Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 661-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-323-lst323-pkt-661-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-323 - construction at Philadelphia Navy Yard, sponsor, UK transfer, return/commissioning, decommissioning, striking, sale (live NHHC page verified this session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-323 entry, full text (two-paragraph entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 10 August 1942 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched 5 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Raymond McDowell; 'On 18 January 1943, LST-323 was transferred to the United Kingdom and returned to United States Navy custody and commissioned on 26 January 1946. She was decommissioned on 5 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 19 June 1946. On 9 October 1947, the tank landing ship was sold to Luria Bros. & Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., for scrapping.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Philadelphia Navy Yard construction trades (Aug-Nov 1942); USN crew (Jan-Jun 1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific milestones only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS compresses the January 1946 return/commissioning sequence - NavSource lists a 9 January 1946 U.S. commissioning under LTjg. Appel (see ev-10 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-323 / ex-HM LST-323 (1943-1946) - timeline, Royal Navy campaign list, rail-ferry conversion, specifications, commanding-officer table, photo captions (live navsource.net fetch verified this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160323.htm - header block, 'Royal Navy History' section, commanding-officer table, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 10 August 1942 at Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched 5 November 1942; transferred to the United Kingdom 18 January 1943 and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-323 the same day; 'sailed from New York for the Mediterranean in convoy USG 6A, 19 March 1943'; campaigns listed: Sicilian occupation, invasion of Reggio, Salerno landings, West Coast of Italy operations-1944 including the Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings, invasion of Normandy; 'fitted with rails for the carriage of rolling stock' and operated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp; paid off and returned to U.S. Navy custody at Plymouth, England, 26 January 1946; commissioned USS LST-323 (NavSource lists 9 January 1946, LTjg. William H. Appel, USNR, in command; CO table adds LTjg. R. T. Smith, USN, April-30 April 1946); decommissioned 5 June 1946; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; sold for scrapping 9 October 1947 to Luria Bros. and Co., Philadelphia. Specification block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted plus troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk main reduction gears, 2 shafts, 1,700 shp; 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC ship's service generators; fuel 4,300 bbls; armament varied by outfit (ultimate design for U.S. vessels: 2 twin 40 mm mounts with Mk. 51 directors, 4 single 40 mm, 12 single 20 mm).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1942); RN crew (1943-46); embarked troops; USN crew (1946); shipbreakers, Luria Bros. (1947)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS but its 9 January 1946 U.S. commissioning conflicts with DANFS's 26 January (see ev-10/gaps). The campaign list is unsourced on the page; partially corroborated by IWM photography (ev-04) and Admiralty convoy records (ev-03). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, HMS LST 323 (LST 323) - Royal Navy record, commanding-officer list, convoy KMS 22 event citing TNA ADM 199/585 + ADM 199/975 + ADM 199/2101; uboat.net decorations index (Stewart MID); companion USS-side page ship/11399 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12258.html data table, commands list, 'Notable events' KMS 22 section; uboat.net/allies/commanders/decorations/32.html; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/11399.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Royal Navy-side record: HM LST 323, LST (Mk 2) class, built by Philadelphia Navy Yard; laid down 10 August 1942, launched 5 November 1942, commissioned into the Royal Navy 18 January 1943, end service 26 January 1946 ('Decommissioned and returned to the USN on 26 January 1946'). RN commanding officers: T/Lt. F. H. W. Graybrook, RNR (21 Jun 1943 - 24 Nov 1943); T/A/Lt.Cdr. N. Stewart, RNR (24 Nov 1943 - 1 Nov 1944; Mentioned in Despatches 23 May 1944 while in command, per the uboat.net decorations index); T/Lt. S. W. Broyd, RNR (1 Nov 1944 - 10 Mar 1945); T/A/Lt.Cdr. E. F. Langer, RNR (10 Mar 1945 - 26 Jan 1946). Convoy record: LST 323 joined combined convoy OG 91/KMS 22 at Bizerta on 13 August 1943 and was detached to Malta on 14 August 1943, sourced to TNA ADM 199/585 + ADM 199/975 + ADM 199/2101. The companion USS-side page records 'Ordered 20 May 1942.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- RN crew (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation of Admiralty records - generally reliable for RN assignments but not itself a primary source. The USS-side page states she was 'never commissioned into the United States Navy' - accurate only for the pre-transfer period; the 1946 USN commission is documented by DANFS and NavSource (see ev-10/gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-03
