Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 918-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (thin sourcing, disclosed)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (thin sourcing, disclosed)
- Evidence ID
- uss-sc-638-sc638-pkt-918-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-638 page - milestone timeline, specifications, commanding officer, call sign (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150638.htm header block, SC-497 Class specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down 11 August 1941 by Elizabeth City Shipyards, Elizabeth City, NC; launched 20 December 1941; commissioned USS PC-638 27 June 1942; reclassified SC-638 in April 1943; 'served the Navies of the United States and France' - transferred to France 27 September 1944 and reclassified CH-116; sunk by mine September 1945. Call sign Nan-William-Peter-Jig. Commanding officer: LTJG Jules J. Jordy, USNR (1942). Specifications: displacement 148 t.; length 110'10"; beam 17'; draft 6'6"; speed 15.6 kts.; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, two .50 cal. machine guns, two depth-charge projector 'Y Guns,' two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Page states no DANFS history is available for SC-638.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Elizabeth City Shipyards construction trades (1941-42); U.S. crew (1942-44); Free French/French Navy crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track Navy records but carry no primary citation per fact, and its 'September 1945' loss date conflicts with three secondary sources giving 21 August 1945 (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archives, 'The PC-496 Lived Again' - survivor account researched by Chief John J. Brown, USN Ret., written by Carter Barber, submitted by Bob Daly/PC-1181 (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03); companion PC-496 page at https://www.navsource.net/archives/12/010496.htm [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/010496p.htm rescue paragraph; NavSource 12/010496.htm header block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented operational event for this hull: on 4 June 1943 USS PC-496 (PC-461 class) was sunk by an underwater explosion about eight miles off Bizerte, Tunisia; five of her crew of five officers and fifty men perished and she sank by the stern in less than one minute. 'Other escort and patrolling vessels began to pick them up, including two SCs, 638 and 639. In time, all reached the French naval base at La Pecherie, at Lake Bizerte, Tunisia.' The companion NavSource PC-496 page dates the loss 4 June 1943 and reports the cause as 'torpedoed and sunk by an Italian submarine'; the survivor article notes the Navy 'variously reported' underwater explosions and that survivors Brown and Barber remembered a single explosion, 'probably a mine,' with the Italian-submarine torpedo story heard later.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-06-04
- Population
- SC-638 crew (June 1943); PC-496 survivors recovered (50 of a 55-man crew - 5 officers + 50 men, 5 lost, per the account); SC-639 crew (parallel)
- Limitations
- Survivor-account journalism hosted on a volunteer archive, not an official action report - it establishes that SC-638 was operating off Bizerte on 4 June 1943 and helped recover PC-496's crew, but details of the sinking cause remain disputed (mine vs Italian submarine torpedo - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-02
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[4]Navypedia, 'CH5 submarine chasers (1942-1943 / 1943-1951)' - French-service table and naval-service note; corroborated by uswarships.jounin.jp SC-497 tabulation and Shipbuilding History Elizabeth City yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia.org/ships/france/fr_es_sc.htm CH116 row + naval-service note; uswarships.jounin.jp/sc2_sc-497_1.htm SC-638 row; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-emer-small/elizabeth SC-638 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French-service record for this hull: 'Ch116 (ex-SC638, ex-PC638) ... Elizabeth City, USA ... 6.1942 // 9.1944 ... sunk 21.8.1945' and 'Ch116 was lost on a mine 21.8.1945' - the boat was among the US-built 110-foot submarine chasers 'transferred to France by lend-lease in 1943-1944.' The jounin.jp tabulation independently lists SC-638 (Elizabeth City Shipyards, commissioned 27 June 1942): reclassified SC-638 (wooden hull) 1943/4, lent to France 27 September 1944 as CH 116, sunk by mine 21 August 1945. Shipbuilding History's Elizabeth City yard table records: 'SC-638 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 27 Jun 1942 | to Free French 1944 as CH-116, sunk by mine Aug-45.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Free French/French Navy crew of CH-116 (September 1944 - August 1945)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations corroborating the NavSource milestone line; the 21 August 1945 loss date (three sources) conflicts with NavSource's 'September 1945' and neither side cites a French primary record - conflict carried in gaps. Sinking location not stated by any source consulted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton), 'Elizabeth City Shipyard, Elizabeth City NC' - yard history and complete WWII build table (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-emer-small/elizabeth yard narrative + SC-638/SC-639 table rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder documentation for this hull: the Elizabeth City Shipyard - 'originally a division of the Elizabeth City Iron Works and Supply Company, formed in 1914 from the merger of the T. B. Hayman and E. S. Willey shipyards... continued as a repair yard after the war but closed in the mid-1960s' - built 33 SC-497-class subchasers for the U.S. Navy in WWII, including SC-638 (delivered 27 June 1942, 136 tons light, 110 ft, 'to Free French 1944 as CH-116, sunk by mine Aug-45') and her Bizerte-rescue sister SC-639 (delivered 22 June 1942, 'to Free French 1944 as CH-93, scrapped 1965').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Elizabeth City Shipyard construction trades (1941-44 build program)
- Limitations
- Secondary yard-history compilation - delivery table consistent with NavSource milestones but lists displacement 136 t. vs NavSource's 148 t. (variant in gaps). Establishes builder identity and delivery date; no asbestos, material, or worker-exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section (full report hrd-80-2.pdf blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships, reviewed the use of asbestos in Navy ships and the cost of removing it, and found 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 - meaning asbestos remained standard through this hull's entire build (1941-42) and U.S./French service era (1942-45); substitution of alternative materials did not begin until the early 1970s.
