Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[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-797-pc797-pkt-940-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, PC-797 (archives/12/010797.htm) - construction milestones, specifications, WSA disposal, French transfer, photographic record (live navsource.net URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010797.htm header block (PC-461 class timeline), specifications block, photo caption table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 17 July 1943 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 21 August 1943; commissioned USS PC-797 on 5 July 1944; 'Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in July 1948'; 'Transferred to France in 1950 and named Hue (PT 1)'; 'Reclassified P-672'; 'Struck from the Navy Register 12 February 1955'; 'Fate unknown.' Specification block: displacement 450 t., length 173'8", beam 23', draft 10'10", speed 20.2 kts., complement 65, armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose mount, one 40mm mount, three 20mm guns, two depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks and two rocket launchers; propulsion two 1,280 bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler RB-99DA diesels (serial nos. 7343 and 7344), Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Xray-Jig-Queen. Page states 'There is no DANFS history available for PC-797.' Photo captions document a Bureau of Ships photo, a c. April 1945 view, a c. 1946 view, a 2 August 1949 Seattle photograph showing Luang Prabang (ex-PC-798), Hue and Phnom Penh (ex-PC-796) together, Hue 'arriving in French Indochina', and a c. 1951 Saigon view.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades 1943-44; wartime and postwar US Navy crew (design complement 65); French Navy crew 1949-55
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track official sources but are not independently sourced here. Its 'P-672' pennant conflicts with French-side sources reading P.627 (carried in gaps). 'WSA' is disposal-pipeline convention - the agency was abolished 1 September 1946 and its functions ran through the U.S. Maritime Commission by July 1948. The stricken date equals the French condemnation date exactly (see gaps). No decommissioning date is given. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS PC-797 (PC-797) page (ship 8626) - data table and commanding-officer list [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 8626 - data table + 'Commands listed' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborating reference record for this hull: patrol craft of the PC-461 class, US Navy; built by Commercial Iron Works (Portland, Oregon); ordered 27 February 1942; laid down 17 July 1943; launched 21 August 1943; commissioned 5 July 1944; 'Transferred to France in 1950 being renamed Hue'. Wartime commanding officers listed: Lt. J. J. Scheffler, USNR (5 July 1944 - mid 1945); H. W. Reece, USNR (mid 1945 - mid/late 1945); H. E. Chaflin, USNR (mid/late 1945 - 8 February 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Wartime US Navy crew (design complement 65), incl. three successive USNR commanding officers
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled database (reputable specialist reference). Sole located source for the 27 Feb 1942 order date and for the commanding-officer tenures; the 8 Feb 1946 end of the last listed tenure aligns with the end of this hull's digitized muster rolls - consistent with, but not proof of, a February 1946 inactivation. 'End service' field is blank. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Colton yard lists), Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR - construction list [other_primary]
- Locator
- Commercial Iron Works yard table, PC 797 row (yard hull 70); adjacent PC 796/798 rows
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard-list corroboration: Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR built PC 797 for the US Navy - yard hull number 70, type Sub Chaser, 173 ft, delivery 5-Jul-44 (matching the commissioning date), disposition 'To France 1950 as Hue (PT 1, P 627?)'. The same yard list carries the consecutive CIW PC run PC 788-801, including PC 796 'To France 1949 as Phnom Penh (PT 2)' and PC 798 'To France 1949 as Luang Prabang (PT 3, P 628?), sold 1955' - the three sisters that crossed to French Indochina service with this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1950
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades 1943-44
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled yard list (reputable specialist reference, not a government record). Confirms build, delivery date, and the French-transfer year 1950; its 'P 627?' notation carries the compiler's own uncertainty flag and aligns with French-side P.627 against NavSource's 'P-672' (conflict carried in gaps). No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-03
-
[5]National Archives Catalog, file unit 'PC-797, 7/5/44-2/8/46' (NAID 192458437, microfilm Roll 5871), RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, series Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAID 192458437 (RG 24, Muster Rolls series, Roll 5871)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA catalog verifies a digitized muster-roll file unit for this hull spanning 5 July 1944 - 8 February 1946 (NAID 192458437, microfilm roll 5871, RG 24). The roll's start date equals the commissioning date and its 8 February 1946 end date matches the end of the last listed commanding officer's tenure (uboat.net) - corroborating continuous documented US Navy manning from commissioning through early February 1946, after which the hull entered reserve/mothball status.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-07-05 to 1946-02-08
- Population
- US Navy enlisted/officer complement carried on the rolls, Jul 1944 - Feb 1946
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification (file-unit title, NAID, roll, record group, series) - individual muster sheets were not transcribed. Muster rolls document crewed administrative existence, not operations, materials, or asbestos. The roll's end date corroborates but does not state a decommissioning event.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-04
