Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 503-packet.md (2 sources cited) [museum_official]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lcs-l-3-53-lcsl353-pkt-503-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSSL-53 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-53 - construction, commissioning, flotilla/group/division assignment, campaign table, awards, reserve lay-up, LSSL redesignation, disposal, NavShips 250-012 specification block [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050053.htm - header block, campaign/awards tables, specification block, and photo captions (Group Seven at Pearl Harbor; Whangpoo River Shanghai 1 Jan 1946; Astoria reserve summer 1946; San Francisco Bay 1946)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 27 June 1944 at Albina Engine and Machine Works Inc., Portland OR; launched 22 August 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-53 on 30 September 1944, LT. M. F. Steldt USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Three (CAPT. T. C. Aylward USN), LCS(L)(3) Group Seven (LCDR. F. P. Stone USNR), LCS(L)(3) Division Fourteen. Campaigns: Iwo Jima operation (19 February 1945); Okinawa Gunto operation (18 March - July 1945); Minesweeping Operations Pacific, Formosa area (July 1945). Navy Occupation Service Medal 19 September - 26 October 1945; China Service Medal (extended) 29 October 1945 - 20 January 1946. Decommissioned, date unknown; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria, OR; redesignated Landing Ship Support Large USS LSSL-53 on 28 February 1949; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold for scrapping 8 January 1952 to Learner Company, Alameda, CA. Three battle stars for WWII service; Combat Action Ribbon (2 - Iwo Jima, Okinawa); eleven Bronze Star awards and one Purple Heart (Curtis G. Leonard, S1c, Iwo Jima) listed as individual awards. Specifications (sourced by NavSource to NavShips 250-012, Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, 15 April 1945): 250 t light / 387 t full; 158 ft o.a.; beam 23 ft 8 in; 6 officers + 65 enlisted; 2 quad packs of 4 General Motors 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 BHP; GM main reduction gears; 2 diesel-driven 60 kW 450V AC generators; twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1952
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); Learner Co. shipbreakers, Alameda (1952)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official records (commissioning date corroborated by the Albina yard delivery table and by the assignment prompt), but decommissioning and striking dates are unknown to the compiler and are carried as unknown. Contains no asbestos or material content. The specification block is class-level NavShips data, not a hull survey.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-01
-
[3]'A Short History of LCS 53' - crew-authored ship history hosted by NavSource, provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 (byline 'John Rooney, LCS 82') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050053h.htm - full narrative text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-authored narrative for this hull: built by Albina Engine and Machine Works, Portland, OR; commissioned 30 September 1944; shakedown and trials at San Diego; departed the continental U.S. 1 December 1944 for Pearl Harbor; attached to the Fifth Amphibious Force, Third Fleet. Iwo Jima: two advance runs with three rocket barrages, station ~200 yards off Mt. Suribachi, 18 days on station; beach ammunition-dump fire-fighting party (eleven men named, Bronze Star awards); rescue of nine wounded Marines from an LCVP ~6.5 miles offshore, transferred to USS Solace; witnessed the Suribachi flag raising; sole casualty Curtis G. Leonard S1c. Saipan overhaul, then Okinawa: demonstration (feint) landings on D-Day and D+1; 110 days at Okinawa - 25 on picket stations, 30 on suicide-boat patrol, remainder at transport anchorages; 275 general-quarters calls; three planes shot down; two personnel casualties from a kamikaze that hit the water 30 feet off the starboard side. July 1945: two months at San Pedro Bay, Leyte; September 1945 Wakayama, Japan, occupation patrol; then Formosa via Shanghai for mine destruction; Christmas 1945 at Shanghai; ~25,000 miles sailed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-53 (1944-46); embarked medical officer Lt. G. W. House (MC) USNR (Group Seven staff)
- Limitations
- Unpublished crew memoir, not an official record - rich operational detail but not independently verified against action reports or deck logs; the byline ('John Rooney, LCS 82') names a different hull, an attribution quirk preserved as noted. Its dates agree with NavSource's campaign table where they overlap. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-02
-
[4]NavSource photo caption: USS LCS(L)(3)-53 under way in San Francisco Bay returning home, 1946 - ENS J. W. Middendorf USNR on the bridge (photo from Middendorf's personal files, contributed by Brayton Harris) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050053.htm - photo caption (984k image, bottom of page)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- ENS J. W. Middendorf USNR served aboard this hull and is identified on the bridge in her 1946 San Francisco Bay return photograph; per the caption he later served as Secretary of the Navy, 1974-76 (J. William Middendorf II). The photograph also documents the hull's return to the U.S. in 1946, preceding her Astoria reserve-fleet lay-up.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946
- Population
- ENS J. W. Middendorf USNR; return-voyage crew (1946)
- Limitations
- Vessel-history fact only - establishes that a named individual served aboard. NOT an exposure record; this record makes no asbestos claim for Middendorf or any individual. Source is a photograph caption, not a personnel record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton compilation), Albina Engine & Machine Works yard table, Portland OR - yard hull list; plus companion class table at /smallships/lcsl.htm [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/albina.htm - row '207 / LCS(L) 53'; /smallships/lcsl.htm - row 'LCS(L) 53'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Albina yard table records yard hull no. 207 as LCS(L)-53, a 246-GT 159-ft landing craft for the U.S. Navy, delivered 30-Sep-44, disposition 'Scrapped 1952' - corroborating NavSource's commissioning date and scrapping year. The yard record also shows the hull began life under a reassigned contract: Albina hulls 184-201 were originally ordered as LCI(L) 1034-1051 and reassigned to LCS(L) 61-78, while Albina hulls 202-214 carried LCS(L) 48-60 - 31 LCS(L)s in all, spanning class numbers 48-78. Yard history: founded 1904 by William Cornfoot on N. River Street, Albina district, Portland (upstream of the Fremont Bridge); sold to Dillingham Corp. about 1971 (Dillingham Ship Repair); became Cascade General in 1986-87 and the original Albina yard was closed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944; 1952
