Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-634 (ex-PC-634) - milestone chain, specifications, Soviet-service disposition; call sign NWON [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150634.htm header block, SC-497-class data block, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 27 April 1942 by Mathis Yacht Co., Camden, NJ; launched 10 July 1942; commissioned USS PC-634, 26 September 1942; reclassified SC-634 in April 1943; transferred to the Soviet Union 9 June 1945 and reclassified BO-309; assigned to the (Soviet) Pacific Fleet 22 June 1945; placed out of service 18 December 1954; reclassified a training ship 31 July 1955 and named Icha; placed out of service 7 October 1955 and scrapped. Spec block: 148 t.; 110'10" x 17' x 6'6"; 21 kts.; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, two .50-cal MGs, two Y-gun depth-charge projectors, two depth-charge tracks; two 1,540 bhp GM (Electro-Motive Div.) 16-184A diesels, two shafts. Page states 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-634.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Mathis Camden construction trades (1942); crew 1942-45 (28); Soviet crew 1945-55
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official data but the 9 June 1945 transfer date conflicts with the NHHC-published Project Hula table's 10 June (carried in ev-02; see gaps). Page verified live 2026-10-03. Contains no asbestos content. Soviet-side granular dates (Pacific Fleet assignment, 1954 out-of-service, Icha naming, 1955 scrapping) rest on this single compilation; consistent with Russell's '1955-stricken' at the endpoint only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-01
-
[2]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan' (Washington: Naval Historical Center, Dept. of the Navy, 1997), Appendix: U.S. Navy Combatant Ships Transferred to the USSR Under Project HULA, May-September 1945, p. 40 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix table, p. 40 (SC block, right column); designation key p. 40 note
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-published Project Hula transfer appendix records for this hull: 'SC634 | BO-309 | 10 June | 1955-stricken' - U.S. designation SC-634, Soviet designation BO-309 (BO = bolshiye okhotniki za povodnimi lodkami, 'large hunters for submarines'), transfer date 10 June (1945), disposition 1955-stricken. SC-634 was one of five subchasers in the 10 June transfer group (with SC-500, SC-675, SC-1295, SC-1324) and one of 32 SCs transferred at Cold Bay under Project Hula; the table's stated sources are Ships' Data: U.S. Naval Vessels vol. II, 1 Jan 1949 (NAVSHIPS 250-012) and S. S. Berezhnoi's Soviet Navy lend-lease reference (1994).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1955
- Population
- Soviet Navy receiving crews and subsequent operators (1945-55)
- Limitations
- Transfer-table entry, not a ship history: establishes transfer date, Soviet designation, and 1955 striking only - no operational detail and no material/asbestos content. 'Stricken' here is the Soviet disposition; the U.S.-side Naval Vessel Register strike date for this lend-lease hull was not located. Full PDF verified live 2026-10-03 (ibiblio mirror of the NHHC publication).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-02
-
[3]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula' (Naval Historical Center, 1997), narrative pp. 19-21 and program background [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Narrative pp. 19-21 (convoy departures, routing, subchaser-program difficulties)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program context for the transfer: Navy Detachment 3294 (CDR William S. Maxwell) ran the secret transfer/training program at Cold Bay/Fort Randall, Alaska; in 142 days it transferred 149 ships. Transferred vessels convoyed through Unimak Pass and coastwise along the northern Aleutians to Adak for servicing, then proceeded independently to Petropavlovsk. The wooden-hulled subchaser program was its problem child: shoddy repair work and supply shortages in Seattle (where the boats were prepared) caused major delays, wooden hulls suffered damage en route, nine subchasers required 400-mile round trips to Dutch Harbor for major repairs, and Maxwell substituted 13th Naval District subchasers for unsatisfactory hulls to keep the schedule. Convoy groups departed 28 May, 30 May, 7 June and 11 June; SC-634's 10 June transfer group departed in this window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- April-September 1945
- Population
- Soviet trainees (~15,000 planned); USN Detachment 3294 personnel
- Limitations
- Program-level narrative: does not name SC-634 outside the appendix table. Convoy departure dates in the narrative (e.g., fourth convoy 11 June) are the sailing dates, distinct from the appendix's transfer dates. Whether SC-634 was an originally-scheduled hull or a 13th Naval District substitute is not documented in the located text. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-03
