Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 681-packet.md (1 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-500-lst500-pkt-681-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-500 (NHHC live page, verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-500 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'laid down on 8 September 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 10 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Ben Moreell; and commissioned on 13 January 1944.' Assigned to the European theater and 'participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944.' Returned to the United States, decommissioned 18 July 1947, struck from the Navy list 1 August 1947. 'On 20 April 1948, the ship was sold to the Southern Trading Co., of Wilmington, Del., for operation.' Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-47)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS's 'Southern Trading Co.' buyer name conflicts with the MARAD status card and USCG Marine Board record, which identify the owner as the Philadelphia and Norfolk Steamship Co. (see gaps). Normandy participation is stated at campaign level only - no beach or detail-level record in this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-500 (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160500.htm header block, campaign table, awards block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions (IDs 1016050005-0001)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-491 class tank landing ship; laid down 8 September 1943 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville IN; launched 10 November 1943; commissioned 13 January 1944, Lt. Plynn J. Pulliam USN in command; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign table lists Invasion of Normandy 6 to 25 June 1944; decommissioned 18 July 1947; struck from the Naval Register 1 August 1947; one battle star. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal. Acquired 1948/1949 by Philadelphia and Norfolk Steamship Co. of Wilmington DE, named Southern Districts, converted to cargo carrier; disappeared at sea 5 December 1954 on a voyage Port Sulphur LA to Bucksport ME with sulphur cargo, no survivors of crew of 23. Spec block: 1,625 t (lt) / 4,080 t (fl) / 2,366 t (beaching); 328' o.a. x 50' beam; 11.6 kt trial; 24,000 mi @ 9 kt; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted + troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, three 100 kW 230V DC ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders. Commanding officers: Lt. Pulliam (13 Jan 1944 - May 1946), Lt. Theodore D. Bratton III USNR (May 1946 - 18 Jul 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-47); merchant crew and repair-yard trades (1949-54)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; milestone dates here track DANFS. Specs and armament block are class-typical detail, not a hull-specific document. Disappearance summary cites the USCG Marine Board - the primary source is ev-04. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-02
-
[4]Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Evansville in WWII digital archive, Evansville Shipyard Collection, item 10299 (collection of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science; original publisher Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Shipbuilding Division); sponsor identity corroborated by navy.mil, 'Father of Seabees' Honored at Dedication Ceremony (Adm. Ben Moreell, founder of the U.S. Navy Seabees) [museum_official]
- Locator
- EVPL digital.evpl.org item 10299 (CONTENTdm singleitem API-verified); NavSource captions for EVPL IDs 1948.151.-04515b, -4893/-4892, -04963
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Institutional photo record naming this hull: EVPL Evansville Shipyard Collection item 10299, description 'Mrs. Ben Moreell christening ship, launching #55 LST 500' - the sponsor's christening of this hull at the builder's yard. The sponsor was the wife of Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, wartime chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and founder of the U.S. Navy Seabees (navy.mil dedication-ceremony coverage). Sister records in the same collection (IDs in NavSource captions 1948.151.-4893/-4892, 1948.151.-04963) document LST-500's main deck forward during Great Lakes builder's trials, 26 December 1943, and the 13 January 1944 commissioning ceremony at the yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- MVB&I yard population (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Photographic/museum record - corroborates launch sponsor and build-site events; not a materials record. The broader collection (hundreds of yard photographs, the yard's 'Invader' newsletter, and a 1942-44 pictorial history of the Evansville shipyard) is an untapped lead for construction-detail documentation on this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-03
-
[5]U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant's Action on Marine Board of Investigation; M/V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, disappearance at sea subsequent to 5 December 1954, with all persons on board (Commandant A.C. Richmond, 20 August 1955) - ARCHIVED COPY; live uscg.mil URL returns 403 to automated fetch [other_primary]
- Locator
- Commandant's Action pp.1-3 (paras 2,7-8); Findings of Fact paras 2-8, 13-25, 28-38; Opinions paras 39-48; Recommendations paras 49-51
