Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 655-packet.md (3 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-280-lst280-pkt-655-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-280 (NHHC live page, verified 2026-10-02) - construction, Normandy service, transfer to UK, return, striking, sale [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-280 entry, full text (2 paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'laid down on 16 July 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched on 26 September 1943; sponsored by Miss Lois Johnston; and commissioned on 2 November 1943.' Assigned to the European theater; 'participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944.' 'On 26 October 1944, she was transferred to the United Kingdom and returned to United States Navy custody on 11 April 1946. She was decommissioned on 13 April 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 5 June 1946. LST-280 was sold to Bosey, Philippines, on 5 December 1947.' Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS entry is short and does not mention the 15 June 1944 torpedoing or the Thames repair - those come from other rows. 'Bosey, Philippines' carried verbatim; buyer identity unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-280 (page verified live 2026-10-02) - designation timeline, Royal Navy service block, specifications, photo captions with NARA accession number [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160280.htm header block, RN history block, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 16 July 1943 at American Bridge Co., Ambridge PA; launched 26 September 1943; commissioned USS LST-280 2 November 1943, Ens. Lyle E. Brown USN in command; EAME theater, Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; 'Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom, 26 October 1944.' RN block: commissioned as HM LST-280 26 October 1944; 'Under repair in Thames from 8 July 1944 to 18 January 1945'; loaded LCT-2124 aboard for Far East service; participated in the invasion of Malaya; visited Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Port Tewfik, Massawa, Aden, Bombay, Cochin, Trincomalee, Vizagapatam, Madras, Rangoon, Thailand and Singapore; 'Paid off and returned to US Navy custody at Subic Bay, Philippines, 13 April 1946.' Struck 5 June 1946; one battle star; sold 5 December 1947 to Bosey, Philippines, fate unknown. Specs: 1,625 t. lt / 4,080 t. fl; 328' oa; 50' beam; 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2x GM 12-567A diesels 900hp, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp. Photo captions: hull beached at Normandy unloading trucks; NARA photo 80-G-283680 (crew casting 1944 absentee ballots in a British port before transfer); donor caption states the bow gunner was 'wounded on a return trip to England, when the ship was torpedoed.' CO table: Ens. Lyle Edward Brown, 2 Nov 1943 - 26 Oct 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); US crew (1943-44); Thames repair-yard trades (1944-45); RN crew (1944-46); post-sale Philippine owners/scrappers (1947-)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - but its milestone dates here track DANFS exactly except the decommission framing (decommission-at-transfer 26 Oct 1944 vs DANFS decommissioned 13 Apr 1946) and the custody-return date (13 vs 11 Apr 1946); both conflicts in gaps. The Thames repair window (8 Jul 1944 - 18 Jan 1945) straddles the formal transfer date - repair began under US flag after the torpedoing and continued under RN colors. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-02
-
[4]NARA NAID 78488254, 'USS LST-280 - AA Act Rep, 6/15/44, English Channel' - the ship's own anti-aircraft action report, RG 38 WWII War Diaries series, micro serial 77341 (digitized, 1 image) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file unit NAID 78488254; scanned form fields 1-30 and sketch note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own wartime report documents the torpedoing: English Channel, zone time 0024 (-2), 15 June 1944; surprise attack at night; two unidentified planes observed, one attacking; the ship fired 6x40mm and 4x20mm guns (50 rounds 40mm, 175 rounds 20mm) for one minute, opening at 1,500 yards; a second plane dropped flares to port to silhouette the ship for the attacking craft. No bomb hits; ship not strafed; ONE torpedo hit. Handwritten note: 'Plane attacked from ahead. Torpedo believed to be from E-Boat or submarine on starboard beam.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-15
- Population
- LST-280 ship's company and embarked troops/casualties aboard (15 Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Primary-source ship record of battle damage - contains no asbestos or material content, and does not enumerate casualties aboard. The attacker's identity is stated only as belief ('E-Boat or submarine'); postwar reassessment favors a Luftwaffe torpedo bomber (see correction row). Damage-repair scope is not in this document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-03
-
[5]United States Naval Chronology, World War II (Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department; GPO 1955), June 1944 entries - verbatim transcription at ibiblio.org [other_primary]
- Locator
- chr44-06.html, 06/14 Wed. block, 'United States naval vessels damaged'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy Department chronology lists under 14 June 1944: 'United States naval vessels damaged: ... LST 280, by submarine torpedo, Normandy area, 49 d. 55' N., 00 d. 30' W.' - placing the hull's torpedo damage in the official record with position.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-14/15
- Population
- Ship's company (Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Official postwar compilation; the 'submarine torpedo' attribution reflects wartime assessment and is now questioned - later research re-attributes the hit to a Luftwaffe torpedo bomber (see correction row ev-05). The chronology dates the event to the 14 June block; the ship's own report fixes it at 0024 on 15 June local time - consistent with a night 14/15 June attack. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-04
-
[6]uboat.net, 'Ships not hit by U-boats - USS LST-280' (vessel removed from U-621's hit list after further research); corroborating warship page uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/11361.html [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net removed_ships.html?shipID=51 note; warships/ship/11361.html event list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION to the wartime 'submarine torpedo' attribution: postwar assessment states 'USS LST-280 was damaged by a torpedo in the English Channel during the night of 14/15 June 1944 and it was thought that she had been hit by U-621, but this U-boat actually damaged USS LST-133. German torpedo bombers flew several sorties that night and USS LST-280 was probably hit by one of them' (assessed Ju 88 torpedo bomber, KG 77 or KG 26). The correction is consistent with the ship's own report: aircraft attacked from ahead while the torpedo arrived from the starboard beam, origin stated only as belief.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-14/15 (event); postwar (reassessment)
