Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 665-packet.md (2 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-348-lst348-pkt-665-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-348 entry (NHHC; verified live 2026-10-02 - the standing NHHC link-rot defect from Batch 01/98 does NOT affect this entry, which returned full text on the canonical URL) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-348 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS (verbatim): 'LST-348 was laid down on 10 November 1942 at the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched on 7 February 1943; sponsored by Mrs. L. V. Honsinger; and commissioned on 9 February 1943.' Assigned to the European theater; operations listed: 'Sicilian occupation-July 1943' and 'Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings - January through March 1944'. 'LST-348 was sunk by a submarine torpedo off Anzio, Italy, on 20 February 1944 and struck from the Navy list on 6 March 1944. LST-348 earned two battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); USN crew (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not list Salerno (Operation Avalanche) among the credited operations, though NARA holds this hull's own Avalanche action report (ev-04) - DANFS operation lists are not exhaustive. Does not name the attacking submarine (identified as U-410 via uboat.net, ev-03).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, Tank Landing Ship LST-348 (10/16/160348) - designation timeline, campaign table, specifications, commanding officer, loss and strike dates (verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160348.htm header block, campaign table, spec block, photo caption, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 10 November 1942 at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA; launched 7 February 1943; commissioned USS LST-348 9 February 1943, LT S. Jennings, USNR, in command (sole listed CO, 9 February 1943 - 20 February 1944). Campaign table: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; West Coast of Italy operations - Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings 22 January - 1 March 1944. 'USS LST-348 was sunk by a submarine torpedo near Anzio, Italy, 20 February 1944.' Decommissioned, date unknown. Struck from the Naval Register 6 March 1944. Two battle stars. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; endurance 24,000 miles @ 9 kt; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; ultimate design armament 2 twin 40mm, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm; 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC generators, 2 shafts / 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Photo caption: probably her launching, 7 February 1943, Norfolk Navy Yard (US Navy photo via David Buell).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); USN crew (1943-44); embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track DANFS. Contains no asbestos content. 'Decommissioned, date unknown' is NavSource's template line; the ship was sunk in commission and no decommissioning event occurred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-02
-
[4]uboat.net (G. Helgason), 'Ships hit by U-boats: USS LST-348' and companion warship page - loss narrative compiled from the ship's loss report/action reports (both verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/3194.html (attack entry incl. complement, route, notes on event); uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/11427.html (warship entry: ordered 20 May 1942, loss position)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Loss detail beyond DANFS: the unescorted LST-348 (Lt Stephenson Jennings, USNR), en route Nisida to the Anzio-Nettuno beachhead with military stores (Operation Shingle), was hit on the port side forward at frame 16 by one FAT torpedo from U-410 (Kptlt. Horst-Arno Fenski) at 01.57 hours on 20 February 1944, about 22 miles southwest of Gaeta, Italy (position 40°57'N, 13°14'E). A second torpedo struck at 02.21 hours and broke the ship in two forward of the main cargo hatch; the forward part sank and the stern section sank at 06.30 hours. Four officers and 20 ratings were lost (24 dead, 79 survivors of 103 aboard). USS LCI(L)-195 and USS LCI(L)-219 rescued survivors from ~03.00 hours; USS PC-627 arrived at 07.45; 31 injured men (mostly second-degree burns) were transferred to the British hospital ship HMHS Leinster; the remaining survivors reached Pozzuoli on 21 February.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- USN crew at loss (103 aboard); 24 killed, 79 survivors
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation (uboat.net), not a U.S. government source - its narrative is drawn from the loss report/action reports now digitized at NARA (ev-04) but was not checked line-by-line against the scans this session. The warship page frames the position as 'about 40 nautical miles south of Naples'; the attack page says 'about 22 miles southwest of Gaeta' - same coordinates, carried as coordinates. Wikipedia (Tomblin 2004) carries a variant three-torpedo/scuttling-order account - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-03
-
[5]NARA Catalog (catalog.archives.gov), WWII War Diaries file units for USS LST-348 - digitized from microfilm (Fold3-sourced redelivery) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search "LST-348" (222 hits) - file units NAID 78337915, 78336974, 78186513, 135910148, 78322436 + war-diary series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific primary records exist and are digitized in the NARA catalog: 'USS LST-348 - Loss of LST-348, Anzio, Italy, 2/20/44' (NAID 78337915, 5 images, verified live - the ship's loss report); 'Act Rep, Anzio, Italy, Establishment of Beachhead & Subsequent assignments until sinking on 2/20/44 - 1/21/44 to 2/20/44' (NAID 78336974); 'Act Rep, Italian Invasion, Op AVALANCHE, 9/6-11/43' (NAID 78186513 - documents Salerno participation not listed in DANFS); 'Participation in the Sicilian Invasion, Joss Attack Group' (NAID 135910148); and war diaries covering 6/1/43 - 12/31/43 (NAIDs 135938263, 135950598, 78189735, 78206370, 135984305, 136011088, 136045949, 78270173, 78270690, 78295760). Rescuer-side record also present: 'USS LCI(L) 219 - Act Rep, 2/20/44, while enroute Anzio' (NAID 78322436).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- USN crew; embarked troops (record populations, not exposed populations)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: file-unit titles verified live in the NARA catalog on 2026-10-02; page images exist but were not OCR'd or analyzed this session. The digitized loss report is the likely underlying source of the uboat.net narrative (ev-03). These are operational records - none were reviewed for material/asbestos content and none is an exposure record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-04
-
