Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 643-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-17-lst17-pkt-643-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS entry 'LST-17' (DANFS Vol. VII lineage) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry body text, history.navy.mil ship-histories section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: LST-17 was laid down 21 September 1942 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched 8 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Sarah H. Bankson; and commissioned 19 April 1943, Lt. H. B. Gallagher, USCGR, in command. Assigned to the European theater in WWII; participated in the Invasion of Normandy, June 1944; performed occupation duty in the Far East intermittently September through December 1945; decommissioned 15 January 1946; transferred 15 November 1954 to Commandant, 13th Naval District, for use as a mobile target; sunk 15 August 1956 by torpedo fire. Earned one battle star for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Limitations
- Official but terse; does not mention Coast Guard manning, the SCAJAP Q015 designation, the Boston overhaul, or any material/asbestos content - those details come from the USCG ship sheet, NavSource, and the ship's own War History rows.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-01
-
[3]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'LST-17' cutter/ship sheet PDF (citing LST files, USCG Historian's Office; The Coast Guard At War, Vol. V, Transports and Escorts, Vol. 2, 1949; DANFS Vol. VII, 1981) - ARCHIVED COPY; live uscg.mil URL returns Akamai 403 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback Machine capture 20170507163304 of uscg.mil/history/cutters/USN/LST/LST_17.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office ship sheet for LST-17 (archived): built by Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh; commissioned 19 April 1943 at New Orleans after floating down the Ohio and Mississippi; assigned LST Flotilla 17, Group 51, Division 101. Dimensions 327 ft 9 in overall x 50 ft beam; propulsion two General Motors 12-567 diesels, twin shafts and rudders; top speed 11.6 knots; radius 24,000 nautical miles at 9 knots; complement 111; troops 163; initial armament 7 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm, 2 x .50-cal, 4 x .30-cal. Narrative covers shakedown at Panama City, Fla., Chesapeake Bay training, the Mediterranean/Indian Ocean itinerary (Oran, Bizerte, Algiers, Catania, Taranto, Port Said, Suez, Aden, Bombay, Calcutta, Colombo), Milford Haven and British coastal movements, Normandy operations from 6 June 1944 (Rhino barges of railway equipment; casualty evacuation; repeated beachings at Gold, Utah, and Omaha areas), return to the United States for the Boston overhaul in October 1944, and removal of the Coast Guard crew on 10 November 1944. Decommissioned 15 January 1946; sunk by the U.S. Navy as a mobile target by torpedoes 15 August 1956; one battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Limitations
- Archived copy of an official USCG Historian's Office document; the live uscg.mil URL is blocked (Akamai 403) and is not cited as live. Gives the engine model as 12-567 without the A suffix used by NavSource and the BuShips data table. No asbestos or insulation-material content - this row supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Cutters and Vessels' World War II / Normandy page (history.uscg.mil) [other_primary]
- Locator
- WWII cutters-and-vessels listing, Coast Guard-manned LSTs at Normandy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The live U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office site lists LST-17 among the eleven U.S. Coast Guard-manned LSTs that participated in the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Official USCG list naming the hull; corroborates Coast Guard manning and Normandy participation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-03
-
[5]National Archives, 'USS LST-17 - War History,' NAID 77706724, RG 38 (7 digitized images, read in full; serial LST17/A12-1/(WSD:Ds) 4) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 77706724, digitized pages 1-7 incl. cover letter and movements table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own seven-page War History (NARA digitized, RG 38), submitted to the Secretary of the Navy 11 January 1946 under cover letter signed 'W. S. Dukes, Acting' (commanding officer), documents: overhaul in 'Boston's Atlantic-Bethlehem Yard' after arrival 26 October 1944; Navy Formed Crew #4722 (nine officers, one hundred six enlisted) relieving the Coast Guard crew; departure Boston 4 January 1945; Norfolk 8-26 January 1945 including a four-day shakedown, three days in the Navy Yard, and loading nine hundred tons of TNT; Panama Canal transit 8 February; San Diego 22 February; Pearl Harbor 7 March-20 May (cargo: 534th Amphibious Tractor Battalion); Saipan 10 June; Hagushi Bay, Okinawa 14-29 July; Guam; Leyte 29 August; Cebu (embarked 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division); Tokyo Bay; the initial occupation landing at Otaru, Hokkaido 5 October; drydock #4 at Yokosuka 17-24 October for starboard-screw replacement; and Lt. Arthur W. Lenhoff, USN, relieving Lt. Cmdr. Helvold as commanding officer 24 October 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (USCG crew to 10 Nov 1944; Navy Formed Crew #4722 thereafter); yard workers at Atlantic-Bethlehem, Norfolk Navy Yard, Trafalgar Dry Docks, Thames Dry Dock, and Yokosuka drydock #4
- Limitations
- Ship-submitted narrative, primary for wartime itinerary and yard availabilities; contains internal inconsistencies (Tokyo Bay arrival given as 15 September in narrative but 23 September in the movements table; the movements-table header 'SINCE 30 November 1945' is a typographical error - entries begin 4 January 1945). No asbestos or insulation-material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-04
-
