USS Burnett County (LST-512)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet 683-packet.md [other_primary]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-burnett-county-lst512-pkt-683-packet-md

2. [2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-512' (DANFS) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'LST-512' entry, full text (4 paragraphs + battle-star line); entry is filed under 'L' - a 'b/burnett-county' URL 404s

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS entry for LST-512: laid down 22 July 1943 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 10 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Gerry DeWane; commissioned 8 January 1944. Assigned to the European theater and participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Returned to the United States; decommissioned 28 March 1947 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Redesignated Burnett County (LST-512) on 1 July 1955 'after a county in Wisconsin'; struck from the Navy list 18 February 1957; sold to the Peruvian Navy 11 October 1957. Received one battle star for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1957

   Limitations

   Verified live 2026-10-02. The DANFS entry is short: it does not mention the 1944 storm damage or the 1945-46 Great Lakes 'Hit the Beach!' traveling-exhibit tour (both documented by other rows), does not state a laid-down day conflicting with BuShips (see ev-03), and gives no Peruvian-service detail beyond the 1957 sale. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-01

3. [3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (13 April 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-011 - scan hosted at shipscribe.com [other_primary]

   Locator

   Roster section, LST block (LST512 line, p. ~169 area under 'Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.'); LANDING SHIP, TANK (LST) design table, LST491-541 group row; disposition index 'LST508-512'

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 13 April 1945): (a) the build roster names LST512 under 'Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.' with dates 29 Jul 43 / 10 Dec 43 / 8 Jan 44 (laid / launched / commissioned); (b) the LST design table for group LST491-541 documents the class plant: 2 G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines, 1,700 shp, Falk single reduction gears, 3 diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators, 4,320 bbls diesel fuel, trial displacement 3,960 t, limiting draft 11'2", max navigational draft 14'1", accommodations 13 officers + 106 enlisted (with 16 Army officers / 131 Army enlisted troop accommodations), armament 2 twin + 4 single 40-mm AA mounts; (c) the disposition index lists 'LST508-512' with no loss/transfer annotation, i.e., still in U.S. service at publication.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1945

   Limitations

   Contemporary official BuShips publication (April 1945) naming this hull. Roster confirms builder and the launch/commission dates but prints a laid-down date (29 Jul 43) that conflicts with DANFS (22 Jul 43) - documented at ev-03, unresolved. Design-table figures are for the LST491-541 group (this hull's group), not measured off this individual hull. No asbestos or materials content; supports no asbestos claim. Note: the file moved - the shipscribe URL cited by the earlier class profile (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf) now returns 404; the /pubs/ path verified live 2026-10-02; no Wayback snapshot exists for either URL.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-02

4. [4]DANFS 'LST-512' vs BuShips Ships' Data Vol. II roster entry LST512 [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v2 LST build roster, LST512 line; DANFS LST-512 entry para. 1

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Source discrepancy documented, unresolved: the laid-down date is 22 July 1943 per DANFS (and NavSource, Wikipedia) but 29 July 1943 per the contemporary BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. II build roster - a 7-day conflict between two official Navy publications. Launch (10 Dec 1943) and commissioning (8 Jan 1944) agree across all sources. DANFS is carried as the record's primary date; the BuShips variant is flagged rather than resolved because no yard record was located to arbitrate.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943

   Limitations

   Unresolved date conflict of exactly one week between two authoritative Navy sources. Affects only the laid-down field; identity and later milestones unaffected. No asbestos relevance.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-03

5. [5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Burnett County (LST-512) page [other_primary]

   Locator

   Page top timeline block; awards strip; campaign table; CO table; specification block; photo captions including press-release scans 1016051228.jpg and 1016051229.jpg

