Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[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-657-sc657-pkt-920-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-657 (ex-PC-657) - construction timeline, designation history, Soviet service summary, specification block (verified live; navsource.org domain is dead - .net is canonical) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150657.htm header block, timeline list, specification block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down 20 December 1941 by Snow Shipyards, Inc., Rockland, ME; launched 22 June 1942; commissioned USS PC-657 9 September 1942; reclassified SC-657 April 1943; 'Transferred to the Soviet Union 25 May 1945 and reclassified BO-307'; assigned to the Soviet Pacific Fleet 17 June 1945; 'Participated in the landing in Seisin (Chongjin), Japan 14 August 1945'; placed out of service 1 February 1954 and scrapped. Call sign Nan-William-Sugar-Victor. Spec block: 92 t.; 110'10"; 17' beam; 6'6" draft; 21 kts.; complement 28; one 40mm mount, two .50 cal MG, two Y-guns, two DC tracks; two 1,540 bhp GM (EMD) 16-184A diesels, two shafts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1954
- Population
- Snow Shipyards construction workers (1941-42); U.S. Navy crew (1942-45); Soviet crew (1945-54); dismantlers (post-1954)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official records but are unverified line-by-line. Its 'Transferred 25 May 1945' conflicts with the NHHC transfer-table date 5 June 1945 (the 25 May figure matches the Soviet crew-acceptance date in Russian-side references - see ev-09). The spec block is the printed class-standard block; hull-specific engine fit (16-184A vs 8-268A) is unverified. 'Seisin (Chongjin), Japan' is a geographic mislabel - Chongjin/Seishin is in northern Korea; the landing claim itself rests on Russian-side secondary references. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-01
-
[3]Richard A. Russell, Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1997) - appendix transfer table and Soviet-designation glossary (full text via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the NHHC publication) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Appendix 'Ships Transferred under Project Hula,' transfer table p. 39 (SC657/B0-307 row); designation glossary p. 40; table framing note on transfer-day decommissioning
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC official transfer table for this hull: 'SC657 | B0-307 | 5 June | 1954-stricken' - transferred to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay on 5 June 1945 as BO-307, Soviet disposition 1954-stricken. Per the table's framing, the U.S. Navy decommissioned each ship on the day of transfer and the Soviet Navy simultaneously commissioned it; no Hula ship received a Soviet name. Glossary: BO = 'bolshiye okhotniki za povodnimi lodkami - large hunters for submarines.' Appendix sources: Department of the Navy Ships Data NAVSHIPS 250-012 (vol. II, 1 Jan 1949) and S. S. Berezhnoi, Flot SSSR lendl-iza reference (1994).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1954
- Population
- U.S. Navy decommissioning detail and Soviet acceptance crew, Cold Bay (June 1945)
- Limitations
- Official Navy historical publication compiled from U.S. and Russian archives - the authoritative U.S.-side transfer record; names this hull in a program table, not a ship dossier. '1954-stricken' is the Soviet-side disposition line; NavSource/Russian references give 1 February 1954 removal from the combat list, mothballing, then dismantling - consistent, not contradictory. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-02
-
[4]Russell, Project Hula (NHHC 1997) - program narrative: subchaser training at Cold Bay, wooden-hull damage and Dutch Harbor repair trips, equipment shortages, convoy departures and routing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Project Hula pp. 18-21 (damage/repair narrative, convoy departures and routing), pp. 10-11 (Soviet contingent organization)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Program-level documentation of the conditions under which this hull left U.S. service: Soviet trainees (16th Minesweeper Division, 2nd Subchaser Division - twenty vessels) began Cold Bay training 16 April 1945 under Rear Admiral Boris D. Popov; 'the wooden-hulled vessels, such as the motor minesweepers and subchasers, frequently suffered hull damage from the rough seas' and nine subchasers plus one motor minesweeper made the ~400-mile round trip to Dutch Harbor for major repairs, delaying the subchaser program eight days; ships arrived under-equipped and 'on-the-spot revisions' to equipment lists were exercised; 'shoddy repair work and supply shortages in Seattle caused major difficulties.' Third Cold Bay-to-Petropavlovsk convoy - three minesweepers and seven subchasers - departed 7 June 1945 under U.S. Navy escort, routed via Unimak Pass and Adak, then independently north of the Komandorskii Islands to Petropavlovsk.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Cold Bay training/transfer personnel (American and Soviet); Dutch Harbor repair trades (April-June 1945)
- Limitations
- Program-level, not hull-level: SC-657 is in the 5 June transfer cohort but the narrative does not name her for any specific repair trip, equipment revision, or convoy assignment - her inclusion in the third convoy is consistent with her transfer date and the Russian-side 7 June departure date, but the convoy's SC roster is not itemized. Maintenance-disturbance relevance (equipment revisions, repair trips) is contextual only. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-03
-
[5]National Archives Prologue / 'Pieces of History' blog, 'Beyond the Hindenburg: Airships Throughout History' (Jessie Kratz, 27 October 2017; archivist Alex Champion) - quotes this hull's deck log and cites RG 24 imagery [other_primary]
- Locator
