USS Wythe (LST-575)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]research packet 693-packet.md (3 sources cited) [museum_official]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-wythe-lst575-pkt-693-packet-md

2. [2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), 'Wythe' (LST-575) - full entry, verbatim transcription (live NHHC page 404s at history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/wythe.html - the URL NavSource itself links) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS 'Wythe' full entry incl. spec block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: laid down 3 May 1944 at Evansville, Ind., by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co.; launched 9 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Cochrane; commissioned at New Orleans 30 June 1944, Lt. Patrick R. Shea, USNR, in command. Shakedown at St. Andrews Bay, Fla.; cargo to Gulfport, Miss.; structural modifications and 'moonlight' camouflage at New Orleans; via Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal (transited 23 August 1944) to San Diego (arrived 5 September, voyage repairs); arrived Pearl Harbor 17 September 1944, launched embarked LCT at West Loch. Converted at the Waipio Point Amphibious Base to a self-propelled floating barracks ('mother ship'): two quonset huts on the main deck (officers' quarters; bakery), showers and heads on the former tank deck, four shore-type salt-water evaporators forward on the main deck, bunks in tiers of four aft on the tank deck (196 men) plus added crew-space bunks, and 16 shore-type refrigeration units on the forward tank deck. Emerged as LST(M)-575 by 15 January 1945 with nickname 'Mammy Yokum'; floating-drydock bottom-scrape and camouflage paint. Embarked SLCU-40; sailed 27 January 1945; Leyte 25 February; departed 19 March for Okinawa; Kerama Retto 26 March - 3.5 months as boat-pool base (up to 28 landing craft/day; 250-350 tons provisions/month; up to 750 men fed daily; frequent flash-red alerts and kamikaze attacks on the anchorage). Reclassified APB-41 and named Wythe effective 31 March 1945 while at Kerama Retto. Mid-July shift to Buckner Bay, Okinawa; administrative flagship for Commander, Naval Forces, Ryukyus (berthing/messing 140 men into late August 1945); two typhoons. Operation 'Campus' occupation duty - Jinsen (Inchon), Korea (anchored 12 September 1945, 7th Amphibious Force beach party), then Taku and Tsingtao, China, into spring 1946. Sailed 14 April 1946 with sistership Yavapai (APB-42); Panama Canal 9-11 June; New Orleans 16 June; reported Commander, Texas Group, 16th Fleet, 14 October 1946; inactivated; placed in reserve at Orange, Tex., and simultaneously decommissioned 29 May 1947; struck from the Navy list 1 May 1959; stripped hulk sold for scrap to Marlene Blouse Corp. 10 September 1959. One battle star for the Okinawa campaign. Spec block: dp. 2,080; l. 328'0"; dr. 11'2"; s. 10.0 k.; cpl. 151, troop 340; arm. 8 40mm, 8 20mm.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   MVB&I Evansville construction trades (1944); New Orleans fitting-out/modification trades (July-August 1944); Waipio conversion workforce (Oct 1944-Jan 1945); ship's company plus ~340 transient capacity (1945-1947); Orange, TX reserve-fleet caretakers (1947-1959); breakup-yard workers (1959-60)

   Limitations

   Authoritative service history; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material information. Transcription via losthistory.net/hazegray verbatim mirror because the live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-10-02 at the canonical URL NavSource links - standing NHHC link-rot defect. The spec block's 'Beam 60'0"' and 'Class LST-548' labels conflict with every other source (50' beam; LST-542 class) and are flagged in gaps rather than carried. CO given as 'Lt. Patrick R. Shea' here vs 'Patrick Henry Shea' in NavSource's roster - middle-name conflict logged in gaps. DANFS does not mention the 24 June 1944 ferry commission recorded by Shipscribe.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-01

