Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 904-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: PHANTOM
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-sc-539-sc539-pkt-904-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, USCGC Air Crow (WAVR 416) ex-USS SC-539 ex-USS PC-539 (verified live 2026-10-03; page states 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-539'); uboat.net milestone table corroboration (verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150539 header block, SC-497 class chronology, specifications block, Commanding Officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 17 May 1941 by Peterson Boat Works, Sturgeon Bay, WI; launched 7 April 1942; delivered 30 May 1942 and commissioned USS PC-539; reclassified SC-539 in September 1942; transferred to the Coast Guard 4 December 1945 and commissioned USCGC Air Crow (WAVR 416); struck from the Naval Register 3 January 1946; sold 21 January 1948 to William F. Matthews of Marietta, WA and renamed Linda; sold 1951 to Sverre Gjerstad of Vancouver BC; 1960 to Swen Jerstad; 1979 to Robertson Fishing Corp.; 1982 to Donald F. Bellham of Comox; 1983 to Burgess Fisheries Ltd. of Prince Rupert; acquired 1993 by Cliff Brown of Port Hardy; fate unknown. Specs: 95 t., 110'10" x 17' x 6'6"(fl), 21 kts., complement 28, 3"/23 + .50 cal + K-guns + Mousetrap rails; two 1,540bhp GM (EMD) 16-184A diesels, two shafts. Call sign Nan-Baker-King-Victor. COs: LTJG William R. Roberts USNR (30 May 1942), LTJG Richard H. Cordell USNR (Feb 1944). uboat.net's milestone table corroborates build/commissioning/end-of-service dates and adds 'Ordered 1 Apr 1941' (secondary).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1993
- Population
- Peterson Boat Works construction trades (1941-42); Navy crew (1942-45); USCG crew (1945-48); civilian fishing crews (1948-93+)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track official records but conflicts exist on the reclassification date (see gaps and ev-02). Page verified live at navsource.net 2026-10-03. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-01
-
[3]Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU), vessel record PC-0539 - registry, rebuilds, vessel names, vessel owners (verified live 2026-10-03) [museum_official]
- Locator
- HCGL item/439170: Registry and Rig, Vessel History, Build Information, Vessel Names, Vessel Owners tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- University-held registry record for this hull: PC-0539, US Navy registry, wood hull, 110.83 x 17.00 x 5.00. 'Rig: Submarine Chaser. Commissioned on May 30, 1942. Reclassified as SC 539 on April 8, 1943. Transferred to U.S. Coast Guard on December 4, 1945.' Rebuilds documented as fishing craft 1948 (107.50 x 17.75 x 9.25; 122 gross - 83 net) and Canadian measures 1951 (108 x 18.16 x 9.33; 124 gross - 84 registered). Name records: AIR CROW (WAVR 416) 1945-48 USCG; LINDA 1948-51 (US ON 256969); LINDA 1951- Canada (ON 194653); SC 539 1943-45 US Navy. Owner records: US Navy 1942-45, USCG 1945-48, William F. Matthews 1948-51, then Canadian chain through Burgess Fisheries 1983.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1983
- Population
- Navy/USCG service; U.S. and Canadian registry holders
- Limitations
- Registry-level documentation, not a naval record - the reclassification date it gives (8 April 1943) conflicts with NavSource's September 1942 and Navypedia's 9.1942 (see gaps). Owner list ends at Burgess Fisheries (1983); the 1993 Cliff Brown acquisition is documented only by NavSource. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), 'Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay WI' - yard history and complete-build table, Part 2 'Major DoD Shipbuilding Programs / 17 Sub Chasers (SC)' (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Peterson yard page, Part 2 '17 Sub Chasers (SC)' table, SC 539 row; yard-history narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder production record for this hull: SC-539 appears in the yard's '17 Sub Chasers (SC)' wartime program - Unnamed, US Navy, Sub Chaser, 136 GT, 110 ft, delivered 30-May-42; disposition 'To USCG 1946 as Air Crow (WAVR 416), sold 1948 as Linda (Canada 194653), NLD.' Yard context: Martin Peterson founded Peterson Boat Works 1907; destroyed by fire 1918; reactivated 1933 by son Fred; built sub chasers during WWII; reorganized as Peterson Builders 1946; closed 1998.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Peterson Boat Works construction trades (1941-42)
- Limitations
- Secondary shipyard compilation, not a primary registry - the 'To USCG 1946' year conflicts with the documented 4 December 1945 transfer (see gaps). 'NLD' (no longer documented) is the compiler's disposition status, not an official finding. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), 'U.S.C.G. Air-Sea-Rescue Cutters (WAVR)' - Air-class cutter table (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WAVR table, SC 539 / WAVR 416 row; program narrative paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Coast Guard conversion context for this hull: 'By arrangement with the Navy, 71 Air-class cutters were delivered directly to the Coast Guard, modified for service as air-sea-rescue boats. These were SC 497-class wooden sub chasers, 111 feet long and 135 tons displacement, mostly built by yacht yards. As it turned out, few actually saw any service.' Table row: SC 539 - WAVR 416 - Air Crow - Peterson BW, Sturgeon Bay WI - delivery 30-May-42 - 'Sold 1948 as Linda, in Canada 1951.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1951
- Population
