Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 716-packet.md (2 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-726-lst726-pkt-716-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), LST-726 entry, live NHHC page [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-726 entry, full text (single-paragraph entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-726 was laid down 26 July 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 6 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Ora M. Armstrong; commissioned 30 September 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (February 1945) and Okinawa Gunto (April 1945); occupation duty in the Far East until late December 1945; decommissioned 25 June 1946; struck from the Navy list 31 July 1946; sold to Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., 5 December 1947 for scrapping. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-1946); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Authoritative identity/history record for this hull; contains no asbestos, material, or crew-health information whatsoever. Does not establish presence or absence of any material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-726 (10/16/160726), last updated 15 February 2019 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160726 page: awards/campaigns table, specifications block, commanding-officer roster
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Adds campaign and unit detail beyond DANFS: LST Flotilla Twenty-One, LST Group Sixty-Two, LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Three; Iwo Jima operation 19-25 February 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation 1-15 April 1945; occupation service 7 November to 25 December 1945; commanding officers LT Jerome M. Alper Jr., USNR (30 September 1944 - 21 July 1945) and LTjg Thomas Ernest Tisza, USNR (21 July 1945 - 25 June 1946). Specifications block: two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V D.C. ship's service generators; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted. Concordant with DANFS on all construction and disposition dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-transcribed archive, not a government publication; its specifications block carries class-typical figures, not a hull survey, and the page indexes this hull under its 'LST-491 Class' photo-archive heading (grouping label, not a conflicting class statement - see gaps). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-02
-
[4]GAO, Navy Efforts to Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (22 October 1979) - product page Highlights [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page, Highlights section
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy use of asbestos in ships and worker-protection efforts at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, finding that while recently constructed Navy ships had little or no asbestos insulation, other Navy ships contained large quantities of asbestos; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove asbestos insulation only when damaged or when removal was needed for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Establishes program-level context: Navy ships of the era in which LST-726 was built (1944) were insulated with asbestos-containing materials as standard practice.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (report); WWII construction era (context)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program context); ship's force maintenance personnel
- Limitations
- Program-level report; does not name LST-726, the LST-542 class, or any amphibious vessel, and postdates this hull's existence (scrapped 1947-48) by three decades - the policies described never applied to her. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches; the product-page Highlights were used and the full PDF was not retrieved this session. Cannot support 'documented aboard this hull' wording.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-03
-
[5]Class/era inference anchored to GAO HRD-80-2 (program-level) and the NavSource propulsion block for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160726 specifications block (propulsion); GAO HRD-80-2 Highlights
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- LST-726 was a diesel-driven amphibious auxiliary with no steam plant: the asbestos-relevant systems aboard were not boiler/turbine lagging. Era-typical applications for a 1944-built LST were thermal and exhaust-system insulation around the diesel plant and generators, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings on deck machinery (winches, windlass). Insulation products of this era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (Jeffersonville, 1944); engine-room and deck-force crew
- Limitations
- Era inference, not ship-proven: no design manual, hull survey, or material record for LST-726 was located; the application list describes the type and era, not verified installations on this hull. Does not establish quantity, specific products, present-day presence, or any individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-04
-
[6]US National Archives photo 80-G-353157 (US Navy photo), captioned via NavSource and cross-referenced on Shipscribe's YG-type district-craft page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160726 photo caption; https://shipscribe.com/usnaux/YY/YY002a.html (YG-33 entry citing NavSource 14623301)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A 1945 U.S. Navy photograph held by the US National Archives (80-G-353157) shows the garbage lighter YG-33 taking on rubbish from USS LST-726 and USS LST-817 at Apra Harbor, Guam - contemporaneous documentary placement of this hull in the western Pacific between her two combat operations.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company (1945)
- Limitations
- Caption transcribed via NavSource; the NARA online catalog entry was not directly verified this session (catalog is JS-rendered). Operational placement only - contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-05
-
[7]Batch-7257 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS live page; NavSource 10/16/160726; Naval Vessel Register detail URL; GAO HRD-80-2; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-726-lst726-01 through sl-uss-lst-726-lst726-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or official record naming LST-726 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold for scrapping in December 1947, decades before any federal asbestos-survey regime, so no modern survey exists to find. CourtListener could not be searched this session (fleet-shared daily quota exhausted, server-requested wait ~10.4 hours) - litigation status is open, NOT a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built hull of this type is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. The CourtListener block means docketed litigation naming this hull has not been ruled out. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-726-lst726-06