Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 695-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-591-lst591-pkt-695-packet-md
-
[2]NHHC, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, LST-591 (live page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-591 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS for this hull: LST-591 was laid down 21 June 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 2 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Parsons; commissioned 29 August 1944, Lt. Robert C. Allen in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Mindanao Island landings in March 1945; performed occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1946; decommissioned 5 February 1946; struck from the Navy list 29 September 1947; sold 24 May 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., for scrapping. Earned one battle star for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy ship history; contains no asbestos or material-composition content. Does not carry the reduced-commission/ferry detail, Algiers commissioning site, SCAJAP redesignation, or Maritime Administration transfer step - those come from NavSource (ev-02). The launched date conflicts with the shipbuildinghistory.com production table (2 July 1944) - see ev-10 correction row and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-591 page (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-591 hull-data block, campaign/occupation tables, specifications block, commanding-officer list, awards list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource hull page for this hull adds detail beyond DANFS: placed in reduced commission 23 August 1944 at Evansville, IN (LT W. F. Moore, USN, Ferry Command); commissioned in full 29 August 1944 at Algiers, LA (LT Robert C. Allen, USN); Asiatic-Pacific campaign listed as 'Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines - Mindanao Island landings, 10 to 11 March 1945'; Navy Occupation service periods 23 Sep-25 Oct 1945, 17 Nov-10 Dec 1945, and 1 Jan-5 Feb 1946; decommissioned 5 February 1946 in Japan and assigned to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q045; struck from the Naval Register 29 September 1947; transferred to the Maritime Administration 24 May 1948; sold for scrapping 24 May 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA. Specifications block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, three 100 kW DC generators, 1,700 shp, twin rudders; armament 2 twin 40 mm, 4 single 40 mm, 12 single 20 mm (ultimate design fit). Awards block: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp, Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippines Liberation Medal (1). Commanding officers listed: LT W. F. Moore (23-29 Aug 1944, Ferry Command), LT Robert Charles Allen (29 Aug 1944 - 5 Feb 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946); SCAJAP operation period (1946-1947); scrapping workforce, Bethlehem Steel (1948)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary archive drawing on official records - milestone dates agree with DANFS where they overlap; the reduced-commission/ferry detail, Algiers commissioning site, SCAJAP Q045 redesignation, MARAD transfer step, and per-period occupation dates are NavSource-only (not in the DANFS entry). Specifications and armament are class-fit data, not a hull survey. Contains no asbestos or material-composition content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-02
-
[4]Australian War Memorial collection accession 108918 (official catalog record, verified live 2026-10-02) [museum_official]
- Locator
- AWM collection record 108918, description field
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Australian War Memorial collection record 108918 (public domain photograph): 'LABUAN, NORTH BORNEO, 1945-06-10. MEMBERS OF 2/4TH PIONEER BATTALION MOVING ASHORE FROM THE LANDING SHIP, TANK (LST) 591, DURING THE OBOE 6 OPERATIONS LANDINGS ON THE ISLAND.' Documents this hull landing Australian Army troops at Labuan Island, North Borneo, 10 June 1945, during the Oboe 6 operation - a dated, ship-specific operational record beyond the single campaign line in DANFS.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's crew and embarked Australian 2/4th Pioneer Battalion troops, June 1945
- Limitations
- Official museum catalog record; establishes presence and task at Labuan on 10 June 1945, nothing more. Corroborates the NARA action report for Brunei Bay 6/10-11/45 (ev-04). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-03
-
[5]U.S. National Archives catalog, RG 38 file units for USS LST-591 (catalog search 'LST-591' returned 148 archival descriptions, ship-named units among them; verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov NAID 77501800 (Brunei Bay action report, digitized); NAID 139932361 (Zamboanga action report); NAID 77707749 (war history); COM LST GR 65 war-diary units incl. NAID 139928734, 101733162, 633438014
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA RG 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' series) holds file units naming this hull: NAID 77707749 'USS LST-591 - War History' (microfilm roll A2107); NAID 139932361 'USS LST-591 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Zamboanga, Mindanao Is, Philippines 3/10 & 11/45' dated 3/12/1945 (roll A1476); NAID 77501800 'USS LST-591 - Report of operations in the assault landings in the Brunei Bay Area, Borneo, 6/10-11/45' dated 6/13/1945 (roll A1883, 2 images, digitized via Fold3). The ship's own action reports corroborate both the Mindanao landings (DANFS/NavSource) and the Labuan/Brunei Bay operation (AWM photo). Multiple COM LST GR 65 war-diary file units (parent formation LST Group 65) also index the hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company and staff of LST Group 65 (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the catalog proves these ship-submitted records exist and NAID 77501800 is digitized (2 images), but the full report texts were not extracted this session - contents beyond titles/dates unreviewed. No asbestos relevance is known; action reports are operational documents. Deck logs and builder work packages remain undigitized leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II, NAVSHIPS 250-011 (April 1945), LST design table and machinery table (shipscribe.com scan; live URL verified 2026-10-02 - file moved from the class-profile-cited /styles/usnaux/sdb/ path, now under /pubs/) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB-1945 v2, LST characteristics/design table - machinery rows for block LST542-931 (full PDF text extracted this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, April 1945) design/roster table: the LST542-931 block - which includes LST-591 - is listed with 2 propellers driven by G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines at 1,700 shaft horsepower, i.e., a diesel plant with no boilers (the boiler columns on this table populate only for the later turbine LST-1153 block). Confirms the machinery configuration underpinning the propulsion_summary and the diesel-specific asbestos-relevance analysis for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LST design/production program; operating crews
