Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 668-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-372-lst372-pkt-668-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-372 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, theater assignment and operations, postwar occupation/China service, decommissioning, striking, disposal, battle stars [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (single paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 14 November 1942 at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched 19 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Paul W. Watson; commissioned 23 January 1943, Lt. Marvin F. Studebaker, USNR, in command. Assigned to the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943), Salerno landings (September 1943), Invasion of Normandy (June 1944). Post-war: occupation duty in the Far East (October-November 1945) and service in China (December 1945 - March 1946). Decommissioned 9 July 1946; struck from the Navy list 15 August 1946; sold 3 October 1947 to Patapsco Scrap Corp., Baltimore, Md., and subsequently scrapped. Earned three battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem Quincy construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service history only; contains no asbestos or material content. The entry is short - it does not give builder yard name (Fore River), specifications, complement, or the decommissioning location. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-372 (10/16/160372) - milestone timeline, specification block, awards/ribbons, commanding-officer table, photography (incl. NHHC photo NH 84689 via Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160372.htm header block, campaign tables, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship; laid down 14 November 1942 at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, MA; launched 19 January 1943; commissioned 23 January 1943, Lt. Marvin F. Studebaker, USNR, in command; assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaigns: Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943, Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943, Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944; postwar Navy Occupation Service Medal 27 October - 21 November 1945 and China Service Medal (extended) 22 December 1945 - 1 March 1946; decommissioned 1 July 1946 (variant - see gaps); struck 15 August 1946; sold for scrapping 3 October 1947 to Patapsco Scrap Corp., Baltimore, MD. Spec block: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; length 328 ft o.a.; beam 50 ft; speed 11.6 kts (trial); complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; boats 2 LCVP; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three diesel-drive 100-kW 230-V DC ship's-service generators; diesel fuel 4,300 bbls. CO table: Studebaker (23 Jan 1943 - 2 Jul 1945), Farrow III (2 Jul 1945 - Sep 1945), Doherty (Sep 1945 - Mar 1946), Moore (Mar 1946 - 1 Jul 1946). Photography: probable Normandy-beachhead shot unloading into LCT-540 with barrage balloons overhead; San Francisco Bay shot with LCT(6)-810 on deck c.1944 (NH 84689).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem Quincy construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-46); embarked troops (up to ~16 officers/147 enlisted); Patapsco shipbreakers (1947-48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones largely track DANFS but the decommissioning date differs (1 July 1946 vs DANFS 9 July 1946; see gaps). 'Assigned to both theaters' reflects the late-war Pacific transit documented in the ship's own war history; the award-window dates are NavSource's tabulation. Specification figures are the class-standard LST-1 block. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-02
-
[4]NARA file unit NAID 77707170, 'USS LST-372 - War History' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries series, Roll A2107, micro serial 159193; 4 scanned images, unrestricted) - ship-compiled history transmitted 24 December 1945 by Lt. J. H. Doherty, USNR [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77707170, images 0051-0054 (transmittal letter + 3-page narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship's own compiled history: crew trained two weeks aboard LST-391 in Chesapeake Bay; ship outfitted at Boston Navy Yard; sailed 5 April 1943 in a ~120-ship convoy (~30 LSTs) for North Africa via Bermuda to Tenes and Bizerte. Sicily: arrived off Licata 10 July 1943 landing 2nd Armored Division troops under air and shore bombardment - seven men wounded by shrapnel, none seriously; four Bizerte-Licata runs, two to Palermo, one to Porto Empedocle (~800 Italian POWs). Salerno: 9 September 1943 landing elements of the British 8th Army; further Salerno runs from Bari and Manfredonia. 10 November 1943 sailed Mers-el-Kebir for Plymouth with LCT-202 on deck; convoy attacked by German glider bombs off Spain and by a submarine wolf pack. Home-ported Falmouth ~5 months; 31 March 1944 to Roseneath, Scotland via Milford Haven where 'interim armament' was completed (twelve 20mm, seven single 40mm); Belfast cargo; escorted ~50 LCVPs to Weymouth ~12 May 1944. Normandy: sailed 5 June 1944 with U.S. Rangers, Engineers, 'ducks', trucks, jeeps in a 20-LST convoy; arrived off the beach ~H+8, discharging ducks; a Ju 88 bombed close aboard the night of D-day; thirty-eight round trips England-France unloading at Cherbourg, Le Havre, Rouen, loading at Portland, Southampton, London; LSTs 6, 133 and 391 mined within sight; two buzz bombs fell within a quarter mile of her London berth. Returned to the U.S. 16 April 1945 with fourteen other LSTs, LCT-810 on deck; Norfolk 5-11 May 1945; 30-day availability at U.S. Naval Repair Base, New Orleans (Algiers) - 'all machinery was overhauled', painted Pacific green, 'ultimate armament' installed (two twin 40mm, four single 40mm, six twin 20mm), two fresh-water evaporators and an auxiliary diesel fire pump added. Galveston: refresher training plus ~3 weeks availability at Texas Coast Shipyards; Lt. M. C. Farrow relieved Lt. Studebaker 2 July 1945. 2 August 1945 departed for the Pacific with a pontoon cargo for Guam via Gulfport and Panama; Pearl Harbor 6 September; Lt. J. H. Doherty relieved Farrow; Eniwetok; Port Apra, Guam 28 September; Buckner Bay, Okinawa 28 October; as of 12 December 1945 awaiting China orders at Guam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (compiled 24 December 1945)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops 1943-45; New Orleans repair-base and Galveston yard trades 1945
