Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 724-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-775-lst775-pkt-724-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-775 - construction at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh PA; sponsor; commissioning; four Asiatic-Pacific campaigns; occupation duty; decommissioning; battle stars (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03; UA-gated, fetched via Firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, LST-775 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'laid down on 22 April 1944 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched on 10 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William H. Evans; and commissioned on 15 July 1944, Lt. F. J. Rowe in command.' Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; operations listed: Leyte landings - November 1944; Lingayen Gulf landing - January 1945; Zambales-Subic Bay - January 1945; Mindanao Island landings - April 1945. Post-war occupation duty in the Far East until early March 1946; decommissioned 15 July 1946. Earned four battle stars for World War II service. The entry is silent on striking and disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content and no striking/disposal data - the silence on disposal is a documented gap, not a negative finding. DANFS does not name a class in this entry's prose; class assignment (LST-542) comes from NavSource header and standard references. Sponsor Mrs. William H. Evans rests on DANFS alone.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-775 (10/16/160775.htm, last updated 28 June 2024) - designation, call sign, specifications, campaign and occupation tables, commanding-officer list, captioned photography (live page, verified 2026-10-03 via Firecrawl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160775.htm header block, awards/campaign/occupation tables, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource header identifies this hull as an LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship; call sign NGRD. Campaign table: Leyte operation - Leyte landings 19 to 29 November 1944; Luzon operation - Lingayen Gulf landing 4 to 18 January 1945; Manila Bay-Bicol operation - Zambales Subic Bay 29 to 30 January 1945; Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines - Mindanao Island landings 17 to 23 April 1945. Navy Occupation Service periods: 3 to 26 October 1945 and 18 November 1945 to 5 March 1946. CO table: LT Forrest James Rowe USN 15 Jul 1944 - 10 Nov 1945; LT George Rodney Young USNR 10 Nov 1945 - 31 Jan 1946; LTjg Emery D. Monson USNR 31 Jan - 15 Jul 1946. Specifications: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; endurance 24,000 mi at 9 kt; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three 100-kW diesel-driven ship-service generators; 2 LCVP. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4), World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp), Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippines Liberation Medal (2). Photo captions include a commissioning-crew photo at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh dated 15 June 1944 and the ship entering San Francisco Bay in early 1946 (NHHC photo # NH 79556). 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-46); embarked troops incl. assault and occupation forces
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS but the spec block is unattributed and armament figures are the class's 'ultimate armament design,' not an outfit record for this hull. The 'Struck... date unknown / fate unknown' lines document that NavSource itself lacks disposition data. The crew-photo caption's 15 June 1944 date precedes the 15 July 1944 commissioning (donor caption wording). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-02
-
