Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 838-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-946-lst946-pkt-838-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-946 (NHHC page; live URL 404s this session - NHHC link rot, consistent with the Batch-01 standing defect; cited from the 2025-02-02 Wayback Machine capture, labeled archived) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-946 entry (three paragraphs; archived capture 2025-02-02 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-946.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LST-946 was laid down on 15 August 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 20 September 1944; sponsored by Miss Nancy Ruth Kerr; and commissioned on 12 October 1944, Ens. D. A. Schlarbaum in command.' Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; 'participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from March through May 1945.' 'Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-February 1946. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 25 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 31 July that same year. On 25 May 1948, the ship was sold to the California Co. for operation.' 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
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS gives the commissioning CO as 'Ens. D. A. Schlarbaum' where NavSource's commanding-officers table lists 'LTjg. Schlarbaum, Donald Archie, USN' - a minor rank discrepancy (crew history likewise calls him Ensign at sponsoring and Lieutenant at command). DANFS does not say where she decommissioned or who the California Co. was. Live page 404s; entry quoted from the 2025-02-02 Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-946 (10/16/160946.htm) - timeline, specifications, campaign/occupation periods, commanding officers, awards, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160946.htm header block, campaign/occupation tables, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 15 August 1944 at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA; launched 20 September 1944; commissioned 12 October 1944, LTjg. Donald A. Schlarbaum USN in command. Asiatic-Pacific theater assignments: LST Flotilla Twenty-One (CAPT. W. H. Brereton USN), LST Group Sixty-Two (CDR. W. M. Gillett USN), LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Four. Campaign credit: 'Okinawa Gunto operation - Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 7 May 1945.' Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) periods: 12 November-8 December 1945, 25 December 1945-23 January 1946, and 1-19 February 1946. 'Decommissioned, 25 June 1946'; 'Struck from the Naval Register, 31 July 1946'; 'Final Disposition, sold, 25 May 1948, to California Co. for operation, fate unknown'; one battle star. Awards shown: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific (1 star), WWII Victory, Navy Occupation (Asia clasp), Philippines Liberation Medal. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full (seagoing w/1,675-ton load) / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kts trial; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troops 16 officers + 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; diesel fuel 4,300 bbls; ultimate armament 2 twin + 4 single 40 mm, 12 single 20 mm; propulsion line 'two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines' (generic class line - corrected by BuShips for this block, see ev-05). Commanding officers: LTjg. Donald Archie Schlarbaum USN (12 Oct 1944 - 13 Jun 1946); LTjg. Richard A. French USNR (13-25 Jun 1946). Photo captions: launching at Bethlehem-Hingham 20 September 1944; four personnel-inspection photos circa 14 October 1944; under way in San Francisco Bay circa early 1946 with 'LCT-1376' aboard (NHHC photo NH 79590; the NHHC catalog caption for the same photo says LCT-1378 - see gaps); and one expressly disclaimed doctored stock photo bearing 'Fort Defiance' on the Mk 51 fire-control tub.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948 (page updated 2015-11-06)
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946); embarked Army personnel
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS data - milestone dates corroborated by DANFS where they overlap; specifications are class-level boilerplate (its 12-567A engine line conflicts with the official BuShips design table for this hull's block - see ev-05 correction). Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live 2026-10-03 (www.navsource.net, not the dead navsource.org domain).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-02
-
[4]'The History of the LST 946 - USS Fort Defiance' - crew-written ship history compiled by XO D. O. Cederquist with a 19 June 1946 covering letter from 'The Officers and Men of LST 946' to the Chamber of Commerce, Defiance, Ohio (NavSource-hosted scanned typescript, 21 pp.; OCR'd this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/pdf/160946a.pdf (21-page scan; 'History of LST-946 alias USS Fort Defiance' link off the hull page); OCR text retained in worktree as lst946-history-ocr.txt
