Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 739-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-877-lst877-pkt-739-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, USS LST-877 - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Okinawa operation, occupation duty, disposal (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404 on both candidate URLs) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, USS LST-877 (full text quoted in finding_value)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-877 was laid down on 25 October 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 6 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E.L. Hardeman; and commissioned on 1 January 1945, Lt. George Lee Smith in command. During World War II, LST-877 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in June 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East until early January 1946. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 1 May 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year. On 15 January 1948, the ship was sold to the California Co. for operation. LST-877 earned one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (Oct-Dec 1944); crew (1945-1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS names Lt. George Lee Smith as commissioning commanding officer; NavSource's commanding-officer roster names LT. William W. Moffett USNR at commissioning (Smith 5 Dec 1945 - 30 Jan 1946) - unresolved conflict carried in gaps. Live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-10-03 at both URL patterns (/research/histories/... and /content/history/nhhc/research/histories/...); verbatim HyperWar transcription of the printed DANFS entry used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-877 - milestone timeline, unit assignments, campaign/occupation medal dates, commanding-officer roster, class specifications, Okinawa and Chalmette photography [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160877.htm header block, campaign/occupation tables, CO roster, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull (542 Class Tank Landing Ship): laid down 25 October 1944 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 6 December 1944; commissioned USS LST-877, 1 January 1945, 'LT. William W. Moffett USNR in command.' WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LST Flotilla Thirty-One (CAPT. H. S. Covington USN), LST Group Ninety-Two (CDR. J. G. Winn USN), LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Three; campaign credit 'Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 June 1945'; one battle star. Occupation service, Far East: 20 September - 3 October 1945 and 15 October 1945 - 4 January 1946 (Navy Occupation Service Medal, Asia clasp). Decommissioned 1 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 3 July 1946; 'Sold, 15 January 1948 to the California Co. for operation as a merchant ship. Final Disposition, fate unknown.' CO roster: LT. Moffett 1 Jan 1945 - 5 Dec 1945; LT. George Lee Smith 5 Dec 1945 - 30 Jan 1946; LT. Richard C. Sullivan 30 Jan 1946 - 1 May 1946. Photography: hull beached at Okinawa 1945 offloading vehicles (HyperWar); underway in the Mississippi River at Chalmette, LA, circa April 1946. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted + troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk reduction gears, two propellers 1,700 shp, three diesel-drive 100 kW generators.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948 (record coverage)
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944); crew (1945-46); embarked troops (Okinawa, Jun 1945); merchant crew (1948-forward, undocumented)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS and agree on every milestone except the commissioning commanding officer (Moffett vs DANFS's Smith - carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos content. The 1948 sale line documents intent ('for operation as a merchant ship'), not what the buyer actually did; 'fate unknown' is explicit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-02
-
[4]Era inference built on: DANFS + NavSource construction/disposal records for this hull; NavSource LST-542-class spec block (diesel plant, no boilers); Atlas class profile lst-1-class (LST-542/931 BuShips SD-1945 design grouping, 2x GM 12-567A); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; lst-1-class class profile propulsion/design-group fields; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A tank landing ship built Oct-Dec 1944 at the Evansville inland yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era; era-typical asbestos applications aboard a diesel-drive LST of this design group were engine-room and diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and electrical insulation throughout the confined tank-deck and berthing hull volume. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Evansville construction trades (1944); crew (1945-46); merchant crew after 1948 sale (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, survey, material list, or work package located for LST-877. Names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. Product terms are normalized era descriptions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-03
-
[5]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 entire construction (1944) and naval service era (1945-46).
