Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 703-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-638-lst638-pkt-703-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-638 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, WWII campaigns, occupation/China service, disposal, battle-star award (live page verified) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry for LST-638 (full text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 25 May 1944 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 23 August 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Marjorie T. Twyman; commissioned 8 September 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Palawan Island landings March 1945 and the Visayan Island landings April 1945. Performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until mid-May 1946. Decommissioned 8 June 1946; struck from the Navy list 12 March 1948; destroyed as a target 15 June 1948. 'LST-638 earned one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Terse standard-format DANFS entry - does not state decommissioning location, sinking location, or intermediate movements. Battle-star count conflicts with NavSource (1 vs 2 - see ev-02 and gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-638 - timeline, campaign table with dates, medal-eligibility periods, commanding officers, specifications, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160638.htm header block, campaign table, medal-period table, specifications block, commanding-officer table, ribbon display
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull (LST-542 class): laid down 25 May 1944 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL; launched 23 August 1944; commissioned USS LST-638 8 September 1944, LTjg. Frank Data, USN, in command. Asiatic-Pacific campaign table: Palawan Island landings 1-2 March 1945; Visayan Island landings 2-4 and 9-10 April 1945 (Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines); Brunei Bay operation, Borneo, 10-12 June 1945. Occupation/China service periods 8 September 1945 - 22 May 1946 (both medals). Decommissioned 8 June 1946; struck 12 March 1948; 'USS LST-638 earned two battle stars for World War II service'; destroyed as a target 15 June 1948. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; propulsion 2 GM 12-567A diesels 900 hp, Falk main reduction gears, 2 propellers 1,700 shp; call sign NFHO. Commanding officers: LT. Frank Data, USN (8 Sep 1944 - Dec 1945); LTjg. Luther G. Hagard Jr., USNR (Dec 1945 - 7 May 1946). Ribbon display adds China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, and Philippine Liberation Medal (1).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS where verifiable but the battle-star count (2) conflicts with DANFS (1); see gaps. Specifications are class-standard values, not hull-surveyed. Page last updated 1 September 2017. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-02
-
[4]Australian War Memorial collection photographs OG2796 and OG2795, both captioned Morotai, Halmahera Islands, Netherlands East Indies, 1945-05-27 (live pages verified) [museum_official]
- Locator
- AWM OG2796 and OG2795 collection pages, Description fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- AWM photograph OG2796 (J.T. Harrison): 'RAAF SIGNALS UNITS LOADING MANY MILES OF TELEPHONE CABLE ABOARD LST (LANDING SHIP, TANK) NO. 638, BOUND FOR LABUAN' at Morotai, 27 May 1945. OG2795 shows the same scene with 'LST NO. 560' in the background. Primary-source photographic documentation of this hull beached at Morotai between her Philippine campaigns and the Brunei Bay (Labuan) operation, performing logistics loading for the Borneo assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-05-27
- Population
- Crew and embarked RAAF Signals Units personnel aboard at Morotai, 27 May 1945
- Limitations
- Physical-presence documentation only - photographs establish the hull at Morotai on a stated date with a stated cargo task, not crew conditions, materials, or any exposure. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), Chicago Bridge & Iron, Seneca IL yard page - per-hull build table and yard history (live page verified; old .../wwtwo/chicagobridge.htm path now 404s) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chicago Bridge & Iron Seneca IL page, LST build table row for LST 638 and introductory yard history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder's launch table row for this hull: keel laid 5/25/44, launched 8/23/44, delivered 9/8/44, 90 days on the ways, 16 days in the water, 106 days total, disposition 'Sunk as target 1948.' Yard context stated on the same page: the Navy requisitioned the Chicago Bridge & Iron facility at Seneca IL in 1942 and invested $6 million in its improvement; known as the Prairie Shipyard, a 200-acre site on the east side of town; sold to Union Mechling in 1949 after postwar interim uses.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948 (table); 1942-1949 (yard narrative)
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not an official registry - dates corroborate DANFS exactly (all three milestones match). Yard-narrative details (requisition, $6M, acreage, Union Mechling sale) are stated on the page without citations. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945 edition), LST construction table - per-hull row for LST638 (shipscribe.com scan, PDF downloaded and layout-text extracted this session; live URL verified) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 p. 179, LST construction table, LST638 row (text-extracted and verified this session)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The contemporaneous official BuShips publication literally names this hull: the LST construction table lists 'LST638' under builder 'Chicago B. & I. Co., Seneca, Ill.' (carried down via 'do.' rows) with keel laid 25 May 44, launched 23 Aug 44, first commission 8 Sept 44 - matching DANFS on all three milestones.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); commissioning crew
- Limitations
- Official contemporaneous publication, ship-specific for construction milestones only. Contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or condition content. The volume's LST design table is cited separately for class machinery data (ev-07).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-05
