Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 607-packet.md (8 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LST-23** (no proper name); hull number **LST-23**; designation
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-pkt-607-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-23 (NHHC page, published 2015-08-04; live URL returns 404 - archived Wayback capture 2021-03-20 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'Lst 23', full record (short LST-format entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 27 October 1942 at Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched 13 March 1943 (printed text reads '13 March 1942' - a typographical slip carried as a correction row); sponsored by Mrs. Mary H. Miller; commissioned 22 May 1943. Asiatic-Pacific service: Gilbert Islands operation Nov-Dec 1943; Marshall Islands operation (Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, Feb 1944); Marianas operation (Saipan, Jun-Jul 1944); Tinian (Jul 1944); Western Caroline Islands operation (southern Palau Islands, Sep-Oct 1944); Lingayen landings on Luzon, Jan 1945. Redesignated LSTH on 15 September 1945; occupation duty in the Far East until early December 1945; decommissioned 24 May 1946; struck from the Navy list 3 July 1946; sold to the Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, Wash., 6 April 1948 for scrapping. Six battle stars for WWII service as LST-23.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades 1942-43; wartime USCG crew and embarked troops; occupation-duty passengers 1945-46
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history, not materials or asbestos content - no asbestos information of any kind. Live NHHC URL returns 404 (standing NHHC link-rot defect); archived capture cited and labeled as archived. Launch year printed as 1942 in the source - impossible given the 27 October 1942 laying-down; NavSource launch photograph dated 13 March 1943 resolves it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-01
-
[3]NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST(H)-23 ex USS LST-23 (page 160023) - build detail (Dravo Corp., Neville Island PA), commissioning CO, unit assignments, campaign table, specifications, commanding officers [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 10/16/160023, full record incl. campaign table, specifications block, and CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 27 October 1942 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA; launched 13 March 1943 (launch photograph captioned at that date); commissioned USS LST-23, 22 May 1943, LT John B. Swann Jr., USCGR, in command - US Coast Guard-manned. Assigned LST Flotilla Thirteen (CAPT J.G. Sampson USN), LST Group Thirty-Eight (LCDR M.F. Stiling USNR), LST Division Seventy-Five. Campaign dates: Gilbert Islands 21 Nov-5 Dec 1943; Kwajalein/Majuro 2-8 Feb 1944; Saipan 18 Jun-28 Jul 1944; Tinian 24-28 Jul 1944; southern Palau Islands 9 Sep-14 Oct 1944; Lingayen Gulf 9 Jan 1945. Redesignated LST(H)-23 15 September 1945; Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 10-29 Sep and 21 Oct-5 Dec 1945; decommissioned 24 May 1946; struck 3 July 1946; sold for scrapping 6 April 1948 to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, WA. Specs: complement 13 officers/104 enlisted, troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted; propulsion two GM 12-567A 900hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100kW ship's service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp, twin rudders - no boilers or steam machinery; call sign NYPD; second CO LT George A. Martin, USCGR (May 1945-22 May 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades 1942-43; USCG wartime crew; embarked troops and hospital-role personnel 1945-46
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-curated archive, not a government publication, but it transcribes official records and is used here for detail DANFS omits (unit hierarchy, spec block, CO roster). Contains no asbestos information. Unit assignment conflicts with the USCG Historian's file (Group 37 / Division 73) - carried in gaps; assignment likely changed over time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-02
