Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet 839-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-sarpedon-lst956-pkt-839-packet-md
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[2]DANFS, Sarpedon (ARB-7), Naval History and Heritage Command (live page verified 2026-10-03) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Sarpedon entry, full text (specifications block + service narrative)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Sarpedon (ARB-7) was laid down as LST-956 on 11 July 1944 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, Mass.; reclassified ARB-7 and named Sarpedon on 14 August 1944; launched 21 August 1944; commissioned 16 November 1944 (Lt. (jg.) J. B. Shaum) for transit to the conversion yard; decommissioned 29 November 1944 for conversion by the Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, Md.; recommissioned 19 March 1945 (Lt. W. H. Farrar). After shakedown she sailed for the Pacific via the Canal Zone, San Pedro, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Guam, arriving Saipan 2 July 1945, where she began working as a repair ship; at Okinawa from 7 August 1945 she repaired ships damaged by heavy enemy air attacks, and continued through the September-October 1945 typhoons. She then supported occupation forces at Shanghai, China, until sailing 20 March 1946 for Bikini (her atomic-test participation was cancelled); Kwajalein 5 April-8 May 1946; arrived San Pedro 28 May 1946 for inactivation; decommissioned 29 January 1947 and placed in reserve at San Diego. DANFS specifications: dp. 3,960; l. 328'; b. 50'; dr. 11'2"; s. 11.6 k.; cpl. 286; a. 8 40mm., 8 20mm.; class Aristaeus.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Crew and embarked repair personnel (1944-1947); ships' crews of vessels repaired alongside
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, conversion, service narrative, and decommissioning. The entry contains no asbestos, insulation-material, or survey statement; it supports no asbestos claim. Entry narrative ends in 1974 ('where she remains into 1974'); striking and disposal are not covered here (see NavSource row).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Sarpedon (ARB-7), Repair Ship Photo Index (navsource.net; page verified live 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) page, chronology block, specifications block, awards block, commanding officers list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record for USS Sarpedon (ARB-7): laid down as LST-956 11 July 1944 at Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, MA; redesignated ARB-7 14 August 1944; launched 21 August 1944; partial commission 16 November 1944 for transit to the conversion yard; decommissioned at Baltimore 29 November 1944; converted at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore; decommissioned 29 January 1947 at San Diego and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group; struck from the Naval Register 15 April 1976; sold for scrapping 1 January 1977 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service; acquired by Phaethon Shipping & Trading Corp. S.A., Panama, and renamed MV Petrola 133; final disposition broken up for scrap 30 May 1989. Specifications: displacement 1,781 t. (lt) / 3,960 t. (fl); length 328'; beam 50'; draft 11'2"; speed 11.6 kts; complement 15 officers / 271 enlisted; armament two quad 40mm and eight single 20mm AA mounts; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A diesel engines, single Falk main reduction gear, two propellers, 1,800 shp. Awards: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1989
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archive, not a government source; its chronology concurs with DANFS on every shared date except the recommission day (its specifications block gives 10 March 1945 while its own commanding-officers table and DANFS give 19 March - see correction row). Striking, sale, and scrapping dates are not covered by DANFS and rest on this source alone. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-02
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[4]DANFS, Sarpedon (ARB-7) (propulsion plant and ARB conversion documented); NavSource ARB-7 specifications block (diesel plant, conversion yard) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry (construction/conversion narrative); NavSource specifications block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As completed, Sarpedon was a 1944 diesel-powered LST-542-group hull (two GM 12-567A diesels, no boilers) converted before completion into an Aristaeus-class battle damage repair ship - a conversion type involving extensive interior rework and the fitting of repair shops. For a hull of this era and type, thermal insulation on engine exhausts and machinery, gaskets and packing, deck coverings, and bulkhead/accommodation insulation were era-standard applications; insulation products of the WWII shipbuilding era were commonly manufactured with asbestos fiber. The diesel plant removes the boiler/steam-lagging pathway typical of steam combatants but does not remove the exhaust-lagging, gasket, and interior-materials pathways.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1944-1989
- Population
- Bethlehem-Hingham construction trades (1944); Maryland Drydock conversion yard workers (1944-45); crew and repair-shop personnel (1945-47); reserve-fleet and disposal workers (1947-1977); shipbreakers (1989)
- Limitations
- Inferred from the documented propulsion plant, construction era, and documented ARB conversion; no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or abatement record was located for this ship. Not a quantity; does not establish that asbestos-containing material was or remains aboard this hull, nor individual exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-03
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[5]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); indexed at NLM PubMed, PMID 3555021 (bibliographic record verified live via NCBI E-utilities 2026-10-03) [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed record PMID 3555021 (Am J Ind Med 1987;11(3):359-73); publisher full text (Wiley, doi:10.1002/ajim.4700110311) returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - bibliographic verification via NLM
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this 1944 hull was built and converted - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction, with federal policy treating shipyard asbestos use as a priority war material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-04
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[6]Batch-7499 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource ARB-7; NVR; NLM PubMed; CourtListener (blocked); LST design-series class profile (background) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-sarpedon-lst956-01 through sl-uss-sarpedon-lst956-07
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or material schedule naming the Sarpedon / LST-956 hull was found in the public sources searched - the DANFS entry and the NavSource per-hull record contain no asbestos or insulation-material statement; the class profile for the LST design series records no ship-specific asbestos record for any member and no class-wide material schedule; CourtListener ship-name and hull-number searches could not be executed this session (daily quota exhausted - blocked, not a negative result; see search_ledger).
- 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 - era-consistent construction makes retained-era materials plausible. The litigation picture in particular is UNKNOWN, not negative: CourtListener queries were blocked by quota exhaustion and must be re-run before 'no litigation' can be asserted. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-05
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[7]DANFS, Sarpedon (ARB-7) (19 March 1945) vs. NavSource ARB-7 chronology block (10 March 1945) and commanding-officers table (19 March 1945) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry; NavSource ARB-7 page, specifications block vs. commanding officers list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy on the post-conversion recommission date: DANFS states recommissioned 19 March 1945 (Lt. W. H. Farrar in command); the NavSource chronology/specifications block states recommissioned 10 March 1945, while NavSource's own commanding-officers table dates Farrar's command from 19 March 1945, concurring with DANFS. The 19 March 1945 date is adopted as controlling (DANFS plus NavSource's internal CO table); the 10 March variant is recorded but not carried in the date fields.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-03
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Resolves a publication-level date discrepancy between two sources that otherwise concur on every shared date; immaterial to identity or service timeline. No asbestos content in either source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-sarpedon-lst956-06