Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]DANFS, 'SC-701 - SC-800' compilation page, SC-731 entry (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SC-731 entry within 'SC-701 - SC-800' DANFS compilation
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: 'Built at C. Hiltebrant DD Co., Kingston, N.Y. Keel laid 4/11/42. Launched 6/27/42. Commissioned 12/1/42. Transferred to the Philippines 7/2/48.' This is the authoritative Navy-history source for the commission date and the 1948 Philippine transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46)
- Limitations
- Bare-bones one-line-per-hull compilation entry: no service narrative, no spec block, no naming. Does not mention the PC-731 commissioning designation, the April 1943 reclassification, or the stricken date. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-731 (ex-PC-731) - designation timeline, specifications, stricken and transfer dates, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/12/150731.htm header block, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 11 April 1942 by the Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Kingston, NY; launched 27 June 1942; 'Commissioned USS PC-731, 1 December 1942'; 'Reclassified SC-731 in April 1943'; 'Struck from the Naval Register 25 February 1946'; 'Transferred to the Philippines 2 July 1948 and named Cagayan (P 14)' - with the note that the Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists the Philippine transfer as March 1948; scrapped. Specifications: 95 t.; 110'10"; 17' beam; 6'6" draft; 15.6 kts; complement 28; one 40mm mount, .50 cal machine guns, K-guns and depth charges, Mk 20 Mousetrap rails; two 800 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow & Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Xray-Jig-Baker. Photo captions place this hull at Milne Bay, New Guinea c. 1944 nested alongside a tender with SC-749, SC-648 and SC-637, and at Manila c. 1943 (from the collection of MSgt Norman Messenger, who served aboard as Quartermaster/Signalman).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); Philippine Navy crew as Cagayan (1948-56)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR and match the DANFS compilation here, but the stricken date and the PC-731 commissioning designation rest on this source alone among located records. The Manila photo caption 'c. 1943' is implausible on its face - Manila was Japanese-held until February 1945; the image is likely post-liberation US service or Philippine-era. Page states 'no DANFS history available,' which is outdated - NHHC has since published the SC-701-SC-800 compilation (ev-01). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-02
-
[3]NARA Special List #44, 'List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' (ship-number listing, RG 24 entry 118) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 ship-number PDF, SC-731 row in the alphabetized hull-number listing
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's authoritative deck-log inventory lists 'SC-731 12/1/1942 6/30/1945' - logbooks exist covering the commissioning date through mid-1945. These records (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24, entry 118) are held at NARA and are the primary documentary route to this hull's wartime movements, availabilities, and any recorded material/maintenance events.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- Crew of record (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Inventory coverage only - establishes that logbooks for this hull exist in RG 24 for the stated window, not their contents. The logs are not digitized online (WWII-era SCs are outside the digitized-deck-log catalog coverage); retrieval requires NARA textual reference. No asbestos content in the inventory itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-03
-
[4]Operation Plan 13-44 (Invasion of Leyte, Task Force 77), Annex A - Task Organization, Southern Attack Force (TF 79, Vice Admiral Wilkinson), control-craft line: 'SC 731, 632, 1004, 1365, 1369, 1375 (Control) 6 SC' (HyperWar transcription of wartime document) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Annex A, section (c) TF 79 Southern Attack Force - control vessels line alongside PCS 1391/1418/1429
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A primary US Navy operational document assigns this hull to the October 1944 Leyte invasion: SC-731 is one of six submarine chasers listed as control vessels under Task Force 79, the Southern Attack Force (Vice Admiral Wilkinson), in Op Plan 13-44 Annex A.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-10
- Population
- Crew during Leyte operation (Oct 1944); amphibious forces directed (class context)
- Limitations
- Document is a HyperWar volunteer transcription of the typed wartime original, not the archival scan - transcription errors possible. Assignment in an operation plan documents intended role, not confirmed execution; the deck logs (ev-03) are the route to verify actual participation. Control-vessel duty was small-craft amphibious traffic direction. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-04
-
[5]GHQ South West Pacific Area, Combined Operational Intelligence Centre, 'Daily Naval Summary' Nos. 435+ (1-30 June 1943 compilation), Parts I-II; digitized by Sea Power Centre - Australia (Royal Australian Navy) [other_primary]
- Locator
- COIC Daily Naval Summary compilation, Part II order-of-battle Milne Bay listings and Part I activity entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A wartime Allied intelligence document places this hull in theater by mid-1943: the COIC Daily Naval Summaries (GHQ SWPA, June 1943) list 'SC.731' among 'Warships & Aux.' at Milne Bay (alongside HMAS Ballard, Wagga, Bunbury), and record ''SC.731' escorting 'VAN ZWOLL' dep. Milne Bay 1024/2 for Beli Bell' - an escort movement out of Milne Bay at 1024 on 2 June 1943.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06
- Population
- Crew during SWPA escort/patrol duty (1943)
- Limitations
- Content verified via search-indexed extract of the document text; the live seapower.navy.gov.au server repeatedly stalled on direct fetch and the Wayback capture (2024-12-12) is truncated at 1 MiB, so full-context page verification was not completed. 'VAN ZWOLL' (OCR 'VAN 3W0LL') and 'Beli Bell' (likely Bili Bili, NE New Guinea coast) carry OCR uncertainty. Establishes in-theater presence and escort duty, not sustained assignment. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-05
-
[6]National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection (Portal to Texas History): 'Oral History Interview with Bruce Williams, August 27, 2020' - Williams commissioned December 1943 (V-7, Northwestern) and reported aboard USS SC-731 as executive officer; recalls operations around New Guinea and the Philippines including delivering supplies to Filipino guerrillas [museum_official]
- Locator
- NMPW Oral History Collection, Portal to Texas History (texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/NMPW); item-level ARK not obtained
