Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 641-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LST-157
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-157-lst157-pkt-641-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-157 (NHHC; live page returned 404 on 2026-10-02 - archived Wayback capture 2024-05-27 of the canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-157.html cited and labeled as archived) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-157 entry (single-paragraph numbered-LST entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-157 was laid down on 25 June 1942 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 31 October 1942; sponsored by Mrs. DeWitt C. Redgrave, Jr.; and commissioned on 10 February 1943.' WWII service in the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943), Salerno landings (September 1943), Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). 'Upon her return to the United States, the ship was decommissioned on 9 December 1944 and transferred to the United Kingdom. She was returned to the custody of the United States Navy on 11 April 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 5 June 1946. On 5 December 1947, she was sold to Bosey, Philippines. LST-157 earned three battle stars for World War II.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947 (entry coverage)
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1942); USN crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS entry covers the USN period and disposal only - the Royal Navy commission and Far East service come from other rows. Live NHHC page 404s; Wayback capture used (archived source labeled). DANFS return-to-custody date (11 April 1946) conflicts with NavSource/uboat.net (13 April 1946 at Subic Bay) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-157 (10/16/160157) - milestone timeline, RN service block, campaign table, specifications, commanding-officer table, photo documentation (verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160157.htm header block, Royal Navy History block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 25 June 1942 at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 31 October 1942; commissioned USS LST-157 10 February 1943, Lt. Robert J. Siegelman USN in command (CO table: 10 Feb 1943 - 9 Dec 1944). Assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaigns: Sicilian occupation 9 July 1943; Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944. Decommissioned 9 December 1944 and transferred to the United Kingdom; commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-157; 'Modified for Far East service'; 'Participated in the Invasion of Malaya, at Penarth, Pontoon Co. Penarth, early 1945'; 'Transferred to US Naval custody at Subic Bay, P.I., 13 April 1946.' Struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; three battle stars; sold for scrapping 5 December 1947 to Bosey, Philippines. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328' oa, 50' beam; 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers / 104 enlisted + 16 officers / 147 enlisted troops; 6 LCVP; 2 x GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp), Falk reduction gears, 3 x 100 kW diesel generators, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Photo record: 'the first LST launched at the yard' (launch 31 Oct 1942); underway circa October 1942 on acceptance trials; transporting the American Red Cross Clubmobile Group A to Normandy July 1944; HM LST-157 beached with doors open (IWM Ministry of Defense Foxhill Collection photo FL 7222).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1942); USN crew (1943-44); RN crew incl. T/A/Lt.Cdr. T. A. Ashdown RNR (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates generally track DANFS. Contains no asbestos content. Two caption/text defects noted: a photo captioned 'commissioning ceremony, 31 October 1942' collides with the 10 February 1943 commissioning in the same page's header (the 31 October date is the launch); and the RN block's 'at Penarth, Pontoon Co. Penarth' text is garbled - Malaya service and its 'early 1945' dating rest on this single secondary source (the historical Malaya landings, Operation Zipper/Jurist/Tiderace, were August-September 1945). Return-to-custody 13 April vs DANFS 11 April - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (April 15, 1945), 'Patrol Vessels, Landing Ships and Craft' - LST design table and type roster (shipscribe.com scan; URL corrected from the dead /styles/usnaux/sdb/ path used in the class profile) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2, LST design table (p. ~169 section) + LST type roster (hull list, LST157 line)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips documentation: the April 1945 Ships' Data Vol. II roster lists 'LST157' in the Landing Ship-Tank section among hulls annotated 'Transferred to United Kingdom' - contemporaneous official confirmation of this hull's RN transfer. The same volume's LST design table for the LST1-490 group (this hull falls in the 1-490 block) gives: 328'0" oa x 316'0" wl x 50'0" beam; 2,366 t beaching / 4,080 t full-load displacement; 11.6 kt trial speed; machinery 2 x 'G. M. Diesel, 12-567A' at 1,700 shp - no steam plant.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (publication)
- Population
- n/a - administrative roster/design data
- Limitations
- The design table is class-level (LST1-490 group), not a hull record; the ship-specific element is the roster listing itself. Roster annotation-to-hull alignment is OCR-staggered in the scan - 'Transferred to United Kingdom' for LST-157 is consistent with DANFS/NavSource but the scan layout leaves residual ambiguity (verification partial). No asbestos or material content anywhere in the volume.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-03
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, HMS LST 157 (LST 157) vessel page; corroborated by Royal Navy Research Archive East Indies Fleet ship list (royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/BPF-EIF/EIF_Ships.htm, 'LST 157' row) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12216 data block, commands table, events; RNRA EIF_Ships.htm LST list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy service record for this hull: HMS LST 157 (LST (Mk 2) class, pennant LST 157), built by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville; commissioned into the RN 9 December 1944; commanding officer T/A/Lt.Cdr. Thomas Aubrey Ashdown, DSO, RNR (2 Dec 1944 - 18 Feb 1946); 'Returned to the USN on 13 April 1946.' Notable event: sailed in combined convoy OS 126 / KMS 101 departing U.K. 2-3 May 1945. The Royal Navy Research Archive lists LST 157 among East Indies Fleet ships - consistent with NavSource's 'modified for Far East service.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- RN crew, Dec 1944 - Apr 1946
- Limitations
