Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 943-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (thin sourcing)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (thin sourcing)
- Evidence ID
- uss-pc-816-pc816-pkt-943-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, 'PC-816' (construction timeline, specifications, engine serial numbers, call sign, disposition; page verified live 2026-10-03, navsource.net domain) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010816.htm header timeline, specifications block, 'In builders dock' photo caption, and no-DANFS note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: PC-461-class submarine chaser laid down 5 December 1942 by the Albina Engine and Machinery Works, Portland, OR; launched 8 January 1943; commissioned 9 June 1943; transferred to the War Shipping Administration in July 1948; 'Fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 450 t; length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts; complement 65; armament one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount, one 40mm gun mount, five 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 1,440-bhp Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesel engines (Serial No. 6987 and 6988), Westinghouse single reduction gear, two shafts. Call sign Nan-William-Uncle-Able. The page carries a launch-eve photograph captioned '7 January 1943 - In builders dock the day before launching.' NavSource explicitly notes 'There is no DANFS history available for PC-816.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46 in commission); WSA/MARAD disposal chain (1948)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track NVR/DANFS-style records while the underlying Navy records sit at NARA (see ev-04). Contains no asbestos or material content. Gives no wartime service stations, no decommissioning date, and no stricken date - the muster rolls fill those gaps. 'Fate unknown' is the compiled disposition; no official disposal record corroborates any particular end.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships entry 'USS PC-816 (PC-816)' - PC-461-class build/milestone block (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8643.html - identity table and empty Commands section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary reference page corroborates this hull's build record: built by Albina Engine & Machine Works (Portland, Oregon); ordered 10 August 1942; laid down 5 December 1942; launched 8 January 1943; commissioned 9 June 1943; 'End service' and 'History' fields blank. Unlike many PC-class pages, uboat.net lists NO commanding-officer roster for this hull ('We don't have any commands listed for USS PC-816').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a secondary specialist compilation; the ordered-date appears only here among the sources searched. No service history, no CO roster, no post-1945 detail, and no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-02
-
[4]Oregon Historical Society Digital Collections, Oregon Journal Negative Collection (Org. Lot 1368, Box 375, image nos. 375A0434-375A0451) - launch-day photographic record of PC-816, 'the submarine chaser known as Hell Hornet,' Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, 8 January 1943 [museum_official]
- Locator
- OHS Digital Collections records 375A0435, 375A0441, 375A0443, 375A0444, 375A0450 and 'Military personnel' term-browse entry; Oregon Journal caption quoted within OHS record 375A0441; uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/67025.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- State-archive photographic documentation names and contextualizes this hull's launch: PC-816 was christened 'Hell Hornet' at the Albina Engine & Machine Works shipyard, Portland, on Friday, 8 January 1943; sponsor was Mrs. Melva Lillian Cole of Fargo, North Dakota - the widow of U.S. Navy serviceman Wilson Burnett Cole, killed in a German submarine attack off Cape Hatteras in June 1942 (per the OHS catalog descriptions and the quoted Oregon Journal caption 'CHRISTENED IN MEMORY of a navy hero was thew [sic] subchaser Hell Hornet at Albina Engine & Machine Works Friday. Sponsor was Mrs. Melva Lillian Cole, Fargo, N. D., the hero's widow.'). The Oregon Journal ran the story 'Wife of Hero Launches Subchaser' on page 10 of its final edition, 9 January 1943. Seventeen launch negatives survive in the collection (375A0434-375A0451), including images of workers at the bunting-draped bow and of Cole with Albina president George Rodgers. Cole visited Portland 12 December 1942 - 8 January 1943 for the christening. The widower identification is corroborated independently: uboat.net's U-boat casualty roster lists Wilson Burnett Cole, USNR service no. 6222746, Fireman Third Class, USS YP-389, died 19 June 1942 when U-701 sank that A/S trawler off Cape Hatteras.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-01-08
- Population
- Albina construction trades at launch (Jan 1943); sponsor Melva Lillian Cole; press/public at Portland launching
- Limitations
