Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 709-packet.md (1 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-683-lst683-pkt-709-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-683 - construction at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., sponsor, commissioning CO, occupation/China service, decommissioning, striking, sale for scrapping (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-683 entry (single-paragraph entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-683 was laid down on 29 November 1943 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched on 7 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Florence Robbins Bohr; and commissioned on 28 March 1944, Lt. Richard T. Paynter, USNR, in command. Following World War II, LST-683 performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until mid-February 1946. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 29 May 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year. The ship was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., on 26 May 1948 for scrapping.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Jeffersonville Boat & Machine construction trades (1943-44); ship's company (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS entry carries no WWII operational narrative for this hull - it skips directly from commissioning to post-war occupation duty; wartime employment detail rests on NavSource and NARA photography (other rows). Sale records the buyer (Bethlehem Steel Co.) but not the dismantling yard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-683 (10/16/160683) - unit assignments, awards, service periods, specifications, CO roster, photo captions (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160683.htm header block, awards display, flotilla/group/division lines, specifications block, CO table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during WWII in LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven (CAPT. Riley), LST Group One Hundred Eleven (LCDR. A. H. Tutt), LST Division Two Hundred Twenty-One. Awards displayed: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal (Asia clasp); no battle stars shown. Navy Occupation service periods 2 September - 18 November 1945 and 3 January - 23 February 1946; China Service Medal (extended) period 3 January - 23 February 1946. Specifications: two General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, twin screws, 1,700 shp, 11.6 kts trial; three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP. CO roster: LT. Richard T. Paynter, USNR (28 Mar 1944 - 22 Nov 1945); LTjg. George E. Lehrling, USNR (22 Nov 1945 - 29 May 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-46); embarked troops (up to 16 officers / 147 enlisted per fit)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS exactly here, and unit/award displays reflect ribbon entitlements rather than a war diary. No battle star is displayed, which is consistent with transport/logistics service rather than named assault landings, but absence of a displayed star is not itself proof of the ship's operational record. Contains no asbestos content. CO table carries a typographic artifact ('29 May 1946 1945').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-02
-
[4]NARA catalog, NAID 520691 / local ID 80-G-337464, '1909th Engineers Aviation Battalion (Negro) aboard LST 683', 15 August 1945 (Still Pictures, NARA College Park); plus NavSource-captioned NHHC photo 79090 (LST-683 with LCT(6)-1396 in San Francisco Bay, early 1946) and NARA-sourced Yokohama LST-ramp photograph (with LST-1085, LST-131, c. Sep-Nov 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 520691 (catalog.archives.gov, HTTP 200 verified); NavSource 10/16/160683.htm photo caption table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official photography documents this hull's actual employment: on 15 August 1945 (VJ-Day) the 1909th Engineer Aviation Battalion was aboard LST 683 with LCT(6)-1006 - an Army aviation-engineer unit being transported with its landing craft, i.e. occupation-movement lift, not an assault landing. A second official photograph places LST-683 on the LST ramp at Yokohama with LST-1085 and LST-131, c. September-November 1945 - inside her documented first Navy Occupation service period. NHHC photo 79090 shows her in San Francisco Bay with LCT(6)-1396 loaded on the main deck, early 1946, on return to the United States.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- 1909th Engineer Aviation Battalion (embarked, Aug 1945); ship's company; Yokohama port population (Sep-Nov 1945)
- Limitations
- Photographs establish presence, embarked units, and dates - not crew exposure, work performed, or materials aboard. The Yokohama image metadata comes via NavSource caption transcription (attributed to a NARA still-picture record); only NAID 520691 was independently verified in the NARA catalog this session. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945), LST design table and roster (shipscribe.com scan; correct current URL - the /styles/usnaux/ path cited in the class profile now 404s) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. 2, LST design table and roster (LST-542 group rows)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official BuShips design table for the LST type covers the design series to which this hull belongs (LST-542 group, hulls 542-931): 328 ft overall, 50 ft beam, ~2,366 t beaching displacement, 11.6 kt, powered by two General Motors 12-567A diesels at 1,700 shp on twin shafts through Falk reduction gears, with accommodations for 13 officers and ~106 enlisted plus embarked troops. The alternate GM 12-278A engine variant applied only to blocks 932-979 and 1060-1080, so hull 683 carries the standard 12-567A plant - a diesel installation with no boilers or steam machinery.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a (design data)