- Limitations
- Official BuShips design table - authoritative class machinery data covering this hull's block, but a design document, not a hull record: it establishes the installed engine type for the block, not material composition aboard LST-591. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-05
-
[7]U.S. Navy Dept & U.S. Maritime Commission, Minimum Requirements for Safety and Industrial Health in Contract Shipyards (GPO, 1943) - HathiTrust catalog 101739527; applicability and asbestos-dust content as recited in Shuman v. United States, 765 F.2d 283 (1st Cir. 1985) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HathiTrust catalog record 101739527; Shuman v. United States, 765 F.2d 283, district-court findings of fact (4)-(5)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- U.S. Navy Department and U.S. Maritime Commission, 'Minimum Requirements for Safety and Industrial Health in Contract Shipyards' (approved Navy 20 Jan 1943, USMC 9 Feb 1943; GPO 1943) - the wartime joint safety code imposed on Navy contract shipyards which, per the district-court findings recited in Shuman v. United States, 765 F.2d 283 (1st Cir. 1985), 'dealt in part with the hazards of asbestos dust' and was imposed 'on shipyards operating under Navy contracts as well as the Navy's own yards.' Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron's Evansville yard built this hull under Navy contract during the code's effective period - i.e., asbestos-dust hazard controls were a documented feature of the wartime construction regime at contract yards of this type.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Contract-shipyard construction trades, incl. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Evansville (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Era/program-level regulatory documentation: the code is verified to exist and to have addressed asbestos dust at contract shipyards (per a published appellate opinion reciting trial findings), but it names no hull and this record does not independently establish that Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron held a Navy contract subject to it - that contractual status is standard for WWII LST builders and is treated here as era inference. Establishes a regulated-hazard environment, not material aboard LST-591, not quantity, not exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-06
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) - DOI verified via Crossref 2026-10-02 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987); Crossref record for DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this 1944 LST-542-class hull was mass-produced at an inland Navy contract yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-07
-
[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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing access gap; content via product-page description)
- 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 - a documented use-era that spans this hull's construction (1944) and entire service period (1944-1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); use-era spans this hull's build and service
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only. Two-layer limitation: the report addresses 1970s Navy asbestos-management programs that postdate this hull's 1948 disposal - no Navy-era abatement or removal program ever applied to this hull - and full text was unreachable (HTTP 403), so content is from the product-page description only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-08
-
[10]Batch-7107 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog; AWM collection; BuShips SDB-1945 v2; HathiTrust; CourtListener API v4 (opinions + dockets); MARAD vesselhistory; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-591-lst591-01 through sl-uss-lst-591-lst591-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazardous-material disclosure, insulation drawing, material schedule, or docketed asbestos case naming USS LST-591 was found in the public sources searched. Authenticated CourtListener API v4 searches returned zero results for opinions ("LST-591", "USS LST-591", "LST 591") and dockets ("LST-591") on 2026-10-02 - a true negative result, not a throttle. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material encountered is law-firm/marketing registry content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - era inference remains reasonable for a 1944 contract-yard-built hull but is not ship-proven. CourtListener coverage is opinions + RECAP dockets; state-court filings and unindexed federal dockets are out of scope. Builder (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron) construction records and scrapping-contract records are undigitized leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-09
-
[11]shipbuildinghistory.com, 'Landing Ships, Tank (2/4)' production table and Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron yard table (secondary compilation; conflict resolved in favor of DANFS/NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory LST part-2 table row for LST-591 (keel 21 Jun 1944, launched 2 Jul 1944, delivered 29 Aug 1944, 'scrapped 1947'); Missouri Valley Bridge yard table row 116
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the shipbuildinghistory.com LST production table (and its navalmarinearchive.com mirror) lists this hull's launch as 2 July 1944 (11 days on the ways) and its fate line as 'scrapped 1947.' DANFS gives launched 2 August 1944 (sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Parsons) and NavSource agrees; DANFS/NavSource give struck 29 September 1947 and sold for scrapping 24 May 1948 - i.e., the 1947 'scrapped' line compresses the striking year with the 1948 disposal. The authoritative dates carried in this record are the DANFS/NavSource dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Corrects conflicting secondary-source dates, not a material claim. shipbuildinghistory.com is a respected secondary production-table compilation (not a banned source) but conflicts here with the primary record; its launch date (2 Jul) may reflect a different event definition or a one-month transcription offset - unresolved which. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-591-lst591-10