Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[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-345-lst345-pkt-664-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-345 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, European-theater operations list, decommissioning, strike, disposal (live NHHC page, fetched via Firecrawl 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-345 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 17 October 1942 at the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched 15 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. John B. Brown; commissioned 21 January 1943. Assigned to the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943); Salerno landings (September 1943); invasion of Normandy (June 1944). Decommissioned 5 December 1945; struck from the Navy list 3 January 1946; sold 23 March 1948 to Ships & Power Equipment Co., Barber, N.J., and scrapped. Three battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Norfolk Navy Yard, 1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. The entry's terse operation list omits dates-within-months and all repair detail; campaign day-ranges come from NavSource (ev-02). Does not state the decommissioning port (New York per the war history, ev-03) or the post-sale merchant conversion (NavSource/Helderline, ev-02).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-345 (10/16/160345.htm) - designation timeline, spec block, campaign dates, commanding-officer list, photo captions, disposal and merchant conversion; corroborated on the merchant phase by Helderline tanker register (LUISA, ex-LST 345) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160345.htm header block, campaign table, spec block, CO table, photo captions; https://www.helderline.com/tanker/luisa-0
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-1-class tank landing ship laid down 17 October 1942 at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA; launched 15 December 1942; commissioned 21 January 1943, LT David H. Adams USNR in command; radio call sign NYXP. Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign table: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943; Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944. Decommissioned 5 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 3 January 1946; three battle stars. Sold 23 March 1948 to Ships and Power Equipment Corp., Barber, N.J.; resold 1948 to Shell Oil Co.; rebuilt as a shallow-draft tanker for Shell's Lake Maracaibo crude runs to the Aruba and Curacao refineries; named MT Luisa, reflagged Venezuela; scrapped 1957. Helderline (Shell fleet register) corroborates: LUISA = LST 345, 3,217 t, Shell service 1948-1958, broken up 1958 (one-year scrapping-date conflict - see gaps). 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, single Falk reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC generators; complement 13/104, troops 16/147; 2 LCVP; fuel 4,300 bbls diesel. CO table: LT Adams USNR 21 Jan 1943-Jan 1944; LT DeLaplane USNR Jan 1944-Aug 1945; LT Hoyer USNR Aug-5 Dec 1945. Photo captions place her in an English port 8 June 1944 carrying Canadian wounded from Normandy (CBC archive frame) and at Bizerte 1 October 1945 loading U.S. Army troops for Italy (Margaret Bourke-White, Life/TimeLife).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-45); Shell rebuild yard trades and tanker crew (1948); breakers (1957/58)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the NARA war history/diaries. The MT Luisa merchant career rests on NavSource + Helderline (specialist secondary register), not a primary registry extract; the conversion yard and scrapping location are not stated. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-02
-
[4]NARA NAID 77707152, 'USS LST-345 - War History' (micro serial 159190; RG 38, WWII War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories; 1 image; digitized via Fold3) - Navy Department, Ships Section, Office of Public Information [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77707152, single image (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02; NavSource mirror 10/16/pdf/160345a.pdf)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy's own compiled war history for this hull (downloaded and OCR-read this session) documents: constructed at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, completed January 1943; in Algerian waters ('Anzen' [Arzew], Algeria) as early as June 1943; shot down an Me 109 off Gela, Sicily, 10 July 1943; served with LST Group 1, Flotilla 1 on the Tunisia-Sicily shuttle; early-September Bizerte Lake sabotage alert and an attack by 12-15 enemy planes (three shot down); entered the Gulf of Salerno 9 September; on 22 September enemy artillery shells fell as close as 350 feet off her port bow while unloading; departed the Mediterranean November 1943 - on 23 November her convoy transited Gibraltar while escorting British corvettes sank one U-boat and drove off nine; arrived Southampton early December 1943; 'damaged early in June' [1944, by sequence] and, after repair, left Plymouth, England, arriving Norfolk, Virginia, in July 1945; decommissioned in New York December 1945. The compiler states verbatim that 'little is known of her activities during this subsequent period, because the command filed no action reports during those months.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Ship-produced narrative compiled by the Navy Office of Public Information - an official secondary compilation from the ship's own reports; the compiler's own admission that the command filed no action reports for the post-December-1943 period means the Normandy-phase and damage/repair detail are thin and unsourced even inside this document. 'Damaged early in June' is undated by year in the sentence - read as June 1944 by sequence; the June-1944 cause and repair location within England are not stated. The July 1945 Norfolk arrival reads oddly against the NavSource-captioned Bizerte October 1945 troop-loading photos - carried as stated with the tension flagged in gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 78215559, 'LST-345 - War Diary, 9/1-30/43' (RG 38 WWII War Diaries; Roll A609; 30 images; digitized via Fold3) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78215559 pages 1-30 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02); fire narrative on the 22 September page; Delta mooring 26 Sep 1714 and completion entries 30 Sep
