Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 641-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LST-159
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-159-lst159-pkt-641-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-159 (NHHC ship-history entry, live page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-159 entry (full text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-159 was laid down on 19 July 1942 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 21 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Adrian G. Wrucke; and commissioned on 13 February 1943. The tank landing ship never saw active service with the United States Navy. She was transferred to the United Kingdom on 3 March 1943 and returned to United States Navy custody on 23 April 1946. She was struck from the Navy list on 19 June 1946. On 27 April 1948, LST-159 was sold to the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., of Newport News, Va., for conversion to merchant service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1942); US commissioning crew (Feb-Mar 1943)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS entry is brief - it does not list the Royal Navy campaign record, which comes from NavSource (ev-02). US Navy commissioned service ran only 13 Feb - 3 Mar 1943 (~3 weeks); all wartime operations were under Royal Navy manning.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, HM LST-159 ex USS LST-159 (10/16/160159.htm) - timeline, Royal Navy service, campaigns, specifications, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160159.htm header block, Royal Navy History section, specifications block, photo captions (1016015901/1016015902)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 19 July 1942 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 21 November 1942; commissioned USS LST-159 on 13 February 1943; 'LST-159 never saw active service with the United States Navy'; decommissioned 3 March 1943 and transferred to the United Kingdom; commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-159 on 4 March 1943; sailed from New York in convoy UGS 9 on 28 May 1943. Assigned to the European Theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943), Anzio advanced landings (January-March 1944), Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). Selected for conversion to LSE(LC)-54, conversion canceled. Returned to US Naval custody 23 April 1946 at Norfolk, VA; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; sold for conversion to merchant service 27 April 1948 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA. Page photographs document HM LST-159 unloading heavy artillery on the Anzio beachhead alongside the Greek HN LST-35, and beached at Anzio in April 1944 (George Silk, LIFE). Spec block: 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100kW 230V DC diesel-driven ship's service generators, 2 shafts, 1,700 shp; 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1942-43); US crew (Feb-Mar 1943); Royal Navy crew (Mar 1943 - Apr 1946); Norfolk custodial population (1946-48); NNS&DD conversion trades (1948)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones track DANFS and are corroborated here, but it is cited as secondary. Contains no asbestos content. The RN commission date (4 Mar 1943) and UGS-9 sailing are NavSource-only details.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-02
-
[4]National Park Service, 'Places of WWII History in Evansville, IN' - Evansville Shipyard history (American WWII Heritage City program) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS article, 'Evansville Shipyard' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard context: the Navy built Evansville Shipyard on 40 acres on the city's west side; within four months of the February 1942 announcement the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company began production of the yard's first LST. By February 1945 the yard had produced 167 LSTs, building one ship every four days in 1944, plus 13 ammunition lighters and 17 oceangoing barges - 'the world's largest inland producer of ocean-going ships.' A January 1946 fire destroyed the yard. The city now hosts USS LST-325, the NRHP-listed (2009) operational museum LST and home of the USS LST Ship Memorial.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Evansville Shipyard construction and fitting workforce (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not a hull record - the page does not name LST-159 and contains no asbestos content. Documents the mass-production environment and workforce scale at the builder yard only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, Jan 1945) - lend-lease transfer table + List of Naval Vessels LST roster (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 p. 267, lend-lease transfer table (TRANSFERRED TO UNITED KINGDOM), LST159 row; plus List of Naval Vessels LST roster, LST159-165 annotation
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official BuShips lend-lease table ('Vessels transferred to foreign governments under lend lease - TRANSFERRED TO UNITED KINGDOM') lists this hull individually: 'LST159 - Landing Ship, Tank - 3 Mar 1943' - an official-document confirmation of the UK transfer on the exact date DANFS gives. The Jan 1945 List of Naval Vessels roster additionally carries the LST159-165 block annotated 'Transferred to United Kingdom.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (roster date)
- Limitations