- Launch/sponsor documentation only - no service history and no asbestos or material content. 'Hell Hornet' is documented as the ship's builder/launch nickname (negative-sleeve text and press coverage), not a commissioned name - she served unnamed as PC-816. OHS pages sit behind a JavaScript anti-bot challenge for automated fetch (agent-side access limitation disclosed; catalog descriptions verified verbatim across five individual record pages via search index, and the record group is internally consistent). The YP-389 identification of the husband rests on the OHS detail (German submarine attack off Cape Hatteras, June 1942) plus the uboat.net crew roster - a secondary compilation; no Navy casualty record was retrieved this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-03
-
[5]NARA, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (RG 24), Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities: 'PC-816, 6/9/43-6/13/46' (NAID 192456657, microfilm roll 5888, 204 digitized objects - forwarding sheets, changes reports, and recapitulation sheets read directly this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 192456657 digitized images, roll 5888: commissioning-day forwarding sheet frame 00004 (Albina yard, 13-Jun-43); Q2'43 sheet frame 00002 (Portland, 1-Jul-43; 'Comm 6-9-43 to 6-13-46 Decomm' annotation); Q3'43 sheet frame 00020 (San Diego, 3-Oct-43); Q1'44 sheet frame 00060 (San Diego, 1-Apr-44, Asmann/Birmingham); Q1'45 sheet frame 00120 (San Diego, 4-Apr-45, Asmann/Drucker); Q4'45 sheet frame 00150 (San Diego, 2-Oct-45, Lackey/Paul); Feb-1946 changes frame 00176; May-1946 changes frame 00196; decommissioning forwarding sheet frame 00190 (San Pedro, 13-Jun-46, Niewoehner); decommissioning recapitulation frames 00200-00201 (15 remaining); end-of-reel card frame 00202
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's complete commissioned-era muster-roll run is digitized (9 June 1943 - 13 June 1946). Forwarding sheets read directly fix her station at six points: (1) the COMMISSIONING-DAY roll (9 June 1943) was forwarded 13 June 1943 'From Albina Engine & Machine Works, Inc., Portland, Oregon' - the ship's first report issued from the builder's yard; (2) the 30 June 1943 roll was forwarded 1 July 1943 'From Portland, Oregon' (CO signature reads approximately 'Harold Juleen' - signature-transcribed, spelling uncertain; XO John L. Nickel(l), signature); (3) the 1 October 1943 roll forwarded 3 October 1943 'From San Diego, California' (same CO/XO signatures; received stamp 12 Oct 1943); (4) the 31 March 1944 roll forwarded 1 April 1944 'From San Diego, California' - typed officers: CO George M. Asmann, Lieut., USNR; XO Matthew T. Birmingham Jr., Lieut., (jg), USNR; (5) the 31 March 1945 roll forwarded 4 April 1945 'From San Diego, California' - CO George M. Asmann, Lieut., USNR; XO Gerald D. Drucker, Ens., USNR; (6) the 1 October 1945 roll forwarded 2 October 1945 'From San Diego, California' - CO John C. Lackey Jr., Lt.(jg), USNR; XO Delett G. Paul, Lt.(jg), USNR. Changes-report pages read: month ending 1 February 1946 shows demobilization churn in the San Diego personnel system (transfers 'for discharge' to U.S. Naval Separation Center, Camp Elliott, San Diego, AUTH: AlNav 395-45; receipts from TADCEN Camp Elliott and the Fleet Air Reclassification Center, Coronado Heights Annex, NAS San Diego; one man transferred 2-1-46 to U.S.S. POINT CRUZ (CVE-119), Terminal Island, San Pedro, for duty). The May 1946 changes report shows 13 men, nearly all transferred to 'U.S. REC. STA., FOR FURTHER TRANSFER FOR DISCHARGE' or 'U.S. SEPCEN, SAN PEDRO, FOR DISCHARGE.' The closing document is the DECOMMISSIONING REPORT forwarding sheet dated 13 June 1946, approved and forwarded that day 'From SAN PEDRO, CALIFORNIA' - Ensign Carl H. Niewoehner, USNR, typed under BOTH the executive-officer and commanding-officer signature lines (a one-officer caretaker ending); the accompanying recapitulation sheet records 40 brought forward, 4 received, 44 aboard, 29 transferred out, 15 remaining. The roll-cover archivist annotation reads 'Comm 6-9-43 to 6-13-46 Decomm.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06-09 to 1946-06-13
- Population
- All hands 1943-46 (muster-roll span; enlisted complement ranged ~60 to 78 aboard in sampled quarters); reduced caretaker complement of 15 at decommissioning
- Limitations
- Muster rolls document who served aboard and where the ship administratively sat at roll dates - not operations between rolls, and not materials. Intervals between the six sampled forwarding sheets (Oct 1943-Mar 1944, Apr 1944-Apr 1945, Oct 1945-Jan 1946) were not individually examined - a station change inside an unsampled interval cannot be excluded, though every sampled sheet is consistent with a continuous 11th Naval District coastwise career. Enlisted rolls only - officers appear as signature blocks, not roster entries; the first CO's surname is a signature transcription of uncertain spelling (no typed name on those sheets). The 'Decomm' wording is a later archivist's annotation corroborated by the file-unit title and the final forwarding sheet. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-04
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com (T. Colton), Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland OR construction table - yard hull 100 = PC 816 (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Albina Engine & Machine Works construction table, hull-number column, row 100 (adjacent hull 99 = PC 815)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder's production table corroborates this hull: Albina Engine & Machine Works yard hull no. 100 = PC 816, U.S. Navy Sub Chaser, 284 tons, 174 ft, delivery 9-Jun-43, disposition 'To MARAD 1948.' The adjacent row (yard hull 99 = PC 815, disposition 'In collision and sank') confirms the same-yard sequential build with the better-known PC-815.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Albina construction trades, 1942-43
