Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[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-777-lst777-pkt-724-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-777 entry (NHHC; live page HTTP 404 on 2026-10-03 - cited via Wayback Machine capture 2024-05-26; canonical URL https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-777.html) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-777 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-777 was laid down 4 May 1944 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched 24 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George G. Kaszer; commissioned 25 July 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Zambales-Subic Bay landings (January 1945) and Visayan Islands landings (April 1945). Performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-April 1946; returned to the United States; decommissioned 19 July 1946; struck from the Navy list 28 August 1946; sold 7 May 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa., and subsequently scrapped. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1946 (context only)
- Limitations
- Official U.S. Navy history of this hull - establishes identity, build record, operations, and disposal only. Contains no asbestos, materials, or crew-health information. Live NHHC page returned 404; text verified against the 2024-05-26 Wayback capture of the canonical URL.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-777 page - build timeline, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table (Manila Bay-Bicol operations, Zambales-Subic Bay landings 29-31 January 1945; Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines, Visayan Islands landings April 1945), Navy Occupation Service Medal periods (5 Sep-14 Oct 1945; 1-9 Nov 1945; 15 Dec 1945-15 Feb 1946; 20 Mar-18 Apr 1946), commanding officer roster (LT William F. Lagotic USN, 25 Jul 1944-23 Jan 1946; LTjg Richard M. Rome USNR, 23 Jan-19 Jul 1946), specification block, and NARA/NHHC-captioned photography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-777 page, specification block and campaign/occupation tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborates the DANFS timeline (laid down 4 May 1944, Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh; launched 24 June 1944; commissioned 25 July 1944; decommissioned 19 July 1946; struck 28 August 1946; sold for scrapping 7 May 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co.). Adds per-hull detail DANFS does not carry: campaign-table date ranges, four discrete occupation-service periods in the Far East, the two-officer command roster, and the LST-542-class specification block (328 ft oa; 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 11.6 kt; 13 officers + 104 enlisted; two GM 12-567A diesels, two propellers, 1,700 shp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1946; embarked troops (context only)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary archive compiled from official records (DANFS, NARA, NHHC) - corroborating reference, not itself a primary source. Armament note on the page ('varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted') lists the ultimate class design, not this hull's verified fit-out. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-02
-
[4]Era/design inference built on: NavSource LST-777 specification block (two GM 12-567A diesels, two propellers, 1,700 shp - diesel plant, no boilers); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST design table (class machinery data per LST class profile, lst-1-class.class.json); era amphibious-ship construction practice for wartime-built hulls [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; NavSource specification block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered LST-542-design hull: no boilers, so the steam-lagging pathway does not apply; asbestos-relevant applications for the type are GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. Built May-July 1944 at Dravo's Neville Island yard during peak wartime use of asbestos-containing shipboard insulation materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades (1944); ship's company; embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no source names this hull's insulation content. Establishes no quantities, no fiber content, and no exposure for any individual. Absence of boilers narrows but does not eliminate the era asbestos pathway (diesel exhaust lagging, gaskets, and accommodation materials remain).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-03
-
[5]Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co. Inc., S.D.N.Y. No. 1:07-cv-04771 (ECF 17-20) - located by the LST class-profile CourtListener sweep 2026-09-16, not by a fresh hull-number query this session [court_record]
- Locator
- LST class profile search_ledger row sl-lst-1-class-05 (class-f session 2026-09-16)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level CourtListener sweep ('USS LST' + asbestos, run 2026-09-16 for the LST class profile) located a single document-level hit: a scanned Navy reunion-notice compilation in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton where 'USS LST 579' appears inside a reunion listing - an incidental mention, not an exposure record. No asbestos docket naming any specific LST hull was located by that sweep; none names LST-777.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-09-16 (sweep date)
- Limitations
- Sweep coverage limitation: hull-number queries ('LST-777') were not exhaustively run in the class sweep, and this session's attempt to run them was blocked (CourtListener daily quota exhausted, ~11 h to reset - see search_ledger sl-uss-lst-777-05). This is a partial negative, not a completed litigation clearance. The Gitto mention is incidental and is not litigation involving this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-04
-
[6]Batch-7313 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live 404, verified via Wayback capture); NavSource LST-777 page; uboat.net allied-warships entry; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener API v4 (blocked); Digital Pitt Dravo Corporation collection (bot-blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-777-01 through sl-uss-lst-777-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-777 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Secondary web results asserting asbestos aboard LST-type hulls are law-firm marketing material without primary sourcing and are excluded by source policy.
- 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 - era-consistent construction materials make asbestos presence aboard this hull a reasonable inference, not a ship-proven fact. CourtListener hull-number queries were blocked this session, so litigation coverage is incomplete rather than negative. The hull was scrapped in 1948; any exposure-affecting events would have occurred during 1944-1946 service or 1948 breakup, both undocumented at the materials level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-05
-
[7]Archival leads: US National Archives photo 80-G-271338 (LST-777 underway, Gulf of Mexico, 14 August 1944) and NHHC photo NH 84871 (LST-777 at anchor, San Francisco Bay, circa 1945) per NavSource captions; RG 24 deck logs for LST-777 (not digitized); Dravo Corporation collection, 1925-1989 (University of Pittsburgh Library System, AIS 1972.09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-777 photo captions (photo numbers); catalog.archives.gov RG 24 (not searched); digital.library.pitt.edu AIS 1972.09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary archival material exists that could support a deeper record: two identified official photographs (NARA 80-G-271338, NHHC NH 84871), the hull's deck logs in NARA RG 24, and the Dravo Corporation corporate collection at the University of Pittsburgh (AIS 1972.09) covering the builder's 1925-1989 records - a lead for yard-level construction-materials documentation.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these records was retrieved and read this session. Deck-log holdings for this hull are not digitized; the Digital Pitt collection page was reachable but its viewer sits behind a human-verification check (access gap, not a missing source). No assertion is made about what these holdings contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-06
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[8]Senator John Heinz History Center, 'Pittsburgh's LSTs: Remembering the "Workhorse" of Normandy' (Leslie Przybylek, senior curator) - Dravo Corporation as lead yard of the five-yard inland 'cornfield navy' LST program; prefabricated LST sections built at five area plants and finished at Dravo's Neville Island yard; welded (not riveted) construction; 250+ LSTs launched from Dravo and American Bridge; Dravo workforce grew 1,500 to 25,000 (1941-1945) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Heinz History Center blog, 'Dravo Leads the "Cornfield Navy"' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context for this hull: LST-777 was built May-July 1944 at Dravo's Neville Island, Pittsburgh yard - the lead yard of the inland LST program - by the documented high-rate prefabrication method (sections assembled at five area plants, finished at Neville Island) during the yard's peak wartime production.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction workforce (peak ~25,000 across the corporation, 1941-1945)
- Limitations
- Museum-publication builder history - does not name LST-777 and contains no asbestos or materials information. Establishes the construction setting (workforce scale, prefabrication method, dates of peak production) in which era-standard insulation materials would have been installed on this hull; does not establish their presence or content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-777-lst777-07