Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'LST-450' - Naval History and Heritage Command ship history page (live URL verified 2026-10-02; no link-rot for this hull) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-450 full entry (live NHHC page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 10 July 1942 at Vancouver, Wash., by Kaiser, Inc.; launched 4 October 1942; commissioned 6 January 1943. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; operations: (a) capture and occupation of Saipan, June-July 1944; (b) Tinian capture and occupation, July 1944; (c) assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, April 1945. Redesignated LSTH-450 on 15 September 1945; occupation duty in the Far East until early December 1945; decommissioned 8 April 1946; struck from the Navy list 17 April 1946; sold 16 April 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa., and subsequently scrapped. Three battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for World War II service as LST-450.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company (13 officers/104 enlisted spec) plus embarked troops and, as LST(H), patients/casualties handled
- Limitations
- Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. DANFS does not state the action for which the Navy Unit Commendation was awarded. DANFS prints 'decpmissioned' [sic] for 'decommissioned' in the source text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST(H)-450 ex USS LST-450 - specification block, flotilla/group assignments, campaign table, commanding-officer roster, and photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page 10/16/160450, full record incl. awards bar, campaign table, CO roster, spec block, photo captions; page last updated 19 March 2021
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: international radio call sign NFEC; laid down 10 July 1942 at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA; launched 4 October 1942; commissioned USS LST-450, 6 January 1943, LT C.G. Drasher, USNR, in command. Asiatic-Pacific assignments: LST Flotilla Thirteen (CAPT J.G. Sampson USN), LST Group Thirty-Nine (CDR B.T. Zelenka USN), LST Division Seventy-Seven. Campaigns as printed: Marianas operation - capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 30 July 1944; Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 30 July 1944; Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation, April 1945. Redesignated LST(H)-450, 15 September 1945; decommissioned 8 April 1946; struck 17 April 1946; sold 16 April 1948 to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA, for scrapping. Three battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation. Specification block: 2x General Motors 12-567A diesels (900 hp each), Falk main reduction gear, 3x diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC ship's-service generators, twin propellers 1,700 shp, 11.6 kt trial - diesel plant, NO boilers; complement 13 officers/104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers/147 enlisted. CO roster: LT C.G. Drasher USNR (6 Jan 1943-Aug 1944); LT E. Young USN (Aug 1944-23 Oct 1944); LT Carroll G. McQueen USNR (23 Oct 1944-25 Mar 1945); LT Lewis F. Hunter Jr. USNR (25 Mar 1945-Sep 1945); LTjg John C. Kiely Jr. USNR (Sep 1945-8 Apr 1946). Photographs: LST-450 at anchor off the Saipan invasion beachhead 20 June 1944 with a Japanese artillery shell bursting nearby (U.S. National Archives Identifier 193831523, US Army Air Corps photo 63664A.C.); Army reinforcements disembarking at Saipan 17 June 1944; crew at the Ernie Pyle memorial, Ie Shima (Iejima) - printed as 'La Jima Gunto' in the caption.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Ship's company ~117 per spec block; embarked troops up to ~163
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archival page quoting Navy sources; consistent with DANFS where they overlap. Spec data are equipment descriptions only - no asbestos content stated or implied. Photo caption 'La Jima Gunto' is a known NavSource rendering of Ie Shima (Iejima), Okinawa - carried as printed. The NUC award basis is not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-02
