Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 925-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: PHANTOM
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-sc-688-sc688-pkt-925-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS consolidated entry SC-601 through SC-700, SC-688 block [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SC-601-SC-700 consolidated page, SC-688 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's SC-688 block reads verbatim: 'Built at Annapolis Yacht Yard Inc., Annapolis, Md. Keel laid 4/25/42. Launched 8/22/42. Commissioned 11/28/42. Transferred to Maritime Commission 10/9/46.' The consolidated entry lists the hull only as SC-688 - no PC-688 designation appears anywhere in the block or the page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Annapolis Yacht Yard construction trades; U.S. Navy / Coast Guard-manned crew
- Limitations
- Ship-specific Navy historical record for core milestones; terse list format - no service narrative, no strike date, no asbestos or material content. Does not describe exposure or individuals.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-01
-
[3]U.S. Coast Guard, The Coast Guard at War - Transports and Escorts, Vol. V, Vol. 1: Escorts (Historical Section, Public Information Division, March 1, 1949), SC-688 ships'-history section at p. 173; official-volume scan also held in the Coast Guard Historian's digital library at https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/2058/ (HyperWar verbatim transcription used for full-text access) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG-V1-2.html, 'SC-688' section (COMMISSIONING / PATROL DUTY / ESCORT DUTY / PATROL DUTY-LOCAL ESCORT / ESCORT DUTY / AIR STATION DUTY / DECOMMISSIONING headings), printed p. 173
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official USCG operational history for this hull states: 'The USS SC-688, Coast Guard manned, was accepted for the Navy from the Annapolis Yacht Yard, Annapolis, Md., on November 28, 1942.' She departed 4 December 1942 for outfitting at Norfolk Navy Yard, then New York and Casco Bay, Maine (maneuvers with SC-689 and SC-709, 31 December 1942). January 1943: Portland, Maine (ice-breaking to the Maine Shipbuilding yard; collision repairs 8-14 January); departed 25 January for Argentia with CGC Bibb (WPG-31) and SC-689, arriving 29 January. February-April 1943: patrol duty at Ship Harbor, Argentia (relieving SC-706), Burin Harbor tow of CG-147 with CGC Faunce (WSC-138), Marine-railway propeller repairs, repeated radar/sound-gear casualties. 28 April 1943: departed Argentia for St. John's with five escorts, then Greenland - moored Gronne Dal 6 May; on 10 May departed Kungnat Bay with CGC Tahoma (WPG-80), SC-689 and SC-705 hunting a PBY-reported submarine. Rest of 1943 through 1 May 1944: continuous anti-submarine sound/radar watch and local escort duty at the entrance to Arsuk Fjord, Greenland, breaking ice; 7 January 1944 her crew rescued Major F. E. Bristol, U.S. Medical Corps, from the fjord. May-October 1944: Boston overhaul to 14 June, Portland exercises, return to Gronne Dal/Arsuk Fjord 14 July; 9-13 September escorted SS Viscaya (Nor.) with SC-689 and SC-705 to St. John's; Boston 24 September-15 October. 18 October 1944: departed Norfolk for Naval Auxiliary Station Harvey Point, Albemarle Sound, N.C., on air station duty for the rest of 1944. 'She was decommissioned November 28, 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Coast Guard crew aboard a Navy hull (approx. complement 28); Annapolis Yacht Yard construction trades (1942); Norfolk Navy Yard outfitting trades (Dec 1942); Boston Navy Yard overhaul trades (May-Jun 1944); Navy Yard Charleston decommissioning trades (Nov 1945)
- Limitations
- Official Coast Guard history of record for this hull - the strongest ship-specific source in this record. It contains no asbestos, materials, or medical content. NavSource's re-transcription of this same section is faithful but the HyperWar transcription of the original volume is cited for direct access; the official CONTENTdm volume scan (CG Historian digital library, item 2058) is the archival original - its item page verified live 2026-10-03; full-PDF download returned a 502 proxy error this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard, Transports and Escorts Vol. 1: Escorts (1949), Part I - 'Coast Guard Manned Navy Vessels' submarine-chaser table, p. 11 [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG-V1 Escorts index page, 'SUBMARINE CHASERS (SC) (PC)' subsection, commissioning table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official volume's own roster states 'the Coast Guard manned ten Submarine Chasers (6 SC and 4 PC)' and tabulates commissioning dates in separate SC and PC columns: PC-469 (7-13-42), PC-545 (6-27-42), PC-556 (9-1-42), SC-590 (10-5-42), SC-527 (5-28-42), SC-528 (6-13-42), SC-688 (11-28-42), SC-689 (11-2-42), SC-704 (9-28-42), SC-705 (10-2-42). SC-688 appears in the SC column at 11-28-42 - the Coast Guard's own commissioning table knows her only as SC-688, consistent with NHHC and against NavSource's 'commissioned PC-688' header claim.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Coast Guard-manned submarine chasers program (10 hulls); this hull's CG crew