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A museum oral-history interview with a named officer (Bruce Williams, XO from December 1943) documents first-person service aboard this hull in the New Guinea and Philippine operating areas, including supply runs to Filipino guerrillas - consistent with the Milne Bay and Leyte/Philippine documentation in ev-04 and ev-05.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Lt. Bruce Williams (XO, from Dec 1943); crew (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the texashistory.unt.edu portal returns an Altcha bot challenge and the interview record could not be fetched directly; the catalog description was obtained via a search aggregator extract and is unverified at item level. Oral recollection is not an official record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-06
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource/DANFS identity record (SC-497-class 110-ft wooden hull, diesel plant); shipbuildinghistory.com class build table (SC-731 row and class context); NavSource SC-497-class index (class designation history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion line); DANFS SC-731 entry; shipbuildinghistory SC-731 build row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled 110-ft submarine chaser built 1942 with a diesel plant (2 x GM 8-268A diesels) sat inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type: engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and thermal/acoustic insulation in machinery spaces. With no boilers or steam turbines, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the asbestos-relevant inventory on this hull type is materially smaller than on a steam ship of the era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); any yard trades at wartime availabilities; Philippine Navy crew and refit trades (1948-56); scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, survey, or work package located for SC-731. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, manufacturer, or product attribution. Wooden-hull and diesel-plant design bounds but does not eliminate possible ACM.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-07
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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) and US service era (1942-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (report); exposure era 1940s-1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (era context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved this session - content via product-page description. Does not establish materials aboard, individual exposure, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-08
-
[9]Navypedia, 'CAGAYAN submarine chasers (1942-1943/1948)' - Philippine Navy table: Cagayan (ex-SC731), P-14, Hiltebrant Kingston, PN commission 7.1948, stricken 1956; corroborated by Wikipedia 'List of decommissioned ships of the Philippine Navy' (RPS Cagayan, ex-USS SC-731, P-14, commissioned 2 July 1948, stricken 1956, scrapped) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Navypedia phil_cs_cagayan.htm table row 'Cagayan (ex-SC731) P14'; Wikipedia list of decommissioned Philippine Navy ships
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-US service record: transferred to the Philippines 1948-07-02 (DANFS/NavSource), renamed Cagayan (P-14), served the Philippine Navy until stricken 1956; subsequently scrapped. NavSource notes the Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists the transfer as March 1948 - a formal-transfer vs handover-date discrepancy.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1948-1956
- Population
- Philippine Navy crew (1948-56)
- Limitations
- Philippine-era details rest on secondary compilations (Navypedia, Wikipedia decommissioned-ships list) - no Philippine Navy primary record located. The 2 July 1948 transfer date is DANFS-documented; the March 1948 NVR-list variant is unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-09
-
[10]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC-731 timeline ('Commissioned USS PC-731, 1 December 1942; Reclassified SC-731 in April 1943'); NavSource SC/PC index (~520 hulls marked ex-PC, class-wide); DANFS 'Metuchen' entry (hazegray mirror pc731.htm) documents a PC-461-class 173-ft boat as PC-781, not PC-731 [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/12/150731.htm; navsource.net SC/PC index 12/01idx.htm; losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/patrol/pc731.htm (Metuchen = PC-781 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/DISAMBIGUATION: (a) This hull was commissioned as PC-731 and reclassified SC-731 in April 1943 - part of a class-wide reversion in which ~520 SC-497-class hulls briefly carried PC designations (NavSource index). The 'PC-731' designation was held by this hull only; the steel PC-461-class series did not reuse it. (b) The hazegray DANFS mirror file 'pc731.htm' actually contains the Metuchen entry - a PC-461-class 173-ft patrol craft correctly numbered PC-781 (OCR garbling in the mirror shows 'PC-731' in the spec header); Metuchen is a different vessel built by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR. (c) Correct class for this hull is SC-497 (110-ft wooden submarine chaser), not PC-461 (173-ft steel patrol craft).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects designation/identity errors that propagate across secondary sources and mirror files; does not itself establish service events beyond the designation timeline. The April 1943 reclassification date and the PC-731 commissioning designation rest on NavSource among located sources - DANFS shows only the SC-731 record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-10
-
[11]Batch-8105 search ledger (this record): DANFS SC-701-800 compilation; NavSource SC-731 page and SC/PC index; NARA Special List 44; GHQ SWPA COIC Daily Naval Summaries June 1943; TF 77 Op Plan 13-44 Annex A; NMPW oral-history collection; CourtListener base queries (see ledger for partial blocking); shipbuildinghistory build table; navypedia/Wikipedia Philippine lists [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-731-pc731-01 through sl-uss-pc-731-pc731-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS PC-731 / SC-731 / RPS Cagayan (P-14) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener coverage was partial: the 'PC-731' opinion base query returned 1 result, a non-qualifying name collision (Indiana criminal appeal citing a penal-code-style number); the remaining three base queries (PC-731 docket, SC-731 opinion, SC-731 docket) were blocked by the fleet-wide pace limiter this session - logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; no law-firm listicle coverage of this hull was located at all.
- 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 wooden hull in the documented Navy asbestos era is consistent with era-standard ACM in machinery/gasket applications. The litigation-repository gap is genuine: three of four CourtListener base queries could not be run this session (fleet pace limiter), so litigation status is an open gap, not a cleared negative. Deck logs (RG 24, exists 12/1942-6/1945) and any Hiltebrant contract/outfitting records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-731-pc731-11