USS LST-698

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]DANFS, LST-698 - construction, commissioning, three named WWII operations, decommissioning, strike, sale, battle stars (live NHHC page, verified HTTP 200 with browser UA 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS LST-698 entry, full text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 14 March 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 5 May 1944; commissioned 3 June 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater: Leyte landings October 1944; assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto April 1945. Decommissioned 26 November 1945; struck from the Navy list 5 December 1945; sold 25 June 1946 to Arctic Circle Exploration, Inc., of Seattle, Wash. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Construction trades (Jeffersonville, 1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-45)

   Limitations

   Ship-specific official history only; no asbestos or material content. Omits the Lingayen Gulf operation (NavSource campaign table lists it 11-18 January 1945) and states two battle stars where NavSource states three (three campaigns shown) - conflict logged, unresolved. Does not state the post-sale fate.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-01

2. [2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-698 (10/16/160698.htm) - call sign, campaign table, LCT-898 narrative, unit assignments, spec block, CO table, awards, disposal (verified live HTTP 200 with browser UA) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160698.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO table, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource documents for this hull: LST-542-class tank landing ship; international radio call sign NFPE. Campaign table: Leyte landings 20 October 1944 'Red Beach below Catmon Hill'; Luzon operations - Lingayen Gulf landings 11-18 January 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation 2-10 April 1945. Narrative: loaded LCT-898 at New Orleans June 1944; departed via Guantanamo Bay, the Panama Canal, and San Diego for Pearl Harbor; at Hawaii with LCT-898 aboard participated in training for LVT launch and recovery; departed Hawaii July 1944 for Manus, Admiralty Islands; side-launched LCT-898 off Red Beach, Catmon Hill, Leyte, 20 October 1944. Following Southwest Pacific service assigned to LST Flotilla Fourteen (CAPT E. Seay USN), LST Group Forty-One (CDR E. C. Parsons USNR), LST Division Eighty-One. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; endurance 24,000 mi at 9 kt; 2 x GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 shafts 1,700 shp, 3 x 100 kW 230 V DC diesel-drive generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; ultimate design armament 2 twin + 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm. CO table: LT Glen W. Gilbert USN, 3 June 1944-26 November 1945 (entire commissioned career). Awards display: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3); World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp); Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Philippines Liberation Medal (2). 'USS LST-698 earned three battle stars' (conflicts with DANFS's two). Sold 25 June 1946 to Arctic Circle Exploration, Inc., Seattle WA; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Ship's company (~117 spec figure) plus embarked troops (1944-45)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - build/campaign/disposal dates cross-check against DANFS and the NARA records; 'departed Hawaii July 1944' conflicts with the muster-documented 10 August 1944 San Diego-to-Pearl Harbor sailing (muster is primary; conflict logged). Battle-star count (3) conflicts with DANFS (2). The awards display's Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) is not obviously consistent with the muster-documented Seattle presence from ~September 1945 - unverified. A photo caption identifying the ship 'riding out a typhoon, possibly Typhoon Louise off Okinawa, 9-10 October 1945' (NARA 26-G-4825) is contributor-supplied: the NARA original caption identifies only 'an LST,' and the muster documents the ship already in Seattle waters from ~September 1945 - the identification or the typhoon attribution cannot both be right; flagged, not carried as fact. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-02

3. [3]NARA NAID 126480883, 'LST-698, 5/28/44-11/26/45' (RG 24, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities; Roll No. 4754; 176 images; digitized) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 126480883 images 1-176 (downloaded and OCR-read 2026-10-02); commissioning roll images 5-16; New Orleans-Panama City RoC images 21-28; San Diego-Pearl Harbor RoC images 77-86; Ulithi-Pearl Harbor RoC images 131-132; Pearl Harbor-Seattle RoC images 147-148; September Seattle transfers images 157-159; final dispersal images 168-174

