Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 688-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-545-lst545-pkt-688-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'LST-545' - construction at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville IN; sponsor Mrs. Charles M. Wright; commissioning; occupation duty; decommissioning; sunk as target; striking [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-545 entry (single-paragraph entry, verified live 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 13 December 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co.; launched 12 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles M. Wright; commissioned 23 March 1944; postwar occupation duty in the Far East until early December 1945; returned to the United States and decommissioned 29 August 1946; sunk as a target 12 May 1948; struck from the Navy list 28 May 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Terse official summary - does not name Operation Crossroads, the sinking location, or any operational detail of WWII service; contains no asbestos information; establishes dates and roles only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, 'USS LST-545' - timeline, unit assignments, commanding officers, spec block, awards, photograph record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-545 page: timeline, spec block, awards table, commanding-officer table (verified live 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542 class; laid down 13 December 1943 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville IN; launched 12 February 1944; commissioned 23 March 1944 with LT. A. B. Endicott, USNR, in command; WWII Asiatic-Pacific Theater assignment in LST Flotilla 37 (CAPT. Riley), LST Group 111 (LCDR. A. H. Tutt), LST Division 222; occupation service in the Far East 29 October - 1 December 1945; assignment to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.5 (Target Vessels - Landing Craft Units), LST Group 9 for Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll July 1946; decommissioned 29 August 1946; sunk as a target 12 May 1948; struck 28 May 1948. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; two GM 12-567A diesels; 1,700 shp; 11.6 kt; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted plus 16 officers/147 enlisted troops; call sign NEGK. Awards ribbons shown: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory, Navy Occupation Service (Asia clasp). Commanding officers: LT Endicott (Mar 1944-Nov 1945), LTjg Davis (Nov 1945-Feb 1946), LTjg Evans (Feb-Jun 1946), LT Voiler (Jun-29 Aug 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) and embarked troops; target-vessel crew of 47 during Crossroads
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained archive reproducing official data - corroborates DANFS dates and adds unit/CO detail; no asbestos information; does not state the sinking location. The bare navsource.net/10/16/160545.htm path returned HTTP 500 this session; the canonical /archives/ path loads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-02
-
[4]NHHC, 'Composition of Joint Task Force One' (Operation Crossroads online reading room) - Task Unit 1.2.5 (Landing Craft Unit), LST Group 9 roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- TU 1.2.5 (Landing Craft Unit), LST Group 9 listing (verified live 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NHHC reproduction of the Joint Task Force 1 organization lists USS LST-545 under Task Unit 1.2.5 (Landing Craft Unit), LST Group 9 [LST GRU 9], together with USS LST-52, LST-125, LST-133, LST-220, and LST-661 - establishing this hull's assignment to the Operation Crossroads target fleet at Bikini Atoll, July 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-07
- Population
- 47-man target-vessel crew (per DNA-TR-82-05-V2); JTF-1 radsafe and inspection personnel
- Limitations
- Establishes organizational assignment as a target vessel; does not describe the ship's position in the array, damage sustained, or any asbestos condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-03
-
[5]Defense Nuclear Agency Technical Report DNA-TR-82-05-V2, 'Analysis of Radiation Exposure for Naval Units of Operation CROSSROADS, Vol. II (Appendix A) Target Ships' (Science Applications, Inc., 3 March 1982), p. 62 and Fig. A-21 [other_primary]
- Locator
- DNA-TR-82-05-V2, Appendix A entry 'TARGET SHIP PARTICIPATION SUMMARY NON-REMANNED - SHIP: USS LST-545', p. 62, and Figure A-21 p. 63 (full-text extraction via firecrawl, 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- A dedicated ship-level entry documents LST-545's Crossroads service: she was a CROSSROADS target ship that arrived at Bikini prior to 30 June 1946 and remained anchored in the lagoon as one of the 84 target ships for the ABLE (1 July, 23 kt air burst) and BAKER (25 July, 23 kt shallow underwater) detonations. Target-vessel crew size: 47. The crew was evacuated aboard USS Rockwall (APA-230) for both shots (observed ABLE at 23 miles, BAKER at 16 miles), reboarded LST-545 2-17 July and 20-23 July 1946, and transferred to USS Ajax (AR-6) which departed Bikini 23 August 1946. Reconstructed average crew dose while at Bikini: 0.224 rem; the shipboard gamma-intensity table shows topside/below-decks readings through 45 days after BAKER. Final disposition per the report: decommissioned 27 August 1946, towed to Kwajalein, and 'deliberately sunk on [May] 12, 1948' (the OCR text drops the month and position; NHHC independently gives 'scuttled off Kwajalein, 12 May 1948').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-06 - 1946-08 (events); 1982 (report)
