Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 640-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-138-lst138-pkt-640-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-138 (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02): construction at American Bridge Co. Ambridge; commissioning; Normandy service; decommission/strike; sale to Three Star Line [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-138 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 27 October 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 30 December 1943; commissioned 5 February 1944, Lt. John B. Wilson, USNR, in command. Assigned to the European theater; took part in the Normandy invasion between 6 and 25 June 1944. Decommissioned 20 November 1945; struck from the Navy list 5 December 1945. 'On 16 June 1947, she was sold to Three Star Line, Inc., of Lake Charles, La., for conversion to merchant service.' Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS ends the narrative at the 1947 sale and does not document the subsequent Altalena career - those events come from other rows. Live NHHC page confirmed reachable 2026-10-02 (contrast: standing NHHC link-rot noted for other hulls in BATCH-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-138 - designation timeline, specifications, awards, Altalena naming and final disposition, NARA/GPO/IDF-sourced photographs (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160138.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull (LST-1 class): laid down 27 Oct 1943 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 30 Dec 1943; commissioned USS LST-138 5 Feb 1944, Lt. John B. Wilson USNR in command; Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater service - Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; decommissioned 20 Nov 1945; struck from the Naval Register 5 Dec 1945; one battle star for WWII service; sold 16 June 1947 to Three Star Line, Inc., Lake Charles, LA, for conversion to merchant service; 'Purchased by the Irgun Etzel (Jewish freedom fighters), named Altalena, used to transport passengers and arms during a truce'; final disposition - 'shelled and burned on the beach at Tel Aviv, Israel during the Israeli War for Independence, 20 June 1948, blown up by the Haganah.' Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 7 officers + 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers/147 enlisted; 4 LCVP; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, twin rudders; 3 x diesel-driven 100 kW 230V DC generators; fuel 4,300 Bbls diesel. Photo record includes NARA-sourced 'beached in France while unloading USAAF 23rd Photo Squadron trailer, 4 September 1944' and Israel GPO/National Library of Israel Altalena photographs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops (1944-45); Three Star Line/merchant and Irgun crews (1947-48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its dates track DANFS/NVR conventions but it is not a primary registry. The compressed final-disposition line ('20 June 1948, blown up by the Haganah') compresses a multi-day event - see correction row ev-12. One photo caption misdates the Altalena at Marseille 'June 1938' (impossible - the hull was not built until 1943; the event was June 1948). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-02
-
[4]MARAD Vessel History Database, LST-138 (Detail/9261): U.S. Maritime Commission vessel status card 44G_01.png and six launch-era USMC photographs [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/9261 - status card image 44G_01.png; image set LST-138_9261_001-006.jpg
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USMC/MARAD vessel status card for LST-138 records: surplus, Department of the Navy; operator Three Star Line, Inc.; form of agreement 'Pur.' (purchase); date and time delivered 6/16/47; and the annotation 'Transferred to Panamanian Flag.' The database's six-hull-image set comprises USMC construction/launch photographs at Ambridge - the christening sponsor at the bow, the hull on the building way dressed for launch, the tank-deck interior looking forward, and the hull afloat in the Ohio River with the American Bridge works behind it. The DB fate field reads 'Sold - No Further Info' - MARAD's record ends at the sale and does not track the Irgun/Altalena career.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Population
- Three Star Line merchant crew (1947); subsequent Panamanian-flag operators
- Limitations
- Primary USMC record of the government's disposal of this hull; contains no asbestos, material, or hazmat content. The card's handwritten 'Date Allocated' entry is partly illegible (appears to read a 1946 surplus-declaration date - unverified); delivery 6/16/47 and the Panamanian-flag annotation are legible. 'Transferred to Panamanian Flag' documents the flag change, not the Irgun purchase structure - intermediary purchase chain is not in this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-03
-
[5]142nd Wing (Oregon Air National Guard), 'Second Campaign: The 371st Fighter Group in Normandy' - official .mil article reproducing the unit warbook photo of LST-138 with OMAHA placard [other_primary]
- Locator
- 142nd Wing article photo caption (240724-Z-F3895-1011), citing 'The Story of the 371st Fighter Group in the E.T.O.'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard article reproduces the 371st Fighter Group warbook photograph of 'U.S. Navy tank landing ship LST-138... disgorging a jeep,' bearing 'the big OMAHA placard indicating a vessel destined for Omaha Beach,' and assesses she 'was likely one of the several LSTs which brought various echelons of the 371st Fighter Group to France,' the group's rear echelon landing at Omaha Beach on July 7/8, 1944. Confirms LST-138's Normandy lift continued past the 25 June window in DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Embarked 371st Fighter Group rear-echelon troops (July 1944)