-
[5]Imperial War Museums, object 205125971 - photograph BU 648, 'Flat bed railway trucks being loaded through the bow doors' of LST 323 (Harrison, J., No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, War Office Second World War Official Collection); NavSource captions add IWM NA 11079 (Salerno Harbor, January 1944) and a Cherbourg rolling-stock unloading photograph [museum_official]
- Locator
- IWM collections object 205125971 (BU 648); NavSource 160323.htm photo captions (IWM NA 11079; Cherbourg photo, Robert Hurst collection)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary official photography documents this hull's special fit and operations: IWM BU 648 shows flat-bed railway trucks loading through LST 323's bow doors - direct evidence of the rolling-stock/rail-ferry conversion behind her post-Normandy Tilbury-Ostend-Antwerp shuttle service; IWM NA 11079 (via NavSource caption) shows HM LST-323 at Salerno Harbor being loaded with reversed DUKWs in January 1944 in preparation for the Anzio landings; a third captioned photograph shows her unloading U.S. Army rolling stock at Cherbourg.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (railway-shuttle period); January 1944 (Salerno/Anzio preparation)
- Population
- RN crew; embarked equipment handlers
- Limitations
- Photographs document presence and configuration, not materials - no asbestos content. The BU 648 catalog entry does not date the exposure; the Salerno image's January 1944 Anzio-preparation dating is as captioned by NavSource/IWM.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-04
-
[6]NARA catalog full-text search 'LST-323' (61 file-unit hits - OCR-level mentions inside other units' RG 38 war diaries and RG 24 muster rolls; no ship-specific record unit); UK-side records at The National Archives, Kew: convoy documentation cited by uboat.net (ADM 199/585, ADM 199/975, ADM 199/2101) and RN ship's logs (ADM 53 series); TNA Discovery keyword search 'LST 323' returned only a Cabinet-minutes false positive (CAB 79/68/23) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-323' (61 fuzzy hits, none ship-specific); TNA Discovery _q=LST 323 (1 result, false positive CAB 79/68/23); TNA ADM 199/585, ADM 199/975, ADM 199/2101 (via uboat.net source note)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads only. US side: LST-323's five-month USN commission (January-June 1946) should have generated RG 24 deck logs and muster rolls; the NARA catalog search surfaces only full-text mentions of 'LST-323' inside other activities' war diaries and muster rolls, not the ship's own logs. UK side: her RN logs (ADM 53) and operational records sit at The National Archives, Kew; the KMS 22 convoy documentation (ADM 199/585, /975, /2101) is identified by citation but was not individually retrieved. TNA Discovery keyword search does not surface ship-name-indexed records for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USN crew Jan-Jun 1946 (muster rolls); RN crew 1943-46 (ADM 53 logs)
- Limitations
- Leads, not findings: none of these records was retrieved this session; the NARA catalog search is JS-rendered full text and TNA Discovery is not ship-name indexed for deck logs. No asbestos content established by any located record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers); LST-1-class design grouping (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2, per the lst-1-class class profile - live source now dead, see search_ledger); builder's documented asbestos-era status (shipyards.json philadelphia-naval-shipyard; Taylor v. Celotex - ev-07); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160323.htm specifications block; shipyards.json philadelphia-naval-shipyard entry; lst-1-class class profile design grouping
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LST-1-class tank landing ship built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1942 sits inside that yard's litigation-documented asbestos era and the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Her diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the steam-lagging pathway; era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a WWII LST of this type were diesel-exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, gaskets, valve packing, deck coverings/tile, accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- PNSY construction trades (1942); RN crew (1943-46); USN crew (1946); repair-yard trades during wartime refits; Luria Bros. shipbreakers (1947)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-323. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Royal Navy operation (1943-46) under UK maintenance practices does not change the construction-era inference basis.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-06
