Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 678-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-479-lst479-pkt-678-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-479 - construction, commissioning, Gilbert Islands/Kwajalein-Majuro/Hollandia/Guam/Okinawa campaigns, decommissioning, strike, disposal (live NHHC page fetched via Firecrawl; bare curl returns 404 - UA-gated, re-verified this session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-479 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 25 August 1942 at Richmond, Calif., by Kaiser, Inc.; launched 4 October 1942; commissioned 19 April 1943. Asiatic-Pacific operations: Gilbert Islands operation (Nov-Dec 1943), occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls (Feb 1944), Hollandia operation (Apr 1944), capture and occupation of Guam (Jul 1944), assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (Mar-Apr 1945). Decommissioned 28 February 1946; struck from the Navy list 28 March 1946; sold 16 April 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa., and subsequently scrapped. Five battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Richmond, 1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; contains no asbestos, material, yard, or repair content. Commissioning location and commanding officer not stated; launch date conflicts with NavSource's 16 November 1942 (carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-479 (10/16/160479.htm) - construction/campaign timeline, USNR commanding officers, unit assignments, spec block, awards, call sign, photos [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160479.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-1-class tank landing ship laid down 25 August 1942 at Kaiser, Inc., Richmond, CA; launched 16 November 1942 (conflicts with DANFS 4 October 1942 - see limitations); commissioned USS LST-479 19 April 1943, LT Melvin O. Buker USNR in command. Campaign table with dates: Gilbert Islands 21 Nov-8 Dec 1943; Marshalls (Kwajalein/Majuro) 2-8 Feb 1944; Hollandia 21-26 Apr 1944; Marianas (Guam) 21-25 Jul 1944; Okinawa Gunto 26 Mar-29 Apr 1945. Assigned to LST Flotilla Thirteen (CAPT J.G. Sampson USN), LST Group Thirty-Nine (CDR B.T. Zelenka USN), LST Division Seventy-Eight. Decommissioned 28 Feb 1946; struck 28 Mar 1946; sold for scrapping 16 Apr 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA. Five battle stars. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted, troops 16/147; 2 LCVP; call sign NGOL; propulsion 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW diesel-drive generators. CO list: LT Buker 19 Apr 1943-1944; LT N.C. Blanton USNR 1944-?. Photos include US National Archives 80-G-54417 (LST-479 and LST-476 at Roi Island Beach, Kwajalein, 2-8 Feb 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) plus embarked troops (1943-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its dates cross-check against DANFS except the launch date (NavSource 16 Nov 1942 vs DANFS/yard-table 4 Oct 1942). Its unit-assignment block (Flotilla 13/Group 39/Division 78) postdates the hull's Sept 1943 address to Commander LST Group SEVEN, Flotilla THREE in the LCT-71 report (ev-04). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-02
-
[4]NARA NAID 78638181, 'USS LST-479 - War Diary, 5/1/43 to 1/31/44' (RG 38, World War II War Diaries; micro serial 86823, roll A1148; 275 images; digitized via Fold3; sampled by OCR this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78638181 images 0932-1206 (sampled: 0932, 0936, 0942, 0950, 0963, 0993, 1024, 1055, 1069, 1085, 1116, 1146, 1177)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's own operational log (13 of 275 images OCR-sampled this session) documents: San Diego Bay shakedown 1-10 May 1943, including a 5 May accident in which the ship's elevator fell with eleven men aboard and nine were hospitalized; moored Ninth Avenue Terminal Pier, Oakland, then shifted 11 May to U.S. Naval Dry Dock, Hunter's Point, San Francisco, where naval workmen were aboard 'on reconstruction and repair of compartments and material' until work was logged complete at 0512 on 19 May, followed by a degaussing-range run that day; loading at Port Hueneme 1 June; moored Berth 17, Mare Island Navy Yard, 1 July with steam from shore; the Aleutians convoy period (Sept 1943 entries underway/at anchor); steaming on course 139T on 15 September (the return toward San Francisco after the LCT-71 casualty, ev-04); moored Pier 20, San Francisco, through 1 October when she got underway out the channel; and moored at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, by 2 January 1944.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-05-01 to 1944-01-31
- Population
- USNR ship's company (~117); Hunter's Point and Mare Island yard trades (May-Jul 1943); Oakland/Pier 20 SF dock labor
- Limitations