-
[4]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton yard tables), Mathis Yacht Building, Camden & Gloucester City NJ - hull list row 261 [other_primary]
- Locator
- trumpynj.html, 'Built in Camden by Mathis Yacht Building' table, hull rows 257-262
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard-table corroboration: Mathis Camden hull number 261 = SC-634, US Navy subchaser, 148 tons, 110 ft, completed 26 September 1942, disposition 'to the USSR 1945 as BO-309'. The same table shows the Mathis SC block: SC-630 (hull 257), SC-631 (258), SC-632 (259, sunk off Okinawa 1945), SC-633 (260, destroyed 1946), SC-634 (261), SC-635 (262, to USCG as Air Eider WAVR-419).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Mathis Camden construction trades (1942)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-history compilation (Tim Colton's shipbuildinghistory), corroborative rather than primary. Confirms builder, tonnage/length, completion date, and Soviet designation; contains no asbestos content. Page verified live 2026-10-03.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-04
-
[5]NARA, Record Group 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel), series 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (1 Jan 1939 - 1 Jan 1949), file unit 'SC-634, 9/26/42-6/9/45', NAID 192703844 - 174 digitized images (Ancestry partnership), access unrestricted [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 192703844 (RG 24, Muster Rolls series NAID 594996)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized personnel records exist for this hull's entire U.S. career: 174 images of muster rolls covering 26 September 1942 (commissioning) through 9 June 1945 (eve of transfer) - quarter-by-quarter rosters naming the crew population aboard. The file-unit's end date (6/9/45) is consistent with the June 1945 transfer window. Not yet transcribed (0/174).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Full USN crew complement 1942-45 (28 per spec block, rostered by name in the rolls)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the images were not transcribed this session - locations, stations, and movements the rolls record were not extracted. Muster rolls document personnel, not materials; they establish who was aboard (population documentation), not what was aboard. No asbestos content expected or found.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-05
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS SC-634 (SC-634) warship record - order/build dates and end-of-service date [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/8851.html record block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary corroboration adding the order date: ordered 30 July 1941; built by Mathis Yacht Building Co., Camden NJ; laid down 27 April 1942; launched 10 July 1942; commissioned 26 September 1942; end service 10 June 1945 - 'Transferred to the USSR on 10 June 1945.' The 10 June transfer date agrees with the NHHC Project Hula appendix against NavSource's 9 June.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a reputable secondary reference, not a primary registry; no commands or operational events are listed for this hull. Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live 2026-10-03.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-06
-
[7]HyperWar, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' (USN ship-listing compilation), SC Submarine Chasers (Wooden Hull) table - row 'SC-634 | 1942-44 | Lend-Lease to USSR' [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-sc.html, SC table rows SC-628-648
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's 1940-1945 ship listing (HyperWar transcription) independently carries this hull: 'SC-634 | 1942-44 | Lend-Lease to USSR' under the wooden-hulled SC (subchaser) category - corroborating service window, wooden-hull class identity, and lend-lease destination. Neighboring rows show the Mathis-block pattern: SC-638/639 to France, SC-643 and SC-646/647 to USSR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Limitations
- List-level corroboration only - service window '1942-44' is the class-level listing convention and does not contradict the documented June 1945 transfer. Confirms category (wooden hull, lend-lease) but contains no material content. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-07
-