[4]NARA catalog record NAID 633407253 (RG 38, WWII War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories; Fold3 file #295872032; microfilm Roll A1542) - 'USS LST-775 - Rep of ops in the assault landing near La Paz, Southern Zambales Province, Luzon Is, Philippines on 1/29/45'; 2 digitized images, read in full this session (live catalog page, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/633407253, images 0016.jpg and 0017.jpg (full text read this session)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-produced primary document: CONFIDENTIAL action report LST775/A16 Serial: 02, dated 1 February 1945, 'From: Commanding Officer, U.S.S. LST-775' to Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet via Commander Task Unit 78.3.43, CTU 78.3.4, CTG 78.3, CTF 78, Commander SEVENTH Fleet, copy to ComLSTFlotFIFTEEN - subject 'Action Report - Western Luzon, P.I., La Paz and San Miguel operation.' Report text: anchored five miles west of objective area 0642 29 January 1945 at general quarters; beached 1001 with ballast tanks A-404/-405/-406 full, grounded ~40 yards out at approx. 14-58-30 N / 120-03-30 E, unable to unload, retracted at 1011; re-beached 1345 at 14-55-06 N / 120-03-30 E due east of Capones Island with dry ramp - 'This was first ship on that beach.' Cargo all rubber-tired vehicles; roadway of sand bags built over soft sand; unloading complete 1540; clear of beach 1600; anchored off Capones Island 1608. 'No enemy attacks were encountered, no ammunition expended and no casualties.' Signed 'F. J. ROWE, Lieut., USN.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-01-29 to 1945-02-01
- Population
- USS LST-775 ship's company; embarked troops and rubber-tired vehicle drivers at the La Paz landing (29 Jan 1945)
- Limitations
- Operational document only - establishes the hull's presence and beaching at the La Paz/San Miguel (Zambales-Subic) landing, its Seventh Fleet / TF 78 reporting chain, and LST Flotilla 15 affiliation (copy line), and corroborates CO Rowe USN (contra any USCG-manning assumption for this hull). Contains no asbestos, material, or manning-strength content. Two-page advance copy; no executive-officer enclosure or endorsements reproduced.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-03
-
[5]DANFS, Lamson III (DD-367) - wartime service narrative naming LST-775 (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03; UA-gated, fetched via Firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, Lamson III (DD-367) entry, July 1945 paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Corroborating hull-name mention in another vessel's official history: 'Lamson got underway on 13 July 1945, to escort LST-821 and LST-775 to Saipan, Japan. Following a brief and uneventful voyage, the ship anchored in berth L-25 at Saipan Harbor on 16 July.' Documents LST-775's post-Philippine-campaign deployment toward the Marianas in mid-July 1945, between the Mindanao operation (April 1945) and her credited occupation periods (from 3 October 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-07
- Population
- USS LST-775 and LST-821 ship's companies; USS Lamson escort (July 1945)
- Limitations
- Names this hull in a transit detail only; establishes location/date, nothing about materials or crew. DANFS's own wording 'Saipan, Japan' is reproduced as written (Saipan is in the Marianas). The escort detail is Lamson's narrative - it does not independently confirm LST-775 completed the passage alongside, though nothing contradicts it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-04
-
[6]NARA catalog search 'LST-775': 149 digitized file units (fuzzy), all textual records - principally Record Group 38 WWII War Diaries including a near-complete run of COM LST GR 45 group war diaries, Jul-Aug 1944 and Oct 1944-Dec 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-775' (149 results, RG 38-dominated; sixteen COM LST GR 45 diaries listed) and 'USS LST-775' (30 fuzzy results)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized group-level operational records covering this hull's parent formation exist: the NARA catalog returns 149 file units matching 'LST-775' (148 available online), dominated by the RG 38 WWII War Diaries series - including COM LST GR 45 war diaries for 7/25-8/31/44 (NAID 633381370), 10/44 (78653986), 11/44 (139763557), 12/44 (139807443), 1/45 (139837449), 2/45 (139894069), 3/45 (139957040), 4/45 (633420789), 5/45 (140053765), 6/45 (101733153), 7/45 (83534021), 8/45 (77486684), 9/45 (77537180), 10/45 (77595714), 11/45 (77581595), and 12/45 (77617180). The ship's own action report names LST Flotilla 15 as its flotilla (ev-03 copy line); the catalog's full-text matches place 'LST-775' inside the Group 45 diaries' contents. Also surfaced: NAID 190214788 'Commander, Transport Division #11, 10/22/45-1/1/49' (190 images - post-war transport-era unit records possibly touching disposition), the USS LST-707 San Felipe action report for the same Zambales operation (139893141), and the RG 24 muster-roll index range covering this hull (NAID 118967604, 'USS LSM-144 to USS LST-1005').
