Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 640-packet.md (2 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-139-lst139-pkt-640-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-139' - Naval Historical Center text, archived copy (live NHHC page 404 on all candidate URL patterns, 2026-10-02; NavSource's own link targets this archived page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-139 full entry (Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/l11/lst-139.htm)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry, verbatim: 'LST-139 was laid down on 3 November 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched on 12 January 1944; and commissioned on 14 February 1944, Lt. Rex C. Gray, USNR, in command. During World War II, LST-139 was assigned to the European theater and took part in the invasion of Normandy between 6 and 25 June 1944. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 25 March 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 8 May 1946. On 22 April 1947, she was sold to the McWilliams Dredging Co., of New Orleans, La., for conversion to merchant service. LST-139 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
- Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted class spec) plus embarked troops; American Bridge Ambridge construction trades
- Limitations
- Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information and no sponsor, flotilla assignment, or decommissioning location. Live NHHC page returned 404 on all candidate URLs on 2026-10-02; the archived Naval Historical Center page (capture 2010-12-08) is the verbatim DANFS text cited here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-139 - designation timeline, specification block, campaign table, commanding-officer roster, crew-submitted photograph [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160139.htm - timeline block, specifications block, campaign table, CO roster, photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 3 November 1943 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 12 January 1944; commissioned USS LST-139 14 February 1944, Lt. Rex C. Gray, USNR, in command; assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; decommissioned 25 March 1946; struck from the Naval Register 8 May 1946; sold for conversion to merchant service 22 April 1947 to McWilliams Dredging Co., New Orleans, LA; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' One battle star for WWII service; ribbons shown: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal; call sign NGMM. Specification block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; 24,000 miles at 9 kt; armament (ultimate design) 2 twin 40 mm w/Mk.51 directors, 4 single 40 mm, 12 single 20 mm; propulsion 2 x GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V D.C. generators, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders; fuel 4,300 bbl diesel; 2 LCVP; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted. CO roster: LT Rex Cameron Gray, USNR (14 Feb 1944-1945); LTjg. Charles M. Bury, USNR (1945-25 Mar 1946). Crew-submitted photograph (Earl Stuart, SF3, USS LST-139): the ship at anchor in the harbor at Portland, England, April 1945, with the US flag at half-mast for the death of President Roosevelt.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); ship's company ~117 per spec block plus embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with DANFS on every shared fact (no date conflicts found). Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied. The crew photo is crew-submitted; it establishes the ship's presence at Portland, England, April 1945, not any work performed. Page last updated 20 June 2014.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-02
-
[4]MARAD ShipHistory database, vessel detail 9262 'LST-139' + scanned Vessel Status Card image (vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/44H_01.png) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- MARAD ShipHistory Detail/9262 page 'Status Cards' tab; card image /cards/44H_01.png (Vessel Status Card, 'Surplus - Department of Navy' block)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The federal surplus-disposal record for this hull: MARAD's database lists LST-139, type 'LST Tank Landing Ship,' fate 'Sold - No Further Info.' The scanned Vessel Status Card (card 44H_01), headed 'Surplus - Department of Navy,' records Operator 'McWilliams Dredging Co.' with Form of Agreement 'Pur.' (purchase) and a handwritten delivery date '4/22/47'; a second handwritten line reads 'Resold to Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.' The card extends the documented chain of custody one step beyond DANFS/NavSource - after McWilliams Dredging (New Orleans) the hull was resold to Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. (Pascagoula, MS). No merchant name, official number, or post-1947 disposition is recorded anywhere consulted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-1947
- Population
- Post-service merchant/conversion workforce at McWilliams Dredging Co. and Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. (1947+), undocumented
- Limitations
- Primary federal record of the sale transactions only; it does not state what either buyer did with the hull (conversion completed, resale use, or scrapping are all undocumented) and contains no asbestos or material content. Handwritten resale line lacks a date. 'Sold - No Further Info' is the official final word; 'fate unknown' per NavSource remains accurate beyond the Ingalls resale.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-03
