Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 671-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-bowman-county-lst391-pkt-671-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-391' (live page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-391 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for LST-391: laid down 14 July 1942 at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched 28 October 1942; sponsored by Miss Katherine Wendell Blewett; commissioned 3 December 1942. During World War II assigned to the European theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation (July 1943), the Salerno landings (September 1943), and the Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). 'In May 1960, LST-391 was transferred to Greece as grant aid where she served in the Royal Hellenic Navy as Rodos (L-157).' Earned three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1960
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1942); wartime crew and embarked troops (1942-1947)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; contains no asbestos or material content. The entry does not state a decommissioning date, the 1955 renaming to Bowman County, or a striking date - those milestones come from other rows. 'Transferred as grant aid' (May 1960) is the authorization/transfer event; physical delivery to the Hellenic Navy at Jacksonville, FL on 9 August 1960 is documented by the Hellenic Navy row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Bowman County (LST-391), ex USS LST-391 - timeline, specification block, commanding-officer list, photo captions (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160391.htm - header, campaign table, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive record for this hull: laid down 14 July 1942 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.; launched 28 October 1942; commissioned USS LST-391 on 3 December 1942, LT. Philip E. Power USNR in command; assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater - Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943, Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943, Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; decommissioned 30 April 1947; named USS Bowman County (LST-391) 1 July 1955; transferred to Greece May 1960 and renamed HS Rodos (L-157); struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; three battle stars; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kts trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk main reduction gears, three diesel-drive 100 kW generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Contemporaneous photography documents the hull unloading the 817th Engineer Aviation Battalion at Salerno and, in Hellenic service, HS Rodos (L-157) in a 1972 Greek Army exercise and moored at Salamis Naval Base 31 August 1979 (Defense Imagery VIRIN DN-SC-82-00333). Seven commanding officers listed Dec 1942 - Apr 1947; no post-1947 U.S. commanding officer entries.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1997
- Population
- Construction trades (1942); U.S. crew and embarked troops (1942-1947); Hellenic Navy crew (1960-1997)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS data, not a primary registry - the 30 April 1947 decommissioning and 'struck, date unknown' rest on it alone (DANFS silent on both). Specification block matches BuShips SDB-1945 class values. Contains no asbestos content. Photo captions document the hull's presence at Salerno and in Greek service through at least 1979 - presence documentation, not work or materials records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-02
-
[4]Hellenic Navy (hellenicnavy.gr), history page for L-157 (article slug '27-l-157-1960-1997') - via Wayback capture 2016-08-07; the live URL resolves but the article body no longer renders [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20160807080229, article body; live URL https://www.hellenicnavy.gr/el/istoria/39-gr/istoria/palaia-polemika-ploia/armatagwga/27-l-157-1960-1997 resolves without article content (site restructure)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Hellenic Navy history page for the hull ('Former USS BOWMAN COUNTY LST 391', armatagogo/LST): granted by the USA under military aid; received 9 August 1960 by Lt. Cmdr. A. Ioannou at Jacksonville, Florida, USA; 'used for military and state transports until January 1997, when she was decommissioned' (Greek text, translated). Listed specifications: 100 x 15.25 x 4.3 m; displacement 1,653/4,080 t (beaching 2,366 t); diesel propulsion; 11.6 kn; armament 8 x 40mm and 6 x 20mm; transport capacity 2,100 t; crew 119 with accommodations for 226. Same-type Hellenic sisters named: IKARIA, LESVOS, SAMOS, CHIOS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1960-1997
- Population
- Hellenic Navy crew of HS Rodos (1960-1997)
- Limitations
- Official foreign-navy source for the Hellenic service window; establishes delivery at Jacksonville, FL on 9 August 1960 (complementing DANFS's May 1960 grant-aid transfer) and decommissioning January 1997. Contains no asbestos, survey, or disposal-after-decommissioning content. Wikipedia's 'List of decommissioned ships of the Hellenic Navy' carries a conflicting '(1960-1990)' window - resolved in favor of this official source; residual noted in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-03
