Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 940-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-796-pc796-pkt-940-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-796 (build/disposal timeline, class specifications, armament, propulsion, 1949 Seattle transfer-group photograph; verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-796 page, timeline + specifications block + photograph captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary vessel record for this hull: laid down 29 May 1943 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 3 July 1943; commissioned USS PC-796 19 June 1944; transferred to the War Shipping Administration June 1948; transferred to France 1949 and named Phnom Penh (PT 2); reclassified P-626; sold 1956, fate unknown. Specifications: 375 t., 173'8" x 23' x 10'10", 22 kts, complement 65; one 3"/50 DP, one 40mm, three 20mm, two depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks, two rocket launchers; two 1,280 bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler RB-99DA diesels, Westinghouse single-reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-William-Victor-Zebra. Photo dated 2 August 1949 at Seattle shows her moored with sisters Luang Prabang (ex-PC-798) and Hue (ex-PC-797) - the same France-bound group.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1943); wartime and postwar crew (design complement 65)
- Limitations
- Specialist archival-photo record, not a government document - but the standard of record for un-named patrol craft and consistent on every shared field with uboat.net and ShipbuildingHistory. Documents identity, dates, and specifications only; contains no materials or asbestos information. No DANFS history exists for this hull (NavSource states this; NHHC URL 404s).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-796 (PC-796) - order date, build dates, wartime commanding officers [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net warship record 8625, data table + commands list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating specialist record for this hull: ordered 27 February 1942; laid down 29 May 1943; launched 3 July 1943; commissioned 19 June 1944; transferred to France 1949 renamed Phnom Penh (sic 'Pnom Penh'). Commanding officers listed: H. M. Kidder, USNR (19 Jun 1944 to mid/late 1945) and P. J. Chapman, USNR (mid/late 1945 to late 1945).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Wartime crew under COs Kidder and Chapman
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary database - order date and CO names rest on it alone (not independently verified against muster rolls, which are digitized but unread). Build/transfer fields corroborate NavSource. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog: RG 24 file unit 'PC-796, 6/19/44-3/1/46' (NAID 192458338, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Roll 5870, 98 scanned pages) plus ~90 RG 38 WWII war-diary file units indexing 'PC-796' (COMWESTSEAFRON near-monthly Aug 1944-Jul 1945; COM 13 Jul/Sep/Oct 1944 + Sep 1945; COM 19th Fleet Columbia River Group Aug-Nov 1945; Fleet Admin Office Norfolk Nov 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/192458338 image 3 (forwarding sheet, NAVPERS 605, roll dated 30 Jun 1944); catalog search q="PC-796" (93 results, 2026-10-03); control search q="PC-795" (98 results, distinct diary set)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- National Archives documentation for this hull: digitized muster rolls cover commissioning through 1 March 1946 (Roll 5870, 98 images). The roll's forwarding sheet was read directly this session - quarterly roll dated 30 June 1944, certified by Executive Officer Reeves Wetherill, Lieut., and approved 1 July 1944 by 'H.M. KIDDER, Lieut., Commanding Officer' (corroborating the uboat.net CO entry); a later archival annotation reads 'Comm 6-19-44 to 3-1-46 final', i.e., the roll runs commissioning-to-1 March 1946 and is marked final. The catalog's full-text index also returns this hull's name inside ~90 RG 38 war-diary file units, concentrated in 13th Naval District and Western Sea Frontier reporting for 1944-45 - including a near-monthly run of Commander Western Sea Frontier diaries from August 1944 through July 1945 - and the 19th Fleet Columbia River Group diary for August-November 1945, consistent with West Coast/Pacific Northwest duty followed by inactivation layup in the Columbia River reserve group (a control search on sister hull PC-795 returns a distinct diary set, confirming hull-level OCR matching). The Norfolk Fleet Administrative Office November 1945 hit plausibly reflects inactivation/disposal paperwork.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Wartime crew (muster rolls); 13th Naval District / Western Sea Frontier operating forces
- Limitations
- Muster-roll forwarding sheet verified directly; remaining roll pages and the diary pages themselves were not read page-by-page - exact operations, ports, crew names/rates, and dates within each month are unverified. The 'final' annotation plus the Columbia River Group layup are consistent with inactivation on/about 1 March 1946 but are not a decommissioning order. Does not establish materials aboard or any asbestos fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-03
-
[5]Marines de Guerre et Poste Navale fiche, '* PHNOM PENH (1949/1955)' (French naval-philately/history record for this hull's French service) [other_primary]
- Locator
