Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 904-packet.md (6 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-541-sc541-pkt-904-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'SC-501 - SC-600' compilation, SC-541 entry (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'SC-501 - SC-600' page, SC-541 paragraph (between SC-540 and 'SC-542 through SC-600 - Hull numbers not used')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'Built at Robinson Marine Const. Co., Benton Harbor, Mich. Keel laid 8/1/41. Launched 4/11/42. Commissioned 5/6/42. Transferred to Coast Guard 10/31/45.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Robinson Marine construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-45)
- Limitations
- One-line compilation entry only - no service narrative, no PC-541 designation noted, no asbestos or material content. Resolves the transfer date to 31 October 1945 (NavSource carries a 14 July 1945 transfer variant - see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, USCGC Air Drake (WAVR-418) ex-USS SC-541 ex-PC-541 - designation timeline, specifications, CO, disposal (live page verified via firecrawl 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150541.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, CO table, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 1 August 1941 by Robinson Marine Construction Co., Benton Harbor, MI; launched 11 April 1942; 'Delivered 6 May 1942 and commissioned USS PC-541'; 'Reclassified SC-541 in April 1943'; transferred to the Coast Guard 14 July 1945; commissioned USCGC Air Drake (WAVR-418) 31 October 1945; 'Struck from the Naval Register 16 November 1945'; sold 1948 to Thorton and William Lawson of New York as the 123-ton fishing vessel Drake; acquired 1949 by Thomas Lawson and Co. of New York, NY; acquired 1954 by the Frozenat-Sea Corp. of Marathon, FL; sold 1956 to Bahamian ship owner Sir George W. K. Roberts, 'who had brought the two sister ships Air Pheasant, ex-SC-1015 and Air Swift, ex-SC-1340'; 'Sank 29 December 1968 off Cave Cay, Musha Cays and Farmers Cay, in the Exumas, Bahamas.' Spec block: displacement 95 t; length 110'10"; beam 17'; draft 6'6" (fl); speed 21 kts; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, one twin .50 cal MG, two K-guns, 14 depth charges with six single-release chocks, two sets Mk 20 Mousetrap rails with four 7.2" projectiles; propulsion two 1,540 bhp GM EMD 16-184A diesels, two shafts. CO listed: LTJG Oscar L. Otterson, USNR, 6 May 1942. Page captions a National Archives photo 80-G-K-13508 (insignia artwork, circa commissioning).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1968
- Population
- Robinson Marine construction trades (1941-42); Navy crew (1942-45); USCG caretaker/crew (1945-48); merchant crews (1948-68)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but the 14 July 1945 transfer date conflicts with the DANFS 31 October 1945 transfer (see gaps). Its flat 'Sank 29 December 1968' rests on a probable identification of a 'Bahamas Drake' in mailboat research (see ev-06). The page's claim 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-541' is incorrect - the DANFS SC-501-600 compilation carries an entry (ev-01, ev-07). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Air Class Cutters' - official USCG history-office documentation of the WAVR program and the transferred-cutter list (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.uscg.mil Article 2148105, 'AIR CLASS CUTTERS' program paragraph and cutter list (AIR DRAKE entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USCG documentation that this hull became a Coast Guard cutter: 'The Air Class cutters were 70 Navy SC 497-class patrol boats the Coast Guard requested to be permanently transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard for air-sea-rescue duties. Initially, 36 were provided on a loan basis. However, due to a shortage of CG personnel immediately following World War II, few 110-foot SCs became operational and those that did saw little service. Those units placed "in commission in reserve" status were assigned one deck petty officer and one engine-room rate as caretakers.' AIR DRAKE appears in the page's list of 'Air Class' cutters transferred to the Coast Guard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1948
- Population
- USCG caretaker/crew aboard transferred SC hulls (1945-48 window)
- Limitations
- Names AIR DRAKE in the official transfer list - ship-specific to that fact. The program mechanics (loan basis, caretaker status, little operational service) are class-level statements about the Air-class generally, not documented facts of Air Drake's individual USCG employment. The spec block displayed on the page describes a different representative cutter (Dooley's Basin-built) and is not carried for this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS SC-541 (SC-541) - build/milestone table and October 1944 exercise events (sourced to USS Alden war diary); live page verified 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/8844.html specification table and 'Notable events involving SC-541' event list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Milestone table: built by Robinson Marine Construction Co., Benton Harbor, Michigan; ordered 1 April 1941; laid down 1 August 1941; launched 11 April 1942; commissioned 6 May 1942; end service 31 October 1945 - 'Transferred to the United States Coast Guard on 31 October 1945.' Operational record: on 16-17, 19, 22-26, and 28-31 October 1944, USS SC-541 conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama alongside USS Kraken (SS-370), USS Alden (DD-211), USS Mallard (AM-44), and USS SC-687 - twelve exercise days logged, each entry footnoted '(1) War diary of USS Alden for October 1944.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-10
