Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]DANFS, LST-117 - construction, WWII operations, LSTH-117 redesignation, MSTS transfer, striking (live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-117 service narrative (live page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 28 April 1943 at Jeffersonville, Ind., by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.; launched 10 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert B. Sutherland; commissioned 27 August 1943. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; participated in the Marianas operation (capture and occupation of Guam, July 1944) and the Leyte landings (October 1944). 'Following the war, LST-117 was redesignated LSTH-117 on 15 September 1945. She performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-February 1946.' Decommissioned 16 February 1946; redesignated LST-117 on 6 March 1952; transferred to MSTS for service as USNS LST-117 (T-LST-117) on 31 March 1952; struck from the Navy list 10 June 1973. Earned two battle stars for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Jeffboat construction trades (1943); crew (1943-46); MSTS civil-service/mariner complement (1952-73)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS renders the hospital designation 'LSTH-117' (no parenthesis); NavSource and this record render it 'LST(H)-117' - the same hull. The DANFS entry ends at striking and does not state the Singapore transfer.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USNS T-LST-117 ex-USS LST(H)-117 (1945-1952) ex-USS LST-117 (1943-1945) - timeline, unit assignments, commanding officers, specifications, disposal (live page verified 2026-10-02; navsource.org is dead, .net domain used) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160117.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource expands the DANFS timeline for this hull: commissioned 27 August 1943 with LT. Stanley Pras, USN, in command; wartime assignment to LST Flotilla Five (CAPT. G.B. Carter), LST Group Fifteen (CDR. V.K. Busck), LST Division Seventy-Nine, LST Group Eight and LST Division Fifteen; Guam 21-28 July 1944 and Leyte landings 20 October 1944. Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-117 on 15 September 1945; occupation service in the Far East 26 October 1945 - 16 February 1946; decommissioned 16 February 1946 and laid up in reserve; reverted to LST-117 6 March 1952; withdrawn from reserve and placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS T-LST-117 on 31 March 1952; loaned to COMNAVFE Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q063 (dates unknown); returned to the Military Sealift Command; struck 10 June 1973; 'Transferred to the Republic of Singapore in 1973. Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Commanding officers: LT Stanley Pras (27 Aug 1943 - 23 Aug 1944), LTjg Wesley L. Sharpe USNR (23 Aug 1944 - Aug 1945), LTjg Robert S. Thaman USNR (Aug-Dec 1945), LTjg Clifford H. Maschmeyer USNR (Dec 1945 - 16 Feb 1946). Specifications block: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full load (sea-going draft with 1,675-ton load) / 2,366 t (NavSource prints the third figure unlabeled; BuShips SDB uses 2,366 t as light displacement and 3,960 t at beaching displacement - see gaps); 328 ft oa; 50 ft beam; 11.6 kt trial; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted plus troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's-service generators, two propellers, 1,700 shp. Photo captions place the hull: loading US Army 12th Detachment, 20th Airways Communications System equipment in the Solomons for the Green Islands, February 1944 (NARA IDs 193853603/193853606); at anchor off Saipan; on the Leyte beaches 21 October 1944 among LST Flotilla Three units (NARA 111-SCA-2857 / NAID 80662621); beached at Leyte 12 September 1945 with LST-970 and LST-822; and as USNS T-LST-117 at anchor off Wellington, New Zealand, early 1970s (NHHC photo NH 86196).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Jeffboat construction trades (1943); crew and embarked troops (1943-46); medical staff embarked under LST(H) configuration (1945-46); MSTS civil mariners (1952-73); any post-1973 Singapore operators
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS/NVR but unit-flotilla framing conflicts within the page itself (header says LST Flotilla Five; a Leyte photo caption groups the hull with LST Flotilla Three). The 1973 Singapore transfer and the Q063 SCAJAP designation are uncorroborated by the compiled foreign-vessel transfer list checked this session (see gaps). Complement (104 enlisted) conflicts with the BuShips design table (106 enlisted). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-02
-
