Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 701-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-627-lst627-pkt-701-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-627 (construction, sponsor, commissioning, Asiatic-Pacific campaigns, occupation/China service, decommissioning, sale and striking dates, two battle stars; live NHHC entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, full text (short numbered-LST format)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: 'LST-627 was laid down on 8 April 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 1 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. C. H. Mattern; and commissioned on 20 July 1944, Lt. S. R. Parker, in command. During World War II, LST-627 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the Lingayen Gulf landing in January 1945 and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until mid-May 1946. The ship was decommissioned on 6 June 1946 and sold to the government of the Netherlands East Indies on 15 June that same year. On 19 June 1946, LST-627 was struck from the Navy list. LST-627 earned two battle stars for World War II.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron Seneca construction trades (1944); wartime crew and embarked troops; occupation/China-service crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific service history only; no asbestos or material content. The vanity canonical URL (/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-627.html) returns 404; the /content/history/nhhc/ backend URL renders the full entry to browser/firecrawl fetch but also returns 404 to curl - standing NHHC erratic-serve defect noted since BATCH-01. The NavSource page for this hull links the same /content/ URL as its DANFS source. Struck date conflicts with NavSource (19 June per DANFS vs 15 June) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-627 (10/16/160627.htm, last updated 14 March 2025) - designation timeline, specifications, commanding-officer list, awards board, Dutch-service photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160627.htm header block, campaign/awards tables, specifications block, commanding-officer table, HNLMS LST-2/Pelikaan photo-caption group (NIMH object numbers 2174-0554/-0552/-0551/-0553/-0550; LFFD 2001_N0000310-01; object 2002-371-9)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship laid down 8 April 1944 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 1 July 1944; commissioned 20 July 1944, LT. Steward R. Parker, USNR, in command; Asiatic-Pacific campaigns - Luzon operation (Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945) and Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 1-14 April 1945); Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) and China Service Medal (extended) both 5 December 1945 - 18 May 1946; decommissioned 6 June 1946; struck from the Naval Register 15 June 1946; two battle stars; sold to the Netherlands East Indies circa October 1946, commissioned HNLMS LST-2; renamed LST Pelikaan, date unknown; 'Pelikaan was used by the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies in attempts to suppress the anti-kolonial uprisings' (Indonesian independence 27 December 1949); decommissioned and struck off charge, date unknown; final disposition unknown. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; endurance 24,000 mi at 9 kt; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, three 100-kW diesel-driven ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders; 2 twin 40-mm w/Mk 51 directors, 4 single 40-mm, 12 single 20-mm; 2 LCVP. Photo captions with Netherlands Institute for Military History (NIMH) and Dutch LFFD object numbers document HNLMS LST-2 unloading at Palembang 1946, landing troops/vehicles at Maurits Bay near Tjilatjap 23 October 1947, and moored at Surabaya quay 1948. Commanding officers: LT Parker 20 Jul 1944-25 Mar 1945; LTjg Beal 25 Mar-1 Apr 1945; LT Boley 1 Apr-13 Dec 1945; LTjg Hawley 13-27 Dec 1945; LTjg Granger 27 Dec 1945-29 Apr 1946; LTjg Brown 29 Apr-6 Jun 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-circa 1950
- Population
- Seneca construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46); Dutch crew, NEI service (1946-unknown)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track DANFS but conflict on the striking date (15 vs 19 June 1946) and frame the Dutch transfer as 'circa October 1946' (commissioning-in-Dutch-service) vs DANFS's 15 June 1946 sale date; both carried with the discrepancy in gaps. Its listed Okinawa task assignment (Flotilla Six / Group Sixteen / Division Thirty-One) is contradicted by the ship's own action-report endorsement chain - see ev-09. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-02
-
[4]NARA, USS LST-627 - Report of operations in the invasion of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 4/1-6/45; ship's action report LST 627/A16-3 Serial No. 082, 7 April 1945, signed Alexander S. Beal, LTjg USNR; first endorsement Commander LST Group Eight, George Reith, 10 April 1945 (NAID 101702541, RG 38 WWII War Diaries/Operational Records, 4 images, read in full) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 101702541, images 0101-0104: report pp. 1-3 (Parts I-VIII, personnel/cargo tables, narrative) + first endorsement
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own CONFIDENTIAL action report for the Okinawa assault, reporting period 24 February - 6 April 1945: arrived off southwest Okinawa Jima 1 April; anchored off assault beach Green 1 at 0653; embarked LVT Maintenance Unit acted as LVT repair ship; launched 4th assault wave 0702-0706, 6th wave 0711-0715, 10th (reserve) wave 0819-0824; unloaded bulk cargo by LVT (35 tons water drums plus organizational equipment); four side-loaded pontoon barges launched 2 April; began unloading 5"/38 naval ammunition from the main deck into two LCMs alongside (a 60-ton main-deck load taken aboard at Tulagi 27 February); fueled and watered nine small ships 3 April; beached at berth 12, Green Beach 1, on 4 April and unloaded 108 drums of 80-octane gasoline; 'bow beating heavily on the reef' when ordered to retract at 2330; moved to assigned anchorage 5 April. On 6 April an enemy plane identified as a Val attacked in a gliding dive and was destroyed by fire from the forward guns, crashing off the port bow at 1737; expenditure 67 rounds 40-mm and 110 rounds 20-mm. Damage entry: 'See enclosed letter on damage to bow on beach.' Shipfitters plugged and shored holes in forward void A-403-V during D-minus-1 and D days while the compartment was fully flooded - the report notes that without these repairs 'successful beaching might not have been possible.' Personnel embarked included 'C' Company 70th Naval Construction Battalion and 6th Marine Division elements (317 men and 14 officers embarked 23 March at Russell Islands); loading at Tulagi and Tassafaronga (Guadalcanal) and Balesuma before departure. 'Change of command made on day of departure for target area' - consistent with the Parker-to-Beal turnover NavSource dates 25 March 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-02-24 to 1945-04-06
