Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 705-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-656-lst656-pkt-705-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-656 (NHHC live page; full entry text retrieved at research time - intermittent 404s observed on repeat fetches, consistent with NHHC WAF rate-limiting) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-656 entry (full text retrieved via curl, /tmp snapshot)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for this hull, verbatim: 'LST-656 was laid down on 13 December 1943 at Ambridge, Pa., by the American Bridge Co.; launched on 18 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. F. H. Dill; and commissioned on 7 April 1944. During World War II, LST-656 was assigned to the European theater and participated in the invasion of southern France in August and September 1944. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until late May 1946. The ship was decommissioned on 29 May 1946 and transferred to the State Department for disposition that same day. She was struck from the Navy list on 3 July 1946. LST-656 earned one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific official history; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS gives no commanding officer and no post-transfer fate; transfer 'that same day' conflicts with NavSource's 'date unknown' (DANFS carried). Live page returned HTTP 200 with full text on first retrieval; repeat fetches intermittently returned 404 - WAF behavior, not link rot.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-656 - construction/service timeline, flotilla assignments, award windows, CO roster, specifications, NARA-captioned photography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160656.htm header timeline, campaign table, medal table, CO roster, spec block, photo captions (page fetched 200 via HTTPS)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource page for this hull (last updated 10 Oct 2025): LST-542 class; laid down 13 Dec 1943 American Bridge Co., Ambridge PA; launched 18 Feb 1944; commissioned 7 Apr 1944, Lt. Francis T. McCahill USNR; Europe-Africa-Middle East theater - 'Invasion of southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944'; Pacific assignments - LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven (CAPT. Riley), LST Group One Hundred Nine (CDR. E. W. Wilson USNR), LST Division Two Hundred-Eighteen; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) and China Service Medal (extended) windows both 2 Sep 1945-28 May 1946; decommissioned 29 May 1946; 'Transferred to the State Department for disposition, date unknown'; struck 3 Jul 1946; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown'; one battle star. CO roster: McCahill (Apr 44-Feb 45), Lt.(jg) Edward A. Dovenberg USNR (Feb-Dec 45), Lt.(jg) J. E. Hannan USNR (Dec 45-Mar 46), Lt.(jg) Melvin L. Tucker USNR (Mar-29 May 46). Photo captions: US National Archives III-SC-193359 (loading out at Bagnoli, Italy, 8 Aug 1944 with LST-178, LST-74); LST-656 + LST-177 beached Dramont beach Camel Green sector, southern France; RG-80-255864a / RG-80-G-255866a beached southern France Aug-Sep 1944. Specifications: 1,625 t lt / 4,080 t fl / 2,366 t beaching; 328' oa; 50' beam; 11.6 kt; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; 2 x GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100kW diesel-drive generators, 2 shafts, 1,700 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Crew (1944-46): 13 officers + ~104 enlisted ship's company + embarked troops (up to ~16 officers / 147 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS/BuShips where checked. Two documented variances: Pacific unit given as LST Group 109 vs the ship's own Dec 1945 war diary copy line 'ComLSTGrp 108'; and transfer 'date unknown' vs DANFS 'that same day' (29 May 1946). Contains no asbestos content. navsource.net is the live domain (navsource.org is dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II, NAVSHIPS 250-011 (13 April 1945) - LST design table + construction roster (shipscribe.com scan, text layer) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB-1945 v2 LST section: design table pp. 168-169; construction roster LST656 row (American Bridge block)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips data book roster confirms this hull's build record: 'LST656 - [American Bridge Co., Ambridge, Pa. (ditto)] - 13 Dec 43 - 18 Feb 44 - 7 Apr 44' (keel laid / ship launched / date of first commission). LST design table for her group (LST542-931): 328 ft oa, 316 ft wl, 50 ft beam, 2,366 t beaching / 4,080 t full-load displacement, 11.6 kt trial speed; machinery 2 x G.M. Diesel 12-567A at 1,700 shp (diesel, no boilers); accommodations footnote: 'Accomodations for 16 Army officers in addition to 13 Navy officers' and '131 Army enlisted in addition to 106 Navy enlisted.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); 1943-44 (build)
