Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]research packet 737-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-868-lst868-pkt-737-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'LST-868' (NHHC live page, verified via Firecrawl scrape 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS 'LST-868' page, single-paragraph entry (no footnotes)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-868 was laid down 31 October 1944 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machinery Co.; launched 6 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Beatrice C. Hanley; commissioned 30 December 1944. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in June 1945. Postwar: occupation duty in the Far East and China service until mid-April 1946. Returned to the United States, decommissioned 9 August 1946, struck from the Navy list 10 June 1947, and sold 19 December 1947 to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, Pa., for scrapping. Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Wartime crew ~13 officers/104 enlisted + embarked troops (NavSource spec block)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history record only - establishes construction, service, and disposal; contains no asbestos, material, or crew-health information. Commissioning date here (30 Dec 1944) conflicts with NavSource (31 Dec 1944); DANFS carried. Page is live but returns 404 to some non-browser fetch agents (standing NHHC fetch defect, cf. BATCH-01); verified live via Firecrawl browser-rendered scrape.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-868 (10/16/160868) - designation timeline, flotilla/group/division assignments, campaign table, medal periods, spec block, commanding-officer roster, Saipan 1945 photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page header block, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table, medal table, CO roster, spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: 542-class tank landing ship laid down 31 October 1944 at Jeffersonville Boat & Machinery Co., Jeffersonville, IN; launched 6 December 1944; commissioned 31 December 1944, Lt. Edward H. Devoe USNR in command. Assigned LST Flotilla Thirty-One (Capt. H. S. Covington), LST Group Ninety-Three (Cdr. E. R. Sperry), LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Four. Campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 21-30 June 1945. Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) and China Service Medal (extended) periods both 30 October 1945 - 16 April 1946. Decommissioned 9 August 1946; struck 10 June 1947; sold for scrapping 19 December 1947 to Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia, PA. Specs: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt trial; 13 officers + 104 enlisted; 2 GM 12-567A diesels, Falk reduction gears, 2 shafts ~1,700 shp; 2 LCVP; ultimate armament 2 twin + 4 single 40 mm and 12 x 20 mm. COs: Lt. Devoe (Dec 1944 - Dec 1945), Lt. Larry Davis USNR (Dec 1945 - Mar 1946), Lt.(jg) James E. Brown USNR (Mar - 9 Aug 1946). Photographs show her beached at Saipan in 1945 (Fred Storms, MoM/c, ship's company).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company 13 officers/104 enlisted; embarked troops to 16 officers/147 enlisted
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference (volunteer photo archive) - ship-specific and consistent with DANFS except the commissioning date, which NavSource prints as 31 December 1944 against DANFS's 30 December (DANFS carried; conflict in gaps). Contains no asbestos or material information. Specification block is class-typical data, not a hull survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-02
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[4]NHHC photographic collection, NH 79574: USS LST-868 'In San Francisco Bay, California, in early 1946' (Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1974) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog entry NH 79574
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC photograph NH 79574 documents USS LST-868 in San Francisco Bay, California, captioned 'early 1946' - placing the hull on the U.S. West Coast during its return/occupation-era window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- Caption date is approximate: medal records place her on occupation/China service through 16 April 1946, and the USS LST Ship Memorial catalog dates its own Golden Gate photo of this hull 'early 1945 or late 1946' - the NHHC caption and the museum window cannot both be exactly right; the discrepancy is carried, not resolved. Photograph contains no asbestos or material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-03
-
[5]USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., LST Photograph Collection, object 2010.066.1: 'LST-868' - photo of LST-868 entering or leaving San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background; dated most likely early 1945 or late 1946; plus an LST-868 'shipping tube' image [museum_official]
- Locator
- lst325.info virtual exhibit, LST Photograph Collection record 2010.066.1
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USS LST Ship Memorial photograph collection holds catalogued imagery of this specific hull (object 2010.066.1: LST-868 in San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, photographer unknown; also a 'shipping tube' image) - a museum-held archival corpus for the vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (estimated)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - photographs document the hull's presence and configuration, not materials. Museum date estimate ('early 1945 or late 1946') is the collector's inference, not a documented date. No asbestos, survey, or hazmat content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-04
-
[6]Era/design inference built on: Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST-542-group machinery data (per class profile lst-1-class ev-lst-1-class-01/03, shipscribe.com scan) + era amphibious-ship construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB 1945 v2 LST design table (shipscribe.com); class profile ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- LST-868 was a diesel-powered tank landing ship (2 x GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers), so the WWII steam-lagging pathway does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications for the type in the 1944-45 build era: diesel exhaust lagging; engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation; steam-free but hot machinery gaskets and valve packing; deck coverings/tile (vinyl-asbestos and asphalt-asbestos tile were era-standard Navy deck coverings); bulkhead and accommodation insulation; winch, crane, and windlass brake linings. 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
- Jeffboat construction trades (1944); wartime engine-room and maintenance crew
- Limitations
- Design- and era-level inference, not a hull record - no source names this vessel's materials. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, in what products, or in what quantity; does not establish present-day presence (hull scrapped 1947-48).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-05
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[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 entire construction (1944) and service era (1944-46). Standing Navy policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- 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 or its builder. Full text not retrieved this session (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standing defect, cf. BATCH-01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-06
-
[8]Batch-7411 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NHHC photographic catalog NH 79574; NavSource 10/16/160868; USS LST Ship Memorial catalog 2010.066.1; shipbuildinghistory.com Jeffboat yard table; NVR; NARA catalog; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-868-lst868-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, donation-condition document, or verified litigation naming USS LST-868 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - API returned HTTP 429 (daily quota exhausted, ~9 h to reset) and is logged as blocked in the search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no 'asbestos aboard LST-868' content of any kind - not even the law-firm listicles that typically populate hull records. The one document-level 'LST 868' hit in reference literature (Jane's Fighting Ships 1962-63) is a name collision: Indonesian Navy LST 868 (KRI Teluk Langsa), ex-USS Solano County (LST-1128) - a different hull. The single litigation-adjacent yard record located (Jeffboat, Inc. v. Director, OWCP, 7th Cir. No. 24-2234, decided 2026-06-23) is a LHWCA benefits case over paint/sandblasting/chemical irritants for a 2005-2017-era ship painter - zero asbestos mentions; classified other litigation, not exposure evidence.
- 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 - the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run), and the hull's WWII construction era is squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use window. Deck logs (RG 24) and yard work packages are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-868-lst868-07