-
[5]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton), 'American Bridge, Ambridge PA' yard history and hull production table - LST 139 row; corroborating LST registry row at shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lstpart1.htm [other_primary]
- Locator
- americanbridge.htm production table (LST 139 row) + site text on 1942 Navy requisition; lstpart1.htm LST-139 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- American Bridge's Ambridge, PA yard - an Ohio River yard building barges for the Army - was requisitioned by the Navy in 1942 and received a $9 million improvement investment; in addition to LSTs the yard built structural components for 43 aircraft carriers and 81 cargo ships. The yard production table row for this hull: 'LST 139 | U.S. Navy | Landing Ship | 14-Feb-44 (delivery) | Sold 1947'; the class registry table records 70 days on the ways, 33 days fitting out, 103 days total, with identical laid/launch/delivery dates (3-Nov-43 / 12-Jan-44 / 14-Feb-44).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge Ambridge construction workforce (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Independent shipbuilding-history compilation (T. Colton), secondary but consistent with DANFS/NavSource on all overlapping dates. Yard-level history, not a hull material record; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-04
-
[6]Picayune Item (Picayune, MS), 'Earl Stuart - reflections on the Navy,' 7 May 2008 - interview with SF3 Earl Stuart, USS LST-139 crewman (service 20 November 1943 - 1 April 1946) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Picayune Item article body (picayuneitem.com, 7 May 2008)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- First-person crew account for this hull: Earl Stuart (SF3; the same man who submitted the NavSource photograph) joined the Navy November 1943 at 17 and served aboard USS LST-139 as helmsman and 40 mm gun pointer/trigger operator through 1 April 1946. Stuart's account: the ship landed Canadian forces at Juno Beach on D-Day, its guns firing on beachside hedgerows to cover the landing; 'from the day of the D-Day invasion' the crew made 55 shuttle trips from England to France; on a trip to Plymouth, England, a nine-ship convoy of four LSTs and five Liberty ships ran into a minefield - all five Liberty ships hit mines and four sank; and Stuart received a certificate from the French government (2003; formally presented May 2007 at USM Hattiesburg).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (events); 2008 (publication)
- Population
- Ship's company including SF3 Earl Stuart (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Veteran recollection published 64 years after the events - a single-source eyewitness account, not an official operational record; consistent with the official Normandy campaign credit (DANFS: 'invasion of Normandy between 6 and 25 June 1944') but the Juno Beach assignment, the 55-crossing count, and the Plymouth minefield incident are uncorroborated by named-unit records this session. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-05
-
[7]uboat.net Allied Warships, 'USS LST 139 (LST 139)' - warship data record and notable-events narrative sourced to personal communication [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 11267 - data table + 'Notable events' block (source footnote 1: Personal communication)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's LST-139 record gives: ordered 15 October 1942; laid down 3 November 1943; launched 12 January 1944; commissioned 14 February 1944; decommissioned 25 March 1946; sold 22 April 1947 - all consistent with DANFS/NavSource. Its notable-events narrative (source: 'Personal communication') adds: 'This vessel landed English troops and equipment on Juno Beach, subsequently making over 50 channel crossings carrying troops, equipment and ammunition to various locations supporting the Normandy invasion. German prisoners were loaded at Guernsey and Alderney and returned to England after the German surrender. Some 600 Dutch Marines were passengers upon the ship's return to the U.S. The Ship was in Orange, Texas, being fitted with distillation equipment for service in the Pacific when the Japanese surrendered.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-46); embarked/cross-deck populations incl. ~600 Dutch Marines (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained warships database; the service narrative rests on personal communication (consistent with - and likely from the same crew source as - the Stuart account, though it says 'English troops' where Stuart said Canadian forces; Juno was the Canadian beach). The Orange, Texas, distillation-plant refit, Channel Islands POW runs, and 600-Dutch-Marines return are single-source details uncorroborated by official records this session. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers, 1,700 shp); DANFS construction dates (Nov 1943-Feb 1944); LST-1-class design group per BuShips SDB-1945 v2 (class profile lst-1-class); American Bridge Ambridge yard context (shipbuildinghistory) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; DANFS milestone dates; class design group per class profile (BuShips SDB-1945 v2)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-class tank landing ship built November 1943-February 1944 sits inside the documented WWII naval-shipbuilding asbestos era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation and lagging on engine-room machinery and diesel exhaust runs, gaskets and valve packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, electrical insulation and cable, and winch/crane brake linings. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam-pipe lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Documented disturbance/alteration events for this hull: wartime construction at the Ambridge 'cornfield' yard; a mid-1945 Orange, Texas, refit fitting distillation equipment for Pacific service (veteran-derived); and the 1947 sale for merchant conversion with resale to Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-46); Orange TX refit workforce (1945); conversion/shipyard workforce 1947