[3]USS LST-117 Action Report, Serial 0152, 27 June 1944 - 'Action Report LST 117 Tractor Group 53.16 June 17, 1944' and appended 'Anti-Aircraft Action by Surface Ships' report (NARA scan hosted by NavSource; declassified under E.O. 13526, NDC, 31 Dec 2012; OCR-verified this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource PDF 160117a.pdf pp. 1-4 (action report narrative, CO signature block, AA-action report form)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-generated primary document for this hull: the commanding officer's own action report (Serial 0152, signed STANLEY PRAS, LIEUT., USN, Commanding) to Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet via TG 53.16, describing LST-117's gunnery action against three enemy torpedo planes on 17 June 1944 while en route Kwajalein to the Marianas in convoy Tractor Group THREE under CTG 53.16 (Capt. G.B. Carter, USN, embarked on USS LST-5); position 13-17 N / 148-05 E; the ship was strafed with no casualties; ammunition expenditure recorded in the appended AA-action report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-17 (event); report dated 1944-06-27
- Population
- LST-117 crew (June 1944)
- Limitations
- Archival primary source for wartime service only - an operational report, not a material, maintenance, or medical record. It documents the ship's position and action, not any asbestos content or exposure. The scan carries no text layer; contents verified by OCR of pages 1-4 this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-03
-
[4]NARA Catalog, RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - digitized USS LST-117 monthly war diaries, January 1944 - November 1945 (catalog verified live 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LST-117' (899 results; ~20 LST-117 war-diary file units); sample record NAID 78646366
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A near-complete run of this hull's own monthly war diaries is digitized in the National Archives Catalog: USS LST-117 war diaries for 1-2/44 (NAID 78323454, Roll A846), 3/44 (78380003, A903), 4/44 (78413890, A942), 5/44 (78510943, A1039), 6/44 (78503621, A1032), 7/44 (78594481, A1116), 8/44 (78621512, A1132), 9/44 (633385034, A1178), 10/44 (78646366, A1226), 11/44 (139770685, A1306), 12/44 (139799184, A1338), 1/45 (139841102, A1382), 2/45 (139889324, A1426), 3/45 (139950254, A1497), 4/45 (633416814, A1562), 5/45 (140075369, A1692), 6/45 (101705056, A1704), 7/45 (101773241, A1788), 8/45 (83557398, A1842), and 9-11/45 (140081390, A2000) - all RG 38, unrestricted, with digital images online (sample NAID 78646366 verified: 4 images, unrestricted). These are the ship's own monthly operational diaries covering the Green Islands staging, the Marianas/Guam and Leyte campaigns, the LST(H) conversion period, and the start of occupation duty.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-01 to 1945-11
- Population
- LST-117 crew (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: war diaries document operations, movements, and availabilities - they are not material or exposure records, and no asbestos content should be presumed from them. They are the best located lead for identifying yard/availability periods where insulation work might be documented. Deck logs proper (RG 24) for this hull were not located as digitized (see search_ledger).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-04
-
[5]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (January 1945) - LST design table and roster (shipscribe.com scan, full text layer verified this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 'Landing Ship, Tank (LST)' design table (printed pp. 168-169) and List of Naval Vessels LST roster
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official BuShips design data for this hull's design group (LST1-490): 328 ft overall, 316 ft waterline, 50 ft beam; 2,366 t light / 4,080 t limiting-draft displacement; 3,960 t at beaching displacement; trial speed 11.6 kt; machinery 2 x G.M. Diesel 12-567A, 1,700 shp; single Falk main reduction gears; three diesel-drive 100 kW 230 V DC ship's-service generators; diesel fuel capacity 4,320 bbls; accommodations 13 officers / 106 enlisted; armament 2 twin + 4 single 40-mm AA mounts. The volume's List of Naval Vessels roster shows 'LST117-128' in the built/in-service block with no loss/transfer/cancellation annotation (as of January 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-01 (edition date)
- Population
- LST1-490 design-group crews; builder trades at the yards in that block
- Limitations
- Design-group and roster data, not a hull-specific material schedule: the table specifies machinery and dimensions for the LST1-490 group as built; it does not itemize insulation materials or confirm what was installed aboard hull 117. The roster confirms only that the hull existed in service in January 1945. NOTE: the class-profile citation URL (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf) is now dead (404, verified 2026-10-02; no Wayback capture) - the file moved to shipscribe.com/pubs/ and the URL above is the live location.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-05
-
[6]Consolidated era inference built on: BuShips SDB-1945 v2 LST1-490 machinery data (diesel plant, no boilers); NavSource specifications; LST-1-class profile (class-f worktree, lst-1-class.class.json) era analysis; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07); FACS Bulletin LST(H) description (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB1945v2 LST design table; NavSource specifications block; lst-1-class.class.json ev-lst-1-class-03