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive page for USS Burnett County (LST-512): Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign table gives 'Invasion of Normandy 6 to 25 June 1944'; awards American Campaign Medal, EAME Campaign Medal (1 star), WWII Victory Medal; five commanding officers tabulated (Lt. Jerome S. Carson Jr., 8 Jan 1944 - May 1945; Lt. Jerome Brock, May - Dec 1945; Lt. John Calvin Stevens II, Dec 1945 - Feb 1946; Lt. William Brockholst Provost Jr., Feb - 29 Mar 1946; Lt. Eugene C. Drozd, 29 Mar 1946 - 28 Mar 1947); sale to Peru 11 Oct 1957 and renaming BAP Paita (LT-35), 'Final Disposition, fate unknown'; specification block (1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching, 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 11.6 kt); photograph series documenting the Ohio River transit at Steubenville, the 1945 Great Lakes tour modifications at Calumet Ship and Drydock (folding mast), tour stops at Chicago/Detroit (opening probably 12 June 1945 per captions)/Duluth/Toledo/Pittsburgh (16-22 Oct 1945), and Peruvian service as BAP Paita circa 1959-1966.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1983

   Limitations

   Verified live 2026-10-02 on the navsource.NET domain (navsource.ORG is dead; .net returns HTTP 200). Privately maintained photo archive that reproduces official documents and credited Navy/AP photography - used for campaign dates, CO succession, spec block, and photographic itinerary; its own prose is secondary. 'Fate unknown' for the Peruvian-service tail. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-04

6. [6]U.S. Navy press releases dated 21 May 1945 (Chicago) and 11 June 1945 (Detroit), scans hosted on NavSource (image files 1016051228.jpg, 1016051229.jpg) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Press-release scans linked from the NavSource LST-512 photo table; transcribed in full this session (both images legible)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Two U.S. Navy press releases hosted as scans on the NavSource page document the ship's storm damage and exhibit-tour conversion: (a) Chicago, 21 May 1945 - 'The LST 512, Navy travelling exhibit landing ship arrived at Chicago today after a perilous 6500 mile voyage from the battle beaches of Normandy. The 512 is the first and largest combat ship to negotiate the treacherous currents and shallows of the Mississippi River in an upbound trip,' piloted by Coast Guard river pilots and brought in by Lt. Comdr. Toralv Berg; to be fitted out for an exhibition tour of Great Lakes cities with 'open house' events and staged invasions opening in Detroit in early June, itinerary incl. Buffalo, Erie, Rochester, Cleveland, Toledo, Bay City, Duluth, Muskegon, Milwaukee, Racine, Lakes-area completion at Chicago in September; (b) Detroit, datetamped 11 June 1945 - 'the battle scarred LST 512 ... was in the invasion of Normandy where a storm caused her to broach to on the beach and break her back. Now not sea worthy enough to continue invasion operations in the Pacific,' she was loaded with 200 Navy/Coast Guard/Marine Corps Pacific-veteran crew and exhibits including a tank-deck South Pacific jungle, flame-throwing tanks, 'alligators,' rocket guns, landing barges; ship open to the public noon-10 P.M. at the foot of Woodward Avenue with two full-dress invasions of Belle Isle; no admission charge.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Ship's crew including ~200 embarked Navy/Coast Guard/Marine Corps exhibit personnel; touring public

   Limitations

   Official Navy publicity documents - ship-specific and contemporaneous, but written for war-bond promotion; superlatives ('first and largest combat ship ... upbound trip') are PR assertions carried in PR framing. Neither release dates the Normandy storm event (secondary sources say October 1944 - unverified, see gaps). Scans reside on a private archive; content is the official release text. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-05

7. [7]National Archives catalog, RG 38 WWII War Diaries series - USS LST-512 file units [other_primary]

   Locator

   catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-512' (file-unit results); war-history scan medialz/microfilm-publications/WWII_WarDiaries/0001/A_2107/A_2107/images/0376.jpg

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA catalog holds digitized ship records in RG 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories': 'USS LST-512 - War History' (NAID 77707467 - retrieved image is the assumption-of-command letter of 29 March 1946, Lt. Eugene C. Drozd relieving Lt. William B. Provost; copies to OinC USNavyTravExhibit, ComTraComdLant, ComServLant, ComPhibLant - confirming the ship remained attached to the U.S. Navy Traveling Exhibit as of March 1946); war diaries for 8 Jan-30 Jun 1944 (NAID 78586318), 1-31 Jul 1944 (NAID 78591335), 1-31 Aug 1944 (NAID 78636871), 1-31 Jan 1945 (NAID 139911402), and 1 Feb-31 Mar 1945 (NAID 139931897).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Limitations