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- LST Group 45 staff and unit crews (1944-45); Transport Division 11 units (1945-49)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog metadata and file-unit titles verified; individual diary contents not read this session - catalog fuzzy matching indicates the hull number appears in diary content (rosters/operations), not ship-titled entries. No additional ship-level USS LST-775 war diary, deck log, or digitized muster roll located beyond the single La Paz action report (ev-03). No asbestos content expected in operational diaries.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-05
-
[7]'COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS: ASK INFOSER,' Warship International (International Naval Research Organization), Vol. 53 No. 1 (March 2016), pp. 28-36 (JSTOR stable page metadata verified live 2026-10-03; full text login-gated) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- jstor.org/stable/44894463, indexed page-scan snippet (pp. 28-36)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Specialist-naval-journal item (indexed page-scan text) stating 'LST-775 had the Brodie "Flycatcher" system fitted for this operation' - i.e., a wartime modification fitting the hull with the Brodie apparatus, the cable-and-trolley rig some LSTs carried to launch light spotter aircraft; the item cites Friedman's U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft design history.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USS LST-775 ship's company (wartime fit period)
- Limitations
- Partial verification only: JSTOR serves the page metadata and a page-scan preview to automated fetch but the article body is login-gated; the quoted clause is from the search-indexed page text, not a full read - the operation the fitting is tied to is not visible in the indexed snippet. Warship International is specialist secondary scholarship (INRO), not a primary record; the underlying authority is Friedman. Ship modification detail only - no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-06
-
[8]Christman v. Dravo Corp., 319 Pa. Super. 378, 466 A.2d 209 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1983) - asbestos (mesothelioma) litigation touching this hull's builder (OpenJurist full opinion text read this session; reporter citation verified against the 319 Pa. Super. volume listing) [court_record]
- Locator
- 319 Pa. Super. 378, 466 A.2d 209 (1983), OpenJurist full text - opinion at pp. 385-386 (interrogatory recital), pp. 380-381 (decedent work history)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- QUALIFYING asbestos litigation at discovery-record stage, yard- and period-matched to this hull: the opinion recites that 'Dravo admitted in its answers to appellant's interrogatories that from 1941 to 1945 the major portion of the ships that it built (over 145 LST-type vessels) were for the Bureau of Ships of the United States Navy and asbestos was used as pipe insulating material in the construction of motor vessels at the Neville Island building docks' (Dravo's Answers to Interrogatories, Numbered 7, 13 & 17). The decedent was a Dravo welder/mechanic at the Neville Island East Yard outfitting dock 1942-1945, working 'in hold of ship where they were putting up insulation, the asbestos was from Johns-Manville'; diagnosed with mesothelioma May 1978, died 21 February 1979. Disposition: summary judgment for Dravo on Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act exclusivity, affirmed - a jurisdictional disposition that never reached exposure merits.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1983 (opinion); 1941-1945 (documented construction window)
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island shipyard trades incl. welders/mechanics and outfitting-dock crews (1941-1945); ship crews of hulls built there
- Limitations
- Builder's own discovery-stage admission covering THIS hull's construction yard and construction window (laid down 22 Apr - launched 10 Jun - commissioned 15 Jul 1944, inside the admitted 1941-45 window) - the strongest asbestos-proximate evidence located for this hull, but it remains yard-level and class/era in scope: the admission is about the yard's wartime practice generally, names no individual vessel, and does not document asbestos aboard LST-775 specifically. The quoted material is interrogatory answers (a party admission in discovery), not a trial finding; Johns-Manville appears in the pleadings as the alleged supplier (allegation stage). Classified at discovery-record stage per litigation-stage discipline; the affirmance rested on LHWCA exclusivity, not exposure. OpenJurist page header mislabels the court 'Supreme Court of Pennsylvania'; the correct court is the Pennsylvania Superior Court per the 319 Pa. Super. reporter.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: DANFS construction record (Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh/Neville Island, Apr-Jul 1944); NavSource specifications (LST-542 class, GM 12-567A diesel plant); Christman v. Dravo builder admission (ev-07); Fleischer et al. 1946 PHS survey (ev-09); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-10); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 design table (ev-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Christman v. Dravo Corp. 319 Pa. Super. 378 (ev-07); Fleischer et al. 1946 (PMID 21016030); GAO HRD-80-2 product page; DANFS/NavSource construction and spec records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A tank landing ship built Apr-Jul 1944 in a Navy-contract yard sits inside the documented wartime asbestos-construction era - and this hull's builder specifically admitted using asbestos pipe insulation in motor-vessel construction at its Neville Island building docks during 1941-45 (ev-07). The PHS industrial-hygiene survey of pipe covering in naval-vessel construction found amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels,' with asbestos cloth and asbestos cement also used; GAO documented asbestos thermal insulation as the Navy's major shipboard asbestos use through the early 1970s. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel landing ship of this type and period were pipe and machinery insulation/lagging, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and interior finish materials in quarters and mess spaces. Diesel plant - no boilers aboard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-775. The builder admission (ev-07) is yard-level, not hull-level: it documents asbestos pipe insulation in the yard's wartime motor-vessel construction generally, not aboard this named hull. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; Johns-Manville appears only as the alleged supplier in the Christman pleadings.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-08
