Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 734-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-iron-county-lst840-pkt-734-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Iron County' (NHHC, published 2015-07-22) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Iron County entry, full entry text and spec line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS Iron County entry: LST-840 was laid down by American Bridge Co., Ambridge, Pa., 28 September 1944; launched 15 November; sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Doerr; commissioned 11 December, Lt. David McC. Bon in command. After shakedown off Florida she loaded cargo at Gulfport, Miss., sailed 14 January 1945 for the Pacific, arrived Eniwetok 24 March, departed Ulithi 12 April for Okinawa, arrived 18 April during the ongoing battle, unloaded combat engineers and equipment, and returned to Ulithi 5 May. She shuttled troops and cargo in the Pacific for the rest of the war, operated with occupation forces in Japan and Okinawa for 3 months after V-J Day, embarked 500 Marines at Guam 11 November, arrived San Diego 15 December, and decommissioned at Vancouver, Wash., 1 June 1946, joining the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. Spec line: dp. 1,625; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'; s. 12 k.; cpl. 266; a. 8 40mm., 12 20mm.; cl. LST-542.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Verified live 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200; note NHHC returns 404 to non-browser user agents). Establishes identity, construction, WWII and occupation service only. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-01
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[3]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-840' and 'Iron County' (NHHC) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-840 entry (full entry); DANFS Iron County entry, Korean War/Indochina/final-service paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS LST-840 entry: recommissioned 3 November 1950, LST-840 performed extensive Korean War service; on 1 July 1955 she was redesignated Iron County (LST-840) after counties in Michigan, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin; decommissioned again 23 November 1957; transferred to the Republic of China Navy 1 July 1958, serving as Chung Fu (LST-223); struck from the Navy list 6 February 1959. LST-840 earned one battle star for World War II and four for the Korean War. The Iron County entry adds: Korean service June-November 1951 shuttling cargo and POWs between Korea and Japan; return to the U.S. 27 November 1951; Alaska cargo duty May 1952 for 6 months; second Korean tour from 13 March 1953 (Yokosuka 1 May, Inchon vicinity for the duration, peacekeeping in the Far East until late November 1953); French Indochina lift operations from Henrietta Pass 28 October 1954, Subic Bay 22 November 1954; named Iron County 1 July 1955; home port Pearl Harbor from 10 January 1956, amphibious exercises out of Hawaii January 1956 to November 1957; transferred to the Republic of China under the Military Assistance Program 1 July 1958.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1950-1959
- Limitations
- Both DANFS pages verified live 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200). The 1957-11-23 decommissioning and 1959-02-06 striking dates conflict with NavSource/Wikipedia (see correction row ev-04) - DANFS dates carried. Battle-star count conflicts with NavSource (4 vs 3 Korean) - see gaps. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-02
-
[4]NavSource Naval History, Tank Landing Ship LST-840 Iron County (Amphibious Photo Archive 10/16/160840, last updated 2024-03-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160840: history section, campaign tables, specifications block, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive record: LST-542-class tank landing ship; wartime assignment to LST Flotilla 23, LST Group 69, LST Division 137; Okinawa Gunto operation 18-29 April 1945; occupation service 2 September to 18 October 1945; Korean War campaigns - Communist China Spring Offensive 12-20 June 1951, UN Summer-Fall Offensive 4-15 October 1951, Korea Summer-Fall 1953 23 May-27 July 1953; laid up at Astoria, OR (Columbia River Group); commanding officer list from commissioning through transfer; photographed off Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, 4 April 1952; transferred to the Republic of China as ROCS Chung Fu (LST-223); struck from the ROC Navy 8 November 1997; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Specifications: displacement 1,625 t. light / 4,080 t. full; length 328' o.a.; beam 50'; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230V D.C. generators; complement 7 officers + 104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; armament 2 twin + 4 single 40mm and 12 single 20mm mounts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1997
- Limitations