- Population
- SC-541 crew during Gulf of Panama ASW exercises (Oct 1944)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a specialist secondary compilation; the milestone dates corroborate DANFS exactly. The October 1944 exercise entries cite the USS Alden war diary (a NARA primary source) but the diary itself was not inspected this session - carried as a secondary-sourced operational detail and an archival lead (ev-11). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-04
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), Robinson Marine Construction yard table, Benton Harbor MI - yard history and hull list (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory robinsonmi.htm yard intro paragraph and hull-table rows (SC 540, SC 541)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard-table entry for this hull: O.N. 257569, 'SC 541', US Navy, type 'Sub Chaser', 136 GT, 110 ft, delivery 6-May-42, disposition 'To USCG 1945 as Air Drake (WAVR 418), sold as Drake.' Yard history: 'Robinson Marine Construction was started in 1925, by Glen Robinson, who had been treasurer of Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding: it closed in 1960. The yard was on the northeast corner of the industrial island in St. Joseph.' Sister hulls on the same table include SC 540 (O.N. 264843, delivered 22-Apr-42, to USCG as Air Curlew WAVR-417) and a run of SC-64x/75x hulls including transfers to the USSR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Robinson Marine yard trades, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph (1941-45 build window)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Colton's standard yard reference); delivery/ON data consistent with DANFS and NavSource. Merchant documentation details (the 1948 sales chain) are summarized only. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-05
-
[7]Eric Wiberg (Bahamian maritime historian), 'M/V Drake owned by Sir George W. K. Roberts served Rum Cay & San Salvador 1950s/60s' and the 200+ mailboat database - commercial-career documentation for this hull (live pages verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ericwiberg.com 2015/04 Drake article (PAST NAMES / EARLY CAREER / BAHAMAS CAREER / FATE fields); ericwiberg.com 2017/02 mailboat database row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Commercial history of the ex-SC-541 hull: 'USS PC 541 for Patrol Craft, then USS SC 541 for Submarine Chaser, then USCGS Air Drake (WAVR 418)'; O.N. 257569, call sign NBER; 'sold to US Coast Guard 31 October, 1945, sold by them on 2 February 1948' - passing to Thorton & William Lawson of New York as the 123-ton fishing vessel Drake; 1954 to the Crosland Fish Co. of Marathon, FL, based at Key West; 1956 to Bahamian owner Sir George William Kelly Roberts under holding company Richard Campbell Limited of Nassau, which had also acquired sister SC hulls Air Pheasant (ex-SC-1015) and Air Swift (ex-SC-1340); flagged to Nassau. From 1956 through at least 1964 she operated as a government-subsidized mailboat on the Nassau-Rum Cay-San Salvador run (a December 1964 Holiday magazine account describes 'the Drake far south to Rum Cay and San Salvador'). On fate: 'A vessel of similar dimensions but named "Bahamas Drake" is listed as having wrecked and sunk off the Exuma chain on the 29th of December 1968. Probably this was the Drake.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1948-1968
- Population
- Merchant fishing crews (1948-56); Bahamian mailboat crew and island passengers (1956-68)
- Limitations
- Researcher-compiled secondary source (Wiberg, citing Roberts family members and Greg Williams's 'WWII US Navy Vessels in Private Hands'). Conflicts with NavSource on the 1954 buyer (Crosland Fish Co. vs Frozenat-Sea Corp.) and on the wreck identification - Wiberg's own wording is 'probably,' NavSource states the sinking flatly (see gaps). Article mislabels the hull 'CONSTRUCTION: steel' - contradicted by every other source and by the class's wooden-hull definition; treated as a transcription slip. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-06
-
[8]Designation-sequence cross-check: NavSource SC-541 timeline ('commissioned USS PC-541... reclassified SC-541 in April 1943'); navypedia SC-497-class table ('PC541, 9.1942- SC541'); DANFS SC-501-600 compilation (SC-541 entry only); NavSource SC-497 page (same PC->SC April 1943 pattern); Wikipedia USS SC-497 (commissioned as PC-497) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150541.htm header + timeline; navypedia us_sc_sc.htm table row 'PC541, 9.1942- SC541'; DANFS sc-501-sc-600v1.html; NavSource 12/150497.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (designation nuance): The batch scope note 'PC-541 never existed as a PC vessel' is correct as to vessel type - this hull was never a steel PC-461-class patrol craft; the PC-461 numbering block skips 541. But NavSource documents that the hull was delivered and commissioned under the designation USS PC-541 on 6 May 1942 and reclassified SC-541 in April 1943; navypedia carries the same PC->SC sequence dated September 1942; the DANFS compilation lists her only as SC-541. The consistent multi-hull pattern (SC-497, SC-540, et al. commissioned as PC hulls, reclassified to SC) supports the NavSource sequence. ALSO CORRECTED: NavSource's 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-541' is wrong - the DANFS SC-501-600 compilation carries a one-line SC-541 entry (ev-01).