- uboat.net and the RN Research Archive are specialist secondary compilations, not primary records - dates agree with NavSource but the RN-era detail (Malaya operation, 'early 1945' timing) remains thinly documented; no asbestos content. Convoy OS 126/KMS 101 documents the hull still in UK waters May 1945, which sits awkwardly with NavSource's 'early 1945' Malaya participation - flagged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-04
-
[6]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 119 Ind. App. 391, 88 N.E.2d 54 (Ind. App. Oct. 17, 1949) (opinion text via exa.ai legal aggregator; CourtListener verification query pacing-blocked at session end) [court_record]
- Locator
- exa.ai opinion text (Ind. App. 1949); hallapproved.com index line 'Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. Oct 17, 1949 - 88 N.E.2d 54; 119 Ind. App. 391; 1949 Ind. App. LEXIS 196' (index only, not cited)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Occupational-disease litigation against this hull's builder: the estate of Elbert Woolsey, a pipe fitter employed 'in the compartment of ships' at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron's wartime Evansville operation June-November 1944, claimed his October 1945 death resulted from inhaling fumes and gases of galvanized metal being welded. The Industrial Board of Indiana (2-1) found no occupational disease and the award was affirmed on appeal - a contemporaneous record that the Evansville yard's wartime shipbuilding workforce litigated inhalation injury claims. Companion suit: Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. v. Alsip (Ind. App. 1945), a traumatic-injury compensation appeal from the same employer.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1949 (employment + litigation)
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville wartime trades (pipe fitters, welders, compartment work, 1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context, NOT a hull record and NOT asbestos: the Woolsey claim alleged galvanized-metal welding-fume poisoning (the claim was denied). Documents only that occupational-disease claims arose from this yard's WWII workforce. No asbestos allegation appears in the opinion. Reporter cite conflict: indexers report 88 N.E.2d 54 while the opinion's own reported-in note reads '87 N. E. 2d 54' - 119 Ind. App. 391 is consistent across sources. CourtListener verification pending (pacing-blocked).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-05
-
[7]Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Digital Archive, USS LST 325 Memorial Museum Collection - 'Arthur J Lavender Service Record' (item 5702, local ID 2012.002.3, 10-page document, provenance EVPL, IMLS/Indiana State Library funded); Union-Recorder (Gordon, GA) obituary of Arthur Jones Lavender, Aug 2006 [other_primary]
- Locator
- EVPL CONTENTdm item p16848coll2/5702 (metadata + transcript); unionrecorder.com/2006/08/22/arthur-lavender/
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A museum-held archival record for this hull's crew: the EVPL digital archive (USS LST 325 Memorial Museum Collection) holds a 10-page WWII naval service record whose vessels-served field lists 'USS LST 157', 'LST 1136', and 'USS Bellona (ARL 32)'; the collection's metadata is verified via the CONTENTdm API (coverage 1940-1949). A 2006 obituary independently places Radioman 1st Class Arthur J. Lavender aboard USS LST-157 in WWII, including a New York docking in 1944. Open lead: the collection holds further crew records and LST Shipyard Collection photography of this hull's construction (the launch photo on NavSource is credited to the Evansville Museum collection).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (service record); 2006 (obituary)
- Population
- USN crew of LST-157 (wartime); museum-archive researchers
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the digitized service record documents crew presence aboard this hull, not materials or exposure - this record makes no exposure claim for any individual. The item's 10-page scan set was not fully reviewed page-by-page; the vessel-list transcription is OCR-derived. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB 1945 v2 LST1-490 design table (diesel machinery, no steam plant); NavSource propulsion block (2 x GM 12-567A, Falk gears); class-profile documentation for the LST-1 class (17 wartime yards incl. inland 'cornfield' yards); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 design table; NavSource spec block; lst-1-class class profile
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered tank landing ship built June-October 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel amphibious ship of this period were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve packing, and winch/windlass brake linings. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers or steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the confined-space engine-room and accommodation pathways remain.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1942); USN crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46); Subic Bay 1946 turnover; 1947-48 scrapping workforce
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-157. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-07
-
[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 entire construction (1942) and both service eras (USN 1943-44, RN 1944-46).
- 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-157-08
-
[10]Batch-6714 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback; NavSource live; BuShips SDB 1945 v2 full PDF; uboat.net + RN Research Archive; EVPL CONTENTdm API; GAO product page; Indiana App. opinion via aggregator; CourtListener opinion+docket searches (clean negatives) + residual blocked queries; secondary web litigation sweep; FUSRAP/environmental sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-157-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-157 / HM LST-157 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned ZERO results for opinion search "LST-157" (type=o, HTTP 200), opinion search "USS LST-157" (HTTP 200), and docket search "LST-157" (type=r, HTTP 200, document_count 0) - a genuine negative on the exact hull strings. Residual coverage gap: the unhyphenated variant "LST 157" and a Woolsey verification query stayed pacing-blocked at session end (fleet limiter) - flagged in gaps. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard LSTs' material is law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomaguide.com generic amphibious-ships page; asbestos-attorney.com, injurylawsuitconnect.com and lung-cancer.com listicles naming builder Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron on yard lists) asserting asbestos 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. CourtListener coverage is real but partial: exact-string opinion and docket searches returned zero, while the unhyphenated variant and case-verification queries were not run (blocked). Deck logs (RG 24), MVB&I construction work packages, and any 1947 scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-157-09