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[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, USS LST-23 cutter file (6-page PDF; live uscg.mil URL returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - archived Wayback capture 2017-02-01 cited) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office cutter file LST_23.pdf, pp. 1-4 (specs block, narrative, Sears letter, ops chronology), p. 5 (sources)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USCG Historian's Office file for this hull: Coast Guard-manned; laid down 27 October 1942 at Dravo Corp.'s Pittsburgh yard; launched 13 March (year printed '1942' - same typographical slip as DANFS); sponsored by Mrs. Mary H. Miller; floated down the Ohio and Mississippi to Algiers, LA; commissioned 22 May 1943; assigned LST Flotilla 13, Group 37, Division 73. Departed Algiers 10 June 1943 for San Francisco via the Panama Canal (San Diego 1 July, Mare Island Navy Yard 3 July); departed San Francisco 17 July 1943 under USS Hutchins (DD-476) escort for Alaskan waters - Woman's Bay Kodiak 25 July, Kuluk Harbor Adak 1 August, Kiska departure 27 August 1943 (Aleutians operation period; NavSource photograph shows LST-23 and LST-69 beached at Kiska during Operation Cottage). Marshall Islands 4 April 1944 en route Pearl Harbor (arrived 24 April, remained to 15 June); 23 May 1944 officers and men recommended for awards for bravery and meritorious performance of duty; Eniwetok 3 July 1944; Peleliu landing 15 September 1944; Espiritu Santo 12 October 1944. On 16 October 1944 medical officer LT(jg) A.R.M. Sears, USNR, wrote the Force Surgeon, South Pacific Area, documenting severe morale strain - crew serving continuously aboard since before commissioning, personnel wounded by enemy action; a 26 October 1944 memo records 29 enlisted replacements and three officers sent as relief. On 5 December 1944 in North Surigao Strait she was 'hit a glancing blow by a plane causing a fire and extensive damage'; after repairs she participated in the Lingayen Gulf landings 9 January 1945, then San Diego; departed San Diego 17 February 1945 for Guam via Pearl Harbor (arrived 2 April 1945), returning to San Francisco 6 May 1945. Departed Pearl Harbor 3 September 1945 for Sasebo, Japan; redesignated LSTH-23 during the voyage on 15 September 1945; departed Sasebo 28 September for Lingayen and Manila; left Manila 10 October for Wakayama, Japan, via Lingayen, arriving 22 October; returned to San Francisco 2 February 1946 via Okinawa, Sasebo, Saipan, Pearl Harbor. Sold for scrap to Kaiser Company, Inc., Seattle. Six battle stars. Sources cited by the file: LST files, Coast Guard Historian's Office; The Coast Guard At War V (1949); DANFS Vol. VII (1981).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- USCG wartime crew (incl. wounded personnel noted by the medical officer); embarked troops; occupation-lift passengers; medical staff embarked for LST(H) duty
- Limitations
- Official service-history file with narrative detail unavailable elsewhere; contains no asbestos or materials content. Internal defect: narrative prints 'decommissioned and her Coast Guard crew removed on 5 May 1945' - impossible given documented Wakayama service in October 1945 and the 24 May 1946 decommissioning; carried in gaps as a typo. File's CO listing (LT(jg) Maynard C. Darnall Jr., USCGR, dates unknown) conflicts with NavSource's roster (Swann, Martin) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-03
-
[5]DANFS Vol. VII (1981), pp. 569-731, LST type introduction (hazegray transcription; live hazegray fetch failed - archived Wayback capture 2020-10-20 cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. VII LST introduction, paragraphs on wartime conversions and the inland building program
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DANFS LST type history: 'Thirty-eight LST's were converted to serve as small hospital ships,' supplementing standard LSTs that removed casualties from invasion beaches. The LST building program concentrated construction in inland 'cornfield' shipyards - 'of the 1,051 LST's built during World War II, 670 were constructed by five major inland builders' - of which Dravo's Neville Island (Pittsburgh) yard on the Ohio River was one; ships were floated downriver for fitting out, which matches this hull's documented Algiers, LA transit. Standard LST design: 328 ft x 50 ft, ballast system for ocean/beaching trim, diesel plant (twin screws), crew ~7-13 officers and ~104-117 enlisted depending on fit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- LST program construction workforce (inland yards); casualties handled by hospital-configured LSTs (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/type-level documentation only - does not name this hull and does not describe any LST(H) conversion scope for it. The '38 converted' phrasing in DANFS does not distinguish full physical hospital conversions from the 15 September 1945 administrative redesignation group; secondary literature describes the September 1945 action as largely a designation change for the planned Operation Olympic, overtaken by surrender. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-04
-
