Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 927-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-700-sc700-pkt-927-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, SC-700 ex-PC-700 page - construction, milestones, specifications, loss [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150700.htm header block and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 24 March 1942 by the Delaware Bay Shipbuilding Co., Leesburg, NJ; launched 7 September 1942; commissioned PC-700, 3 November 1942; reclassified SC-700 in April 1943; sunk by accidental fire off Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, 10 March 1944; struck from the Navy list 8 April 1944. Specifications: displacement 96 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 880-bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single-reduction gear, two shafts. Page explicitly notes 'There is no DANFS history available for SC-700.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Delaware Bay Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official sources and here agree with the official U.S. Naval Chronology and the CNO loss list (ev-02, ev-03). Contains no asbestos or material content. Specification conflicts with secondary sources: displacement 95-98 t., draft 6'6" vs 10'10" (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-01
-
[3]U.S. Naval Chronology, World War II (Navy Department, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1955), March 1944 section - official cause-of-loss record [other_primary]
- Locator
- chr44-03.html, entry for 03/10 Fri.
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's official WWII chronology records under 10 March 1944: 'United States naval vessel sunk: Submarine chaser SC-700, by fire, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands.' - the official cause of record is fire, not enemy action.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-03-10
- Population
- Crew aboard at loss (28 per class complement)
- Limitations
- Official chronology entry gives cause ('by fire'), place, and date only - no detail on origin of fire, casualties, or circumstances. Transcribed verbatim from the published chronology (ibiblio PHA mirror). 'Shore gunfire' and 'friendly fire' variants in secondary compilations (PCSA list, world-war.co.uk) contradict the official record - carried in gaps, not adopted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-02
-
[4]U.S. Navy at War, 1941-1945 (official reports to the Secretary of the Navy by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, CNO), Appendix C - 'Losses of United States Naval Vessels From all Causes, 7 December 1941-1 October 1945' [other_primary]
- Locator
- USN-King-C.html, Appendix C, SUBMARINE CHASERS section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The CNO's official report lists under SUBMARINE CHASERS: 'SC 700 | Vella Lavella, Solomons | 10 March 1944' - confirming the loss, location, and date in the Navy's official all-causes loss accounting.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-03-10
- Limitations
- Records loss, location, and date only - the table gives no cause. Cause of record ('by fire') comes from the official chronology (ev-02). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-03
-
[5]Robert J. Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II (Naval Historical Center / NHHC), 10 March 1944 entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- USN-Chron-1944.html, '10 March, Fri.' Pacific entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-published official chronology records for 10 March 1944, Pacific: 'Submarine chaser SC-700 is destroyed and fuel oil barge YO-44 is damaged by fire, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands.' - documents that a second vessel, self-propelled fuel-oil barge YO-44, was damaged by fire at the same place on the same day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-03-10
- Population
- Crew aboard at loss; YO-44 crew (damaged)
- Limitations
- Establishes same-day fire damage to YO-44 at Vella Lavella; the entry does not state the two events were connected and does not describe the fire's origin. Any fueling-accident reconstruction would be inference beyond the text. No casualty figures given. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-04
-
[6]Hall of Valor (Military Times), Gordon B. Galaty - Navy and Marine Corps Medal, citing Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 377 (July 1948) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Hall of Valor recipient page 314152, awards section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Lieutenant Commander Gordon B. Galaty, USN, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for 'heroic conduct in rescuing a survivor of an explosion on board the U.S.S. SC 700, on 10 March 1944' (synopsis of the award carried in Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 377, July 1948). Documents that the loss event aboard involved an explosion and that at least one crewmember required rescue.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-03-10 (award bulletin 1948-07)
- Population
