USS LSM-13

Evidence

10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).

1. [1]research packet 532-packet.md (8 sources cited) [museum_official]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LSM-13

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Evidence ID

   uss-lsm-13-lsm13-pkt-532-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-13 (history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1997; specifications; commanding-officer list; awards block; photo captions) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Page body: milestones paragraph, campaign tables, occupation-service table, commanding-officer table, photo captions

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class Landing Ship, Medium; laid down 23 March 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 30 April 1944; commissioned USS LSM-13, 1 June 1944, LT Charles A. Nitz, USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific Theater - at Okinawa, LSM Flotilla Three (CDR W. F. Morrison USN), LSM Group Seven (LCDR C. A. Lamborn USNR), LSM Division Thirteen. Campaigns: Luzon operation, Lingayen Gulf landing, 9 January 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April - 7 May 1945. Two battle stars. Occupation and China service 2 September 1945 - 1 June 1946. Decommissioned 1 June 1946 at Shanghai and transferred to Nationalist China (Chinese Maritime Service) same day; strike date not recorded. Escaped Communist takeover October 1949 to Taiwan; ROC Navy service; converted 1960s to coastal minelayer CMC-348; scrapped 1972. Photos document the hull beached Russell Islands 16 July 1945 and moored Whangpoo River, Shanghai, 13 May 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1972

   Population

   Crew (USNR/USN), June 1944 - June 1946; embarked troops

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its extract restates Turner Publishing's LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (1997), a commemorative unit-history source; milestones generally track official records but no primary document is shown for this hull. Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Does not establish exposure, causation, or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-01

3. [3]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton compilation), Brown Shipbuilding Houston yard hull table and yard history; same table mirrored at navalmarinearchive.com [other_primary]

   Locator

   Yard table, hull row 118; yard-history paragraph

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Builder's hull table corroborates this hull: Brown Shipbuilding (Houston) yard hull no. 118 = LSM 13, laid down 23-Mar-44, launched 30-Apr-44, completed 1-Jun-44; disposition line 'To China 1946, escaped to Taiwan 1949, converted to CMC-348 1960s, scrapped 1972' - matching the NavSource timeline. Yard context: Brown Shipbuilding was built in 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Greens Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9mm from the Navy; 359 vessels in four years including 254 LSMs; leased to Todd Shipyards Corporation 1949 and operated as Todd's Houston Division until 1984.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1972

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce (Houston, 1944)

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation (individual-researcher reference site), not a registry - corroborates NavSource milestones independently. Contains no asbestos or material content. navypedia gives a May 1946 transfer month vs. NavSource's 1 June 1946 - minor conflict carried in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-02

4. [4]Wynne, D. (ed.), 'Pronto in South Vietnam 1962-1972', Royal Australian Corps of Signals / 32 Small Ship Squadron RAE unit history, Chapter 5 Part 3 (PDF hosted by the unit association) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Chapter 5 Part 3, pp. 2 (ship conditions) and 8 (crew exposure paragraph) - full text extracted from PDF this session

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class-level asbestos documentation aboard LSM-1-class sister hulls: the published unit history of 32 Small Ship Squadron RAE (Australian Army, operator of four ex-US Navy LSMs - ex-LSM-315, -319, -477, -547) states that accommodation spaces were below deck with poor ventilation, and that 'above the bunks were pipes lagged with asbestos, which would rain down on the sleeper during heavy seas, covering him in white dust'; the same work lists asbestos among the environmental exposures (water, ventilation, heat, diesel fumes, cigarette smoke, asbestos, Agent Orange and other chemicals) experienced by LSM crews in Vietnamese service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1962-1972 (publication 2013)

   Population

   Australian Army LSM crews, 32 Small Ship Sqn RAE (class sisters); by extension LSM-1-class crews

   Limitations

   Class-level, not hull-level: the passage describes the LSM type's accommodation spaces as operated by the Australian Army on four named sister hulls - it does not name LSM-13, which went to Nationalist China, not Australia. Unit-history association publication, not a materials survey or official document. Does not establish that asbestos remains or was ever confirmed aboard this specific hull; supports class-consistent accommodation lagging as the one documented asbestos application aboard the LSM-1 design.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-03

5. [5]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1-class spec block (diesel direct-drive, no steam plant) + 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) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource spec block; AJIM 11(3):359-373 abstract and article

