Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 665-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-347-lst347-pkt-665-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-347 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, European-theater operations, UK/France transfers, disposal (live NHHC page, verified loading 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-347 entry (published 30 July 2015 revision)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (DANFS): laid down 10 November 1942 at the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched 7 February 1943; sponsored by Mrs. J. M. Farrin; commissioned 7 February 1943. Assigned to the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943), Salerno landings (September 1943), Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). Transferred to the United Kingdom 19 December 1944; returned to U.S. Navy custody in January 1948; retransferred to France on lease 23 January 1948; returned to U.S. Navy custody and sold to France 21 March 1949. Struck from the Navy list 28 April 1949. Earned three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1949
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); U.S. Navy crew (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official service history only; contains no asbestos, material, or crew-health content. DANFS gives no complement or machinery figures for this hull. Dates align with NavSource and secondary sources - no milestone conflicts found.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LST-347 - designation timeline (USS -> HM -> RFS -> Vire/L9003), specifications, commanding officers, service and disposal (live page, verified loading 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160347.htm header block, timeline, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and detail for this hull: commissioned USS LST-347 7 February 1943, LT. Henry A. Kaye, USNR, in command. Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater 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 19 December 1944; commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-347 the same day; underwent refitting at Cardiff, Wales; operated in the Far East with calls at Singapore, Port Swettenham, and Java; paid off at Singapore 23 January 1946. Transferred (leased) to France at Singapore 23 January 1948, commissioned as RFS LST-347 (later L9003); sold outright to France 21 March 1949; struck from the Naval Register 28 April 1949; named RFS Vire in 1950; scrapped 1957. Specifications: 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100kW 230V D.C. ship's service generators, 2 propellers (1,700 shp), twin rudders; 328' o.a., 50' beam; complement 9 officers/120 enlisted, troop accommodations 14 officers/131 enlisted; 6 LCVP. Commanding officers: LT. Henry A. Kaye, USNR (7 Feb 1943 - 7 Sep 1944); LT. H. P. Schilling, USNR (7 Sep 1944 - 19 Dec 1944). International radio call sign NZQX. Three battle stars. Photographic record includes NARA-captioned images: III-SC 182815 and III-SC 182826 (Termini-Imerese harbor, Sicily, 13 September 1943, with LST-358, LST-359, LST-350) and 80-G-45672 (rhino-ferry unloading, released 6 June 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); U.S. Navy crew (1943-44); Royal Navy crew and Cardiff refit workers (1944-46); French Navy crew (1948-57); shipbreakers (1957)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its dates track DANFS exactly for this hull. Contains no asbestos content. The Cardiff refit scope, the 1946-48 lay-up interval between RN paying-off and the French lease, French-service detail (Indochina, Toulon, Port Etienne per photo captions), and the location/contractor of the 1957 scrapping are not documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-02
-
[4]NHHC online photo catalog, 80-G-45672 - official U.S. Navy photograph of USS LST-347, now in the collections of the National Archives (live page, verified loading 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC photo page 80-G-45672 (title, description, catalog number); NavSource 10/16/160347.htm photo captions
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC catalog entry for photo 80-G-45672 documents this hull unloading a bulldozer and other materiel onto a rhino ferry (RHF); photograph released 6 June 1944 at the time of the Normandy invasion, probably taken in an English port during the invasion-preparation period; official U.S. Navy photograph now in the collections of the National Archives. NavSource captions further place the hull at Termini-Imerese harbor, Sicily, 13 September 1943 in NARA photos III-SC 182815 and III-SC 182826 (U.S. Army Signal Corps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew and embarked forces (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Photographic/caption documentation only: establishes physical presence and configuration during the Normandy and Sicily periods - not an exposure record and no material content. The Sicily photo identifiers are transcribed from NavSource captions; individual NARA catalog records for III-SC 182815/182826 were not independently located this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945) - LST design table and vessel roster (shipscribe.com scan of official BuShips publication; live PDF verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (LST1-490 group row) and LST roster entry 'LST347 - Transferred to United Kingdom'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design data for this hull's design group (LST1-490, which includes LST-347): 328 ft o.a., 50 ft beam, ~2,366 t / 4,080 t (displacement baselines differ across sources - see gaps), 11.6 kt (trial), 2 x G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines rated 1,700 shp on 2 propellers, total accommodations 13 officers/106 enlisted. The SDB roster annotates 'LST347' as 'Transferred to United Kingdom' - corroborating the DANFS/NavSource disposition. The 1945 publication itself confirms the hull's wartime configuration as built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); design group 1942-45
- Population
- Design group: construction trades at program yards; crews
- Limitations
