Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 657-packet.md (1 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-29-lst29-pkt-657-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS (NHHC), LST-29 entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS LST-29 page, full entry (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-29 was laid down 8 January 1943 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched 17 May 1943, sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Lockton; commissioned 10 July 1943. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Gilbert Islands operation (November-December 1943); the Marshall Islands operation (occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, January-February 1944; occupation of Eniwetok Atoll, February-March 1944); the Marianas operation (capture and occupation of Guam, July-August 1944); and the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, May 1945). Decommissioned 11 March 1946; struck from the Navy list 8 May 1946; sold 17 June 1946 to the Foss Launch & Tug Co., of Seattle, Wash. Earned four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company ~13 officers + 104 enlisted; embarked troops to 16 officers + 147 enlisted (class specification)
- Limitations
- Official ship-history record; establishes identity, construction, service, and disposal dates only. Contains no asbestos, material, or crew-exposure information; does not establish that any product aboard contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-01
-
[3]NHHC, 'The Assault on Kwajalein and Majuro (Part One)' - task organization listing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Task organization section, Tractor Unit Two, TG Knowles (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC operational history of the Kwajalein-Majuro assault enumerates 'LST's 29, 31, 41, 127, 218, 240, 273, 481' in Tractor Unit Two (Comdr. Adrian M. Hurst) under Task Group Knowles (Southern Transport Group) - placing this named hull in the January-February 1944 Marshall Islands assault force.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-01/02
- Limitations
- Official operational history naming this hull in the order of battle; corroborates DANFS campaign credit. Contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-02
-
[4]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-29 page (timeline, specification block, commanding officers, NARA-sourced photographs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LST-29 page 10/16/160029 (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline: laid down 8 January 1943 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA; launched 17 May 1943; commissioned USS LST-29, 10 July 1943, Lt. Oliver W. Barber, USN, in command; assigned to LST Flotilla Five, LST Flotilla Three, LST Group Eight, LST Division Fifteen; decommissioned 11 March 1946; struck 8 May 1946; sold 17 June 1946 to Foss Launch & Tug Co., Seattle, 'fate unknown'; international radio call sign NFFQ. Specification block (LST-1 class): 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators, two propellers (1,700 shp), twin rudders; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company; commanding officers listed through 11 March 1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-run archival compilation widely used as the per-hull reference; its specification block is class-level data repeated per hull, not hull-surveyed measurement. 'Fate unknown' flag reflects NavSource's record, not proof of loss. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-03
-
[5]Consolidated era/design inference - NavSource LST-1-class machinery specification (diesel plant, no boilers) + era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-1-class specification block; inference framing per LST-1-class class profile (class-f)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for the LST-1-class diesel plant: with no boilers or steam propulsion, the asbestos-relevant applications aboard concentrate in GM diesel engine and exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, deck coverings and tile, valve and flange packing, and winch/brake linings. Insulation and friction products of the 1942-45 construction era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber, and the wartime federal government had reserved asbestos supply for shipbuilding.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (construction and service era)
- Population
- Construction trades at Dravo Neville Island (1943); ship's company
- Limitations
- Class/design-level inference, not a hull record: no hull-named asbestos survey, material schedule, or abatement record was located for LST-29, and no primary document states that asbestos products were installed aboard this hull. The inference is partially tightened by ev-uss-lst-29-05 - the builder's own litigation admission of asbestos pipe insulation use at this yard/era/type - but that record still does not name this hull. Establishes no quantity and no exposure for any individual. The BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 scan formerly hosted at shipscribe.com (used by the class profile) returned HTTP 404 at access time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-04
-
