Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 920-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-sc-655-sc655-pkt-920-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS consolidated entry 'SC-601 - SC-700' (NHHC, live page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'SC-601 - SC-700' consolidated page, SC-655 paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull in DANFS: 'Built at Westergard Boat Works, Biloxi, Miss. Keel laid 10/11/41. Launched 5/12/42. Commissioned 8/8/42. Transferred to France 10/23/44.' The consolidated DANFS entry carries no narrative beyond these milestones and no spec block for individual SC hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Westergard construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific milestones only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not mention the interim PC-655 designation (NavSource supplies it) or any French-service detail. No complement figure in the consolidated entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-655 (ex-PC-655) - designation timeline, specifications, service and transfer, photographic record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150655.htm header timeline, specifications block, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 11 October 1941 by Westergard Boat Works, Biloxi, MS; launched 12 May 1942; commissioned USS PC-655, 8 August 1942; reclassified SC-655 in April 1943; transferred to France 23 October 1944 and reclassified CH-144; fate unknown. Spec block: displacement 148 t.; length 110 ft; beam 17 ft; draft 6 ft 6 in; speed 15.6 kts; complement 28; armament one 40mm mount, two .50-cal machine guns, two depth-charge 'Y guns,' two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 800 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesels with Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Photo record documents SC-655 alongside SC-978 taking on supplies from USS Brooklyn (CL-40) during the invasion of southern France (National Archives photo reproduced from Treadwell, 'Splinter Fleet'). Call sign Nan-William-Sugar-Mike. Page explicitly notes no DANFS history for the hull - superseded by the consolidated DANFS entry located this session (ev-01).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (U.S. service); transfer 1944
- Population
- Westergard construction trades (1941-42); crew of ~28 (1942-44); French crew after 23 Oct 1944
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation; its milestone dates track DANFS and uboat.net where cross-checked (all consistent for this hull). 'Fate unknown' closes its coverage - French-side records carry the disposition question (see ev-11, gaps). No asbestos content. Spec block conflicts with class-level figures (98 t. standard; see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-02
-
[4]NHHC-hosted official Navy Office of Information biography, 'Captain Walter F. V. Bennett, United States Navy' (Internal Relations Division OI-430, 9 December 1968), including his Silver Star citation text [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC modernbios PDF bennett-walter-francis-vincent_Redacted.pdf, second paragraph (duty chronology) and Silver Star citation block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: Walter F. V. Bennett (USNR, later Captain USN) served as Engineering Officer and Executive Officer of USS SC-655, 'assuming command of that submarine chaser in March 1943. Under his command, SC-655 participated in operations in North Africa, the Sicilian occupation and the landings at Salerno.' For the invasion of Italy in September 1943 (Operation Avalanche) he was awarded the Silver Star: he 'skillfully maneuvered his ship at night through enemy mine fields and under enemy air attacks and fire from shore batteries to anchor in an assigned position three thousand yards off the assault beaches,' held station six hours under air attack and shore-battery fire, and guided assault boat waves to their beaching points by searchlight and voice radio. Bennett left SC-655 in May 1944 for USS William C. Cole (DE-641).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Lt.(jg) Walter F. V. Bennett USNR and the SC-655 crew (~28), March 1943 - May 1944
- Limitations
- Personnel/service record, not a material record: establishes a named commanding officer and the hull's North Africa / Sicily / Salerno employment under him, March 1943 - May 1944. The bio calls the vessel 'USS SC-655' throughout, retroactively - Bennett's March 1943 assumption of command technically preceded the April 1943 reclassification (she was PC-655 until then). No asbestos content; no individual-exposure claim made or implied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory.com, Westergard Boat Works (Biloxi, MS) yard table - builder's output list compiled from official records [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Westergard yard table, SC-655 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Westergard Boat Works (Biloxi) production table lists 'SC 655 - US Navy - Sub Chaser - 136d tons - Built 8-Aug-42 - To Free French 1944 as CH 144,' corroborating the builder, the August 1942 completion/commissioning date, and the 1944 French transfer under designation CH-144. Sister Westergard hulls on the same table: SC-497, SC-498, SC-530, SC-531, SC-650, SC-651, SC-654 (SC-497 and SC-498 noted as built at the firm's Rockport, TX yard).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Westergard construction trades (1941-42)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of builder/owner/disposition data; its 'Built' date equals the commissioning date rather than launch. 'To Free French 1944 as CH 144' corroborates but does not detail the French career. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS SC-655 (SC-655), SC-497 class [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8872.html data table and history line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net entry for this hull: built by Westergard Boat Works Inc., Biloxi, Mississippi; ordered 18 September 1941; laid down 11 October 1941; launched 12 May 1942; commissioned 8 August 1942; end of (U.S.) service 23 October 1944; history note 'Transferred to France on 23 October 1944 being renamed Ch-144.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944