- Class design-table data - the design-group figures (LST1-490) are not a hull-specific fit-out record; the only hull-level datum in this source is the roster annotation. PDF text layer is staggered columnar OCR; figures read at the LST1-490 design row. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB 1945 v2 LST design data (diesel plant, no boilers); DANFS/NavSource construction dates (Nov 1942 - Feb 1943) placing the build inside the unrestricted asbestos era; GAO HRD-80-2 documentation of Navy asbestos use and elimination timeline (see ev-06); LST-1-class profile era-application list [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST1-490 design row; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy enclosure letter; lst-1-class profile ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST built November 1942 - February 1943 at a U.S. Navy yard sits three decades inside the unrestricted asbestos era: Navy product specifications did not require asbestos-free thermal insulation until 1971-73 and the formal elimination policy dates to October 1975 (GAO HRD-80-2). Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel LST of this period: diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, piping-system gaskets and packing, and winch/crane brake linings. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1957
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); U.S./RN/French crews (1943-57); Cardiff refit workers (1944-45); shipbreakers (1957)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or construction work package located for LST-347. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. Establishes no quantities, no product manufacturers, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page and full report text [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 highlights; 'Efforts to Protect Shipyard Workers' section incl. 'Norfolk Naval Shipyard' subsection; Conclusions; Navy enclosure letter (attachment #1 response)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos worker protection with fieldwork at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - this hull's builder. At Norfolk: an OSHA industrial hygienist observed asbestos rip-out operations aboard ships; the yard's asbestos-program coordinator was also the pipe-shop superintendent and could not oversee all asbestos jobs (made full-time May 1979); trained worker-monitors were inadequately supervised; and a Navy special-team review completed at Norfolk in February 1977 found 'numerous deficiencies - some serious,' of which the yard reported about 95 percent corrected by February 1979. Fleet-wide (Navy enclosure letter in the report): 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos'; thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems was 'the major application of asbestos'; additional asbestos applications included deck tiling, electric cabling, galley ranges, piping-system gaskets and packing, and equipment brakes and clutches; specifications required asbestos-free insulation only from 1971-73 and the formal elimination policy (NAVSEAINST 5100.2) issued 24 October 1975; ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978; 30-50 percent of shipboard asbestos insulation 'will never be touched during the useful life of a ship.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1977-1979 (review period); policy timeline 1971-78
- Population
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard asbestos workers and monitors (1977-79); Navy shipyard workers generally
- Limitations
- Documents 1970s asbestos-control reality at the builder yard and Navy-wide policy - it postdates this hull's U.S. service (ended December 1944) and construction (1942-43) by three decades and names no LST. Supports the era/yard context that the 1942-43 build occurred in the unrestricted asbestos era and that asbestos shipboard work was routine at this yard; establishes nothing about materials installed aboard this hull or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-06
-
[8]ATSDR, Public Health Assessment: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, EPA Facility ID VA1170024813 (December 29, 2003) - ARCHIVED copy; live ATSDR PHA page has been deleted from the current site (appears on ATSDR's own Web_Ready_HTML deletion list) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ATSDR PHA NNSY (Dec 29, 2003): Summary (NNSY activities); Site Description/Remedial History (waste streams); Appendix A OU2 Site 3 and Site 10 entries (asbestos receipts)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Federal public-health documentation for this hull's builder yard: NNSY (about 800 acres, 4 miles of waterfront on the Southern Branch Elizabeth River) conducts 'construction, conversion, overhaul, repair, maintenance, and outfitting of ships.' Shipyard waste streams included asbestos: the Site 3 sanitary landfill 'received sanitary waste, asbestos, boiler ash, abrasive blast grit, industrial wastewater treatment plant sludge, paints, solvents, other liquids, and hydraulic fill' (waste taken there 1954-1983); the Site 10 '1927 Landfill' in the main yard was used from the 1920s until 1941 for 'salvage waste, sandblast grit, boiler fly ash and bottom ash, asbestos, and other waste'; and the Paradise Creek Disposal Area received asbestos among other wastes. EPA added NNSY to the National Priorities List in 1999.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1920s-2003
- Population
- NNSY workforce and neighboring communities (PHA scope)
- Limitations
- Yard environmental/waste-disposal documentation, not shipboard material records: establishes that asbestos was a documented waste stream at this hull's builder yard across the mid-century era (the Site 10 landfill record reaching back through the 1920s-1941 window that precedes her 1942-43 build). Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, quantity, or present-day presence. Cited via Wayback Machine capture because the live ATSDR page was deleted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-07
-
[9]Batch-6886 search ledger (this record): DANFS live; NavSource live; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; NHHC photo catalog; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; ATSDR PHA (archived); NVR (not digitized); CourtListener API v4 (5 authenticated queries); secondary web litigation sweep; NARA deck-log check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-347-lst347-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-347 / HM LST-347 / RFS LST-347 / RFS Vire (L9003) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener was searched this session via the authenticated API: five queries - "LST-347" (opinions), "LST-347" (dockets/RECAP), "USS LST-347" (opinions), "LST 347" (opinions), "LST 347" (dockets/RECAP) - all returned HTTP 200 with zero results. A secondary web sweep surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content 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 - and the litigation result is a true negative (searched, empty), not a blocked search. Undigitized leads remain: NARA RG 24 deck logs (U.S. service 1943-44), Norfolk Navy Yard construction/inspection records, the Cardiff refit record, and French naval archives for RFS Vire (L9003). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-347-lst347-08