Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 880-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-wauseon-pc1229-pkt-880-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Submarine Chaser Photo Archive, Wauseon (PC 1229) ex-PC-1229, navsource.net (verified live 2026-10-03; navsource.org mirror of the same page is not cited per house policy - navsource.org is dead) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/12/011229.htm header block, milestone list, specifications block, and commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource ship-specific record for this hull: laid down 7 September 1942 at Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched 19 December 1942; commissioned USS PC-1229, 11 June 1943 at New Orleans, Louisiana; decommissioned 7 August 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group (NavSource also notes the Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists the plan for decommissioning and placing in reserve as January 1947 - a discrepancy carried in gaps); named Wauseon 15 February 1956; struck from the Navy Register 5 September 1957; sold for scrap 1 July 1958 to Boston Metals Co. of Baltimore, Maryland. Specifications: displacement 295 t. (lt), 450 t. (fl); length 173'8"; beam 23'; draft 10'10"; speed 20.2 kts; complement 65. Armament: one 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount, one 40mm gun mount, three 20mm guns, two rocket launchers, four depth charge projectors, and two depth charge tracks. Propulsion: two 1,440bhp General Motors 16-258S diesel engines (Serial No. 10861 and 10862), Farrel-Birmingham single reduction gear, two shafts. Six commanding officers listed, LT Gordon A. Weller USNR (11 June 1943 - August 1944) through LTJG R. E. Miller Jr. USNR (March 1946 - 7 August 1946). Call sign November-Charlie-Juliet-Papa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history and specifications only; no asbestos or material content. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not an official registry - its figures are generally reliable but the displacement figures differ from DANFS (280 tons) and the yard production list (284 tons / 174 ft); carried in gaps. The page's own parenthetical notes a January 1947 planned-reserve date in the 1 January 1949 NVR that conflicts with the actual 7 August 1946 decommissioning it reports.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-01
-
[3]uboat.net, Allied Warships: USS PC-1229 (PC-461 class) - construction dates, commanding officers, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net Allied Warships ship/8756.html header table and commands-listed section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net ship-specific record for this hull: ordered 23 March 1942; built by Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. (Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin); laid down 7 September 1942; launched 19 December 1942; commissioned 11 June 1943; end service (decommissioned) 7 August 1946; stricken 5 September 1957; sold to be broken up for scrap 1 July 1958. Wartime commanding officers listed: Lt. Gordon A. Weller USNR (11 Jun 1943 - mid/late 1944); Lt. Austin Carey USNR (mid/late 1944 - early 1945); Lt. Lester W. Tucker Jr. USNR (early 1945 - mid 1945); Lt. Clarence G. LeBoff USNR (mid 1945 - late 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Wartime crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history content only; no asbestos or material content. uboat.net is a volunteer secondary compilation, not an official registry. Its commissioning date (11 Jun 1943) is consistent with NavSource and corrects the '1942' typo in the DANFS text itself (see ev-03 and gaps). Commanding-officer list covers only the WWII window (through late 1945); NavSource carries two additional postwar COs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-02
-
[4]DANFS, 'Wauseon' (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. VIII p. 172), verbatim transcription via hazegray.org - ARCHIVED COPY cited (Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-27): the live NHHC page returns 404 and hazegray.org itself is unreachable this session (DNS resolution failure, confirmed 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. VIII p. 172 'Wauseon' entry, specifications block + full service narrative (hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/pc1229.htm, Wayback capture 2024-05-27)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS ship-specific record for this hull (Wauseon: a village in northwestern Ohio about 32 miles west of Toledo, seat of Fulton County - the ship's namesake): PC-1229 laid down 7 September 1942 by the Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. at Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; launched 19 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. C. D. Brower; moved to New Orleans, La., where she was commissioned [DANFS text reads '11 June 1942' - an internal typo, since the hull was launched 19 December 1942; NavSource, uboat.net, and the yard delivery list all give 11 June 