-
[5]Consolidated era inference - NavSource specification block (diesel plant, generator and reduction-gear fit) + documented WWII naval-vessel construction practice (see ev-05, ev-06, ev-07); consistent with the LST-1-class profile (separate class worktree, corroboration only) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160391.htm specifications block; LST-1 class profile era-applications note
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered LST-1-class hull built in 1942: the GM 12-567A diesel plant means there is no boiler or steam-turbine lagging pathway aboard; asbestos-relevant applications for the type concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve and machinery packing, and winch/crane brake linings. The hull passed through a 1960 foreign transfer and more than 36 further years of Hellenic service - any era materials present at construction would persist unless removed by overhaul work for which no record is located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1997
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1942); U.S. crew (1942-1947); reserve-fleet caretakers (1947-1960); Hellenic Navy crew (1960-1997); any shipbreakers post-1997
- Limitations
- Inference only - no hull-specific bill of materials, insulation schedule, survey, or overhaul work package located for LST-391. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation established. Hellenic-era maintenance and any material removal are undocumented in the sources searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-04
-
[6]shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json, yard_id 'newport-news-shipbuilding' (products documented; White v. Johns-Manville Corp., 662 F.2d 243 (4th Cir. 1981); Tagnon et al. PMIDs 7471040, 6931936) [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json newport-news-shipbuilding evidence rows ev-newport-news-01/-02/-03 and ev-newport-news-white-662f2d; White v. Johns-Manville opinion at Justia F2/662/243
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Yard-level documentation for the builder: the shipyard-exposure-map dataset records Newport News Shipbuilding with documented asbestos products including Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, and raw asbestos mud, supported by litigation records - White v. Johns-Manville Corp., 662 F.2d 243 (4th Cir. 1981) records Newport News Shipbuilding employees' suits against asbestos product manufacturers (products in the yard record: JM, Kaylo/OCF, Pittsburgh Corning, Unarco, Celotex/Philip Carey, Eagle-Picher, Raybestos-Manhattan, H.K. Porter Thermoid) - and by Tidewater, VA epidemiology (Tagnon et al. 1980, PMID 7471040: 4-fold mesothelioma incidence among white males in coastal Tidewater 1972-1978, three-fourths with shipbuilding employment; PMID 6931936: smoking-adjusted lung cancer RR 1.7 for shipyard employment begun before 1950).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942 build; litigation/epidemiology 1972-2013
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding construction trades (1942 build window in scope)
- Limitations
- Yard-level, not hull-level: documents asbestos product use and exposure litigation at Newport News Shipbuilding generally - LST-391 is not named. The White opinion is a summary-judgment/procedural ruling, not a merits finding of exposure aboard any vessel; Tidewater studies are multi-yard geographic scope and do not isolate Newport News. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, quantity, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-05
-
[7]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A Health Survey of Pipe Covering Operations in Constructing Naval Vessels,' Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology 28:9-16 (January 1946), PMID 21016030; later critique: 'When errors become etched in stone: The U.S. Navy's deeply flawed, never retracted World War II asbestos epidemiology study' (2026, doi:10.1177/10482911261446696) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- U.S. Navy/U.S. Public Health Service industrial-health survey of pipe-covering operations during WWII naval vessel construction: amosite asbestos documented as an important ingredient of pipe covering used on U.S. Navy vessels; 1,074 pipe coverers X-rayed across two government navy yards and two contract yards (anonymized in print as Yards A-D); only 3 asbestosis cases found, and the authors' erroneous 'not a dangerous occupation' conclusion later drew sustained criticism for contributing to decades of inadequate protection of insulation workers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (survey); article January 1946
- Population
- WWII pipe coverers/insulators in naval vessel construction (program context)
- Limitations
- Yards anonymized in the publication - the survey cannot be attributed to Newport News Shipbuilding specifically on this record. Program-level documentation contemporaneous with this hull's 1942 construction; does not name this vessel and establishes no hull-level exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's 1942 construction and its entire U.S. service era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s-1979 (program period)
- Population