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Resolves a scoping nuance, not a material claim. The reclassification month is unresolved between NavSource's April 1943 (consistent across its SC pages) and navypedia's September 1942 - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS/NavSource/uboat.net construction data (wooden-hulled SC-497-class, built 1941-42, Robinson Marine); NavSource spec block (2 x GM EMD 16-184A diesels, two shafts); PCSA class data (wood hull, diesel plant); GAO HRD-80-2 program-level asbestos-era documentation (see ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; PCSA ww2pcsa.org/subchaser.html class table; navypedia machinery table
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled, diesel-powered submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type were diesel-engine and exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, and electrical insulation in a small, confined engine room. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging and extensive steam-line insulation pathways of larger vessels do not apply, and the wooden hull itself required no spray-on structural fireproofing typical of steel construction; any asbestos aboard would have been limited to machinery-space and equipment applications.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1968
- Population
- Robinson Marine construction trades (1941-42); Navy crew of ~28 (1942-45); USCG crew/caretakers (1945-48); later merchant crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, builder spec sheet, or work package located for SC-541. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The smaller wooden diesel craft plausibly carried materially less asbestos than steel steam vessels of the era, but the direction and magnitude of any difference is unverified for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (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 (1941-42) and U.S. service era (1942-48).
- 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, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-09
-
[11]Batch-7916 search ledger (this record): DANFS compilation; USCG Historian's Office Air-class page; NavSource; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory yard table; Wiberg mailboat research; navypedia; PCSA class page; NVR check; NARA lead; Wikipedia check; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-541-01 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 USS SC-541 / PC-541 / USCGC Air Drake (WAVR-418) / Drake (O.N. 257569) was found in the public sources searched. CAVEATS: (1) CourtListener could not be queried this session - repeated attempts through the authenticated helper returned the fleet-pacing stand-down (hourly ~58/hr shared budget momentarily spent across sessions; seven spaced attempts over ~55 minutes, all exit-2); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. (2) The hull number 'SC-541' collides heavily with South Carolina reporter citations ('S.C. 541') in full-text search - every such hit is a name collision, not a vessel reference; a secondary web sweep surfaced no qualifying case. (3) The only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing listicles asserting asbestos on every Navy hull 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (fleet-paced, never run). Deck logs, builder work packages, USCG cutter files, and any commercial-survey records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-10
-
[12]Archival leads: NARA photo 80-G-K-13508 (NavSource-captioned, NHHC-sourced, commissioning-era insignia artwork); NARA RG 24 deck logs for PC-541/SC-541 (1942-45); USS Alden (DD-211) war diary for October 1944 (primary source behind the uboat.net exercise entries); Robinson Marine Construction Co. records at Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource photo caption (80-G-K-13508); uboat.net source footnote (Alden war diary); greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/463656 (Robinson Marine Construction Co. collection record)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Undigitized primary records exist that name or cover this hull: (1) NARA photo 80-G-K-13508 - 'Artist adds finishing touches to the ship's insignia, at about the time of her commissioning in May 1942' (NavSource caption crediting NHHC/National Archives). (2) WWII deck logs for PC-541/SC-541 in RG 24 at NARA College Park - the repository of record for this era's logs. (3) The war diary of USS Alden for October 1944 is the cited source for the eleven Gulf of Panama exercise entries naming SC-541. (4) The Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (BGSU) holds a Robinson Marine Construction Co. collection - builder-side records potentially covering this hull's construction.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - none of these records was inspected. The NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be searched from this session (v1 API returned HTML shell; v2 requires key); deck-log existence for this specific hull is inferred from the RG 24 series' coverage, not confirmed by catalog record. The BGSU collection's contents for SC-hull contracts are unverified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-541-11