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LST-1-class hull built April-August 1943 at an inland 'cornfield' yard sits inside the documented WWII-era naval asbestos-use period. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a vessel of this type: diesel engine-room and exhaust-system lagging, machinery thermal insulation, gaskets and valve packing, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, winch/crane brake linings, and electrical insulation. As a diesel ship she carried no boilers - the boiler/turbine steam-lagging pathway does not apply. The September 1945 LST(H) conversion (medical ward, operating room, x-ray, sterilizing and laboratory spaces per the documented sister-ship outfit) added interior fit-out scope at a conversion yard; the LST(H)-117 conversion work package itself is not located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1973
- Population
- Jeffboat construction trades (1943); crew and embarked troops (1943-46); conversion-yard trades (1945); MSTS civil mariners (1952-73)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, conversion work package, or abatement record located for LST-117/LST(H)-117. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantities. No manufacturer attribution for this hull. Establishes no individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - full text verified via firecrawl 2026-10-02 (direct PDF fetch blocked, HTTP 403) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 highlights and letter text (full text via firecrawl; PDF asset blocked to direct fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that 'thermal insulation... was the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships'; that product specifications were changed in 1973 to asbestos-free but 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; that the Navy's October 1975 policy removed/replaced asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified January 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas; and that '30 to 50 percent of the asbestos insulation will never be touched during the useful life of a ship.' Fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. This frames the era covering the hull's construction (1943), WWII and occupation service, and its 1952-1973 MSTS career - but the ship left Navy custody (struck/transferred 1973) before the 1975-79 removal policies it describes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policy window 1973-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; Navy asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation - supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Does not establish materials aboard LST-117, individual exposure, or present-day presence. Ship departed Navy control before the described removal policies operated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-07
-
[8]American College of Surgeons Bulletin (May 2025), 'US Navy Surgical Teams Fight to Save Lives on WWII Amphibious Warships' - documented LST(H) configuration and casualty-evacuation role, using sister hull LST(H)-464 (citing the Navy Unit Commendation for USS LST-464, US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Archives) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- FACS Bulletin vol. 110 no. 5 (May 2025), 'US Ship LST-464' section and 'Patient Movement' section; source note 2 (Navy Unit Commendation USS LST 464, BuMed archives)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Establishes what the LST(H) designation carried by this hull from September 1945 entailed: the Navy began adapting LSTs into designated medical ships in 1943; the documented sister-ship outfit (LST(H)-464) comprised 60 hospital bunk beds in triple tiers, four 'surgical beds,' an operating room, sterilizing room, dental office, laboratory, dressing room, and x-ray room, with a core staff of six medical officers and 35 hospital corpsmen, augmented by additional surgical teams as missions required. Sixteen LSTs served as designated 'emergency hospitals' at Normandy (over 41,000 casualties evacuated); four medically designated LST(H)s received casualties at Iwo Jima (2,230 evacuated on D-Day alone). LST(H)-117's own outfit and patient counts are not separately documented here.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (WWII medical-service era); published 2025
- Population
- LST(H) medical staffs and embarked casualties (type level, 1943-1945)
- Limitations
- Type-level context via a named sister hull - describes the LST(H) concept and the documented LST(H)-464 fit, NOT LST(H)-117's specific outfit, staffing, or patient counts. Professional-society publication citing Bureau of Medicine archives; not itself a primary source for this hull. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-08
-