- Population
- Westergard construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary database; all dates corroborate DANFS and NavSource for this hull. 'Ordered 18 Sep 1941' is the only source carrying the order date - unverified against a contract record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-05
-
[7]NARA Catalog records for USS SC-655: NAID 192207624 'SC-655, 8/13/42-10/23/44' (RG 24, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 107 images, digitized via Ancestry); NAID 134110397 'War Diary, 1/1/43 to 2/28/43'; NAID 134120372 'War Diary, 3/1-31/43'; NAID 78667998 'War Diary, 1/1/44 to 10/23/44'; NAID 78186135 'Act Rep, Op AVALANCHE' (5 images, dated 10/5/1943); NAID 139737913 'Rep of Ops in the Invasion of Southern France, 8/15-24/44' (9 images) - war diaries and action reports in RG 38, World War II War Diaries series [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/192207624 (RG 24, NAID 594996 series); /id/134110397, /id/134120372, /id/78667998, /id/78186135, /id/139737913 (RG 38, NAID 4697018 series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized primary records exist for this hull at NARA: (a) a muster-roll file unit spanning 13 August 1942 - 23 October 1944 (the entire U.S. commission), documenting crew rosters; (b) war diaries covering January 1943 - October 1944; (c) the ship's own action report for Operation Avalanche (Salerno, September 1943) and (d) her report of operations for the invasion of southern France, 15-24 August 1944 (Operation Dragoon). Page 1 of the Avalanche report (NAID 78186135) was read this session: 'Operations Report of USS SC-655 Operations Avalanche - Uncle Attack Group,' dated 5 October 1943, CO to Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet via Commander Task Unit 85.1.4 / Commander Uncle Attack Group / Commander Naval Forces North African Waters - 'The USS SC-655 was designated as the One and One Half Mile Reference Vessel for Uncle Attack Group - Operation Avalanche,' with a timed narrative of the night approach of 8 September 1943. This matches the Silver Star citation detail in ev-03 (anchor position 3,000 yards off the assault beaches guiding boat waves). The existence of a Dragoon action report independently corroborates the NavSource photo caption placing SC-655 at the southern France landings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- SC-655 crew of ~28 (1942-44), named in muster rolls
- Limitations
- Archival lead: cataloged existence and scope verified live (titles, date ranges, image counts); only page 1 of the Avalanche report was read - the remaining pages of all six file units were not transcribed this session. Muster rolls and war diaries are operational/personnel records - they are not expected to contain material or insulation data and are not asbestos records. The Salerno and southern France reports contain positions and task-unit assignments.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM 8-268A diesels, wooden hull, no steam plant); SC-497-class construction era 1941-44 (438 hulls, 'splinter fleet' wooden subchasers); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150655.htm spec block; SC-497 class references; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled diesel submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but its exposure profile differs sharply from steam combatants: no boilers, no turbines, no steam piping - so no boiler/turbine lagging pathway. Era-typical asbestos applications aboard small diesel combatants were limited to gaskets and valve packing in fuel/cooling systems, electrical insulation and arc-resistant board, and localized engine/exhaust lagging. Any asbestos aboard this hull would have been confined to those fittings within a very small hull volume.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1944 (U.S. era under review)
- Population
- Westergard construction trades (1941-42); crew (1942-44); French crew (1944 onward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for SC-655. Names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. The wooden hull itself was not an asbestos product; any ACM aboard was in mechanical fittings only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-07
-
[9]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 reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos, and compensation programs. Per the product description, 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, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - i.e., asbestos insulation was standard in Navy construction well before this hull's 1941-42 build and remained policy-managed decades later.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (review); era coverage includes 1941-44
