Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 842-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-978-lst978-pkt-842-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-978' entry, Naval History and Heritage Command [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'LST-978' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: 'LST-978 was laid down on 15 December 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 20 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Anna H. Phelan; and commissioned on 15 February 1945. Following World War II, LST-978 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-December 1945. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 6 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year. On 10 December 1947, the ship was sold to the Salco Iron & Metal Co. for scrapping.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company (13 officers, 104 enlisted typical) and embarked troops (up to 16 officers, 147 enlisted) during commission 1945-1946
- Limitations
- One-paragraph DANFS entry: establishes construction milestones, occupation-duty service window, and disposal only; contains no asbestos, machinery-detail, or operational-detail content (no amphibious operations or locations named). Live page verified 2026-10-03 via rendered fetch (history.navy.mil returns 404 to plain curl but serves 200 to browser agents - bot filtering, not link rot).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-978 page (10/16/160978.htm, last updated 8 Nov 2024) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160978.htm: designation/award timeline, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents: 542-class tank landing ship; commissioned USS LST-978 15 February 1945 with LT. Albert F. Gallatin USNR in command; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in WWII; three Navy Occupation Service Medal periods (23 Sep-2 Oct 1945; 25 Oct-5 Nov 1945; 9-15 Dec 1945); decommissioned 6 Jun 1946; struck from the Naval Register 3 Jul 1946; sold for scrapping to Salco Iron & Metal Co. 10 Dec 1947. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) - no battle stars. Commanding officers: LT Gallatin (15 Feb-28 Aug 1945), LTjg Leonard B. Bogart USNR (28 Aug 1945-Mar 1946), ENS John L. Keeley USNR (Mar-6 Jun 1946). Specs: 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; 2 LCVP; two GM diesels 900 hp, single Falk main reduction gear, three 100 kW generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders; call sign NKXN.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947 (page last updated 2024-11-08)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops 1945-1946; commanding officers named in row
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-curated reference (secondary), not an official record; its specification block is standard LST-542-class boilerplate applied to every page of the class and is not hull-specific documentation - e.g. it lists GM 12-567A engines while BuShips SDB-1945 v2 assigns the GM 12-278A variant to the LST-932-979 hull block (conflict carried in gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory.com, 'Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham MA' yard production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bethlehem-Hingham production table, row 3448
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard production table entry for hull 3448: LST 978, contract year 1943, laid down 15-Dec-44, launched 20-Jan-45, delivered/commissioned 15-Feb-45 - 36 days on the ways, 26 days fitting out, 62 days keel to delivery; fate annotated 'Scrapped 1947'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades, Dec 1944 - Feb 1945
- Limitations
- Privately maintained but standard-reference yard production list (secondary); every milestone it gives for this hull agrees with DANFS and NavSource. 'Delivered' column dates match commissioning dates for Navy hulls. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-03
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (Jan 1945), LST design table + roster (shipscribe.com scan, relocated URL - original /styles/usnaux/sdb/ path now 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster; consolidated era inference
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for diesel-powered LSTs (BuShips SDB-1945 v2 confirms the plant: 2 x GM diesels ~1,700 shp, 11.6 kt, no boilers - the LST-932-979 design block containing LST-978 is rostered with the GM 12-278A engine variant): asbestos-relevant applications for the type are diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. The diesel plant eliminates the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway that dominates asbestos exposure on steam vessels.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46); Salco Iron & Metal scrapping crews (1947-48)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record exists for this hull or any LST member (per the LST-1-class profile, class-f). Establishes no quantities and no exposure for any individual; does not prove asbestos was or was not present aboard this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-04
-
[6]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 HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - program-level confirmation that WWII-era hulls and yards operated in the Navy's asbestos-use 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, not class- or hull-specific; postdates this hull's disposal (scrapped 1947) - carried as era context only. Full text blocked to automated fetch (gao.gov HTTP 403 confirmed 2026-10-03); content taken from the GAO product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-05
-
[7]US National Archives photo 80-G-317626, captioned in NavSource (US Navy photo, US National Archives collections) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA 80-G-317626 via NavSource 160978.htm photo table; NARA digitized deck-log index (no LST-978 entry)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA-held photograph 80-G-317626 shows USS LST-978 underway 1 April 1945 in the Atlantic Ocean bound for the Pacific via the Panama Canal with disassembled landing craft LCT-1441 and LCT-1448 on deck - hull-specific archival documentation of her shakedown-period transit to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. A second photo (Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum) shows her at anchor, probably San Francisco Bay, circa 1946.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Ship's company during shakedown transit (Apr 1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: photographs establish presence and transit, not any work performed or materials aboard. NARA catalog page not independently fetched; photo number and caption transcribed from NavSource. Deck logs for this hull (RG 24) exist at NARA College Park but are not among the publicly digitized deck logs (checked 2026-10-03). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-06
-
[8]Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton Co. Inc., S.D.N.Y. No. 1:07-cv-04771 (incidental LST mention) - class-level CourtListener sweep result, 2026-09-16 [court_record]
- Locator
- Class-profile search ledger row sl-lst-1-class-05; Gitto docket 4331985
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Class-level CourtListener sweep run 2026-09-16 during LST-class profiling: the only document-level hit for 'USS LST' asbestos was a scanned Navy reunion-notice compilation filed in Gitto v. A.W. Chesterton (S.D.N.Y. 1:07-cv-04771, ECF 17-20) containing an incidental 'USS LST 579' mention - not an exposure record. No asbestos docket naming a specific LST hull was located by that sweep.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 2026-09-16 (class sweep); 2026-10-03 (blocked hull sweep)
- Limitations
- Class-level sweep only, run in the 2026-09-16 class-profile session; hull-specific queries for this vessel ('LST-978', 'LST 978', 'USS LST-978', opinion and docket) could NOT be run this session - CourtListener fleet daily quota exhausted (helper-reported 23,959 s wait, ~6.7 h). This hull's litigation status is an open gap, not a negative result.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-07
-
[9]Batch-7521 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource 160978; shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; Wikipedia cross-check; NARA digitized deck-log index; NVR search; firecrawl web sweeps; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-978-lst978-01 through sl-uss-lst-978-lst978-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-978 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Hull-level litigation status open - CourtListener unsearched this session (fleet quota exhausted).
- 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 - a WWII-era naval auxiliary's construction era is consistent with era-typical asbestos use. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-978-lst978-08