- LCDR Gordon B. Galaty; SC-700 crew at loss
- Limitations
- Secondary awards database quoting an official bulletin; the entry carries a '(Citation Needed)' flag and the full citation text was not located - award existence documented, details unverified at citation level. Establishes an explosion aboard but not its cause; consistent with, but not identical to, the official 'by fire' cause. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-05
-
[7]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton) Delaware Bay Shipbuilding, Leesburg NJ yard table and yard history (navalmarinearchive.com mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- delawarebay.html hull table, SC 700 row; yard-history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's own hull table records 'SC 700 | US Navy | Sub Chaser | 136 [type] | 107 [feet] | 3-Nov-42 [delivery] | Burnt off Vella Lavella 10-Mar-44 [disposition]' - independently corroborating the commission date and loss. Yard history: Delaware Bay Shipbuilding Co., Inc. formed 1920 by Dr. Malcolm Sharp to build fishing vessels, expanded into recreational boats; split in 1929 into Delaware Bay Shipbuilding (larger boats) and Debasco Boat Works (smaller); yard stood on Main Street at Sharpstow Lane, Leesburg, NJ. The yard also built sisters SC-648, SC-649, SC-698, SC-699, SC-701, SC-702, SC-703 and SC-1325-series hulls for the Navy - a small wooden-boat yard turned wartime subchaser builder.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Delaware Bay Shipbuilding trades (1942)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of builder records (Colton's shipbuildinghistory dataset, the standard reference for U.S. yard production), not a primary contract document; the '3-Nov-42' delivery equals the commission date, which is consistent with SC construction practice. Yard's wartime workforce size and material sourcing undocumented. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-06
-
[8]NavSource Submarine Chaser Photo Index - PC/SC type-symbol history and PC-461-class enumeration; corroborated by NavSource SC-699 page (sister hull, same yard, same reclassification) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 12/01idx.htm introductory history and PC-461 enumeration text; SC index ex-PC block; 12/150699.htm (sister SC-699) and 12/150700.htm headers
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (identity, per Trill fact-QA re-scope): this hull was never a PC-461-class patrol vessel. NavSource documents the WWII designation history: the Navy built 'two large groups of subchasers, the new 110-foot wooden-hulled craft and the 173-foot steel-hulled type. By 1943, it was felt desirable to differentiate between the two types. The type symbol PC was retained for the steel 173-footers, and the separate symbol SC was adopted for the 110-foot vessels.' NavSource's steel-hull PC-461-class enumeration runs PC-461 to PC-496, PC-542 to PC-627, PC-776 to PC-826, and PC-1077 to PC-1265 - PC-700 falls in no PC-461 series. The SC index shows the wooden 110-footers commissioned under PC designations in an unbroken ex-PC block spanning SC-628 through SC-775 (including PC-700), plus scattered earlier and later ex-PC hulls: these were reclassified to SC in the 1943 symbol split. Accordingly: commissioned USS PC-700 on 3 November 1942, she was an SC-497-class wooden subchaser throughout, reclassified USS SC-700 in April 1943 - identical path documented for sister SC-699 (ex-PC-699, same builder).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation misreading: 'PC-700' existed briefly as this hull's designation but no PC-461-class vessel was ever numbered PC-700. Documentation is the NavSource index narration and hull tables (secondary compilation consistent with the official hull records it mirrors); the April 1943 reclassification date itself is as NavSource states for this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-07
-
[9]U.S. Naval Chronology, World War II (Navy Department, 1955), August 1943 section - Vella Lavella landing [other_primary]
- Locator
- chr43-08.html, entry for 08/15 Sun.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The same official chronology records that on 15 August 1943 the Third Amphibious Force (Rear Adm. T. S. Wilkinson) 'lands Naval, Marine, and Army personnel at Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands. This landing by-passes enemy position on Kolombangara' - establishing that by the date of SC-700's loss (10 March 1944) Vella Lavella was an Allied-held forward base area in the northern Solomons, the operating environment in which this 110-foot subchaser was lost.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-08-15
- Limitations