- Verified live 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200; navsource.net, not the defunct navsource.org). NavSource is a secondary compilation affiliated with NHHC photo archives - where it conflicts with DANFS (launch 11-16 vs 11-15; decommissioning 1958-07-01 vs 1957-11-23; 3 vs 4 Korean battle stars; complement breakdown) DANFS is carried and conflicts are logged in ev-04 and gaps. The ROCN striking date 1997-11-08 rests on NavSource alone. Contains no asbestos or materials information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-03
-
[5]DANFS 'LST-840' and 'Iron County' entries vs NavSource 10/16/160840 (and Wikipedia infobox as secondary cross-check only - not cited as a record source) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-840 entry; DANFS Iron County entry header line; NavSource 10/16/160840 history and specifications sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancies resolved or logged: (a) launch date - DANFS and Wikipedia print 15 November 1944; NavSource prints 16 November 1944; the DANFS date (15 November) is adopted. (b) Final decommissioning - DANFS LST-840 entry says decommissioned 23 November 1957 and transferred 1 July 1958; NavSource and Wikipedia print decommissioned 1 July 1958 (the transfer date); the DANFS sequence is adopted. (c) Striking - DANFS says struck from the Navy list 6 February 1959; NavSource says 'date unknown'; Wikipedia prints 1 July 1958; the DANFS date is adopted. (d) Namesakes - the DANFS LST-840 entry names counties in Michigan, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin; the DANFS Iron County entry prints 'Michigan, Mississippi, Utah, and Wisconsin'; no Iron County exists in Mississippi, so the LST-840 entry (Missouri) is adopted and the Iron County entry's 'Mississippi' is treated as an NHHC internal typo. (e) Korean War battle stars - DANFS says four; NavSource's campaign table lists three campaigns and prints three battle stars; DANFS carried, conflict logged in gaps. (f) Complement - DANFS spec line cpl. 266 vs NavSource 7 officers + 104 enlisted crew plus 16 officers + 147 enlisted troops; carried separately, not merged.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1997
- Limitations
- Resolves publication-level date/name conflicts between official (DANFS) and secondary (NavSource, Wikipedia) framings; the unresolved battle-star discrepancy is carried in gaps rather than forced. None of these sources contains asbestos information; this row supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-04
-
[6]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the program and era under which this 1944-built tank landing ship was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant-type hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- DOI resolution verified live 2026-10-03 (302 to Wiley; Wiley content page blocks automated fetch with 403 - bot-block, not a dead link). Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-05
-
[7]Batch-7383 search ledger (this record): DANFS entries (Iron County, LST-840); NavSource 10/16/160840; NVR detail URL; CourtListener API v4 (blocked); open-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-iron-county-lst840-01 through sl-uss-iron-county-lst840-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located in the sources reachable this session: neither DANFS entry, the NavSource record, nor the NVR (no record exists - the hull was struck in 1959 and the NVR detail URL redirects to the NVR home page) contains any asbestos, insulation-materials, survey, or abatement statement. No asbestos or abatement disclosure was located for the ROC-era hull either. CourtListener litigation searches could not be completed this session - the API returned HTTP 429 with a ~6.3-hour Retry-After (shared 2,800/day fleet quota exhausted), logged as blocked in the search ledger, NOT as a negative result; open-web search surfaced only non-qualifying law-firm marketing listicles (excluded by source policy).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 wartime hull is era-consistent with original asbestos-containing materials. Litigation status is OPEN, not negative: CourtListener was quota-blocked this session and must be re-run before any 'no litigation' statement is made. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-06
-
[8]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) and RG 24 (Bureau of Naval Personnel) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 19 guide (verified live, HTTP 200); RG 24 guide https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/024.html (verified live, HTTP 200)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) holds WWII ship plans and contract/construction correspondence that may cover LST-542-class outfitting at American Bridge Co., Ambridge; RG 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel) holds deck logs - this hull's 1944-46 and 1950-58 logs would document yard periods and any insulation work; MAP transfer documentation for the 1958 ROC handover and any ROC-era disposal record sit outside digitized U.S. holdings.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1958 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; existence of asbestos-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-iron-county-lst840-07