3. [3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Wythe (APB-41) ex LST(M)-575 / LST-575 - designation timeline, APB specification block, campaign/awards tables, CO roster, NHHC photo caption [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/16/160575.htm header block, APB specifications, campaign and awards tables, CO roster, photo caption block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource timeline for this hull: LST-542 class tank landing ship / Benewah class self-propelled barracks ship; laid down 3 May 1944 at Evansville, IN (header prints 'Missouri Bridge and Iron Co.' - a truncation of Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co.; see gaps); launched 9 June 1944; commissioned at New Orleans 30 June 1944 as USS LST-575, LT. Patrick H. Shea, USNR, in command; modified to Benewah-class self-propelled barracks ship and initially designated LST(Modified) USS LST(M)-575, 15 January 1945; redesignated and named USS Wythe (APB-41) 31 March 1945. Okinawa Gunto operation 28 March - 30 June 1945; Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal (extended) qualifying periods 6 September 1945 - 20 April 1946. Decommissioned 29 May 1947; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange, TX; struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1959; final disposition sold for scrapping to Marlene Blouse Corp. 10 September 1959; one battle star for WWII service as LST(M)-575. APB spec block: 4,080 t.; 328'; 50' beam; 11'2" draft; 12 kts.; complement 10 officers/141 enlisted; troop capacity 40 officers/300 enlisted; armament 4 single + 2 twin 40mm AA mounts and twenty .50/.30-cal machine guns; propulsion two General Motors 12-567A diesels, single Falk main reduction gears, five diesel-drive 100 kW 120 V D.C. ship's service generators, twin rudders, two propellers, 1,800 shp. CO roster: LT. Patrick Henry Shea USNR (20 June - 18 November 1944); LT. Jack L. Wright USNR (18 November 1944 - ?); LT. Elwood Vaughan USN (9 December 1946 - 29 May 1947). Photo caption: NHHC photo 80-G-331697 (via Shipscribe) shows Wythe at anchor in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, 10 August 1945 as administrative flagship for ComNavFor Ryukyus, quonset hut on deck and bow doors open. Call sign NEWW.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   Ship's company (10 officers/141 enlisted APB spec) plus up to ~340 transient personnel (barracks function); Kerama Retto boat-pool population (Mar-Jul 1945)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; milestone dates track DANFS where both exist. Contains no asbestos content. The 20 June 1944 roster start for LT. Shea precedes the 30 June full commission - consistent with Shipscribe's ferry-commission note, not a conflict requiring adjudication. Header's 'Missouri Bridge and Iron Co.' omits 'Valley' - carried as the DANFS/full form. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-02

4. [4]Shipscribe (Stephen S. Roberts), USS Wythe (APB-41) class page - construction/disposal tables, class notes on the four Waipio 'temporary' LST-to-barracks-ship conversions, ship note for APB-41 [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipscribe.com/usnaux/APB/APB41.html - class data table, class notes, ship note APB-41

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Shipscribe's Wythe-class (APB-41) data sheet records for this hull: builder 'Mo. Valley B/I, Evansville'; keel 3 May 1944; launch 9 June 1944; reclassified 7 March 1945 (table; ex LST-575 31 Mar 45 per ship note); 'Ferry commission as LST 24 Jun 44, full commission 30 Jun 44. Converted at Pearl Harbor from late October 1944 to mid-January 1945. In USN reserve 1946-59.'; decommissioned 29 May 1947; struck 1 May 1959; disposed 10 September 1959 (sold). Class notes: four LSTs were 'temporarily' converted at the Waipio Amphibious Operating Base, Pearl Harbor, October 1944-January 1945, under a conversion approved by CNO 18 September 1944, to serve as 'mother ships' pending four new-construction ships (APB-45 class); each received two Quonset huts on the main deck (transient officers' quarters; galley and bakery), 4 large evaporators on the main deck forward, 16 walk-in refrigerator units on the tank deck forward, 2 diesel generators on the tank deck forward, 250 extra bunks on the tank deck aft and in crew's quarters, and large heads/showers on the main deck - accommodations for around 340 men in addition to ship's company; January 1945 CinCPac recommendation to reclassify as Stores Issue Ships (AKS) not acted on until the March reclassification as APB. Machinery: G.M. diesels, 2 screws, 1,800 HP; 10 kts.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   Waipio Amphibious Operating Base conversion workforce (Oct 1944-Jan 1945); ~340 added transient berthing capacity

