Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 532-packet.md (3 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LSM-131
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-131-lsm131-pkt-532-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-131 - milestones, campaign credit, specifications, commanding-officer roster, photography; history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14131.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, CO roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium laid down 1 March 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 12 April 1944; commissioned USS LSM-131 on 20 May 1944, LT. Harold L. Rekate, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; credited campaign: Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines - Palawan Islands landings, 28 February 1945; Visayan Island landings, 18-19 March and 26 March-1 April 1945. Decommissioned 19 June 1946 at Charleston Navy Yard; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; earned one battle star. Final disposition: sold 21 November 1947 to Hughes Bros. Inc., New York, NY; converted to a barge; fate unknown. Spec block: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203'6" x 34'6"; two Fairbanks Morse model 38D8-1/8X10 diesels, direct drive, 1,440 bhp each at 720 rpm, twin screws, 2,800 shp; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers + 46 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount, four single 20mm. CO roster: LT. Rekate (20 May 1944-8 Aug 1945); LT. Wyman (8 Aug 1945-15 Jan 1946); LTjg. Bonney (15 Jan 1946-19 Jun 1946). Photographs: under way near Mindanao carrying Army personnel; beached on a ramp at Morotai; San Francisco Bay 1945-46 (NHHC photo NH 79856).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); embarked troops (5 officers/54 enlisted crew + up to 2/46 troops)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track the Naval Register but the underlying Turner Publishing extract is not itself a primary source here. Struck date is recorded as unknown. Photo credits are captioned, not independently verified at NHHC. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History, Charleston Naval Shipyard production table (shipbuildinghistory.com) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Charleston yard table, LSM rows 126-149
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Charleston Naval Shipyard's production table lists LSM-131 as a 520-ton landing ship delivered/commissioned 20 May 1944, sold to Hughes Bros. 1947 and converted to a barge - corroborating builder, commission date, and post-Navy disposition independently of NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference, not a primary registry; consistent with NavSource on all shared data points. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-02
-
[4]NHHC, 'The Navy's Happy Medium' - official Naval History and Heritage Command exhibit page on the LSM (Landing Ship, Medium) type [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC 'The Navy's Happy Medium' exhibit page, Reginald Marsh 1944 watercolor description
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC documents the design genesis of this hull's class: 'Needing a landing ship somewhere between the size and displacement of an LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) and an LST (Landing Ship, Tank), the Navy turned the problem over to its architects and designers who came up with the compact and maneuverable LSM (Landing Ship, Medium).' Class-design context for LSM-131.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Class-design context only - describes the LSM type generally, not this hull. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-09
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[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LSM 131 (LSM 131) entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12742.html specification table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent secondary tabulation for this hull: ordered 15 September 1943; built by Charleston Navy Yard; laid down 1 March 1944; launched 12 April 1944; commissioned 20 May 1944; end of service 19 June 1946 (decommissioned); sold 21 November 1947. All shared milestones consistent with NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation; the 'ordered 15 September 1943' contract-date appears only here among consulted sources and is carried as secondary sourcing. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-03
-
[6]NARA Atlanta finding aid, RG 181 Naval Districts and Shore Establishments - Ship Commissioning Files, 1942-1945, Sixth Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina (National Archives Identifier 2694599) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Atlanta finding aid NAID 2694599, box 5, 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-131 | 3/12/1944'; catalog.archives.gov/id/2694599
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Sixth Naval District ship-commissioning files at NARA Atlanta contain a dedicated file for LSM-131 in box 5, dated 3/12/1944 - surviving primary documentation of this hull's commissioning at Charleston Navy Yard.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Pre-commissioning/plankowner crew; Charleston Navy Yard commissioning personnel
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the finding aid lists the file; its contents are not digitized and were not reviewed - what it documents (commissioning ceremony papers, prospective-crew orders, material checklists) is unknown. Deck logs for this hull (RG 24) are likewise not in the digitized catalog. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-04
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (diesel propulsion, LSM-1 class, 1944 build); Atlas shipyards.json asbestos product list for charleston-naval-shipyard; GAO HRD-80-2 program framing (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; shipyards.json charleston-naval-shipyard asbestos_products_documented list; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing ship built March-May 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard sits inside both the Navy's documented asbestos-use era and that yard's documented asbestos-era product environment. Era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, accommodation-area insulation, and brake linings on winches and deck machinery. As a diesel-driven amphibious ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); decommissioning trades (1946); barge-conversion yard workers (post-1947)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey was located for LSM-131. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-05
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[8]OSHA establishment inspection file 100361849 - U.S. Dept of the Navy, Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Code 106 (opened 6 January 1988; case closed 16 September 1988) [other_primary]
- Locator
- osha.gov establishment inspection 100361849 - Inspection Detail, Violations table (citations 01001, 01002)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Government documentation of asbestos regulation at this hull's builder and decommissioning yard: OSHA's complaint-type health inspection (SIC 3731, ship building and repairing) produced two citations under the general-industry asbestos standard, 29 CFR 1910.1001 - item 01001 (paragraph D07, issued 10 March 1988, abatement due 25 April 1988) and item 01002 (paragraph J02, deleted on amendment) - documenting that Charleston Naval Shipyard was a workplace where the federal asbestos standard applied and was cited.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1988
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard trades (1988 inspection era)
- Limitations
- Yard-level record, not a hull record: documents the shipyard's 1988 regulated-asbestos status decades after LSM-131 was built (1944) and decommissioned (1946) there - it establishes asbestos activity at the yard generally, not materials aboard this hull, not the 1940s-era condition, and not individual exposure. No sampling result is published on the inspection page; one of two citations was later deleted.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-06
-
[9]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's review of the Navy's asbestos program (fieldwork at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards) documents that the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to add selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - i.e., asbestos insulation remained in place aboard the fleet through this hull's construction (1944) and service era (1944-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- 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 fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not Charleston. Full report PDF not extracted (gao.gov blocks direct automated fetch, HTTP 403 to curl; product-page Highlights retrieved via firecrawl).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-07
-
[10]Batch-5932 search ledger (this record): NavSource; Shipbuilding History; uboat.net; NARA Atlanta finding aid NAID 2694599; NARA digitized deck-log list; OSHA establishment file; GAO product page; CourtListener authenticated API v4 (opinion + RECAP docket); NVR; MARAD PMARS; NHHC DANFS index; Wayback availability check; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-131-01 through sl-uss-lsm-131-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no hull survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LSM-131 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener was searched this session by name and hull number: 'USS LSM-131' returned zero opinions; 'LSM-131' returned 22 opinion hits and one phrase-exact RECAP docket hit, all verified name collisions (e.g., 'LSM' = Louisiana State Museum; 'LSM' = deponent initials 'Larry Moy' indexed at page 131 line 8 in a bankruptcy exhibit). None mention a vessel, the Navy, landing ships, or asbestos.
- 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 - era-consistent construction at a documented asbestos-era Navy yard makes asbestos plausible but unproven for this hull. Deck logs, the NARA commissioning file, and any Hughes Bros. conversion records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-131-08