Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 651-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (hull identity; see caveat)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (hull identity; see caveat)
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-239-lst239-pkt-651-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-239 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, transfer to UK, striking, and sale (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-239 entry, single-paragraph ship history
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-239 was laid down 6 March 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 18 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur L. Tomme; commissioned 13 July 1943. The tank landing ship saw no active service with the United States Navy. On 19 July 1943 she was transferred to the United Kingdom; returned to U.S. Navy custody 5 February 1946; struck from the Navy list 5 June 1946; and on 26 April 1948 sold to Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., for conversion to non-self-propelled merchant operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- Official U.S. Navy history for this hull; establishes build/transfer/disposal milestones only - contains no asbestos information and does not cover the Royal Navy service period in detail. Custody-return date conflicts with NavSource/uboat.net (5 vs 14 Feb 1946); see ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-10.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LST-239 - build timeline, Royal Navy service history, specifications, disposal (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-239 page (archives/10/16/160239.htm), history block + specifications
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: laid down 6 March 1943 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 18 June 1943; transferred to the United Kingdom 19 July 1943 and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-239 the same day; sailed from Norfolk, VA 16 August 1943 as part of 9th Flotilla bound for the invasion of the Andaman Islands (subsequently canceled); reassigned to the European Theater; participated in the Invasion of Normandy, June 1944; operated in shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp; served in relief of Norway; paid off and returned to U.S. Navy custody at Norfolk, VA 14 February 1946; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; sold 26 April 1948 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. for conversion to non-self-propelled merchant operation; final disposition unknown. Spec block: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full, 11.6 kt, two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk reduction gear, two shafts, 1,700 shp; complement 7 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Limitations
- NavSource is the canonical volunteer-compiled per-hull reference used across this dataset; the Royal Navy narrative block is contributed content not line-item sourced, though its outline is corroborated by uboat.net's convoy record (ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-03). No asbestos content. Custody-return date (14 Feb) conflicts with DANFS (5 Feb) - see ev-10.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, HMS LST 239 (LST 239) - Royal Navy service record, commanding officers, convoy event (verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12243 - HMS LST 239 record, commands table, 10 Nov 1943 convoy AB 20S event
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's warship record for HMS LST 239 confirms: built by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co. (Evansville, Indiana); laid down 6 Mar 1943; launched 18 Jun 1943; commissioned into the Royal Navy 19 Jul 1943; end of service 14 Feb 1946 - 'Decommissioned and returned to the USN on 14 February 1946.' All five listed wartime commanding officers were Royal Naval Reserve (F. Dyer RNR from 3 Sep 1943; T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.R. Hodder RNR; Lt.Cdr. G.A. Moore RD RNR; A/Lt.Cdr. J. Mackay RNR; T/Lt. S.G. Fowler RNR to 14 Feb 1946). The page's event record places HMS LST 239 in combined convoy AB 20S departing Aden 10 November 1943 and arriving Bombay 19 November 1943, in company with USS LST-73 and the landing craft repair ship USS Achelous - consistent with the canceled Andaman operation transit described by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled warship database, well-regarded for RN submarine-era records; corroborates NavSource but is not an official source. The page's 'Former name: USS LST 238' field is a documented data quirk (links to a different hull) - no rename is asserted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-03
-
[5]Naval Marine Archive, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company, Evansville IN shipyard production table - per-hull build data for pennant 239 (verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron production table, row for pennant 239 (hull no. 27)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The yard production table lists hull no. 27, pennant 239: keel laid 3/6/43, launched 6/18/43, delivered 7/13/43 - 104 days on the ways, 129 days total; disposition noted 'To Britain 1943, sold private 1948.' Dates match DANFS exactly.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Compiled shipbuilding-history table (secondary); corroborates DANFS build dates and the transfer/sale sequence but adds no asbestos information and no detail beyond milestone dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-04
-
[6]Kansas Historical Society, Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company records collection description; Papers of Clarence Mitchell Jr. (clarencemitchellpapers.org), 'Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Works' entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- kansashistory.gov/archives/40167 collection description; clarencemitchellpapers.org/node/1323
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder background: Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron was a Leavenworth, Kansas-based firm; during World War II it was one of the companies that constructed a shipyard at Evansville, Indiana, and built LST landing craft and other floating equipment there - the wartime 'cornfield yard' that produced this hull. Company records survive at the Kansas Historical Society; a second collection is at Cornell's Kheel Center (restricted access).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Evansville shipyard construction trades (1942-1945)