- 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. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither touched this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov assets endpoint returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page highlights.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-05
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[7]Era inference built on: NavSource SC-638 specifications (2 x 880bhp GM 8-268A diesels, 2 shafts, wooden hull - SC-497 class); Shipbuilding History Elizabeth City build table; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era context (ev-05); SC-497 class profile (438 wooden-hulled 110-footers built at ~50 small yards 1941-44) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150638 specifications block; shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net Elizabeth City table; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel-powered combatant of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined machinery space. As a wooden diesel boat she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and her small size limits insulation surface area, but the confined-space exposure dynamic of engine-room work applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Elizabeth City Shipyards construction trades (1941-42); U.S. crew (1942-44); French crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package exists or can exist (hull lost 1945). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-06
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[8]Batch-8013 search ledger (this record): NavSource SC-638 and PC-496 pages; NHHC DANFS candidate URLs; NVR; Navypedia US/France tables; Shipbuilding History yard table; jounin.jp tabulation; GAO HRD-80-2; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4 (4 base queries run 2026-10-03 - all name collisions or empty); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-638-sc638-01 through sl-uss-sc-638-sc638-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming SC-638/PC-638/CH-116 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searched 2026-10-03 (4 base queries, authenticated, paced): "SC-638" opinions returned 4 hits - all Kentucky/Indiana docket-number collisions (e.g. 2018-SC-000638-WC), zero naming a vessel; "SC-638" dockets returned 18 hits - all unrelated civil/bankruptcy/patent dockets; "PC-638" opinions returned 0; "PC-638" dockets returned 14 - all unrelated civil/bankruptcy noise. No qualifying case. Structurally, no ship-specific asbestos documentation can exist in the usual forms: the hull was transferred to France in 1944 and sunk by a mine in August/September 1945, so there is no surviving hull, no postwar overhaul or museum record, no donation disclosure, and no documented shipbreaking for this vessel. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos marketing content naming this specific hull.
- 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 - era inference remains. For this hull the negative finding is stronger than usual: loss on active service forecloses the documentation pathways (museum stewardship, shipbreaking contracts, modern surveys) that generate asbestos records on surviving hulls. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-07
-
[9]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC-638 page ('ex-PC-638'; 'Commissioned USS PC-638, 27 June 1942; Reclassified SC-638 in April 1943'); Navypedia US SC table ('PC638, 9.1942- SC638'); jounin.jp tabulation (reclassified 1943/4) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150638.htm designation line; navypedia.org/ships/usa/us_sc_sc.htm PC638 row; uswarships.jounin.jp/sc2_sc-497_1.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: 'PC-638' did not exist as a PC-461-class patrol craft. The PC-461-class numbering skips the 628-669 block - those numbers were assigned to 110-foot SC-497-class wooden hulls that were commissioned under PC designations and later reclassified to SC numbers. This hull commissioned as USS PC-638 on 27 June 1942 and was reclassified SC-638 (April 1943 per NavSource and jounin.jp; September 1942 per the Navypedia class table - conflict in gaps). Any record or citation to a 'PC-638' patrol craft should resolve to this SC-497-class hull, not to a PC-461-class vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation-system ambiguity, not a material claim. The reclassification date itself is in conflict across secondary sources (April 1943 vs September 1942); the April 1943 date is carried with the variant logged. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-638-sc638-08