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The complete digitized muster roll for this hull (all 176 images OCR-read this session) covers the entire commissioned period 28 May 1944-26 November 1945 and documents: the commissioning crew roll (28 May-3 June 1944); the voyage leg 'from New Orleans, La. to Panama City, Fla.' (June 1944 Report of Changes - shakedown transit, ATB Panama City personnel receipts dated 7 and 24 June 1944); 'Panama Canal Zone for San Diego, California' and San Diego legs (~August 1944); the 10 August 1944 sailing 'from San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor'; a May 1945 sailing 'from Ulithi, W. Caroline Islands to Pearl Harbor, T.H.'; receipt of personnel from ComServRon TEN 26 April 1945 (forward logistics unit, western Pacific - consistent with post-damage repair at Guam); the 30 July 1945 sailing 'from Pearl Harbor, T.H. to Seattle, Washington'; crew transfers to Seattle activities from 25 September 1945 (USS Renshaw DD-499, USS YOG-68, Commandant 13th Naval District, Receiving Station Naval Station Seattle); and the final 26 November 1945 decommissioning dispersal transferring the remaining crew to Seattle-area ships and stations (USS Feland APA-11 Lake Union, USS Waukesha AKA-84 and USS Leedstown APA-56 at Todd Dry Dock Seattle, USS Oberon AKA-14, USS YTL-555 Pier 91, RecSta Seattle FFA, USS Gendreau DE-639 Portland).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-05-28 to 1945-11-26

   Population

   Ship's company (named, 1944-45); embarked passengers listed on NAVPERS 605c sheets

   Limitations

   Primary ship-produced personnel record - verifies the crew roster, voyage legs, and decommissioning dispersal verbatim; it does not itemize materials, does not say 'asbestos,' and does not name the Seattle decommissioning facility. Many RoC from/to fields are blank or illegible carbon copies; legs carried are the legible ones. The Guam repair period itself is inferred from the action report (towed there 14 April 1945) and the ComServRon Ten receipt (26 April) - the muster does not state 'drydock' or 'shipyard.'

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-03

4. [4]NARA ship-titled action reports: NAID 139828590 (Report of operations in the assault on Leyte Is., Philippines, 10/20-24/44), NAID 78690220 (Report of AA action in Leyte Gulf 11/16/44), NAID 77549311 (Report of operations in support of invasion & occupation of Okinawa Gunto 4/2-14/45, with Enclosure A damage report) - RG 38 World War II War Diaries; digitized via Fold3 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAID 139828590 images 1-4; NAID 78690220 images 1-3; NAID 77549311 images 1-5 (Enclosure A images 4-5, CTG 53.7 endorsement image 5)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Three ship-produced action reports (all images OCR-read this session) document: (Leyte assault, NAID 139828590) cargo originally loaded for the cancelled Yap assault, rerouted via Eniwetok and Manus; convoy approach under harassing air attack; 20 October 1944 launch of LVT assault waves (0845-0857) about 800 yards off the assigned anchorage and launch of the embarked LCT at 1402; anchored 1,000 yards off Orange Beach; Japanese mortar fire on beached and off-lying ships 1415 21 October with withdrawal and return; departure 1100 24 October; one casualty - DE HAAN, Walter (n), F1c, punctured shrapnel wound from a Japanese mortar shell, recommended for the Purple Heart; command chain LST Group Forty-Seven / LST Flotilla Three (temporary) / Group Six Amphibious Forces / Third Amphibious Force / Seventh Fleet; CO signature G. W. Gilbert, Lieutenant USN. (AA action, NAID 78690220) 16 November 1944 Leyte Gulf: surprise strafing attack by a single observation plane (type 'Dave'), ~175 mph at 2,000 ft; aft 40mm fired 16 rounds, no hits, no damage, ship not strafed. (Okinawa, NAID 77549311) arrived Kerama Retto anchorage with Task Unit 51.11.4 at 1423 on 2 April 1945; 0747 3 April 'Sent Fire and Rescue Party to assist in fighting fire on [LST] 599, damaged by enemy action' (returned 1030); beached on coral reef on Green Beach, Okinawa Shima 0955 5 April - retracted by tug, 'engines having been damaged on beach'; towed onto the beach again by LST 767 at 1130 6 April suffering further engine and hull damage; unloaded 584 tons of cargo (64 vehicles, 395 t, plus 189 t bulk) and 152 officers and men of U.S. Navy Construction Battalions (embarked Guadalcanal 5 March 1945) through the surf by LVT from 2115 6 April, complete 7 April; towed off 1600 7 April; towed to Kerama Retto 10 April; underway in tow for Guam 14 April. Enclosure A itemizes the damage verbatim: 'main engine automatic propulsion control box warped; fire and flushing pump, main engine room, out of alignment; after three strut bearings on port main shaft out of alignment, shaft sprung; after three strut bearings on starboard main shaft out of alignment, shaft sprung; port main engine bed plate sprung, engine out of alignment, lube oil filter sprung; starboard main engine bed plate sprung, engine out of alignment, lube oil lines to filters, pump and coolers sprung and/or broken'; keel and frame members bent upward between frames 31-35 and at frame 39, bottom shell plates buckled, tanks A-401-V and A-402-V taking water, compartments C-204-L and C-202-L buckled, third-deck compartments and shaft-alley longitudinals buckled, main deck plates buckled, boat-davit trackways buckled - caused by surf/settling on coral (5 April) and 'pontoon causeway holding clips on LSTs 767 and 798, beached close aboard on either side, pounding into sides of ship' (7 April). First endorsement: Commander Task Group 53.7 (Capt. W. W. Weeden Jr., USN, ComLSTFlot 23).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-10-20 to 1945-04-14