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's September 1943 war diary (all 30 pages downloaded and OCR-read this session) documents verbatim: moored at LST loading docks, Karouba, Bizerte, with LST-344 alongside, loading British Army vehicles (2 Sep); entered the Gulf of Salerno 9 September with Task Unit 85.1.12 (Operation Avalanche, Uncle Attack Group, Northern Attack Force) through the swept channel under artillery shelling; beached on Green Beach 1035 on 10 September and unloaded; took tactical command of convoy FSS-3. On 22 September on the Tripoli-Salerno shuttle: '0348 Fire reported on tank deck... Fire located inside of British armored car about one third of the way forward on the port side of the tank deck between frames 25 and 28... smoke so dense men forced to retreat and don rescue breathing apparatus. 0600 Fire reported out. One vehicle burned out, all wiring on overhead between frames 25 and 26 burned out'; beached on Beach Sugar Green under sporadic artillery fire (shell 350 ft off port bow); 'Stbd engine cam shaft bearings burned out. Temporary repairs impossible' - proceeded independently to Bizerte on one engine carrying four German prisoners. 26 September 1714: 'Moored port side to USS Delta for repairs to wiring and stbd engine' in Lac du Bizerte; 30 September: 'All repairs to wiring completed, cast off from USS Delta' and 'Repairs to stbd engine have been completed.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-09-01 to 1943-09-30
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) and embarked British troops/vehicles (Sep 1943); USS Delta repair personnel alongside (26-30 Sep 1943)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record; documents a repair availability alongside fleet repair ship USS Delta (AR-9), 26-30 September 1943, for fire-burned tank-deck wiring and engine damage - a disturbance event aboard this hull inside the Navy's asbestos era. The diary does not itemize materials, does not say 'asbestos,' and names no repair personnel or work-package scope; the asbestos relevance (burned wiring insulation, disturbed machinery spaces) is inference from the event, not a material finding. OCR was clean; displayed-page spot checks confirmed the quoted sentences verbatim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 135934649, cataloged as 'USS LST-345 - War Diary, 8/1-31/1944' (RG 38; Roll A527; 32 images; digitized via Fold3) - CONTENT IS AUGUST 1943 DECK LOGS [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 135934649 pages 1-32 (downloaded 2026-10-02; sampled pages verified visually: pp. 6, 16, 28, 31)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: this file unit is cataloged 'War Diary, 8/1-31/1944' but its 32 images are the ship's handwritten daily deck-log sheets for August 1943 (pages 1-31, one day each). Verified by date lines and weekday handwriting: 'Friday 6 August, 1943' (6 Aug 1943 was a Friday; 6 Aug 1944 was a Sunday), 'Monday 16 August, 1943', 'Tuesday 31 August, 1943' - each matching the 1943 calendar - and by LT David H. Adams's approval signature (CO through January 1944) and Mediterranean content: loading vehicles at La Goulette and Karouba docks, anchoring in the Gulf of Tunis and Goulette du Lac, Bizerte; taking on fuel from LST-369 (16 Aug); two light groundings in the Lac; AA fire and red alerts with general quarters (6, 16, 24 Aug); convoy position 11 on the landing-craft shuttle route with LST Group 1, OTC aboard LST-312 (6 Aug).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-08-01 to 1943-08-31
- Population
- Ship's company (Aug 1943); LST Group 1 shuttle personnel
- Limitations
- Corrects a NARA/Fold3 catalog date label (1944 for 1943 content), not a material claim. Whether a genuine August 1944 unit exists elsewhere for this hull is undetermined - no other Aug-1944 ship-titled unit surfaced. Handwritten carbon-copy sheets OCR poorly; verification was by direct image reads of the sampled pages, not full-page transcription of all 32. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200 2026-10-02); NavSource LST-345 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160345.htm specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for this hull: the LST-1 design group ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 900 hp each, single Falk reduction gear, twin screws, 1,700 shp - BuShips design table and this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1942-43 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and this hull has two documented in-era disturbance events (the Sept 1943 USS Delta availability repairing burned wiring, ev-04; the 1944 damage repair in England, ev-03) plus a 1948 commercial rebuild to tanker (ev-02).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1958
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); ship's company/embarked troops (1943-45); Delta repair personnel (1943); UK repair yard trades (1944); Shell rebuild yard (1948); breakers (1957/58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-345. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-06
-