   File units are cataloged and the war-history scan was retrieved and read; the diary volumes themselves were not page-reviewed this session. No Sep-Dec 1944 diary surfaced in the results reviewed - the window covering the reported storm event is an open lead. No asbestos content located in the retrieved image; diaries would document operations, not materials.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-06

8. [8]NARA / Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library eMuseum, 'Hit the Beach!' poster, Artifact ID MO 2005.13.20.28.2 [other_primary]

   Locator

   eMuseum object record (artifact ID, maker, issuing body, date, dimensions, physical description)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   National Archives (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library eMuseum) catalogs the official Navy poster 'Hit the Beach!' (Artifact MO 2005.13.20.28.2): 1945 U.S. Government Printing Office poster, issuing body U.S. Navy, featuring the bow of LST-512 with text 'THE U.S. NAVY PRESENTS / HIT THE BEACH! / DEMONSTRATING AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE' and 'Come aboard / THE / LST-512 / AN ASSULT [sic] SHIP / BACK FROM BATTLE!', plus exhibit contents 'COMBAT VETERANS - ROCKETS - BIG GUNS / FLAME THROWERS - ENEMY WEAPONS / LANDING CRAFT - / TANKS - JEEPS'; margin notation 'U.S. Government Printing Office: 1945-O-638901 / Official Navy Poster.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Verified live 2026-10-02. Confirms the ship's national traveling-exhibit role from the official record side (corroborates the Navy press releases). A second eMuseum record (object 14609) catalogs a copy of the same poster. No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-07

9. [9]BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. II LST491-541 design table + 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) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB1945v2 LST design table (propulsion/generator rows, LST491-541 group); AJIM 11(3):359-373

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: the BuShips-documented plant is 2 x GM 12-567A diesels with diesel-drive generators and no boilers or steam propulsion, so the classic boiler/steam-line lagging pathway does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type are diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and winch brake linings - consistent with WWII-era shipbuilding practice in which asbestos was used extensively as insulation and fireproofing (Corn & Starr 1987).

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1943-1947

   Population

   Construction trades at Chicago Bridge & Iron, Seneca (1943); wartime ship's company and embarked troops (1944-1947)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no member-level material schedule or hull record was located; the design table documents machinery, not insulation materials, and does not itself state 'asbestos.' Asbestos aboard this hull is a reasonable era-consistent inference, not a ship-proven fact; establishes no quantities, no location, no individual exposure, and no present-day presence.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-08

10. [10]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]

    Locator

    GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section

    Finding type

    gov_survey

    Finding

    GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards): standing policy from 1975 removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs; the policy was modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. Program context: ships of this era typically retained original insulation unless a yard period disturbed it - moot for this hull, which left U.S. custody in 1957 before the policy window.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1975-1979

    Population

    Navy shipyard workers (program context)

    Limitations

    Program-level documentation, not class- or hull-specific; this hull was sold to Peru in 1957, before the 1975/1979 policy window, so it bears only on era context. Product page retrieved via rendered fetch 2026-10-02; the full-report PDF asset (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) returns an Akamai 403 to direct fetch - highlights text used, same limitation as prior batches.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-09

11. [11]Batch-7020 search ledger for this record (NHHC/DANFS, NavSource, NARA catalog + FDR eMuseum, BuShips SDB 1945 v2, NVR, MARAD, CourtListener API v4) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-burnett-county-lst512-01 through -10

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LST-512/Burnett County was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion search '"LST-512"' returned 0 hits; '"Burnett County"' returned ~296 hits, all name collisions with Burnett County, Wisconsin (county-as-litigant Wisconsin matters) - none ship-related, none asbestos-related; no law-firm/marketing asbestos content naming this hull was encountered. NVR does not cover the hull (site notice: ships disposed of prior to 1987 are not included; this ship was disposed 1957). No MARAD custody record located (Navy-to-foreign transfer, never a MARAD/NDRF vessel).

    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 1943 mass-produced amphibious hull is era-consistent with retained asbestos materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim or legal eligibility. Hull left U.S. jurisdiction in 1957, narrowing the searchable U.S. record; Peruvian-service material condition is undocumented.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-burnett-county-lst512-10