[9]NIOSH Preliminary Survey Report EPHB 229-11a, 'Pre-Intervention Quantitative Risk Factor Analysis for Ship Construction Processes at Jeffboat LLC, Jeffersonville, Indiana' (November 2000; survey 9-10 November 1999) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NIOSH EPHB 229-11a title page, abstract, and introduction (OCR of full 102-page scan, 2026-10-02)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government documentation of the builder's identity and continuity: NIOSH records that 'the shipyard has been in business at its present location since 1939, initially known as the Howard Ship Yards, then as the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine [Co.]' - the same Jeffersonville, Indiana yard (by then Jeffboat LLC, SIC 3731, a unit of American Commercial Lines) that built this hull in 1943. The report itself is an ergonomics/physical-hazard survey (rake-frame subassembly, angle-iron handling, honeycomb confined-space welding for double-hull barges, shear-press operation).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1999-2000 (survey/report)
- Population
- Jeffboat workers (1999 survey) - not the 1943 construction workforce
- Limitations
- Yard-identity context only - this is NOT an asbestos record. Full-text OCR of all 102 pages this session found zero asbestos mentions; the survey postdates the hull's construction by 56 years and covers ergonomic risk factors, not insulation or asbestos exposure. Do not cite it for any asbestos proposition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-09
-
[10]Universal Ship Cancellation Society Data Sheet #15, 'U.S. Naval Vessels Transferred to Foreign Navies: 3 September 1945 - 31 December 1991' (compiled from official records; full scan OCR'd this session) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DS15 PDF, LST table and Singapore country section (OCR, 2026-10-02); NavSource 160117.htm disposition line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION-ADJACENT NEGATIVE: the compiled foreign-transfer list does NOT contain an LST-117 row at all - under the Singapore heading the only LST rows are LST-532 (SI ? 6/27/74, name 'n/a') and LST-836 (SI LO 7/1/71, ENDURANCE). NavSource's claim that this hull was 'Transferred to the Republic of Singapore in 1973' is therefore uncorroborated by the compiled transfer record; the disposition most consistent with both sources is a Singapore transfer (possibly via SCAJAP custody, which commonly fell outside formal transfer listings) with no documented recipient name and unknown final fate.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1973 (transfer year)
- Limitations
- USCS DS15 is itself a secondary compilation (of official transfer records), not a primary registry - an absent row does not disprove the NavSource claim, especially for SCAJAP-handled hulls which often moved outside formal MAP/loan channels. The correction is limited to 'uncorroborated': the Singapore transfer remains a NavSource-only claim and the hull's fate after 1973 is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-10
-
[11]Batch-6453 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS live page; NavSource 160117 ship page and hosted primary PDFs; NARA Catalog digitized war diaries; BuShips SDB-1945 v2 (relocated live URL); NVR ship detail; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; FACS Bulletin; NIOSH Jeffboat survey (OCR); USCS DS15 foreign-transfer list (OCR); open-web asbestos/litigation sweeps; CourtListener authenticated API sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-h-117-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-117 / LST(H)-117 / T-LST-117 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated sweep (2026-10-02): 'LST-117' returned 0 opinions and 1 docket hit - MDL-875 'IN RE: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI)' (JPML, docket 1245688), a NAME COLLISION: the matching text is inside exhibit attachment 7281-8 ('Record of Vessels Constructed at Avondale's Shipyards Division,' filed in a plaintiff's Vedros motion to vacate CTO-400), where the substring 'LST 117' belongs to Avondale-built LST-1173 (USS DeSoto County) and LST-1174 (USS Grant County), 1955-order hulls - not this Jeffersonville-built hull. 'LST 117', 'LSTH-117', and 'T-LST-117' opinion queries each returned 0; 'LST 117' dockets returned the same single collision. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located at any stage. The open-web sweep for 'LST-117' asbestos lawsuit/mesothelioma also returned no results, and even law-firm marketing listicles do not surface for this hull. The NIOSH Jeffboat yard survey (EPHB 229-11a) contains zero asbestos content.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. Litigation coverage is near-complete but not total: the parenthesized 'LST(H)-117' query and type=r sweeps for the H/T/Q063 variants were paced out and remain unrun (residual gap, see sl-uss-lst-h-117-08). The MDL-875 hit is a pleading-stage exhibit mention at most - and the matched text belongs to different hulls (LST-1173/1174), so it is classified a name collision, not an allegation about this hull. Deck logs (RG 24), MSTS-era maintenance records, the 1945 LST(H) conversion work package, and any Singapore-era disposal records are undigitized leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-117-11