Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]research packet 839-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-957-lst957-pkt-839-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-957 - construction at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham MA; commissioning; Okinawa Gunto campaign; occupation duty; decommissioning, striking, and 1947 sale (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03 via Firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative, LST-957 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'laid down on 30 September 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 30 October 1944; and commissioned on 20 November 1944, Lt. Samuel B. Wardwell, Jr., USNR, in command.' Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April and May 1945; occupation duty in the Far East 'until early October 1945'; decommissioned 20 May 1946; sold to Bosey, Philippines, on 5 December 1947; struck from the Navy list 22 January 1948. 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 (1944-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS's occupation window ('until early October 1945') is slightly looser than NavSource's itemized 20 September - 2 October 1945 - consistent, not a conflict. DANFS does not name a class in this entry's prose; class assignment (LST-542) comes from the NavSource header and standard references.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-957 (10/16/160957.htm) - class header, unit assignment, specifications, campaign dates, commanding-officer list, captioned photography (live page, verified 2026-10-03 via Firecrawl and curl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160957.htm header block, awards/campaign/occupation tables, specifications block, photo captions, commanding-officer list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource header identifies this hull as an LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship; international radio call sign NKFM. Unit assignment: LST Flotilla Twenty-Three (CAPT. W. W. Weeden Jr. USN), LST Group Sixty-Eight (CDR. G. H. Dana USN), LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Six. Campaign table: Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 18 April to 7 May 1945. Navy Occupation service in the Far East 20 September to 2 October 1945. Commissioned 20 November 1944, 'LT. Samuel B. Wardwell, Jr., USNR, in command'; CO table lists Wardwell 20 November 1944 - 24 November 1945, then LT. James Floyd Davis USNR 24 November 1945 - 20 May 1946. Specifications: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft o.a.; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; endurance 24,000 mi at 9 kt; complement 13 officers + 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers + 147 enlisted; two General Motors 12-567A 900-hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders, three 100-kW diesel-driven ship-service generators; 2 LCVP. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Captioned photography: LST-957 and USS LSM-392 beached at Ie Shima in August 1945 (contributed by Allen R. Westerberger via the USS LSM / LSMR Association).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); USNR ship's company (1944-46); embarked troops (1945)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS and the spec block is unattributed class-level boilerplate. Its engine spec (GM 12-567A) conflicts with the official BuShips Ships' Data 1945 Vol. 2 design table, which assigns GM 12-278A engines to the LST932-979 hull block containing this ship - see ev-08 and gaps. Armament figures are the class's 'ultimate armament design,' not an outfit record for this hull. The page's HTML <title> element reads 'Tank Landing Ship LST-958' while the URL, H1, and body all identify LST-957 - a page-title defect, documented at ev-07. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-02
-
[4]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' - wartime administrative-organization tabulation (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online reading room, Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LST Flotilla Twenty-Three / LST GROUP 68 / LST DIVISION 136 table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Pacific Fleet organization list for 1 May 1945 places 'LST 957' in LST DIVISION 136 of LST GROUP 68 under Comdr. G. H. Dana (USN-Ret.) - corroborating NavSource's administrative unit assignment for this hull with a contemporaneous official document. Division 136 sister hulls listed: LST 957, LST 958, LST 959, LST 960, LST 961, LST 825.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LST Flotilla 23 / Group 68 / Division 136 staffs and unit crews (1945)
- Limitations
- Administrative unit listing only - establishes the formation assignment on 1 May 1945, not materials, manning detail, or operations. The ship's own action report shows that during the Okinawa landing she operated 'under orders of C.T.F. 55 directly and not under a Task Unit or Task Group designation' (first endorsement, ev-04) - an administrative-vs-operational distinction, not a conflict. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-03
-
[5]NARA file unit NAID 101747881 (RG 38, World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories; microfilm serial 132969, Roll A1757), 'USS LST-957 - Rep of opers in the occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 4/18-30/45' - the ship's own action report, serial 013, 9 digitized images, downloaded and read in full 2026-10-03 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/101747881, 9 images (medialz 0070-0078): transmittal letter; Action Report Parts I, IV-VIII; Enclosure B 'Method of Securing LCT for Unloading' + diagram; endorsements 1-5