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. A 110-foot wooden diesel craft carried far less asbestos-relevant plant than the steam vessels that dominate the GAO record, and this hull left U.S. service in 1944 - the 1975/1979 policy window postdates her entirely. Page retrieved via Firecrawl; gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to plain curl (standing defect, confirmed 2026-10-03).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-08
-
[10]Batch-8029 search ledger (this record): DANFS consolidated page; NavSource; NHHC modernbios PDF; shipbuildinghistory Westergard; uboat.net; NARA catalog (RG 24 muster rolls, RG 38 war diaries/action reports); Wikipedia class articles (cross-check only); anciens-cols-bleus.net French forum (lead only); CourtListener via authenticated helper [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-655-sc655-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material list, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS SC-655 (PC-655 / CH-144) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated, 4 base queries + justified qualified variant): 'SC-655' opinion 2,676 hits and 'SC-655' docket 21,915 hits - every reviewed hit is a docket-number collision (Kentucky/Alabama/Indiana/Tennessee appellate 'SC-XXXXXX' and generic 'sc-' docket series), not vessel litigation; 'PC-655' opinion 2,639 hits and 'PC-655' docket 25,182 hits - all post-conviction/index-number collisions. The asbestos-qualified variant 'SC-655 asbestos' (opinion) returned 72 hits - generic asbestos litigation and incidental collisions; ALL 72 hits classified across 4 pages, zero vessel-related. The hull string is high-collision: SC-655 matches state appellate docket formats. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos content naming this hull beyond the standard law-firm listicle pattern, which is 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. CourtListener search-type coverage: unqualified queries are drowned by docket-number collisions, so a genuine low-volume vessel case could sit below the reviewable surface; the qualified opinion variant (all 72 hits classified) is the effective discrimination; the qualified docket variant's 1,450-hit relevance-ranked tail is unreviewed. The digitized war diaries and muster rolls (ev-06) are unexamined page-by-page; French-side records (SHD Vincennes) are the open lead for the 1944-58 career. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-09
-
[11]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC index (SC-650 through SC-659 all listed 'ex-PC-6xx'); NavSource SC-655 page (commissioned USS PC-655, reclassified SC-655 April 1943); PC-461-class article (secondary) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/01idx.htm index rows; NavSource 12/150655.htm and 12/150656.htm timelines
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: this hull is not and never was a PC-461-class steel patrol craft - the 'USS PC-655' name that appears in NavSource and in any packet keyed to 'PC-655' is an interim hull-designation artifact, not a separate vessel. SC-497-class wooden hulls in the SC-629+ numbering block were initially given PC designations (NavSource's SC index lists SC-650-SC-659 all as 'ex-PC-6xx,' and sister SC-656's page shows the identical pattern: 'commissioned USS PC-656 ... reclassified USS SC-656 in April 1943'). SC-655 commissioned as USS PC-655 on 8 August 1942 and was reclassified SC-655 in April 1943. The PC-461 class's own numbering does not include a 628-669 block. Any source describing a 'USS PC-655' patrol craft of the PC-461 class is conflating two designation families.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation-level confusion, not a material claim. The interim-PC commissioning detail rests on NavSource (secondary compilation) - DANFS lists only 'Commissioned 8/8/42' without a hull-type designation, and no BuShips reclassification directive was located this session. The April 1943 reclassification month is NavSource's figure; the exact date within April is undocumented. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-10
-
[12]anciens-cols-bleus.net (French veterans' naval-history forum), 'Liste des batiments desarmes de la Royale' thread - French-side designation chain for ex-SC-655 [other_primary]
- Locator
- anciens-cols-bleus.net thread t2114p25, posts discussing SC 655 / CH 144 / CH 715 / A 715 / Y 715
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- French secondary sourcing gives SC-655's post-1944 career as: transferred at Toulon 23 October 1944; CH-144; renumbered CH-715 in 1952 - and then splits into two self-conflicting chains: (a) condemned ('condamne') 9 July 1958 with disposal hull number Q 138; or (b) a longer auxiliary chain CH-715 -> P-715 -> M-715 -> A-715 (1 June 1973) -> Y-715 as a degaussing station. The same thread shows the A-715/Y-715 chain may belong to a different ex-SC hull (ex-SC-497/P-724), i.e., the conflict may be a conflation of two chasseurs.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958 (contested to ~1973+)
- Population
- French Navy crew, CH-144/CH-715 (1944-?)
- Limitations
- Forum sourcing - knowledgeable but unverified; the thread itself flags the two chains as contradictory and a third participant attributes the A-715/Y-715 sequence to ex-SC-497 instead. NavSource ends at 'fate unknown.' The authoritative source is J. M. Roche, Dictionnaire des batiments de la flotte de guerre francaise (Vol. II), or SHD Vincennes service records - not accessed this session. Treat the 1958 condemnation as a lead, not a finding. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-655-sc655-11