confirmed from the SL-44 index; contents not examined - the logs are not digitized and would require an Archives II (College Park) pull. Log-coverage dates are not commissioning/decommissioning dates. Deck logs would document movements and availabilities but rarely record hull materials directly.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: DANFS/NavSource-documented propulsion for this hull (2 x GM 8-268A diesel engines, wooden hull, no steam plant); NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' SC class tables (HyperWar transcription); NavSource SC-497 class index [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (2 x GM 8-268A diesels); NHHC SC class table (diesel engines, twin screws); NavSource 12/15idx.htm class index
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 110-foot wooden-hulled diesel-driven submarine chaser built 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but its asbestos-relevant systems are materially narrower than a steam vessel's: with no boilers or steam distribution, the dominant lagged-steam-pipe exposure pathway does not apply. Era-standard asbestos applications plausible aboard a diesel craft of this type and period are limited to thermal insulation/lagging on diesel exhaust trunks and silencers, engine and exhaust-manifold gaskets, valve and flange packing, and electrical insulation/wiring - in a small, largely open-deck craft with a complement of ~28.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1951
- Population
- Harbor Boat Building construction trades (1942-43); engine-room crew (1943-45); merchant tug crews (1948-51)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction specification, or work package located for SC-729. Names era-plausible applications, not confirmed installed materials; asbestos may have been minimal aboard this hull type. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-05
-
[6]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 (1942-43) and service era (1943-45), as well as her merchant tug period (1948-51).
- 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's scope is the Navy's shipboard insulation program generally - it does not distinguish wooden-hulled diesel small craft from steam combatants, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-06
-
[7]Batch-8103 search ledger (this record): DANFS combined-volume entry; NavSource; NARA Special List #44; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1945-05-01; MARAD Vessel History Database; NVR; CourtListener (status noted); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-729-pc729-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming SC-729 or PC-729 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). MARAD's Vessel History Database holds no vessel-status card for this hull or for her merchant identity (the only 'Pacific Explorer' on file is a different 1919 vessel). NVR carries no entry - the hull was disposed in 1948, decades before NVR coverage. The only 'asbestos aboard' material in secondary sources is law-firm/marketing content (e.g., navyshipexposure.com class pages) asserting era asbestos use without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - era materials plausibly present are listed in ev-05 as inference only. CourtListener base searches were attempted and blocked this session (fleet pacing budget, sl-uss-pc-729-pc729-07), so the litigation record is an open gap, not a negative result. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-07
-
[8]Designation cross-check: NavSource header line ('SC-729, ex-PC-729') and reclassification note; NavSource submarine-chaser index narrative on the PC/SC type-symbol split; DANFS capsule (SC-729 only); NARA SL-44 (logs filed under SC-729) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150729.htm header ('ex-PC-729'); NavSource 12/01idx.htm index narrative; NARA SL-44 ship-number sequence (SC-729, no PC-729 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the record slug 'uss-pc-729-pc729' implies a PC-461-class steel patrol craft; the hull was in fact a 110-foot wooden-hulled SC-497-class submarine chaser. She was laid down 9 May 1942 under the contract designation PC-729, then reclassified and commissioned SC-729 on 19 April 1943 - the Navy split the shared PC/SC number series in 1943, retaining PC for 173-foot steel craft and assigning SC to the 110-foot wooden type. She never served as, and no official record addresses her as, 'USS PC-729'; her logbooks are filed under SC-729 and DANFS knows her only as SC-729.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Corrects the designation/class implied by the record slug, not a material claim. NavSource's 'reclassified and commissioned SC-729, 19 April 1943' wording is followed for the reclassification timing; the underlying 1943 type-symbol split is documented in NavSource's class-index narrative, a secondary compilation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-729-pc729-08