Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-733 (ex-PC-733) - designation timeline, specifications, postwar commercial career, disposal (verified live, HTTP 200) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150733.htm header block, SC-497-class timeline, specifications block, commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down 6 June 1942 by the Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Kingston, NY; launched 10 August 1942; commissioned PC-733, 11 January 1943; reclassified SC-733 in April 1943; visited Auckland, New Zealand 19-30 November 1944; decommissioned 10 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 3 January 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 1 April 1948; acquired 1949 by Calvin Armstrong of Eureka, CA for use as a fishing boat and named Cherokee; acquired 1956 by Coastal Towing and Salvage of Long Beach; acquired 1960 by the Pacific Inland Navigation Co., Inc. of Vancouver, WA for use as a tug boat; acquired 1961 by the Northwest Towing and Salvage Co. of Seattle, WA; stranded 5 November 1969 in Golovnin Bay, AK. Specs: 94 t., 110'10" x 17' x 6'6" (fl), 15.6 kts, complement 28, armament one 40mm mount + one/two twin .50 cal MG + K-guns + 14 depth charges + two Mk 20 Mousetrap rails, propulsion two 800bhp GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts. CO list: LTJG George R. Seidlitz USNR (11 Jan 1943), LTJG R. L. Bird USNR (1945). Page notes: 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-733.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1942); crew (1943-45); commercial crews (1949-69)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - but its milestones here are independently corroborated by NARA holdings (war diaries, muster rolls) and shipbuildinghistory. Contains no asbestos content. Armament spec block (40mm/.50 cal) conflicts with her Feb 1943 war-diary fit (3"/23 + 20mm mounts) - spec block reflects a later/typical class fit, not necessarily her as-built outfit. CO list incomplete: her war diary shows Lt.(jg) C. F. Hackwell commanding by October-November 1943 (see ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-01
-
[2]NARA RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - nine digitized file units for USS SC-733: 2/19-28/43 (NAID 134091933, Roll A236), 3/1-31/43 (134152890, A304), 4/1-30/43 (134174087, A327), 5/1/43-6/30/43 (134273689, A425), 7/1-31/43 (78137907, A479), 8/1-31/43 (78157431, A520), 9/1-30/43 (78185695, A575), 10/1-31/43 (134341118, A644), 11/1-30/43 (78249531, A772) - images provided by Fold3; pages read directly this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA file units NAID 134341118 (Oct 1943, 33 images incl. p.1 0657.jpg), 134091933 (Feb 1943), 78249531 (Nov 1943); catalog.archives.gov search 'SC-733' in series RG 38 WWII War Diaries
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's own operational logs, read from digitized pages: 19-21 February 1943 - shakedown at the Submarine Chaser Training Center (SCTC), Miami, FL: general-quarters drills and practice firing (ten rounds on the 3"/23; sixty rounds each on port and starboard 20mm mounts, one jam) under SCTC inspecting officers; formation steaming with SC-652 and SC-235; moorings alongside SC-716 and SC-729, Pier II, Miami; an availability at Miami Shipyard with a civilian pilot at the conn; 'Approved: G. R. SEIDLITZ, Lt.(jg) D-V(G) USNR, Commanding Officer'. October-November 1943 - operating out of Tulagi Harbor, Solomon Islands (position 09-05 S, 160-10 E on 2 Nov): anchoring off Tagoma Point, Guadalcanal; mooring alongside SC-505, SC-729, SC-641, SC-1366, LCI-222 (Carter City); compass-calibration swing with Lt. W. E. Bolch USNR aboard (2 Nov); moorings alongside SC-726, SC-728; a run up the Maliati River; Govt. Wharf/Dock, Tulagi. Approval blocks signed by Lt.(jg) C. F. Hackwell, USNR, as Commanding Officer (Oct-Nov 1943) - a CO absent from NavSource's list. Log headers already read 'U.S.S. SC 733' by 19 February 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-02-19 to 1943-11-30 (digitized coverage)
- Population
- Crew (complement ~28): Seidlitz then Hackwell commanding; SCTC instructors (Feb 1943)
- Limitations
- Primary documentation of operations only - no asbestos or material content. War-diary pages are daily operational entries, not narrative summaries; February-October 1943 months read as samples, not every page OCR'd. Watch-officer signatures (Hackwell, Gangmark, Ferrer) transcribed from handwriting - 'Hackwell' reading is approximate (possibly Hackwelly/Hackwelty). Coverage ends November 1943: no 1944-45 war diaries exist in the catalog for this hull - post-1943 movements rest on NavSource alone.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-02