- Prologue article body text (K-74 section); image caption 'SC-657_Deck-Log_RG24_P118-A2_Box-5985'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-quoted deck-log evidence for this hull's U.S. service: 'Submarine chaser 657 (SC-657) logs at 1140 on July 19, 1943, state that it is on a "special mission" for a "sunken Navy lighter-than-air-craft." They found Lieutenant Grills in "exhausted" condition.' SC-657 rescued Lieutenant Nelson Grills, command pilot of blimp K-74 (ZP-21, NAS Richmond) - the only U.S. Navy airship lost to enemy action (shot down attacking U-134 off Florida's southern tip, 18 July 1943). Eight of K-74's nine other survivors were rescued by destroyer USS Dahlgren; Aviation Machinist's Mate 2/c Isadore Stessel died minutes before rescue. The article's deck-log image is captioned with the archival citation 'SC-657_Deck-Log_RG24_P118-A2_Box-5985' (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-07-19
- Population
- SC-657 crew (July 1943); Lt. Nelson Grills and K-74 survivors (rescuees)
- Limitations
- Official NARA publication quoting a primary deck-log entry - establishes a rescue event and the log's archival location, nothing more. Not an exposure record; no asbestos or material content. Establishes the hull was operating in the U.S. Southeast/Caribbean ASW orbit in July 1943.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-04
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[6]U.S. Fleet, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, Navy Department, 'Composition of Task Forces,' 1 February 1944 (H. H. Smith-Hutton, Captain USN, Combat Intelligence Division F-20) - declassified COMINCH organization chart; FDR Map Room Papers, digitized by the Marist College FDR Library project [other_primary]
- Locator
- mr0670.pdf, TF 05 Panama Sea Frontier section, item 05.4.2 'SC 657' (Special Task Group, Coco Solo); chart cover page 'Composition of Task Forces, 1 February 1944'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary U.S. Navy organization document placing this hull in the Panama Canal Zone orbit in early 1944: the 1 February 1944 'Composition of Task Forces' chart lists 'SC 657' (item 05.4.2) under Task Force 05 (Panama Sea Frontier), Special Task Group organized around Headquarters Squadron / NAS Coco Solo alongside patrol squadrons (VP/VS units). Consistent with her documented July 1944 Panama Bay ASW exercises (see ev-06).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-02-01
- Population
- SC-657 crew assigned Panama Sea Frontier (early 1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not a work or exposure record: an org-chart entry establishes organizational assignment, not operations performed or materials aboard. Scanned chart OCR is heavily degraded (companion hulls print as 'SC 5'0', '6}5', '6}92' etc.); the 'SC 657' line itself is legible in the PDF scan. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-05
-
[7]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS SC-657 (SC-657) - data block and wartime event log (secondary compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/8874.html data block and 'Notable events' log (4-5 July 1944 Panama Bay exercises)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary data record for this hull: ordered 18 September 1941; laid down 20 December 1941 by Snow Shipyards Inc., Rockland; launched 22 June 1942; commissioned 4 September 1942 (a 5-day variant from NavSource/shipbuilding-history's 9 September - see gaps); 'Transferred to the USSR on 5 June 1945' (agreeing with the NHHC transfer-table date). Event log: on 4-5 July 1944 USS Hawkbill conducted exercises in Panama Bay with USS John D. Edwards, USS Mallard, USS SC-635, and USS SC-657; SC-657's commanding officer listed as Lt.(j.g.) C. C. Peters, Jr., USNR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- SC-657 crew under Lt.(j.g.) C. C. Peters, Jr., USNR (mid-1944)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation derived from war diaries/patrol reports - events are plausible and consistent with the primary COMINCH chart (ev-05) but not independently verified line-by-line. The 4 September commissioning date conflicts with NavSource and shipbuilding-history (9 September) and is likely a transcription slip. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-06
-
[8]sewar.ru (Russian WWII naval reference compilation), 'Tip "SC". BO-307 (do 10.01.1945 g. "SC-657")' - Soviet-service record for this hull (verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sewar.ru bolshie-ohotniki BO-307 page (single-paragraph service record); corroborating Lesta wiki BO-307 page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Russian-side secondary record for this hull (translated): 'Entered service September 1942. Accepted by the Soviet crew 25.05.1945. Joined the Pacific Fleet (TOF) 17.06.1945. Participated in the landing of the landing force at Seisin (Chongjin) 14.08.1945. On 01.02.1954 removed from the combat composition and placed in conservation (mothballed), subsequently turned over to the property fund department for dismantling.' The page title notes she was carried on Soviet Navy ship lists from 10.01.1945 (pre-transfer administrative listing). A second Russian compilation (Lesta wiki) corroborates: Sea of Japan communications/base-defense duty, the Chongjin landing 14 August 1945, and 5th Navy assignment 17.01.1947-23.04.1953, with a 4 June crew-acceptance date and 7 June Cold Bay departure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1954
- Population
- Soviet crew (1945-1954); dismantling workers (post-1954)
- Limitations
