Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 690-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-chittenden-county-lst561-pkt-690-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-561 - construction, WWII southern France service, Korea recommissioning, 1955 naming, decommissioning, striking, target sinking, battle stars (live NHHC page retrieved 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-561 entry (single narrative paragraph; no spec block in this entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 24 February 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 25 April 1944; sponsored by Miss Marie Meier; commissioned 15 May 1944. WWII: assigned to the European theater, participated in the invasion of southern France August-September 1944; decommissioned 30 April 1946. Recommissioned 18 September 1950 due to hostilities in Korea; assigned to Commander, Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; services in the Far East, the Arctic, and off the west coast of CONUS. Redesignated Chittenden County (LST-561) 1 July 1955 after a county in Vermont. Decommissioned again 2 June 1958; sunk as a target south of Oahu, Hawaii, 21 October 1958. Earned one battle star for WWII service and two for Korean service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Construction trades (Evansville, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46, 1950-58)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The live page contains a typographical error - 'Struck from the Navy list on 27 June 1948' - internally impossible (predates the 1955 naming and the 1958 sinking in the same entry); correct value 27 June 1958 per NavSource, logged as correction ev-08. Page returns 404 to bare-curl user agents but serves normally to browser agents - verified live 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Chittenden County (LST-561) ex-USS LST-561 - designation timeline, specifications, campaign tables, CO roster, awards, disposal (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160561.htm header block, campaign tables, specifications block, CO roster (courtesy Hechler/Reeves), photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship; laid down 24 February 1944 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 25 April 1944; commissioned USS LST-561 15 May 1944, LT Volvey W. Foster USNR in command. Campaigns: EAME - Invasion of southern France 15 Aug-25 Sep 1944; Korea - Second Korean Winter (22 Dec 1951-30 Jan 1952; 16-30 Apr 1952) and Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (1-18 May; 2-24 Jul 1952). Named Chittenden County (LST-561) 1 July 1955; decommissioned 2 June 1958; struck from the Naval Register 27 June 1958; sunk as a target off Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii, 21 October 1958 by USS Sargo (SSN-583). One WWII and two Korean War battle stars. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; endurance 24,000 mi @ 9 kt; complement 7 officers + 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; boats 3 LCVP + 1 LCPL; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, three 100 kW 230 V DC diesel-drive generators, two propellers 1,700 shp. CO roster: Foster (15 May 1944-Nov 1945), Mickey (Nov 1945-Feb 1946), Reed (Feb-30 Apr 1946), decommissioned 1946-1950, Bush (1952), Kirk (1955-20 Oct 1956), Ripley (20 Oct 1956-15 May 1958), Oberg (15 May-2 Jun 1958). Awards ribbon set: American Campaign, EAME (1), WWII Victory, National Defense, Korean Service (2), UN Service, ROK War Service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-46, 1950-58); embarked troops; Mare Island availability population (1957)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS and its campaign tables follow Navy awards records, but it is cited here as the most complete single timeline. The Sargo (SSN-583) attribution for the sinking rests on NavSource-captioned periscope photography and a contemporaneous Mare Island yard newspaper, not on the DANFS Sargo entry (which does not mention the event). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-02
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[4]Mare Island Naval Shipyard photographs #33859-4-57 and #33861-4-57 (9 April 1957), captioned in NavSource; plus NHHC photo-catalog record USN 1045669 (NARA-accessioned official photograph of this hull) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160561.htm image table (Mare Island photo ##33859-4-57, 33861-4-57; Arctic/DEW-line caption); NHHC catalog usn-1045669 record
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Mare Island Naval Shipyard photographs document this hull 'under repair at Mare Island from 31 January to 9 April 1957' - a named naval-shipyard availability on this hull in the postwar period. NHHC's photo catalog separately hosts USN 1045669, an official U.S. Navy photograph of USS Chittenden County (LST-561) cataloged 'circa 1959' and held at the National Archives. A NavSource-captioned photo places the ship in the Arctic summer-fall 1955 supporting DEW line radar-station construction, consistent with DANFS 'the Arctic' service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1955-1958
- Population
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard trades during the 31 Jan - 9 Apr 1957 availability; ship's crew
