Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 666-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-pkt-666-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Bledsoe County' (LST-356) entry, Robert J. Cressman, 12 January 2006 (NHHC live page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Full entry text; spec block (dp. 4,080 f.; l. 328'0"; b. 50'0"; dr. 14'1"; s. 11.6 k.; cpl. 119; trp. 147; a. 1 3", 6 20mm.; cl. LST-1)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (R. J. Cressman, 2006) documents this hull's full U.S. career: laid down 7 September 1942 at Charleston (S.C.) Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Harold Rivington Parker; commissioned 22 December 1942, Lt. George A. Jacquemot, USNR, in command; shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and post-shakedown repairs at the New York Navy Yard; departed for North Africa 19 March 1943; Operation HUSKY (beached Blue Two, 'Cent' area, 10 July 1943; grounded on a sandbar during retraction, rupturing a fuel tank in the auxiliary engine room, freed under own power); follow-on lifts to Scoglitti, Gela, Palermo and radar gear to Ustica; Operation AVALANCHE at Salerno 9 September 1943 (discharged DUKWs, beached under shore fire, launched two Army L-4A Grasshoppers from an improvised 'flight deck'; under heavy shore gunfire off Green Beach 15 September); England refit/training; Normandy - off Sword Beach evening 14 June 1944, Queen Red beach 15 June, ~4 hours under German shellfire, unloaded 47 Canadian vehicles; 39 cross-channel loads June 1944-April 1945; overhaul at Bethlehem Steel yards, Hoboken, N.J., May-end July 1945; reported to 16th Fleet 26 September 1945; decommissioned 2 July 1946, Atlantic Reserve Fleet Green Cove Springs; named Bledsoe County (LST-356) 1 July 1955, never returned to active service; struck 1 September 1960; sold to Mechanical Equipment Co., New Orleans, 8 March 1961 for scrapping; three battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1961
- Limitations
- Official ship history establishing identity, construction, campaigns, yard periods (New York Navy Yard post-shakedown repairs; Bethlehem Steel Hoboken overhaul May-July 1945), and disposition through the 1961 sale. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material content whatsoever - this row supports no asbestos claim. The entry prints a 16 September 1942 launch date that conflicts with the official BuShips roster and NavSource (16 November) - see correction row ev-03. DANFS coverage ends at the U.S. sale; post-1961 history rests on other sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (April 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-011 - vessel roster, LST design characteristics table, and machinery table (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Roster 'LANDING SHIP, TANK (LST)' Charleston Navy Yard block; LST characteristics table (LST1-490 row); machinery table (LST1-490 row)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, April 1945) roster line documents 'LST356 (ex-ATL356): Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; keel laid 7 Sept 42; launched 16 Nov 42; first commissioned 22 Dec 42.' The same volume's LST design table places LST1-490 at 328 ft oa, 316 ft wl, 50 ft beam, 2,366 t beaching / 4,080 t full load, 11.6 kt trial, and its machinery table lists the LST1-490 group as 2 x G.M. Diesel 12-567A, 1,700 shp - diesel propulsion with no boilers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official register - the authoritative build-date source; names this hull explicitly (as ex-ATL356) in the roster. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material content; establishes the diesel (non-boiler) plant, which bounds the plausible shipboard insulation scope. Scan hosted on a private naval-history site (shipscribe.com); URL moved from the path cited in the class profile (styles/usnaux/sdb/) - current /pubs/ path verified live 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-02
-
[4]DANFS 'Bledsoe County' (prints 16 Sept 1942) vs BuShips Ships' Data Vol. II roster (16 Nov 1942) and NavSource 10/16/160356 (16 Nov 1942) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS first paragraph vs SDB1945v2 roster LST356 line vs NavSource ship data block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Launch-date conflict resolved in favor of the contemporaneous register: DANFS prints 'launched on 16 September 1942' (and Wikipedia repeats it), while the Bureau of Ships Ships' Data Vol. II roster (official, 1945) gives 16 November 1942 and NavSource agrees (16 November 1942). This record carries 16 November 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942
- Limitations
- Two independent sources including the contemporaneous official register outweigh the later DANFS narrative on this point; the discrepancy is a likely DANFS typographical error. Does not affect any asbestos-relevant inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Bledsoe County (LST-356) page, 10/16/160356, last updated 22 September 2023 [museum_official]
- Locator