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration catalog, RG 38 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - USS LST-450 monthly war diaries, digitized (Fold3/NARA scan collaboration); example verified by direct image retrieval: 'USS LST-450 - War Diary, 3/1-31/45,' NAID 139968452 (microfilm roll A1520, serial 51) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139968452 (3 images, Mar 1945); NAID 139999757 (4 images, Apr 1945); NAID 83571090 (2 images, Jun-Jul 1945); catalog search 'LST-450' returns 449 file units, RG 38 WWII War Diaries series (catalog.archives.gov/search?q=%22LST-450%22)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized ship-specific primary records: the March 1945 war diary (NAID 139968452, 3 images) and April 1945 war diary (NAID 139999757, 4 images) were retrieved as images and read in full. March 1945: attached to LST Division 77, Group 39, Flotilla 13, Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet under Commander Forward Area, standing by as relief ship at Apra Harbor, Guam (1-4 Mar); underway Guam-to-Saipan 5-6 Mar, beaching at Pier Baker, Tanapag Harbor, to load 'C', 'K', and PX rations; completed loading 991 tons of rations for 24 Corps USA on 9 Mar; at anchor off Charan Kanoa, Saipan 10-24 Mar reporting to Commander Task Unit 51.13.4; LT Lewis F. Hunter Jr., USNR (118591) reported aboard 25 Mar as relief commanding officer per ComServFor speedletter of 6 Mar 1945; underway with TU 51.13.4 from 0945 on 26 Mar steaming northwest toward Okinawa (31 Mar: 20-58 N, 131-46 E). April 1945: underway Saipan-to-Okinawa in Task Group 55.7 (CDR Zelenka in LST 244 flagship); anchored off Orange Beach One, Okinawa, 1447 on 2 Apr; beached Orange Beach One 0910 on 5 Apr; shifted to Purple Beach Two 6 Apr (a Japanese Val suicide-crashed into the bay out of gun range during 1515 General Quarters); on 7 Apr two U.S. Navy aircraft were shot down over the beaches by friendly fire amid ambiguous flash conditions, three Japanese aircraft were shot down or suicided (one passing through a Victory ship's rigging three miles south), and the ship expended 5 rounds of 40MM and 120 rounds of 20MM; beached on Purple Beach One 12-13 Apr to load THREE captured Japanese suicide Baka (Ohka) bombs during night air raids; completed cargo unloading at White Beach One 14 Apr; departed Okinawa 16 Apr in TU 51.29.15 for Ulithi carrying the Baka bombs; at Ulithi 22 Apr a transfer to a faster ship was judged unfavorable and ComServRon Ten ordered the ship to Guam; at Guam 27-28 Apr 'due to lack of facilities for removing Baka bombs and the need of this ship for a complete overhaul, it was recommended that the bombs be left aboard and the ship returned to Pearl Harbor'; underway unescorted 29 Apr for Pearl Harbor under Administrative Command (Subordinate) Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet orders 'for repairs.' Combined June-July 1945 war diary (NAID 83571090, 2 images, submitted 9 Aug 1945, serial 156): 'This vessel was in Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Alameda, California for yard overhaul and repairs during the above mentioned period' - documenting a two-month commercial-yard overhaul at Bethlehem Steel's Alameda, CA yard (the Bethlehem Union Iron Works operation) in June-July 1945, rather than the Pearl Harbor return recommended in the April diary. The catalog returns 449 file units for 'LST-450', the bulk being this hull's digitized monthly war diaries 1943-1945 (further NAIDs verified in catalog listings: Jun 1943-Apr 1945 run incl. 78313567, 78529072, 78646449; combined Jun-Jul 1945 diary NAID 83571090).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (diary series); March, April, and June-July 1945 diaries read in full
- Population
- Ship's company (~117) aboard during documented beachhead and kamikaze-threat operations; Bethlehem Steel Alameda yard workforce during the Jun-Jul 1945 overhaul; 24 Corps USA cargo consignee
- Limitations
- Primary operational record - the strongest ship-specific documentation in this record. War diaries record operations, not materials: no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material content appears in the three diaries read, and none is expected in the series. The April diary records the order toward 'a complete overhaul' and the June-July diary documents that overhaul at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Alameda, CA - a documented mid-1945 commercial repair-yard availability during the asbestos era; the material scope of the overhaul is not described in the diary and is asserted nowhere in this record. The yard's documented asbestos-product profile is yard-level context (see limitations of related rows), not a finding about this hull. War-diary series ends at war's end (Jul 1945 combined diary is the latest located) - the Sep 1945 LST(H) conversion window sits in RG 24 deck logs, not this series.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-03
-