1943, carried as the correct date - see gaps], Lt. Gordon A. Weller USNR in command. Departed New Orleans 23 June for shakedown and ASW training out of Miami and Key West; Gulf Sea Frontier convoy-escort duty between Galveston, Tex., and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until late December 1943; arrived Canal Zone 23 December 1943, transited the canal by 9 January 1944; Bora Bora 1 February, Tongatabu 8 February, arrived Noumea, New Caledonia, 13 February 1944; guarded Noumea harbor/anchorage against Japanese submarine attack for almost a year; December 1944 to the southern Solomons, mid-January 1945 to Sydney, Australia; Purvis Bay; Espiritu Santo (New Hebrides) 17 February 1945 for about seven weeks; returned Noumea 6 April 1945; late July 1945 to Suva, Fiji Islands, for August-September duty (during which the war ended); Guadalcanal 2 October; Noumea 3 November 1945; departed for home 26 January 1946 via Tutuila (Samoa) and Palmyra Island; Pearl Harbor 12 February 1946 (five weeks); San Pedro, Calif., 27 March-19 April 1946; Panama Canal; Key West 10 May-21 June 1946; Green Cove Springs, Fla., for inactivation. Decommissioned 7 August 1946, berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs; named Wauseon 15 February 1956 ('a name she carried only 19 months'); struck from the Navy list 5 September 1957; sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., 1 July 1958 for scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (design complement 65)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications (dp. 280; 173'8" x 23' x 10'10"; 20.2 k.; cpl. 65; 1x3", 1x40mm, 2 dcp mousetrap, 2 dct; cl. PC-461), not materials or asbestos content. Its 'commissioned 11 June 1942' is internally impossible (predates the 19 December 1942 launch) - the year is a typo; 1943 is corroborated by three other sources. The armament list also differs slightly from NavSource's ship-specific listing (carried in gaps). Cited via Wayback capture because the live NHHC page returns 404 and hazegray.org is DNS-unreachable this session - the URL is an archived copy, not a live source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History / NJ Scuba Diving Association, 'Bay Shipbuilding - Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding - Christy Corp. - Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding' (yard-history and production-list page; canonical shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/bay.htm mirror also verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-comm-large/bay/, 'Built by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding' production-list section, entry #286 (PC-1229)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard record naming this hull: the Leathem D. Smith yard at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin (successively Leathem D. Smith Towing & Wrecking Co., Leathem D. Smith Dock Co., Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; became Christy Corp. after WWII; the site is now Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding). The yard's wartime production list shows PC-1229 as yard hull number 286, a US Navy subchaser listed at 284 tons and 174 feet, delivered 11 June 1943, annotated 'later Wauseon 1956, scrapped 1958'. PC-1229 was one of 42 PC-461-class subchasers the yard built (production list: PC-496, PC-550-551, PC-588-591, PC-821-825, PC-1171-1180, PC-1225-1230, PC-1260-1263, PC-1560-1569), alongside N3 freighters, Tacoma-class frigates (PF-64 through PF-71), and C1 cargo ships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding construction trades, 1942-1943
- Limitations
- Confirms this hull's place in the yard's wartime production run and independently corroborates the 11 June 1943 delivery/commissioning date and the 1956 naming - no asbestos or material content. The yard-list tonnage/length (284 tons / 174 ft) is class-nominal and differs from NavSource's ship-specific figures (295 lt / 450 fl tons; 173'8") - carried in gaps. This builder has no entry in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset (37 yard_ids checked, no Sturgeon Bay/Leathem match) - related_shipyards is empty and the missing yard is carried in gaps, per the O'Brien precedent (BATCH-01-REPORT.md).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-04
-
[6]Naval Cover Museum, 'PC 1229' (postal-cover index page; wiki page, retrieved 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/PC_1229, 'Ship Name and Designation History' block and covers/postmarks sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- This specialty postal-cover archive's name/designation history for the hull gives: PC-461 class submarine chaser; laid down September 7 1942; launched December 19 1942; USS PC-1229 commissioned June 11 1942 [sic - the page repeats the DANFS '1942' typo; its own cataloged covers for the hull are dated 1943]; decommissioned August 7 1946 and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; named WAUSEON February 15 1956 while in reserve; struck from the Naval Register September 5 1957; sold July 1 1958 to Boston Metals Co. of Baltimore, MD for scrap. The page holds a 1943 covers page for USS PC-1229 (confirming the hull was in commission in 1943) and reports no postmarks.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- N/A - archival/collector reference page