- Limitations
- Official .mil publication but a unit-history article, not an operational record: the caption itself hedges ('likely one of the several LSTs'). Documents the photographed hull and its Omaha placard; the specific lift assignment is the warbook's inference, not a ship-movement record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-04
-
[6]MilitaryNews (Sightline Media / military press), '101-year old physician looks back on Navy medical career' - Dr. Hughes first-person account of shipping out on LST-138 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- militarynews.com article, Hughes narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A named-crew first-person account places LST-138 in the pre-invasion transatlantic build-up: Navy physician Hughes, assigned to amphibious medical unit 'Foxy 29' out of Lido Beach, 'took a train to Bayonne, N.J. where he shipped out on LST-138,' sailing via Halifax in an April 1944 convoy he describes as '13 rows of five ships' including 15 LSTs and two aircraft carriers, with stops in Wales and Scotland. He was reassigned to LST-497 in southern England before D-Day and went ashore at Normandy aboard that ship. The article also documents the LST casualty-evacuation role for context (106 LSTs designated at Normandy; ~79.62% of Allied casualties evacuated by LSTs through D+11).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Foxy 29 medical unit and crew, April 1944 Atlantic crossing
- Limitations
- First-person memoir in military press, not a deck log or movement record: establishes that Hughes - and the Foxy 29 draft of medical personnel - crossed on this hull in April 1944; the ship's own itinerary beyond that is not documented here. LST-497, not LST-138, was his D-Day ship. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-05
-
[7]Al-Monitor (24 Aug 2026) and i24NEWS (24 Aug 2026) reporting on the Altalena affair and wreck discovery; Knesset press release (1 July 2026) on the commemoration-day bill; IDF Archive photograph via idf.il [reputable_press]
- Locator
- al-monitor.com 2026-08-24 article; i24news.tv 'Altalena Wreck Located Off Israel's Coast' 2026-08-24; main.knesset.gov.il press release press1726t 2026-07-01; idf.il '70 Years of the IDF' photo caption (IDF Archive, photographer Fred Chesnick)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ex-LST-138's destruction is documented by Israeli official sources and reputable press: the Irgun-operated Altalena 'carried about 900 Holocaust survivors, a few dozen Irgun members and large quantities of weapons' (Al-Monitor); after the Kfar Vitkin confrontation she moved to Tel Aviv where IDF fire set her ablaze - 'Three Israeli soldiers and 16 Irgun members were killed' (Al-Monitor; i24NEWS concurs). 'In October 1949, the Israeli navy towed the wreck into deeper waters and deliberately sank it, arguing that it posed a danger to the public' (Al-Monitor). On 24 August 2026 the wreck 'was located... during a complex naval search operation,' announced by National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Eliyahu; found intact at 503 m depth ~20 km off the coast at 12:30 a.m., by an expedition initiated by Eliyahu and led by Roni Sade, director of the Marine Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center (MAPI) (i24NEWS). The Knesset approved in preliminary reading (1 July 2026) a bill designating a commemoration day for the sinking - 'a formative event in the national revival' (Knesset release). IDF Archive photo caption documents 'People at the Tel Aviv beach watching the Altalena ship burning.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948; 1949 (scuttling); 2025-2026 (search/discovery)
- Population
- Irgun members and immigrants aboard (June 1948); IDF forces ashore
- Limitations
- Establishes the hull's destruction, 1949 disposal at sea, and 2026 relocation - no asbestos, material, or hazmat content in any source. Casualty figure (16 Irgun + 3 IDF) is consistent across the cited press; historical literature carries minor variants. Wreck's precise coordinates were not publicly disclosed. NavSource's '20 June 1948' shelling date compresses the event - see ev-12.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-06
-
[8]Boston Rare Maps dealer description of the Lt. Cmdr. Royal Lovell D-Day archive (LST Group 50 operational orders, maps, loading tables) [other_primary]
- Locator
- bostonraremaps.com/inventory/royal-lovell-d-day-archive - archive description text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A dealer's description of a private primary archive states that during the Normandy landings Lt. Cmdr. Royal Lovell 'commanded LST Group 50, composed of LST-138, LST-139, LST-524, LST-527, LST-536, and LST-537.' If the underlying documents bear this out, the archive would document this hull's LST-group assignment at Normandy - operational detail absent from DANFS and NavSource.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: a commercial dealer's description of a private document collection, not an institution-cataloged record; the LST Group 50 composition was not independently verified against the documents themselves. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block for this hull (2 x GM 12-567A diesels - no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data Book 1945 v2 LST design table (carried in LST-1 class profile); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (see ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160138.htm specifications; BuShips SD-1945 v2 (LST-1 class profile ev-lst-1-class-01); GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered tank landing ship built October-December 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. With no steam plant, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply; the era-standard asbestos-relevant systems aboard a diesel LST were engine-room and machinery thermal insulation, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, deck coverings, and accommodation insulation - in a confined hull volume with troops and vehicles embarked.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1949