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary government casualty record for this hull in merchant service: M/V Southern Districts, Official No. 256240, 'an all welded steel hull (Ex-L.S.T.) cargo vessel,' powered with two 900-hp General Motors diesel engines; owned by Philadelphia and Norfolk Steamship Co., operated by Southern Steamship Company, both 103 Pennsylvania Building, Wilmington DE. Purchased from the U.S. Maritime Administration in 1948 or early 1949; converted to a bulk cargo carrier in 1949 under CG-approved plans (tank deck cropped between frames 16-28, wing-tank bulkheads cut away, bow ramp door welded up, two cargo holds, eight hatches); classed ABS A-2 Coastwise; certificated 7 July 1949 at Norfolk VA. After M/V Southern Isles (another converted LST) foundered October 1952, additional structural strengthening required of all converted LSTs was completed February 1952 with a 26 cu ft/ton cargo-density limit. Documented events: Tampa Bay grounding 19 November 1954; drydocked 26 November 1954 at the Todd Shipyard Corporation yard, New Orleans, for extensive underwater-hull repairs (renewed bottom plating, doublers over holed plating, stern-tube packing glands). Three seamen quit at New Orleans before the last sailing, citing rust/deterioration and machinery trouble. Sailed Port Sulphur LA 1055 on 2 December 1954, bulk sulphur for Bucksport ME, crew of 23. Last radio contact 1350 on 5 December (WOE RCA Lantana FL); last sighted overtaken by SS Gulf Keys ~1330, in sight until ~1600 off Jupiter Inlet FL. Search 11-20 December (303.4 plane-hours, ~262,000 sq mi) negative; life ring marked 'SOUTHERN DISTRICTS' sighted in Florida Straits 2 January 1955 by SS Tullahoma. Board: foundered in tempestuous seas after 1600 on 5 December, during 6 December or morning of 7 December; cause 'incapable of exact ascertainment'; Commandant: 'it is probable the structural conditions of the vessel contributed thereto.' Coast Guard continued its withdrawal of certification for converted LST-type vessels on unlimited ocean/coastwise routes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948-1955
- Population
- Merchant crew of 23 (lost); stevedores Port Sulphur; Todd New Orleans repair trades (Nov 1954); Norfolk inspection/repair trades (1949-54)
- Limitations
- Casualty investigation, not a materials survey - no asbestos content. Contains two internal errors/conflicts: 'built in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1944' (conflates the builder's Leavenworth KS headquarters with the actual Evansville IN build site - DANFS, NavSource, and the MARAD card all state Evansville) and gross tonnage given as 3338 in the Commandant's remarks vs 3537.72 in Finding of Fact 2 (MARAD card: 3,337). Court opinions say the ship sailed from 'Freeport, Louisiana'; the USCG findings say Port Sulphur LA, where the sulphur was loaded. Scanned PDF; text recovered by OCR this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-04
-
[6]MARAD Vessel History Database, SOUTHERN DISTRICTS (1944), ex-LST-500, detail 11000; vessel status card image cards/6OG_01.png (both verified live 2026-10-02) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov Detail/11000 page; status card 6OG_01.png header and operator rows
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD registry record confirming hull identity: 'SOUTHERN DISTRICTS,' flag U.S., type BULK, former name 'LST 500'; built by 'Mo. Valley Brdg. & Iron at Evansville,' completed 1944; D.W.T. 5,005, Gross 3,337, Net 2,762; operator line 'Philadelphia & Norfolk SS Co.-owners'; fate 'LOST 1/55' (database 'Fate: Lost'). MARAD's record places the owner as Philadelphia & Norfolk Steamship Co. - consistent with the USCG Marine Board findings and conflicting with DANFS's 'Southern Trading Co.' buyer name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Merchant crew (1949-54)
- Limitations
- Terse registry card - identity, tonnage, ownership, and fate only; no asbestos or material content. 'LOST 1/55' reflects the administrative recording of the loss; the casualty occurred 5-7 December 1954 per the USCG findings. Does not record an intermediate buyer - the DANFS 'Southern Trading Co.' sale line is unresolved (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-05
-
[7]In re Southern Steamship Co. (Petition of Southern Steamship Company and Philadelphia and Norfolk Steamship Company for exoneration from or limitation of liability), 132 F. Supp. 316, No. 1733 (D. Del., Rodney, J., June 8, 1955) - text accessed via midpage aggregator (verified live 2026-10-02) [court_record]
- Locator
- 132 F. Supp. 316, D. Del. 1955, full text (motion-to-dismiss and venue holdings)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- NON-ASBESTOS litigation naming this hull. Limitation-of-liability proceeding under 46 U.S.C. sec.185 filed 17 December 1954 by the vessel's owners/charterers after the Southern Districts loss, with injunction sweeping all last-voyage claims into concursus. Judge Rodney denied claimants' motion to dismiss (a shipowner may initiate limitation proceedings without a prior claimant suit; home-port venue proper) and denied the alternative transfer to E.D. Va. Opinion notes some twenty-three persons aboard and twenty-odd claims filed in the proceeding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1954-1955
- Population
- Estates and dependents of the 23 crew; owners/charterers Southern Steamship Co. and Philadelphia & Norfolk Steamship Co.