- Navy shipyard and shipboard workforce (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy-wide documentation - no hull named. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing defect since BATCH-01); content via product-page description. This hull left U.S. Navy custody in 1960, before the surveyed period; relevant as era/program context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-07
-
[9]NARA 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index (archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online); NARA Guide to Federal Records RG 24/RG 38; Naval Vessel Register coverage note (nvr.navy.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log index (hull absent); RG 24/RG 38 series descriptions; nvr.navy.mil SHIPSDETAIL_LST_391 (no record returned)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved): (a) NARA RG 24 deck logs - this hull does NOT appear in NARA's 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' digitized index (checked 2026-10-02; 89 vessels listed, LST-391/Bowman County absent), so her 1942-1947 deck logs remain a paper-only lead at NARA College Park; (b) NARA RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' is the series where LST action/operation reports for Sicily, Salerno, and Normandy would sit - no item-level record for LST-391 was confirmed (catalog JS-rendered; DPLA API key unavailable); (c) NVR has no detail record for LST-391 - vessels disposed before 1987 are not in the register, and the SHIPSDETAIL URL returns the generic NVR page.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947 records
- Limitations
- Series-level leads only - no box-level or item-level retrieval performed; whether any LST-391 operation report exists in RG 38 is unconfirmed. Deck logs are operational records, not materials surveys. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-08
-
[10]Batch-6933 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource live page; Hellenic Navy official page via Wayback; NARA deck-log index; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory (site error); GAO product page; PubMed PMIDs; shipyard-exposure-map dataset; CourtListener (partial - two opinion queries zero-hit, remainder pacing-blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-bowman-county-lst391-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material specification, or verified litigation naming USS LST-391 / USS Bowman County / HS Rodos (L-157) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches completed this session returned zero hits for '"LST-391"' and for '"Bowman County"' + asbestos; the unqualified name search and all docket searches were fleet-pacing-blocked (logged as blocked in search_ledger - the litigation sweep is partial, not complete). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content of the banned class (generic 'asbestos aboard LSTs' pages, e.g. gorilaw.com) asserting exposure without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search remains a partial gap (two opinion queries completed at zero hits; unqualified-name opinion and docket searches pacing-blocked). A 1942 amphibious hull in continuous service to 1997 is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials; that is inference, not a ship-proven fact. Greek-era maintenance/abatement records and the final disposal yard record were not located. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-09
-
[11]Conflict check: official Hellenic Navy L-157 page (Wayback) vs Wikipedia ship article and decommissioned-ships list; DANFS vs Hellenic Navy on transfer vs delivery; NavSource disposition lines [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hellenic Navy page via Wayback 20160807080229; Wikipedia 'List of decommissioned ships of the Hellenic Navy'; DANFS lst-391 entry; NavSource 10/16/160391.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary-source conflicts resolved, not propagated: (a) Hellenic service end-date - Wikipedia 'List of decommissioned ships of the Hellenic Navy' carries Rodos (L-157) as '(1960-1990)' while the official Hellenic Navy history page states she was used for transports 'until January 1997, when she was decommissioned'; the official source controls (January 1997). (b) Transfer timing - DANFS 'transferred to Greece as grant aid, May 1960' vs Hellenic Navy 'received 9 August 1960 at Jacksonville, Florida': complementary events (grant-aid transfer vs physical delivery/acceptance), both carried. (c) Wikipedia carries an editorial note that 'this LST' appears at 13:47 in a video of Operation Blue Jay construction at Thule (1951-52 era); no authoritative source places LST-391 at Thule, and NavSource shows her decommissioned 30 April 1947 with no recommissioning or post-1947 commanding officers - claim flagged as unverified in gaps, not asserted. (d) 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown' (NavSource); DANFS and NVR supply no striking date - left as unknown rather than estimated.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1947-1997
- Limitations
- Wikipedia is not cited as a record source; conflicts are logged so official-source values govern. The 1990 variant end-date and the Thule video claim remain unverified secondary assertions - recorded here and in gaps so they are not silently propagated. No asbestos content in any of these sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-bowman-county-lst391-10