- Ship data block, campaign table, CO list, photo captions (incl. NARA Identifiers 205578962 and 205578956)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive page for USS Bledsoe County (LST-356) confirms the campaign record (Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Salerno landing 9-21 September 1943; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; 3 battle stars; 2 retroactive Combat Action Ribbons for Salerno and Normandy), the reserve period at Green Cove Springs, the 1 July 1955 naming, the 1 September 1960 striking, the 8 March 1961 sale to Mechanical Equipment Co. of New Orleans, and documents the post-Navy fate DANFS does not: 'Resold, date unknown, to Indonesia, named KRI Teluk Tomini (LST-508). Disposed of by Indonesian Navy, 26 January 2011. Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Includes six wartime photographs with NARA/USCG caption metadata (Paestum, 9 September 1943; Southampton-area LST-356/LST-338 railcar loading test) and a commanding-officer list (Jaquemont, Blanco, Meehan, Kieft, Cress Jr.).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-2012
- Limitations
- Volunteer-curated naval photo archive - a reputable secondary reference, not an official record; its per-hull data routinely tracks DANFS/NVR. The Indonesian resale is stated without mechanism or dates ('resold, date unknown'); the 26 January 2011 disposal date conflicts with Indonesian press reporting 3 May 2012 decommissioning - conflict carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-04
-
[6]Kompas, 'Kapal Normandia-Operasi Seroja di Lapak Besi Tua' (Normandy-Operation Seroja ships in the scrapyard), 19 May 2012 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Photo caption (KRI Teluk Tomini 508 at Cilincing breaker, 16 May 2012) and body text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Kompas (Jakarta daily) photographs and reports KRI Teluk Tomini (pennant 508) - the ex-USS LST-356 per NavSource's documented resale - lying at the Gang Belah Kapal I shipbreaking yard in Cilincing, Kalibaru, North Jakarta on 16 May 2012, awaiting cutting alongside fellow ex-U.S. Navy LSTs KRI Teluk Langsa (501) and KRI Teluk Kao (504); the article describes the three as veterans of the Normandy landing and Indonesia's Operation Seroja and documents that a floating-museum proposal for Teluk Tomini at Ancol fell through before the hulls reached the breakers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2012
- Limitations
- Indonesian-language national press; documents final disposition (being broken up at Cilincing by mid-May 2012) and the failed museum proposal. Establishes the Teluk Tomini 508 identity at the breaker but does not itself print the ex-LST-356 linkage - that identification rests on NavSource's resale line. Dates formal decommissioning differently than NavSource (May 2012 press reports vs 26 January 2011) - conflict in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-05
-
[7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); machinery scope bounded by BuShips Ships' Data Vol. II LST1-490 machinery line [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 article page (Wiley, verified live); SDB1945v2 machinery table LST1-490 row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered tank landing ship: the BuShips-documented plant is two GM 12-567A diesels with no boilers, so the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type and era concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve and pump gaskets/packing, and winch/crane brake linings. Wartime federal policy had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding, and peer-reviewed history documents extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulation in WWII-era U.S. ship construction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) plus embarked troops (~163) wartime; Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1942)
- Limitations
- Design- and era-level inference: no source names this hull's materials. The diesel plant eliminates the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway; remaining applications are the period-typical ones listed. Does not establish that asbestos was installed, remains, or that any individual was exposed; establishes only that the era and design are consistent with asbestos use.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-06
-
[8]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 4th Cir. No. 14-2416 (unpublished; Duncan, J.), decided 30 March 2016, affirming E.D. Pa. MDL-875 summary judgments [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion Part I (Pace's 1972-1995 Charleston Naval Shipyard employment; Shop 31/38 asbestos gasket/insulation/packing work; affirmance for defendants)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Fourth Circuit opinion documents that the builder yard was a site of asbestos work in a later era: William L. Pace worked at Charleston Naval Shipyard 1972-1995; the court recounts that 'both asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing materials were used with the pumps and valves' at the yard, that Pace attested to regularly working with or near asbestos-containing products in Shops 31 and 38 with visible dust, and that he worked on 'turbines, boilers, and all associated machinery used aboard naval vessels.' The court affirmed summary judgment for all four defendants on product-identification grounds under South Carolina law - a merits-stage defense win, not an exposure finding against any product or ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1972-1995 (employment); 2016 (opinion)
