Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 740-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-885-lst885-pkt-740-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-885 - construction, sponsorship, commissioning, Okinawa campaign, occupation duty, decommissioning, disposal (live NHHC page, full text retrieved 2026-10-03 via Firecrawl; plain curl/bot user-agents receive 404 from history.navy.mil - a UA filter, not a dead page) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-885 entry, full text (published 2015-08-03 per page footer)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-885 was laid down on 13 August 1944 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched on 23 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Alvin H. Tutt; and commissioned on 26 October 1944. During World War II, LST-885 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in March and April 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East until late November 1945. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 29 April 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year. On 16 December 1947, the ship was sold to the Tex-O-Kan Flour Mills Co., Dallas, Tex., for operation. LST-885 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
- Dravo Corp. construction trades (1944); USCG crew and embarked troops (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Entry does not state USCG manning (that comes from NavSource and the USCG Historian index). 'Sold...for operation' is correct - a secondary build registry misreads this hull as 'scrapped 1947' (see correction row ev-08). Live URL verified via Firecrawl this session; curl-style requests receive a UA-filtered 404 - logged in search_ledger.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-885 - USCG-manned flag, unit assignments, campaign and occupation-service tables, awards display, specification block, commanding officers, photo captions (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160885.htm - awards display, campaign tables, specifications block, commanding officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LST-542 Class tank landing ship; 'USS LST-885 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II'; laid down 13 August 1944 at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA; launched 23 September 1944; commissioned USS LST-885 26 October 1944, LT. Oliver McIntosh USCGR in command. Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LST Flotilla Twenty-Nine (CAPT. H. E. Richter USCG), LST Group Eighty-Seven (CDR. E. Anderson USCG), LST Division One Hundred Seventy-Three. Asiatic-Pacific campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 3 April 1945. Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) periods: 2-6 September 1945 and 15 September-25 November 1945. Decommissioned 29 April 1946; struck 3 July 1946; sold for commercial operations 16 December 1947 to Tex-O-Kan Flour Mills Co., Dallas, TX; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' One battle star. Spec block: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam; 11.6 kts trial; two General Motors 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, 2 propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's service generators; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; call sign NJBB. COs: LT. Oliver T. McIntosh USCGR (26 Oct 1944-?); LT. Caldwell Davis USCG (?-29 Apr 1946). Photo captions: launching at Dravo 23 Sep 1944; with LCT(6)-1407 aboard lying off the Karama Islands southwest of Okinawa 26 March 1945 (LCT launched there 27 March); assaulting Geruma Shima with the 77th Army Division; in background of USN photo 80-G-K-3821 at Kerama Retto; beached at Yokohama 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- USCG crew (1944-46); embarked troops on the Okinawa lift and occupation runs
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation quoting Navy sources and contributor captions, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS; spec block mirrors BuShips class data. Its 'final disposition, fate unknown' is superseded by the BGSU/Alpena merchant registries (ev-04, ev-05). Hull identifications in the captioned NARA photos are contributor attributions, not NARA catalog metadata (see ev-11). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'Cutter Listing by Class' - 'Cutters, Craft, & U.S. Coast Guard Manned Army & Navy Vessels' index, LST (LANDING SHIP, TANK; World War II) section (live page verified via Firecrawl 2026-10-03; curl/bot requests receive 403) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cutters-65-ft-or-greater index, 'LST (LANDING SHIP, TANK; World War II)' section, LST-885 line item
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG Historian's Office index lists LST-885 in its 'LST (LANDING SHIP, TANK; World War II)' section - one of 76 hull-number LST entries in the roster of Coast Guard-manned Navy vessels. The index notes that undated entries are commissioned U.S. Navy warships or U.S. Army vessels manned by Coast Guard crews, a manning practice that occurred only during World War II. Corroborates the NavSource USCG-manned flag and the USCGR/USCG commissioning and final commanding officers (LT. McIntosh USCGR, LT. Davis USCG).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- USCG ship's company (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Index-level listing only - the USCG Historian carries no dedicated LST-885 article page (unlike named cutters, the LST entries are unlinked index lines); confirms CG manning, not service detail, unit history, or any material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-03
-
[5]Bowling Green State University, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (HCGL) vessel database, item LST-0885 - registry, rebuild, ownership, and disposition records (live page verified 2026-10-03) [museum_official]
- Locator
- greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/436280 - Registry and Rig Information, Rebuilds/History/Disposition, Vessel Names and Vessel Owners tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HCGL registry record for this hull's entire merchant career: built 1944 by Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA; 328.00 x 50 steel hull. Rebuilds: 'Converted to package freighter by Davie Shipbuilding & Repair, Ltd., Lauzon, P.Q., in 1951 (316.42 x 50 x 24.5; 3638 gross - 2384 registered).' History note: 'Also listed as being built in Galveston, TX at Todd-Galveston Dry Docks, Inc. Crewed by the Coast Guard and participated in the Battle Of Okinawa, 1945. Struck from the Naval Register, July 3, 1946.' Disposition: 'Notice that Cayman Island propeller WAUWINET struck submerged wreck of WITSHOAL off Georgetown on October 31, 1981.' Vessel-name table: GASPEDOC (Canada, official no. 179588, 1951-1967); VEDALIN (Canada, 1967-1968); WITSHOAL (Panama 1968-1977; Nicaragua 1977-1979; Panama 1979- ). Owners: U.S. Navy (1944-1947); Tex-O-Kan Flour Mills Co. (1947-1951); N.M. Paterson & Sons, Ltd. (1951-1967, Canada); Steel Factors, Ltd. (1967-1968, Canada); Challenger, Ltd. (1968-1973, Panama); Witshoal Corp. (1973-1977 Panama, 1977-1979 Nicaragua, 1979- Panama).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Davie Shipbuilding conversion trades (1951); merchant crews under five owners and three flag registries (1951-c.1980)
- Limitations
- University-archive registry compilation - year-only granularity; its own internal caveat ('also listed as being built in Galveston, TX at Todd-Galveston Dry Docks') is a documented source defect: DANFS, NavSource, and the Alpena record all give Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh/Neville Island - the Galveston listing is not adopted. Conversion description 'package freighter' vs the Alpena record's 'bulk carrier' is a wording difference, unresolved. No asbestos content; merchant-era material work is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-04
-
[6]Great Lakes Ships vessel database (Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Leonard J. Barr II Collection), record 3691993 for LST-885 - identification, machinery, chronology, final disposition (live page verified 2026-10-03) [museum_official]
- Locator
- greatlakeships.org/3691993/data - Identification, Power, Hull Dimensions, Final Disposition, History chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Library-archive vessel record for this hull: 'LST-885 (1944, Naval Vessel), also known as GASPEDOC; VEDALIN; WITSHOAL'; built at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Dravo Corporation, hull number 2276, steel hull; power - 2 oil engines, 12 cylinders, 8 1/2 x 10 in., 1,800 hp, built by General Motors Corporation 1944. Chronology: 1944 owned U.S. Navy; 1948 owned Tex-O-Kan Flour Mills Co.; 1951 owned N.M. Paterson & Sons Ltd - converted to bulk carrier by Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Lauzon, QUE, Canadian registry C 179588, renamed GASPEDOC; 1968 owned Steel Factors Ltd, renamed VEDALIN; 1968 owned Challenger Ltd, Panama, renamed WITSHOAL; 1973 owned Witshoal Corporation. Final disposition: 'Georgetown, Cayman Islands... 1980... Wrecked. Notes: Exact date unknown - early 1980s.' Includes a photograph of the vessel as GASPEDOC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Merchant crews 1951-c.1980; Davie Shipbuilding conversion trades 1951
- Limitations
- Library-archive record concordant with the BGSU HCGL record (its 'See Link' points to the same BGSU item). Year-only chronology - its '1948' Tex-O-Kan entry vs DANFS's sale date 16 December 1947 is registry-year granularity, not a conflict. 'Wrecked 1980' is approximate - the BGSU record fixes only that the wreck was submerged off Georgetown by 31 October 1981. Length listed as 316 ft reflects the post-conversion registered dimension, not the 328 ft naval hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-05
-
[7]Consolidated era inference built on: Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. 2 (Jan 1945) LST design table (shipscribe.com scan - PDF relocated since the class profile's 2026-09-16 fetch; current URL https://www.shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf verified live HTTP 206 2026-10-03, old .../styles/usnaux/sdb/ path dead) + LST-1-class profile (class-f/lst-1-class.class.json, 2026-09-16) + NavSource specification block for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table; class-f/lst-1-class.class.json evidence rows ev-lst-1-class-01/-03; NavSource spec block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull is a diesel-powered LST-542-class ship: two GM 12-567A diesels (900 hp each; BGSU/Alpena registry gives the pair as GM 12-cylinder 1,800 hp built 1944), no boilers - so the steam-plant boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply. Era asbestos-relevant applications for the type: diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. BuShips SD-1945 v2 confirms the LST-542-group machinery fit (GM 12-567A pair, ~1,700 shp) matches this hull's documented spec block.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1981
- Population
- Dravo construction trades (1944); USCG crew and embarked troops (1944-46); Davie conversion trades (1951); merchant crews (1951-c.1980)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-885. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. SDB v2 is a class document; it does not name this hull. Merchant-era replacement of any original material is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-06
-
[8]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 era (1944 build).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1979 (report); construction-era context 1944
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; era context only, no fact specific to this hull. This hull left Navy custody in 1947 - decades before the 1975/1979 Navy asbestos-management policies the report describes took effect, and her 1951-1980 merchant career sits outside the Navy program's scope entirely, so the policy record is not applicable to her post-sale material history. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, standing limitation) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-07
-