-
[6]National Archives Catalog, World War II War Diaries (RG 38): PC-797 named in war diaries of Commander Western Sea Frontier (Aug 1944, Sep 1944, Oct 1944, Nov 1944, Dec 1944, Jan 1945, Feb 1945, Mar 1945, Apr 1945, May 1945, Jun 1945, Jul 1945, Aug 1945, Sep 1945), COM 11 (Aug 1944), COM 13 (Sep 1944, Jul 1945), COM 19th Fleet Columbia River Group (Aug-Nov 1945), and Fleet Air Wing 6 (Sep 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'PC-797': NAIDs listed above (RG 38 war diaries; RG 24 muster rolls NAID 192458437)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA catalog full-text search returns 94 hits for 'PC-797', dominated by consecutive monthly mentions in Commander Western Sea Frontier war diaries from August 1944 through September 1945 (14 monthly file units located: NAIDs 78660851, 78712428, 139801813, 139850542, 139914266, 633409896, 140015183, 140058991, 101719769, 101772257, 83543995, 83574572, 77519043, 77560121), plus COM 11 Aug 1944 (NAID 78632217), COM 13 Sep 1944 and Jul 1945 (NAIDs 78660578, 77485895), COM 19th Fleet Columbia River Group Aug-Nov 1945 (NAID 77618574), and Fleet Air Wing 6 Sep 1945 (NAID 77528291). The pattern documents continuous operational association with the Western Sea Frontier (US Pacific coast) through the hull's commissioned career, and association with the 19th Fleet's Columbia River reserve group in the Aug-Nov 1945 window preceding inactivation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-08 to 1945-11
- Population
- Wartime US Navy crew (design complement 65)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification of file-unit titles and full-text search hits - the underlying diary text was not transcribed, so the nature of each mention (patrol assignment, escort movement, availability, reporting) remains in the untranscribed record. Presence in a command's diary shows operational association, not day-by-day location. Two photographic items and one engineering drawing in the 94-hit result set were not surfaced by the catalog's paginated interface this session (archival lead carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-05
-
[7]Poste Navale Militaire ship fiche '* HUE (1949/1955)' (patrouilleurs section) - French-service record for ex-PC-797 [other_primary]
- Locator
- postenavalemilitaire.com fiche '* HUE (1949/1955)' - HISTORIQUE and CARACTERISTIQUES blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French-side record for this hull's second career: the patrouilleur Hue was 'transfere a la France pour les Douanes en Indochine' - transferred to France for the Customs service in Indochina - and 'integra finalement la Royale pour une assez breve mais intensive periode de guerre qui debuta en decembre 1949'. Documented operations: destruction of the Vietminh camp at Vangia (April 1950); burning of warehouses at Phan-Thiet during the Port Dayot sector cleanup; Operation Poisson at Cua Tunc and Hue (February 1951); Operation Camargue off Quang Tri (late July 1953). Fiche characteristics: type PC-461, hull symbol P627, in service 1949, desarme (struck) 12 fevrier 1955, ex-PC-797 US Navy, displacement 325 tonnes, length 52.95 m, 2 x 2,880 cv diesels, 19 knots, 60-man crew, armament 1x76mm + 1x40mm + 5x20mm + 2 mortars.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1949-1955
- Population
- French Navy crew, Indochina station 1949-1955
- Limitations
- Enthusiast-compiled fiche on a French naval-postal museum forum - secondary sourcing, no citations; details partially corroborated by the AIDF customs-flotilla monograph (ev-07) and the NavSource photographic record. Its 'P627' hull symbol conflicts with NavSource's 'P-672' (carried in gaps). French figures differ from US sources (325 t vs 450 t; 19 kn vs 20.2 kts; 5x20mm vs 3x20mm) - load-condition and fit differences, not reconciled. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-06
-
[8]Serge Rinkel, 'La flottille des Douanes et Regies de l'Indochine Francaise' (AIDF - Association des Douaniers d'Indochine et de France, monograph PDF, pp. 58-59) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AIDF PDF pp. 58-59, paragraph on the 'groupe des garde-cotes d'Indochine' (15 December 1949) and characteristics list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French customs-service monograph documenting this hull's transfer mechanism: 'Au 15 decembre 1949, on affecte ainsi au groupe des garde-cotes d'Indochine, les batiments de la direction des douanes d'Indochine. Il s'agit de 3 patrouilleurs cotiers les "Pnom Penh" (PC 796) "Hue" (PC 797), "Luang Prabang" (PC 798) armes a Seattle, aux Etats-Unis ou ils etaient en reserve sous cocon. Ils quittent San Francisco le 16 septembre 1949 et font route a travers le Pacifique, (escales a Pearl Harbour et Kwajadein) pour rejoindre Saigon ou ils debutent leur carriere francaise.' - i.e., the three ex-PCs were armed at Seattle where they lay in mothballed reserve, departed San Francisco 16 September 1949 via Pearl Harbor and Kwajalein, and entered French service at Saigon, with the Indochina customs flotilla absorbed into the coast-guard group on 15 December 1949. Lists French-era characteristics: 53 m, 325 tonnes, 2 diesel engines of 2,880 ch, 20 knots, 1x76mm AA, 1x40mm Bofors, 5x20mm Oerlikon, ASW grenades, 3,000 nm at 12 knots, radar/sonar, 59-man crew.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1949-1955
- Population
- French customs/coast-guard and Navy crews, 1949-1955
- Limitations
- Veterans'/association monograph (secondary, no scholarly apparatus) - the most detailed located account of the Seattle-to-Saigon transfer, corroborated by the 2 Aug 1949 Seattle photo on NavSource and by the fiche at ev-06. Its engine rating (2 x 2,880 ch) diverges from NavSource's 2 x 1,280 bhp - flagged in gaps. US-side sources date the France transfer '1950'; this document shows the hulls already French-crewed and underway September-December 1949. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-07
-