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own action report (CO to CominCh, serial 013 dated 5 May 1945, signed S. B. Wardwell, Jr., Lt., USNR; via ComLSTGrp68, ComLSTFlot23, AdminComPhibsPac, ComPhibsPac, CincPac) documents this hull's Okinawa operations: arrived Nago Wan, Okinawa, 18 April 1945 and remained until 20 April, when anchorage shifted to off the southern coast of Ie Shima; commenced discharging cargo and troops two days later, completed the following day when anchorage shifted to Hagushi, Okinawa; remained there until 27 April. During heavy air attacks the SS CANADA VICTORY was sunk 500 yards away by a suicide plane; the ship's boats picked up thirteen survivors. LCT(6) 1384 launched 28 April. Ordnance expended on the night of 27-28 April: 458 rounds 40MM (HET) and 1,723 rounds 20MM (HEI & HET) at planes 'well out of range' with no hits observed; minor material casualties (five brass jams in the after twin forty, one 20MM misfire). The report records the ship's primary mission as part of T.U. 94.18.13: land personnel and equipment of the 1903rd Aviation Engineering Battalion on Ie Shima - 'As beach conditions proved dangerous and difficult due to coral reefs, unloading was made by LCT (6)s' (procedure and solution in Enclosure B) - 434 tons of cargo including 31 tracked or wheeled vehicles loaded at Seattle 19 February 1945, unloading finished 23 April; 195 troops disembarked (6 officers + 128 men embarked at Seattle 26 February; 4 officers + 60 men embarked at Oahu 13 March; 3 officers transferred to other ships at Ulithi); two side-carry pontoon sections loaded at Port Hueneme 8 February, launched at Nago Wan by a local CB detail 27 April; LCT(6) 1384 loaded at Mare Island, Cal., 5 February and launched 28 April. First endorsement by Commander LST Group SIXTY-EIGHT aboard flagship USS LST-822 (serial 044, 23 May 1945, G. H. Dana) notes the ship 'carried garrison forces to Ie Island and operated there under orders of C.T.F. 55 directly and not under a Task Unit or Task Group designation'; second endorsement by Commander LST Flotilla TWENTY-THREE (serial 094, 27 May 1945, W. W. Weeden Jr.) critiques the out-of-range expenditure as inconsistent with claimed fire discipline and commends the LCVP water-rescue lesson for force dissemination; third (Admin. Command PhibsPac, A. T. Sprague Jr., 1 June) and fourth (ComPhibsPac, H. G. Heedy by direction, 12 June) endorsements forward; CinCPac forwarding stamp 25 June 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-04-18 to 1945-04-30 (report coverage)
- Population
- USNR ship's company; embarked 1903rd Aviation Engineering Battalion troops; LCVP boat crews (Apr 1945)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific operational primary record (digitized microfilm, all 9 images read this session). Operational record only - no asbestos or material content. Establishes presence and mission detail, not exposure conditions. 'T.U. 94.18.13' is the report's task-unit reference while the first endorsement says the ship operated directly under C.T.F. 55 - carried as written. Enclosure B documents a field expedient for securing an LCT bow-on for unloading, not ship material condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-04
-
[6]NARA catalog search "LST-957" (115 file units, 114 digitized, RG 38 war diaries series): nine monthly war diaries for this hull spanning March-November 1945, plus the 4/18-30/45 action report (NAID 101747881) and a Board of Inspection and Survey material-inspection file unit (NAID 2761358) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search "LST-957" - ship-level file units listed in the record row (NAIDs above); each file unit page lists its digitized image set
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A nine-month digitized war-diary run for this hull exists at NARA: USS LST-957 war diaries for March 1945 (NAID 139965821, serial 115605, Roll A1517), April (NAID 140002520, serial 122093, Roll A1605), May (NAID 140040754, serial 125721, Roll A1653), June (NAID 101706742, serial 129155, Roll A1706), July (NAID 83522734, serial 136898, Roll A1806), August (NAID 77508376, serial 143359, Roll A1890), September (NAID 77532867, serial 146443, Roll A1919), October (NAID 77571222, serial 150514, Roll A1959), and November 1945 (NAID 77592271, serial 152596, Roll A1983). These are the ship's own monthly administrative histories filed to the Office of Naval Records - a day-by-day itinerary resource for the hull's 1945 movements (transit, Okinawa, occupation, return).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-03 to 1945-11
- Population
- USNR ship's company (1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: catalog records and image counts verified this session; the monthly diaries were not individually downloaded or read - daily movements, port calls, and any material-casualty reporting are recoverable but not extracted here. No December 1944-February 1945 war diary was located in the catalog results (commissioned 20 November 1944 - earliest reporting months not indexed, possibly not retained or filed under group reports). Contains no asbestos content (operational records).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-05
-
[7]NARA file unit NAID 2761358, 'LST-957' - RG 38, Board of Inspection and Survey, series 'Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation, 1940-1978' (unrestricted; Not Yet Available Online; National Archives at College Park) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/2761358 (file unit, Not Yet Available Online; microfilm/paper at Archives II, College Park, MD)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) file unit exists for this hull in the 'Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation' series - the Navy's material-condition inspection record type, the closest standard Navy record class to a hull material survey. It is cataloged but undigitized; retrieval requires a College Park pull or reproduction order.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- unknown (series span 1940-1978)
- Population