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand crew narrative for this hull: crew formed August 1944 at the Amphibious Training Base, Camp Bradford, VA, then the Naval Receiving Station, Boston; the City of Defiance, Ohio sponsored the ship (Chamber of Commerce campaign for athletic/recreational gear), so 'the ship became the Fort Defiance as well as LST 946' and 'DEFIANCE' was painted on the conning tower. Commissioned 12 October 1944 with a Defiance committee present. Itinerary: departed the Bethlehem-Hingham berth 13 Oct 1944; Charleston deperming/fueling; Commonwealth Pier, Boston, 14 Oct; sailed 18 Oct; ordered into New York Harbor 19 Oct to ride out a hurricane; shakedown off Cornfield Harbor/Little Creek from 22 Oct; Portsmouth Navy Yard alterations 6-11 Nov (causeway around the conn, portholes in officers' country); NOB Norfolk - cargo of trucks for Pearl Harbor; New York 13-22 Nov loading LCT sections (all of LCT-1214, sections of LCT-1213 and LCT-1215); convoy to Guantanamo (arrived 28 Nov); Coco Solo, Canal Zone (arrived 3 Dec, stayed six days); transited the Panama Canal into the Pacific; 50-knot gale in Tehuantepec Bay 14 Dec; San Diego destroyer base 22-29 Dec; Pearl Harbor 8 Jan 1945 (trucks and LCT sections unloaded; ~10 days West Loch); Kaneohe Bay fueling 19 Jan; loaded LCT-746 23 Jan; Kewalo Basin/Diamond Head - Army supplies and 77th Division LVTs; departed for the war zone ~27 Jan. Eniwetok 9 Feb; main-engine casualty, taken in tow by LSM-79 15 Feb; Apra Harbor, Guam, repairs 17-19 Feb; Palau 22 Feb; San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 25 Feb (Army ashore at Dulag Beach); loaded 77th Division infantry and amphibious tractors; rehearsal 13-16 Mar (one amph tank lost at the stern anchor cable - S 1/c T. Starr awarded the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a soldier); departed 19 Mar for Kerama Retto; off Zamami Jima 26 Mar as the Kerama Retto invasion opened; reserve and floating-reserve periods; Ie Shima landing 16 Apr; 40 days in the Okinawa area under nightly kamikaze alerts and suicide-boat watches; departed 7 May for Ulithi (13 May-2 Jun); Manus 6 Jun; Hollandia 16-21 Jun (hospital unit loaded); San Pedro Bay 27 Jun-24 Jul; returned to Okinawa with an aviation augmentation unit; departed Okinawa 8 Aug; Manila 13 Aug; San Jose, Mindoro, 14 Aug - official word of the war's end arrived 15 Aug 1530 while beached unloading troops. Occupation runs: Subic/Leyte/Manila; departed 10 Sep with military-government troops and elements of the 28th Replacement Battalion; 70-knot typhoon 17 Sep; entered Nagasaki Harbor at general quarters; ~1 month at Wakayama/Wakanoura; troop lifts Manila-Subic-Lingayen-Wakayama; Saipan; 850 Japanese soldiers lifted from Palau to Uraga/Yokohama (arrived 27-28 Dec); officer turnover at Guam 11 Jan 1946 (XO Mr. Babb aboard; Mr. Bussabarger to LST-970 as XO); 600 Okinawans lifted from Rota and Pagan to Okinawa ~1 Feb; a week loading 2nd Marine Air Wing equipment - text ends mid-February 1946. Closing figures: '20 months and 7 days' representing Defiance, Ohio; ~200 men and 15 officers served aboard; 350 infantry, 50 amphibious-tank men, 17 LVTs and 75 tons of ammunition carried to the Okinawa invasion; 2,000+ Army personnel transported; one typhoon ridden out underway, five more in port; ~60,000 Pacific miles.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- crew (1944-1946); embarked 77th Division infantry/LVT crews and other Army personnel (1945); repatriated Japanese soldiers and Okinawan passengers (late 1945-early 1946)
- Limitations
- Firsthand crew memoir compiled just before decommissioning - a primary-source genre (shipboard history written by the XO), not an official record; contains humor, nicknames, and period racial language not repeated here. Dates corroborate DANFS/NavSource where they overlap (commissioning, Okinawa window, occupation service). Scanned typescript - minor OCR noise possible; no asbestos or material content. Not independently audited against deck logs (RG 24 undigitized).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945) - LST vessel roster (shipscribe.com scan, text layer) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST roster, LST946 row (PDF p. ~186 of the LST tabulation)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips January 1945 roster entry for LST-946: builder 'Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, Mass.' (ditto block running from the LST-906 roster rows); laid 15 Aug 44; launched 20 Sept 44; first commissioned 12 Oct 44 - corroborating the DANFS/NavSource build dates and the Hingham builder under the yard's parent-name form.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Roster corroboration only; the January 1945 data book predates her Pacific service and contains no asbestos/material content. Text-layer OCR is staggered; builder captured via the ditto block under 'Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, Mass.'