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Era inference for this hull's material profile: a 1944 diesel-driven landing ship built at a wartime Houston emergency yard inside the period when asbestos was extensively used as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding (Corn & Starr, AJIM 1987); era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period - machinery and exhaust insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, accommodation-space lagging. The class carries no steam plant, so boiler/turbine lagging is not among the plausible applications.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944

   Population

   Construction trades (Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, 1944); ship's crew

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-13. Names era-standard applications plus the one class-documented use (accommodation pipe lagging, ev-03); does not establish confirmed materials aboard this hull, quantity, or present-day presence (hull scrapped 1972).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-04

6. [6]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'The Navy's Happy Medium' (Art of Naval Amphibious Operations from WWII exhibit page, 1944 Reginald Marsh watercolor description) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Page description text

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Official NHHC class-type context: the LSM (Landing Ship, Medium) was developed when the Navy needed a landing ship between the LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) and the LST (Landing Ship, Tank) in size and displacement - a compact, maneuverable design built for short-term use landing supplies in the Pacific. LSM-13 is an LSM-1-class hull of this type.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944

   Limitations

   Type-level design rationale only; does not name this hull and contains no asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-05

7. [7]Pearson, Eric, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025 [reputable_press]

   Locator

   Article body: yard establishment, Greens Bayou site, workforce and production figures

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Builder context: Brown Shipbuilding Co. was established 1941 by George and Herman Brown (Brown and Root) on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; a no-experience wartime yard that used assembly-line section fabrication and sideways launches, employed more than 25,000 workers at peak from late 1942, and produced 12 submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCI, and 254 LSMs.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 at wartime peak)

   Limitations

   Builder history only; does not name LSM-13 and contains no asbestos content. Documents workforce scale (the exposed-construction population) at the yard that built this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-06

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

   Locator

   GAO 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 U.S. service (1944-1946) and the whole construction era of the LSM-1 class.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1940s-1970s era documented; report 1979

   Population

   U.S. Navy ship personnel and yard workers (program level)

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved this session; product-page description used.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-07

9. [9]Batch-5930 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; shipbuildinghistory/navalmarinearchive LSM and Brown-yard tables; NHHC DANFS site and hazegray-mirror amphibious index; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog lead; CourtListener API v4 name and hull searches; 32 Small Ship Sqn RAE / Pronto unit history [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-01 through sl-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LSM-13 / LSM-13 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated API v4 searches this session: opinions 'LSM-13' = 0 hits; opinions 'USS LSM-13' = 0 hits; dockets 'LSM-13' = 5 hits, all name collisions in unrelated filings (munitions-code / form-code string matches in United States v. Ditocco S.D. Fla. 2024, Sound Housing LLC bankruptcy W.D. Wash. 2021, Defense Distributed v. Grewal W.D. Tex. 2018, Town of Verona v. Cuomo N.D.N.Y. 2013) - none involves the vessel; dockets 'USS LSM-13' = 0 hits.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   2026-10-01

   Limitations

   Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the class-level accommodation-lagging account (ev-03) is consistent with retained era materials. ROC/Taiwan-era documentation (1946-1972, including the CMC-348 minelayer conversion and 1972 scrapping) sits outside U.S. repositories and is unsearched; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-08

10. [10]Cross-check: navypedia.org LSM table (LSM13 line); Wikipedia LSM-1-class navbox; NavSource USS LSM-13 page [other_primary]

    Locator

    navypedia LSM table, LSM13 row; Wikipedia Template:LSM-1-class landing ship medium; NavSource 14013.htm

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    CORRECTION/conflict note: secondary sources give this hull's Republic of China name inconsistently - navypedia lists ex-LSM-13 transferred to China 5.1946 as Yongming (永明); Wikipedia's LSM-1-class navbox lists 'Mei He (ex-LSM-13)'; NavSource records no ROC name, only transfer to the Chinese Maritime Service and later CMC-348 classification. The transfer month also differs (NavSource 1 June 1946 vs. navypedia May 1946).

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    correction

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-01

    Study period

    1946-1972

    Limitations

    Flags a secondary-source discrepancy, not a settled correction - the ROC name and exact transfer month are unresolved pending a primary or official ROC source. Neither variant is asserted as fact in this record.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-13-lsm13-09