- Limitations
- Admiralty wrongful-death/limitation proceeding arising from the vessel's disappearance - establishes litigation naming the hull exists and is maritime-casualty litigation, NOT exposure litigation; no asbestos content or claim anywhere in the opinion. Decided on venue/procedural grounds (a merits-level ruling on procedure only). Text accessed via free aggregators (midpage/vLex); reporter cite is authoritative; CourtListener opinion search 'LST-500' returned 0 this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-06
-
[8]In re Southern Steamship Company's Petition, 135 F. Supp. 358, No. 1733 (D. Del., Rodney, J., September 22, 1955) - text accessed via midpage aggregator (verified live 2026-10-02) [court_record]
- Locator
- 135 F. Supp. 358, D. Del. 1955, full text (Hudson and Gelardos claims)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- NON-ASBESTOS litigation naming this hull. Second published opinion in the same limitation proceeding: approval of settlements and allocation of recovery for two crew-death claims - $250,000 claim for the widow and two minor children of mate Dwight L. Hudson (administratrix Corinne L. Hudson) and $75,000 claim for the mother of seaman Sotirios Gelardos (administrator Marinos Gelardos) - analyzing dependent-beneficiary distribution under the Jones Act (46 U.S.C. sec.688) and Death on the High Seas Act (46 U.S.C. sec.761) framework within the limitation concursus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1955
- Population
- Estates/dependents of mate Dwight L. Hudson and seaman Sotirios Gelardos
- Limitations
- Death-claim settlement administration inside the limitation proceeding - maritime-casualty litigation, NOT exposure litigation; no asbestos content or claim. Text accessed via free aggregators (midpage/vLex); reporter cite is authoritative. No appellate opinion in the No. 1733 proceedings surfaced in the completed CourtListener named-party sweep (308 'Southern Steamship' hits reviewed at caption level); whether further district-level opinions issued was not established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM 12-567A diesel plant, no boilers); USCG MBI Findings of Fact (1949 conversion plan approvals; 1952 strengthening; periodic Norfolk drydockings and inspections; Todd New Orleans drydock/repair November 1954); class-profile design grouping (LST491-541, BuShips SDB-1945 v2, internal reference) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; USCG MBI FoF paras 3-8, 19-21; lst-1-class class profile (internal)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered tank landing ship built 1943-44 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard an amphibious ship of this type and period were engine-room and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, accommodation and compartment insulation, deck coverings, and electrical insulation in the hull's working and berthing spaces. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Documented disturbance windows where era-standard materials work would have occurred: the 1949 merchant conversion (interior rework - tank deck cropped, bulkheads cut, holds/hatches created), the February 1952 structural strengthening, periodic Norfolk drydockings/inspections (7 July 1949, 1 February 1952, 24 February 1953, 9 January 1954), and the 26 November 1954 Todd Shipyard New Orleans drydocking with hull-plating and stern-tube packing work.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1943-44); crew (1944-47); conversion-yard trades (1949); strengthening trades (1952); Norfolk inspection/repair trades (1949-54); Todd New Orleans trades (Nov 1954); merchant crew (1949-54)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-500/Southern Districts. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; the asbestos scope of each documented repair/conversion event is inference - the USCG record describes structural and machinery work, not insulation materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-08
-
[10]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 (1943-44), naval service (1944-47), and merchant conversion/service era (1949-54).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing defect from BATCH-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-09
-
[11]Batch-7008 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource live page; USCG MBI report via Wayback; MARAD vessel history + status card; EVPL Evansville Shipyard Collection; CourtListener API v4 (partial - see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep; NVR; NARA catalog [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-500-lst500-01 through -12 (13 rows incl. -09b)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos litigation naming USS LST-500 or M/V Southern Districts was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches 'LST-500' and 'USS LST-500' returned zero results; the 'LST-500' docket search returned 3 name-collision hits (Koppers wood-treatment insurance coverage, FLYNN v. Angelo Monarca, Residential Capital bankruptcy), none naming the hull; the 'Southern Steamship' named-party sweep returned 308 opinions of which only the two non-asbestos limitation-of-liability opinions touch this hull. The litigation that does name this hull is the non-asbestos admiralty limitation/death-claim docket (132/135 F. Supp.). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard LST-class ships generically (navyshipexposure.com class page, gorilaw.com) - excluded by source policy; neither names this hull with any primary sourcing.
- 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 - negative findings are bounded by the public sources searched. CourtListener sweep completed across opinion and docket indices (0 and 3 name-collision hits; named-party sweep 308 hits with only the two non-asbestos hull cases). Deck logs (RG 24), the conversion-yard record, and any repair work packages are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-10
-
[12]Archival leads: EVPL Evansville Shipyard Collection (hundreds of Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron yard photographs incl. this hull's launch/trial/commissioning, plus the yard 'Invader' newsletter and 1942-44 pictorial history); NARA RG 24 deck logs USS LST-500 (1944-47); USCG MBI record itself (15-page scanned PDF, OCR'd this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EVPL digital.evpl.org evawwii collection (items 10299 et al., Invader 4990, evaebooks pictorial history); NARA catalog.archives.gov RG 24
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Open archival leads for this hull: (1) the EVPL Evansville Shipyard Collection holds the builder's own photographic record of this hull (christening, Great Lakes trials, commissioning) plus yard-level material (Invader newsletter v.1 n.1-11, 1942-44 pictorial history) that may document construction materials; (2) NARA RG 24 deck logs for LST-500's commissioned period are not publicly digitized; (3) the yard at which the 1949 merchant conversion was performed is not named in the USCG findings - conversion location is an open lead (vessel certificated at Norfolk VA 7 July 1949).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- MVB&I yard population (1943-44); crew (1944-47); unknown conversion-yard trades (1949)
- Limitations
- Leads only - nothing in these materials has been shown to contain asbestos documentation. EVPL collection search is JS-rendered (browsed via CONTENTdm API). NARA catalog queries return no digitized deck log for this hull. Conversion-yard identity unresolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-500-lst500-11