- Population
- 47-man target-vessel crew aboard LST-545, June-August 1946; JTF-1 decontamination work parties
- Limitations
- A radiological-exposure reconstruction, not an asbestos record - it contains no asbestos information whatsoever. It documents that a 47-man crew reboarded and lived aboard this contaminated hull in July-August 1946 (the post-Baker decontamination/inspection environment). Its decommissioning date (27 August 1946) conflicts with DANFS/NavSource (29 August 1946) - see gaps. Dose figures are 1982-era computer reconstructions, not contemporaneous film-badge reads for this crew.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-04
-
[6]NHHC, 'Operation Crossroads: Disposition of Target Vessels' - LST section [other_primary]
- Locator
- Disposition of Target Vessels, 'LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank)' section (verified live 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NHHC disposition list of Crossroads target vessels records: 'USS LST-545 scuttled off Kwajalein, 12 May 1948.' This places the hull's deliberate sinking off Kwajalein Atoll - consistent with the post-test program in which surviving target ships were towed to Kwajalein for decontamination work and eventual sinking during 1946-1948 - and confirms she survived both Bikini detonations (she is absent from NHHC's Able and Baker sunk-during-test lists).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948-05-12
- Population
- n/a - hull unmanned at sinking
- Limitations
- Gives method (scuttling) and location (off Kwajalein) only; no position, no reason code, no asbestos information. Directly contradicts the Wikipedia 'sunk at Enewetak in Operation Sandstone' claim - see ev-08 correction row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-05
-
[7]NARA: 'LST-545, 3/23/44-8/1/46' (Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships) NAID 126614574; USS LST-545 War Diaries for July (NAID 83565353), August (NAID 77505144), September 1945 (NAID 77553660), and June 1945 (NAID 101766884), RG 38 WWII War Diaries series - all digitized online [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file-unit pages NAID 126614574 (muster rolls), 83565353/77505144/77553660/101766884 (war diaries); war-diary page images read directly from catalog.archives.gov scans
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds digitized ship-specific records for this hull: muster rolls spanning her entire commissioned life (23 March 1944 - 1 August 1946) and monthly war diaries. The July 1945 war diary (signed by CO A.B. Endicott) shows her moored at Kaneohe Bay, Oahu on 1 July; departing as the ComLSTFlot37 flag/OTC platform of convoy TU 13.11.52 (LSTs 16, 1067, 1138; LSMs 428, 437, 465, 466, 484, 486, 438, 103; LCIs 555, 692, 693, 694, 696, 879) for Eniwetok, anchoring berth D-269 on 13 July; ComLSTFlot37 hauling down his flag and departing 15 July; then independently to Ulithi (22 July) and San Pedro Bay, Leyte (27 July), mooring alongside AK-158 on 28 July to deliver ammunition. The August diary shows her anchored at San Pedro Bay until 15 August, then convoy to Buckner Bay, Okinawa (arrived 20 August). The September diary opens with her proceeding Okinawa-to-Leyte in convoy, anchoring San Pedro Bay 5 September. This documents her wartime employment as western-Pacific logistics shuttle, not amphibious assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-06 - 1945-09 (diaries read); 1944-03 - 1946-08 (muster coverage)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Primary record (contemporaneous deck-record type documents) establishing positions and employment only - no asbestos content. Only June-September 1945 war diaries were located in catalog results; earlier 1944 diaries may exist unindexed in the series. RG 24 deck logs not located in digitized results. Muster-roll pages not reviewed image-by-image.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-06
-
[8]Consolidated era inference - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST machinery data (shipscribe.com scan) + era amphibious-ship construction practice (see class profile lst-1-class) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LST-1 class profile ev-lst-1-class-03 (background only); BuShips SDB1945 v2 LST design table