[6]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-17 hull page (archive series 10/16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page 10/16/160017: timeline, specifications block, CO list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource hull page (LST-1-class tank landing ship): laid down 21 September 1942 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA; launched 8 January 1943; commissioned 19 April 1943, Lt. H. B. Gallagher, USCGR, in command; manned by the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII; Europe-Africa-Middle East then Asiatic-Pacific theaters; Normandy participation; occupation service 16 September-26 October and 20 November-24 December 1945; decommissioned 15 January 1946 and turned over to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q015; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; transferred 15 November 1954 to Commandant, 13th Naval District, as a mobile target; sunk 15 August 1956 by torpedo fire; one battle star. Specifications: 1,625 long tons light / 4,080 tons full load; 328 ft overall x 50 ft beam; 11.6 knots; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, Falk main reduction gears, two propellers, 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three diesel-driven 100 kW ship-service generators. Photographs show her underway in the Pacific with LCT-848 and beached at Okinawa offloading tanks and trucks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation built from official records and the photo archive; 'manned by the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II' understates the documented 10 November 1944 relief by Navy Formed Crew #4722 (USCG sheet + War History). No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-05
-
[7]U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1 January 1945), Shipscribe.com scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. 2 vessel roster (LST listings) and LST group machinery/characteristics table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships 'Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels,' Vol. 2 (1 January 1945): LST-17 appears on the in-service vessel roster for the LST type, and the LST machinery/design table for the LST 1-490 group lists two propellers driven by G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines at 1,700 shaft horsepower with the steam-condition and boiler columns blank - a diesel plant with no boilers. General characteristics for the group: 328 ft overall, 50 ft beam, 11.6 knots.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Class-range design table covering LST 1-490, not a hull record; corroborates the diesel plant (no boiler entries) at class level. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement. Note: the older class-profile URL for this volume 404s; the live file is at /pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-06
-
[8]ArchivesWest / University of Washington Libraries, Applied Physics Laboratory records, 'Mark 14 and 16 Torpedoes, with MK 9-4 Exploders, Sinking L.S.T. 17 off Washington Coast' [other_primary]
- Locator
- ArchivesWest container listing, Reel 10 Item 10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- University of Washington Libraries archival catalog (ArchivesWest) holds one silent color 16mm reel described as 'Mark 14 and 16 Torpedoes, with MK 9-4 Exploders, Sinking L.S.T. 17 off Washington Coast' (Reel 10, Item 10) - an Applied Physics Laboratory torpedo-exploder test film showing the ex-LST-17 being sunk by submarine-fired torpedoes off the Washington coast. The catalog dates the reel 'April 1957,' conflicting with the official Navy sinking date of 15 August 1956; the Navy date is adopted and the film date is carried as a cataloging discrepancy.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1956-1957
- Limitations
- Finding-aid level only - the film itself was not viewed. Catalog date (April 1957) conflicts with DANFS/NavSource sinking date (15 August 1956); likely a processing/cataloging date or related test date, unresolved. Documents the sinking as a torpedo weapons test; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-07
-
[9]Consolidated era inference: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST 1-490 machinery table (diesel plant, no boilers) + Corn & Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987), for era-level asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2.pdf LST group table; AJIM 11(3) abstract
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As a diesel-powered LST-1-class tank landing ship with no boiler plant (BuShips machinery table; NavSource; USCG sheet), LST-17 lacked the steam-lagging pathway; era-typical asbestos applications for the type were diesel exhaust lagging, engine and machinery gaskets and packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, accommodation and bulkhead insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. Asbestos was extensively used in U.S. WWII-era shipbuilding for fireproofing and insulation, the era and program under which this hull was mass-produced.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- LST-1-class ship crews and construction/repair yard workers (class context)
- Limitations
- Era/class inference only - no document names asbestos aboard this hull. Does not establish quantity, location, condition, present-day presence (hull sunk 1956), individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-08
-
[10]NIOSH, 'Walk-through survey report, Dravo Corporation, Engineering Works Division, Pittsburgh, PA' (1980; survey date 1979-01-30) - OSTI biblio 6587634 / CDC Stacks 233176; NIOSH, 'Industrial hygiene survey report, Dravo Corporation, Engineering Works Division, Neville Island' (1985) - CDC Stacks 233199 [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSTI bibliographic record 6587634 (abstract); stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/233176 and /233199 index records
