Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 671-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-394-lst394-pkt-671-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-394 (Naval History and Heritage Command, live page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-394 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 27 July 1942 at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; launched 11 November 1942, sponsored by Miss Dorothy Louise Comstock; commissioned 15 December 1942. Assigned to the European theater: Sicilian occupation (July 1943) and invasion of southern France (August-September 1944). Transferred to the United Kingdom 24 December 1944; decommissioned and returned to U.S. Navy custody 12 May 1946; struck from the Navy list 19 June 1946; sold to N. Block & Co., Norfolk, Va., 10 December 1947 and subsequently scrapped. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (Newport News, 1942); crew (1942-1944 USN; 1944-1946 RN)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content, no spec block, and no complement. Entry does not mention the Anzio presence documented in NARA-held film (see ev-02) - DANFS battle-star list (Sicily, southern France) governs combat operations.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-394 - timeline, campaign dates, commanding officers, specifications, NARA-captioned photography (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160394.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officers list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: commissioned USS LST-394 15 December 1942, Lt. John H. Peden, USN, in command; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign credits - Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943, invasion of southern France 15 August-22 September 1944; decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom 24 December 1944, commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-394; returned to U.S. naval custody 12 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 19 June 1946; sold for scrapping 10 December 1947 to N. Block and Co., Norfolk, VA. Commanding officers: Lt. Peden (15 December 1942 - July 1944), Lt.(jg) W. C. Hotchkiss, USNR (July 1944 - 24 December 1944). Specifications (LST-1 class): two General Motors 12-567A 900hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100kW 230V D.C. ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700shp, twin rudders; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted. Page captions transcribe NARA film 'Activities of US Navy Salvage Units on Beachhead. Anzio, Italy' (National Archives Identifier 76233, local ID 428-NPC-1856) showing USS LST-394 beached in the Port of Anzio, Italy, 14 April 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (1942); crew (1942-46); shipbreakers, N. Block & Co. (1947-48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates here agree with DANFS; specifications and complement are class-typical figures, not a hull-specific muster. The Anzio presence rests on NARA-film captions transcribed by NavSource; the NARA catalog page (catalog.archives.gov/id/76233) is JS-rendered and could not be independently fetched. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-02
-
[4]The National WWII Museum, Digital Collections: 'LST 394 at a dry dock, Sicily, 1944' (Items from the service of Radioman Third Class Myron Duncan Milton, USS LST-659; live page verified 2026-10-02) [museum_official]
- Locator
- ww2online.org item page, description and collection metadata
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum-held photograph captioned 'L.S.T. 394 in dry-dock at Palermo, Sicily.' Italy, 1944 - physical-presence documentation of this hull in dry dock at Palermo during her Mediterranean service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crew and any yard trades during the Palermo dry-docking (1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: a photograph establishes presence in a Palermo dry dock in 1944, not what work (if any) was performed there - a dry-dock photo is not an availability or overhaul record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-03
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (2x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers); LST-1 class profile (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 machinery data + era amphibious-ship construction practice); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for Newport News Shipbuilding (Kaylo insulation, Unibestos, Johns-Manville products, raw asbestos mud) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; lst-1-class.class.json (class-f worktree); shipyards.json entry newport-news-shipbuilding
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-class tank landing ship built July-December 1942 at Newport News Shipbuilding sits inside that yard's and the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam-lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications for the type: diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Newport News construction trades (1942); USN crew (1942-44); RN crew (1944-46); shipbreakers (1947-48)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-394. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-04
-
[6]Tagnon I, et al., 'Mesothelioma associated with the shipbuilding industry in coastal Virginia,' Cancer Res 40(11):3875-9 (Nov 1980), PMID 7471040 (live PubMed abstract verified 2026-10-02); carried in shipyards.json entry newport-news-shipbuilding [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed abstract, PMID 7471040; shipyards.json ev-newport-news-01
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government-indexed epidemiology for this hull's builder region: a case-control study of a four-fold increased mesothelioma incidence among white males in coastal Tidewater, Virginia (1972-1978; 61 cases) found the excess linked to employment in area shipyards - three-fourths of cases had shipbuilding employment, nearly all beginning before 1950, with increased risk also among temporary WWII-era workers reportedly exposed to asbestos. Newport News Shipbuilding, this hull's builder, is the dominant yard of the Tidewater shipbuilding region.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1972-1978 (cases); exposure era incl. 1942 construction window
- Population
- Coastal Tidewater VA shipyard workers (employment pre-1950, incl. WWII temporary workers)
- Limitations
- Yard/region-level literature, not a hull record: multi-yard Tidewater geographic scope - does not isolate Newport News Shipbuilding as sole yard and does not name LST-394. Establishes the construction-era asbestos exposure environment at the builder, not materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page highlights verified live 2026-10-02 [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, including the use of asbestos in Navy ships: the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Navy asbestos-insulation use spanned this hull's entire construction (1942) and service era (1942-46).
- 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; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full report text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch of the PDF) - content via product-page highlights.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-06
-
[8]Batch-6935 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweeps (opinion and docket indexes) for "LST-394", "USS LST-394", "HM LST-394", and "LST 394" asbestos; secondary web sweep for ship-name + asbestos [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-394-lst394-05 through sl-uss-lst-394-lst394-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case or opinion naming LST-394 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API v4 authenticated sweeps returned zero results across all variants - "LST-394" opinions (count 0), "LST-394" RECAP dockets (count 0), "USS LST-394" opinions (count 0), "HM LST-394" opinions (count 0), and "LST 394" asbestos opinions (count 0) - no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation, no name collisions. A live web sweep for the hull number plus asbestos surfaced only name collisions (U.S. Code and bankruptcy-docket citations of '394') and non-authoritative vendor pages.
- 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 was built in the Navy's documented asbestos-use era at a documented asbestos-use yard. LSTs were hull-number-only until 1955, so name-based litigation sweeps are impractical and hull-number sweeps were run instead; a litigant could also have described service generically ('an LST') in ways no index catches. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-394-lst394-07