[4]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton / Maritime Business Strategies data), 'Kaiser Vancouver, Vancouver WA' - emergency-yard production table, LST 450 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com emergency-large yards, kaiservancouver/kvancouver.htm, LST 450 table row (yard hull 154, MC hull 970)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard production record for this hull: Kaiser Vancouver (an emergency yard built with 10 ways in the fourth wave of shipbuilding expansion with $26mm from the USMC; ways increased to 12 in the fifth wave; closed at the end of the war, held in reserve until the 1950s, then sold to Gilmore Steel for $3.25mm). LST 450 row: yard hull 154, U.S. Navy, Landing Ship Tank, MC hull 970, laid 10 July 1942, launched 4 October 1942, delivered/commissioned 6 January 1943 - 86 days on ways, 94 days in water, 180 total days; disposition 'Scrapped 1948.' Consistent with DANFS on every shared field. The documented LST(H) exemplar LST(H)-464 (ev-uss-lst-h-450-08) was built at the same yard (yard hull 168, MC hull 984).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1943 (construction)
- Population
- Kaiser Vancouver construction workforce (yard-level; NPS documents the Vancouver Kaiser yard reached well over 30,000 workers at early-1943 peak)
- Limitations
- Commercial shipbuilding-history compilation consistent with DANFS on every shared field; contains no asbestos or materials information. Documents the wartime yard only - does not name material suppliers, subcontractors, or specs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-04
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships - USS LST 450 (LST 450), tank landing ship of the LST (Mk 2) class (ship/11511) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net Allied Warships ship/11511, data table and history line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net warship record for this hull: built by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co. (Vancouver, Washington, U.S.A.); ordered 25 May 1942; laid down 10 July 1942; launched 4 October 1942; commissioned 6 January 1943; 'End service 8 Apr 1946'; history notes 'Decommissioned on 16 March 1946. Sold on 16 April 1948.' Corroborates builder, dates, and disposal consistent with DANFS.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled warship database consistent with DANFS except an internal inconsistency: its 'End service' field reads 8 Apr 1946 while its History line reads 'Decommissioned on 16 March 1946' - DANFS and NavSource both give 8 April 1946, which controls; the uboat '16 March' line is carried as a source defect (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-05
-
[6]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Am J Ind Med 11(3):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700110311; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 LST design table via class profile (shipscribe.com)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that WWII-era U.S. shipyards extensively installed asbestos-containing insulation, lagging, and gaskets in naval construction - the era in which this hull was built (1942, Kaiser's Vancouver, WA emergency yard). For a diesel-powered LST with no boilers, the era-relevant applications concentrate in diesel engine and exhaust-system insulation, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing, electrical insulation and cable, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1942-1948
- Population
- WWII-era shipyard workers (Kaiser Vancouver, 1942); wartime crew - era context
- Limitations
- Era-level scholarship plus class/type inference; the source does not name this hull or class and does not establish that any specific material aboard this ship contained asbestos. No ship-specific product is verified; the diesel plant (no boilers) narrows the exposure-relevant scope relative to steam vessels. End-of-life disturbance is documented only at the disposal level (sold to Bethlehem Steel 1948 for scrapping); the scrapping yard and abatement-era context are not recorded. DOI verified to resolve to the Wiley article (onlinelibrary.wiley.com 302 redirect; Wiley blocks automated full-text fetch).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-06
-
[7]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place on active Navy hulls for decades.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (not this hull)
- Limitations
- Program-level Navy documentation that never governed this hull: she left naval service in April 1946 and U.S. custody by sale to Bethlehem Steel in 1948, decades before either policy existed, and she was scrapped before any federal hazmat-survey regime applied. Context for the era fleet picture only. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403); content via product-page description, consistent with prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-07