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, work package, or inspection report located for LST-139. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The Orange refit's and the merchant conversion's disturbance/introduction of insulating material are plausible but undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-07
-
[9]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; DOI verified via api.crossref.org
- 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 era and mass-production program under which this LST-1-class hull was built - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization across naval and merchant construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation. Citation verified against CrossRef 2026-10-02: AJIM 11(3):359-373, DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311 (note: a different DOI, 10.1002/ajim.4700120402, resolves to an unrelated AJIM article and was used on the batch-317 record in error).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-08
-
[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 to automated fetch, 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 - program-level context for the era in which this hull was built and served.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy documentation that never governed this hull: she left naval service March 1946 and was sold out of federal custody April 1947, decades before the 1975/1979 policies described. Context for the era fleet picture only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior batches); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-09
-
[11]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessels up through 1961' - guided-topic research page mapping where ship-specific documentation would sit: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) construction/contract files, RG 24 deck logs (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations), RG 38 WWII war diaries/operational records [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos guided-topic page (verified live 2026-10-02); catalog.archives.gov (JS-gated, unqueried)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's record groups are the primary-source track for this hull's undocumented layers: the 1944-1946 deck logs (RG 24) would document her Normandy shuttle operations, the Plymouth passage, the Channel Islands POW runs, the 600-Dutch-Marines return, and the Orange, Texas, refit and decommissioning; RG 38 war diaries and BuShips contract files (RG 19) would cover the Ambridge build and any material specifications. No LST-139-specific catalog item was located - the National Archives Catalog is JavaScript-gated and returned only the SPA shell to direct queries this session; no digitized deck log or war diary for this hull is confirmed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947 (record period)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the record groups are verified to exist but no hull-specific item was located or reviewed, and none of these series is an asbestos record by nature. Deck logs are operational records; any material content would be incidental.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-10
-
[12]Batch-6709 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback capture of history.navy.mil; NavSource 160139; MARAD ShipHistory + vessel status card; shipbuildinghistory American Bridge Ambridge table; Picayune Item; uboat.net; NVR; NARA (JS-gated); CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, paced); secondary-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-139-lst139-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-139 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated searches completed 2026-10-02: quoted 'LST-139' returned 0 opinions and 1 docket - Sclafani v. Mici, D. Mass. 1:19-cv-12550, a 2019 ADA prison-conditions action against Massachusetts DOC officials in which 'LST-139' appears as a document identifier inside a RECAP attachment, a name collision unrelated to the vessel; quoted 'USS LST-139' returned 0 opinions. The secondary-web sweep surfaced no law-firm marketing page naming this hull at all - the banned-source class listicles that assert asbestos aboard many WWII hulls do not list this one. No federal historic designation applies; the hull left federal custody in 1947.
- 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 - a 1943-44 LST is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the undocumented post-1947 disposition precludes any present-day survey. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Deck logs, Ambridge work packages, and the merchant-conversion scope remain undigitized leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-139-lst139-11