Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 681-packet.md (1 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-502-lst502-pkt-681-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-502 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Normandy/southern France/Okinawa campaigns, occupation duty, decommissioning, strike, disposal (live NHHC page, fetched 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-502 entry, full text (short LST-format entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 18 June 1943 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 25 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Bronaugh; commissioned 8 December 1943. WWII: assigned to the European theater - invasion of Normandy June 1944 and invasion of southern France August-September 1944; then Asiatic-Pacific theater - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto May and June 1945. Post-war: occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1946; decommissioned 4 February 1946 on return to the United States; struck from the Navy list 23 December 1947; sold 20 May 1948 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, Wash., and subsequently scrapped. Three battle stars for World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Jeffersonville, 1943); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. No commanding officer, unit assignment, or yard-visit content. The 20 May 1948 sale is stated without the SCAJAP/Q041 transfer detail that NavSource carries for the same date (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-502 (10/16/160502.htm, last updated 24 September 2021, verified live 2026-10-02) - class assignment, campaign table, unit assignments, occupation-service periods, spec block, CO table, awards, disposal incl. SCAJAP Q041, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160502.htm header block, campaign table, unit-assignment line, occupation-service list, specifications block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-491-class tank landing ship; laid down 18 June 1943 at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN; launched 25 September 1943; commissioned USS LST-502 8 December 1943, LT J. T. Lytle, USN, in command (sole CO, 26 November 1943 - 4 February 1946). Campaigns: Invasion of Normandy 5-25 June 1944; Invasion of Southern France 15 August-25 September 1944; Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation) 26 May-18 June 1945. Asiatic-Pacific assignment: LST Flotilla Thirty-Nine (CAPT. D. H. Johnston USN), LST Group One Hundred-Five (CDR. E. P. Wilson USN), LST Division Two Hundred-Nine. Navy Occupation service periods: 28 September-11 November 1945, 21 November-13 December 1945, 25 December 1945-4 February 1946. Decommissioned 4 February 1946; transferred 20 May 1948 by the Maritime Commission to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q041; struck from the Naval Register 23 December 1947; sold for scrapping 20 May 1948 to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, WA. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 2x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3x 100 kW 230V DC ship's service generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; radio call sign NDXD. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (Normandy 1944), EAME Campaign Medal (2 stars), Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star), Navy Occupation (Asia clasp). Photo captions place the hull loading at LST Hard #2, Portland Harbor, Weymouth 1-3 June 1944; at anchor off Omaha Beach circa 10 June 1944 (US National Archives photo 80-G-47392); beached on Omaha Beach June 1944; and moored pierside at Brooklyn Navy Yard 15 December 1944 (US National Archives photo DD635).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) plus embarked troops (1943-46); Brooklyn Navy Yard vicinity personnel (Dec 1944)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates and campaigns cross-check cleanly against DANFS and the NARA COM LST GR 105 war diaries. The SCAJAP/Q041 transfer and the scrapping sale carry the same date (20 May 1948); the sequence is unreconciled (see gaps). The Brooklyn Navy Yard caption documents presence pierside on 15 December 1944 only - no work scope. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-02
-
[4]NARA, COM LST GR 105 (Flotilla 35) war diaries, RG 38 World War II War Diaries - five digitized monthly diaries naming USS LST-502 in the group roster: NAID 633420825 (4/1-30/45, serial 016), NAID 101733196 (6/1-30/45, serial 030), NAID 77595739 (10/1-31/45, serial 035), NAID 140083856 (11/1/45-12/31/45, serial 036), NAID 77609025 (1/1-20/46, serials 033/034) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 633420825 images 0392-0394; NAID 101733196 images 0453-0454; NAID 77595739 images 0369-0374; NAID 140083856 images 0652-0655 (roster + location key on image 0652); NAID 77609025 images 0475-0476
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The parent-unit war diaries (downloaded and OCR-read this session) name USS LST-502 in the LST Group 105, Flotilla 35 roster (LST Division 209) in every month checked - April, June, October, November-December 1945 and January 1946. April 1945 diary: group's ships 'enroute in and to the Pacific Area between Seattle and Japanese territory,' LST-502 among the rostered ships of the group - corroborating the European-to-Pacific transfer window after southern France. June 1945 diary: group 'operated in the combat areas' under Commander Squadron TEN / Commander Forward Area (the Okinawa campaign window). October 1945: group 'participated in the occupation of Japan and China.' November 1945 diary: LST-502 individually coded 'V - Okinawa Shima' in the roster location key - a ship-specific primary placement at Okinawa during occupation duty. January 1946 diary (final submission of the command): LST-502 still rostered; group staff dissolved 20 January 1946 at Hunter's Point, San Francisco - sixteen days before this hull's 4 February 1946 decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-04 to 1946-01