- Primary ship-produced record read by OCR sampling only - 13 of 275 pages; the unsampled pages (including most of the Gilbert Islands operation period and all attachments/orders) were not read. The log documents yard events and movements verbatim but does not itemize repair materials and never says 'asbestos.' 'U.S. Naval Dry Dock, Hunter's Point' is the log's own rendering. OCR of this carbon-copy typescript is partial in places.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 78639265, 'USS LST-479 - Rep of Loss of the LCT 71 on 9/11/43 While Enroute from Adak, Alaska, to San Francisco' (CO letter Serial 53, dated 14 September 1943; RG 38 war diaries series; micro serial 86841, roll A1149; 5 images; read in full this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78639265, all 5 images OCR-read (roll A1149 images 0827-0831)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The commanding officer's verbatim report documents the hull's Aleutians deployment and a casualty-rescue event: LST-479 took LCT-71 in tow at Adak Harbor 2 September 1943 and departed in convoy 4 September; in a 60-70 mph gale the tow parted repeatedly and LCT-71's engines failed; on 11 September 1943 LST-479 removed all twelve LCT-71 personnel (Ens. Duane A. Burkey USNR plus eleven named enlisted men) without injury before abandoning the craft. LST-479 sustained documented damage: holes and dents at frames 20-43 port quarter, a damaged rudder, one blade off the port screw, and holes in fresh-water tanks C-410-W and C-416-W. The report states 'we are going in for availability' and is addressed to Commander LST Group SEVEN, Flotilla THREE - her unit assignment during this period, preceding the Flotilla 13/Group 39 assignment in NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-09-02 to 1943-09-14
- Population
- USNR ship's company; 12 rescued LCT-71 crew
- Limitations
- Documents the casualty event and the hull's damage list verbatim; the 'going in for availability' statement flags the September-October 1943 San Francisco yard period but does not name the repair facility or itemize work/materials. No asbestos content. Positions cited: tow parted near Lat 53-40 N Long 152 W; LCT-71 abandoned near Lat 53-58 N Long 144-32 W.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 126632856, 'LST-479, 4/19/43-2/2/46' (ship's deck log roll no. 4543; 282 images; digitized via Ancestry partnership) - full commissioned-career logbook coverage from commissioning through decommissioning period [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 126632856 record page (Ancestry File 32861_248238, roll 4543)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA carries the hull's complete digitized deck-log roll covering 19 April 1943 (commissioning) through 2 February 1946 - the full commissioned career, spanning every campaign period and all yard availabilities. The roll was located and confirmed digitized (282 images) but not reviewed page by page in this batch.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-04-19 to 1946-02-02
- Population
- Ship's company (1943-46); researchers
- Limitations
- Record-location lead only: the deck logs were not read; their contents regarding yard work, materials, or any hazardous-material entry are unknown and not represented as found. Digitized deck-log availability does not establish any asbestos-relevant content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-05
-
[7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200 this session); NavSource LST-479 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160479.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, 1,700 shp total, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - 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, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and the hull's documented 1943 yard events (Hunter's Point dry-dock availability with compartment 'reconstruction and repair,' Mare Island call, post-casualty San Francisco availability; ev-03, ev-04) placed yard work aboard this hull inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Kaiser Richmond construction trades (1942-43); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46); Hunter's Point, Mare Island, and San Francisco yard trades (1943); 1948 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or yard work package was located for LST-479. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The documented availabilities' material scope is unitemized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-06
-
[8]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 documented yard availabilities, and her 1948 scrapping.
- 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-479-lst479-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-479-lst479-08 through -11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located in completed searches: exact-phrase "LST-479" returned 0 in the opinion index and 0 in the docket index; "LST 479" asbestos in opinions returned 0. The exact-phrase "USS LST-479" opinion query remained pacing-blocked at the fleet-wide rate limiter at session end.
- 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. A zero qualifying result means no located docketed case/opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists. The incomplete exact-name opinion query is an access gap, not a finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-479-lst479-08
-
[10]Batch-6984 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog + two file units OCR-read (war diary sampled, LCT-71 report in full) + deck-log roll identified; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); Kaiser yard delivery table; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-479-lst479-01 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-479 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational (war diary, deck-log roll, casualty report) and confirms three documented 1943 San Francisco Bay-area yard events - Hunter's Point dry-dock availability with 'reconstruction and repair of compartments and material' (May 1943), a Mare Island navy-yard call (1 July 1943), and the post-casualty San Francisco availability (Sept-Oct 1943) - 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 wartime Kaiser yard and documented 1943 yard availabilities 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-479-lst479-09