Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 639-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-131-lst131-pkt-639-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-131 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Pacific operations, occupation duty, disposal (archived Wayback capture 2025-12-09 of NHHC DANFS page; live URL returned 404 on 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-131 entry (single-paragraph LST entry), archived capture 2025-12-09
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS text, verbatim facts): laid down 7 July 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 19 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth Still; commissioned 15 November 1943, Lt. John M. Tully, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Marianas operation (capture and occupation of Saipan, June and July 1944; Tinian capture and occupation, July 1944) and the Western Caroline Islands operation (capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, September and October 1944). Performed occupation duty in the Far East until early January 1946; decommissioned 20 May 1946; struck from the Navy list 10 June 1947; sold 6 April 1948 to the Kaiser Co., Inc., of Seattle, Wash., and subsequently scrapped.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1943); crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not state battle-star count (NavSource carries three) or unit assignments (NavSource carries Flotilla 13 / Group 37 / Division 73). Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-10-02; text verified via archived Wayback capture - same standing NHHC link-rot defect noted in BATCH-01.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-131 (10/16/160131) - designation block, campaign table, commanding officers, specifications (verified live, HTTP 200, 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160131.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LST-1-class tank landing ship; laid down 7 July 1943 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 19 September 1943; commissioned USS LST-131, 15 November 1943, LT. John M. Tully, USNR, in command. WWII assignment chain: LST Flotilla Thirteen (CAPT. J.G. Sampson USN), LST Group Thirty-Seven (CDR. R.D. Higgins USNR), LST Division Seventy-Three. Campaigns with dates: Marianas operation - capture and occupation of Saipan 15 June-28 July 1944; Tinian capture and occupation 24-28 July 1944; Western Caroline Islands operation - capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands 6 September-14 October 1944. Occupation service in the Far East 2 September 1945-1 January 1946. Decommissioned 20 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947; sold for scrapping 6 April 1948 to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, WA. Three battle stars. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Commanding officers: LT Tully (15 Nov 1943-5 Jul 1945); LTjg Robbins (5 Jul 1945-5 Dec 1945); LTjg Everett (5 Dec 1945-20 May 1946). Photographs place the hull on the LST ramp at Yokohama circa September-November 1945 alongside LST-683 and LST-1085.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1943); crew (1943-46); occupation-duty complement at Yokohama (1945); Kaiser Co. Seattle scrapping workforce (1948)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS and are corroborated by the archived DANFS text. Contains no asbestos content. The three-battle-star figure and unit-assignment chain appear here, not in DANFS.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-02
-
[4]NARA records for USS LST-131, WWII War Diaries series (College Park; digitized with Fold3): War History (NAID 77706901); War Diaries 4/1-5/31/44 (NAID 78514258), 6/2-7/28/44 (NAID 78681270), 8/1-11/30/44 (NAID 139789499), 1/1-2/28/45 (NAID 139921431), 3/1-6/30/45 (NAID 101726802), 7/1-31/45 (NAID 83565332), 8/1-9/30/45 (NAID 77542526), 10/1-31/45 (NAID 77570795), 11/1-12/31/45 (NAID 140084128); and 'Report of action and destruction of enemy submarine in Kossol Passage, Palau Islands, 1/12/45' (NAID 140067424) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog search API results for "USS LST-131" (74 hits, 11 file units naming this hull); NAIDs as listed; representative record catalog.archives.gov/id/78514258; microfilm roll A2106
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds an unusually complete digitized record set for this hull: a War History unit and nine war-diary file units covering April 1944 through December 1945, plus an action report titled 'Report of action and destruction of enemy submarine in Kossol Passage, Palau Islands, 1/12/45' - documenting a January 1945 anti-submarine action at Kossol Passage. The series is scanned microfilm (Fold3 collaboration; digital objects publicly served from catalog.archives.gov). These are operational records - the deepest ship-specific primary documentation located for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (records); catalog verified 2026-10-02
- Population
- Crew (1944-45 diary coverage period)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog metadata and digital-object URLs verified via NARA catalog search API; page-level contents were not reviewed, and no asbestos, material, or personnel-exposure content is asserted - war diaries are operational narratives. Whether any page of this set mentions insulation, repair, or material conditions is undetermined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-03
-