- Limitations
- Independent secondary compilation of yard records; the delivery date (9-Jun-43) equals the commissioned date, consistent with delivery-then-commission practice. Contains no material or asbestos content; establishes builder, hull number, delivery, and the MARAD-custody disposal note only - the yard table's 'To MARAD 1948' tracks NavSource's 'War Shipping Administration, July 1948' and is consistent with MARAD holding the surplus hull, but no downstream disposition follows it anywhere.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-05
-
[7]NHHC Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) small-craft roster, 'U.S. Navy Patrol Craft (Submarine Chasers) of World War II' (ibiblio.org/hyperwar mirror of the official NHHC small-craft index, verified live 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ships-sc.html roster table, rows 'PC-810' (linked), 'PC-811-822' (unlinked grouped row containing this hull), 'PC-823' (linked)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- No individual DANFS history exists for this hull. The official small-craft roster mirror lists this block of hulls only as an unlinked grouped row, 'PC-811-822,' commissioned '1942-44,' with no ship name or notes - unlike neighboring rows that carry individual linked pages (PC-799, PC-802, PC-810, PC-823 each hyperlink to a dedicated history page; PC-811-822 does not). NavSource independently confirms 'There is no DANFS history available for PC-816' (ev-01).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Establishes that no individual DANFS entry exists for this hull in the official corpus (as mirrored) - a corpus-wide gap for the entire PC-811-822 production block, not unique to this hull. It does not establish that no documentation exists anywhere; the digitized muster rolls (ev-04) supply the official record this hull lacks in DANFS. Says nothing about asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-06
-
[8]NHHC Navy Department Library transcription, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (page verified live 2026-10-03 via browser user-agent; UA-sensitive - plain curl returns 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- fleet-organization patrol-craft block (sequence PC-800-PC-814, then PC-824, PC-825; PC-816 absent - full-document text search found no occurrence)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- PC-816 appears nowhere in the official Pacific Fleet organization of 1 May 1945: the service-force/naval-district patrol-craft block lists PC-800 through PC-814 (with PC-808-814 flagged by footnote marker '(1)') then resumes at PC-824 and PC-825 - PC-815 through PC-823 are all absent. Combined with her 4 April 1945 muster roll forwarded from San Diego (ev-04), this is consistent with an 11th Naval District section-base assignment rather than a forward Pacific Fleet attachment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- PC-816 crew, mid-1945
- Limitations
- An absence reading, not a station record: the document does not say where PC-816 was on 1 May 1945 - only that she was not in the listed Pacific Fleet service-force organization. The muster-roll San Diego readings supply the affirmative station.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-07
-
[9]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part IV 'Campaign and Service Medals' - verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio: Section 2-16 Asiatic-Pacific Area (Awards-IV-16.html) and the remaining section files (Awards-IV-17.html), verified live 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Awards-IV-16.html ship table (full PC-block enumeration; PC-816 absent) and Awards-IV-17.html (59 PC entries incl. PC 814; PC-816 absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- PC-816 does NOT appear in the official NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953) campaign-participation ship tables: over one hundred PC hulls carry Asiatic-Pacific credits (PC-779, PC-800, PC-802, PC-803 among the PC-7xx/8xx block) and fifty-nine more appear in the remaining sections (PC-814 is the only PC-8xx hull there) - PC-816 is absent from both, meaning the ship earned no WWII campaign participation credit or battle stars, consistent with her muster-roll-documented San Diego section-base career.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- PC-816 crew 1943-45
- Limitations
- Absence from the awards list documents no campaign credit; it does not by itself prove the absence of combat contact or hazardous duty. The HyperWar transcription of the 1953 manual was text-searched for every 'PC' entry in both section files; no live NHHC-hosted copy of the manual's ship tables was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-08
-
[10]U.S. Department of Labor, Benefits Review Board, K.M. v. Lockheed Shipbuilding and Wausau Insurance Co.; Albina Engine and Machine and Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., BRB No. 08-0403 (published decision, third review; LHWCA death-benefits claim) [court_record]