- Population
- Ship's company (Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a reputable secondary research compilation, not an official source - the re-attribution is a reasoned assessment ('probably'), not a confirmed finding. Both the wartime official attribution and the correction are recorded so the record does not silently propagate either.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-05
-
[7]NHHC (usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil), 'The Workhorse of Normandy: Remembering the Role of LSTs in Medical Evacuation' (June 2021) - via Wayback capture 2024-12-28; live page blocked to automated fetch 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article body (Cromwell/LST-280 passages) + endnotes i-iii (BUMED Normandy Oral History Collection)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC documents this hull in the Normandy casualty-evacuation lift: 'June 6, 1944, Normandy Coast, France. Pharmacist's Mate 1st Class Stephen Cromwell stood on the bow of the LST-280 watching the Higgins Boats transporting troops to the beachhead'; after the second wave, 'Cromwell and other corpsmen braved the oncoming fire to retrieve casualties and transport them to LST-280 anchored offshore.' Fleet context: 106 of 144 LSTs at Normandy were designated for casualty evacuation; LSTs evacuated 79.62 percent of Allied casualties through D+11; up to 20 corpsmen and 2-3 medical officers per ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- LST-280 medical detachment and ship's company; embarked casualties (Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Official NHHC content (built on BUMED oral-history citations); ship-specific for LST-280's Normandy role and one named crewmember. No asbestos content. Live URL failed all fetch engines 2026-10-02 - cited via Wayback capture; label as archived source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-06
-
[8]HyperWar: US Navy Landing Ships/Craft 1940-1945 (Navy Department vessel-status roster; ibiblio.org mirror), LST table line 309: 'LST-280 | 1942-45 | Lend-Lease to UK' [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-ls.html LST roster table, LST-280 line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy Department landing-ships roster line for this hull records 'LST-280 ... 1942-45 ... Lend-Lease to UK' - official confirmation of the transfer mechanism and the hull's 1942-45 USN listing window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Limitations
- Roster-level confirmation only - no operational detail, no asbestos content. '1942-45' is the program listing window for the class block, not this hull's exact commission dates (per-hull dates carried from DANFS/NavSource).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (2x GM 12-567A diesels, diesel plant, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST-1-class design table (328 ft, 50 ft beam, GM 12-567A diesels, 11.6 kt); era amphibious-ship construction practice (class file ev-lst-1-class-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; BuShips SDB1945v2 LST design table (class file citation)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LST-1-class hull built mid-1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. For this diesel-powered type - no boilers, so no steam-plant lagging pathway - era-standard asbestos applications were diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, accommodation insulation, and brake linings on winches and the windlass. Her seven-month Thames repair (Jul 1944 - Jan 1945) and RN Far East service added maintenance-disturbance scope of the same era materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943); US crew (1943-44); Thames repair trades (1944-45); RN crew (1944-46); post-1947 owners/scrappers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-280. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-08
-
[10]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 US construction and service era (1943-47). Standing 1975 policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs; LST-280 left US custody in 1947, before any asbestos-era survey or removal regime applied.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- 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 - standing defect since Batch 01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-09
-
[11]NARA catalog leads: file unit 'Amphibious Training Base, Solomons, MD. 9/30/43 to 12/31/43' (Muster Rolls series) contains 'USS LST-280' in full-text index - the ship's commissioning window at the LST training base; plus NARA still photo 80-G-283680 (crew absentee voting, Nov 1944, via NavSource caption). Deck logs for LST-280 not located in the digitized Logbooks series. [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 127328272; NavSource caption citing NARA 80-G-283680; NARA 'LST-280' + 'deck log' search (17 incidental hits, none this hull's logs)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: (1) the ATB Solomons muster-roll file unit (NAID 127328272, covering 30 Sep - 31 Dec 1943, the ship's commissioning window) returns 'USS LST-280' in NARA's full-text index - consistent with commissioning-crew processing through the LST training base, though the matching page image is unexamined; (2) still photo 80-G-283680 documents the crew aboard in a British port in autumn 1944; (3) the ship's own AA action report is digitized (ev-03). Deck-log file units for LST-280 are not in the digitized catalog (search 2026-10-02).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Commissioning crew (Oct-Nov 1943); crew in UK waters (1944)
- Limitations
- Leads, not findings: the muster-roll match is a full-text index hit inside a base-level file unit (unexamined image); the photo is known only via its NavSource caption. Neither is an asbestos or exposure record. Deck logs may exist in undigitized RG 24 holdings at NARA.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-10
-
[12]Batch-6818 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource 160280 live; NARA catalog (AA action report + muster-roll lead); 1955 US Naval Chronology transcription; NHHC navylive via Wayback; uboat.net; HyperWar roster; NVR; CourtListener API v4; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-280-lst280-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-280 / HM LST-280 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated searches completed: 'LST-280' opinions returned zero results; 'LST-280' dockets returned two incidental OCR matches inside unrelated bankruptcy dockets (In re Tran, Bankr. E.D. Pa. 19-11200; In re Lucas, Bankr. D.N.J. 16-32586) - name collisions, not asbestos dockets and not about the vessel. Variant query forms were fleet-paced at session end and are logged as open.
- 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 - era inference remains reasonable but unproven. Hull sold to Philippine commercial interests 1947; post-sale material history undocumented. Unhyphenated/spaced query variants and NARA undigitized records (deck logs, ATB muster pages) are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-280-lst280-11