- 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 returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-10-03 (standing access defect since Batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-04
-
[6]Indiana Historical Society, William Henry Smith Memorial Library - collection finding aid for James H. Kellar & Patricia C. Kellar, 'The Evansville Shipyard: Outside Any Shipbuilding Zone' (manuscript, accession 1998.0295) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Indiana Historical Society collection finding aid, Historical Sketch section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Institutional documentation of this hull's builder yard: in January 1942 the U.S. Navy selected Evansville, Indiana as the site for a new inland shipyard; production began summer 1942 centered on LSTs; the yard became the largest wartime employer in Evansville, peaking at over 19,000 individuals in 1944; it ceased production in late summer 1945 after constructing 202 vessels, 167 of which were LSTs. LST-877 was built in this yard's final production year (laid down 25 October 1944, during the documented 1944 employment peak).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Evansville shipyard workforce (peak >19,000, 1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not a hull record - the finding aid describes the shipyard and the manuscript collection, not individual hulls; LST-877 is not named. The '202 vessels, 167 LSTs' count conflicts with secondary compilations (e.g., 171 LSTs) - carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content; the underlying manuscript is an archival lead only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-05
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[7]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Ind. App., 17 October 1949 (119 Ind. App. 391 per LEXIS-derived listing; parallel N.E.2d cite conflicted - one aggregator prints 87 N.E.2d 54, another 88 N.E.2d 54; see limitations) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text via exa.ai aggregator; cite listing via 1949 Ind. App. LEXIS 196 indexes
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- An occupational-disease claim against this hull's builder reached the Indiana Court of Appeals during the yard's LST-production window: the decedent Elbert Woolsey was 'employed by appellee Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company as a pipe fitter in the compartment of ships from June 21, 1944 to November 11, 1944' - overlapping LST-877's construction (laid down 25 October 1944) - and died 29 October 1945. The claim alleged death 'from inhaling fumes and gases from galvanized metal being welded.' The Industrial Board found (2-1) that he 'was not exposed to nor did he contract an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of his employment, but that his death was caused solely by other causes'; the Court of Appeals affirmed the award (i.e., the denial of compensation).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1949 (employment window through appellate decision)
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron ship-compartment trades, incl. pipe fitters (1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level appellate record, NOT an asbestos finding and NOT a hull record - the claim was metal-fume (galvanized-metal welding fume) poisoning, the Board found no compensable occupational disease, and Woolsey is not linked to this hull specifically. Documents that inhalation-injury claims from the builder's wartime workforce were litigated to the appellate level during this hull's construction window. Reporter parallel cite unverified: aggregators conflict (87 vs 88 N.E.2d 54); '119 Ind. App. 391' is the stable cite carried. CourtListener verification unavailable this session (quota exhausted); opinion text accessed via exa.ai aggregator.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-06
-
[8]Hanks v. California Company, 280 F. Supp. 730 (W.D. La. 1967), Civ. A. No. 9795, opinion by Putnam, D.J. (companion to Hebert v. California Oil Co., 280 F. Supp. 754) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 280 F. Supp. 730 at *734 ('The M/V S-24 is a converted LST...')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- A federal district court found that The California Company owned and operated converted WWII LSTs as drilling tenders in the Gulf of Mexico offshore-oil program: 'The M/V S-24 is a converted LST of the type developed for and widely used in amphibious operations in World War II,' working as tender to a stationary drilling platform on the outer continental shelf (crew galley service aboard a California Company LST-tender, 1962). This documents the documented post-Navy use pattern of the buyer named in this hull's 15 January 1948 sale ('the California Co. ... for operation as a merchant ship').
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1948-1967 (buyer program window through opinion)
- Population
- Converted-LST tender crews, Gulf of Mexico OCS drilling program (late 1940s-1960s)
- Limitations
- Buyer-activity context only - does NOT establish that LST-877 became S-24 or any specific drill tender, and does not establish this hull's post-1948 service or fate (NavSource: 'fate unknown'). The equation of DANFS's 'the California Co.' with the Louisiana offshore operator The California Company rests on the matching name plus the court-documented converted-LST tender program - probable but unstated in any single located source. S-24's prior Navy hull number is not given in the opinion. Personal-injury case (galley freezer-box lifting injury); no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-07
-
[9]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' + 'Logbooks of the US Navy' program pages (RG 24, Entry 118, NAID 581208, 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA deck-log program pages; RG 24 Entry 118 (NAID 581208)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds deck logs for U.S. Navy vessels in RG 24 Entry 118 ('Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992'), covering this hull's entire commissioned life (1 January 1945 - 1 May 1946); the program pages confirm the series exists and is only partially digitized in the National Archives Catalog. LST-877's logs are the evidentiary track for her commissioning, Okinawa Gunto, and occupation periods - and any underway/in-port maintenance activity.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (log window); 2026 (access status)
- Population
- Crew, 1945-46
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - no digitized LST-877 deck log was located in the National Archives Catalog this session; physical logs require Archives II reference request. Deck logs record movements/events, not material content; no asbestos data expected or asserted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-08
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[10]Batch-7420 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page (404 both URL patterns); HyperWar DANFS transcription; NavSource 160877; NVR hull-detail lookup; Indiana Historical Society finding aid; Woolsey and Hanks opinions via aggregators; GAO product page (403); CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-877-01 through sl-uss-lst-877-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-877 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-authenticated helper reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~8.7 h to reset, exit 2); logged as blocked in the search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; the only 'asbestos aboard LST' material located is law-firm marketing content (navyshipexposure.com class page, mesotheliomasymptoms.com hull pages, asbestos-attorney.com yard list) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - 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 - a 1944 Navy hull is era-consistent with asbestos use, and the litigation-repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). NARA deck logs, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron work packages, and the 1948 sale/merchant-registry records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-877-09