Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 660-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-311-lst311-pkt-660-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-311 - construction at the New York Navy Yard; launch and sponsor; commissioning; Sicilian/Salerno/Normandy operations; transfer to the United Kingdom; return and decommissioning; striking and sale; three battle stars [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-311 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (NHHC): LST-311 laid down 7 September 1942 at the New York Navy Yard; launched 30 December 1942, sponsored by Miss Marie L. Paternoster; commissioned 11 January 1943. Assigned to the European theater - Sicilian occupation July 1943, Salerno landings September 1943, invasion of Normandy June 1944. Transferred to the United Kingdom 20 November 1944; returned to United States Navy custody 11 April 1946 and decommissioned; struck from the Navy list 5 June 1946; sold to an unknown buyer 5 December 1946 and resold at a later date to T. Y. Fong. Earned three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- WWII crew (~13 officers, 104 enlisted + embarked troops); Royal Navy crew 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Official NHHC DANFS entry - authoritative for milestones and campaigns. Contains no asbestos, material, survey, or crew-health information; does not name specific beaches or describe the Gela rescue. The return-to-custody date (11 April 1946) conflicts with NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum (13 April 1946, at Subic Bay), and the sale chain ('unknown buyer' then T. Y. Fong) conflicts with NavSource/NCM ('sold 5 December 1946 to T. Y. Fong') - both discrepancies carried in gaps. Page verified live 2026-10-02 via firecrawl render.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, HM LST-311 ex USS LST-311 - designation timeline, campaign table, commanding-officer list, Navy Cross note, Royal Navy service block, awards, and specification block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160311 - timeline, campaign table, Royal Navy history block, CO list, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource (LST-1 class page for this hull): commissioned 11 January 1943, Lt. F. E. Thornton Jr., USNR, in command; CO list continues Lt. Cmdr. Robert L. Coleman USNR (March 1943 - March 1944), Lt. Cmdr. Samuel B. Purdie USNR (March - August 1944), Lt.(jg) Joe F. Decker USNR (August - 20 November 1944). EAME campaigns: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943; invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944. Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom 20 November 1944; commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-311 the same day; fitted for carriage of rolling stock; participated in the invasion of Malaya; collided with HM LST-3036 at Singapore 25 March 1946; paid off and returned to U.S. Navy custody at Subic Bay, Philippines, 13 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; sold 5 December 1946 to T. Y. Fong; fate unknown. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V D.C. generators, 1,700 shp, twin rudders; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop berthing 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP. Awards: American Campaign Medal, EAME (3), WWII Victory Medal; radio call sign NJOU.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Ship's company 1943-1944; embarked troops; Royal Navy crew 1944-1946
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archival compilation (not an official record) but the canonical per-hull reference; campaign dates and CO list are consistent with DANFS and the ship's own NARA action reports. Page verified live 2026-10-02 (navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-02
-
[4]NARA catalog, RG 38 WWII War Diaries: twelve USS LST-311 file units - monthly war diaries April-November 1943 plus action reports for Operation HUSKY (NAID 135991028, dated 27 July 1943, 9 images), Mediterranean operations 8-12 September 1943 (NAID 78280377), and the Normandy report of operations 5-10 June 1944 (NAID 78527504, serial 004, dated 22 June 1944, 2 images); unrestricted, digitized (Fold3 scans) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/135991028 (Husky) and /id/78527504 (Normandy); search 'LST-311' under RG 38 series 4697018
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own digitized action reports were read page-by-page for this record. Husky report (27 July 1943, Lt. Cmdr. R. L. Coleman; organizational chain per first endorsement - LST Group One, LST Flotilla One, Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, flagship USS LST-312): LST-311 sailed in the Dime force from the Bay of Tunis via Gozo; beached at Dime Beach No. 67 (Red No. 2 sector) near Gela 10 July 1943 alongside LST-312 and LST-370; bombed at 1738 and again at 1835 by ME109F fighter-bombers - LST-313, beached 70 feet to starboard, took a direct hit amidships and her ammunition and gasoline cargo detonated; LST-311 played her fire hoses toward the fire, retracted when explosions and heat became unbearable, then returned bow-against-stern and evacuated approximately 81 personnel, transferring the 25 most seriously wounded to USS Barnett; own damage limited to small shrapnel dents and a warped port bow-door gear repairable by ship's force; 10 air attacks over D-Day and D+1; ammunition expended: 254 x 20mm, 53 x 40mm, 25 x 3"/50; casualties: one broken hand (boat coxswain) and one superficial flash burn. Third endorsement (ComUSNavNAW H. K. Hewitt, 15 November 1943): 'LST 311 was handled throughout the action in a highly creditable manner. The Commanding Officer has been awarded the Navy Cross ... LST 311 should be credited with one "probable" enemy aircraft destroyed.' Normandy report (22 June 1944, Lt. Cmdr. S. B. Purdie; organizational chain per the report - LST Group 33, LST Flotilla 11, under CTG 125.12 / CTG 125.5 Red Assault Group, Task Force 125): loaded at Dartmouth, sailed 5 June in Follow-Up Convoy U-3 towing two Rhino ferries; anchored 4,000 yards off Red Beach, Utah area, 1732 on 6 June; unloaded via LCTs, completing 0751 on 8 June; served as receiving ship for the mined USS Meredith, taking aboard 10 officers and 447 enlisted survivors before Meredith broke in two and sank 9 June, plus salvaged gun mounts (one quad 40mm, four 20mm) delivered to U.S. Naval Base Portland; embarked 808 prisoners of war from USS LST-351 and carried them to Portland, arriving 10 June; no ammunition expended, no casualties, no damage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Ship's company July 1943 (10 officers, 117 enlisted per report) and June 1944; ~81 LST-313 evacuees; 447 Meredith survivors; 808 POWs embarked
