Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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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-318-lst318-pkt-660-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-318' - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Sicily service, loss, striking (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-318 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-318 was laid down on 15 October 1942 at the New York Navy Yard; launched on 28 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Emma V. Umstead; and commissioned on 8 February 1943. During World War II, LST-318 was assigned to the European theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation in July and August 1943. During this occupation duty, she was sunk, on 9 August 1943, by enemy aircraft off Caronia, Sicily. She was struck from the Navy list on 20 October 1943. LST-318 earned one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted spec) plus embarked troops
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Entry is terse - no casualty figures, no unit/landing detail, no attacking-aircraft identification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-318 - chronology, campaign table, awards compilation, specification block, commanding-officer roster, photo record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 10/16/160318, chronology/specifications/awards/CO roster sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-1-class tank landing ship; laid down 15 October 1942 at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.; launched 28 January 1943; commissioned USS LST-318, 8 February 1943, LT. R. Borden, USNR, in command. Campaign table: Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign - Sicilian occupation, Southern Sicilian landing Licata (Blue Beach) 9 to 15 July 1943, and Northern Sicilian operations 28 July to 17 August 1943. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (9 August 1943), American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal; Purple Hearts - 4 WIA 1 August 1943, 20 WIA 9 August 1943. Final disposition: 'sunk while participating in an amphibious raid behind German lines, 9 August 1943, at Coronia, Sicily'; struck from the Naval Register 20 October 1943. Radio call sign NJNQ. Specification block: 1,625 t. light / 4,080 t. full load; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt; 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V D.C. ship's-service generators, twin propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Photo captions place the ship off Brooklyn Navy Yard early February 1943 and moored alongside USS LST-317 in a North African port in 1943.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- Ship's company ~117 per spec block; embarked troops up to ~163
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS where they overlap. Loss-location spelling 'Coronia' differs from DANFS 'Caronia' (same locality; the ship's own casualty document also spells 'Coronia' - see gaps). Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-02
-
[4]Action Report, Western Naval Task Force - The Sicilian Campaign, Operation 'HUSKY' July-August 1943 (Vice Admiral H. K. Hewitt, USN, Naval Commander Western Task Force), NHHC Online Reading Room, Part V Section IV [other_primary]
- Locator
- Part V, Section IV - 'LOSSES, DAMAGE INCURRED, RELIABILITY OF SHIPS and CRAFT' table 1 (Losses), p. 97 transcription; chronology entry for 8-11 August leap-frog landings
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official action report of the Western Naval Task Force (Vice Admiral H. K. Hewitt) for the Sicilian campaign (Operation HUSKY, July-August 1943) records this hull's loss in its Section IV Losses table: 'U.S.S. LST 318 - Bombed during Leap-frog landing East of Palermo subsequent to assault.' The same report's chronology describes the operation: the first 'leap-frog' amphibious landing behind enemy lines was executed by CTF 88 on 8 August in the vicinity of Terranova, and a second at 0300 on 11 August two miles east of Cape Orlando; LST-318's loss on 9 August falls between these two described landings. The losses table also records sisters LST-158 and LST-313 'Bombed' and damage to LST-3 'off San Stefano during Leap-frog landing.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-08-09
- Population
- LST-318 crew during Operation Husky follow-on operations
- Limitations
- Official primary operational document confirming cause (bombing) and operational context (leap-frog landing east of Palermo) but not the precise locality or casualty detail; the losses table does not number which leap-frog landing. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-03
-
[5]USS LST-318 ship documents: 9 August 1943 wounded-in-action casualty list (Atlantic Fleet, Amphibious Force) and 1 August 1943 Pharmacist's Mate 'Injuries Sustained in Action' report at Palermo - scanned reproductions via NavSource photo archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource scans 1016031803.jpg (9 Aug 1943 casualty list) and 1016031804.jpg (1 Aug 1943 pharmacist's-mate injury report)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Two declassified ship documents reproduced in the NavSource photo archive document the hull's combat casualties. (1) A casualty list headed 'U.S.S. L.S.T. 318 / UNITED STATES ATLANTIC FLEET / AMPHIBIOUS FORCE' states: 'The below named men were wounded in action when the U.S.S. L.S.T. 318 was bombed and sunk off Coronia, Sicily on August 9, 1943' - 20 names with wounds, including the commanding officer 'Borden, Richard, Lt. D-V(G) USNR - Laceration of right hand' and 'Walker, Wesley M., Ensign D-V(G) USNR - G.S.W. abdomen.' (2) A ship's letter dated August 1, 1943 at 'Palmero [Palermo], Sicily' from the Pharmacist's Mate to the Commanding Officer, 'Injuries Sustained in Action, report of,' lists four crew members treated aboard for shrapnel wounds (Gochanour, Duffy, Byers, and Coates, Walter F. S1c - the same Walter F. Coates who appears again on the 9 August casualty list with contusion of the back, and whose son later contributed the ship's photographs to NavSource). The 1 August document bears a declassification stamp and a 'COMMANDER IN CHIEF U.S. FLEET RECEIVED 1943 SEP 23' endorsement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-08-01 to 1943-08-09
- Population
- LST-318 crew - 20 wounded in the sinking (including CO Lt. Richard Borden), 4 wounded at Palermo 1 August 1943