[8]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC-634 page ('Commissioned USS PC-634, 26 September 1942; Reclassified SC-634 in April 1943'); sister-hull NavSource pages SC-633 ('Commissioned USS PC-633, 9 September 1942; Reclassified SC-633 in April 1943') and SC-635 ('Delivered 23 October 1942 and commissioned USS PC-635; Reclassified SC-635 in April 1943'); SC-497 class-lead page (same PC->SC April 1943 pattern); batch-8009 research-QA note (PC-461-class numbering skips this block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150634.htm, 12/150633.htm, 12/150635.htm, 12/150497.htm data blocks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/nuance on the PC-634 designation: no steel-hulled PC-461-class patrol craft ever held PC-634 - the PC-461 numbering skips the block that became the SC-497-class wooden subchasers. But NavSource documents that THIS hull commissioned 26 September 1942 under the designation USS PC-634 and was reclassified SC-634 in April 1943 - the documented class-wide pattern for early 110-foot subchasers (sisters SC-633, SC-635, and class-lead SC-497 show the identical sequence). One hull, two designations: it was never a steel PC, but the wooden subchaser briefly wore the PC designation before the April 1943 SC reclassification.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a scope ambiguity, not a material claim. The 'commissioned as PC-634' detail rests on NavSource (consistent across sister hulls); a Ships' Data or BUSHIPS confirmation was not located this session. Either way the vessel identity is unchanged: one wooden SC-497-class hull, unnamed throughout.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM EMD 16-184A diesels, 2 shafts; wooden SC-497 class); HyperWar 'SC Submarine Chasers (Wooden Hull)' category; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-insulation documentation (see ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150634.htm spec block; HyperWar ships-sc.html category header; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 110-foot, wooden-hulled, diesel-powered submarine chaser of 1942 carried the era's standard small-craft material set: diesel engine and exhaust-system insulation/lagging, machinery gaskets, valve and pump packing, electrical and wiring insulation, and possibly asbestos-cement sheet (Marinite-type board) in the machinery space. The construction profile limits the inference: no steam plant (no boiler/turbine lagging), wooden rather than steel structure, and a 28-man crew in a 148-ton hull - asbestos content, where present, was machinery-space material in modest quantity, not the ship-wide thermal systems of steam vessels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Mathis Camden construction trades (1942); USN crew 1942-45 (28); Soviet crew 1945-55; Seattle/Dutch Harbor repair trades pre-transfer (1945)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for SC-634, and none for the SC-497 class generally. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The wooden/diesel platform means even era-consistent content was small relative to steam combatants; absence of ship-specific documentation is especially pronounced for unnamed small craft.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-09
-
[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 (1942) and entire service era (1942-55).
- 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 - and its 'aboard ships' framing concerns the fleet's thermal-insulation practice, which applies weakly to a wooden diesel subchaser with no steam plant. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing defect since Batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-10
-
[11]Batch-8009 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull and sister pages; NHHC-published Project Hula appendix and narrative; shipbuildinghistory Mathis yard table; uboat.net; HyperWar USN ship listing; NARA catalog (muster rolls); NVR; NJDEP Camden Ship Repair complaint; CourtListener (3 of 4 base queries complete); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-634-sc634-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material list, or docketed litigation naming SC-634/PC-634 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener: 'SC-634' opinion and docket queries each returned 15 hits, ALL name collisions (KY 'SC-###-MR' docket numbers, GA/MI/CA4 fragments, bankruptcies, agency suits - none naming the vessel, none asbestos-related); 'USS SC-634' opinion query returned count 0; 'USS SC-634' docket query pending at write time (logically bounded - its hits are a subset of the already-classified 'SC-634' docket hits). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific asbestos claims at all for this obscure hull - only generic law-firm marketing pages on WWII Navy vessels and the Mathis yard (mesowatch et al.), excluded by source policy. The NJDEP enforcement complaint for the successor Camden Ship Repair site (75 Erie St) documents PCB/PHC/metal contamination with zero asbestos mentions.
- 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 - but this hull's profile (110 ft, wooden, diesel, 28-man crew, Soviet-scrapped 1955) makes both documentation and claimant populations thin by structure. The one incomplete CourtListener cell ('USS SC-634' docket) is bounded: any hit it could return is a subset of the 'SC-634' docket hits already fully classified as non-vessel collisions. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-634-sc634-11