Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSSL-59 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-59 - construction, commissioning, unit assignments, campaign table, awards, reserve-fleet and Naval Reserve Training periods, LSSL redesignation, and disposal (compiled record; specifications sourced to NavShips 250-012 and Lawley class documents) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS LSSL-59 / LCS(L)(3)-59 page, specification block, campaign/awards tables, and chronology; image caption 'at Shanghai, 5 January 1946' (National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled record for this hull: laid down 2 September 1944 at Albina Engine and Machine Works Inc., Portland, OR; launched 2 October 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-59, 14 November 1944, LT. N. L. Claxton USNR in command; assigned LCS(L)(3) Flotilla One (CAPT. R. E. Arison USNR) / Group Two (LT. M. C. Fitzgerald USNR) / Division Four, Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaigns Borneo operation (Tarakan Island 22 Apr - 1 May 1945; Brunei Bay 7-10 Jun and 25 Jun - 2 Jul 1945; Balikpapan 15 Jun - 20 Jul 1945) and Minesweeping Operations Pacific 21-24 Nov 1945; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) 12 Sep - 8 Oct 1945 and China Service Medal (extended) 9 Oct 1945 - 20 Jan 1946; photographed at Shanghai 5 January 1946; decommissioned date unknown, laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs, FL; placed in service for Naval Reserve Training duty at Greenville, MS, circa 1947; redesignated USS LSSL-59, 28 February 1949; placed out of service and struck, dates unknown; sold for scrapping 14 December 1950 to Southwest Steel Co., Memphis TN, for $6,918.51; earned two battle stars. Specifications: 250 t light / 387 t full; 158' o.a.; all-diesel propulsion - 2 quad packs of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 BHP, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers; complement 6 officers, 65 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1950
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); wartime crew (6 officers / 65 enlisted complement); reserve-fleet and reserve-training personnel 1946-1949; scrapping yard (Southwest Steel Co., Memphis, 1950-51)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a compiled photo-archive record, not a contemporaneous primary document; its specifications trace to NavShips 250-012 (Apr 1945) and Lawley class documents. Decommissioning, out-of-service, and struck dates are all stated as unknown. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-01
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[2]'BRIEF HISTORY of the USS LCS(L) 59' - firsthand memoir by Keith Reid, Crew Member, provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 via NavSource [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCS(L)(3)-59 history page (050059h.htm)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Crew-member memoir for this hull: commissioning ceremony Tuesday 14 November 1944 at Albina Shipyards, Portland - 'Lieutenant Commander Norman L. Claxton, USNR, was named the Captain' with officers D. J. 'Duke' Cooper (XO), Ens. Robert G. Anderson (First Lieutenant), Ens. Walter Wedig (Communications), Ens. Dan L. Berrar (Gunnery), Ens. Anthony Pezzulich and Horace P. Andrews (Engineering), Dr. Donald C. Walker MD (Group Medical Officer), and 65 sailors including Chief Boatswain's Mate Robert Penn. Shakedown to San Diego, then escorted a convoy of LCTs to Pearl Harbor; departed Pearl Harbor 3 January 1945 escorting the same convoy to the Philippines via Eniwetok, Kossol Roads, and Leyte Gulf. Assigned to Borneo for the Brunei Bay and Balikpapan invasions: 7-8 June 1945 worked with six other LCSs protecting minesweepers and serving as a mine demolition unit ('approximately 1,000 mines were destroyed by LCS gunners'); 10 June supported the Brown Beach landing on Labuan Island with two gunfire and rocket runs; later June destroyed mines cut loose along the Miri Coast. Trained at Panay, Cebu, and Palawan for the invasion of Japan until the surrender. Okinawa (rode out a typhoon underway); Inchon, Korea landing; escorted surrendered Japanese destroyers to Pusan. Based at Shanghai and Taipei, Formosa on mine demolition detail; drydocked at Shanghai around Christmas 1945 for hull painting and repairs 'done by Chinese workers.' Powell J. Pierpoint, XO of LCS-61, relieved Claxton as skipper; returned via Saipan, Wake Island, and Pearl Harbor to Long Beach, arriving 6 March 1946; transited the Panama Canal to 'Glen Cove Springs' [Green Cove Springs], Florida for mothballing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (events); postwar (narration)
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-59, 1944-1946 (named officers and CBM Penn)
- Limitations
- Decades-later firsthand narrative - valuable but not contemporaneous. Divergences: memoir styles Claxton 'Lieutenant Commander' vs. NavSource 'LT'; memoir writes 'Glen Cove Springs' for the documented Green Cove Springs, FL; memoir's '~1,000 mines destroyed by LCS gunners' at Brunei Bay exceeds the official Seventh Amphibious Force figure of 94 mines swept in the area (different measures - swept vs. destroyed by gunfire - but the divergence is noted). Memoir does not narrate the credited Tarakan operation. Contains no asbestos or materials information. Hosted on NavSource for the veterans' association.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-02