- Limitations
- Establishes Coast Guard manning and the SC-688 commissioning designation at an official program level; does not address materials, asbestos, or any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-688 (ex-PC-688) page - timeline, specifications, disposal (live .net URL verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150688.htm header block, specifications block, History Addendum, and USCG-history transcription
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 25 April 1942 by the Annapolis Yacht Yard Inc., Annapolis, MD; launched 22 August 1942; decommissioned 28 November 1945 at the Navy Yard Charleston, SC; struck from the Naval Register 19 December 1945; transferred to the Maritime Commission 9 October 1946; acquired in 1947 by the Humble Oil and Refining Co. of Houston, TX and renamed Bayou Sale (call sign Able-Zebra-Baker-Jig); out of documentation in 1948; fate unknown. Specification block: 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 'Y guns,' two depth-charge tracks; propulsion two 880 bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts. NavSource also carries a 'History Addendum' noting commissioning as USS SC-688 on 28 November 1942 'with her Coast Guard crew aboard,' CG crew removal on decommissioning, and commanding officers LTJG William L. Houston, Jr., USCG, and ENS Frank A. Mize, USCG (31 August 1945), plus a transcription of the official USCG history.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- AYY construction trades (1942); USCG crew (1942-45); Navy Yard Charleston decommissioning trades (1945); Humble Oil civilian operators (1947-48)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation - milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS but it is not a registry. The page's own header ('Commissioned PC-688, 28 November 1942; Reclassified SC-688 in April 1943') conflicts with NHHC and the official USCG record carried in rows ev-01 through ev-03 - treated as the paper/contract designation, not a commissioned PC vessel; see correction row ev-05. No asbestos content. No photograph of the hull is archived on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-04
-
[6]Capt. Richards T. Miller, USN (Ret.), 'Sup Ships Annapolis,' Naval History 13(3), U.S. Naval Institute (June 1999); corroborating: NavSource SC-497 class index (12/15idx.htm); Maryland Historical Trust National Register detail, Chance Boatyard (NRID-1297) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150688.htm header vs. NHHC SC-688 block; USCG-V1-2.html SC-688 section; USCG-V1 commissioning table; USNI 'Sup Ships Annapolis' paragraph on the April 1941 contract
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION of the commissioning-designation conflict: NavSource's header asserts 'Commissioned PC-688, 28 November 1942; Reclassified SC-688 in April 1943' (page title 'ex-PC-688'). All authoritative sources contradict the existence of a commissioned PC-688 vessel: (1) NHHC's DANFS block lists only SC-688, commissioned 11/28/42; (2) the official USCG history says 'The USS SC-688, Coast Guard manned, was accepted for the Navy from the Annapolis Yacht Yard ... on November 28, 1942'; (3) the same volume's commissioning table lists 'SC-688 11-28-42' in the SC column. The mechanism for NavSource's label is documented by a former Supervisor of Shipbuilding officer at Annapolis: Annapolis Yacht Yard's first contract (1 April 1941) was 'to build two 110-foot submarine chasers, PC-521 and PC-522' - i.e., these SC-497-class hulls were contracted under PC-series numbers but built and commissioned as SCs. PC-688 was therefore at most a paper/contract designation; the batch fact-QA independently confirmed the PC-461-class enumeration is closed (341 completed + 60 cancelled) with PC-679-720 in neither list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1943
- Limitations