- Limitations
- Reproductions of primary documents hosted on a volunteer archive (scan legibility good; content transcribed visually 2026-10-02). Lists wounded only - they do not state whether any deaths occurred in the loss (see gaps). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-04
-
[6]NHHC Photographic Catalog, NH 84848 'USS LST-318 - Launching an LCT in 1943' (live page verified 2026-10-02) [museum_official]
- Locator
- NHHC photo catalog entry NH 84848 (Title/Caption/Description fields)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC Photographic Catalog holds an image of this hull, catalog NH 84848: 'USS LST-318. Launching an LCT in 1943. Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976' - the ship launching a Landing Craft Tank, documenting her amphibious-lift configuration in service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943 (photograph); 1976 (cataloged courtesy copy)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: a cataloged photograph establishes configuration in service, not build materials or work practices. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 LST design table (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp - diesel plant, no boilers), per the Atlas LST-1-class class-profile record; NavSource LST-1-class specification block [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class-profile propulsion summary + NavSource specification block (cross-referenced)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1942-43-built LST-1-class tank landing ship sits inside the Navy's documented wartime asbestos-use era. Her diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A, no boilers) removes the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel exposure; era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard this type were diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets, valve packing, deck coverings, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, machinery packing, and winch/windlass brake linings. Built at the New York Navy Yard - a U.S. Navy yard with documented yard-level asbestos litigation (see yard-context row) - during peak wartime asbestos use.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1943
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers (New York Navy Yard, 1942-43); wartime crew and embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-318 (and none expected: hull lost six months after commissioning). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-06
-
[8]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) - DOI and citation verified via Crossref 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311
- 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 at a Navy yard in 1942-43.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII-era 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 aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403, pattern confirmed in prior batches - content via product-page description)
- 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 construction window (1942-43).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. The hull sank in 1943 - decades before the reviewed policies - so the document bears only on the construction-era fleet picture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-08
-
[10]In re Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation, 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991), via Atlas shipyards.json record for brooklyn-navy-yard (ev-brooklyn-navy-yard-04, verification_status verified) [court_record]
- Locator
- shipyards.json brooklyn-navy-yard evidence row ev-brooklyn-navy-yard-04
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Yard-level context for the builder: the Atlas shipyard record for New York Naval Shipyard (Brooklyn Navy Yard, yard_id brooklyn-navy-yard, evidence_tier 3) documents that a federal court opinion in consolidated asbestos litigation named Brooklyn Navy Yard workers among exposed plaintiffs - In re Eastern and Southern Districts Asbestos Litigation, 772 F. Supp. 1380 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) (Weinstein, J.) - establishing that WWII-era Brooklyn Navy Yard work is a judicially documented asbestos-exposure setting.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1991 (opinion); WWII-era exposure period
- Population
- Brooklyn Navy Yard workers and their estates (yard-level context; hull not named)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, NOT this hull - LST-318 is not named, and the opinion addresses exposure claims of yard workers generally, not shipboard conditions aboard any specific hull built there. The justia.com mirror URL returned a reCAPTCHA wall to automated fetch on 2026-10-02 (blocked, not dead); the citation is anchored on the verified Atlas yard record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-09
-
[11]Batch-6855 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS + photo catalog + Online Reading Room action report; NavSource page and document scans; NARA digitized deck-log index; Naval Vessel Register; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener API v4; secondary web [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-318-lst318-01 through sl-uss-lst-318-lst318-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or docketed case naming LST-318 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4: an unquoted opinion query 'LST-318' returned 144 hits, all name collisions on review (unrelated litigation tokenizing 'LST' and '318' separately); the exact-phrase opinion query '"LST-318"' returned zero results; the docket-level query was blocked by the fleet pacing limiter at session end (see search_ledger). As a hull sunk in action in August 1943 - six months after commissioning - she never underwent postwar overhaul, reserve-fleet lay-up, museum conversion, or scrapping, the processes that generate most asbestos documentation, so this negative finding is structurally unsurprising.
- 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 wartime-built LST is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Undigitized leads remain: NARA RG 24 deck logs (Feb-Aug 1943) and the ship's post-loss action/casualty reports. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Docket-level litigation coverage is incomplete pending a fleet-paced CourtListener retry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-318-lst318-10
