Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[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-949-lst949-pkt-838-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-949 (NHHC live page, verified 2026-10-03; identical text confirmed against Wayback capture of history.navy.mil/danfs/l27/lst-949.htm) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-949 entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 29 August 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched 30 September 1944; commissioned 23 October 1944, Lt. Thomas J. Twohig, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from April through June 1945. Redesignated LSTH-949 on 15 September 1945; performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-April 1946. Returned to the United States, decommissioned 18 July 1946, struck from the Navy list 25 September 1946; sold 30 June 1948 to Humble Oil & Refining Co., of Houston, Tex., 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
- Crew and embarked troops, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; the entry contains no asbestos, material, or machinery-fit content and establishes no exposure fact. 'LSTH-949' is the DANFS spelling for the LST(H)-949 hospital designation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST(H)-949 ex USS LST-949 (live navsource.net page verified 2026-10-03) - chronology, campaign ribbons, specifications, commanding officer, crew photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST-949 page - chronology, campaign table, specifications, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource chronology corroborates the DANFS dates and adds: LST-542 class; Okinawa Gunto operation listed as assault and occupation 1 April - 7 June 1945; occupation service in the Far East 1 October 1945 - 12 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 25 September 1946; sold for commercial operations 30 June 1948 to Humble Oil & Refining Co., Houston, TX; one battle star. Specifications block (class figures): complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; 2 LCVP; cargo capacity 1,600-1,900 tons; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100-kW diesel-drive ship's service generators, 1,700 shp, twin rudders, 11.6 kt trial. Photographs show the hull beached at Fukuoka, Japan, March 1946 (contributed by QM3/c James Elder).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Transcription archive, not a primary record - its specifications block is generic LST-542 class data, not a per-hull survey: the GM 12-567A engine figure conflicts with the BuShips SDB v2 roster's 12-278A annotation for this hull's LST-932-979 build block (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog, file unit 'USS LST-949 - Rep of opers in the invasion and occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 4/1-25/45' (NAID 101748353); RG 38 Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, WWII War Diaries series; microfilm roll A1757; 24 images digitized via Fold3 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 101748353; Fold3 file 296612674; microfilm roll A1757 (image 0577 onward, 24 images)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own report of operations for the Okinawa Gunto invasion and occupation, 1-25 April 1945, survives as a digitized 24-image file unit in the RG 38 WWII War Diaries - a ship-authored primary record covering the operation for which she earned her battle star.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-04-01 to 1945-04-25
- Population
- Crew, April 1945
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification only: the 24 images were not reviewed this session, so no content extraction (movements, casualties handled, machinery detail) is claimed. Operational reports of this type do not document asbestos, but this is the closest ship-authored record to the exposure era and may carry crew/activity detail relevant to future review.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-03
-
[5]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online reading room, transcription of the official fleet organization) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LST GROUP 63, LST DIVISION 126 listing
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Pacific Fleet organization lists LST 949 in LST Division 126, LST Group 63 (ComLSTGrp 63 Lt. Cdr. R. E. Fahnestock, USNR), under Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet as of 1 May 1945 - mid-operation in the Okinawa campaign documented by DANFS and the NARA war-diary file unit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew, May 1945
- Limitations
- Organization-list entry only; no commanding officer is printed against LST 949 (dotted line, as for several sisters) and the page establishes unit assignment, not onboard conditions or materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-04
-
[6]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table + roster (shipscribe.com scan; previously verified for the lst-1-class class profile 2026-09-16) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster engine-variant annotation
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design table for the LST type: 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, ~2,366 t light / 3,960-4,080 t trial, 11.6 kt; diesel plant (no boilers) - 2 GM 12-567A diesels, 1,700 shp standard, with the LST-932-979 and LST-1060-1080 blocks annotated as carrying GM 12-278A engines; accommodations 13 officers / ~106 enlisted. LST-949 falls inside the 932-979 engine-variant block.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Class design data, not a hull record - it establishes the design envelope and the 12-278A engine-variant annotation for this hull's build block but does not survey this specific ship. Conflicts with NavSource's generic 12-567A spec figure (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: BuShips SDB v2 LST design data (diesel plant, no boilers); LST-1-class class profile (lst-1-class.class.json, 2026-09-16); documented LST(H) conversion interior fitout (see ev-uss-lst-949-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; LST(H)-464 documented conversion fitout (ev-uss-lst-949-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- For a diesel-powered WWII LST of this build block, era-standard asbestos-relevant applications were engine and generator exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. The diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the steam-lagging pathway relative to steam vessels. Her September 1945 LST(H) conversion added interior fitout scope - the documented LST(H) pattern installed hospital wards, an operating room, X-ray, dental, and laboratory spaces in the tank deck - an additional interior-construction surface for era insulation products.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops incl. casualties and medical staff under LST(H) service (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials. No hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, conversion work package, or product attribution exists for LST-949. No quantity. The LST(H) fitout scope for this hull specifically is inferred from the class conversion pattern, not from her (unlocated) conversion order.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-06
-
[8]American College of Surgeons Bulletin, Tadlock & Sobocinski, 'US Navy Surgical Teams Fight to Save Lives on WWII Amphibious Warships' (May 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ACS Bulletin, May 2025, 'US Ship LST-464' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Professional-history documentation of the LST(H) program into which this hull was redesignated: the Navy began adapting LSTs as designated medical ships in 1943; the documented LST(H)-464 conversion carried 60 hospital bunk beds in triple tiers, four surgical beds, an operating room, sterilizing room, dental office, laboratory, dressing room, and X-ray room, staffed by six medical officers and 35 hospital corpsmen - the conversion pattern that LST-949's 15 September 1945 LST(H) designation invoked.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- LST(H) medical staff and patients (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level secondary history centered on a sister conversion (LST(H)-464); describes the conversion pattern, not this hull's actual fitout. Mentions no asbestos and documents no materials aboard any hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-07
-
[9]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; standing policy retained insulation in place unless damaged or required for repairs - spanning this hull's entire 1944-46 Navy service era.
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-08
-
[10]Batch-7492 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NARA Catalog; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization; BuShips SDB v2; GAO product page; NVR; open-web litigation/asbestos sweeps; CourtListener (blocked - quota) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-949-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LST-949 / LST(H)-949 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated API helper reported the fleet daily quota exhausted with a ~7.1-hour server-requested stand-down; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Open-web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; law-firm and marketing listicle content asserting asbestos aboard WWII LSTs exists but is 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 pass is a genuine open gap (blocked, not run). The NARA war-diary file unit (ev-03) is digitized but unreviewed; deck logs, muster rolls, and the LST(H) conversion work package are further undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-949-09