-
[8]Taylor v. Celotex Corp., 393 Pa. Super. 566, 574 A.2d 1084 (1990) - published Pennsylvania appellate opinion; shipyards.json philadelphia-naval-shipyard product list (Eagle-Picher Super 60, Onecote cement, Thermasil, Unibestos, Cary block, Baldwin-Ehret-Hill, Carey, Kaylo, Garlock gaskets/packing, Ruberoid, Johns-Manville pipe insulation) [court_record]
- Locator
- Taylor v. Celotex Corp., 393 Pa. Super. 566 (1990), opinion text (employment history, verdict, defendant list); shipyards.json ev-philadelphia-naval-s-02
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- The builder of this hull is a litigation-documented asbestos yard. Taylor v. Celotex records William Taylor's approximately forty years of shipbuilding employment including at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, claims of occupational asbestos exposure there, an $800,000 compensatory jury verdict (later molded to $500,000) with causal fault apportioned among eighteen defendant companies - among them manufacturers whose products are named in the Atlas shipyard record for PNSY (Celotex, Eagle-Picher, Keene, Owens-Illinois, Pittsburgh-Corning, Garlock, Johns-Manville and others).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s-1980s (employment window); 1990 (opinion)
- Population
- Philadelphia Naval Shipyard construction and maintenance trades
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation record only - Taylor's employment (spanning the New York Shipyard, Camden, and the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard) and the product identifications do not name LST-323 or any specific hull. Documents that asbestos products were present and litigated at the yard where this hull was built; does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-07
-
[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)
- 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 (1942) and service era (1943-1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- 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, confirmed 2026-10-02); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-08
-
[10]Batch-6861 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource; uboat.net; IWM collections; NARA catalog; TNA Discovery; CourtListener opinion and docket indexes; GAO; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-323-lst323-01 through sl-uss-lst-323-lst323-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LST-323 / HM LST-323 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener was searched this session via the authenticated helper: the opinion index returned 172 results for 'LST-323', all OCR-noise on inspection (numeric strings misread as hull numbers in unrelated opinions; no returned opinion names the vessel); quoted variants ('USS LST-323', 'HMS LST-323', 'LST 323') returned zero; the docket (RECAP) index for 'LST-323' returned zero. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying asbestos litigation and no law-firm coverage naming this hull.
- 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 was built at a litigation-documented asbestos yard inside the asbestos-insulation era. 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-323-lst323-09
-
[11]Commissioning-record conflict across sources: DANFS 'returned to United States Navy custody and commissioned on 26 January 1946'; NavSource 'Commissioned USS LST-323, 9 January 1946, LTjg. William H. Appel, USNR, in command' plus 'Paid off and returned to US Navy custody at Plymouth, England, 26 January 1946'; uboat.net USS-side page 'Never commissioned into the United States Navy, transferred to the Royal Navy upon completion' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-323 entry; NavSource 160323.htm timeline + CO table; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/11399.html history line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/clarification: sources describe the January 1946 U.S. status three different ways. NavSource lists a 9 January 1946 commissioning under LTjg. Appel (CO table: 9 January - April 1946, then LTjg. R. T. Smith to 30 April 1946). DANFS compresses return-to-custody and commissioning into a single 26 January 1946 statement. uboat.net's US page says she was 'never commissioned into the United States Navy' - accurate only for the pre-transfer period (she went to the RN upon completion in January 1943); the 1946 USN commission is documented by DANFS's decommissioning and striking dates and NavSource's CO list. This record carries DANFS (26 January 1946) for the USN commissioning.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- January 1946
- Limitations
- The discrepancy is likely transcriptional - NavSource's 9 January may reflect the USN custody takeover or a fitting-period administrative date vs the 26 January formal pay-off/return at Plymouth; unresolved without the deck log. uboat.net's wording is imprecise rather than strictly wrong. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-323-lst323-10