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST-542-class hull: no boilers - the asbestos-relevant applications are GM diesel engine and exhaust lagging, gaskets, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. U.S. shipbuilding of 1943-44 operated inside the documented naval asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Construction trades at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville (1943-44); ship's company; Crossroads reboarding/decontamination crews (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record exists for this hull and none was located. Establishes no quantities, no condition, and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-07
-
[9]Designation cross-check: Wikipedia 'USS LST-545' disposal sentence vs NHHC 'Disposition of Target Vessels' and DNA-TR-82-05-V2 final-disposition text [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia LST-545 'Decommissioning and disposal' vs history.navy.mil disposition page + DNA-TR-82-05-V2 p. 62
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: Wikipedia and its derivatives (Military Wiki, print-on-demand reprints) state the ship 'was sunk as a target on 12 May 1948 at Enewetak Atoll in the Operation Sandstone atomic bomb test series, by either the Yoke or Zebra detonations or the two of them in combination.' This is contradicted by two official records: NHHC's Disposition of Target Vessels ('scuttled off Kwajalein, 12 May 1948') and DNA-TR-82-05-V2 ('towed to Kwajalein where it was deliberately sunk [May] 12, 1948'). The Wikipedia claim is also unsupported by its own cited sources (DANFS, NavSource), which give only 'sunk as a target 12 May 1948' with no location. Sandstone was a tower-shot weapons-development series, not a ship-array test; the Enewetak/Sandstone framing is an apparent editor inference from the coincident test window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948-05-12 (event); 2026-10-02 (check)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Wikipedia is not an authoritative source and is cited here only to document the defect; the authoritative reading (scuttled off Kwajalein) is carried in the record fields. The DNA report's scuttle-position text is truncated in OCR ('sunk on 12, 1948 at ---'), so exact sinking coordinates remain undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Navy use of asbestos insulation was extensive through the WWII era - the era of this hull's construction.
- 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, not class- or ship-specific; gao.gov full text blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403 - standing access defect noted in prior batches); content via product-page description. This hull was disposed of in 1948, decades before the policy described.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-09
-
[11]NHHC, 'Operation Crossroads: Fact Sheet' (sourced to DNA, Operation Crossroads 1946, Washington 1984) - post-test decontamination and disposal program [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fact sheet paragraphs on post-Baker contamination, Kwajalein move, and 1946-48 disposals (verified live 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official fact sheet documents the program this hull passed through: after BAKER the target fleet was bathed in radioactive water and remained too contaminated for more than brief on-board activity; a decontamination program began ~1 August 1946 using work crews drawn from the target ships' companies; on ~10 August the decision was made to tow the surviving target fleet to Kwajalein for work in uncontaminated water; personnel continued working on target ships at Kwajalein into 1947; and remaining target ships were destroyed by sinking off Bikini, off Kwajalein, or near Hawaii during 1946-1948 - the category into which LST-545's 12 May 1948 scuttling falls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-1948
- Population
- JTF-1 target-vessel crews and decontamination work parties, 1946-1947
- Limitations
- Program-level description, not ship-specific; documents the contaminated-vessel work environment the 47-man crew and later work parties faced, but says nothing about asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-10
-
[12]Batch-7056 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NHHC JTF-1 composition and target-vessel disposition pages; NHHC Crossroads fact sheet; DTRA-hosted DNA-TR-82-05-V2; NARA catalog (muster rolls + war diaries); NVR; shipyards.json; secondary-web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-545-01 through sl-uss-lst-545-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos-material schedule naming LST-545 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Ship-specific documentation that does exist (DANFS, NARA war diaries/muster rolls, the DNA radiological report, NHHC Crossroads pages) contains no asbestos content.
- 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 1943-44 wartime build is era-consistent with asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and deck coverings. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. CourtListener returned zero hits for this hull in both opinion and docket indexes (sl-10) - a real negative for indexed litigation, not a search failure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-545-11