Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 664-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-343-lst343-pkt-664-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-343' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-343 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-02): LST-343 laid down 18 October 1942 at the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched 15 December 1942; commissioned 9 January 1943, Lt. H. H. Rightmeyer in command. WWII Asiatic-Pacific operations: consolidation of southern Solomons (June 1943); New Georgia-Rendova-Vangunu occupation (July 1943); occupation and defense of Cape Torokina (December 1943); capture and occupation of Guam (July-August 1944); assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (April 1945). Post-war: occupation duty in the Far East until mid-January 1946; decommissioned 27 January 1946; transferred to the United States Army Military Government in Korea 21 February 1947 as a sale; struck from the Navy list 5 March 1947. Earned five battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (wartime complement per NavSource: 13 officers, 104 enlisted, plus embarked troops)
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship history; contains no asbestos, material, or industrial-hygiene information - establishes identity, dates, operations, and disposal chain only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-343 page (10/16/160343) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-343 page - timeline, spec block, photo captions, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive timeline (verified live 2026-10-02) corroborates the DANFS dates and adds: assignment to LST Flotilla Five / Group Fifteen / Divisions Twenty-Six and Twenty-Nine; Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 20 October-28 December 1945 and 7-28 January 1946; assignment to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q033 (date unknown); transfer 21 February 1947 to the U.S. Army Military Government Korea; struck 5 March 1947. Spec block: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full, 11.6 kt, complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted, 2 LCVP; propulsion 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x 100 kW diesel-driven generators, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, twin rudders. NARA-captioned photo 80-G-256991 places the ship off Guam 24 July 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, 1943-1946
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archival reference (DANFS-derived where overlapped); the SCAJAP/Q033 detail and photo captions are NavSource-only. No asbestos content. One photo caption dates a Guadalcanal beaching 'November 1942,' before this hull commissioned - caption date treated as unverified (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-02
-
[4]National Archives and Records Administration, NAID 77471815 (via NARA catalog record, firecrawl-rendered, and DPLA item 60c950b6b960e5d142994ccf4f783558) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file unit NAID 77471815; RG 38, series NAID 4697018
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a war-diary file unit for this hull: 'USS LST-343 - War Diary, 7/1-31/45' (NAID 77471815), in Record Group 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - digitized microfilm (1 image), unrestricted access. The monthly war diary is the ship-level operational record covering the Okinawa/post-Okinawa period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-07 (diary month); series ca. 1942-1946
- Limitations
- Existence of the record verified; its contents (single scanned image, untranscribed) were not reviewed - it is a lead for ship-level operational detail, not an analyzed source. Additional monthly war diaries likely exist in the same series but were not enumerated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-03
-
[5]Consolidated era inference - NavSource spec block (diesel plant), BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 class machinery data (per LST-1 class profile; live shipscribe URL now dead), GAO HRD-80-2 application list, Corn & Starr (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data (NavSource spec block; BuShips SDB v2 via class profile); GAO HRD-80-2 enclosure I application narrative
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered LST-1-class hull built in 1942-43: no boilers, so no boiler/turbine steam-lagging pathway; era-standard asbestos-relevant applications for the type are diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and floor tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, machinery packing, and winch/crane brake linings. The WWII-era Navy built ships within a program that used asbestos extensively for fireproofing and insulation (Corn & Starr; GAO HRD-80-2 lists shipboard applications: thermal insulation for machinery/equipment/piping, deck tile, gaskets, packing, brakes, clutches).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947 (plus undocumented post-transfer life)
- Population
- NNSY construction trades (1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46); SCAJAP/Korean-service crews post-1946; any later breakup crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-343. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; establishes no quantity, no individual exposure, no present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-04
-
[6]GAO, 'Navy's Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (B-163375), October 18, 1979 [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2: digest letter; 'Navy's policy on use of asbestos'; 'Norfolk Naval Shipyard' section; enclosure I (CNO letter, 5 Jan 1979)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; full text retrieved via firecrawl this session): the Navy's major shipboard asbestos use was thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping; asbestos also used in deck tile, galley ranges, piping gaskets/packing, brakes and clutches; insulation specifications changed to asbestos-free in 1973 but ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978; October 1975 policy (NAVSEAINST 5100.2) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified January 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. GAO fieldwork inspected worker-protection measures at two yards - Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyard (this hull's builder): at Norfolk the industrial hygienist observed a rip-out with generally proper PPE (three respirator-wearing workers had full beards); the yard's asbestos program coordinator doubled as pipe-shop superintendent and could not oversee all asbestos jobs; asbestos monitors were inadequately supervised; a February 1977 Navy review at Norfolk found 'numerous deficiencies - some serious,' of which ~95 percent were reported corrected by February 1979; Norfolk issued its own supplementary asbestos instruction in March 1978.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1974-1979 (program period); hull construction 1942-43 predates scope
- Population
- Naval shipyard workers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (program review, 1977-79)
- Limitations
- Program- and yard-level documentation, not a hull record: GAO's Norfolk fieldwork (1977-79) postdates this hull's departure by ~30 years and does not name any ship; it establishes that the builder yard performed asbestos rip-out work and had documented program deficiencies, not that this hull carried specific materials. Direct curl to gao.gov PDF returns 403; full text obtained via firecrawl rendering.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-05
-
[7]EPA, NPL Site Narrative for Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia (Federal Register notice July 22, 1999); EPA Superfund site profile VA1170024813 [federal_register]
- Locator
- NPL narrative 'Conditions at Proposal' waste-stream paragraph; EPA site profile cumulis.epa.gov id 0302841
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- EPA's NPL site narrative for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Superfund site (Portsmouth, VA; Federal Register notice of July 22, 1999; NPL proposed March 6, 1998) lists 'asbestos' among the industrial wastes generated by NNSY shops, and describes waterfront maintenance-era waste disposal practices (overboard dumping, discharge to storm drains, on-site disposal).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- narrative published 1998-1999; describes historical and then-current practices
- Population
- NNSY workforce; surrounding tidewater environment
- Limitations
- Yard environmental documentation, not a hull record: documents asbestos in the builder yard's waste stream, largely describing post-war industrial operation; does not establish that this hull contained asbestos, and the construction-era (1942-43) material set is outside the narrative's scope.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-06
-
[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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract (verified live via firecrawl; doi.org blocks plain curl with 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in shipbuilding in the 1940s, when WWII industrial expansion drove an unprecedented rise in asbestos utilization, and that asbestos diseases later manifested in thousands of shipyard workers exposed in the 1940s and postwar period - the era and program under which this hull was built (1942-43).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII 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 or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-07
-
[9]Batch-6882 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource 10/16/160343; NARA NAID 77471815; Naval Vessel Register scope check; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; EPA NPL narrative/profile; Corn & Starr abstract; CourtListener API v4 (searched 2026-10-02); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-343-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LST-343 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, fleet-paced): "LST-343" returned zero opinions and zero asbestos dockets - the only two docket hits are name collisions (In Re: New England Compounding Pharmacy MDL, pharmaceutical product liability, D. Mass.; Matlock v. Brown, habeas corpus, N.D. Cal.) - no qualifying case. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing listicles asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - 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 WWII construction is consistent with era-installed materials. CourtListener coverage is its own index (opinions + RECAP dockets) - a clean sweep there does not rule out state-court or unindexed filings. The NARA war diary, RG 24 deck logs, and any Korean-service records are undigitized/unsearched leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-343-08