- Population
- Design/roster data
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official BuShips publication (April 1945) - authoritative for build data and design group machinery; the roster lists no post-war disposition (ship still in commission at publication). OCR text layer is staggered; figures cross-checked against NavSource spec block. Contains no asbestos or material content. Cite corrected from the class profile's URL variant (styles/usnaux/sdb/) which returns 404; live URL is /pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf, verified 200.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-03
-
[5]NARA RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (series NAID 4697018): USS LST-656 war diaries + action report, digitized via Fold3 - NAIDs 78509855 (6/24-30/44), 78640066 (Rep of Ops 8/12-25/44, Invasion of Southern France), 139998640 (4/45), 140028445 (5/45), 101706710 (6/45), 101766890 (7/45), 77490355 (8/45), 77523130 (9/45), 77570957 (10/45), 140084187 (11-12/45) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/78640066 (action report, 3 images) and /id/140084187 (Nov-Dec 1945 diary, 8 images, incl. location-data enclosure); /id/78509855 (Jun 1944, 1 image); /id/77570957 (Oct 1945, 5 images) - key pages read and transcribed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own submitted records are digitized and were read for this record. June 1944 war diary (Lt. McCahill): anchored off Little Creek, VA, 24 June 1944; underway with convoy U.G.S. 46 as member of Task Force 60, passing Cape Henry Light 1014; steaming with convoy through 30 June 1944. August 1944 action report (serial 09, 26 Aug 1944, 'Action report from D-Day to D plus 10'): underway from Naples 12 Aug in Convoy SM1-A (position 42, flagship USS Biscayne); arrived Transport Area 1 at 0445 on 15 Aug; disembarked U.S. Army 45th Division assault troops in first and second waves; beached on Blue Beach 1448; two Army casualties evacuated (Tillman, Moffit); no hostile acts, no ammunition expended; retracted to Ajaccio, Corsica; French Army lifts beached Yellow Beach, Bay of Bougnon, 19 Aug, and Convoy CM-3 to Bay of Bougnon 25 Aug; 'the ship, all machinery, gear and communications functioned satisfactorily.' Oct 1945 diary: Sasebo Ko, Kyushu, Japan, 27-30 Oct. Nov-Dec 1945 diary (Lt.(jg) J. E. Hannan, cc ComLSTGrp 108 + CinCPac): Shanghai 1-5 Dec; Tsingtao 8-10 Dec; Taku 13-16 Dec; Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 23-28 Dec; Shanghai 31 Dec - the ship's documented China/occupation circuit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-24 to 1945-12-31 (digitized coverage)
- Population
- Ship's company; embarked U.S. Army 45th Division troops (Aug 1944); French Army lifts; occupation-service crew (Oct 1945-May 1946)
- Limitations
- Operational content only - no material, insulation, or hazmat information; these are movement/action records, not asbestos documentation. War-diary coverage gaps: no diaries cataloged for Jan-Mar 1945 or for 1946 (through the 29 May 1946 decommissioning). Digitization via Fold3 collaboration; catalog pages are JS-rendered but record metadata + full-resolution images verified via catalog API and direct page reads. Action report's typed text 'U.S. Army 180th Division' is reported as written (180th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Division).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-04
-
[6]NARA RG 24 'Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities' (series NAID 594996): 'LST-656, 4/7/44-5/14/46', microfilm roll 4713, 256 digitized frames [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/126623099 (roll 4713, 256 frames); NARA College Park - Textual Reference
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's complete muster rolls are digitized at NARA: 256 frames covering the entire commissioned period from commissioning day 7 April 1944 through 14 May 1946 - the crew-population record naming every officer and enlisted man aboard quarter by quarter, including the American Bridge fitting-out/plankowner complement and the wartime southern France and postwar China-service crews.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-04-07 to 1946-05-14
- Population
- All hands, USS LST-656 (1944-1946) - approximately 117 ship's company per quarter plus any embarked/attached personnel listed
- Limitations