   Population

   Ship's company (~117) plus 152 embarked Seabees (Okinawa lift); casualty: one documented wounded (De Haan, F1c)

   Limitations

   Operational documentation only - no asbestos or material content anywhere in the 12 report pages read. The reports document events (combat operations, a machinery-casualty-level beaching, firefighting party sent to LST-599, tow to Guam for repair) without itemizing repair materials or insulation. NavSource calls the Leyte beach 'Red Beach below Catmon Hill'; the ship's own report says Orange Beach for the LVT launch and records the LCT launch separately - both readings carried, the report's verbatim wording is primary. OCR is legible throughout.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-04

5. [5]Merchant Vessels of the United States, 1947 (U.S. Coast Guard, official annual register; ibiblio/HyperWar scan, verified live HTTP 200): main register entry ON 176725 and former-names index entry [other_primary]

   Locator

   MVUS 1947 main register entry ON 176725 (printed p. 37); former-names index 'LST-698 (U. S. N.) -> 176725 A. T. T. No. 1'; managing-owner index 'Arctic Circle Exploration, Inc. (Del.), Smith Tower, Seattle, Wash. - 176725 A.T.T.No. 1.'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The official U.S. merchant register documents this hull's post-Navy identity and links it explicitly: the former-names index reads 'LST-698 (U. S. N.) - 176725 A. T. T. No. 1.' and the main register lists Official Number 176725 as 'Brg. *A. T. T. No. 1 (steel)', 3,577 gross and net tons, 311.8 x 50.0 x 24.2 ft, built 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., freight service. The vessel row lists two Seattle parties: Arctic Circle Exploration, Inc. (Delaware), Smith Tower, Seattle - under whom the official number is indexed in the managing-owner index - and American Tug Boat Co. (Wash.). Beam 50.0 ft and the 1944 Jeffersonville build match this hull exactly. The same register's index shows a numbered fleet of ex-LSTs: 'LST-662 (U. S. N.) - 176786 A. T. T. No. 3' (3,561 t, 314.8 x 50.0 x 24.2, built 1944 Ambridge, Pa., owner Pacific American Fisheries) and 'LST-691 (U. S. N.) - 251262 Americas'.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1946-1947