- Population
- Ship's company (~13 officers/104 enlisted); 70th NCB 'C' Company (1 officer/22 enlisted); 6th Marine Division embarked troops (317+14 by 23 March); LVT maintenance and beach/wave personnel
- Limitations
- Primary record of combat service, damage control, and embarked population - not a material or asbestos document; it establishes that shipfitters opened and repaired a flooded forward void during the operation (hot-work/sleeping-space disturbance plausible but no material content stated) and that the bow sustained reef/beach damage with a separate damage enclosure (not included in the 4-image file unit). Establishes embarked populations only - no exposure claim. The endorsement chain places the ship under Commander LST Group Eight / LST Flotilla THREE for this operation, conflicting with NavSource's Flotilla Six/Group Sixteen listing (see ev-09).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-03
-
[5]NARA, USS LST-627 war diaries September 1945 (NAID 77532607, serial LST 627/A12 No. 0241, fwd 3 Oct 1945) and October 1945 (NAID 77570897, serial LST 627/A12 No. 317, fwd 3 Nov 1945), both signed Allen D. Boley, LT USNR; RG 38 WWII War Diaries (8 images, read in full); second NAID: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77570897 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77532607 images 0492-0495 (Sept 1945 diary + forwarding letter); NAID 77570897 images 0468-0471 (Oct 1945 diary + forwarding letter)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war diaries document occupation and China service in detail. September 1945: anchored Guiuan Harbor, Samar, assigned Task Group 74.5 (Captain R. A. Higgins); beached at Calicoan Beach 4 September embarking 9 officers and 173 enlisted of NABU 13; via San Pedro Bay to Okinawa, Buckner Bay 12 September, shifted to Hagushi 14 September; underway 16 September ahead of a typhoon; anchored off the Yangtze mouth 19 September; proceeded up the Yangtze and Whangpoo rivers to Shanghai 20 September, where a magnetic mine exploded near LST-46 (reported split seam in her starboard shaft alley) and a second mine was exploded by an escorting SC; docked at DKK wharf Shanghai and unloaded cargo through 30 September. October 1945: LSTs under Commander LST Group 37 (Captain Higgins) transferred to Task Force 73 (Yangtze Patrol Force); completed unloading 3 October; embarked 212 Chinese military/civilian-affairs personnel 10 October and 14 officers/58 enlisted of headquarters American Fifth Army Group 11 October for Kiirun, Formosa; departed Shanghai 12 October (#2 generator sparking badly, secured); loaded Chinese 70th Army organizational material and 35 tons of rice off Chinhai 13 October; embarked 134 Chinese 70th Army officers/enlisted 14 October; arrived Kiirun, Formosa 17 October; ordered to Subic Bay, Luzon 24 October for overhaul of #2 generator and other repairs, in company with LCIs 433, 446, 965, 967, 969 (this ship OTC); sighted floating horned mine 26 October. Diary distribution copies to CinCPac, AdComPhibsPac, ComLSTF6, ComLSTGrp16 - the ship's administrative chain was LST Flotilla Six / LST Group Sixteen in late 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-09-01 to 1945-10-31
- Population
- Ship's company; NABU 13 (9 officers/173 enlisted, embarked 4 Sep); Chinese military/civilian affairs personnel (212); American Fifth Army Group HQ (14 officers/58 enlisted); Chinese 70th Army (134 officers/enlisted)
- Limitations
- Primary operating record for the postwar months only; no material or asbestos content. Establishes embarked-population categories (NABU 13, Chinese 70th Army, Fifth Army Group headquarters) and a machinery casualty (#2 generator) repaired at Subic Bay - a documented repair availability but no work-scope or material detail. November 1945-May 1946 diaries were not located in the catalog (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (2x GM 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, 2 shafts/1,700 shp, 3x diesel-drive 100-kW generators, diesel fuel 4,300 Bbls - no boilers listed anywhere on the plant); NavSource header 'LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship'; lst-1-class.class.json class profile (background only - BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design grouping); GAO HRD-80-2 substitution-era framing [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160627.htm specifications block and class header; class-profile design grouping (the BuShips SDB 1945 v2 scan previously at shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf returned 404 this session and has no Wayback capture - cited indirectly via the class profile only); GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403 confirmed 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944-built diesel-powered tank landing ship of the LST-542 design group sits inside the documented Navy asbestos era: era-standard asbestos applications for this type concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation (engine-room lagging), gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings including tank-deck surfaces, accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and the stern-anchor windlass. She carried NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-vessel boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin systematic asbestos substitution until the early 1970s - after this hull had already left US custody (1946).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-circa 1950
- Population
- Chicago Bridge & Iron Seneca construction trades (1944); wartime crew and embarked troops; Dutch crew (1946-unknown); any disposal/breaking trades (unlocated)
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation specification, or survey exists in the public record for this ship; names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. Her 1946 transfer to Dutch service and unknown final disposition mean foreign-service material changes are undocumented. No quantity. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM aboard at any point.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-05
-
[7]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 entire construction (1944) and USN service era (1944-46).