- Personnel record only - names, ratings, and reporting/detachment dates; no material or exposure information. Roll endpoints (START/END OF REEL markers) verified; individual pages not enumerated. Muster roll coverage ends 14 May 1946, fifteen days before the 29 May decommissioning - consistent with crew detachment during inactivation, not verified. Digitized via NARA-Fold3 partnership.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB-1945 v2 machinery table (2 x GM Diesel 12-567A, 1,700 shp for the LST542-931 group - diesel, no boilers); NavSource specification block; DANFS LST program history (Vol. VII); lst-1-class profile consolidated design survey [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB-1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource spec block; class profile lst-1-class.class.json asbestos_application row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered tank landing ship built 1943-44 inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era: the boiler/steam-lagging pathway does not apply, but era-standard asbestos applications for this type were concentrated in GM diesel exhaust lagging and engine gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, winch and crane brake linings, and electrical insulation - in a hull serving a ~117-man crew plus embarked troops in confined interior spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946+
- Population
- American Bridge construction trades (1943-44); crew and embarked troops (1944-46); whatever foreign/merchant crews took the hull post-1946 (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-656. Names era-standard applications for the type, not confirmed installed materials. No quantities. No manufacturer attribution for this hull. Does not establish exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-06
-
[8]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; standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Covers this hull's entire construction and service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- 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-656-07
-
[9]Carnegie Mellon University, Steinbrenner Institute brownfields case study: 'The Moltoni and Nardelli Development in Ambridge Area' - former American Bridge Company site, 39 acres, contaminants listed: Oil, Asbestos, Debris, PCBs [other_primary]
- Locator
- CMU case-study PDF, site history + contaminants table
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder's site is documented asbestos-affected ground: a CMU brownfields redevelopment study of the former American Bridge Ambridge works (39 acres on the Ohio River) lists the site's contaminants as 'Oil, Asbestos, Debris, PCBs' from its steel-manufacturing past use - the same plant where this hull was fabricated and launched in 1943-44 (American Bridge ceased Ambridge operations in 1983).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-44 (yard era); brownfield survey contemporary
- Population
- Former American Bridge Ambridge workforce (historical); redevelopment/remediation trades (contemporary)
- Limitations
- Site-level brownfield survey for a 21st-century redevelopment - documents contaminants present at the former yard, not that asbestos was aboard ships built there or that 1943-44 construction used asbestos materials. Supports builder-yard context only; says nothing about this hull. American Bridge's shipyard is not an Atlas shipyards.json entry (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-08
-
[10]Batch-7179 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live); NavSource amphibious archive (live); BuShips SDB-1945 v2 (shipscribe scan); NARA catalog war diaries + muster rolls (digitized, sampled); NARA deck logs (not digitized); NVR (no entry); NIOSH yard surveys (no shipbuilding asbestos record); CMU brownfields; CourtListener API v4 (completed); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-656-01 through sl-uss-lst-656-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, or hazmat disclosure naming USS LST-656 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searched 2026-10-02 by hull number in both name forms - "LST-656" and "LST 656" - across the opinion index (type=o) and RECAP docket index (type=r): 0 results in all four queries, a true negative. Consistent with the class-level sweep (lst-1-class profile, 2026-09-16) which located only an incidental reunion-notice mention of LST-579 (Gitto, S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771) and no asbestos docket naming any LST hull. What exists is unusually rich non-asbestos primary documentation (war diaries, action report, muster rolls, BuShips roster) plus class/era inference.
- 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-standard insulation practice makes era materials plausible for a 1944 hull, and a State-Department disposition with undocumented fate forecloses any disposition-side survey. The CourtListener negative covers the indexed opinion and RECAP corpora only - unindexed early filings and non-RECAP dockets are outside it. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-656-09