- USCG crew (1945-48)
- Limitations
- Documents the WAVR program and this hull's place in it; 'few actually saw any service' is the compiler's summary judgment for the class, not a specific record for WAVR-416. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-04
-
[6]NARA catalog record 78355322 (via Digital Pasifik / Digital Public Library of America), 'USS SC-539 - Act Rep, 1/19/44 to 2/18/44, Marshall Islands' - National Archives at College Park, Textual Reference; collection: WWII War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations [other_primary]
- Locator
- digitalpasifik.org item 395258; NARA catalog ID 78355322; collection filter 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A wartime action report for this hull exists at NARA College Park: 'USS SC-539 - Act Rep, 1/19/44 to 2/18/44, Marshall Islands' - micro serial 68467, serial 021200, file A12, dated 3/20/1944. Places this hull in the Marshall Islands during the January-February 1944 operations (Kwajalein/Eniwetok window).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-01-19 to 1944-02-18
- Population
- Crew (Jan-Feb 1944, Marshall Islands)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the catalog metadata records the report's existence and coverage window; the document's contents were not retrieved and are undigitized in public sources. catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and could not be fetched directly; metadata transcribed via the Digital Pasifik/DPLA mirror (verified live 2026-10-03). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-05
-
[7]Oral History Interview with Bernard Hollander, June 18, 1997 (National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection, via UNT Portal to Texas History; OH03588; interviewer David Winkler) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Portal to Texas History, metapth1613144, interview transcript p. ~21 (m1/35); item metadata page (collection, accession OH03588)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A veteran oral history names this hull at the Eniwetok operation: Hollander (commanding sister SC-1066 on the same control-vessel work) recalled, 'When it was decided to go to Eniwetok, we were ordered with the SC 539 to do the same job there. On February 15th we sortied from Kwajalein with the Eniwetok Attack Force which was under the command of Admiral Harry Hill. We escorted some tankers and LSTs, and of course, with other ships, we screened them up to Eniwetok.' At the atoll the control vessels marked the line of departure for the 18 February assault on Engebi.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-02
- Population
- Crew (February 1944, Eniwetok)
- Limitations
- Veteran recollection 53 years after the event naming this hull in an operational context - corroborates the NARA action-report window but is an oral history, not an operational record. The interviewee's own ship was SC-1066; SC-539 is named as the companion vessel. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-06
-
[8]Patrol Craft Sailors Association, 'WWII SCs' - 110-foot wood-hull subchaser class specifications, program totals, lend-lease and conversion programs, SC war record (verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ww2pcsa.org/subchaser.html specs table, 'World War II Subchaser Program', 'SCs Lost or Damaged' table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context: 110'10" x 17'11.5", 98-ton wooden hull; two 1,200 bhp Straight-8s or GM pancake diesels; 19 kts; 3 officers + 25 enlisted; wartime program 475 ordered / 438 delivered at ~$500,000 each; SCs performed offshore patrol, ASW, beach-control and air-sea rescue work in every theater. SC-539 appears in neither the victories table nor the lost-or-damaged table (17 SCs lost) - consistent with this hull surviving the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- SC-497-class crews class-wide
- Limitations
- Veterans'-association class compilation, not a primary registry - class-level context only. Absence from the association's casualty table is indicative, not authoritative proof of a damage-free record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (2 x GM-EMD 16-184A diesels, 1,540 bhp, two shafts); HCGL registry (wood hull); ww2pcsa class specs (wooden-hull 110-ft SC); shipbuildinghistory WAVR/yard tables; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150539 specifications; HCGL item/439170 hull-material field; ww2pcsa specs; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel-driven 110-foot submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but her asbestos-relevant systems were narrower than a steel steam vessel's: no boilers, no steam lines, no turbine lagging. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this period were engine and exhaust lagging in the machinery space, machinery gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined wooden hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1993
- Population
- Peterson construction trades (1941-42); Navy crew (1942-45); USCG crew (1945-48); fishing-vessel crews and refit trades (1948-93+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for SC-539. Names era-standard application categories, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity and no manufacturer attribution. The wooden hull means lower lagging demand than steam-driven steel combatants of the same era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (HTTP 403 confirmed 2026-10-03; product-page description)
- 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 (1941-42), Navy service (1942-45), and Coast Guard service (1945-48).