- Crew / inspection parties (dates unknown)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the file is not digitized, so its contents, date, and scope are unknown - an INSURV material report is a plausible but unconfirmed source for ship-material information. Existence of the file does not establish what it contains. No asbestos content demonstrable from the catalog record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-06
-
[8]Page-title defect check: live HTML <title> of navsource.net/archives/10/16/160957.htm returned by curl 2026-10-03 = 'Tank Landing Ship LST-958'; the same page's H1, body, and URL (10/16/160957.htm) all identify USS LST-957. Cross-check: Wikipedia 'List of United States Navy LSTs' (live scrape 2026-10-03) omits LST-957 from the numbered sequence and lists 'USS LST-958' twice in its place [other_primary]
- Locator
- curl of live page <title> tag 2026-10-03; Wikipedia 'List of United States Navy LSTs' numbered sequence 950-961
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: two secondary-source indexing slips attach the wrong hull number to this ship's record in adjacent positions. (1) The NavSource page for this hull carries HTML title 'Tank Landing Ship LST-958' while its URL, H1, and full body content are LST-957 - search engines and scrapers can surface the page under the wrong number. (2) Wikipedia's 'List of United States Navy LSTs' omits LST-957 from the running sequence (LST-956 is followed by LST-958 listed twice), though a dedicated USS LST-957 article exists. The 957/958 pair were consecutive Bethlehem-Hingham hulls (yard nos. 3427/3428) serving together in LST Division 136 - the confusion is positional, not substantive.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-10-03 (verification date)
- Limitations
- Corrects secondary indexing defects, not a material claim; primary sources (DANFS, NHHC fleet list, NARA action report and war diaries) consistently use LST-957 for this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-07
-
[9]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945), LST machinery design table - official BuShips publication (shipscribe.com mirror, PDF downloaded and text layer extracted 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2.pdf, LST design table machinery rows: 'LST932-979 ... G. M. Diesel, 12-278A ... 1,700' (LST1060-1080 same; other blocks 12-567A)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official BuShips machinery design table assigns the LST932-979 hull block (which contains LST-957) a propulsion plant of 2 x 'G. M. Diesel, 12-278A' at 1,700 shp - NOT the GM 12-567A that NavSource's generic spec block (and Wikipedia, which inherits it) lists for this ship. The 12-278A is a distinct Cleveland Diesel (GM Cleveland Diesel Engine Division) model designed into these LST blocks.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); engineering crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Official design-table block assignment, not a hull-specific fitting record - documents the engine model the Bureau of Ships designed into this hull block; per-hull variation during wartime mass production is possible but undocumented. Corrects the NavSource/Wikipedia 12-567A boilerplate for this hull; both figures give the same 1,700 shp total (Wikipedia's 1,800 shp is a separate minor variance, see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-08
-
[10]ShipbuildingHistory.com, 'Bethlehem-Hingham, Hingham MA' yard page and complete build table (live page verified 2026-10-03 via Firecrawl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethhingham.htm, yard intro + build-table row '3427 | LST | 957'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-derived production table entry for this hull: yard hull no. 3427, LST 957, keel laid 30-Sep-44, launched 30-Oct-44, delivered 20-Nov-44 - 30 days on the ways, 21 days in the water, 51 total days; disposition column lists 'Scrapped 1948'. The yard page documents the facility: built in 1941 for destroyer-escort construction with Navy funding, managed by Bethlehem Quincy, peak employment over 23,000, closed and liquidated after the war.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of builder records, not itself a primary document - keel/launch/delivery dates corroborate DANFS and NavSource exactly, but the 'Scrapped 1948' disposition is not corroborated by DANFS/NavSource, which record only the 5 December 1947 sale to Bosey, Philippines, fate unknown (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-09
-
[11]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in World War II' (Will Buckley, June 2021, Vol. 35 No. 3) - builder-yard history with worker interviews [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History Vol. 35 No. 3 (June 2021), article text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard context for this hull's builder: Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard was created on 150 acres on the Weymouth Back River in 1941 specifically for Navy destroyer-escort construction after all of Bethlehem Steel's existing yards ran at capacity; Bethlehem transferred 400 experienced men and by end of year one had 15,000 workers, rising to over 23,500 daily (including 2,700+ women). The yard produced Evarts, Edsall, Cannon, and Buckley-class destroyer escorts plus tank landing ships, set a record of a destroyer escort in 23 days and five LSTs in 50 hours, earned the Army-Navy 'E' award in consecutive years, and built 227 ships total before closing at war's end.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (~23,500 peak, 1941-45)
- Limitations
- Professional-press yard history (reputable_press), not a government or primary industrial record; documents workforce scale and production, not materials. Names trades present (welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, painters, riggers, sheet-metal workers) but contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-10
-
