Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 702-packet.md (6 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity). Roster
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-632-lst632-pkt-702-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-632 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Asiatic-Pacific operations, postwar occupation/China service, decommissioning, striking, target destruction, battle stars (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative (single-paragraph L-type entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-632 was laid down on 26 April 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 21 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William H. Hallenback; and commissioned on 12 August 1944, Ens. G. W. Chandler, USNR, in command.' Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Lingayen Gulf landing (January 1945), Corregidor-Mariveles (February 1945), Mindanao Island landings (March through April 1945), and the Balikpapan operation (June and July 1945). Postwar occupation duty in the Far East and service in China until mid-May 1946. Decommissioned 30 May 1946; struck from the Navy list 28 January 1947; 'destroyed as a target on 11 June 1948.' Earned four battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops (operations 1945)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not state where or by what unit the target destruction was conducted, and gives no complement figure for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-632 (10/16/160632) - unit assignments, campaign table, occupation/China medal periods, specifications, commanding officers, photographic record (live page, verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160632.htm - header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO table, photo caption credits
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline and details for this hull: LST-542 class; laid down 26 April 1944 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 21 July 1944; commissioned USS LST-632 12 August 1944, ENS George W. Chandler Jr., USNR, in command. Assigned LST Flotilla Eight (CAPT E. Watts), LST Group Twenty-Two (CDR E. H. Pope), LST Division Forty-Four. Campaigns with dates: Lingayen Gulf landing 4-18 January 1945; Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 February 1945; Mindanao Island landings 10-12 March and 17-23 April 1945; Balikpapan operation 26 June-6 July 1945. Occupation service 16 September-4 October 1945 and 20 December 1945-13 May 1946; China Service Medal (extended) period 20 December 1945-13 May 1946. Decommissioned 30 May 1946; struck 28 January 1947; destroyed as a target 11 June 1948; four battle stars. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, 1,700 shp, Falk main reduction gear, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC generators, 2 propellers, twin rudders; fuel 4,300 bbls diesel. COs: ENS Chandler (Aug 1944-Nov 1945), LTjg John S. Warren (Nov 1945-30 May 1946). Photo captions place the hull at Morotai September 1944, at anchor and beached at Lingayen Gulf January 1945, loading Australian 7th Division units at Morotai 21-22 June 1945 for Operation OBOE 2 (Balikpapan), and underway at Haiphong, French Indochina (date unknown).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); ship's company 13 officers + 104 enlisted; embarked troops to 16 officers + 147 enlisted; Australian 7th Division units embarked June-July 1945
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS/NVR here and are corroborated by the BuShips roster (see ev-03). Specifications block carries class-level figures as published on this hull's page. Contains no asbestos content. Photo captions credit crew-member donors - recollection material, not work records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945) - official LST design table and hull roster (shipscribe.com scan; file moved from former /styles/usnaux/sdb/ path, which now returns 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (LST542-931 engine block) and roster entry 'LST632'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The BuShips official roster lists 'LST632' with keel date 26 Apr 44, launch 21 Jul 44, and commission 12 Aug 44 - matching DANFS and NavSource exactly. The official LST design table places engine block LST542-931 (which contains this hull) on two G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines at 1,700 shp - a diesel plant with no boilers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); 1944 (build dates)
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); crew engineering spaces
- Limitations
- Official BuShips publication - the authoritative class machinery source; roster row is hull-specific and corroborates identity and build dates. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement: the design table's engine-block listing establishes the diesel plant (no boilers) but does not enumerate insulation products.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-03
-
[5]National Park Service, 'Role of the LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) in WW II Amphibious Operations' (Carlos Luna; parkhistory briefing) - p.4 American builder table; ARCHIVED COPY cited because the live URL now redirects (dead at research time) [nps]
- Locator
- LST.pptx slide 4 (builder table), slide 3 (design), slide 5 (mass production / number-only naming)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NPS builder table allocates LST construction by yard and hull block: 'Chicago Bridge & Iron, Seneca, IL - LST 132-136, 197-231, 511-522, 600-652, 772-774, 850-860, 1115-1152' - LST-632 falls inside the 600-652 block, an official-source corroboration of this hull's builder. The briefing documents the class context: LSTs were mass-produced at inland waterway yards (the largest producers were Midwest facilities), over 1,050 ships were built, and 'so many ships were produced, they were only assigned hull numbers, they were not assigned individual names.' Design: 328 ft long, 50 ft wide, ~3,880 t, endurance 12,000 nm at 10 kt.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2011 (briefing); 1942-1945 (program era)
- Population
- Construction trades at 16 listed yards incl. inland yards
- Limitations
- NPS interpretive briefing, class-level: the builder table is hull-specific (block 600-652 includes this hull) but the design/context figures are class-level. Live URL (nps.gov/parkhistory/categrs/LST.pptx) redirects to the NPS orgs/1220 index as of 2026-10-02 - the Wayback capture of 2025-04-17 is cited and labeled archived. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-04