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation: the table describes the type, not this hull by name, and contains no materials or insulation schedule - it establishes machinery type (diesel, no steam plant), which bounds which asbestos-application pathways are era-plausible, nothing more. No quantity, no individual exposure, no present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-04
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v2 machinery data (ev-04), NavSource specifications for this hull (ev-02), and LST-1-class profile era analysis (lst-1-class.class.json): era-standard applications for a diesel-powered amphibious ship of this construction period [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data (lst-1-class.class.json ev-lst-1-class-03 pattern); SDB v2 machinery rows; NavSource specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: with no boilers or steam plant aboard, the steam-lagging pathway of larger combatants does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type were GM diesel exhaust lagging and exhaust-side gaskets, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, deck coverings and deck tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation and joiner materials, valve and flange packing, and winch/crane brake linings. Construction fell inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era and inside the compressed mass-production schedule of the inland 'cornfield' yards, where standard-type materials were applied fleet-wide.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Jeffersonville Boat & Machine construction trades (1943-44); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); 1948 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, survey, work package, or materials list was located for LST-683. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. Establishes no quantity and no exposure for any individual. Never elevated above class_or_era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-05
-
[7]NARA, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - official research guide for ship-specific asbestos documentation (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topics page, 'Bureau of Ships General, Confidential, and Secret Correspondence' section and entry list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's own guide states that asbestos use in U.S. Navy materiel from 1941-1961 is a frequently requested research topic and identifies the documentary path: Record Group 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) General, Confidential, and Secret correspondence series (1940-1961), filed under the Navy Filing Manual by ship type and hull designation - for this hull the file code would be 'LST683', class correspondence under the LST-542 group, type correspondence under 'LST', and builder correspondence under 'QM/Jeffersonville Boat & Machine'. The 1940-1945 series (Entries A1 1266-A through -P, plus P 29 indexes) covers her construction; the 1947-1948 unclassified series (Entries UD 1002) covers her disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (record coverage)
- Population
- n/a (research methodology)
- Limitations
- Research guide only - it documents WHERE ship-specific asbestos records would live, not that they exist for this hull. No digitized hull-level asbestos file was located; RG 19 correspondence is undigitized paper at College Park. The guide is NARA's own published methodology, not an exposure record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-06
-
[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 - spanning this hull's entire construction (1943-44) and service period (1944-46). Standing policy removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs (1975), later modified to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas (1979).
- 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 - HRD-80-2 does not name LST-683 or the LST type. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior-batch findings); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-07
-
[9]Batch-7209 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live); NavSource 10/16/160683 (live); NARA catalog NAID 520691; NARA asbestos research guide; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; NVR; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, type=o and type=r); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-683-01 through sl-uss-lst-683-10
- 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-683 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches for "LST-683" and for "USS LST-683" / "LST 683" variants returned zero hits each, and the docket search across hull-number variants returned zero hits (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-02) - no docketed case naming this hull was located in either index. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomahope.com, swmwlaw.com, mesotheliomatreatmentcenters.org, asbestos-ships.com listicles) asserting asbestos aboard LSTs without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. No museum survives this hull (scrapped 1948), so the museum-disclosure track that exists for LST-325/393/510 does not apply.
- 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 was built inside the Navy's documented asbestos era and scrapped before modern record-keeping. CourtListener coverage caveat: hull-number sweeps find only opinions/dockets that spell the designation in a searched form ('LST-683', 'LST 683', 'USS LST-683' - all run clean, zero hits); a differently styled citation would not surface. RG 19 correspondence and deck logs remain the undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-683-08