Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[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-546-lst546-pkt-688-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-546 - construction, commissioning, occupation/China service, MSTS transfer, 1972 Philippine transfer (Wayback capture 2004-03-17; migrated NHHC DANFS page does not exist - all live candidate URLs 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text, two paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-546 was laid down on 20 December 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 16 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. W. J. Barbrick; and commissioned on 27 March 1944, Lt. William D. Silkworth in command. Following World War II, LST-546 performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until early January 1946. She was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service on 31 March 1952 where she served as USNS LST-546. On 15 July 1972, the ship was decommissioned and transferred to the Republic of the Philippines as a lease.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1972
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1943-44); commissioned crew (1944-46); MSTS/MSC civil-service mariners (1952-72)
- Limitations
- Terse DANFS entry: omits the 1944-45 training-ship year, the 22 Feb 1946 decommissioning, the SCAJAP/Q076 period, and the 1980 Philippine sale; its 'decommissioned 15 July 1972' conflates out-of-service with decommissioning (see ev-10). No asbestos or material content. Cited via Wayback Machine capture - the live history.navy.mil page was never migrated and all current-pattern URLs 404.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USNS T-LST-546 ex USS LST-546 - designation/service timeline, specifications, awards, commanding officers, disposal (verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160546.htm header block, awards array, specifications block, CO table, photo caption (Cavite 12 Jul 1988)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and spec block for this hull: commissioned in reduced status 21 March 1944 at the builder's yard (LT. Leo A. Van Matre USNR, ferry command); commissioned in full 27 March 1944 at U.S. Naval Base Algiers, LA (LT. William D. Silkworth USN). WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven (CAPT. Riley), LST Group One Hundred Eleven (LCDR. A. H. Tutt), LST Division Two Hundred Twenty-One. Occupation and China service windows both 2 September 1945 - 6 January 1946. Decommissioned 22 February 1946 at Yokohama; assigned to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q076. Transferred to MSTS 31 March 1952 as USNS T-LST-546. Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register 15 July 1972; leased to the Philippines same day as BPR Suriago Del Sur (LT-95); purchased outright 1980; sold by the Philippine government, fate unknown. Awards: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Specs: two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, two propellers 1,700 shp; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; photo of the hull at Cavite 12 July 1988 awaiting sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1988
- Population
- Commissioned crew (1944-46); SCAJAP Japanese crews (1946-52); MSTS/MSC mariners (1952-72); Philippine Navy crew (1972-1988)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates are consistent with DANFS and the ship's own history but remain secondary sourcing for the USNS and Philippine periods. Contains no asbestos content. Philippine-name spelling ('BPR Suriago Del Sur') conflicts with other sources (see ev-10).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-02
-
[4]U.S.S. LST 546 ship's official history (typewritten narrative closing at decommissioning, 22 February 1946; contributed to NavSource by David Sanders for his father, crewman Reginald Sanders) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160546h.pdf, 6 pp.; availability paragraphs (Jul-Aug 1944, Dec 1944, Apr 1945); Pacific narrative; closing decommissioning paragraph
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The hull's own decommissioning-era history documents: nearly twelve months (April 1944-March 1945) training prospective LST crews for LST Shakedown, Chesapeake Bay Area under LST Flotilla Nine, Group Twenty-Five at Little Creek, VA; R&D trials including the first believed catapult launch of a Piper Cub-type aircraft from an LST (10 August 1944); Norfolk Navy Yard availabilities 27 July-3 August 1944, 10-14 December 1944, deperming 12 March 1945, and final 15-day availability from 3 April 1945; Pacific transit May-June 1945 (Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian); Okinawa Hagushi 17 August 1945; Jinsen, Korea 12 September (first LST in harbor); Saishu To 22 October (with LST-613, first LSTs there); 1,099 repatriated Japanese troops to Sasebo; Task Force 78 Taku-Sasebo repatriation runs through 10 January 1946; Yokohama 18 January 1946 for stripping; CO Silkworth, engineer Cumming, and twelve enlisted of the commissioning crew still aboard at decommissioning. The narrative states explicitly 'the ship saw no combat action' and records a 12 November 1945 Commander LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven commendation for training-duty performance.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-03 to 1946-02
- Population
- Commissioned crew + rotating embarked trainee crews (1944-45); Norfolk Navy Yard trades during four availabilities; embarked Army units (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Primary-quality narrative (crew-authored, closing at decommissioning) but hosted on a secondary volunteer site - provenance is the contributor's attestation, not an archive catalog; OCR/scan transcription errors possible. Documents yard availabilities and operating tempo, not materials - no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-03
-
[5]Rod Fogo (5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division), firsthand account of USNS LST-546 in the 26 September 1954 Hakodate typhoon (Toya Maru disaster), NavSource memoir page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160546a.htm memoir text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand troop account: USNS LST-546 embarked elements of the 5th Cavalry Regiment with trucks and tanks at Otaru, Hokkaido, 24 September 1954, was ordered out of Hakodate harbor ahead of the typhoon alongside the ferry Toya Maru, took water in the hold, lost an engine to a fire that drew smoke through internal ventilation, and was beached near Hakodate on the night of 26 September 1954; the Toya Maru capsized roughly a thousand yards away with mass casualties, and troops were lightered ashore by Japanese fishing boats. The hull remained aground for days before tugs freed her.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1954-09/10
- Population
- MSTS civil-service crew; embarked 5th Cavalry troops (Sep-Oct 1954)
- Limitations
- Single-veteran memoir hosted on a secondary site - not an official record; casualty and distance figures are the author's estimates. Establishes a 1954 casualty event and an engine-fire/smoke-through-ventilation detail firsthand, but no material or asbestos content. Event date aligns with the documented Toya Maru disaster (Typhoon Marie, 26 Sep 1954).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-04
-