-
[6]NARA catalog full-text search 'LST-632' - 262 digitized file units, all RG 38 WWII war diaries/operational records whose text mentions this hull; lead item COMTASK-UNIT 78.2.5 report of operations in the assault landings at Balikpapan, Borneo, 7/1-2/45 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-632' (262 hits, RG 38); 'USS LST-632' (31 hits); item page id/77469516
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's digitized RG 38 collection returns 262 file units whose text mentions 'LST-632': war diaries of Commander LST Flotilla 22 and LST Groups 24, 64, and 65, plus task-unit operational reports - including COMTASK-UNIT 78.2.5's report on the Balikpapan assault landings of 1-2 July 1945, an operation this ship participated in per DANFS/NavSource. These are unit-level records naming the hull - archival leads for operational records, not asbestos or exposure documentation. A separate 'USS LST-632' search (31 hits) surfaced a digitized RG 24 deck logbook for sister hull LST-639 but none for LST-632 in the results reviewed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (record coverage)
- Population
- LST flotilla/group staffs; task-unit 78.2.5 embarked forces
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: unit-level war diaries establish that records mentioning this hull exist in digitized form; no record's content was individually reviewed for this hull's entries beyond the catalog descriptions. The hull's own RG 24 logbooks were not located in digitized results - an open lead, not a negative. No asbestos content in any record description reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB-1945 v2 design table (LST542-931 block, GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers); NavSource specifications (diesel plant); Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3):359-373 WWII shipbuilding asbestos documentation (see ev-07); class design features (engine room, deck coverings, accommodation spaces, winch/crane machinery) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; NavSource specifications block; Corn & Starr (1987) program documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class tank landing ship mass-built in 1944 sits inside the WWII program during which asbestos was used extensively as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. shipbuilding. With no boilers or steam plant, the asbestos-relevant applications aboard a ship of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch and crane brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); engine-room ratings and ship's company (1944-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package exists or was located for LST-632 (hull destroyed 1948). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-06
-
[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) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373; DOI resolves to Wiley Online Library
- 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 emergency-construction program under which this LST-542-class hull was mass-produced, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in shipbuilding.
- 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 and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-07
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[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 Highlights (full-text PDF blocked to direct fetch)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed to accomplish necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. The review confirms the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - placing this 1944 hull's entire construction and service era inside the asbestos-use period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); use era through early 1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. This hull was destroyed in 1948 - decades before the policies described - so the removal-policy content is not applicable to it; only the use-era framing is. Full-text PDF not retrieved via direct fetch (curl HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02); product-page Highlights text used (retrieved via firecrawl).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-08
-
[10]Batch-7153 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource live page; BuShips SDB-1945 v2 scan; NPS LST briefing (Wayback); NARA catalog searches; shipbuildinghistory.com Seneca yard table; GAO product page; Corn & Starr DOI; CourtListener (completed - no qualifying hits); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-632-lst632-01 through sl-uss-lst-632-lst632-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-632 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). None is expected - the hull was destroyed as a target in 1948, predating ACM-survey and abatement-record regimes. Secondary web sweeps surface only law-firm marketing content (SWMW Law ship list, asbestos-ships.com, mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org 'LST 542' page asserting boiler-room/steam-pipe exposure on a diesel ship with no boilers - an accuracy defect) - 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 - the hull's 1944 mass-production build inside the documented WWII asbestos-use era is consistent with era-standard materials. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 search via authenticated fleet helper (cl-auth-search.py / cl-patient-search.py), 2026-10-02 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger row sl-uss-lst-632-lst632-07; /tmp result files cl-lst632-{uss-op,sp-op,dock,op}.json
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CourtListener searches for this hull completed: exact-phrase '"USS LST-632"' returned 0 opinion hits; '"LST 632"' returned 0 opinion hits; '"LST-632"' returned 0 RECAP docket hits. An unquoted 'LST-632' opinion query returned 107 broad token matches - all sampled top-20 results were tokenization/name collisions (criminal and civil dockets containing the tokens, no literal 'LST-632', no asbestos content), classified name collision, not cases. No qualifying asbestos litigation, no docketed case naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- This is a search-result negative, not a complete litigation clearance: the unquoted token query's 107 hits were sampled (top 20), not exhaustively document-reviewed; PACER-only and state-court dockets outside RECAP coverage are not represented. No hit is treated as an exposure finding; equally, this does not prove no sailor ever filed a claim naming the hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-632-lst632-10