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the yard photographs and captions establish a documented repair availability window at Mare Island, not the scope of work performed - no work package, job order, or material record was located. The NHHC catalog 'circa 1959' date is loose (the hull was sunk October 1958; the photo necessarily predates the sinking). No asbestos content in either record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-03
-
[5]NARA catalog: digitized monthly deck-log file units for Chittenden County (LST-561), RG 24, scanned under the Veterans Benefits Administration Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search q="LST-561"; verified file unit NAID 214313101 (Feb 1957); sibling units NAIDs 214313217 (Mar 1957), 214313345 (Apr 1957), 200127618 (Feb 1958), others
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The National Archives catalog returns 446 results for the quoted string "LST-561", 438 marked 'available to access online.' The visible file units are monthly deck logs titled 'Chittenden County (LST-561) - [Month Year]' spanning at least 1956-1958 (e.g., NAID 214313101 'Chittenden County (LST-561) - February 1957', 114 images, retrieved live), including the February-April 1957 months covering the documented Mare Island availability. Deck logs record daily position, arrivals/departures, muster, and remarks - the primary source for day-level location and activity, including yard periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- primarily 1956-1958 observed
- Population
- Ship's company documented in the logs (1950-58 recommissioned era; WWII-era logs exist in RG 24 as a related series)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the file units were verified to exist and display online, but the page images were not individually reviewed - the logs' specific content (e.g., what work was done at Mare Island, what ports were visited) is unexamined. Transcription status: not started. The 446-hit count includes any catalog item mentioning the string, so exact month coverage requires enumeration.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (2x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp - diesel plant, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST design groupings (LST-561 is in the LST-542 design group per the class registry); era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160561.htm specifications block; BuShips SDB 1945 v2 LST design groups (shipscribe PDF 404 this session); lst-1-class class profile (internal background)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class hull built in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a diesel LST of this period: GM diesel engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings. As a diesel vessel she carried no boilers - the steam-line/boiler lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply; the exposure-relevant systems concentrate in machinery spaces and interior finishes.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46, 1950-58); Mare Island availability trades (1957)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package was located for LST-561, and none is expected to survive for a hull sunk in 1958. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The BuShips SDB1945v2 PDF previously cited (shipscribe.com) returned 404 on 2026-10-02 - the LST-542 group assignment also appears in the class registry and NavSource header.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-05
-
[7]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 (1944) and service era (1944-46, 1950-58).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-06
-
[8]Batch-7074 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource live page; NHHC photo catalog; NARA digitized deck logs; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS Chittenden County / LST-561 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - every authenticated request returned the fleet pacing limiter (~114/hr shared budget momentarily spent); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomasymptoms.com ship page and similar listicles) asserting asbestos 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 is a genuine open gap (paced, not run). The hull is a 1958 sunk target off Oahu, so no surviving structure exists to survey and no reserve-fleet or disposal-yard records are expected beyond sinking documentation. Deck logs (digitized, unexamined) and Mare Island work packages are the open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-07
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[9]DANFS LST-561 entry (live page) vs NavSource 10/16/160561.htm + Wikipedia USS Chittenden County (secondary concordance) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-561 final sentences vs NavSource milestone list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the live DANFS page prints 'Struck from the Navy list on 27 June 1948' - a typographical error that is internally impossible (a 1948 striking would precede the 1955 naming, the 2 June 1958 decommissioning, and the 21 October 1958 sinking described in the same entry). NavSource gives 'Struck from the Naval Register, 27 June 1958' and all derivative sources agree; this record carries 1958-06-27.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1958
- Limitations
- Corrects a live-source typographical error, not a material claim. The 1958 date rests on NavSource + derivative concordance; no independent Naval Register scan was retrieved, but internal consistency makes the year certain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-chittenden-county-lst561-08