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary document, but a retrospective compilation - the CO's own transmittal warns that 'due to a recent complete change in command a large percentage of the information contained in enclosure (A) is based upon hearsay.' Where it conflicts with the contemporaneous war diary (e.g., 'Dog Red Beach' vs the diary's 'Easy Red Beach'; 'well-shaken' vs documented generator/system damage), the diary governs. The New Orleans machinery overhaul and armament alterations are documented maintenance events - but the record names no materials; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-03
-
[5]NARA file unit NAID 78186119, 'USS LST-372 - Act Rep, Op AVALANCHE' (RG 38, Roll A575, micro serial 56416, serial 106; 3 scanned images, unrestricted) - action report for the Salerno landings, dated 11 October 1943, signed M. F. Studebaker [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78186119, images 0810-0812 (report serial 106, 11 October 1943)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous action report, Operation AVALANCHE (Salerno), routed via CTU 85.1.1 / CTG 85.1 / Commander Northern Attack Force to Commander Western Naval Task Force: D-3 at Bizerte during an air raid (made smoke, did not fire); D-1 a Focke-Wulf bombed 500 yards off the starboard quarter and the BBC announced Italy's surrender; AA fire virtually continuous for 48 hours (expended 90 rds 40mm, 1,250 rds 20mm, 2 rds 3"/50); arrived off Red Beach, Salerno, 0120 D-day; sent her medical staff to LST-351 to treat 40 casualties; beached Red Beach 1307 D-day 'bow well up on dry ground', completed unloading by 1420; took aboard 63 survivors of USS Nauset (AT-89) at 1720 and transferred them to LST-7 next morning; subsequent Avalanche runs: Tripoli-Salerno (3), Tripoli-Taranto, Taranto-Manfredonia, Manfredonia-Bizerte. 'This vessel suffered no casualties or damage.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- September-October 1943
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked British troops, September-October 1943
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary action report - contemporaneous, signed by the commanding officer. Operational detail only; contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-04
-
[6]NARA file unit NAID 78541428, 'USS LST-372 - War Diary, 6/1-30/44' (RG 38, Roll A1069, micro serial 80224; 2 scanned images, unrestricted) - monthly war diary, Enclosure (G) to Commander LST Group 35, Flotilla 12, dated 1 July 1944, signed M. F. Studebaker [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78541428, images 0092-0093 (War Diary June 1944, submitted 1 July 1944)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous June 1944 war diary: moored Portland 1-4 June loading U.S. Army assault troops, ship sealed; 5 June Weymouth Roads, crew briefed on Operation Neptune, underway for Omaha; 6 June (D-day) anchored off EASY Red Beach under bombing attack - near misses damaged a generator and ruptured sanitary and fresh-water systems; 7 June disembarked troops/vehicles via small boats and LCTs - two small-boat officers and six men wounded by AA shrapnel, one LCVP lost to heavy sea; casualties collected for transport to the UK, two officers and one man later transferred to hospital; 13 June beached Omaha a second time, embarked 146 casualties for England; 17-18 June anchored Southampton with 'repairs to main engines'; 21 June beached Juno Area in a storm on priority-load orders, sustaining damage to the port shaft and bearings and to tank C-413; 22 June Royal Victoria Dock, London, under flying-bomb attack; 25 June convoy fired on by shore batteries in the Straits of Dover; 26 June beached Gold Area; 30 June beached Utah Area, loaded 900 prisoners-of-war for the UK. The diary thus records this hull on all five assault areas - Omaha (twice), Juno, Gold, Utah - within June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- June 1944
- Population
- Ship's company, small-boat crews, embarked U.S./British troops, evacuated casualties and POWs, June 1944
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary diary - contemporaneous and signed. Documents real battle damage (generator, sanitary/fresh-water systems, port shaft/bearings, tank C-413) and a two-day main-engine repair at Southampton - maintenance events with no material detail; no asbestos content. The 'Easy Red' entry corrects the war history's retrospective 'Dog Red' (self-flagged as hearsay); sector naming carried per the diary.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-05
-
[7]NARA file unit NAID 78601622, 'USS LST-372 - Rep of Ops, 6/6/44 to 6/17/44, Invasion of Normandy, France' (RG 38, Roll A1122, micro serial 84509; 7 scanned images, unrestricted) - operation report transmitted 10 July 1944, signed M. F. Studebaker [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78601622, image 1070 (transmittal) + 6 enclosure pages
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous report of operations for the Normandy period 6-17 June 1944, transmitted from the ship (FPO New York) 10 July 1944 to the Naval Commander Western Task Force via Commander Task Force 124.4 and CTF-124 - the Omaha assault-force chain; enclosures: chronological report, comments and recommendations, recommendations for awards; operation name redacted on the transmittal page.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- June-July 1944