-
[3]NARA RG 24 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' - file unit 'SC-733, 1/1/43-12/10/45', NAID 192213163, Container/Roll 6852; creators Bureau of Navigation / Bureau of Naval Personnel [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/192213163 - RG 24, Roll 6852
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds the ship's muster rolls (quarterly personnel rosters naming every crewmember aboard) covering 1 January 1943 through 10 December 1945 - the hull's entire commissioned life plus margin. The coverage window corroborates the 11 January 1943 commissioning and 10 December 1945 decommissioning dates given by NavSource. File unit is digitized (available online via the Fold3 partnership).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-01-01 to 1945-12-10 (coverage dates)
- Population
- All hands mustered aboard, 1943-1945 (the roster source for any future crew-exposure research)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the catalog record was verified live but the roll images themselves were not reviewed this session - crew names, rates, and dates-aboard are documented inside but unexamined. Coverage dates bound but do not prove commissioning/decommissioning events. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-03
-
[4]BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List (2011), via Alaska Shipwrecks compilation (west-central Alaska, letter C) - CHEROKEE (1969) entry; corroborated by NavSource timeline (ev-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- alaskashipwreck.com West Central Alaska Shipwrecks (C) - 'CHEROKEE (1969)' entry, sourced to 'BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List (2011)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Final disposition documentation: the BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List (2011) records 'the oil screw Cherokee stranded and was lost November 5, 1969 at Golovnin Bay,' mapped at 64 24 N, 163 W (chart 16006), west-central Alaska. This is the ex-SC-733 under her long-held commercial name (Cherokee from 1949), corroborating NavSource's 'Stranded 5 November 1969 in Golovnin Bay, AK' and establishing the hull's wreck location and loss date from a federal-source-derived record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1969
- Population
- Commercial crew aboard at loss (undocumented); wreck-site environment
- Limitations
- The citing page is a private compilation (alaskashipwreck.com) transcribing the federal BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List (2011); the 2011 list was not independently re-fetched this session (the related BOEM MMS-92-0002 report page itemizes earlier losses and does not itemize this 1969 entry in the fetched text). No casualty details (crew, cargo, cause beyond 'stranded') given. Contains no asbestos content - a wooden hull stranded in 1969 is also a plausible residual-ACM wreck site, undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource SC-733 spec block (two 800bhp GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts, wooden-hulled SC-497 class); Patrol Craft Sailors Association 'WWII SCs' class page (110-foot wood-hull subchaser specs); HyperWar/ONI-222-derived class data (SC-497 class: 98-148 t., 110'10", diesel twin-screw) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150733.htm specifications; ww2pcsa.org/subchaser.html '110-FOOT, WOOD HULL SUBCHASER (SC)'; HyperWar USN ships SC class data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-engined wooden subchaser built 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this type and period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined machinery space. She carried no steam plant - no boilers, turbines, or steam piping - so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her wooden hull carried far less thermal insulation overall than a steel combatant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1969
- Population
- Hiltebrant construction trades (1942); crew (1943-45); yard/base trades at Miami Shipyard (Feb 1943) and later availabilities; commercial crews and any salvage interests (1949-69)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or casualty documentation located for SC-733. Names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The wooden-hull construction materially narrows the plausible application set relative to steel steam vessels; it does not eliminate it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-05
-
[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 construction (1942) and entire service era (1943-45).
