Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 628-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-helios-lst1127-pkt-628-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Helios (ARB-12) - class and spec block, construction, LST-1127 first commissioning, Maryland Drydock conversion, recommissioning, Pacific deployment, reserve berthing, 1962 lease to Brazil (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl 2026-10-02; bare curl returns 404 - UA-gated) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Helios (ARB-12) entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: 'Helios (ARB-12), formerly LST-1127, was launched 14 February 1945 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.; sponsored by Mrs. Emery Adams; and commissioned as LST-1127, 26 February 1945, Lt. Adam W. Melohusky in command.' She sailed down the Mississippi and around to Baltimore, decommissioned 16 March 1945, and 'was then converted to an ARB by the Maryland Drydock Co., of Baltimore.' Recommissioned 23 July 1945; Chesapeake Bay shakedown; sailed from Norfolk 27 August; reached Pearl Harbor 29 September 1945 after the war's end; sailed 11 October, reached Charleston a month later, then the Inactive Fleet Berthing Area at Green Cove Springs, Fla.; decommissioned 3 December 1946; remained in reserve until leased to the government of Brazil 19 January 1962 as Belmonte. Spec block: dp. 1,781; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 286; a. 8 40mm.; cl. Aristaeus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1962
- Population
- Construction trades (Seneca, 1944-45); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (1945); ship's company (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Sponsor name conflicts with the DANFS LST-1127 entry ('Mrs. Evelyn P. Adams') - unresolved, logged in gaps. Does not state the laid-down date. Charleston arrival date and the 27 August departure port come from the ship's war history (ev-04); DANFS does not state them.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-01
-
[3]DANFS, LST-1127 - laid-down date, builder, launch, first commission, conversion note (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-1127 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull under its first designation: 'LST-1127 was laid down on 23 November 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 14 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Evelyn P. Adams; and commissioned on 26 February 1945, Lt. Adam W. Melohusky in command. Decommissioned on 16 March 1945, LST-1127 underwent conversion to a battle damage repair ship and was commissioned again as Helios (ARB-12) (q.v.) on 23 July 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Seneca, 1944-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Sponsor given as 'Mrs. Evelyn P. Adams' here vs 'Mrs. Emery Adams' in the Helios entry and the ship's war history - internal DANFS conflict, unresolved. The two entries are one hull (the entry cross-references Helios ARB-12 explicitly).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Helios (ARB-12) ex USS LST-1127 (09/26/2612.htm, last updated 10 February 2017) - designation timeline, spec block, commanding-officer list, awards, Brazil transfer and disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 09/26/2612.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, CO table, awards display
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: Aristaeus-class battle damage repair ship; laid down (date unknown) at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 14 February 1945; commissioned USS LST-1127 26 February 1945, LT Adam W. Melohusky USN; decommissioned 16 March 1945 at Maryland Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, MD, for conversion to a battle damage repair ship; recommissioned USS Helios (ARB-12) 23 July 1945; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater but arrived after the war ended; decommissioned 3 December 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; transferred (leased) to Brazil 19 January 1962, renamed Belmonte (G24); sold outright to Brazil via the Security Assistance Program 1 December 1977; struck from the Naval Register 10 December 1977; decommissioned by the Brazilian Navy 7 June 1997; sunk as a target 19 March 2002. Spec block: 1,781 t light / 3,960 t full; 328' x 50'; draft 11'2"; 11.6 kts; complement 15 officers / 271 enlisted; largest boom capacity 50 t; two quad 40mm AA mounts, eight single 20mm AA mounts; four 100kW 120V/240V DC and two 100kW 450V AC ship's-service generators; diesel fuel oil capacity 4,480 bbls; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers, 1,800 shp. Radio call sign NJMR. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Photo documents the ship underway near Baltimore 28 July 1945 after completion of conversion. CO table: Melohusky both commission periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-2002
- Population
