Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[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-656-sc656-pkt-920-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, SC-601 - SC-700 compilation, SC-656 entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SC-601 - SC-700 page, SC-656 paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records SC-656 as built at Snow Shipyards Inc., Rockland, Maine; keel laid 6 December 1941; launched 2 May 1942; commissioned 11 August 1942; and transferred to the Coast Guard on 17 January 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Snow Shipyards construction trades; Navy crew; Coast Guard crew
- Limitations
- Ship-specific construction and transfer milestones only. The short DANFS entry contains no asbestos information, no service narrative, no PC-656 designation detail, and no Coast Guard disposition detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, USCGC Air Finch (WAVR-422) ex-USS SC-656 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- SC-656 page, timeline and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records SC-656 as laid down 6 December 1941 by Snow Shipyards Inc., Rockland, Maine; launched 2 May 1942; delivered 11 August 1942 and commissioned USS PC-656; reclassified USS SC-656 in April 1943; transferred to the Coast Guard 17 January 1946 and commissioned USCGC Air Finch (WAVR-422); struck from the Naval Register 7 February 1946; and sold 23 January 1948, fate unknown. Its specification block lists 92 tons displacement, 110 ft 10 in length, 17 ft 9 in beam, 6 ft 6 in draft, 21 knots, complement 28, armament of one 40mm gun mount, two .50-caliber machine guns, two depth-charge projector Y guns and two depth-charge tracks, and two 1,540-bhp General Motors (Electro-Motive Division) 16-184A diesel engines on two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Navy crew (commissioning, wartime service); Coast Guard crew; disposal workforce
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photographic archive compiled from official records; it is the sole located source for the PC-656-to-SC-656 designation sequence, the Naval Register strike date, and the specification block. No asbestos information; 'fate unknown' leaves post-sale disposition open.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, SC-656 timeline (designation sequence) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SC-656 page, timeline entries
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records the hull as delivered and commissioned USS PC-656 on 11 August 1942 and reclassified USS SC-656 in April 1943. The hull was an SC-497-class 110-foot wooden submarine chaser throughout; the brief PC-656 designation was administrative and the hull was never a PC-461-class steel patrol craft.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Limitations
- The designation sequence rests on NavSource alone; DANFS carries the hull only under SC-656 and does not mention the PC-656 designation. Recorded to correct file-name-level references that treat 'PC-656' as a distinct patrol craft.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-03
-
[5]HyperWar/ibiblio transcription, Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Submarine Chasers, SC-497 class listing [other_primary]
- Locator
- SC-497 class table, SC-656 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The transcribed official U.S. Navy 1940-1945 ship listing places SC-656 in naval service for 1942-1944 and carries no lend-lease transfer notation for the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Navy crew, 1942-1944
- Limitations
- A listing-level row: it establishes the U.S. Navy service window and absence of a foreign transfer, but gives no operational detail, no location, and no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-04
-
[6]James T. Flynn Jr., U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Craft - Major Classes 100-feet to 150 feet in Length, 1915 to 2012, Part 1 (Coast Guard-hosted PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Part 1, '110-foot World War II SC's - Air Class WAVR's' section, WAVR-422 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Coast Guard-hosted patrol-craft table identifies WAVR-422 Air Finch as ex-SC-656, entering Coast Guard service on 17 January 1946 and sold on 23 January 1948. The accompanying text describes the Air-class WAVR program: surplus 110-foot Navy submarine chasers were stripped of armament for off-shore air-rescue duty, most were placed 'in commission in reserve' with two-man caretaker crews because of the postwar personnel shortage, and all 70 WAVRs were decommissioned by 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946-1948
- Population
- Coast Guard air-sea-rescue personnel; sale/disposal workforce
- Limitations
- A Coast Guard-hosted historical compilation, not a Navy commissioning record. It does not describe the sale buyer, later ownership, vessel condition, whether Air Finch entered full or only reserve service, or asbestos materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-05
-
[7]National Archives, The Unwritten Record, 'Spotlight: Submarine Chasers' (26 April 2016) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA article text; 110-foot submarine chaser discussion and RG 19 drawing references
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA describes the 110-foot submarine chaser type as a wooden-hulled design and states that an improved wooden 110-foot SC was put into production for World War II; it gives tight-quarters crew context of two officers and 24 men for the type and points to RG 19 engineering drawings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- SC-type construction trades and crews
- Limitations
- Type-level construction and crew context, not a record of SC-656's individual plans, complement, or materials; the crew figure is drawn from the World War I-era design discussion. The NARA article does not mention asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-06
-
[8]U.S. Government Accountability Office, Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page highlights
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy use of asbestos in ships and reported that the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs; the policy was modified in 1979 to include selectively replacing asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and shipboard maintenance personnel
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy evidence, not hull-specific and not evidence that SC-656 contained asbestos. GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Snow Shipyards. It supports era context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-07
-
[9]GAO HRD-80-2 full report, shipboard asbestos applications discussion [gao]
- Locator
- Full report, enclosure discussion of shipboard applications
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO's shipboard-applications discussion identifies thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping systems as the major shipboard asbestos application, and notes asbestos in piping-system gaskets and packing, electric cabling, equipment brakes and clutches, deck tile, galley ranges, and certain electronic resistors - with a few shipboard applications lacking asbestos-free substitutes at the time.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipboard and shipyard workers
- Limitations
- The report describes Navy shipboard practice at program level and does not identify SC-656, its builder, its engines, or any installed product. It cannot establish asbestos aboard this hull or quantify material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-08
-
[10]Class/era inference from NHHC DANFS ship type, NavSource specification block, NARA wooden 110-foot SC description, and GAO HRD-80-2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Derived from the ship-specific DANFS identity and NavSource specification block plus NARA type description and GAO shipboard-application context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- SC-656 was a wooden, diesel-powered 110-foot submarine chaser rather than a steam-powered vessel. Accordingly, possible era-standard applications are limited to small-craft machinery/exhaust insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and similar components; boiler, turbine, and steam-line lagging pathways do not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Construction trades and Navy/Coast Guard crews, 1941-1948
- Limitations
- Inference only. No SC-656 material list, asbestos survey, construction specification, abatement record, or primary engine-insulation record was located. These are possible applications, not confirmed products aboard this hull and not a quantity estimate.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-09
-
[11]Batch 8030 source and litigation sweep ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-sc-656-sc656-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the authoritative sources searched: no SC-656 asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or ship-specific asbestos litigation record was found. The public record located documents identity, construction, U.S. Navy service window, Coast Guard transfer as WAVR-422 Air Finch, and disposal, not asbestos aboard the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03 research session
- Limitations
- A negative finding is limited to the sources and searches completed; it does not prove absence of asbestos. CourtListener work was blocked by the fleet pacing limiter before a result was returned for the first base query; the other three required base queries were stood down and remain open gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-656-sc656-10