- Resolves the designation conflict in favor of SC-688 throughout; it is possible - though uncorroborated by any located record - that the hull briefly carried PC-688 on paper before launch. No asbestos content. The batch fact-QA enumeration finding is internal batch research context, not a citable public source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource SC-688 specification block (two GM 8-268A diesels, two shafts, wooden hull, no steam plant); NavSource SC-497 class index (580 wooden 110-foot chasers built during WWII); USCG official history (diesel-driven small combatant); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource SC-688 specifications block; NavSource SC index class paragraph; GAO HRD-80-2 context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 110-foot wooden-hulled diesel submarine chaser built 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. If era-standard materials were used aboard, the narrow diesel-craft pathways would be engine/exhaust lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical cable insulation, and localized fire/heat insulation where fitted; the hull specification shows no boiler, steam piping, or turbine pathway. As a wooden small combatant her insulated-plant footprint was materially smaller than a steam vessel's.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- AYY construction trades (1942); USCG crew (1942-45); yard/base trades at Norfolk, Boston, Charleston availabilities; 1947-48 civilian operators
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, survey, or work package located for SC-688. Names possible applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Does not establish individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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, with thermal insulation the major shipboard use and asbestos also identified in components including clutches and electric cables - spanning this hull's entire construction (1942) and service era (1942-45).
- 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 or the SC-497 class. Full text not retrieved this session (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-07
-
[9]Maryland Historical Trust, Maryland's National Register Properties - Chance Boatyard, Inventory No. AA-36 (NRID-1297, listed 4/15/1999) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MHT NRDetail NRID-1297, Description and Significance text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The state National Register listing documents this hull's construction site: at 222 Severn Avenue, Eastport, Annapolis, 'Annapolis Yacht Yards used the site to construct at first luxury yachts and later, with the entry of the United States into World War II, patrol boats and subchasers for the U.S. Navy'; the yard operated there 1937-1947 (predecessor Chance Marine Construction Co. 1913-1937; successor John Trumpy and Sons 1947-1973) and 'built the two large boat sheds here in the early months of 1941 to accommodate its wartime expansion under President Roosevelt's Lend-Lease Act.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1913-1973
- Population
- Annapolis Yacht Yard workforce (1937-47)
- Limitations
- Builder-site context only - establishes where this hull was built and the yard's wartime subchaser work; contains no material or asbestos content and no hull-specific detail. The NR listing covers the surviving site structures, not this vessel.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-08
-
[10]Batch-8062 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS consolidated page; official USCG Transports and Escorts Vol. 1 (HyperWar transcription + CG Historian CONTENTdm item); NavSource per-hull and class index; USNI Naval History; Maryland Historical Trust NR; NVR; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener via authenticated helper (status as logged) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-688-sc688-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS SC-688 / SC-688 / PC-688 / Bayou Sale was found in the public sources searched. All four CourtListener base queries completed: exact-name queries returned zero results; hull-number queries returned only name collisions (Kentucky Supreme Court docket-number patterns, state-court reporter cites, consumer bankruptcies, a sealed D.D.C. docket-code match) - no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other vessel-related litigation. Secondary web sweeps likewise surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing assertions for this hull - a contrast with higher-profile hulls; collisions were Scottish Session Cases citations ('SC 688' reporter cites) and a veterans'-reunion index line ('SC-688 Greenland Patrol 1940/45'). Query detail per search_ledger rows sl-01 through sl-04 (and sl-14 variant).
- 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. Deck logs, Annapolis Yacht Yard work packages, Maritime Commission disposal files, and any Humble Oil conversion/survey records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-688-sc688-09