[9]HyperWar/ibiblio, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - Submarine Chasers page, PC-461 class specification block and hull table [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-sc.html - PC-461 class spec block; hull table row 'PC-783-798'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class-standard specification block for the PC-461 class: displacement 284 tons, length 173'8", beam 23', draft 10'10", speed 21 knots, armament 1x3"/50 + 1x40mm + 5x20mm + 2 depth-charge throwers (mousetraps) + 2 K-guns + 2 depth-charge racks, complement 65. PC-797 appears only inside the grouped range row 'PC-783-798 ... 1942-44' with no per-hull note - the class context applies to this hull's design, not to hull-specific materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (class build era)
- Limitations
- Official-history transcription (Ships of the U.S. Navy) of class design figures - displacement 284 t is a light/standard figure against NavSource's 450 t and the French 325 t (load conventions differ; carried in gaps). Armament and speed vary modestly across sources (5x20mm here vs 3x20mm on NavSource). No asbestos or materials information; class-level data only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-08
-
[10]Tony Schick (EarthFix), 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard For World War II Ships', KLCC/Oregon Public Broadcasting, 1 December 2016 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- KLCC article body - Zidell lease of the 'old Commercial Iron Works shipyard', shipbreaking contaminants passage, DEQ cleanup summary
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard environmental history: after the war the former Commercial Iron Works shipyard on Portland's Willamette River waterfront - the yard that built this hull - was leased by Zidell and became 'the nation's largest shipbreaking operation'. Reporting documents that 'the insulation on the ships, the wiring, the linoleum on the floors and even the paint was full of contaminants' and that 'some of it - like asbestos and PCBs causes cancer'; workers burned toxic insulation off copper wire in open pits beside the river. Oregon DEQ flagged the property in 1986; a voluntary cleanup ran more than 20 years and cost more than $20 million, leaving the 30-acre site capped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946-2016
- Population
- Zidell/shipbreaking workers at the former CIW site, post-1946
- Limitations
- Yard/site-level record about the post-war shipbreaking operation on the CIW site - this hull is not named, and the asbestos reference concerns the general run of WWII ships scrapped there, not this vessel (this hull was not scrapped there - it went to France). Documents era industrial practice at the builder-yard site; establishes nothing about materials aboard PC-797.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-09
-
[11]GAO HRD-80-2, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure' (published 18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page Highlights (live page verified 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Program-level context: GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; per the product-page summary, 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 selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. Documents that asbestos insulation was a fleet-wide shipbuilding/repair material in this hull's era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policy window describing the earlier use era)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (Long Beach, Norfolk Naval Shipyards)
- Limitations
- Fleet/yard-level program document - this hull is not named, and the fieldwork yards were naval shipyards (Long Beach, Norfolk), not the Commercial Iron Works construction site. Context for era practice only; establishes nothing about this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-10
-
[12]NavSource PC-797 specification block (hull material: steel PC-461 class; propulsion: 2 x Hooven-Owen-Rentschler RB-99DA diesels) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PC-797 page - class header and propulsion block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 173-foot steel-hulled submarine chaser built in 1943-44 with twin diesel propulsion sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard small-combatant applications - engine and exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery-space thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck coverings - are consistent with the class design but are INFERRED, not documented aboard this specific hull. The absence of a steam plant narrows the plausible application set relative to steam-driven ships: no boiler or steam-pipe lagging pathway exists.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction era)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific bill of materials, survey, or crew account was located; this row must not be read as proof of asbestos aboard this hull. It states a plausible-materials envelope consistent with era practice, nothing more.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-11
-
[13]Batch-8170 search ledger (this record): NavSource PC-797 page; NHHC DANFS (none exists); uboat.net; ShipbuildingHistory CIW yard list; NARA catalog (muster rolls, war diaries); NVR; postenavalemilitaire Hue fiche; AIDF Douanes monograph; HyperWar ships-sc class page; KLCC/EarthFix Zidell-CIW site reporting; GAO HRD-80-2; Atlas shipyards.json cross-check; class-profile worktrees; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number queries [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-797-pc797-01 through sl-uss-pc-797-pc797-18
- 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-797 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource states none; NHHC site search returns no ship page), NVR carries no detail page (pre-1987 disposal), and CourtListener opinion and docket searches for 'USS PC-797' returned zero hits. The hull's wartime document trail is administrative (muster rolls, command war diaries) with no materials content, and its post-1949 French service leaves no US-side abatement or disposal record to search.
- 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 1943-44 steel diesel combatant is era-consistent with retained asbestos applications. French-service records (1949-55) are outside the US repositories searched. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-797-pc797-12