[6]Composite era/design analysis: NavSource and USCG machinery documentation (diesel plant) + lst-1-class.class.json (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design grouping, 2x GM 12-567A diesels) + GAO HRD-80-2 policy context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block + USCG cutter file spec block; lst-1-class.class.json design table; GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for a diesel-powered amphibious ship built October 1942 - May 1943 at an inland wartime yard in the Navy's peak asbestos-consumption period: NO boilers or steam plant - the steam-lagging pathway does not apply. Plausible asbestos applications on this type concentrate in diesel-engine and exhaust-system insulation, gaskets and packing throughout the engineering spaces, electrical insulation/cable, deck coverings (incl. tank-deck surfaces), accommodation-space insulation, and brake/friction linings on winches and the stern-anchor windlass. GAO HRD-80-2 documents that the Navy did not begin systematic asbestos substitution until the 1970s - decades after this hull was scrapped (1948), so no substitution-era refit ever touched her.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Dravo Neville Island construction trades 1942-43; USCG wartime crew; occupation-lift personnel 1945-46; Kaiser Co. Seattle scrapping workforce 1948
- Limitations
- Class/era and design inference only - no hull-level material schedule, insulation spec, or survey exists in the public record for this ship. The September 1945 LST(H) redesignation was administrative while underway; any accompanying material work is undocumented. Does not establish presence, absence, or quantity of ACM aboard at any time.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-05
-
[7]GAO HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (published 1979-10-18; product-page description - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights/summary
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Program-level Navy asbestos policy: per the GAO product description, the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas; the Navy reported that ships delivered in later years had little or no asbestos thermal insulation while other Navy ships contained large quantities. Establishes that systematic substitution postdates this hull's entire existence (built 1942-43, scrapped 1948) - no asbestos-era remediation program ever applied to her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy window; exposure era 1940s-1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workforce (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level document about 1970s policy at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; does not name this hull or establish materials aboard it. Product-page description used because gao.gov blocks automated full-text access (HTTP 403, standing defect since Batch 01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-06
-
[8]Batch-6460 search ledger (this record): DANFS (archived NHHC), NavSource 160023, USCG Historian's Office cutter file (archived), DANFS Vol. VII LST introduction (archived hazegray), GAO HRD-80-2, NVR attempt, CourtListener API v4 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-01 through sl-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, build material schedule, or museum/regulator hazmat disclosure exists in the public sources searched for this hull (see search_ledger). CourtListener type=o queries '"LST-23"' and '"LST 23"' both returned zero hits (authenticated HTTP 200, count=0); the remaining variants ("LST(H)-23"/"LSTH-23", "USS LST-23", type=r dockets) could not be completed this session - the fleet-wide authenticated request budget was spent (helper-enforced ~114/hr pace) - logged as partial coverage.
- 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 - a 1942-43 diesel-powered hull is consistent with era materials, and the hull was scrapped in 1948 before any documentation regime existed. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Litigation coverage is partial: two clean zero-hit opinion queries plus unrun variants, not a full sweep.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-07
-
[9]DANFS / USCG Historian's file launch-year defect vs NavSource launch photograph [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-23 entry line 1; USCG LST_23.pdf p.2 line 1; NavSource 160023 launch-photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Launch-date defect corrected: DANFS prints 'launched on 13 March 1942' and the USCG cutter file repeats '13 March 1942' - impossible, since the keel was laid 27 October 1942. NavSource's launch photograph of LST-23 at Dravo, Pittsburgh, is dated 13 March 1943, consistent with the 22 May 1943 commissioning and the class's compressed build times. Record carries 1943-03-13.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943
- Limitations
- Correction resolves a shared typographical slip in two official sources against contemporaneous photographic evidence and internal chronology; the day/month are uncontested.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-23-lsth23-08