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Yard-level occupational-health records exist for the builder's site: NIOSH conducted a walk-through survey of Dravo Corporation, Engineering Works Division, Neville Island/Pittsburgh, on 30 January 1979 (assessing suitability for an in-depth painter health-hazard study at a yard then building barges and towboats with about 1,200 production personnel), and a 1985 industrial-hygiene survey report for the same division is indexed at CDC Stacks. Neither report's full text is digitized - the CDC Stacks records are index-only/missing the digital file - and neither abstract mentions asbestos.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979-1985
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island production workforce, 1979-1985 (postwar yard context)
- Limitations
- Yard-level records made 36-42 years after this hull's construction, concerning a later workforce and (per the abstract) painters' exposures, not asbestos in 1942-43 LST construction. Full texts not digitized - asbestos content unknown. Does not establish or exclude asbestos aboard LST-17; a lead for construction-era exposure context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-09
-
[11]U.S. General Accounting Office, 'Department of the Navy's Asbestos Control Program' (HRD-80-2, 1980) - product page verified; full text blocked (403) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO's 1980 review of the Navy's asbestos program documents Navy-wide asbestos-insulation hazards and control efforts in shipbuilding and overhaul through the early 1970s - program-level context for the era in which LST-17 was built and overhauled. The GAO product page confirms the report; the full text was blocked (HTTP 403) at research time.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- through early 1970s; report 1980
- Population
- Navy shipyard and shipboard workforce (program context)
- Limitations
- Navy program-level context only; does not name this vessel or class. Full-text access blocked at research time - a known GAO access gap also recorded in batch-98; row carried for program context, not hull evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 search results via authenticated helper cl-auth-search.py: "LST-17" o=1 (name collision), "LST 17" o=1 (same collision), "LST-17" r=59 (all collisions), "USS LST-17" o=0; "USS LST-17" r and "Q015" blocked (fleet pacing) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-17-lst17-06 through sl-uss-lst-17-lst17-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CourtListener authenticated sweep (API v4 via helper): exact-string opinion search for "LST-17" returned one hit - Diamond Offshore Services Ltd. v. Williams, Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2015 - an OCR artifact reading '[lst Dist.]' (First District), not the ship (name collision). The "LST 17" opinion variant returned the same single collision. The "LST-17" docket search returned 59 hits; every reviewed title was an unrelated OCR/Bates-number collision (e.g., Morin v. Nationwide, Davol MDL dockets, criminal captions) - no qualifying asbestos litigation naming the hull. "USS LST-17" opinions returned zero. The "USS LST-17" docket and "Q015" variants were blocked by the fleet-wide pacing limiter at session end and are logged as blocked, not as negative results.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Negative coverage is not exhaustive: two hull-designation variants remained blocked by fleet pacing at session end. CourtListener's corpus does not index every state docket, trial-level filing, or settled/unreported matter; no hit proves only that no indexed opinion or docket naming the hull was located. Not a merits finding; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-11
-
[13]Batch-6728 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS, USCG Historian's Office (archived + live), NARA catalog and digitized War History, NavSource, BuShips SDB 1945 v2, ArchivesWest, NIOSH/OSTI/CDC Stacks, GAO, NVR, CourtListener sweep, secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-17-lst17-01 through sl-uss-lst-17-lst17-18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located in the sources searched: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation record naming LST-17 or Q015 was found. The DANFS entry, archived USCG ship sheet, ship's own War History, NavSource hull page, BuShips Ships' Data volume, UW film catalog, and NARA catalog records contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement. Law-firm listicle pages asserting asbestos aboard LST-type ships were excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- A negative public-source search does not prove asbestos was absent aboard a 1942-43 hull; era-consistent presence remains a reasonable inference. The hull was sunk as a target in 1956 - pre-dating the survey/abatement era - so no postwar material documentation is expected to exist. CourtListener coverage was partly blocked by fleet pacing (see ledger); the litigation negative is not exhaustive, is not a merits finding, and does not establish or defeat exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-12
-
[14]National Archives catalog: LST-17 war diaries (RG 38) NAIDs 134289623, 135928030, 78143144, 78198328, 135993623, 136031270; muster rolls (RG 24) NAID 126612270 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-17' - digitized war diaries and muster-roll entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds additional digitized ship-specific records beyond the War History: six monthly war diaries covering June-November 1943 (NAIDs 134289623 Jun, 135928030 Jul, 78143144 Aug, 78198328 Sep, 135993623 Oct, 136031270 Nov) and the ship's muster rolls for 30 June 1943-15 January 1946 (NAID 126612270, RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel). A COM LST Group 103 war diary (NAID 139942064) also surfaced but is a formation-level record, not the ship's own.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company, 1943-1946 (muster-roll population)
- Limitations
- Catalog-verified digitized holdings; the diary/muster images were not read page-by-page. These are operational and personnel records - useful for crew/population documentation but containing no expected asbestos content. Deck logs for this hull were not surfaced in the digitized catalog.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-17-lst17-13