Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 711-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-693-lst693-pkt-711-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), LST-693 entry [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-693 entry, full text (one-page stub for unnamed hull)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-693 was laid down 1944-02-18 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 1944-04-07, sponsored by Miss Rose Mary Harrod; commissioned 1944-05-15, Lt. M. E. Hoag in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; operations: Leyte landings (Oct-Nov 1944), Mindoro landings (Dec 1944), Zambales-Subic Bay (Jan 1945), assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (Apr 1945). Post-war occupation duty in the Far East until mid-Oct 1945; returned to the U.S.; decommissioned 1946-05-01; struck from the Navy list 1946-07-03; sold 1947-12-10 to the Southern Shipwrecking Co., New Orleans, La., for scrapping. Earned four battle stars for WWII service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Authoritative for identity, construction, operations list, and disposition. Contains no asbestos, materials, insulation, or survey information; supports no asbestos claim. Does not give commissioning officer's full name (NavSource supplies 'Merritt E. Hoag').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-693 (navsource.net/archives/10/16/160693.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LST-693 page: class line, campaign table, flotilla assignment, specifications block, commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive page for USS LST-693: LST-542-class assignment; campaign table with exact dates - Leyte landings 20 Oct + 19-29 Nov 1944, Mindoro landings 12-18 Dec 1944, Zambales-Subic Bay 29-30 Jan 1945 (Manila Bay-Bicol ops), Okinawa Gunto assault/occupation 1-14 Apr 1945; transported LCT-738 to the Philippines; at Okinawa assigned to LST Flotilla Fourteen (Capt. E. Seay), LST Group Forty-One as flagship (Cdr. E. C. Parsons), LST Division Eighty-Two; occupation service 15 Sep-19 Oct 1945; decommissioned 1 May 1946, struck 3 Jul 1946, sold 10 Dec 1947 to Southern Shipwrecking Co. for scrapping; 4 battle stars. Specifications: 2 x GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, 1,700 shp, 11.6 kt trial, 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted + troops 16 officers/147 enlisted; 2 LCVP. Commanding officers: Lt. Merritt E. Hoag USNR (1944-05-15 to 1945-07-07), Lt. Garrett Benjiman Le Van USNR (1945-07-07 to 1945-12-10), Lt.(jg) John C. Peppler USNR (1945-12-10 to 1946-05-01).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Limitations
- NavSource is the canonical per-hull volunteer reference, compiled from official records; all milestones agree with DANFS. Specifications are class-standard figures, not hull-surveyed values. Contains no asbestos, materials, or survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-02
-
[4]Consolidated era inference - LST-1-class class profile (class-f worktree) machinery/era synthesis; propulsion plant per this hull's NavSource specifications (ev-uss-lst-693-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; NavSource specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST: with no boilers, asbestos-relevant applications concentrate at GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, valve and machinery packing, and brake linings on winch and bow-machinery equipment. LSTs were mass-produced to Navy Bureau of Ships standard designs across 17 yards including inland 'cornfield' yards such as Jeffersonville Boat & Machine during the peak years of wartime asbestos consumption.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1945 construction era; service 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine (1944); ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted) and embarked troops (up to ~16 officers/147 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no material schedule, construction specification, or survey naming this hull was located. Establishes no asbestos presence, quantities, locations, condition, or individual exposure aboard LST-693.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-03
-
[5]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
- DOI resolution verified 2026-10-02 (resolves to Wiley article page; publisher bot-gates automated fetch, HTTP 403 on HEAD - content not re-extracted)
- 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 program under which this LST-542-class hull was mass-produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval and merchant 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 class specifically and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-04
-
[6]Batch-7220 search ledger (this record): CourtListener name/hull sweeps; NVR detail page; DANFS and NavSource full texts; NARA online deck-log index [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-693-01 through sl-uss-lst-693-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: CourtListener API v4 exact-phrase searches returned zero results ('USS LST-693' opinion = 0; 'LST-693' docket = 0; 'LST 693' + asbestos opinion = 0), and the unquoted 'LST-693' opinion sweep's 101 BM25-ranked hits contain no 'LST-693' string - noise, classified as no result. The Naval Vessel Register holds no detail page for this hull (NVR does not cover vessels disposed before 1987). Neither DANFS nor NavSource contains any asbestos, insulation-material, survey, or abatement statement. No museum or memorial holds this hull - it was scrapped after 1947 sale.
- 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 - a 1944 amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. Hull was scrapped 1947-48, so no surviving fabric exists to survey; this record can never be upgraded by physical inspection. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-05
-
[7]NARA 'Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives' guidance page (RG 24 Entry 118; National Archives Identifier 581208; Special List #44 coverage 1801-1947) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Navy logbooks page: holdings/RG 24 E118 section; online index checked for LST-693 - not listed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead (not retrieved - requires NARA research-room or reproduction order; no spend authorized): LST-693's WWII deck logs (1944-1946 commissioned period) are expected in Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24, Entry 118, at Archives II, College Park - deck logs record routine machinery work and could document insulation disturbance or repair events. The NARA online digitized deck-log index does not list LST-693 (the digitized set is dominated by post-1955 hulls). BuShips construction/contract records for Jeffersonville Boat & Machine hulls would sit in RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) correspondence/contract files.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 records
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only - no box-level retrieval performed; the catalog.archives.gov API returned no parseable response to the LST-693 query this session, and whether the hull's logs physically exist in E118 is unconfirmed until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-693-06