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-45); Three Star Line conversion yard workers (1947, unlocated scope); Irgun/merchant crew (1947-48); IDF shellfire/burn casualties had a distinct non-asbestos mechanism
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or conversion record located for LST-138. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-08
-
[10]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 U.S. service era (1944-45).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-09
-
[11]Stawski v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., 7 Misc. 2d 424, 163 N.Y.S.2d 155 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1957) - the single CourtListener hit naming this hull's later identity 'Altalena' [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener cluster 6298726; Blaney McMurtry 'Insurance & Reinsurance 2020' ch.3 fn.21 citing 163 N.Y.S.2d 155 (1957)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- OTHER LITIGATION (not asbestos): the only CourtListener result naming this vessel is a life-insurance coverage opinion - the widow of the insured (Abraham Stawski/Stavsky, described in secondary treatise discussion as 'a manager on the S.S. Altalena') sued for the accidental-death benefit after he was killed aboard during the Israeli artillery and machine-gun attack in Tel Aviv harbor on June 22, 1948. The court held the death fell within the policy's act-of-war exclusion - a merits ruling adjudicating the legal character of the ship's destruction (an act of war by Israel), not exposure conditions aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948 (death); 1957 (opinion)
- Limitations
- Insurance-coverage litigation arising from a death aboard this hull in June 1948 - NOT an asbestos, personal-injury, or exposure case; establishes only that a U.S. court adjudicated the shelling as an act of war. Case confirmed via CourtListener API (cluster 6298726); opinion text not independently fetched (fleet-limiter discipline) - content characterized via the published treatise discussion (Blaney/ACC Insurance & Reinsurance ch. 3, which misnames the case 'Stankus v. New York Life' in text but footnotes the correct Stawski citation).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-10
-
[12]Batch-6708 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource; MARAD Vessel History DB + status card; NVR; NARA deck-log index; CourtListener opinion and docket indexes (searched); 142nd Wing ANG; militarynews.com; Israeli government and press sources on the 2026 wreck discovery; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-138-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified asbestos litigation naming USS LST-138 (or MV Altalena) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener executed 2026-10-02 via the authenticated fleet helper: 'LST-138' opinions returned 193 fuzzy name-collision hits on the numeral (none naming the vessel); 'LST-138' docket index returned 8,365 fuzzy hits (none naming the vessel); 'Altalena' opinions returned exactly one hit - the Stawski insurance opinion (ev-10, other litigation, not asbestos). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard LSTs generally 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. The hull was destroyed in 1948 and its wreck lies at 503 m depth, so no modern survey exists; WWII deck logs (RG 24), American Bridge construction records, and the Three Star Line conversion scope are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-11
-
[13]Date-precision cross-check: NavSource final-disposition line vs Al-Monitor/i24NEWS/IDF-archive and mainstream Altalena documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160138.htm disposition line + photo captions; al-monitor.com 2026-08-24; i24news.tv 2026-08-24; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altalena_affair (cross-check only, not cited as record source)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource compresses the end of this hull to 'shelled and burned on the beach at Tel Aviv, Israel during the Israeli War for Independence, 20 June 1948, blown up by the Haganah.' The documented sequence is: arrived off Kfar Vitkin (north of Tel Aviv) 20 June 1948 and unloaded part of her cargo and passengers; after the standoff she moved to Tel Aviv, where she was shelled on Ben-Gurion's order and caught fire on 22 June 1948; the burned hulk remained off the beach for months; in October 1949 the Israeli navy towed it to deep water and sank it (Al-Monitor). Separately, a NavSource photo caption dates the Altalena 'off the port of Marseille, France, June 1938' - impossible (the hull was built 1943); the event was June 1948. The AFP/Getty caption reproduced by Al-Monitor calls the ship 'Jabotinsky (former Altalena)' - a caption-level naming variant not corroborated as an official rename in consulted sources.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948-1949
- Limitations
- Corrects date/characterization compression, not a material claim - the hull was destroyed by Israeli fire in June 1948 and sunk at sea in 1949 under either description. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-138-12