[6]NARA research guide, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (archives.gov; verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/navy/guided-topics/asbestos; RG 19 entry list (entries A1 1266-A through P 29 et al.)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- NARA's official asbestos-research pathway for WWII naval vessels: after establishing the ship's history (DANFS), the Bureau of Ships general/confidential/secret correspondence in Record Group 19 is filed by ship type/class/hull designation under the Navy Filing Manual - hull-specific correspondence for this ship would sit under 'LST348', class correspondence under 'LST1 class', and builder-yard correspondence under the yard's 'NY' designation. These series are undigitized; the war-diary file units (ev-04) are the only digitized hull records located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (records coverage)
- Limitations
- Research-pathway documentation only - the guide itself contains no asbestos content for any specific hull. RG 19 correspondence files for 'LST348' were not searched this session; they are the authoritative lead for any construction-materials correspondence if it exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference built on: NavSource LST-348 spec block (machinery/fit verified live); Atlas class profile lst-1-class asbestos inference; BuShips Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 2 (Jan 1945) LST design table via the class profile (shipscribe.com scan now 404s - see ledger) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160348 spec block; class profile lst-1-class.class.json (background)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-class tank landing ship built Nov 1942 - Feb 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a ship of this type and period: diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve packing, and winch/crane brake linings. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1944
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction trades (1942-43); USN crew incl. embarked troops (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package exists or is expected for a hull sunk in action after 12 months in commission. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-06
-
[8]Atlas shipyards.json record for norfolk-naval-shipyard (EPA Superfund site VA1170024813, listed 1999): NAVFAC official site descriptions document asbestos among wastes disposed at the yard; yard product list includes pipe insulation and lagging, boiler and turbine insulation, gaskets, packing materials, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings and flooring, bulkhead fire barriers (NAVFAC / EPA records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVFAC Norfolk NSY Site Descriptions page; EPA site VA1170024813; shipyards.json norfolk-naval-shipyard asbestos_products_documented
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The yard that built this hull (Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA - today Norfolk Naval Shipyard) is a documented asbestos-use site: NAVFAC environmental-restoration site descriptions record for the Site 10 Disposal Area (in use prior to 1927 and until 1941) that 'wastes disposed of at the site reportedly included various solid wastes generated by NNSY, salvage waste, abrasive blast material (ABM), fly ash, and asbestos waste,' and the yard was EPA Superfund-listed in 1999. The Atlas yard record documents an extensive asbestos product inventory for the yard, including pipe insulation/lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical cable insulation, deck coverings, and bulkhead fire barriers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1999 (documentation window)
- Population
- Norfolk Navy Yard construction and shop trades (1942-43 build window)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record - establishes that the builder yard handled and disposed of asbestos materials (the quoted Site 10 disposal window ended in 1941, just before this hull's Nov 1942 keel); it does not establish which materials were installed aboard LST-348. WWII-era new construction is not the same documented pathway as the yard's better-documented repair/overhaul asbestos work. No individual exposure, quantity, or present-day material claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, highlights text
- 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 - covering this hull's entire construction era (1942-43). Notably, GAO's fieldwork was performed at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Norfolk being this hull's builder yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era and builder-yard context only, not any fact specific to this hull - LST-348 sank in 1944, decades before the reviewed policies. Product-page description verified via rendered fetch 2026-10-02 (direct fetch 403 was a standing defect in Batch 01/98; firecrawl render succeeds).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated), exact-match queries for this hull number across the opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-348-lst348-05 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No litigation located naming this hull: queries '"LST-348"' and '"LST 348"' each returned zero hits on both the opinion index (type=o) and the RECAP docket index (type=r) on 2026-10-02. No qualifying asbestos case, no other litigation, no name collision surfaced for the hull designation in either spelling.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Coverage caveat: a zero index result is not proof that no case exists - deposition or brief text naming the ship may sit inside docket-level PDFs not indexed by case name, and state-court dockets are outside CourtListener coverage. Negative finding within the searched indexes only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-09
-
[11]Batch-6887 search ledger (this record): live DANFS entry; NavSource 10/16/160348; uboat.net attack/warship entries; NARA catalog file units; NARA asbestos research guide; CourtListener opinion+docket sweeps; NVR; GAO; NAVFAC/EPA yard record; general web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-348-lst348-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or docketed case naming USS LST-348 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). None is expected: the hull sank in action on 20 February 1944 after ~12 months in commission, so there are no postwar surveys, overhaul records, or disposal records for this ship. The only 'asbestos aboard' content found in the general sweep was law-firm marketing material naming other LST hulls - 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 1942-43 build at a documented asbestos yard makes era materials plausible but unproven for this hull. Undigitized leads remain: NARA RG 19 BuShips correspondence under filing designation 'LST348', the digitized-but-unread war diaries and loss report (ev-04), and Norfolk Navy Yard build/work records. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-348-lst348-10