-
[8]Tadlock MD, Sobocinski MLS, 'US Navy Surgical Teams Fight to Save Lives on WWII Amphibious Warships,' Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons 110(5), May 2025 - LST(H) platform history citing NHHC and BuMed sources [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ACS Bulletin May 2025 article, LST-464 history and LST(H) program sections; DANFS/NavSource for this hull's redesignation date
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The LST(H) designation this hull carried from 15 September 1945 identifies the medically augmented combatant-LST type: armed, grey-hulled LSTs fitted for far-forward surgical care and casualty evacuation - not Geneva-protected hospital ships. Documented exemplar LST(H)-464 (converted in-theater 1943, and a Kaiser Vancouver sister of this hull - yard hull 168) carried 60 hospital bunk beds, 4 surgical beds, an operating room, sterilizing room, dental office, laboratory, dressing room, and X-ray room, staffed by 6 medical officers and 35 hospital corpsmen, and treated 4,846 combat casualties in the Philippines campaign. LST-450's redesignation date (15 September 1945, per DANFS/NavSource) postdates the Japanese surrender (2 September 1945); this hull performed occupation duty in the Far East until early December 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (type); 1945-09-15-1946 (this hull's designation)
- Population
- Casualties/patients aboard LST(H)-type platforms (type context); embarked medical staff
- Limitations
- Type-level context: documents what an LST(H) was, not what this hull physically received. The extent of medical outfitting actually installed aboard LST-450 is undocumented - the 15 September 1945 redesignation postdates the Japanese surrender, and secondary literature describes the late-war LST(H) group as largely administrative redesignations for occupation/troop-return duty; no physical-conversion record for this hull was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-08
-
[9]National Archives and Records Administration catalog, RG 19 'Records of the Bureau of Ships' - 'LST-450' file unit, Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings series (1945-1955), NAID 175665548, creator BuShips Ship Design Division Preliminary Design Branch [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/175665548 - file unit 'LST-450', series 'Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings' (NAID 559593)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A hull-specific Bureau of Ships engineering-drawings microfilm file unit for LST-450 exists in the NARA catalog (NAID 175665548, RG 19, Microfilm of Ship Engineering Drawings, unrestricted, paper/microfilm at NARA College Park Cartographic). Ship engineering drawings of this series can include insulation, deck-covering, and accommodation-space material callouts - the most direct known archival route to a material schedule for this hull. 'Not Yet Available Online'; not reviewed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1955 (series)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the catalog entry is verified but the drawings themselves were not reviewed and are not digitized; whether this hull's reel contains material callouts is unknown until pulled at College Park.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-09
-
[10]Batch-6469 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC live page; NavSource 160450; shipbuildinghistory.com Kaiser Vancouver table; uboat.net ship/11511; NARA catalog (449 file units incl. digitized RG 38 war diaries, three file units read in full; RG 19 drawings NAID 175665548); CourtListener API v4 (opinions and RECAP); NVR; ACS Bulletin; Corn & Starr DOI; GAO HRD-80-2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-h-450-01 through sl-uss-lst-h-450-17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or asbestos litigation naming USS LST-450 / LST(H)-450 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero opinion hits on 'LST-450', 'LST 450', and all hospital-designation variants ('LSTH-450', 'LST(H)-450', 'LSTH 450'), zero asbestos-conjuncted hits, and three RECAP docket hits that are name collisions - 2008 N.D. Illinois civil dockets (Hackman v. Pactiv Corp. 1:08-cv-02094; Leaf Funding v. City Realtors 1:08-cv-03649; JS II LLC v. Snitzer 1:08-cv-03582) whose sole match is an OCR-garbled civil cover sheet; none names or involves the vessel.
- 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-built LST is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's 1948 scrapping means no present-day survey can exist. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-450-10