   Population

   Merchant crews, conversion-yard workers (1946)

   Limitations

   Official registry documentation of documentation status, dimensions, build data, and owner - the register records the vessel as documented, not its physical condition or loss (the loss was processed in the 1948 edition's 'Vessels Reported Lost' list). Register OCR quality is poor in places; the name entry reads 'A. I. T. No. I'/'A. T. T. No. 1' across passes - the former-names index 'LST-698 (U.S.N.) -> 176725 A. T. T. No. 1' is the load-bearing linkage and is legible in both the index and owner sections. The register gives registered length 311.8 ft; the secondary wreck compilation renders it 314.8 (matching sister barge No. 3's registered length) - the register figure is carried. Scanned page 37 per the Alaska-shipwreck citation; ibiblio PDF is the full-volume scan.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-05

6. [6]Alaska Shipwrecks (secondary compilation citing Merchant Vessels of the U.S. 1947 p. 37 and 1948 'Vessels Reported Lost' p. 860) - A T T No 1 entry; Wikipedia 'List of shipwrecks in 1946' (3 November) corroborates; MVUS 1948 verified live at ibiblio [other_primary]

   Locator

   alaskashipwreck.com A-list 'A T T NO 1 (1946)' entry; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_1946 (3 November); MVUS 1948 lost-vessels list (ibiblio scan)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The hull's final disposition is documented as a stranding loss: 'The 3,577 ton 314 foot steel barge A T T No 1 stranded and was lost November 3, 1946 on the northeast shore of Amukta Island' (Southwest Alaska; charted approx. 52 30 N, 171 16 W; Aleutian Islands). The compilation restates the register data as 'Tonnage 3,577 Gross and Net, Length 314.8, Breadth 50, Depth 24.2, Built 1944 at Jeffersonville IN, Owner Arctic Circle Exploration Company, Registered Seattle, ON 176725' - the official register entry itself (Merchant Vessels of the U.S. 1947) reads 311.8 ft registered length, and that figure is carried. Consistent with the loss, the 1948 Merchant Vessels register drops A. T. T. No. 1 from the main list and carries her in the 'Vessels Reported Lost' section, while sister barge A. T. T. No. 3 (ex-LST-662, ON 176786) remains listed.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1946

   Population

   Any salvage/abandonment personnel (1946); wreck site

   Limitations

   Loss record rests on a secondary compilation (alaskashipwreck.com) citing official registers, corroborated by Wikipedia's 1946 shipwreck list and by the hull's disappearance from the 1948 MVUS main register with a lost-vessels-section entry. The underlying USCG wreck report was not read; circumstances (cargo, towing arrangement, casualties, salvage) are undocumented in the sources located. One Japanese secondary source (uswarships.jounin.jp) renders the island as 'Amchitka' - the two stronger sources say Amukta; Amukta carried. No asbestos or hazmat content - the wreck predates modern ACM-handling regulation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-06

7. [7]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST design table (shipscribe.com scan, verified live HTTP 200); NavSource LST-698 spec block; lst-1-class class profile (class-f worktree, 2026-09-16) [other_primary]

   Locator

   SDB 1945 v2 LST design table; NavSource 160698.htm specifications block

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference for this hull: the LST-542 design group ran a diesel plant (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp total, Falk reduction gear, twin screws - BuShips design table and this hull's NavSource spec block) with no boilers, so the steam-plant lagging pathway of boiler vessels does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 diesel landing ship of this type were the era-standard set - diesel-exhaust and machinery-space lagging, gaskets and packing, accommodation thermal insulation, deck coverings - and the documented Okinawa machinery casualty (April 1945), the subsequent Guam repair period and May-July 1945 Pearl Harbor stay, the Seattle decommissioning, and the 1946 barge conversion were rework events aboard this hull inside the era of documented Navy asbestos use.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Jeffersonville B&M construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-45); Guam repair forces and Pearl Harbor trades (1945); Seattle decommissioning trades (1945); 1946 barge-conversion workers