- Context only: establishes the island's status, not this hull's assignment, patrol tasking, or base - the chronology gives no operational detail for SC-700 beyond the loss entry. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource SC-700 specifications (wooden 110-ft SC-497 class, 2 x GM 8-268A diesels, no steam plant); NavSource SC index (wooden-hulled 'splinter fleet'); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-era documentation (ev-10); builder profile (small wooden-boat yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 12/150700.htm specifications; 12/01idx.htm class narration; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-10)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A wooden-hulled, diesel-powered 110-foot submarine chaser built in 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-typical asbestos applications aboard small diesel craft of this period were exhaust-manifold and muffler lagging in the engine spaces, engine gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, and localized heat shielding. Two features limit the plausible scope relative to steam or steel vessels: diesel propulsion means no boilers, steam lines, or turbine lagging - the largest shipboard asbestos uses of the era; and a wooden hull means far less thermal insulation overall than a comparable steel vessel.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Delaware Bay Shipbuilding construction trades (1942); crew (1942-44); any personnel exposed during the fire
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package exists or could survive: the boat burned and sank in March 1944 after ~16 months of service. Names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution possible for this hull. A burned wreck is also a post-loss environment - any materials present were subjected to fire and 80+ years submerged.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-09
-
[11]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 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 (1942) and service life (1942-44).
- 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 - and the GAO work addressed Navy shipyard/shipboard exposure generally, which for a wooden diesel craft overstates nothing by itself. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-10
-
[12]Batch-8074 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull/index/sister pages; official U.S. Naval Chronology 1943-44 (Navy Dept); CNO King report Appendix C; Cressman NHHC official chronology; ShipbuildingHistory builder table; Hall of Valor/BuPers Bulletin 377 award record; NHHC selected-accidents casualty list (does not include this incident); CourtListener exact-name and hull-number queries; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sc-700-sc700-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material list, or hazmat disclosure exists for a wooden subchaser lost in 1944, and none was found. No qualifying litigation: CourtListener searches (2026-10-03) returned 0 results for 'USS SC-700' in both opinions and dockets, and 8 opinion results for 'SC-700' that are all name collisions - Kentucky Supreme Court SC-prefixed docket numbers (97-SC-700-DG, 1999-SC-0700-WC, 2002-SC-0700-DG, 2000-SC-0700-TG, 88-SC-700-DG) and unrelated state supreme court text matches (Georgia, Michigan, Kansas); none name any vessel. The NHHC 'Casualties: Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action' list does not include this incident - casualty figures for the fire are undocumented. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm/marketing listicles and secondary war-loss lists - excluded by source policy; the only substantive secondary variants are loss-cause discrepancies carried in gaps.
- 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 stands on its own terms. The 'SC-700' CourtListener docket query remained pacing-blocked at analysis time (fleet-wide rate limiter); given the 8 opinion hits were pure docket-number collisions and both exact-name queries returned zero, this is a documented open gap, not a true negative on the docket side. Deck logs, BuShips plans, and any board-of-inquiry loss report are undigitized archival leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-11
-
[13]Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945, Submarine Chasers section (NHHC-style ship listing, HyperWar mirror); NARA RG 24 deck-log lead [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-sc.html SC-700 row; NARA RG 24 deck-log series (undigitized); NARA war-diary/loss-report series (lead)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC-style ship listing corroborates service dates and fate: 'SC-700 | 1942-44 | 10 Mar 44; burned at Vela Lavella [sic].' Archival leads not exhausted: NARA RG 24 deck logs for this hull (November 1942 - March 1944) are held at the National Archives but not digitized; a wartime board-of-inquiry or loss report, if convened for the fire, would sit in NARA records of the fleet/force commander and is the likeliest source for the fire's origin and casualty count; BuShips construction plans for the Delaware Bay hull series would document materials if retrievable.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Crew (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - deck logs and any inquiry report are undigitized and were not reviewed; catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and could not be searched directly from this session. Whether a formal investigation occurred is itself undocumented in sources searched. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sc-700-sc700-12