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard machinists/trades, 1972-1995 (later era)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation record for the builder yard but for a period 30 years after this hull's 1942 construction - does not document 1942 conditions or name any vessel. Disposition classified exactly: an appellate affirmance of summary judgment for defendants (insufficient proof tying Crane products to Pace), i.e., a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not affirmative exposure evidence and not a finding about asbestos aboard this or any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-07
-
[9]U.S. General Accounting Office, report HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979; publicly released 22 October 1979), product page and highlights (full report PDF linked) [gao]
- Locator
- Product page Highlights section; full report https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- GAO program-level documentation of Navy shipboard asbestos: GAO's review of Navy worker protection at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards states that it 'specifically reviewed ... the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities,' that the Navy's 1975 policy removed/replaced only damaged or repair-disturbed asbestos insulation, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - official confirmation that asbestos insulation was present and being managed in the Navy fleet decades after this hull's construction era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policy window)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy documentation; the fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not Charleston and not this hull. Establishes fleet-wide asbestos-insulation presence in the 1970s, consistent with but not probative of 1942 installation aboard LST-356. Product page verified live via rendered fetch; PDF text not extracted this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-08
-
[10]U.S. National Archives, RG 26-G still photographs (NAIDs 205578962, 205578956); caption metadata transcribed in NavSource photo credits [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160356 photo table, entries 1016035604 and 1016035605/03; NARA catalog at catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered - NAIDs not directly re-verified in the catalog this session
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA photographic records of this hull at Salerno: US National Archives Identifier 205578962 (local ID 26-G-09-24-43(3), USCG photo 92443-3) shows LST-356 unloading trucks across a pontoon causeway at Paestum, 9 September 1943; NAID 205578956 (26-G-09-24-43(1), USCG photo 92443-1) shows a beachmaster signaling her retraction from the beach. A companion US Army Signal Corps frame (III-SC 181212) covers the same scene.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not a pulled record: NAID numbers and caption text are as transcribed by NavSource contributors; the NARA catalog front end is JS-rendered and did not return record metadata to scripted fetch. Photos document operations at Salerno; contain no materials/asbestos information. RG 24 deck logs (undigitized) are the complementary pull for any ship-specific material-work record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-09
-
[11]Batch-6895 search ledger (this record): DANFS, NavSource, BuShips SDB 1945 v2, NARA catalog, NVR, Kompas, yard-dataset cross-reference (shipyards.json) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-01 through sl-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, museum hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-356/Bledsoe County/Teluk Tomini was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener was searched by hull number and name: 'LST-356' returned zero opinions and zero RECAP dockets; 'Bledsoe County' returned 345 opinions and 610 dockets all classified as name collisions (Tennessee county litigation, not the vessel); 'Bledsoe County' asbestos returned zero opinions; 'Teluk Tomini' returned zero.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942 naval-yard build of this type is era-consistent with asbestos materials, and the hull's ~50-year second career in Indonesian service left no retrievable materials record in U.S. sources. The CourtListener negative is an index-level negative (opinions + RECAP dockets), not a PACER-exhaustive one: unreported trial-level filings naming the hull could exist. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present, and neither establishes nor defeats any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bledsoe-county-lst356-10