- 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. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-10-03 (product page and full text both blocked) - description per prior-batch documented use and search index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-09
-
[11]NIOSH (Levine & Schott), Walk-through survey report, Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, IWS 74-48 (Nov 1979; survey 15 Dec 1978), CDC Stacks cdc:233468 [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC Stacks cdc:233468 record (abstract, subjects, NIOSHTIC nn:00111214; PDF downloaded and checked)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government documentation of the builder's later-era industrial-hygiene profile: NIOSH surveyed Peterson Builders (SIC-3731, ~731 employees) on 15 December 1978 for a painting-trades health study - indoor paint spraying with poor ventilation, personal respirators in use, no industrial hygiene program. The abstract and keyword set are paint-scoped; asbestos is not in the survey's subject description.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1978-1979
- Population
- Peterson Builders workforce (~731, 1978)
- Limitations
- Yard-level survey 36 years after this hull was built, scoped to paint materials - not an asbestos evaluation and no evidence about 1941-42 conditions. Included to document the full extent of located government hygiene records for the builder; it does not advance or defeat any asbestos claim for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-10
-
[12]Designation cross-check: NavSource timeline ('commissioned USS PC-539... Reclassified SC-539 in September 1942'); Navypedia ('PC539, 9.1942- SC539'); HCGL registry ('Reclassified as SC 539 on April 8, 1943'); shipbuildinghistory SC build table; batch QA re-scope (PC-461-class numbering skips this block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150539 chronology; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_sc_sc.htm; HCGL item/439170 Vessel History; shipbuildinghistory WAVR/SC tables
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (batch re-scope anchor): this hull was commissioned under the designation USS PC-539 on 30 May 1942 but was never a PC-461-class vessel - the PC-461-class numbering sequence skips this block. She was an SC-497-class wooden submarine chaser administratively designated PC at commissioning and reclassified SC-539 shortly after (September 1942 per NavSource/Navypedia; 8 April 1943 per HCGL registry - see gaps). Any source treating 'PC-539' as a 173-foot steel patrol craft is describing a ship that did not exist.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation ambiguity, not a material claim. The reclassification date itself is contested across the three sources (Sept 1942 vs 8 Apr 1943) - unresolved and flagged in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-11
-
[13]Batch-7914 search ledger (this record): NavSource; HCGL/BGSU vessel record; shipbuildinghistory yard + WAVR tables; NARA catalog via Digital Pasifik/DPLA; National Museum of the Pacific War oral history (UNT); ww2pcsa class page; NIOSH CDC Stacks; GAO product page; uboat.net/Navypedia milestone checks; NVR; CourtListener (partially run - see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-539-sc539-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming SC-539, PC-539, Air Crow (WAVR-416), or Linda was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener base queries run this session: 'USS SC-539' opinion = 0 hits; 'USS SC-539' docket = 0 hits; 'SC-539' opinion = 10 hits, ALL name collisions (state-court docket numbers such as '97-SC-539-MR' and 'SC 539' where SC = Supreme Court docket prefix) - no vessel reference, no asbestos case. The final base query ('SC-539' docket) remained fleet-pacing blocked at close of session (see search_ledger). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm listicle content for the SC-497 class asserting asbestos without primary sourcing, 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. The litigation pass is nearly complete but not final - the 'SC-539' docket-side query was throttled by the fleet budget and remains an open lead, not a negative result. Deck logs (RG 24), the 1944 action report (NARA 78355322), USCG cutter records, and any Canadian registry closure file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-539-sc539-12