- Ship's company (1945-46); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (1945); Brazilian Navy crew (1962-1997)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - core dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the ship's war history. The post-US timeline (1977 sale/strike, 1997 Brazilian decommissioning, 2002 target sinking) is NavSource-only; the 2002 sinking is corroborated only by secondary sources (Wikipedia). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 77646632, 'USS HELIOS - War History' (RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, WWII war-diaries microfilm, Micro Serial 157080, Roll A-2054; ship's submission serial 201 dated 22 November 1945, signed by the commanding officer; 3 images, digitized via Fold3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77646632, images 1-3 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02; departure-date line verified by direct image display)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war history (all 3 pages OCR-read this session, key dates re-verified on the image) documents: launched 14 February 1945 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Shipbuilding Division, Seneca, Illinois, sponsored by Mrs. Emery Adams; commissioned USS LST-1127 on 26 February 1945 at the same yard; taken down the Mississippi River and around to Baltimore by the same ship's company; decommissioned 16 March 1945 'and converted to an ARB by the Maryland Drydock Company of Baltimore'; 'She is the twelfth and last ship of the class.' Lt. Adam W. Melohusky accepted the ship for the Navy 23 July 1945 as commanding officer; complement 'seventeen officers and two hundred and thirty-six enlisted men'; the repair department was assembled at the U.S. Naval Repair Base, Algiers, New Orleans, La., under Lt.(jg) Donald H. Frisch, USN, Assistant Repair Officer, while the greater part of ship's company was mobilized at A.T.B. Camp Bradford, Virginia. The ship left the vicinity of Baltimore 30 July 1945 for Norfolk; shakedown in Chesapeake Bay (ten days exercising, then 'another ten days was spent in the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth for final tuning'); 'On 27 August 1945 the Helios started out of Hampton Roads for Panama'; transited the Panama Canal 7 September 1945; two weeks at Pearl Harbor; departed Pearl Harbor 11 October 1945; retransited the Canal 2 November after 22 days at sea; anchored Charleston, S.C., 11 November 1945; bound for decommissioning and the Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, St. Johns River, Florida.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company and repair department (1945-46); Naval Repair Base Algiers personnel; ATB Camp Bradford; Norfolk Navy Yard trades (Aug 1945 availability)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced narrative; documents the conversion event, crew assembly points, and a Norfolk Navy Yard availability but does not itemize materials, name 'asbestos,' or describe the conversion work package scope. The 17/236 complement figure is the ship's own number and conflicts with DANFS/NavSource's 286 - carried as a conflict, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 127422802, 'Helios (ARB-12), 3/3/45-3/16/45' (RG 24, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities; microfilm Roll 1905; 219 images, digitized via Ancestry partnership; a second scan of the same record exists as NAID 193139332, 1,728 images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 127422802, images 1-3 viewed (roll segment covering 3/3/45-3/16/45); alternate scan NAID 193139332
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's BuPers muster roll (cover sheet and report-of-changes pages viewed and OCR-read this session) is titled 'MUSTER ROLL OF THE CREW OF THE U.S.S. HELIOS (ARB-12 ex LST #1127) (reduced commission)', certified by the executive officer (signature reads 'De Vito') and approved by Lt. A.W. Melohusky, Commanding Officer; forwarded 5 March 1945 'From NAVAL REPAIR BASE, New Orleans, La.' The report-of-changes pages name individual crew with service numbers, enlistment dates and places, and ratings - documenting the crew pipeline through the New Orleans repair base during the pre-conversion period, corroborating the war history's Algiers repair-department detail.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-03
- Population
- Ship's company and repair department personnel assembling at Naval Repair Base, New Orleans (Mar 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary personnel record; only the forwarding sheet and the first report-of-changes pages were read - the roll's full page count and every rating aboard were not enumerated. 'Reduced commission' notation reflects the ship's unusual crewing state during the LST-1127 commission-to-conversion gap (commissioned 26 Feb, decommissioned 16 Mar 1945). Contains no asbestos or material content; crew names are carried as a record class, not reproduced here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), alphabetical index (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 index: LST number run (LST1127 -> 'Now ARB12') and alphabetical entry 'Helios (ex-LST1127) ARB12'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The BuShips 1945 index records the redesignation for this hull twice: in the LST number run, 'LST1127 ... Now ARB12', and in the alphabetical run, 'Helios (ex-LST1127) - ARB12 - Auxiliary-Repair Ship, Battle Damage' - contemporaneous Navy documentation that this hull's commissioned identity is the battle damage repair ship, not the tank landing ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Index-level documentation only; the volume contains no ARB-12 characteristics sheet that was located, so no machinery/fit-out specifics are carried from it. Names the hull and its type conversion; contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-06
-