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[3]NHHC, 'SEVENTH Amphibious Force Command History 1945' (Commander Seventh Amphibious Force official command history, Navy Department Library Online Reading Room) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- SEVENTH Amphibious Force Command History 1945 - operations narrative (Tarakan/Brunei Bay/Balikpapan sections), minesweeping chapter, and appendix task-organization tables
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC command history documents the operations for which this hull received campaign credit: one LCS(L) Flotilla was added to the Seventh Amphibious Force between August and November 1944; Tarakan was landed 1 May 1945 under Commander Amphibious Group 6 (Oboe One); Brunei Bay was landed 10 June 1945 under Commander Amphibious Group 6 (Oboe Six) with simultaneous landings on Labuan Island and the mainland, sweeping having commenced 7 June (94 mines swept in the Brunei Bay area; AM Salute mined and sunk); Balikpapan was landed 1 July 1945 under Commander Amphibious Group 8 (Oboe Two) landing the 7th Australian Division, with pre-assault minesweeping from mid-June against nearly 100 Allied magnetic mines. The history confirms the Seventh Amphibious Force conducted all three Borneo landings this hull is credited with.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Seventh Amphibious Force personnel incl. LCS(L) Flotilla crews; Australian 9th/7th Division troops landed
- Limitations
- Command-level history - does not name LCS(L)(3)-59 or any individual LCS(L) hull in the Borneo narrative; documents the operations and force structure the NavSource campaign table credits this hull with. No materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships database, USS LCS(L)-59 entry - build/commission/sale dates and Operation Oboe VI (Brunei, 10 June 1945) order of battle [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 22291 - data block and 'Notable events' TG 78.1 composition
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled warship database independently corroborates this hull: ordered 5 April 1944; built by Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon; laid down 2 September 1944; launched 2 October 1944; commissioned 14 November 1944; sold 14 December 1950. Names the hull in the Operation Oboe VI order of battle: Task Unit 78.1.31 (LCS Unit, T/Capt. R. E. Arison USN) comprised USS LCS(L)-42, -45, -46, -47, -58, -59 (Lt. N. L. Claxton USNR) and -60; Task Unit 78.1.36 ('Brown' Support Unit, Lt.Cdr. Holmes) included LCS(L)-58, -59 and -60 among the support craft for the 10 June 1945 Brunei landings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1950
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)-59 at Brunei (Lt. N. L. Claxton commanding)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a compiled secondary database (not an official repository), though its wartime records are built from official sources and it independently corroborates NavSource dates; the 'ordered 5 April 1944' date appears only here - carried as single-source. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-04
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[5]NHHC, 'Casualties Navy and Coast Guard Ships' (WWII ship casualty list, Landing Craft, Support (Large)(Mk. III) section) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Casualties page, 'Landing Craft, Support (Large)(Mk. III) (LCS(L))' subsection
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's official casualty list for the LCS(L)(3) type records hulls sunk or damaged beyond repair - LCS(L)(3)-7, -15, -26, -33, -37, -49, and -127 - documenting that the type saw lethal combat (suicide boats, kamikaze, shore batteries) at Iwo Jima, Mariveles/Corregidor, Okinawa, and off California. LCS(L)(3)-59 does not appear on the list, consistent with her documented survival of the war and 1950 disposal by sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LCS(L)(3) crews (class level)
- Limitations
- Absence from the casualty list is consistent with - but does not itself document - an undamaged record; the list covers sinkings and constructive losses, not all battle damage. No materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-05
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (all-diesel plant: 2 quad packs of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers; NavShips 250-012, Apr 1945) and the NavSource LCS(L) class index/sister-hull pages (130 hulls; builders Lawley, Commercial Iron Works, Albina; February 1949 LSSL reclassification of retained hulls); WWII-era shipbuilding asbestos-use literature and the Albina yard litigation record (ev-07); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos insulation documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (NavShips 250-012 sourcing); Albina litigation record; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944 amphibious fire-support craft built in a wartime Portland contract yard sits inside the documented era of shipboard asbestos use. Because the plant is all-diesel with no boilers or steam propulsion, the era-typical boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a small combatant of this type and period were diesel-exhaust and muffler lagging, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and joiner/fireproofing materials in the compact hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1950
