Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 683-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-51-lst51-pkt-683-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'LST-51' entry (NHHC ship-history page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: LST-51 laid down 29 August 1943 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched 22 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Charles A. Ward; commissioned 8 December 1943. WWII service: European theater - Invasion of Normandy (June 1944) and Invasion of southern France (August-September 1944); then Asiatic-Pacific theater, supporting the occupation of Okinawa May-June 1945. Postwar: occupation duty in the Far East until March 1946; returned to the United States; decommissioned 6 March 1946; struck from the Navy list 31 October 1947; sold 20 April 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa. Earned three battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (13 officers / 104 enlisted design) and embarked troops; Dravo yard construction workforce
- Limitations
- Identity and service record only - the DANFS entry contains no asbestos, materials, or refit detail and does not establish the presence or absence of asbestos aboard. NHHC applies client filtering: page verified live 2026-10-02 via rendered fetch and browser user-agent (bare curl returned 404); Wayback capture 2025-12-09 exists.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-01
-
[3]NavSource Naval History, Amphibious Photo Archive: USS LST-51 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-51 page - chronology, commanding-officer table, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive for USS LST-51: built by Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA; commissioned 8 December 1943 with LT Dale O. Morgan, USNR, in command; campaign dates - Normandy 6-25 June 1944, southern France 15 August-25 September 1944, Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 17-30 June 1945; Pacific assignment under LST Flotilla Thirty-Nine / LST Group One Hundred-Five / LST Division Two Hundred-Nine; Navy Occupation Service periods 18 October-30 November 1945 and 8 January-6 March 1946; transferred 20 February 1948 by the Maritime Commission to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q-089; final disposition sold 20 April 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co. Commanding officers listed: LT Dale O. Morgan (Dec 1943-Feb 1944), LT George M. Hunter (Feb-1944), LTjg Raymond Gorman (1944), LT David S. McHardy (1944), LTjg Frank R. O'Rourke (1944-1945), LTjg B. M. Barnette, USN (1945-6 Mar 1946). Specs on page: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa x 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 x GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, two propellers 1,700 shp, three 100-kW diesel-driven generators; armament (ultimate design) 2 twin 40mm, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm; radio call sign NDPQ.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive reproducing official data; page verified live on navsource.net 2026-10-02 (navsource.org is dead - the .net domain is canonical). The 1948-02-20 SCAJAP transfer and Q-089 designation are NavSource-only detail absent from DANFS; not corroborated here against MARAD/NVR. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-02
-
[4]NavSource LST-51 specifications block (propulsion/plant); era inference applied to documented plant [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications - Propulsion section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Documented machinery is diesel: two GM 12-567A engines with Falk reduction gearing and diesel-driven generators; there is no boiler or steam plant aboard the LST-1 design (NavSource spec block). On class/era inference only: WWII-era Navy shipboard practice used asbestos-containing insulation and gasket/packing materials, so the asbestos-relevant applications for this type were engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, deck coverings, and accommodation insulation - with the absence of boilers narrowing the steam-lagging pathway that dominates steam-ship exposure records.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Construction trades (Dravo, Neville Island, 1943); engine-room crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference applied to the documented diesel plant - NOT a hull-specific materials record. No materials schedule, insulation spec, or survey for this hull was located. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not installed aboard LST-51; does not quantify; individual exposure and causation unaddressed. Hull sold out of Navy custody in 1948, before modern survey regimes.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-03
-
[5]National Archives Catalog file units, RG 24 (Muster Rolls) and RG 38 (WWII War Diaries/Operational Records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-51' - file units NAID 126554517, 139734623, 140067169, 78521508, 78532628, 139886351
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Catalog holds ship-specific primary records for this hull: muster rolls/personnel diaries 'LST-51, 12/8/43-3/6/46' covering the entire commissioned period (NAID 126554517, RG 24, Roll 4295); WWII War Diaries/operational records in RG 38 - 'USS LST-51 - Rep of Ops, 6/5-16/44 Invasion of Normandy, France' (NAID 139734623, Roll A1155), 'USS LST-51 - Report of operations in the invasion of Normandy, France, 6/5-17/44' (NAID 140067169, Roll A1684), and antiaircraft action reports 'Bay of the Seine' 6/6-7/44 and 6/16/44 (NAIDs 78521508 Roll A1050, 78532628 Roll A1061); plus unit-level 'COM LST GR 105 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45' (NAID 139886351) for LST-51's assigned group (per NavSource).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Ship's company, 1943-1946 (personnel documentation)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level identification only - the catalog records verify that these primary files exist and are digitized, but their page contents were not examined; no indication they contain materials or asbestos data. Muster rolls would evidence personnel presence aboard, not exposure. Deck-log series coverage for this hull not separately verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-04
-
[6]Batch-7018 search ledger (this record): CourtListener opinion and docket searches; NARA Catalog; NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NPS NPGallery (sister hull); NVR attempt; open-web check for litigation/hazmat reporting [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-51-01 through sl-uss-lst-51-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS LST-51: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming LST-51 was found in the sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated search returned zero opinions for 'LST-51' and six docket hits, all name collisions with no maritime or asbestos posture (bankruptcy, inmate, insurance, FOIA-type civil cases where the string appears as an identifier, e.g., Bates-number style).
- 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 - WWII-era naval construction used asbestos extensively, and the hull left Navy custody in 1948 before modern survey/disclosure regimes. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-05
-
[7]NPS, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: USS LST-325 (prepared by Steve Boeder and Paul Diebold, dated 22 December 2008) - archived copy via Wayback Machine; original nps.gov feature URL no longer live [nps]
- Locator
- Full document, Sections 7-8 and Description/narrative (scanned, OCR'd)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NPS National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for sister hull USS LST-325 (LST-1 class; prepared December 2008, listed 2009; 92 pages with detailed Description and machinery sections) contains no reference to asbestos, insulation, lagging, or abatement anywhere in its narrative - detailed federal fabric documentation of a sister hull omits any asbestos content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2008-2009
- Limitations
- ARCHIVED COPY - original live URL dead, cited via Wayback capture dated 2009-08-31. Documents a sister hull (LST-325), not LST-51. A registration form describes historic fabric and significance; it is not a hazmat survey, so silence on asbestos is not proof of absence - it means asbestos was not called out in the registration narrative.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-06
-
[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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403; product-page description used)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos worker-protection program and its insulation-removal policies (fieldwork at naval shipyards), confirming Navy-wide use of asbestos insulation in ship construction of the era and a formal removal program from the mid-1970s - the program-level context for why WWII hulls like this one are presumed to have carried asbestos materials.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program review)
- Limitations
- Program-level context only - names no hull or class, and its documented policy period postdates this hull's Navy career (disposed 1948). Included solely to document the era predicate that WWII Navy ships carried asbestos insulation; it cannot establish material aboard LST-51. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-51-07