-
[10]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, Gade RL, Drinker P, 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030) - U.S. Public Health Service industrial-hygiene survey of two Government Navy yards and two Navy contract yards [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030 (verified via NCBI E-utilities); article text pp. 9-16 (pipe-covering materials section; X-ray results)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Wartime government survey documenting the asbestos regime inside naval-vessel construction: amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels,' valued for low thermal conductivity, light weight, and refractoriness; asbestos cloth and asbestos cement were likewise used. X-ray examination of 1,074 pipe coverers across four yards found three asbestosis cases, each with 20+ years in the trade. Surveyed operations (layout and cutting, band-saw cutting, cement mixing, installing, sewing asbestos cloth, stuffing with amosite) generated the era's principal insulation-trade dust exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (survey era)
- Population
- Navy yard and contract-yard pipe coverers/insulators (wartime)
- Limitations
- Era-level occupational survey, not a hull record: the four yards are anonymized (Navy Yards A-B, Contract Yards C-D), and Dravo/Neville Island and LSTs are not named - pipe covering was principally a steam-plant application, so the asbestos cloth/cement and general-insulation findings carry the weight for a diesel hull. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity. Citation metadata re-verified 2026-10-03 via NCBI E-utilities (esummary 21016030); the pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov page itself is reCAPTCHA-gated to automated fetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-09
-
[11]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 all Navy ships contained some asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables, and that asbestos thermal insulation was the Navy's major asbestos use aboard ships; the Navy did not substitute alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s and adopted removal policies only in 1975/1979 - postdating this hull's entire commissioned life (built 1944, decommissioned 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- 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, reconfirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description and report abstract.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-10
-
[12]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 13 April 1945) - Landing Ships, Tank design table (shipscribe.com scan, HTTP 200 verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-011, LST design-table section (shipscribe PDF scan)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/design documentation for the LST-542 group this hull was built to: diesel-propelled tank landing ship (2x GM 12-567A-type diesels per NavSource specification consistent with the BuShips design table). No steam plant, so the asbestos-relevant systems were era-standard applications rather than boiler/turbine lagging: pipe and machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior finish materials - consistent with the builder's interrogatory admission that asbestos pipe insulation was used in wartime motor-vessel construction at this hull's yard (ev-07).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades at the inland LST yards; LST crews
- Limitations
- Design-era document naming no individual hull and stating nothing about materials content; the asbestos reading is era inference consistent with the builder-yard litigation admission, not ship-proven fact. Establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-11
-
[13]Batch-7311 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NARA catalog (two queries + ship-level action report read in full); NHHC DANFS Lamson III; MARAD vessel-history search; NVR; BVA decisions index; GAO product page; PubMed/NCBI E-utilities; JSTOR stable page; OpenJurist opinion text; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2; secondary web litigation and disposition sweeps; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-775-lst775-01 through -21
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-775 was found in the public sources searched. The nearest asbestos-proximate record is yard-level - the builder's discovery admission that asbestos pipe insulation was used at the Neville Island docks 1941-45 (ev-07). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated API reported the shared daily quota exhausted (server-requested wait ~11.1 h); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The BVA decisions index returned no results for 'LST-775'; the Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (detail URL 302-redirects to the register home page); MARAD's vessel-history database has no entry for this hull at all (contrast sibling LST-771's stub record); secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-blocked, not run). COM LST GR 45 war diaries, the Transport Division 11 collection, RG 24 muster rolls/deck logs, and any post-1946 disposition papers are undigitized or unsearched leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-775-lst775-12