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, June 1944
- Limitations
- Ship-specific primary report - catalog record and transmittal page reviewed; the 7-page enclosure was not transcribed page-by-page this session (locator retained for follow-up). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM 12-567A diesels, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - no steam plant); LST-1-class BuShips design group LST-1/490 (class profile, class-f); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-08); ship-documented repair events (ev-03, ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160372.htm spec block; LST-1 class profile (BuShips SD-1945 v2 design group); NAID 77707170 (1945 availabilities); NAID 78541428 (Southampton repairs)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A tank landing ship built 1942-43 and in service 1943-46 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. The diesel plant (no boilers) removes the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels, but era-standard applications for this ship type were diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, gaskets and valve/flange packing on fuel, ballast and service-water systems, electrical insulation, accommodation insulation, and deck coverings - concentrated in the confined engineering spaces below the tank deck. The ship's own records document a complete machinery overhaul at the U.S. Naval Repair Base, New Orleans (Algiers) in May-June 1945 and a further availability at Texas Coast Shipyards, Galveston in July 1945, plus two days of main-engine repairs at Southampton in June 1944 - documented maintenance-disturbance events aboard this hull during the asbestos era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Engine-room crew and embarked troops 1943-46; New Orleans repair-base and Galveston yard trades 1945; Bethlehem Quincy construction trades 1942-43; Patapsco shipbreakers 1947-48
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-372. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; the documented yard events name no materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-07
-
[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 (1942-43) and service era (1943-46).
- 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, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-08
-
[10]Los Angeles Times (6 May 2004), 'Vintage Bombs Are Unearthed at Old Shipyard in Baltimore' - Patapsco Scrap Corp. site history; corroborated by U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings (Jan 1960), 'A Page from the Old Navy: USS Kearsarge' - 'the Bethlehem Steel Company's Patapsco Scrap Corporation' [reputable_press]
- Locator
- LA Times archives (latimes.com, 2004-05-06); USNI Proceedings usni.org (Jan 1960)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The firm that bought this hull for scrapping was Bethlehem Steel's shipbreaking arm: Bethlehem Steel sold its wartime Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyard (Fairfield, Baltimore, MD - which built 384 Liberty ships) to Patapsco Scrap Corp., which dismantled battleships and other Navy vessels on the site until 1984. Combined with the DANFS sale record (sold to Patapsco Scrap Corp., Baltimore, 3 October 1947, 'and subsequently scrapped'), the breakup site for this hull was almost certainly the former Fairfield yard - but that site attribution is inference, not a hull-documented fact.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1947-1984 (site operating window); 1947 (sale)
- Population
- Patapsco Scrap Corp. shipbreakers, Baltimore (1947-48 breakup era)
- Limitations
- Context documentation - neither source names LST-372. Establishes who Patapsco was and where it worked; the hull's presence at the Fairfield site is inferred from the DANFS sale record. Shipbreaking at this site in 1947-48 predates ACM-handling regulation; no material record of the breakup located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-09
-
[11]Batch-6912 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource 10/16/160372; NARA catalog ship-specific file units (4 NAIDs, images reviewed); CourtListener opinion index (3 queries); secondary web litigation sweep; museum-ship public materials (lstmemorial.org, lst393.org); GAO product page; class profile class-f/lst-1-class [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-372-01 through sl-uss-lst-372-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, material schedule, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-372 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero results on five authenticated queries - opinion index 'LST-372', 'USS LST-372', 'LST 372' (type=o) and docket index 'LST-372', 'LST 372' (type=r). The class profile's own sweep found no ship-specific asbestos record for any of ~1,051 LST hulls; the only LST-level CourtListener hit known to the class sweep is a scanned reunion notice in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton (S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771), not a qualifying case. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only generic LST-class marketing pages (navyshipexposure.com) - excluded sources asserting class-level asbestos without primary sourcing; nothing 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 - era-consistent asbestos use aboard a 1942-43 amphibian is a reasonable inference, and the shipbreaker's site (Bethlehem-Fairfield/Patapsco) is itself a documented asbestos-context operation. A docket-level filing could still exist outside CourtListener's index. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-372-10