- Limitations
- Primary-source file units authored by the ship's commanding officers, digitized in the NARA catalog (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/Other Operational Records, microfilm rolls A394-A1056). The Husky report's '~81 persons evacuated' exceeds the Navy Cross citation's 'forty men' (citation likely counts the bow-to-stern removal phase; report counts total evacuees - unresolved nuance carried in gaps). These are operational records; they contain no asbestos, material-condition, or crew-health information. Additional 1943 war diaries (NAIDs 134243422, 134244536, 134266620, 134288745, 78139860, 134314810, 134336363, 135987400, 136043166, 78280377) not yet read page-by-page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-03
-
[5]NavSource LST-311 Navy Cross citation page - Lt. Robert Louis Coleman, USNR, Commanding Officer USS LST 311, date of action 10 July 1943 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160311c - citation full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Navy Cross citation (NavSource transcription): 'The Navy Cross is presented to Robert Louis Coleman, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. LST 311 during the amphibious assault on Sicily, July 10, 1943. When another landing ship was struck by an aerial bomb off the beach near Gela, Lieutenant Commander Coleman, observing the ignition of a cargo of ammunition loaded on trucks, unhesitatingly brought his own vessel close aboard and fought desperately to help control the rapid spread of the flames. Forced to withdraw when his own ship became imperiled by exploding shells and realizing that the fire was inextinguishable, he returned shortly afterward, placed the bow of the LST 311 alongside the stern of the stricken vessel and rescued forty men who otherwise might have been lost.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-07-10
- Population
- CO Lt. R. L. Coleman; ship's company; rescued LST-313 personnel
- Limitations
- Award-citation transcription hosted on NavSource; corroborated at primary level by the ship's own Husky action report (NAID 135991028), which identifies the stricken vessel as LST-313 and the Hewitt endorsement confirming the award. The citation's 'forty men' differs from the report's approximately 81 total evacuees - see gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-04
-
[6]NavalCoverMuseum (Museum of Naval Covers) LST 311 page - ship name and designation history, awards summary, 1944 postal-cover artifact [museum_official]
- Locator
- NavalCoverMuseum LST_311 - designation table and other-information section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavalCoverMuseum designation history confirms the full chain: USS LST-311 commissioned 11 January 1943, decommissioned 20 November 1944; transferred to the United Kingdom 20 November 1944 as HM LST-311 (British naval service); returned to U.S. Navy custody 13 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; sold 5 December 1946 to T. Y. Fong; fate unknown. Awards list (American Campaign Medal, EAME 3 stars, WWII Victory) consistent with NavSource; a 1944 censored cover documents postal operations in service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Museum wiki is a philatelic archive - corroborates designations and dates against DANFS/NavSource but is not an official naval record; its 13 April 1946 return date matches NavSource against DANFS's 11 April. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-05
-
[7]NavSource photographic record for LST-311 - US National Archives-captioned images incl. 80-G-82349 (Salerno, Red Beach, 10 September 1943), 80-G-252243 (invasion shipping, Dart River, Dartmouth, 2 June 1944), and 80-G-46817 (Utah Beach, captioned Omaha but corrected to Utah), plus HM LST-311 photographs at Morib Bay and Singapore [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160311 image table (photos 1016031101-109, 80-G-82349 / 80-G-252243 / 80-G-46817)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-captioned photographs displayed on the NavSource page document this hull at named events: unloading U.S. Army trucks off Red Beach ten miles south of Salerno on the second day of the invasion, 10 September 1943 (80-G-82349); among invasion shipping in the Dart River at Dartmouth awaiting the invasion signal, 2 June 1944 (80-G-252243, alongside LCT(6)-551/-527/-528, LST-230, LST-49, and LST-281); on the beach among LSTs at Utah shortly after the 6 June 1944 assault (80-G-46817 - caption says Omaha, but NARA's own record note and the Jack Lieb film analysis place the frame on Utah Beach, consistent with the ship's action report anchoring off Red Beach, Utah area); and as HM LST-311 beached at Morib Bay on the Malay Peninsula shortly after VJ-Day, hosting a Mountbatten inspection of RN LST crews at Singapore (December 1945 - March 1946), and anchored at Subic Bay before return to U.S. custody.