Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 653-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-264-lst264-pkt-653-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, DANFS entry 'LST-264' (published 2015-07-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-264 entry, full text (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (NHHC, live page): LST-264 was laid down 21 September 1942 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched 13 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James Dunn; commissioned 16 July 1943, Lt. R. W. Dale, Jr., USNR, in command. Assigned to the European theater; participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Decommissioned 11 January 1946; struck from the Navy list 19 June 1946; sold 23 April 1948 to Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., for conversion to non-self-propelled mercantile operation. Earned one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, milestones, and disposition. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - supports no asbestos claim. Does not state which Normandy beach; crew memoir (ev-03) supplies Gold Beach detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, USS LST-264 archive page 10/16/160264 (last updated 2025-08-22) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160264 spec block, campaign table, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive page for USS LST-264: LST-1-class tank landing ship; laid down 21 September 1942 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA; launched 13 March 1943; commissioned 16 July 1943, Lt. R. W. Dale, Jr., USNR; Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign table lists the Invasion of Normandy, 6-25 June 1944; decommissioned 11 January 1946; struck 19 June 1946; sold 23 April 1948 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. for conversion to non-self-propelled mercantile operation; one battle star. Specs: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted plus 16 officers/147 enlisted troops; 2 LCVP; armament as fitted 2 twin 40mm, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm; propulsion two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100 kW diesel-drive ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp. Commanding officers: Lt. Ralph Wilton Dale Jr. USNR (16 Jul 1943-1945), Lt. Gerald J. O'Brien USNR (1945-11 Jan 1946). Photographs include the ship beached at Normandy June 1944 and at the St. Louis riverfront levee for the Navy Day open house, 23 October 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 13 officers/104 enlisted; embarked troops
- Limitations
- Secondary archive compiled from official records and donated crew photos; consistent with DANFS on all shared milestones. Contains no asbestos or materials information - supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-02
-
[4]Lee T. Bashore memoir, NavSource LST-264 auxiliary page 10/16/160264a [other_primary]
- Locator
- Memoir full text, NavSource 160264a
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Crew memoir 'The U.S. Navy For Better, for Worse, August 1943-Jan. 1946' by LTjg. Lee T. Bashore, USNR (contributed to NavSource by Mel Bashore): LST-264 boarded at Little Creek, VA; staged via Hoboken, Boston, and Halifax; crossed to Glasgow by convoy; five months at Dartmouth awaiting LSTs returning from Mediterranean invasions; loaded British troops and DUKWs on 2 June 1944; landed on Gold Beach under British command on D-Day morning; then 11 months of ferry duty between southern England ports and France including trips to Rouen (Seine) and Brest; post-V-E convoy to New York; scheduled overhaul at Pier 42 for Pacific transfer terminated after V-J Day; then Little Creek and the St. Louis Navy Day visit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-08 to 1946-01
- Population
- LST-264 officers and crew (memoir author was navigator, later gunnery officer)
- Limitations
- First-person primary account hosted on a secondary archive; corroborates DANFS/NavSource theater and campaign data. Contains no asbestos or materials information - the NYC overhaul it describes is a documented yard availability but no work-scope or hazmat record is attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST machinery table (shipscribe.com scan, SDB1945v2.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 machinery table, LST rows (PDF text layer, lines ~66200-66300 of pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945), official machinery table: design block LST1-490 (which includes this hull) carried 2 propellers driven by G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines at 1,700 shaft horsepower; the steam-pressure and temperature columns are blank for all diesel LST blocks - the class had no boilers or steam plant. (Blocks LST932-979 and LST1060-1080 carried GM 12-278A engines; LST-1153-onward was the turbine-powered Talbot County type.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 edition; covers 1942-43 construction
- Population
- Construction trades (American Bridge, Ambridge, 1942-43); engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Official class design data, not a hull record - confirms the diesel plant type for the LST1-490 design block containing this hull; contains no materials or insulation information. Note: the URL cited in the class profile (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf) is now 404; the live copy is under /pubs/.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-04
-
[6]Consolidated era inference anchored to BuShips SDB 1945 v2 machinery data (ev-04) and era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; inference, not a located document
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered LST-1-class hull: with no boiler plant aboard, the steam-system lagging pathway does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type are GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve and machinery packing, and winch/crane brake linings - applications typical of WWII-era U.S. amphibious-ship construction.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Ambridge, 1942-43); ship's company
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record was located for LST-264. Establishes no quantities, no specific products, no present-day presence, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-05
-
[7]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
- 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 program under which this LST-1-class hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant-type hulls.
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights (verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02; full PDF linked at gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy from 1975 removed and replaced asbestos insulation only when damaged or when removal was required for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place aboard WWII hulls for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period described; report 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation of Navy-wide asbestos policy, not class- or hull-specific; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. This hull was sold out of service in 1948, before the documented policy period - the row is program context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 searches '"LST-264"' type=opinion and type=docket, '"LST 264" asbestos' type=opinion (2026-10-02) - zero results each [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-264-05 through sl-uss-lst-264-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener searches on 2026-10-02 found no opinion or docket naming 'LST-264' (type=o and type=r, quoted phrase) and no opinion matching '"LST 264" asbestos' (unhyphenated variant). No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located in any searched repository.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Null result within searched coverage only - RECAP/opinion coverage is not complete for all federal dockets, and a generic secondary sweep found no qualifying case either. Does not prove no litigation ever named the vessel. The unhyphenated docket variant '"LST 264"' type=r was not run before session end (fleet pacing budget spent) - logged as an open ledger item, not a result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-08
-
[10]shipbuildinghistory.com, American Bridge Ambridge yard table (secondary) vs NHHC DANFS LST-264 [other_primary]
- Locator
- American Bridge yard table row 'LST 264' (16-Jul-43, 'Scrapped 1947')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Disposition conflict: the shipbuildinghistory.com American Bridge yard table lists LST-264 as 'Scrapped 1947', while DANFS and NavSource record the hull as sold 23 April 1948 to Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. for conversion to non-self-propelled mercantile operation. The DANFS disposition is carried; 'scrapped 1947' is inconsistent with the documented 1948 sale and is treated as a secondary-source defect.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1947-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary table value conflicts with DANFS; DANFS carried. The post-conversion mercantile identity (barge name or official number) was not located - the hull's ultimate fate after the 1948 conversion is unknown, not resolved by either source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-09
-
[11]Batch-6800 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource 160264 + 160264a; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO HRD-80-2; NVR; MARAD ShipHistory; NARA digitized deck-log index; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-264-01 through sl-uss-lst-264-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-264 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). NVR contains no record (hull disposed prior to 1987 is outside current NVR inclusion); MARAD ShipHistory produced no detail record for this hull; NARA's published digitized deck-log index lists no LST-264 logs.
- 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 1942-43 mass-production amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-264-10