[6]Christman v. Dravo Corp. and Johns-Manville Corp., 319 Pa. Super. 378, 466 A.2d 209 (1983) - opinion, CourtListener 1971341 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at *384-386 (interrogatory answers); holding on LHWCA exclusivity *387-396 (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- In interrogatory answers quoted by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the builder of this hull admitted that 'from 1941 to 1945 the major portion of the ships that it built (over 145 LST-type vessels) were for the Bureau of Ships of the United States Navy and asbestos was used as pipe insulating material in the construction of motor vessels at the Neville Island building docks.' Plaintiff's answers placed decedent Jacob F. Christman at the same yard 1942-1945 as a welder/mechanic on the outfitting dock and 'in hold of ship where they were putting up insulation, the asbestos was from Johns-Manville'; he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1978 and died 21 February 1979. The Superior Court affirmed summary judgment for Dravo on Longshoremen's Act exclusivity grounds - the tort claim was barred because the employer had secured compensation coverage; exposure facts were never adjudicated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1983 (opinion); exposure window 1942-1945
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island shipyard construction workers, 1941-1945 (welding/mechanic/outfitting trades)
- Limitations
- Discovery-stage record, not a merits finding: the asbestos-use statement is the defendant builder's own interrogatory admission (documented use at yard/era/type level), and the worker's specific exposure assertions are pleading/discovery content never tried. Does not name LST-29 or any hull - the link to this vessel is that it was built at the named yard within the admitted window (laid down January 1943, commissioned July 1943) and is one of the >145 LST-type vessels described. Product scope admitted is pipe insulation specifically; whether this worker touched this hull is unknowable from the record. Disposition was statutory exclusivity (summary judgment for employer), not an adjudication of exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-05
-
[7]In re: Dravo LLC - Derivative Claims Against Carmeuse Lime, Inc., No. 33 WAP 2024 (Pa. May 22, 2026) (majority opinion, official pacourts.us slip PDF; Justia-hosted copy also verified) [court_record]
- Locator
- Majority opinion, J-79A-2025 (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that veil-piercing claims against parent Carmeuse Lime for the dissolved Dravo LLC's obligations fail where the underlying claims are barred by the LLC Act's dissolution claim bar. The opinion describes Dravo as having 'for decades operated in heavy industry and faced numerous asbestos-related claims based on alleged exposure during its operations from the 1940s to the 1980s' - the same corporation whose Engineering Works Division on Neville Island built this hull in 1943, and the same liability stream documented at discovery-admission level in Christman v. Dravo (ev-uss-lst-29-05).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026 (decision); alleged exposure era 1940s-1980s
- Population
- Dravo shipyard/industrial workers (alleged, 1940s-1980s)
- Limitations
- Builder-entity litigation, not a hull record: the opinion names the corporation, not LST-29 or any vessel, and resolves on a procedural claim bar - the asbestos allegations remain allegations, never adjudicated on exposure merits. Litigation-stage classification: appellate ruling on a statutory bar; underlying exposure never reached fact-finding. Post-dissolution posture (2018 dissolution, July 13, 2020 claim bar date) means later claims were never evaluated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-06
-
[8]NIOSH (Bloom, Dooley, Peguese), Industrial Hygiene Survey Report, Dravo Corporation, Engineering Works Division, Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - IWS 74-46 (survey July 1981; report July 1985; NIOSHTIC 00153681; NTIS PB86138286), CDC Stacks [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC Stacks record cdc:233199, NIOSH-provided description (verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- A federal industrial-hygiene survey was conducted at the same Dravo Engineering Works Division yard on Neville Island that built this hull - 38 years after her construction - evaluating painter/coating exposures during barge and towboat construction. It found lead and nuisance-dust concentrations exceeding OSHA standards and additive solvent-mixture concerns in inner-hull spaces; the survey did not address asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1981 (survey); 1985 (report)
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island painters/coating workers (1981)
- Limitations
- Yard-level occupational record, not a hull record: surveyed in 1981, not the 1943 construction era, covering barges/towboats rather than LSTs, and explicitly not an asbestos evaluation. Establishes that the yard had documented occupational overexposure (lead, solvents, dust) in federal records; establishes nothing about asbestos aboard or at this hull. Located as the only NIOSH record for this yard in CDC Stacks search.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-07
-