[5]National Park Service, 'Places of WWII History in Evansville, IN' (Evansville Shipyard section) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS article, 'Evansville Shipyard' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS documents the builder's yard: the Navy built Evansville Shipyard on 40 acres on the city's west side, announced February 1942; the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company began production on the yard's first LST within four months. Evansville was 'the world's largest inland producer of ocean-going ships'; by February 1945 the yard had produced 167 LSTs, and at the 1944 production peak workers launched one ship every four days. The last ship was launched 12 December 1945; a January 1946 fire destroyed the yard. This hull was built there July-November 1943, inside the yard's peak wartime production window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Evansville Shipyard workforce (MVB&I trades, 1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record: documents production scale and workforce conditions at the yard that built LST-131 but names no individual hull and contains no asbestos or material content. NPS's '300 feet long by 50 feet wide' dimension is a rounded summary figure; the DANFS/NavSource 328 ft x 50 ft specification governs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: DANFS construction record (MVB&I Evansville, 1943); NavSource propulsion spec (2x GM 12-567A diesels, Falk gear, diesel-drive generators - no steam plant); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST-1-class design table (via class profile lst-1-class); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; class profile lst-1-class evidence ev-lst-1-class-03 (BuShips SD-1945 v2 design grouping)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered tank landing ship built July-November 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers or steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the asbestos-relevant systems are diesel-exhaust and machinery insulation, joiner/deck materials, and gaskets/packing.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1943); crew (1943-46); Kaiser Co. Seattle shipbreakers (1948)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-131. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Absence of a steam plant is documented (NavSource spec); specific insulation composition aboard is not.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-05
-
[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 (1943) and service era (1943-46).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing defect since Batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-06
-
[8]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 119 Ind. App. 391, 87 N.E.2d 54 (Ind. App. Oct. 17, 1949) (CourtListener opinion 3428445; CL citation block prints 88 N.E.2d 54 but the opinion's own reporter note states 87 N.E.2d 54 - variant carried) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text at [*392] (employment dates, ship-compartment pipe-fitter work, Industrial Board finding); No. 17,878
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A wartime occupational-disease case at this hull's builder: Elbert Woolsey worked for Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company 'as a pipe fitter in the compartment of ships from June 21, 1944 to November 11, 1944' (the months immediately after LST-131's July-November 1943 construction window, on later Evansville hulls). His estate's claim under the Indiana Workmen's Occupational Diseases Act alleged poisoning from inhaling fumes and gases from welding galvanized metal; the Industrial Board majority (two members dissenting) found he 'was not exposed to nor did he contract an occupational disease' in that employment, and the Court of Appeals affirmed denial of compensation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1949 (employment period and litigation)
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville shipyard workers (1944 employment window litigated)
- Limitations
- OTHER LITIGATION, NOT ASBESTOS: the alleged agent was galvanized-metal welding fume, and the claim failed on the merits - a merits-level negative for that claimant, not exposure evidence. It does not name this hull; it documents that occupational-disease litigation ran against this builder during the wartime LST production era. Companion wartime comp case MVB&I v. Alsip (Ind. App. 1945, traumatic-injury death, award affirmed) exists in the same repository - logged in search_ledger, not carried as a row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-07
-
[9]Batch-6701 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches - opinions "LST-131" (0), dockets "LST-131" (0), opinions "USS LST-131" OR "LST 131" OR "L.S.T. 131" (0), opinions "Missouri Valley Bridge" asbestos (0); "Missouri Valley Bridge" general (126 hits incl. Woolsey and Alsip); secondary web litigation sweep [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-131-05 through sl-uss-lst-131-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull located: every CourtListener query for the hull number and ship name returned zero hits (opinions and RECAP dockets), and secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - no opinion, pleading, or docket names USS LST-131 in any litigation, asbestos or otherwise. Builder-level search surfaced only the non-asbestos wartime comp cases (Woolsey ev-07; Alsip in ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener coverage is opinions and RECAP dockets - unindexed state trial filings and non-digitized records are outside scope; a zero hit does not prove no filing ever existed. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-08
-
[10]Batch-6701 search ledger (this record): archived NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog API; NPS Evansville article; GAO product page; CourtListener sweeps; secondary web; shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive yard tables [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-131-01 through sl-uss-lst-131-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, donation-condition document, or material schedule naming USS LST-131 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was scrapped in 1948 at Seattle - before modern ACM-handling documentation - and no scrapping-contract hazmat record was located.
- 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 - the hull's 1943 wartime construction is consistent with era-standard materials, which is inference, not ship-proven fact. Deck logs (RG 24) and MVB&I construction records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-131-09