- Official transfer documentation; contains no asbestos or material content. The lend-lease table's 'date transferred' (3 Mar 1943) is the custody-transfer date - NavSource gives the RN commission as the next day, 4 Mar 1943. Prior worktree citation for this document (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf) now returns 404; the live URL is shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf (verified 200, full text layer extracted, 2026-10-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, Jan 1945) - LST design-group characteristics table (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (LST1-490 row), characteristics and propulsion sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips characteristics for the LST1-490 design group (this hull's group): 328 ft overall, 50 ft beam, 2,366 tons light / 4,080 tons trial displacement, 11.6 knots, propulsion 2 x General Motors Diesel model 12-567A, 1,700 brake horsepower - a direct diesel plant with no boilers, no steam turbines, and no steam piping systems.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Design-group data, not a hull-specific inspection record. Establishes the machinery plant type (which bounds which insulation pathways could exist aboard) but says nothing about insulating materials themselves - no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB-1945 v2 machinery data (diesel LST-1 group) + GAO-documented Navy asbestos era + NPS-documented Evansville yard context (see ev-03, ev-05, ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ev-03 (NPS yard), ev-05 (BuShips design table), ev-07 (GAO HRD-80-2)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-group hull built in 1942 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era (GAO HRD-80-2 documents asbestos use in Navy ships and a 1975 policy of removing and replacing damaged asbestos insulation with nonasbestos materials). For this plant type the era-standard asbestos applications were diesel exhaust lagging and manifold gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, valve packing and flange gaskets on auxiliaries, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead/accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings. The diesel plant carries no boilers and no steam-distribution piping - the boiler-room and steam-line lagging pathway of steam-powered vessels does not apply, though the same era insulation supply chain did the lagging that was installed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- MVB&I construction/fitting trades (1942-43); US commissioning crew (3 weeks, 1943); RN crew (1943-46); NNS&DD conversion trades (1948)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, work package, or abatement record located for LST-159. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, including 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities.' Per the product-page Highlights: the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - program documentation that the Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships across this hull's entire build and service era (1942-48).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); documents use era covering 1942-48
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - not Evansville or NNS&DD. Full 26-page PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) returns HTTP 403 to direct fetch; content cited is the live product-page Highlights (verified via Firecrawl 2026-10-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-07
-
[9]NARA RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' / muster rolls (College Park) - LST-159 US-commission window (13 Feb - 3 Mar 1943); UK National Archives Discovery API search for 'LST 159'/'LST-159' [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov Navy deck-logs page; discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk API search (0 hits, 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads not yet exhausted: (1) NARA RG 24 holds deck logs and muster rolls for commissioned US vessels - LST-159's ~3-week US commission (Feb-Mar 1943) would appear in that series, but WWII-era deck logs are not publicly digitized (NARA's digitization pipeline is the VA Blue Water Navy project, which covers the Vietnam era). (2) UK National Archives Discovery catalogue API returned zero catalogue hits for 'LST 159'/'LST-159' - RN-period records (ship's logs, ADM series) not located by catalogue search; lend-lease LST logs may be indexed under alternate naming. (3) NNS&DD 1948 merchant-conversion work papers for this hull (if extant) would be the only likely source of ship-specific material records.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (records coverage)
- Population
- US commissioning crew (Feb-Mar 1943); RN crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - nothing reviewed at item level; catalogue absence does not prove absence of records (naming/indexing conventions for lend-lease hulls vary). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-08
-
[10]Batch-6716 search ledger (this record): DANFS (live); NavSource 160159 (live); NPS Evansville; BuShips SDB-1945 v2; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; NARA deck-log program page; TNA Discovery API; NVR (no entry); secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener status per search_ledger [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-159-01 through -10 (incl. -03b, -03c)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum material report, or verified litigation naming USS LST-159 / HM LST-159 / LST-159 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion index searched by exact phrase: 'LST-159' 0 hits and 'USS LST-159' 0 hits - no opinion names or mentions this hull (2026-10-02); docket-index and 'HM LST-159' variant queries remained fleet-blocked at record time (sl-uss-lst-159-03c). The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfacing in secondary sweeps is law-firm listicle content - 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 built inside the Navy's documented asbestos era at a mass-production yard and served three wartime years under Royal Navy manning. Deck logs, RN logs, and the 1948 NNS&DD conversion papers are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-159-09