- Private Russian-language secondary compilation - not an official registry; its chronology tracks Berezhnoi-era Soviet fleet references but is not independently verified line-by-line. The 25.05.1945 'accepted by Soviet crew' date explains NavSource's transfer-date variant (see ev-09); the official U.S. transfer/decommission date is 5 June (ev-02). The Seishin/Chongjin landing claim rests on this class of Russian-side sourcing. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource SC-657 specification block (wooden-hulled SC-497 class, 2 x GM 16-184A diesel, no steam plant); splinterfleet.org SC-497-class facts table (verified live: 98 tons, 111'6-3/4", GM 8-268-A or 16-184-A diesels, wooden hull); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era context (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150657.htm specification block; splinterfleet.org/facts-and-specifications (SC-497 column)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small wooden-hulled diesel submarine chaser built 1941-42 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era, but her material profile differs sharply from a steel steam vessel: no boilers, no steam lines, no turbine lagging. Plausible era-standard small-craft applications aboard a boat of this type and period: diesel engine/exhaust lagging, engine and piping-flange gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, and confined-space accommodation insulation. The ACM burden of a 110-ft wooden chaser was materially lower than that of a steam combatant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1954
- Population
- Snow Shipyards construction workers (1941-42); U.S. crew (1942-45); Cold Bay transfer personnel (1945); Soviet crew and dismantlers (1945-54+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for SC-657. Names plausible era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The wooden hull itself is not an asbestos product. Transfer-era equipment churn (ev-03) is a documented disturbance pathway at program level, not evidence of ACM aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-08
-
[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 to automated fetch, 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 entire construction (1941-42) and U.S. service era (1942-45), as well as her period in Soviet custody (1945-54).
- 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, per prior batch sessions) - content via product-page description. The report's focus is shipyard-worker exposure, which frames the era, not small-vessel material inventories.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-09
-
[11]Designation cross-check: NavSource SC/PC index page (verified live - explains the shared numerical series, the 1943 PC/SC type split, and 'ex-PC' designations); Wikipedia PC-461-class completion list (PC-461 to -496, PC-542 to -627, PC-776 to -825, PC-1077 to -1265, PC-1546 to -1569 - the 628-669 block absent); NavSource SC-657 transfer line vs NHHC appendix date [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/01idx.htm 'Submarine Chasers (SC) and (PC)' header text; PC-461-class completed-list enumeration; NavSource 12/150657.htm transfer line vs Russell appendix p. 39
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION, two items: (1) 'PC-657' was a commissioning-era designation only (Sep 1942 - Apr 1943) - this hull was never a PC-461-class vessel; the completed steel-PC numbering series skips the 628-669 block entirely because those numbers were assigned to wooden 110-ft SC-type hulls, reclassified SC-xxx in the April 1943 type split. The batch re-scope note ('PC-657 never existed as a PC vessel') is confirmed. (2) Transfer-date reconciliation: NavSource's 'Transferred to the Soviet Union 25 May 1945' is not the U.S. transfer date - it matches the Soviet crew-acceptance date in Russian-side references (sewar.ru: accepted by Soviet crew 25.05.1945); the official U.S.-side decommission/transfer date per the NHHC Project Hula table is 5 June 1945, and she departed Cold Bay ~7 June.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (designation/transfer window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation misreading and a date mislabel, not a material claim. The PC-461 completion list is carried via secondary enumeration (Wikipedia class article) against the NavSource index narrative - a primary BuShips numbering list was not consulted. The '25 May = crew acceptance' reconciliation is inference from matching dates across sources, not a stated explanation in any source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-10
-
[12]Batch-8031 search ledger (this record): NavSource (verified live); NHHC Project Hula full text; NARA Prologue deck-log article; FDR Map Room task-force chart; uboat.net; sewar.ru and Lesta (Russian-side); splinterfleet.org class specs; navalmarinearchive/shipbuildinghistory yard table; NVR (no record); NHHC/DANFS (no entry); CourtListener API v4 (4 base queries complete); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-657-sc657-01 through sl-uss-sc-657-sc657-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or litigation naming SC-657 / PC-657 / BO-307 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener base queries completed - '"SC-657"' opinion index (14 hits) and docket index (25 hits), '"PC-657"' opinion index (3 hits) and docket index (21 hits): every hit is a name collision on docket-number or document-text patterns (e.g., 'No. 2011-SC-000657-KB', '1:21-sc-00657', '18A-PC-657' Indiana post-conviction numbers, 'Law PC, 657 Response filed'), none involving a vessel or asbestos. A general web sweep for the hull designations plus asbestos/litigation terms surfaced only the same collision class (South Carolina 'S.C.' reporter citations) - no qualifying case or even a law-firm marketing listicle naming this 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. CourtListener coverage is opinions + RECAP dockets only - state-court filings, PACER-only dockets, and settled/unreported claims are outside the index; the collision-heavy result still bounds what a name search could surface. RG 24 deck logs (box 5985 lead), Snow Shipyards contract records, BuShips small-vessel material lists, and Soviet dismantling records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-657-sc657-11