- Locator
- BRB 08-0403 published decision, factual-recital section (employment chronology, mesothelioma death, Section 9 claim)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Yard-level asbestos-litigation documentation for this hull's builder: a published federal Benefits Review Board decision records that the decedent worked as a carpenter for three shipyards between 1956 and 1960, that 'his work for Albina Engine ceased in 1957,' that he 'died on September 22, 2002, of left pleural mesothelioma,' and that his widow claimed Section 9 Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act death benefits against all three builders - with the responsible-employer allocation litigated through three Board reviews (2003-LHC-2540, ALJ Steven B. Berlin). Albina Engine and Machine - the yard that built PC-816 - is a named employer-respondent in an adjudicated asbestos-disease claim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1956-2008 (exposure 1956-57; adjudication through 2008)
- Population
- Albina Engine and Machine yard workers (decedent carpenter, 1956-57 window); Longshore Act claimant class
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation record, not a hull record: names no vessel, and the decedent's Albina employment window (1956-57) postdates PC-816's 1942-43 construction by roughly 13 years - the case documents asbestos-disease litigation touching the builder generally, not material aboard this hull. The decision allocates responsible-employer liability among three yards; it is not a finding that Albina exposure caused the disease (the contested issue was which employer was last responsible). dol.gov blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403 via curl this session); the published PDF was verified live via assisted fetch and the canonical URL is retained. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two Hooven-Owen-Rentschler R-99DA diesels, serials 6987/6988, diesel plant, no steam); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' PC-461-class specification block and vessel listing spanning PC-811-822; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-program documentation (see ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar ships-sc.html PC-461-class specifications block and vessel listing; NavSource specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled diesel patrol craft built in 1942-43 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small vessel of this type and period were engine/exhaust and machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation and cable, deck covering, and accommodation-space insulation. As a diesel craft she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her asbestos-relevant systems are the smaller diesel-era set in a compact 173-ft hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); San Pedro decommissioning/yard-side trades (1946); WSA/MARAD disposal-chain workers (1948 forward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-816. 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-816-pc816-10
-
[12]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 commissioned service (1943-46).
- 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.gov blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403 to automated requests, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description; an agent-side access limitation, not a dead source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-11
-
[13]Batch-8187 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); uboat.net (live); NARA catalog proxy API + 204 digitized muster-roll images (forwarding sheets read directly); Oregon Historical Society Digital Collections; ShipbuildingHistory Albina yard list; NHHC small-craft roster; NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945; NAVPERS 15,790 HyperWar transcription (both section files); MARAD vessel-history database; DOL BRB published decision; GAO product page; marketing/litigation web sweeps; CourtListener via fleet helper (see ledger rows for final status) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-pc-816-pc816-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS PC-816 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case or survey touching this hull; the only 'asbestos' content found is law-firm marketing material for the Albina yard class (mesothelioma.net, mesolawsuitafterdeath.com, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org) asserting yard-level asbestos use without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. Litigation status: all four CourtListener base queries ('"USS PC-816"' opinion/docket, '"PC-816"' opinion/docket) were attempted on spaced retries across the session and each returned the fleet pacing-budget stand-down - never executed; the litigation picture is open, not negative.
- 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 1942-43 Navy-contracted hull is era-consistent with retained asbestos materials, and her unrecorded post-1948 disposal leaves no demolition/abatement paper trail to find. CourtListener coverage is incomplete (pacing-blocked), so the litigation picture is open, not negative. Deck logs (RG 24), Albina work packages, and the disposal file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-pc-816-pc816-12