[6]National Park Service, 'Places of WWII History in Evansville, IN' - Evansville Shipyard section (American World War II Heritage City context) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS article, 'Evansville Shipyard' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS documents this hull's builder environment: the Navy built Evansville Shipyard on 40 acres on the city's west side, operated by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company, which began LST production within four months of the February 1942 announcement; by February 1945 the yard had produced 167 LSTs - one ship every four days in 1944 - making Evansville 'the world's largest inland producer of ocean-going ships.' The last ship launched 12 December 1945; a fire destroyed the yard in January 1946. This is the mass-production construction context for LST-546's December 1943-March 1944 build window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- MVB&I shipyard trades, Evansville (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record - establishes the production environment and pace at the builder, not materials installed in any specific hull. No asbestos content. NPS figures (167 LSTs by Feb 1945) differ slightly from Wikipedia's yard total (171 LSTs) - production-count variants noted, not adjudicated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-05
-
[7]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 119 Ind. App. 391, 88 N.E.2d 54 (Ind. App. 1949, decided 17 October 1949) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text via legal index (citation cross-checked 88 N.E.2d 54; 119 Ind. App. 391; 1949 Ind. App. LEXIS 196)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Occupational-disease litigation at this hull's builder during the build era: the decedent, a Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron pipe fitter 'in the compartment of ships' June-November 1944, was alleged to have died from poisoning by fumes of welded galvanized metal; the Industrial Board of Indiana found he was not exposed to and did not contract an occupational disease arising out of his employment, and the appellate court affirmed the award denial. OTHER LITIGATION, not an asbestos claim - documents the occupational-disease litigation environment at the yard months after this hull's completion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- MVB&I yard trades, Evansville (1944 window)
- Limitations
- Yard-level, non-asbestos, merits-level negative for the claimant: the Board found no compensable occupational disease and the award was affirmed - this is not exposure evidence for any hull and names no hull. The decedent's employment window (Jun-Nov 1944) postdates LST-546's completion (Mar 1944), so his ship compartments were later Evansville hulls. Cited by reporter citation only - CourtListener verification pending at commit time (fleet pace limiter active); citation URL field intentionally null rather than substituting an aggregator link.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, no boilers); LST-542-class design-series context (class profile lst-1-class: BuShips SDB-1945 v2 diesel design groups); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; class profile lst-1-class design data; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious ship built December 1943-March 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard an LST of this period were engine-room and diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, and brake linings on winches and windlass. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the relevant exposure model concentrates in machinery spaces, accommodation insulation, and deck coverings, plus disturbance during availabilities and the long USNS career.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1988
- Population
- MVB&I construction trades (1943-44); commissioned crew + trainees (1944-46); SCAJAP Japanese crews (1946-52); MSTS/MSC mariners (1952-72); Norfolk Navy Yard availability trades (1944-45); Philippine Navy (1972-1988); post-disposal breakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, work package, or abatement record located for LST-546. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-07
-
[9]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), commissioned service (1944-46), SCAJAP period, and the entire MSTS/MSC career ending 15 July 1972.
- 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, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-08
-
[10]Batch-7057 search ledger (this record): DANFS via Wayback; NavSource hull page, ship-history PDF, and Fogo memoir; NPS Evansville article; CourtListener opinions + RECAP dockets (authenticated helper); NVR (no entry, pre-1987 disposal); GAO product page (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep; shipscribe BuShips SDB-1945 v2 (dead link, no archive capture) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-546-01 through sl-uss-lst-546-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or docketed case naming USS LST-546 / USNS T-LST-546 / SCAJAP Q076 / Suriago (Surigao) del Sur was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener, searched via the authenticated helper this session: 'LST-546' and 'USS LST-546' opinion searches returned 0 results; 'LST-546' RECAP docket search returned 2 hits that are name collisions - alphanumeric codes inside bankruptcy creditor lists (RAS Data Services, Bankr. N.D. Ill. 25-11837; Former BL Stores/Big Lots, Bankr. D. Del. 24-11967), neither with any asbestos or maritime posture.
- 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 - the 20-year non-commissioned USNS period (1952-72) and the Philippine period (1972-~1988) generated few public records in U.S. repositories; deck logs, MSTS maintenance records, and Philippine Navy records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-09
-
[11]Decommissioning-date and Philippine-name cross-check: DANFS text (via Wayback); NavSource timeline + ship's own history closing 22 Feb 1946; Wikipedia infobox/body (secondary); NavSource 'BPR Suriago Del Sur' vs Philippine-standard 'BRP/RPS Surigao del Sur' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS paragraph 2 (via Wayback); NavSource timeline + name line; ship history closing paragraph; Wikipedia USS LST-546 infobox/body
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: secondary sources muddle two dates and one name. (1) DANFS says the ship 'was decommissioned' 15 July 1972 - but she had left commissioned service on 22 February 1946 at Yokohama (NavSource + her own ship history written that day); 15 July 1972 is the placed-out-of-service + struck-from-Register date ending her non-commissioned USNS status. Wikipedia's 'decommissioned sometime between January 1946 and March 1952, exact date awaits further research' is superseded by the exact 22 February 1946 date. (2) Philippine name: NavSource prints 'BPR Suriago Del Sur (LT-95)'; Philippine Navy usage is RPS (Republic of the Philippines Ship, era-appropriate) or BRP (Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, later usage), and the province's name is 'Surigao del Sur' - NavSource's 'BPR'/'Suriago' are probable transcription slips propagated in secondary sources.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-1988
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating date/name confusion, not a material claim. The 22 Feb 1946 decommissioning rests on NavSource plus the ship's own history (written that date); the exact Philippine decommissioning date (~1988) and post-sale fate remain undocumented. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-546-10