- Limitations
- Specialty collector archive - milestones corroborate NavSource/uboat/DANFS but the page repeats DANFS's impossible '1942' commissioning year even while hosting 1943-dated covers for the hull. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource/uboat.net ship-specific specifications (steel hull, direct-diesel propulsion via mechanical reduction gear, built under wartime Bureau of Ships small-craft specifications); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource/uboat.net specifications blocks (ev-01, ev-02); GAO HRD-80-2 product description (ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled submarine chaser built 1942-43 to wartime Bureau of Ships small-combatant specifications would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing materials in its confined machinery and berthing spaces: engine-room and exhaust-system lagging, pipe covering, gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, and deck covering compound. The vessel used direct-diesel propulsion (two General Motors diesel engines driving two shafts through a Farrel-Birmingham mechanical reduction gear) - there was no steam plant, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway common to larger steam-powered combatants does not apply here; exposure pathways, if any, would be the diesel-engine/exhaust and general-outfitting applications instead.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Co. construction trades (1942-43); wartime crew (1943-46); reserve-fleet and Boston Metals disposal workers (1946-58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for PC-1229/Wauseon. Names era-standard applications for a vessel of this type and period, not confirmed installed materials, quantities, or manufacturers for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked)
- 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 1971, with specifications formally updated to exclude asbestos by late 1973 - the Navy continued using already-purchased asbestos stock beyond that date. This program-level finding spans the construction era of vessels of this hull's type (1942-43) by several decades on the trailing end, though this hull was decommissioned in 1946 and scrapped in 1958, well before the 1970s substitution policy existed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (1979)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation (Navy-wide; GAO fieldwork for this report was conducted at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, neither of which is documented as a yard this hull passed through) - supports general era context for wartime asbestos-use practice only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-03); content via product-page description, consistent with the treatment in prior batches (e.g., uss-pc-1221-pc1221.atlas.json ev-06, uss-barracuda-ssk1.atlas.json ev-07).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-07
-
[9]Batch-7725 search ledger (this record): NavSource (hit); uboat.net (hit); DANFS via hazegray Wayback capture (hit - archived; live NHHC page 404, hazegray.org DNS-unreachable); shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net Bay/Leathem yard page (hit); navalcovermuseum.org (hit, partial); NHHC DANFS live site (no result - 404); Naval Vessel Register (no result - ship-detail URL returns redirect; hull stricken 1957); NHHC official photography index (no result); NARA digitized deck-logs list (not digitized - PC-1229 absent from the published list); CourtListener (blocked - daily quota exhausted); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweep (no ship-related result of any kind - only geographic name collisions with Wauseon, Ohio) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-wauseon-pc1229-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS Wauseon or USS PC-1229 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Unlike sister hull PC-1221 (which has no DANFS entry at all), this hull does have a full DANFS history (Vol. VIII p. 172), retrievable only via an archived hazegray.org transcription since the live NHHC page returns 404. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated search helper reported the shared fleet daily quota exhausted (~2h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The secondary web sweep surfaced no ship-related asbestos or litigation content of any kind - only geographic name collisions with the town of Wauseon, Ohio (Ohio asbestos cases and a law firm located there).
- 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, and the litigation-repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-blocked, not run this session). Deck logs, any Bureau of Ships work specifications for this hull, and any scrapping/disposal hazmat record are undigitized or unlocated leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-wauseon-pc1229-08