   Limitations

   Shipscribe is a respected private research compilation drawing on official records (Ships' Data/U.S. Naval Vessels, BuShips records) - secondary, not a registry page. Its '7 Mar 45' reclassification date is the administrative action; the effective redesignation/name date carried in DANFS and NavSource is 31 March 1945 (conflict logged in gaps). Contains no asbestos content; the conversion scope is material-relevant context (refrigeration, evaporator, galley and accommodation installation) without material identification.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-03

5. [5]National Park Service, 'Places of WWII History in Evansville, IN' - Evansville Shipyard section (American WWII Heritage City program) [nps]

   Locator

   NPS article, 'Evansville Shipyard' section

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NPS documents this hull's builder facility: the Navy built 'Evansville Shipyard' on 40 acres on the city's west side; within four months of the February 1942 announcement the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company began production of the yard's first LST; by February 1945 the yard had produced 167 LSTs at a rate of one ship every four days in 1944 - 'the world's largest inland producer of ocean-going ships' - plus 13 ammunition lighters and 17 oceangoing barges; a January 1946 fire destroyed the yard.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1942-1946

   Population

   Evansville Shipyard workforce (1942-1945; peak wartime employment not stated on this page)

   Limitations

   Yard-level documentation - establishes the builder facility, production tempo, and wartime labor environment for the yard that built this hull (LST-575 keel laid 3 May 1944 amid peak four-day-per-ship production), but does not name this hull and contains no asbestos or materials information. The 1946 yard fire post-dates this hull's delivery entirely.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-04

6. [6]Library of Congress, HABS HI-386 - U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Waipio Peninsula (Amphibious Operating Base) [haer]

   Locator

   HABS HI-386 record page (loc.gov/pictures/item/hi0639), significance statement

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   LOC/HABS survey HI-386 documents the conversion site: the Waipio Peninsula was an active part of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base during WWII, and 'the Amphibious Operating Base was the most directly involved in the Pacific island-hopping campaigns'; almost all structures built on the peninsula in the early 1940s were temporary construction (tents, Quonset huts, wooden warehouses). This is the facility at which DANFS and Shipscribe record LST-575's October 1944-January 1945 barracks-ship conversion - a distinct amphibious base, not the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Amphibious Operating Base workforce incl. boat-repair personnel (wartime)

   Limitations

   Facility-level documentation: establishes the character and location of the conversion site, not any work record or material content for this hull. Not evidence that PHNSY performed the conversion - the record attributes the work to the Waipio amphibious base. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-05

7. [7]Corn JK, Starr J. 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding.' Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Am J Ind Med 12(4):359-373 (1987), DOI 10.1002/ajim.4700120402

   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 (1944, at a Navy-built inland river yard) and converted (1944-45, Pearl Harbor amphibious base). For a diesel-powered LST with no boilers, the era-relevant applications concentrate in diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, gaskets and packing, deck coverings, accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings; the documented barracks-ship conversion (refrigeration units, evaporators, galley/bakery, heads/showers, ~340 additional berthing spaces) is a plausible installation/disturbance event for era materials, and the 1959-60 breakup the dispersal endpoint.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1941-1945 (study scope); applied 1944-1960

   Population

   WWII-era shipyard workers (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville, 1944); Waipio conversion workforce (1944-45); wartime crew and embarked transients; breakup-yard workers (era context)

   Limitations

   Era-level scholarship plus class/type inference; the source does not name this hull, class, or yard 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. Conversion equipment materials are unverified at material level.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-06

8. [8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or when required for repairs, modified in 1979 toward selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Neither policy could have applied to this hull - she was sold for scrapping 10 September 1959, roughly sixteen years before the first policy issued.