[9]ShipbuildingHistory / Naval Marine Archive secondary build registry, 'Landing Ships Tank LST 797-1155' build table - LST-885 row (live page verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/lstpart3/ LST-885 row; concordant mirror at navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lstpart3.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Source discrepancy documented and resolved: the secondary build registry lists this hull's disposition as 'scrapped 1947' - contradicted by DANFS ('On 16 December 1947, the ship was sold to the Tex-O-Kan Flour Mills Co., Dallas, Tex., for operation') and by the BGSU HCGL and Alpena County library merchant registries, which document continuous commercial service as GASPEDOC/VEDALIN/WITSHOAL ending in a submerged wreck off Georgetown, Grand Cayman, by 31 October 1981. The registry's build data (Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh; laid 13 Aug 1944; launched 23 Sep 1944; commissioned 26 Oct 1944) is concordant - only its disposition field is defective for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947 (build fields); disposition error affects 1947-1981
- Limitations
- Secondary-registry defect corrected by weight of sources (DANFS + two independent archive registries); the build table's other hull rows were not audited for similar disposition errors (sister-hull LST-886's 'scrapped 1947' in the same table is correct per its own DANFS entry).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-08
-
[10]LST-1-class profile CourtListener sweep (class-f/lst-1-class.class.json, sl-lst-1-class-05, run 2026-09-16): Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co. Inc., S.D.N.Y. No. 1:07-cv-04771 - the only document-level 'USS LST' asbestos hit, an incidental reunion-notice mention of LST-579 [court_record]
- Locator
- class-f/lst-1-class.class.json evidence row ev-lst-1-class-04 and search_ledger row sl-lst-1-class-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A prior authenticated CourtListener sweep of 'USS LST' asbestos dockets (run for the class profile, 2026-09-16) located no asbestos docket naming any specific LST hull: the only document-level hit was a scanned Navy reunion-notice compilation in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton (S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771, ECF 17-20) where 'USS LST 579' appears inside a reunion listing - an incidental mention, not an exposure record. No result for LST-885 or any hull-numbered LST was found in that sweep.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-09-16 (sweep date)
- Limitations
- Class-level sweep, not a hull-specific search: hull-number sweeps (e.g. 'LST-885') were not exhaustively run per the class profile's own limitation, and this session's ship-specific CourtListener run was blocked by daily quota - the litigation status of this specific hull remains an open gap, not a verified negative. Merchant names (GASPEDOC/VEDALIN/WITSHOAL) were likewise unsearched this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-09
-
[11]Batch-7428 search ledger (this record): live DANFS; NavSource live page; USCG Historian index; BGSU HCGL and Alpena County library vessel records; secondary build registries (shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive, HyperWar USN index); class profile; shipyards.json; GAO product page; NARA catalog; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-885-01 through sl-uss-lst-885-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or verified litigation naming USS LST-885 (or her merchant names GASPEDOC, VEDALIN, WITSHOAL) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull's Navy career (1944-47) entirely predates asbestos-survey and hazmat-disclosure practice, and her 33-year merchant career is undocumented for materials - the 1951 Davie Shipbuilding package-freighter conversion and decades of commercial operation are material disturbances with no record located. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - API reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~8.5 h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing page 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 - era-consistent insulation and gasket materials are a reasonable inference for a 1944-built naval vessel, not a ship-proven fact. The litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-throttled, not run). The wreck's material condition is unsurveyed; whether she foundered with original-era or post-conversion materials is unknown. Deck logs (NARA RG 24), Davie conversion records, and Canadian registry files are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-10
-
[12]NARA catalog verified live: NAID 205586376 (Local ID 26-G-4341, 'Americans Storm the Outposts of Okinawa,' USCG still photographs) and NAID 80229 (Local ID 428-NPC-15927, 'Marines Raise American Flag Over Geruma Shima Island,' moving images produced 24 March 1945) - plus undigitized leads (RG 24 deck logs, Davie conversion records, Canadian registry file C 179588) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/205586376 and /id/80229 (both HTTP 200 verified); NavSource 10/16/160885.htm photo captions; search_ledger row sl-uss-lst-885-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for this hull: NARA still-picture and film records are live in the catalog - NAID 205586376 (USCG photo 26-G-4341; NavSource attributes the image to LST-885 with other LSTs assaulting Geruma Shima) and NAID 80229 (film 428-NPC-15927; NavSource attributes an LST-885-with-LCT(6)-1407 frame off the Karama Islands 26 March 1945 to this title). USN photo 80-G-K-3821 (from USS West Virginia, Kerama Retto) shows LST-885 in the background per the NavSource caption. NARA RG 24 deck logs covering her 18-month commissioned career (October 1944-April 1946) are expected in the WWII-era series but not located in digitized form; the catalog is JS-rendered and was searched by NAID only. Davie Shipbuilding 1951 conversion/contract records and the Canadian registry file for official number 179588 are undigitized; no Cayman wreck survey or salvage record was located.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1981 (record coverage window)
- Limitations
- Hull attribution in the NARA items is NavSource-contributor captioning, not NARA catalog metadata - the film's own shot list names LST-647 and LST-617, and the still-photo catalog title ('Americans Storm the Outposts of Okinawa') is generic; treat the LST-885 frame identification as contributor-attributed. None of the leads carries asbestos content; they are the documented next-pass research path, not evidence of material aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-885-11