- Population
- Albina construction trades (1944); wartime crew; Green Cove Springs reserve-fleet workers (1946); reserve-training personnel (Greenville, MS, ca. 1947-49); scrappers at Southwest Steel Co., Memphis (1950-51)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder specification located for LCS(L)(3)-59. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The Lawley 'Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' cited by NavSource was not retrieved; if digitized it would be the next-grade source for class materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-06
-
[7]Albina Engine & Machine v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 627 F.3d 1293 (9th Cir. 2010), No. 09-70592 (LHWCA death-benefits review; DOL Benefits Review Board decisions of 19 August 2005 and 30 December 2008 in the same matter) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener opinion 180868; 627 F.3d 1293 (9th Cir., filed 10 Dec 2010), parties/stipulation recital and holding
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal appellate opinion documents stipulated asbestos exposure at this hull's builder: James R. McAllister worked as a shipyard carpenter in the Portland, Oregon vicinity in 1956 - first for Willamette Iron & Steel Co., then for Albina Engine and Machine - and died in 2002 of mesothelioma; 'all parties stipulated ... that his death was due to mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos' during shipyard employment, with Albina among the responsible employers litigated. The Ninth Circuit resolved which employer bears LHWCA liability, granting Albina's petition and assigning liability to Lockheed on a sequential last-employer analysis.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1956-1960 (exposure); 2002-2010 (litigation)
- Population
- Portland shipyard trades incl. Albina Engine and Machine workers (1950s exposure window litigated)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record: the exposure window (1956-60) postdates this vessel's 1944 construction; the opinion establishes asbestos conditions at the builder's postwar yard, not aboard this or any hull, and decides employer liability allocation only (final liability assigned to Lockheed, not Albina). Does not establish materials aboard this vessel, individual crew exposure, or any legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-07
-
[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 Navy service era (1944-1950).
- 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. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-09-30, standing block since Batch-01) - content via product-page description; full text not retrieved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-08
-
[9]NARA, 'Logbooks of the U.S. Navy at the National Archives' - RG 24, 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1992' (NAID 594258 series); WWII deck logs for commissioned naval vessels are held at Archives II, College Park [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov logbooks overview; RG 24 Entry 118 / NAID 594258
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Deck logs for this commissioned hull's Navy service (1944-1946, plus any reserve-training-era logs to 1949) fall within NARA RG 24 logbook coverage and would document movements, availabilities, and yard periods - the likeliest undigitized source for any in-service material disturbance. Digitization status for this hull's logs unverified (NARA digitizes the series in batches; the legacy catalog API is retired and per-hull confirmation was not completed this session).
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1949 (records)
- Population
- Crew of LCS(L)(3)-59 / LSSL-59, 1944-1949
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - existence of this hull's logs in the series is inferred from coverage of commissioned vessels, not confirmed item-by-item; deck logs do not ordinarily record insulating materials and would not by themselves establish asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-09
-
[10]Batch-5731 search ledger (this record): NavSource vessel + memoir pages; NHHC Seventh Amphibious Force Command History 1945 and WWII casualties list; uboat.net warship entry; navalmarinearchive/shipbuildinghistory LCS(L) table; CourtListener API v4 (opinion + docket); NVR detail-page check; NARA logbooks overview; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCS(L)(3)-59 / LSSL-59 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches for all hull-designation variants returned zero hits; the docket-index search returned 5 results, all verified name collisions (unrelated antitrust, bankruptcy, and terrorism civil matters) - not qualifying asbestos litigation. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos content for this hull beyond non-citable listicle ecosystems.
- 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 - era construction practice at a wartime contract yard is consistent with retained era materials. Deck logs and any builder, reserve-fleet, or disposal material records remain undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-59-lcsl359-10