- 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-627-lst627-06
-
[8]HyperWar transcription, 'US Navy Landing Ships/Craft, 1940-1945' (official Navy register-derived ships list, ibiblio.net) - LST-627 roster entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar ships-ls.html, LST-627 row (table of landing ships)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official-list transcription carries 'LST-627 | 1942-45' with no conversion, loss, or transfer annotation - corroborating the hull's existence on the Navy register through the war-era table window and consistent with the DANFS chronology (sisters carry annotations such as 'torpedoed by Ro-50' for LST-577 or 'Converted to Barracks Ship APB' for LST-575; LST-627 carries none).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (table window)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Roster-level corroboration only - a transcription of official Navy tables, not a narrative record; the '1942-45' column is the generic wartime-era band applied to the whole block. Contains no asbestos or material content and no post-1945 disposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-07
-
[9]Batch-7147 search ledger (this record): live DANFS; NavSource 160627; NARA NAIDs 101702541/77532607/77570897 (read in full); NVR (no entry); shipbuildinghistory Seneca table; HyperWar ships list; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4; secondary web litigation sweep; Dutch-source sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-627-lst627-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation or material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-627 (or HNLMS LST-2/Pelikaan) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener coverage completed this session (authenticated API v4): opinion index returned zero hits for "LST-627" and for the "USS LST-627"/"LST 627" variant forms; docket/RECAP index returned one hit, United States v. Brannon (C.D. Cal. 8:23-cr-00100), classified as a NAME COLLISION - the string appears incidentally inside a phone-extraction exhibit in a criminal case, not as a vessel reference in any litigation. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos at Chicago Bridge & Iron's Seneca yard or aboard LSTs generally without primary sourcing (asbestos-ships.com and similar) - excluded by source policy. A veteran recollection (Gazettextra, Janesville WI) credits 'LST 627' with four Japanese aircraft - a memoir claim at odds with the one documented kill in the ship's own action report; carried as a recollection, not a record.
- 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 litigation negative is indexed-level (CourtListener opinions + RECAP), not a merits finding - it means no qualifying case naming this hull was indexed, not that none was ever filed. RG 24 deck logs, Chicago Bridge & Iron contract files, and Dutch naval disposal records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-08
-
[10]Correction basis: NARA action report first endorsement - 'Commander LST Group EIGHT (Commander GREEN Unit of TU 53.3.1), George Reith, 10 April 1945', forwarding via Commander LST Flotilla THREE (CTU 53.3.1); vs NavSource assignment block 'LST Flotilla Six / LST Group Sixteen / LST Division Thirty-One'; vs war-diary distribution 'ComLSTF6, ComLSTGrp16' (Sept-Oct 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 101702541 image 0104 (first endorsement); NavSource 160627.htm 'assigned to' block; NAID 77532607/77570897 forwarding letters and diary entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/nuance on organizational assignment: NavSource lists the ship's Okinawa Gunto assignment as LST Flotilla Six / LST Group Sixteen / LST Division Thirty-One, but the ship's own action report for that operation was forwarded through Commander LST Group EIGHT (as commander of the Green Unit of Task Unit 53.3.1) to Commander LST Flotilla THREE - the primary endorsement chain places her under Group Eight/Flotilla Three for the April 1945 assault. Five months later the war diaries show administrative distribution to ComLSTF6/ComLSTGrp16 and operational control under Commander LST Group 37 within TG 74.5/TF 73. The NavSource assignment line therefore appears to conflate the later administrative flotilla/group affiliation with the operational task organization of the assault - or reflects an administrative affiliation the endorsement chain does not show.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Corrects a secondary-source organizational listing using the primary endorsement chain; does not assert that NavSource's listing is wrong for all periods - Flotilla Six/Group Sixteen is corroborated as the late-1945 administrative chain by the war-diary distribution lines, and Group Thirty-Seven (Capt. Higgins) appears operationally in October 1945. The discrepancy is most likely an operational-vs-administrative distinction, left unreconciled. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-627-lst627-09