   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 for era fleet context only; the policies post-date this hull's disposal entirely, so no hull-specific application was possible. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to this session's direct fetch (2026-10-02) - an automated-fetch block; the same product page was verified live the same day by sibling batch-6810 via the firecrawl path. Content reflects the product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-07

9. [9]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 83 N.E.2d 489 (Ind. App. 1949) - located via legal-aggregator index; primary reporter text not independently fetched [court_record]

   Locator

   Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 83 N.E.2d 489 (Ind. Ct. App. 1949), as indexed

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   A litigated occupational-disease claim exists for this hull's builder yard in the exact build window: the decedent worked as a pipe fitter in ship compartments at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron from 21 June to 11 November 1944 - spanning LST-575's fitting-out period - and the claim alleged fatal poisoning from inhaled fumes and gases of welded galvanized metal under Indiana's Workmen's Occupational Diseases Act; the Industrial Board's denial of the award was affirmed on appeal in 1949. This is other litigation, not an asbestos case - it demonstrates that occupational-disease claims arising from this yard's compartment work were litigated in the period, while contributing nothing on asbestos specifically.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-02

   Study period

   1944-1949

   Population

   Evansville Shipyard compartment trades (1944)

   Limitations

   Not asbestos litigation - a galvanized-metal fume (metal-fume) occupational-disease claim, decided against the claimant; included as yard-context only because it is a litigated exposure-adjacent claim inside this hull's build window at her builder. Located via a legal-aggregator snippet (exa.ai); the full opinion text was not independently retrieved this session and CourtListener indexing was not confirmed due to fleet pacing - verification partial. Does not name this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wythe-lst575-08

10. [10]NavalCoverMuseum, WYTHE APB-41 ship page - name/designation history, namesake, awards, cover record [museum_official]

    Locator

    navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/WYTHE_APB_41 - designation history and 'Other Information' sections

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Independent designation-chain corroboration: LST-542-class tank landing ship, keel laid 3 May 1944, launched 9 June 1944; USS LST-575 commissioned 30 June 1944; modified to Benewah-class self-propelled barracks ship, initially designated LST(M)-575 on 15 January 1945; redesignated and named USS Wythe (APB-41) 31 March 1945; decommissioned 29 May 1947, laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet Texas Group; struck from Naval Register 1 May 1959; sold 10 September 1959 to Marlene Blouse Corp. for scrap. Namesake: Wythe County, Virginia. Awards consistent with NavSource (1 battle star; China Service, American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific (1), WWII Victory, Navy Occupation (Asia clasp), Philippine Liberation).

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-02

    Study period

    1944-1959

    Limitations

    Volunteer-maintained philatelic museum wiki - corroborative secondary source, consistent with DANFS/NavSource on every shared fact. The namesake attribution (Wythe County, Virginia) rests on this source; DANFS entry text does not state a namesake. No asbestos content.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-wythe-lst575-09

11. [11]Batch-7089 search ledger (this record): DANFS verbatim transcription (losthistory/hazegray); NHHC live URL attempts; NavSource 160575; Shipscribe APB-41 class page; NPS Evansville article; LOC HABS HI-386; NavalCoverMuseum; NVR SHIPSDETAIL_APB_41; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4 (paced); secondary web sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-wythe-lst575-01 through sl-uss-wythe-lst575-16

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or qualifying litigation naming USS Wythe / LST-575 / LST(M)-575 / APB-41 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API v4 returned zero opinions for exact phrase 'USS Wythe', zero opinions for exact phrase 'LST-575', and zero dockets for 'LST-575'. The bare-name 'Wythe' + asbestos sweep could not be completed within the shared fleet pacing window this session - logged as blocked in search_ledger sl-09, a residual open gap rather than a completed negative (Wythe is a high-collision surname/county name). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; asbestos assertions exist only in law-firm marketing listicles - excluded sources.

    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 1944-built LST with a documented major conversion is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials. CourtListener core coverage is complete (exact name and hull number, opinions and dockets, all zero); the residual bare-name collision sweep is the remaining open item. Coverage is opinion- and docket-metadata level; state-court and unindexed filings are outside the sweep. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-wythe-lst575-10