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package was located for LST-698. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution. The documented repair events make disturbance plausible but do not establish asbestos content or exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-07

8. [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 construction (1944), her Pacific service and the documented April-July 1945 damage-repair period, her 1945 decommissioning, and her 1946 merchant conversion and loss.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, reconfirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-08

9. [9]CourtListener API v4 search (authenticated, fleet-paced helper), opinion and docket indexes [court_record]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-698-lst698-08 through -10

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   No qualifying asbestos litigation located: exact-phrase "LST-698" returned 0 in the opinion index and 0 in the docket index; spacing variant "LST 698" + asbestos returned 0 in the opinion index; the "USS LST-698" opinion variant was attempted repeatedly across the session and remained behind the helper's fleet pacing gate at close - logged as a blocked query, not a result. No case naming this hull surfaced in either completed index search.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   2026-10-02

   Limitations

   CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets - state-court filings, unreported settlements, MDL-875 pleading-level vessel lists, and non-digitized dockets are outside coverage. A zero result means no located docketed case/opinion naming this hull, not proof none exists.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-09

10. [10]Batch-7225 search ledger (this record): DANFS; NavSource; NARA catalog (4 ship-titled file units located and read in full: 176-image muster roll + 3 action reports); Merchant Vessels of the U.S. 1947 and 1948 registers; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; GAO product page; CourtListener API (opinion + docket); NIOSH HHE search; NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-698-lst698-01 through -18

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material schedule, or qualifying case naming LST-698 was found in the public sources searched. The strongest ship-specific documentation is operational and personnel (muster roll, action reports) plus the official merchant-registry linkage to barge A. T. T. No. 1 and the 1946 stranding loss. The record documents substantial rework-relevant events aboard this hull - the April 1945 machinery casualty at Okinawa with both engines out of alignment and bed plates sprung, the tow to Guam, the fire-and-rescue party sent aboard LST-599, the months at Pearl Harbor, and the 1946 commercial conversion - but no primary source read names asbestos aboard this hull.

    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 - wartime construction and repeated documented repair/conversion work sit squarely inside the Navy's asbestos-use era. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-10

11. [11]NARA catalog searches '"USS LST-698"' (38 file units) and '"LST-698"' (~186 file units, fuzzy); muster-roll series NAID 594996 (RG 24); deck-log series not surfaced for this hull [other_primary]

    Locator

    catalog.archives.gov '"LST-698"' result set (~186 units); '"USS LST-698"' (38 units); ship-titled hits only the four read units

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    Primary archive coverage for this hull is personnel-and-action-report level, better than most sibling hulls but with specific gaps: the digitized set located is one complete muster roll (NAID 126480883, 176 images, covering the whole commissioned period) plus three action reports (Leyte assault NAID 139828590, AA action NAID 78690220, Okinawa NAID 77549311). NOT located: any ship-titled war diary (the consolidated/monthly diary units digitized for sibling LSTs do not surface for this hull), any Lingayen Gulf action report (January 1945 operation documented only in the DANFS/NavSource campaign tables), any ship-titled deck log, and the Guam repair-period work record. USCG records for the 1946 loss (wreck report, casualty file) and any Arctic Circle Exploration corporate records are unfollowed leads. USCG documentation file for ON 176725 would hold the merchant-conversion paperwork.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    archival_lead

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1944-1946

    Population

    Ship's company (1944-45); researchers

    Limitations

    Archival-lead row: no war-diary unit, deck-log unit, or Lingayen action report surfaced in quoted searches for this hull; they may be undigitized or indexed under different titles. The April-May 1945 Guam repair is documented only by the action report's tow order and the muster's ComServRon Ten receipt - the repair work package itself was not located. USCG casualty/docket records for the A. T. T. No. 1 loss were not searched beyond the register evidence.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lst-698-lst698-11