[8]shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json entry 'norfolk-naval-shipyard' (EPA Superfund VA1170024813, listed 1999; NAVFAC site descriptions document asbestos among disposed wastes; Paradise Creek Landfill 1945-1983 ACM disposal; 1979 inspection finding asbestos dust in Shop 56; documented product list incl. Thermobestos, Marinite, Transite, Kaylo, Unibestos, pipe insulation/lagging, boiler/turbine insulation, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyards.json yard_id norfolk-naval-shipyard; EPA site VA1170024813; NAVFAC Norfolk NSY Site Descriptions page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- This hull's builder is a documented asbestos yard: Norfolk Navy Yard (Norfolk Naval Shipyard), Portsmouth, VA, where LST-345 was built October 1942-January 1943, is an EPA Superfund site (VA1170024813, listed 1999) with asbestos among documented disposed wastes (NAVFAC site descriptions; Paradise Creek Landfill ACM disposal area 1945-1983), a 1979 government inspection noting asbestos dust in Shop 56, and a documented yard product list spanning insulation products, lagging, gaskets, electrical cable insulation, and deck coverings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-43 (construction); 1945-83 (landfill); 1979/1999 (inspection/listing)
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: documents asbestos use and disposal at the building yard generally - LST-345 is not named in any yard record located. Superfund-era findings postdate construction by ~40-56 years and describe waste streams, not installed shipboard material. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-07
-
[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 construction (1942-43), her wartime service and repair availabilities, her 1948 merchant rebuild, and her 1957/58 breaking.
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion index [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-345-lst345-08 through -10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener opinion-index search for exact phrase "LST-345" returned 0 hits. The docket index and the "LST 345" variant could not be completed - the fleet-wide pacing limiter refused requests for most of the session; opinion result obtained on the third spaced attempt; remaining queries logged as blocked in the search ledger.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - state-court filings, unreported settlements, MDL-875 pleading-level vessel lists, and non-digitized dockets are outside coverage. The docket index went unsearched this session (pacing-blocked): the opinion-index zero is partial coverage, not a complete negative. A zero qualifying result means no located docketed opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-09
-
[11]Batch-6884 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog + war history and two file units read in full; Helderline tanker register; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion only - docket blocked); NIOSH HHE search; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-345-lst345-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying case naming LST-345 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (war history + war diaries) and confirms two in-era disturbance events aboard this hull - the September 1943 USS Delta repair availability for fire-burned wiring and engine damage, and the 1944 damage repair in England - plus a 1948 Shell tanker rebuild, but no primary source read names asbestos aboard 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 - construction at a documented wartime asbestos yard and three documented disturbance/rebuild events sit squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-10
-
[12]NARA catalog, "LST-345" / "USS LST-345" - 239/76 file units (fuzzy relevance); ship-titled units: war history NAID 77707152, AA action report NAID 135914719 (7/10/43), war diaries NAIDs 134243444 (5/43), 134276775 (6/43), 135911660 (7/43), 78215559 (9/43), 134329478 (10/43), 136031458 (11/43), and mislabeled 135934649 (Aug-1943 logs under an 8/1944 title); parent-unit COM LST GR 1 and COM LST GR 33 diaries digitized [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov "LST-345" and "USS LST-345" result sets; NAIDs listed above
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archive coverage for this hull is digitized but incomplete: ship-titled file units cover the war history one-pager, the 10 July 1943 AA action report (Gela Me-109), and monthly war diaries for May, June, July, September, October, and November 1943 - of which the September diary (Salerno assault, tank-deck fire, USS Delta availability) and the mislabeled August-1943 deck logs were read this session. No ship-titled digitized units surfaced for December 1943 through 1945 - the Normandy, damage/repair, and return periods are documented only in the compiled war history and parent-unit diaries (COM LST GR 1 Nov-Dec 1943; COM LST GR 33 Jan-Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug-Dec 1944 runs). The AA action report (NAID 135914719) and the unread monthly diaries are unfollowed leads; WWII deck logs proper for this hull are not in the digitized deck-log program checked.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Ship's company (1943-45); researchers
- Limitations
- Archival-lead row: unread units (May-Jul, Oct-Nov 1943 diaries; the AA action report) were not read this session - contents unknown beyond titles. RG 181 yard work-package records for the 1944 England repair and any Norfolk Navy Yard build-phase material schedules are open archival leads, undigitized. No casualty-report file unit surfaced for this hull (unlike sister LST-790, which has a paper-only BuPers casualty file).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-345-lst345-11