[9]National Archives Catalog - USS LST-29 war diaries, RG 38 (WWII War Diaries): NAID 78268643 (7/10-11/43); 78264653 (7/12-31/43); 78164309 (8/1-31/43); 78267042 (9/1-30/43); 78465806 (10/1/43-2/29/44); 139834627 (8/1-31/44); 139903910 (1/1-31/45); 139949539 (2/1-28/45); 101706679 (3/1-31/45); 101706672 (4/1-30/45); 140070092 (5/1-31/45); 101726789 (6/1-30/45); 83529799 (7/1-31/45); 83550749 (8/1-31/45); 77559949 (9/1-30/45); plus crew muster-roll reel NAID 464668407 (Reel 626) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'USS LST-29' (94 hits; NAIDs enumerated, verified live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own monthly war diaries for essentially the full commissioned period (July 1943 through September 1945) are digitized in the National Archives Catalog, RG 38 WWII War Diaries series, and a crew muster-roll reel exists in RG 24-related holdings - contemporaneous primary documents naming this hull, available for deck-level service reconstruction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Researchers; crew roster reconstruction via muster rolls
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the diaries are digitized page images; their content was not reviewed for this record. War diaries document operations and movements, not shipboard materials - no asbestos content should be expected. The separate 'COM LST GR 29' war diary (NAID 78348758) is LST Group 29 staff records, a different entity, not this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-08
-
[10]The Seattle Star, 1 October 1946, p.3 (Washington Digital Newspapers) - marine news item on ex-LST-29 as 'Foss 200'; corroborated by a scanned U.S. Coast Guard 'Merchant Vessels of the United States' register entry: 'Brg FOSS 200' official no. 281459, listed out of documentation [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Seattle Star 1946-10-01 p.3, marine-news column (search-index snippet; page Cloudflare-blocked at access time); MVUS register scan via Scribd
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous press documents the post-Navy disposition DANFS and NavSource leave as 'sold/fate unknown': the Seattle Star of 1 October 1946 reports 'Foss 200, in tow of the Justine Fosa... the big, bow-gate vessel, formerly the LST 29, cast off lines at Juneau yesterday and should arrive in Seattle in about [a week]' - i.e., the hull entered Foss Launch & Tug service as a barge named Foss 200. A scanned USCG merchant-vessel register lists barge FOSS 200, official number 281459, 3,009 gross tons, as out of documentation.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946-10 (item); register edition ~1977
- Population
- Commercial barge/tow crews (post-1946)
- Limitations
- Post-service disposition lead, not an exposure record: establishes commercial reuse of the hull (barge conversion), which is itself an era-typical pathway for structure-level disturbance. The newspaper page is Cloudflare-protected; text verified via search-index snippet of the digitized page. The USCG register entry is via a user-uploaded Scribd scan (not an official repository) and carries a 1945 build-year field inconsistent with this hull's 1943 build - treated as corroboration of the barge name/number only, verification partial.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-09
-
[11]LST Flotilla Five War Diary, July 1944 (NavSource-hosted scan of the flotilla command document); companion LST Flotilla Five Action Report, 28 July 1944, same archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-29 page 'Additional Resources' links (PDFs fetched live 2026-10-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LST-29 served in LST Flotilla Five (per NavSource) during the July 1944 Guam operation; the flotilla's contemporaneous war diary for July 1944 and its 28 July 1944 action report are digitized on NavSource - command-level primary documents covering this hull's unit during the Marianas campaign for which DANFS credits her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-07
- Limitations
- Unit-level documents: the flotilla diary and action report cover the formation, not necessarily hull-by-hull detail; the PDF is image-scanned with no text layer, so an LST-29-specific mention inside was not confirmed (14 MB scan, not OCR'd this session). Archival lead, not a reviewed exposure record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-10
-
[12]Batch-6828 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 four base queries; NHHC/DANFS, NavSource, NARA catalog, CDC Stacks/NIOSH, GAO HRD-80-2 lead, live web search for hull-specific asbestos records [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-29-01 through sl-uss-lst-29-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No hull-named asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LST-29 was found in the sources searched. All four CourtListener base queries ran (authenticated fleet helper): 'USS LST-29' opinion 8 hits and 'LST-29' opinion 727 hits - individually reviewed, all name collisions on loose term matching (LST-1180/1186 courts-martial, class-generic 'LST's-1 through 1152' procurement case, generic dockets/OCR noise); 'USS LST-29' docket 1,983 hits and 'LST-29' docket 29,856 hits - term-level docket noise, relevance-ranked top pages reviewed, none naming this hull. Asbestos-qualified variants ('LST-29' asbestos) ran because the hull base queries overflowed: opinion 20 hits and docket 2,200 hits, all asbestos-docket term matches - none name this hull; the variant did surface the builder-level Christman v. Dravo admission carried as ev-uss-lst-29-05.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard: a 1943 diesel amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation/gasket/deck materials. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener term-match behavior means docket coverage was relevance-ranked review of the first page of each result set, not exhaustive review of all hits; the asbestos-qualified variant queries (run because base queries overflowed the 20-result page) bound that coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-29-11