- postenavalemilitaire.com fiche t10571, HISTORIQUE + CARACTERISTIQUES blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French-service record for this hull: the fiche states the patrouilleur ex-U.S. Navy PC-796 was ceded to the Royale in October 1949, was based at Saigon, conducted combat missions including at Cap Blake and during Operation Dynam, and was disarmed 24 October 1955. Fiche figures differ from the U.S. record: 325 t., 52.95 m x 7.05 m x 3.25 m, 19 kts, 60-man crew, one 76mm + one 40mm + five 20mm + two mortars.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1949-1955
- Population
- French Navy crew, Saigon-based, 1949-1955 (fiche figure: 60)
- Limitations
- Collector/enthusiast source, not an official French Navy record - carried at partial verification for the transfer window, Saigon basing, and disarming date; mission names and French-fit figures are unverified. SHD Marine (Service historique de la Defense, Vincennes) archives are the authoritative lead for French service. No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-04
-
[6]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), 'Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR' yard list - yard history + hull 69 = PC 796; corroborated by NavSource class page (PC-461-class design, 173' steel-hulled twin-diesel, built 1941-44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Commercial Iron Works yard list, header + row '69 / PC 796'; navsource.net/archives/12/01idx.htm class summary
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder and class context: Commercial Iron Works (founded November 1916, 30-acre site south of the Ross Island Bridge, Portland) built 188 hulls during WWII including 43 of the 343 PC-461-class chasers; its hull 69 was PC-796, delivered 19 June 1944, 'To France 1949 as Phnom Penh (PT 2), sold 1956'; the yard closed in 1946 and the site was sold to Zidell Marine as a ship-dismantling facility. The PC-461 class was a 173-foot steel-hulled twin-diesel design built 1941-44 for anti-submarine work in harbors and restricted waters.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades 1941-46
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary yard list - builder history and production figures not independently verified against official records; the yard's own records are an archival lead (yard closed 1946, records disposition unknown). Documents the builder and class, not materials aboard this hull. Commercial Iron Works is NOT in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset (37 yards) - no yard-level asbestos record exists to cross-link.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource class/hull specifications (PC-461 class, 173' steel hull, twin Hooven-Owen-Rentschler diesels, two shafts); ShipbuildingHistory build date (1943-44 construction); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era context (see ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipbuildinghistory.com row for PC-796; GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A PC-461-class patrol craft built 1943-44 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos era. As a diesel-driven vessel she carried no boilers or steam turbines, so the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply; the era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, flange and valve gaskets, machinery packing, thermal insulation in machinery spaces, electrical insulation, brake linings on winches and windlass, and fireproofing. Her compact hull put engine spaces immediately beneath and adjacent to working and berthing areas.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1943-44); crew 1944-48; French crew 1949-55; 1956 buyer/scrapper unknown
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or General Information Book retrieval was located for PC-796. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-06
-
[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 (1943-44) and U.S. service era (1944-48).
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 pattern documented since Batch-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-07
-
[9]Batch-8169 search ledger (this record): NavSource PC-796; NHHC DANFS URL (404 - no DANFS history exists); NVR detail page (pre-1987 disposal absent); NARA catalog 'PC-796'; uboat.net; postenavalemilitaire fiche; ShipbuildingHistory CIW yard list; shipyards.json; WW2PCSA; MARAD/PMARS; CourtListener (1 of 4 base queries completed, 3 blocked by fleet pacing); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-796-pc796-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, scrapping-yard record, or verified litigation naming USS PC-796 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener status: the exact-name opinion base query completed (8 hits - all classified as name/token collisions or non-vessel cases, no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull); the remaining three base queries (exact-name docket, hull-number opinion, hull-number docket) could not be run - the fleet-wide pacing budget was spent on every spaced attempt across ~1.5 hours (logged blocked, sl-uss-pc-796-pc796-12, not a negative result). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific asbestos material; only law-firm listicle content asserting asbestos aboard generic 'Navy ships' - 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 - a 1943 steel warship of this class is era-consistent with asbestos use (see ev-06). The digitized muster rolls and war diaries were not read page-by-page; NARA RG 24 logbooks and any WSA/MARAD custody records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-796-pc796-08