[12]Era inference built on: DANFS construction record (Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, 1944); NavSource class header (LST-542); BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 engine-block table (ev-08); Fleischer et al. 1946 PHS survey (ev-11); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fleischer et al. 1946 (PMID 21016030); GAO HRD-80-2 product page; DANFS/NavSource construction and spec records; BuShips SDB1945v2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A tank landing ship built Sep-Nov 1944 in a purpose-built Navy wartime yard sits inside the documented wartime asbestos-construction era: the PHS industrial-hygiene survey of pipe covering in naval-vessel construction found amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels,' with asbestos cloth and asbestos cement also used; GAO documented asbestos thermal insulation as the Navy's major shipboard asbestos use through the early 1970s. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel landing ship of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and machinery insulation/lagging, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, winch/windlass brake linings, and interior finish materials in quarters and mess spaces. Diesel plant - no boilers aboard.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); USNR ship's company (1944-46); post-1947 Philippine owner/scrappers unknown
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LST-957. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-11
-
[13]Fleischer WE, Viles FJ Jr, et al., 'A health survey of pipe covering operations in constructing naval vessels,' J Ind Hyg Toxicol 1946 Jan;28:9-16 (PMID 21016030) - U.S. Public Health Service industrial-hygiene survey of two Government Navy yards and two Navy contract yards [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 21016030 (verified via NCBI E-utilities); article text pp. 9-16 (pipe-covering materials section; X-ray results)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Wartime government survey documenting the asbestos regime inside naval-vessel construction: amosite asbestos was 'an important ingredient of pipe covering material used on U.S. Navy vessels,' valued for low thermal conductivity, light weight, and refractoriness; asbestos cloth and asbestos cement were likewise used. X-ray examination of 1,074 pipe coverers across four yards found three asbestosis cases, each with 20+ years in the trade. Surveyed operations (layout and cutting, band-saw cutting, cement mixing, installing, sewing asbestos cloth, stuffing with amosite) generated the era's principal insulation-trade dust exposure.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (survey era)
- Population
- Navy yard and contract-yard pipe coverers/insulators (wartime)
- Limitations
- Era-level occupational survey, not a hull record: the four yards are anonymized (Navy Yards A-B, Contract Yards C-D), and Bethlehem-Hingham and LSTs are not named - pipe covering was principally a steam-plant application, so the asbestos cloth/cement and general-insulation findings carry the weight for a diesel hull. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or quantity. Citation metadata verified 2026-10-03 via NCBI E-utilities (esummary 21016030); the pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov page itself is reCAPTCHA-gated to automated fetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-12
-
[14]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (live via Firecrawl; PDF asset fetch HTTP 403, standing defect)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that all Navy ships contained some asbestos in components such as clutches and electric cables, and that asbestos thermal insulation was the Navy's major asbestos use aboard ships; the Navy did not substitute alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s and adopted removal policies only in 1975/1979 - postdating this hull's entire U.S. Navy life (built 1944, sold 1947).
- 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. Product page verified live this session via Firecrawl (fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards); the 26-page full-report PDF remains blocked to automated fetch (HTTP 403, standing gao.gov defect, confirmed 2026-10-03) - content via product-page description and abstract.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-13
-
[15]Batch-7500 search ledger (this record): live NHHC DANFS; NavSource; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NARA catalog (two queries; nine monthly war diaries + action report read in full + INSURV file unit identified); shipbuildinghistory.com builder table; BuShips SDB1945v2 design table; USNI yard history; BVA decisions index; GAO product page; PubMed/NCBI E-utilities; NVR (login-gated); MARAD (endpoint errors); CourtListener (blocked - daily quota exhausted); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-957-lst957-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LST-957 was found in the public sources searched, and no post-1947 U.S. hull record can exist (sold to Bosey, Philippines, 5 December 1947; fate unknown). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated API reported the shared daily quota exhausted (server-requested wait 23,699 s (~6.6 h), re-verified at completion); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The BVA decisions index returned no results for 'LST-957'; the Naval Vessel Register ship-detail URL 302-redirects to a DoD OAM login (and the hull predates register coverage regardless); MARAD's ShipHistory/Search endpoint returns server errors and no detail page surfaced via site search; secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - not even law-firm listicle coverage of 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (quota-blocked, not run). The ship's nine-month war-diary run is digitized but only the April action report was read; RG 24 muster-roll file unit for this hull was not located in catalog results (rolls exist for adjacent hulls) and RG 24 deck logs are undigitized; the INSURV material-inspection file is undigitized; post-1947 Philippine-hands records are foreign and untraced. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-957-lst957-14