- Population
- Ship's company during Pacific transfer, Okinawa campaign, and occupation duty (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Parent-unit records, not the ship's own diary: each diary lists the group roster and narratives the flagship's movements, explicitly stating that individual ships' positions 'may be obtained from their respective logs' - those logs/diaries are not digitized for this hull. The November 1945 'V - Okinawa Shima' code is the only ship-specific location datum; all other roster mentions establish assignment, not position. OCR quality is fair (carbon-copy typescript); the roster listings and the 'V - Okinawa Shima' key line were re-read cleanly in extraction. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-03
-
[5]NARA NAID 175665604, 'LST-502' - RG 19 Records of the Bureau of Ships, series 'Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings' (NAID 559593), Ship Design Division / Preliminary Design Branch; paper (loose sheets), 0 digital objects [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog record NAID 175665604 (ancestors: RG 19 > series 559593 'Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A ship-titled Bureau of Ships engineering-drawings file unit exists for this hull at NARA: 'LST-502' (NAID 175665604), in the Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings series, paper-only and not digitized. BuShips design drawings and associated material schedules are the class of record that could document hull-level insulation and material specifications; contents unexamined.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s-1955 (series inclusive dates 1945-1955; RG 19 spanning 1940-1966)
- Limitations
- Existence of the file unit verified via the NARA catalog API; contents unknown and unexamined (paper, College Park). No assertion is made that the unit contains asbestos-relevant material schedules - it is a lead, not a finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-04
-
[6]NavSource spec block (diesel plant) + lst-1-class.class.json (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design grouping: LST-491 group) + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160502.htm specifications block; lst-1-class.class.json design table; GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered amphibious ship built at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the peak Navy asbestos year 1943: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings (incl. tank-deck surfaces), accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and the stern-anchor windlass. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin systematic asbestos substitution until the early 1970s - long after this hull was built and after it left service (1946).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Jeffersonville Boat & Machine construction trades (1943); ship's company and embarked troops (1943-46); Brooklyn Navy Yard trades (Dec 1944 visit); Consolidated Builders scrapping crews (1948)
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey exists in the public record for this ship. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM aboard at any time. GAO HRD-80-2 full text is blocked (HTTP 403, standing gap from BATCH-01); product-page description relied on.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 exact-phrase sweeps via the fleet cl-auth-search.py helper: opinion index (type=o) and docket/RECAP index (type=r), query "LST-502", 2026-10-02 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-502-lst502-08, sl-uss-lst-502-lst502-09, sl-uss-lst-502-lst502-10
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener exact-phrase "LST-502" returned ZERO hits in both the opinion index (type=o) and the docket/RECAP index (type=r) - no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation, and no name collisions to classify. The name-variant exact phrase "USS LST-502" was not separately executable this session (fleet pacing budget repeatedly spent); because any opinion or docket containing the phrase 'USS LST-502' necessarily contains 'LST-502', its result set is a subset of the verified zero - the negative is complete.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes do not cover every state trial court or every federal docket; absence of hits means no docketed case naming this hull was located in these indexes, not that no claim was ever filed. The "USS LST-502" variant was blocked by fleet pacing (hourly budget, not daily quota) and is covered by subset logic rather than a separate executed query - stated plainly per house rules.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-06
-
[8]Batch-7010 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog sweeps + five OCR-read COM LST GR 105 war diaries; CourtListener opinion and docket sweeps; NVR; GAO HRD-80-2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-502-lst502-01 through sl-uss-lst-502-lst502-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-502 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The one ship-titled NARA unit (BuShips engineering drawings, NAID 175665604) is paper-only and unexamined.
- 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 - a 1943 diesel-powered hull built in the Navy's peak asbestos era is consistent with era materials, but that is inference, not ship-proven fact. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-502-lst502-07