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945) - LST design table, engine-variant column [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table, 'Manufacturer, type of engines and model' column, LST932-979 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the official BuShips design table assigns engine variants by hull block - LST1-490, LST491-541, LST542-931, LST980-1059, and LST1081-1152 carry 2 x GM 12-567A diesels (1,700 shp), while blocks LST932-979 and LST1060-1080 carry 2 x GM 12-278A diesels (1,700 shp). LST-946 falls in the LST932-979 block, so her documented engines were GM 12-278A units - not the 12-567A shown by the NavSource hull page (which carries generic class specifications). Design-table block figures: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, 2,366 t light / 4,080 t trial, 11.6 kts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating specification error, not a material/asbestos claim. BuShips design table is the authoritative official source and controls; whether the as-built hull received the block-designated engines is not contradicted by any located primary source but is technically a design-table assignment, not a machinery-certificate record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-05
-
[7]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), Bethlehem-Hingham, Hingham MA - yard production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bethlehem-Hingham production table, row hull no. 3416 / LST 946
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard production table row for this hull: yard hull no. 3416, type LST, no. 946, FY1943, keel laid 15-Aug-44, launched 20-Sep-44, delivered 12-Oct-44 - 36 days on the ways, 22 days in the water, 58 total days. Yard context from the same page: Bethlehem Hingham Shipyards, Inc. was built in 1941 for destroyer-escort construction with $35M in Navy funding, had 16 ways, was managed by Bethlehem Quincy, employed over 23,000 at peak, and was closed and liquidated after the war. Disposition column for this hull reads 'Scrapped 1947' - which conflicts with the DANFS/NavSource sale-for-operation record of 25 May 1948 (see gaps).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1941-1945; 23,000+ peak)
- Limitations
- Respected secondary yard reference, not an official registry; build dates corroborate DANFS exactly. The 'Scrapped 1947' disposition conflicts with the documented 1948 commercial sale (a ship cannot both be scrapped in 1947 and sold for operation in May 1948) - treated as an unresolved disposition variant, not a finding. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-06
-
[8]NHHC photographic record NH 79590, 'USS LST-946' (live page 404s this session - NHHC link rot; cited from the 2025-04-03 Wayback Machine capture, labeled archived) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog, NH 79590 title/caption/description/catalog fields (archived capture 2025-04-03)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC catalog record for this hull: Title 'USS LST-946'; Caption 'In San Francisco Bay, with LCT-1378 on board, circa early 1946'; Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1974; Catalog # NH 79590; copyright owner Naval History and Heritage Command - a dated, hull-numbered photograph placing the ship in San Francisco Bay in early 1946, consistent with the post-occupation return leg before her June 1946 decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- crew (1946)
- Limitations
- Physical-presence documentation only - a photograph and caption; no asbestos, material-condition, or work-record content. Caption conflict: NHHC says LCT-1378 aboard; NavSource's caption for the same photo says LCT-1376 (see gaps). Live page dead; quoted from the 2025-04-03 Wayback capture.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-07
-
[9]U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives, image 3065732.jpg - 'U.S. Navy Landing Ship Tank LST-946 (no name), no date' (Mildred M. Mario Photo Archive Room, USNI Headquarters, Annapolis) [museum_official]
- Locator
- photos.usni.org/content/3065732jpg title line and Mario Photo Archive Room description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- USNI Photo Archives holds a cataloged photographic print of this hull: 'U.S. Navy Landing Ship Tank LST-946 (no name), no date' - confirming both the physical photographic record and the institutional note that the ship carried no name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- undated
- Limitations
- Archival-holdings documentation only - an undated photograph record; no asbestos, material-condition, or work-record content. Page verified live 2026-10-03.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST design table (diesel plant, no boilers; engine-variant blocks); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era (see ev-10); lst-1-class class-profile reasoning for diesel-LST applications [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table (diesel/no-boiler plant); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LST built August-October 1944 at a wartime emergency yard sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. The BuShips-documented diesel plant means no boiler or steam-turbine lagging pathway; era-standard asbestos-relevant applications for the type were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. This hull's short USN career (20.5 months), stateside Portsmouth NY availability limited to minor November 1944 alterations, and 1948 commercial disposal make a postwar US refit asbestos event unlikely - but no ship-specific material record exists either way.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946); California Co. crews (1948+, undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located. Names era-standard applications for the type, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-09
-
[11]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 USN service era (1944-46).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, consistent with prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-10
-
[12]Batch-7489 search ledger (this record): DANFS (archived); NavSource hull page and crew-history PDF; BuShips SDB-1945 v2; shipbuildinghistory; NHHC NH 79590 (archived); USNI Photo Archives; NVR; MARAD Vessel History Database; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-946-lst946-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-946 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated API reported the shared daily quota exhausted (~7.1 h to reset); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case, no law-firm listicle, and no hull-specific asbestos material for this hull - an unusually clean sweep. MARAD's Vessel History Database indexes sibling hulls LST-941/942/943/944/949 but carries no LST-946 entry at all (consistent with a direct Navy-to-commercial sale that never entered MARAD custody).
- 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 (quota-blocked, not run). Deck logs (RG 24), BuShips work packages, and California Co. commercial records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-946-lst946-11