- 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. The report's concern was steam-driven combatants and shipyard trades - applicability to a 110-foot wooden diesel subchaser is indirect. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-06
-
[7]Batch-8107 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA catalog (war diaries + muster rolls, read and enumerated); shipbuildinghistory Hiltebrant roster; alaskashipwreck.com / BOEM 2011; HyperWar USN-Act-NY; PCSA class page; GAO product page; CourtListener (see ledger for status); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-733-pc733-01 through -12
- 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-733, USS SC-733, or the commercial Cherokee was found in the public sources searched. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - only unrelated dockets (name collisions) and excluded marketing-class pages. CourtListener status as logged in search_ledger (blocked at first pass - hourly fleet pace, not the daily cap; a re-run is queued).
- 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. If CourtListener remained paced at write time, litigation status is an open gap logged as blocked, not a negative result. Deck logs beyond the war-diary months, Hiltebrant work packages, the Miami Shipyard availability record, and any commercial-era refit documents are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-07
-
[8]Designation cross-check: NavSource 'SC-733, ex-PC-733' page; shipbuildinghistory.com Hiltebrant yard roster ('SC 733 | 136 | 11-Jan-43 | To the NDRF 1948'); NARA war-diary log headers ('U.S.S. SC 733' in use by 19 Feb 1943); NavSource note 'no DANFS history available for SC-733' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150733.htm header 'ex-PC-733' + sister-boat pages; shipbuildinghistory.com Hiltebrant table; NARA war-diary image feb43 header (NAID 134091933)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (identity/class): the intake designation 'USS PC-733 (PC-461 class)' is wrong on both counts for the hull that served. There is one hull #733, not two: the NavSource archive, the Hiltebrant yard roster, and her own NARA war diaries agree that she was commissioned USS PC-733 on 11 January 1943 and reclassified SC-733 (SC-497-class, 110-foot wooden submarine chaser) in the first months of 1943 - part of the mass PC-to-SC reclassification of wooden-hulled boats in the 600-1400 number block (cf. sisters SC-730 ex-PC-730, SC-732 ex-PC-732, SC-633 ex-PC-633). The 173-foot steel PC-461 class is a different type entirely. Secondary note: the intake premise that 'DANFS documents SC-733' could not be confirmed - NavSource explicitly states no DANFS history exists for this hull and NHHC URL candidates 404; commissioning rests on NavSource + shipbuildinghistory + NARA coverage.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects identity and class, not a material/exposure claim. Reclassification-month conflict unresolved: NavSource dates it April 1943 for this boat and sisters, but her own log headers already read 'U.S.S. SC 733' on 19 February 1943 - the effective date may be earlier than the standard 'April 1943' given for the mass reclassification, or the crew pre-adopted the designation. Carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-08
-
[9]Builder corroboration: HyperWar 'U.S. Naval Activities, World War Two, By State - New York' (official wartime directory) lists 'C. Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co., Inc., Kingston, N.Y.' incl. an Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding detachment; shipbuildinghistory.com Hiltebrant yard table lists 'SC 733' hull line (136 t., 11-Jan-43, to NDRF 1948) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/USN-Act/NY.html 'Kingston, New York' section; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-small/hiltebrant/ yard table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder is documented as a Navy-contract yard: Hiltebrant Dry Dock Co. of Kingston, NY built WWI SC-1-class chasers and WWII SC-497-class boats (SC-674/675/730/731/732/733) plus PCS hulls under Navy contract, with a resident Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding. The yard roster independently gives SC-733's 11 January 1943 date and 'to the NDRF 1948' disposition - consistent with NavSource's Maritime Commission transfer of 1 April 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Hiltebrant yard trades (1942); Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding detachment
- Limitations
- Documents the yard's Navy-contract status and the hull's build/disposal line; no yard-level asbestos, safety, or medical documentation was located for Hiltebrant (a small defunct yard - no NIOSH study, no litigation index surfaced). shipbuildinghistory is a reputable secondary compilation (Colton), not a primary registry. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-733-pc733-09