-
[7]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List No. 44, by Ship Numbers - deck-log coverage index (live PDF downloaded and text-extracted this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List No. 44 PDF, LST section, LST-638 row (text-extracted and verified this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List No. 44 indexes deck-log coverage for this hull: 'LST-638 ... 9/8/1944 - 6/30/1945' - logs exist covering commissioning (8 Sep 1944) through 30 June 1945, spanning the Palawan, Visayan, and Brunei Bay campaigns. The underlying logbooks are not digitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-09-08 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Ship's company during the indexed log period (Sep 1944 - Jun 1945)
- Limitations
- Index-level verification only - confirms logbook coverage dates exist at NARA, not log contents. Coverage ends 30 June 1945; occupation/China-service logs (Aug 1945 - Jun 1946) fall outside this index's scope and are a separate lead. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-06
-
[8]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945 edition), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, live URL verified; the path cited by the class profile - /styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf - now 404s) - official class machinery/specification data; consolidated with era amphibious-ship construction practice per class profile lst-1-class [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (via www.shipscribe.com/pubs/index-sdb.html); class profile lst-1-class (class-f worktree) ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST-542-class hull: the BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design table documents the type as 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 2 GM 12-567A diesels 1,700 shp, 11.6 kt - no boilers, so the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway does not apply. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a mid-1944 amphibious hull of this type were diesel-exhaust and engine-room lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, deck coverings, and accommodation insulation in the enclosed tank deck and crew spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- CB&I Seneca construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for LST-638. Names era-standard applications for the type, not confirmed installed materials aboard this hull. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-07
-
[9]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
- Finding type
- historical_record
- 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-built LST was mass-produced at a Navy-requisitioned emergency yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in hull 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 this yard 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-638-08
-
[10]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (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 service era (1944-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); coverage spans this hull's era
- 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 by prior batch sessions) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-09
-
[11]Batch-7159 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC live page; NavSource amphibious archive; Australian War Memorial collection; shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; BuShips SDB1945v2 per-hull table; NARA Special List 44 index; NVR (absent); Wikipedia (no article); uboat.net (secondary, lead only); NARA catalog (JS-blocked); CourtListener (verified 0 hits o/r); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-638-01 through -14
- 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-638 was found in the public sources searched. Structurally none is expected - the hull was destroyed as a target 15 June 1948, before the asbestos-litigation era and before modern hazmat documentation practice. CourtListener '"LST-638"' searches verified negative this session: opinions (type=o) 0 hits and dockets (type=r) 0 hits - no litigation names this hull. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific 'asbestos aboard' content at all - the hull is absent even from the law-firm marketing listicles that blanket most WWII hulls (excluded sources in any case). Class context: the LST-1-class profile's own CourtListener sweep (2026-09-16) likewise found no asbestos docket naming a specific LST hull - only an incidental 'USS LST 579' mention inside a reunion-notice compilation (Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton, S.D.N.Y.).
- 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 - it establishes that no public ship-specific documentation exists for a hull sunk in 1948. NARA Special List 44 confirms deck logs exist (Sep 1944 - Jun 1945 coverage, undigitized - ev-06); later logs and any TG 78.2 amphibious-group records are further undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-10
-
[12]NavSource Brown Beach photo caption (Brian Miller photo via NavSource 10/16/160638.htm); LSM numbering range per NavSource LSM index (LSM-1 through LSM-558) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160638.htm photo caption row 3 (photo 1016094203); NavSource LSM index 10/14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the NavSource caption for the Brown Beach, Brunei Bay photograph (10-12 June 1945) prints 'USS LSM-638' among the LSTs of the Brown Assault Unit. No LSM-638 existed - LSM hull numbers ran 1-558 - and the caption is a probable typo for LST-638, which NavSource's own campaign table documents at the Brunei Bay operation on exactly those dates. The typo is noted so the caption is not read as evidence of a different hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-06-10 to 1945-06-12
- Limitations
- Corrects a caption-level identifier error, not a material claim. The Brunei Bay photograph itself shows the assault anchorage and cannot establish which individual LSTs are depicted; the caption identification is asserted, not verified by hull markings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-638-11