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Photographic captions (NARA-attributed via NavSource, and crew photographs from the Tony Fasey collection for the RN period) establish presence at the events photographed; they document no work performed aboard, no material condition, and no exposure. The Omaha/Utah correction is documented in the caption note and is consistent with the ship's own action report. NARA catalog NAID-level verification of the 80-G numbers remains an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, diesel-drive generators, no steam plant) and the LST-1-class design record (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design table as transcribed in the lst-1-class profile - the shipscribe.com PDF cited there returned HTTP 404 in the batch-6819 session 2026-10-02 and could not be re-verified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (this hull) + lst-1-class class profile design data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: no boilers aboard, so the steam-plant lagging pathway is absent; era-typical asbestos applications for the type are engine and exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, joiner/bulkhead and accommodation insulation, deck coverings/vinyl-asbestos tile, and winch/crane brake linings. Construction-era amphibious auxiliaries were built within the Navy's documented asbestos-use period (see GAO row).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- New York Navy Yard construction trades (1942-1943); ship's company; embarked troops; Royal Navy crew 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-specific material schedule, survey, or abatement record exists for this hull. Establishes no quantities, no individual exposure, and no present-day presence (hull disposed of 1946; fate unknown). The BuShips primary design table could not be re-verified (source PDF 404 in the sister-hull session); inference rests on the corroborated machinery description in the NavSource spec block.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - establishing that WWII-era naval construction used asbestos insulation extensively and that original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (policy context for 1942-1946 construction/service)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull- or class-specific; postdates this ship's 1946 disposal, so it frames era exposure potential at construction and service only. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; content is from the product-page description - full text remains an open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-08
-
[10]Lemen RA et al., 'Sailors and the Risk of Asbestos-Related Cancer,' Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18(16):8417 (PMC8394725) - peer-reviewed review of shipboard asbestos use and sailor disease epidemiology [other_primary]
- Locator
- PMC8394725 sections 'Asbestos Use in Ships' and 'Epidemiological Findings of Disease among Sailors'
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed review documents that chrysotile and amphibole asbestos were used extensively in ship construction - joiner bulkhead systems in living spaces, hot-water and steam pipe insulation, inside and outside boilers and tanks, machinery casings, lagging, and vinyl-asbestos deck/floor tile - and that epidemiologic studies found elevated mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer risk among sailors, who unlike shipyard workers live at their worksite 24 h/day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2021 (review of 1918-2020 literature)
- Population
- Seagoing crews generally (merchant and naval)
- Limitations
- General maritime epidemiology - does not name LST-311, the LST type, or any naval hull; portions address merchant-marine crews. Useful only to frame why era shipboard applications matter for crew exposure potential; establishes nothing about this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-09
-
[11]In re Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation, 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) (Weinstein, J.) - consolidated 'Brooklyn Naval Yard Shipyard Cases' opinion (Nos. NYAL 4000, TS 90-9999) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion caption and title page, 772 F. Supp. 1380
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The opinion caption states the document 'applies to: All Brooklyn Naval Yard Shipyard Cases' - the consolidated federal docket of personal-injury claims by Brooklyn Navy Yard workers alleging asbestos exposure during naval shipyard work. LST-311 was built at the New York Navy Yard (Brooklyn) September 1942 - January 1943, inside the documented exposure environment of that yard's wartime asbestos caseload.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1991 (opinion); WWII construction period
- Population
- Brooklyn Navy Yard workers (WWII-era construction workforce; yard peaked ~71,000 employees)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation context only - the consolidated docket adjudicated shipyard-worker claims, not shipboard-crew claims, and does not name this hull or any vessel. It documents asbestos exposure litigation at the yard that built this ship during the construction era; it establishes nothing about material aboard this hull. URL verified live 2026-10-02 at the corrected justia path (the earlier yard-record URL /2344887/ now returns 404).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-10
-
[12]Batch-6848 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource amphibious archive + Navy Cross citation page; NavalCoverMuseum; NARA catalog (RG 38 war diaries/action reports, two read in full); CourtListener (three queries returned, two blocked by fleet pacing); secondary-web law-firm/marketing exclusion sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-311-01 through sl-uss-lst-311-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, government study, or docketed case naming LST-311 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches '"LST-311" asbestos' and '"USS LST-311"' returned zero; a bare 'LST-311' opinion search returned 208 hits that are docket/statute-fragment name collisions on review of the returned set - none maritime or asbestos-related. The only 'asbestos' web content touching LSTs is law-firm marketing material for other hulls - 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 - the hull's 1942-43 construction sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, so era-consistent inference is reasonable but unproven at ship level. CourtListener coverage was partial this session: the docket index (type=r) and the 'LST 311' space-variant opinion query were blocked by fleet-wide pacing - litigation status is an open gap, not a fully negative result. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-311-11