[8]NavSource ARB-12 spec block (propulsion/complement/generators/armament); NavSource ARB index (09/26/26idx.htm, class roster ARB-1 through ARB-13, all ex-LST conversions); DANFS Aristaeus (ARB-1) entry for class-conversion context (Maryland Drydock Co. converted the lead ship the same way); BuShips SDB 1945 v2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 2612.htm spec block; NavSource 26idx.htm ARB roster; DANFS Aristaeus entry; SDB 1945 v2 index
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 design ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,800 shp, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944-45 diesel hull of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and this hull additionally underwent a documented full conversion to a battle damage repair ship at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, March-July 1945 (DANFS; ship's war history), which added repair-ship workshop and interior scope aboard this specific hull inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-2002
- Population
- CB&I construction trades (1944-45); Maryland Drydock conversion trades (1945); ship's company incl. repair department (1945-46); Brazilian Navy crew and yard trades (1962-1997); shipbreakers/target prep (1997-2002)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or conversion work package was located for LST-1127/Helios. The Maryland Drydock conversion is ship-documented as an event; its material content is not itemized in any source read, and 'repair-shop scope' is a class-role inference, not a documented materials fact. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-07
-
[9]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 construction (1944-45), conversion (1945), US service, and reserve-fleet period; Brazilian service continued to 1997 with disposition in 2002.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- 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, standing) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion index [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-helios-lst1127-09 through -13
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located. Exact-phrase "ARB-12" returned 12 opinion-index hits and 136 docket-index hits, all tokenized name collisions - Texas Appraisal Review Board ('ARB') tax cases, arbitration 'ARB' acronym text in ICSID/insurance matters, and 'ARB Corporation' party names; none names the vessel. "LST-1127" in opinions returned 0; "LST 1127" asbestos in opinions returned 0. The "USS Helios" asbestos opinion query did not complete - the fleet pacing gate refused it repeatedly this session (see ledger sl-13); the bare name 'Helios' is high-collision regardless.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - state-court filings, unreported settlements, MDL-875 pleading-level vessel lists, and non-digitized dockets are outside coverage. A zero qualifying result means no located docketed case/opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists. The generic name 'Helios' and the hull number 'ARB-12' are high-collision strings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-09
-
[11]Batch-6616 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Helios and LST-1127 entries); NavSource ARB-12 page and ARB index; NARA catalog (war history read in full; muster-roll forwarding sheet and report-of-changes pages read); BuShips SDB 1945 v2 index; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-helios-lst1127-01 through -18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying case naming LST-1127 or Helios (ARB-12) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational/personnel (war history, muster roll) and confirms a documented March-July 1945 Maryland Drydock conversion plus a post-shakedown Norfolk Navy Yard availability - relevant yard events - but no primary source read names asbestos aboard this hull.
- 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 - construction at a wartime inland yard plus a documented repair-ship conversion sit squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-10
-
[12]NARA catalog queries "LST-1127" (107 fuzzy hits), "Helios" (3,048 fuzzy hits), "ARB-12" (903 fuzzy hits): ship-titled units are the war history (NAID 77646632, digitized) and the muster roll (NAID 127422802; duplicate scan NAID 193139332; microfilm Roll 1905). No ship-titled war diary or deck-log file unit surfaced. [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov queries of 2026-10-02; NAIDs 77646632, 127422802, 193139332
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for deeper work: (1) deck logs for the 1945-46 commissioned period, if extant, are paper records at NARA College Park (RG 24 deck-logs series) not surfaced in the digitized catalog; (2) the muster-roll file unit's remaining ~216 unviewed images (and the 1,728-image duplicate scan) enumerate crew by name/rating across the conversion period; (3) conversion work packages for Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, 1945 - not located in digitized indexes; (4) Brazilian Navy records for Belmonte (G24) service 1962-1997 and 2002 target sinking are outside US archives.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Leads only - none was pursued beyond catalog-level confirmation this session. Absence of a surfaced deck-log file unit does not prove none exists; the deck-logs series is largely non-digitized and indexed at a coarser level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-helios-lst1127-11