Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 739-packet.md (4 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-879-lst879-pkt-739-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-879' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'LST-879' entry, full text; canonical URL verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-03 (the /content/history/nhhc/ long-form URL also resolves)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry text (verbatim): 'LST-879 was laid down on 2 November 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 13 December 1944; launched by Mrs. Rella G. Heath; and commissioned on 5 January 1945. During World War II, LST-879 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from April through June 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-November 1945. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 26 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 25 September that same year. On 17 May 1948, the ship was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa., for scrapping. LST-879 earned one battle star for World War II service.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-11-02 to 1948-05-17
- Population
- Ship's company ~13 officers/104 enlisted + embarked troops (wartime); Evansville construction trades
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship history - the authoritative identity/milestone source. Contains no asbestos, hazmat, or material-content information; establishes the hull's history only, not exposure conditions. 'Launched by Mrs. Rella G. Heath' is understood as sponsorship (DANFS convention), not construction detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-879 (10/16/160879) - organization, campaign dates, specifications, commanding officers, photographic record [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive hull page 10/16/160879 - timeline, spec block, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource hull page documents: assignment to LST Flotilla Thirty-One (CAPT. H. S. Covington USN), LST Group Ninety-Three (CDR. E. R. Sperry USN), LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Five; Okinawa Gunto operation 26 April to 7 June 1945; occupation duty 20 October to 19 November 1945; decommissioned 26 June 1946; struck 25 September 1946; sold for scrapping 17 May 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA; one battle star. Specifications: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted; propulsion 2 x General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, 2 propellers (1,700 shp), twin rudders, 3 x diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC ship's-service generators. Commanding officers: LT Sidney A. Berkowitz USNR (1945-01-05 to 1945-09-01); LTjg Robert V. Breen USNR (to 1946-01-22); LTjg Robert R. Cunningham USNR (to 1946-06-26). Photographic record includes US Navy photo (21st USNCB Neg. No. 204) of LSTs moored at Yonabaru Pier, Okinawa, 23 July 1945, with LST-879 second from right.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-01-05 to 1948-05-17
- Population
- Wartime crew and embarked troops, Okinawa operation; occupation-era crew Oct-Nov 1945
- Limitations
- Authoritative volunteer photo/service archive transcribing official sources; specifications trace to BuShips-era data but the page is a curated compilation, not the underlying document. Contains no asbestos or hazmat content; establishes history and machinery spec only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-02
-
[4]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (NAVSHIPS 250-011, 13 April 1945) - LST design table and hull roster (shipscribe.com scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-011, LST section (pp. ~168-191): hull roster entry LST879 + LST design table machinery rows; URL moved from /styles/usnaux/sdb/ to /pubs/ - verified live 2026-10-03
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official BuShips roster entry names LST879: built by 'Missouri Valley B. & I. Co., Evansville, Ind.', keel laid 2 Nov 44, launched 13 Dec 44, first commission 5 Jan 45 - corroborating DANFS milestones with an official contemporaneous record. The LST design table assigns design group LST542-931 (which includes LST-879) a machinery plant of 2 x 'G. M. Diesel, 12-567A' at 1,700 shp - a diesel plant with no boilers and no steam propulsion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945 (publication); construction 1944-45
- Population
- Construction trades (Evansville, 1944); commissioning crew
- Limitations
- Contemporaneous official register - strong for builder, dates, and machinery design group. It documents the design plant, not installed materials; the volume contains no asbestos, insulation, or material-content data, and the roster entry does not itself say 'asbestos' anywhere.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-03
-
[5]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure', HRD-80-2 (published 1979-10-18, released 1979-10-22) - product page Highlights [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page, Highlights section; full report link https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf present on page
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities.' The Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs; this was modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. Establishes that asbestos insulation was in general Navy shipboard use across the era that includes this hull's construction and service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (review of 1975-79 policy); covers earlier use era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (Long Beach, Norfolk fieldwork); extrapolates to era shipboard insulation generally
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation: does not name LST-879, the LST-542 class, or Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, and fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk naval shipyards - not this commercial 'cornfield' yard. Product-page Highlights used; full 26-page report not extracted this session. Establishes era/Navy-wide use only - not presence aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design table (LST542-931 group: 2 x GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp - diesel, no boilers); NavSource specifications (same machinery); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy-wide asbestos insulation use through the era); LST class design notes (class-f profile: exposure relevance concentrates in engine-room/exhaust lagging, gaskets, deck coverings, accommodation insulation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; NavSource spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; class profile lst-1-class notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-542-class amphibious ship built at an inland wartime 'cornfield' yard in late 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a ship of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and machinery lagging in the engine spaces, gaskets and flange packing, valve stem packing, deck coverings and insulation in accommodation spaces, electrical insulation, and friction/brake linings on deck machinery. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the engine-room and exhaust-system pathway remains.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1944-45); wartime engine-room crew; occupation-era crew; 1947-48 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction specification, or work package located for LST-879. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. The diesel plant narrows but does not eliminate asbestos-relevant systems.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-05
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[7]Indiana Historical Society finding aid, accession 1998.0295: James H. Kellar and Patricia C. Kellar, 'The Evansville Shipyard: Outside Any Shipbuilding Zone' (368-page manuscript, William Henry Smith Memorial Library) [other_primary]
- Locator
- IHS Manuscript and Visual Collections finding aid PDF, 'Historical Sketch' + 'Scope and Content' sections - verified live 2026-10-03
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Indiana Historical Society holds the Kellar manuscript history of the Evansville Shipyard where this hull was built: the Navy selected Evansville in January 1942 for an inland LST yard; production ran summer 1942 through late summer 1945; the yard was the largest wartime employer in Evansville with over 19,000 workers at its 1944 peak; it built 202 vessels including 167 LSTs (MVB&I built 171 LSTs total including its Leavenworth, KS yard per secondary counts). This is the yard-level documentary lead for construction-period conditions aboard hulls built there, including this one.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (yard operation)
- Population
- Evansville shipyard workforce (peak ~19,000, 1944) - the trades that built this hull
- Limitations
- Finding aid only - the 368-page manuscript itself was not reviewed this session and is not digitized at the located URL. Establishes yard scale, workforce, and output; contains no stated asbestos content. Ship-specific construction detail for LST-879 (yard hull 153) may exist in the manuscript or NARA contract records - unexamined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-06
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[8]Batch-7422 search ledger (this record): DANFS verified live; NavSource hull page; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 roster/design table; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; Indiana Historical Society finding aid; shipbuildinghistory secondary cross-check; museum-ship sites (LST-325, LST-393); secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (blocked); NARA catalog (JS-rendered) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-879-lst879-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-879 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~8.7 h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material in the general LST space is law-firm marketing content (navyshipexposure.com, gorilaw.com listicles) 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). Deck logs, MVB&I contract/work-package records (NARA), and 1948 scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-879-lst879-07