Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]DANFS, 'LST-949' (Naval History and Heritage Command) - archived Wayback capture 2025-12-09; live history.navy.mil URL returns 404 (verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-949 entry, full text (Wayback Machine capture 20251209184334 of history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-949.html)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS: LST-949 was laid down on 29 August 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 30 September 1944; and commissioned on 23 October 1944, Lt. Thomas J. Twohig, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater, she participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto from April through June 1945. On 15 September 1945 she was redesignated LSTH-949 and performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-April 1946. She returned to the United States and was decommissioned on 18 July 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 25 September that same year. On 30 June 1948 she was sold to the Humble Oil & Refining Co., of Houston, Tex., for operation. LST-949 earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1946 (13 officers / 104 enlisted, class spec)
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, Okinawa service, LST(H) redesignation, occupation duty, decommissioning, striking, and sale. Contains no asbestos, materials, or crew-health information; supports no asbestos claim. Live NHHC page is a 404 - citation is the archived capture, labeled as such.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST(H)-949 page (navsource.net/archives/10/16/160949.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LST(H)-949 page: timeline, campaign table, spec block, photo captions (Fukuoka, March 1946)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive entry 'USS LST(H)-949 ex USS LST-949 (1944-1945)' confirms the DANFS milestones and adds: Okinawa Gunto campaign dates 1 April-7 June 1945; designation as Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-949 on 15 September 1945; occupation service in the Far East 1 October 1945 to 12 April 1946; International Radio Call Sign NVUZ; commanding officer LT. Thomas J. Twohig, USNR (from 23 October 1944); full LST-542-class specification block (diesel plant: 2 x GM 900-hp diesels, Falk reduction gear, 2 shafts, ~1,700 shp, 11.6 kt). Crew-contributed photographs document the ship beached at Fukuoka, Japan, March 1946 (contributor James Elder, QM3/c, USS LST(H)-949).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Ship's company 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Independently confirms the DANFS timeline and adds campaign dates, occupation-service window, call sign, and photographic record. The propulsion spec is the generic LST-542-class block (GM 12-567A); BuShips SD-1945 design-group data assigns the LST-932-979 block the 12-278A engine variant - unresolved (see gaps). No asbestos content; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-02
-
[3]U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks, by Ship Numbers (archives.gov PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 61: 'LST-949 10/23/1944 6/30/1945' (two identical-coverage entries; NARA notes some vessels' logbooks include separate rough and smooth runs)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), ship-number section PDF page 61, inventories two Navy deck-log entries for LST-949 covering 10/23/1944-6/30/1945. These dated Navy records establish in-scope WWII service for this hull; logbook coverage dates are not claimed as commissioning dates. The logs are held by NARA (RG 24) and are not on NARA's published list of digitized deck logs - an undigitized archival lead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (log coverage)
- Limitations
- Confirms deck logs exist for the stated coverage window only; the logbooks themselves were not examined and their contents (events, availabilities, medical augmentation) are unknown. Does not establish commissioning, exposure conditions, or any asbestos fact; digitization status per NARA's published digitized-log list (LST-949 absent).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-03
-
[4]Shipbuilding History, 'Bethlehem-Hingham, Hingham MA' yard page (Tim Colton's shipbuildinghistory.com) - secondary compilation of builder/yard records [other_primary]
- Locator
- Bethlehem-Hingham yard table, hull 3419 row; yard-description header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com) Bethlehem-Hingham yard production table: yard hull 3419 = LST-949, FY1943 contract, keel laid 29-Aug-44, launched 30-Sep-44, delivered 23-Oct-44 - 32 days on the ways, 23 days in water, 55 days total. Yard context: Bethlehem Hingham Shipyards, Inc. was built in 1941 with $35M Navy funding for destroyer-escort construction, had 16 ways, was managed by Bethlehem Quincy, and employed over 23,000 at peak; closed and liquidated after the war.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction workforce, 1944
- Limitations
- Corroborates build dates/yard number (consistent with DANFS/NavSource) but its disposition cell reads 'Scrapped 1947' - which conflicts with DANFS's documented sale to Humble Oil & Refining Co. on 30 June 1948 'for operation'; DANFS is carried as the authoritative disposition. Yard-context figures are secondary compilation, not a government source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource LST(H)-949 spec block (ev-02); Corn, J.K. & Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' Am. J. Ind. Med. 11(3):359-373 (1987) doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311; GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3) article record; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference for a diesel amphibious hull: built August-October 1944 inside the WWII shipbuilding asbestos era; a diesel plant with no boilers means the steam-vessel boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply, but era-standard asbestos applications aboard an LST-542-class amphibious ship were engine-room machinery and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, accommodation insulation, deck coverings, and winch brake linings. Inference basis: NavSource spec block for this hull (diesel plant, no steam); peer-reviewed documentation of extensive asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding (Corn & Starr); GAO documentation that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not substitute alternatives until the early 1970s.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops/patients (1944-46); commercial crews under Humble Oil (1948 onward, undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-949/LST(H)-949. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no exposure or causation finding. The ship left Navy custody in 1948 - postwar abatement/substitution history not applicable to this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-05
-
[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 blocked to automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service era (1944-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-06
-
[7]Tadlock, M.D., & Sobocinski, A.B., 'US Navy Surgical Teams Fight to Save Lives on WWII Amphibious Warships,' Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons 110(5), May 2025 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- ACS Bulletin May 2025 article: LST(H) sections (Normandy 41,000+; Iwo Jima 2,230 D-Day; LST(H)-464 profile)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LST(H) program context: an American College of Surgeons Bulletin article (co-authored by the Naval History and Heritage Command historian) documents that medically augmented 'grey hull' LSTs - the LST(H) designation - provided forward casualty stabilization and evacuation: 16 LSTs designated 'emergency hospitals' evacuated more than 41,000 casualties at Normandy, and four LST(H)s evacuated 2,230 casualties on Iwo Jima's D-Day morning alone. LST-949's own LST(H) designation came 15 September 1945, after the war's end, and she thereafter performed occupation duty - whether she actually received medical augmentation or treated casualties under the designation is undocumented in the sources consulted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- WWII casualty-evacuation patients and LST(H) medical augmentees (program context)
- Limitations
- Program/type-level documentation; the article does not name LST-949 or LST(H)-949. The post-surrender timing of this hull's redesignation means its wartime casualty-evacuation role under the LST(H) designation cannot be assumed; whether medical personnel/equipment were embarked after September 1945 is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-07
-
[8]Batch-6483 search ledger (this record): DANFS (Wayback); NavSource; NARA SL-44 + digitized-log list; NVR; CourtListener API v4 (o and r); shipbuildinghistory yard table; ACS Bulletin; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-h-949-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-949/LST(H)-949 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero results on both indexes for every name and hull-number form searched: 'LST-949' (opinions and dockets), 'USS LST-949', 'LSTH-949', and 'LST 949' (opinions and dockets). Secondary web sweeps surfaced neither qualifying litigation nor law-firm marketing claims naming this hull.
- 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. Undigitized deck logs (ev-03), Bethlehem-Hingham work packages, and any commercial-era records under Humble Oil are unfollowed archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-h-949-08