- Limitations
- Yard-level background on this hull's builder - neither collection description names LST-239 and neither says anything about asbestos use at the Evansville yard. Contents are undigitized; Kheel access is restricted. Archival lead for construction-era records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST design table (shipscribe.com scan) + LST-1-class profile (class-f worktree) + era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf); class profile ev-lst-1-class-01/-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: no boilers, so no steam-lagging pathway; asbestos-relevant applications aboard the type were GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. Built March-July 1943, inside the WWII emergency-shipbuilding period when asbestos insulation was standard marine practice and the federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Evansville, 1943); Royal Navy crew (1943-1946); U.S. Navy custody/transfer parties (1943, 1946-1948); conversion yard workers (1948)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no member of the LST-1 class has a located ship-level asbestos record, and nothing documents asbestos aboard this specific hull. Establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual. The diesel plant narrows but does not eliminate the exposure pathway.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-06
-
[8]DANFS sale entry + shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json record for newport-news-shipbuilding (yard asbestos documentation: Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud; WWII-era Tidewater mesothelioma cohort) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-239 disposal sentence; shipyards.json yard_id newport-news-shipbuilding
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- On 26 April 1948 the hull was sold to Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, VA, for conversion to non-self-propelled merchant operation - a documented yard event for this hull at a yard whose Atlas record documents extensive asbestos product use during the relevant era. Cutting propulsion machinery and reworking interior spaces for merchant conversion are exactly the activities that disturb original insulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948
- Population
- Newport News Shipbuilding conversion workers (1948)
- Limitations
- The sale is ship-specific (DANFS); the yard's asbestos documentation is yard-level (shipyards.json), not hull-level. No record documents what the conversion actually disturbed aboard this hull, whether asbestos was encountered, or the resulting merchant identity/fate. Treats a plausible disturbance pathway, not a proven exposure event.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-07
-
[9]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - official research guide identifying the record series where hull-level asbestos documentation would reside [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided-topics/asbestos - RG 19 series list + Navy Filing Manual coding section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's asbestos research guide states that ship-specific asbestos records for this era live in RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) General Correspondence filed by hull designation - for this hull, file code LST239 - and in private-shipyard correspondence filed under 'QM/<yard name>' (QM/Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron). RG 19 entries A1 1266-A through -P (1940-1945) and UD-series correspondence (1947-1948) bracket this hull's U.S. construction and disposal periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (records coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the guide identifies where records would be; none of these series were consulted, and their contents for this hull are unknown. Not evidence that asbestos documentation exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-08
-
[10]Batch-6785 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; NavSource; uboat.net; Naval Marine Archive yard table; NVR; NARA guided topic + catalog; UK National Archives Discovery; Kansas Historical Society / Cornell Kheel collection descriptions; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-239-lst239-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-239 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). One authenticated CourtListener opinion-index query for the hull string ran - 159 hits, all numeric/statute collisions, zero qualifying results. The only other asbestos-content hits were law-firm marketing listicles asserting asbestos aboard LSTs generally - 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 - 1943 wartime construction is era-consistent with asbestos use. CourtListener coverage is partial: a single unquoted opinion-index query completed; the quoted hull-string and RECAP docket sweeps stayed fleet-blocked, and per-hull RECAP coverage for hull-number searches is weak (class-file ledger). The litigation sweep is logged as partially complete - blocked portions noted in the ledger. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-09
-
[11]Cross-source date check: DANFS vs NavSource vs uboat.net [other_primary]
- Locator
- ev-01 (DANFS), ev-02 (NavSource), ev-03 (uboat.net)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Return to U.S. Navy custody is dated 5 February 1946 by DANFS but 14 February 1946 by both NavSource ('paid off and returned to US Navy custody at Norfolk, VA') and uboat.net ('Decommissioned and returned to the USN on 14 February 1946'). Two independent compilations agree on the 14th; the official entry says the 5th. Unresolved - possibly a paid-off date vs. formal custody-transfer date distinction.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Both dates carried in the record; the conflict does not affect any exposure-relevant fact (either way, U.S. custody resumes in February 1946 at Norfolk).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-239-lst239-10