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation, not a primary registry - dates track official delivery records but 'delivered' is used where NavSource gives 'commissioned' (30-Sep-44 agrees for this hull). The companion class table carries 'Scrapped 1950' for hull 53, conflicting with both the yard table ('1952') and NavSource (sold 8 Jan 1952) - unresolved, see gaps. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-04
-
[6]NavSource LCS(L)(3) class operational description and index; Shipbuilding History class table (130 hulls, 3 yards); NavShips 250-012 spec block via NavSource hull page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource class index/functional description (10/05/05func.htm, 05idx.htm); shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcsl.htm; NavShips 250-012 spec block as reproduced at 10/05/050053.htm
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel 158-ft diesel gunboat built June-September 1944 at a documented-asbestos-era Portland shipyard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard small-combatant applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation, within a confined hull volume. As an all-diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but engine and exhaust-system insulation, electrical insulation, and accommodation-space materials remain plausible era applications.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1952
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); Learner Co. shipbreakers (1952)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCS(L)(3)-53. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. LCS(L)(3)s were austere wartime gunboats - their asbestos inventory would have been materially smaller than that of a steam-driven combatant, but nothing ship-specific documents either presence or absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-05
-
[7]Albina Engine & Machine v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 627 F.3d 1293 (9th Cir. 2010) (No. 09-70592, filed 10 December 2010), CourtListener cluster 180868; underlying DOL Benefits Review Board decision BRB No. 08-0403 (30 December 2008), K.M. (McAllister) v. Lockheed Shipbuilding, Albina Engine and Machine, Willamette Iron & Steel [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 180868 (9th Cir. 2010), opinion text sections I-III; DOL BRB 08-0403 PDF (dol.gov), pp. 1-11
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Federal litigation documents asbestos exposure at this hull's builder: James R. McAllister worked as a shipyard carpenter at Willamette Iron & Steel (1956), then Albina Engine & Machine (to 1957), then Lockheed's predecessor Puget Sound (1957-60), and died 22 September 2002 of mesothelioma. Parties stipulated his death was caused by asbestos exposure at a maritime situs. ALJ Berlin found 'no preponderance of evidence showing an absence of exposure' at Albina and held Albina liable as the last responsible employer; the Benefits Review Board affirmed (BRB 08-0403). The Ninth Circuit GRANTED review and REVERSED on legal grounds - holding the Board's simultaneous multi-employer analysis erroneous, requiring sequential Section 20(a) analysis, and concluding Lockheed is the last responsible employer liable for benefits. Disposition described exactly: the reversal turned on the employer-allocation framework, not on whether asbestos exposure occurred at the yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1956-1960 (exposure); 2002-2010 (litigation)
- Population
- Albina Engine & Machine shipyard trades (documented window 1956-57); Portland-area shipyard workers generally
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation, not a hull record: LCS(L)(3)-53 is not named, and the documented Albina exposure window (1956-57) postdates this hull's 1944 construction by more than a decade - it evidences asbestos use/exposure practices at the builder generally, not aboard or during the building of this hull. Classified at the less-final stage per batch discipline: the affirmed ALJ/BRB liability finding against Albina was reversed on appeal; what survives is the trial-record exposure evidence and the appellate allocation holding for Lockheed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-06
-
[8]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 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 (1944-52).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- 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, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-07
-
[9]Batch-5725 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page + crew history; Shipbuilding History class and Albina yard tables; NHHC DANFS (no entry for numbered craft); Naval Vessel Register (pre-1987 exclusion); CourtListener opinion + docket searches (zero results for hull identifiers); CourtListener 'Albina Engine' asbestos opinion search (McAllister); DOL BRB 08-0403 full text; Oregon DEQ ECSI; NARA deck-log program; GAO product page; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcsl353-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LCS(L)(3)-53 / LSSL-53 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero opinions and zero dockets for the hull identifiers '"LCS(L)(3)-53" OR "LCSL-53" OR "LSSL-53"'. NHHC DANFS carries no entry for this numbered landing craft, and NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. A supplementary CourtListener variant sweep (non-parenthesized forms) was queued but could not run this session - fleet pacing budget momentarily spent; logged as blocked, not a negative result.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the supplementary variant-identifier search is a genuine open gap (throttled, not run). Deck logs (RG 24) and any Albina work packages or scrapping-contract records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl353-08