Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet tm-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (secondary-source convergence; DANFS-text via Wikipedia)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (secondary-source convergence; DANFS-text via Wikipedia)
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-135-lsm135-pkt-tm-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-135 (LSM-1 class) - construction milestones, commanding officers, campaign table, loss summary, specifications, disposition (verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14135.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officers table, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 13 March 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 23 April 1944; commissioned USS LSM-135 31 May 1944, LT. Harry L. Derby Jr. USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific campaigns: Leyte landings 20-22 October 1944; Ormoc Bay landings 7-8 December 1944; Lingayen Gulf landing 9 January 1945; Okinawa Gunto assault and occupation 1 April - 25 May 1945. Sunk by kamikaze attack off Okinawa 25 May 1945 at approximately 0830 hours while picking up survivors of USS Spectacle (AM-305); USS Flemming (DE-32) rescued eleven survivors. In service 11 months 25 days. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Earned three battle stars for World War II service. Final disposition: hulk donated 10 July 1957 to the Government of the Ryukyu Islands, fate unknown. Spec block: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203'6" ovl; 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; two Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers 2,800 shp. CO table: LT. Derby KIA 25 May 1945; LTjg. Benjamin N. Jenkins Jr. USNR senior surviving officer. Photo captions document beaching at Leyte 22 Oct 1944, cargo operations at Ie Shima 24 Apr 1945 (US National Archives photo 80-G-321772), unloading 318th Fighter Group equipment with LST-787 at Ie Shima 29 Apr 1945, and post-loss damage detail: kamikaze struck the top of the conning tower, bomb hole forward of the No. 3 gun tub.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1957
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew (1944-45, ~59 complement); embarked troops (up to 48)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation; its narrative extract is credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1997), not a primary Navy document. Milestone dates generally track official records and are corroborated for the loss by NHHC sources (ev-02 through ev-05). The 'Division Fifteen' assignment it prints is contradicted by the contemporaneous 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization (see ev-06). 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown' - striking date not sourced. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-01
-
[3]NHHC H-Gram 048, 'The Naval Battle of Okinawa - U.S. Flagships Hit, May-June 1945' (28 May 2020), section 'USS Spectacle (AM-305) and USS LSM-135, 25 May 1945' [other_primary]
- Locator
- H-Gram 048 PDF, 'The Naval Battle of Okinawa (Continued), 11 May - 5 June 1945' section, headed 'USS Spectacle (AM-305) and USS LSM-135, 25 May 1945'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's official account of the loss: at 0805 on 25 May 1945 a kamikaze hit the minesweeper Spectacle under her port 40-mm gun tub; the ship dropped anchor and had to be abandoned. 'LSM-135 was picking up survivors when she, too, was hit by a kamikaze at 0815 and had to be beached on a reef and abandoned.' Casualties: 'Spectacle lost 29 crewmen with 6 wounded, while LSM-135 suffered 11 killed and 10 wounded.' Spectacle was towed to Ie Shima by fleet tug Tekesta (ATF-93). The same H-Gram notes 'LSM-135 was sunk while in the act of rescuing survivors' during this mass-attack period in which Bates (APD-47) and LST-808 were also lost.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-25
- Population
- LSM-135 crew at loss (11 KIA incl. CO LT Derby, 10 wounded); Spectacle survivors being rescued
- Limitations
- NHHC historical summary, not the contemporaneous action report - the underlying loss report sits in the NARA casualty file (see ev-07). Time of hit reads 0815 here vs 'approximately 0830' in NavSource and '15 minutes after 0815' in DANFS Spectacle; carried as a minor conflict in gaps. 'Beached on a reef and abandoned' - consistent with post-loss photos showing the superstructure above water off Ie Shima. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-02
-
[4]NHHC / National Museum of the U.S. Navy, 'Operation Ten-Go: May 23-25, 1945' (verified live via Firecrawl) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Operation Ten-Go damage list, May 23-25, 1945 section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC documents the seventh Japanese kamikaze attack of Operation Ten-Go, occurring May 23-25, 1945: 'U.S. Navy ships lost: USS Bates (APD-47) and USS LSM-135. U.S. Navy ships damaged: USS Barry (APD-29), USS Butler (DMS-29), USS Guest (DD-472), USS O'Neill (DE-188), USS Roper (APD-20), USS Sims (APD-50), USS Stormes (DD-780), and USS William C. Cole (DE-641).'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-23 to 1945-05-25
- Population
- crew at loss
- Limitations
- A summary list page - documents that LSM-135 was lost in the 23-25 May 1945 attack window, not the circumstances; details come from H-Gram 048 (ev-02). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-03
-
[5]DANFS, Fleming I (DE-32) - Okinawa escort service and rescue of LSM-135 and Bates survivors (NHHC live page, verified via Firecrawl) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Fleming I (DE-32) service narrative, penultimate paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS's Fleming narrative documents the rescue: after splashing two of three attacking planes on 20 May 1945, 'Five days later, she rescued 11 survivors of LSM-135 and 20 of Bates (APD-47), both sunk by kamikazes.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-25
- Population
- 11 LSM-135 survivors rescued by Fleming
- Limitations
- Sister-ship DANFS entry - documents the rescue count and the fact that LSM-135 was sunk by kamikaze on 25 May; does not describe LSM-135's own casualty detail. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-04
-
[6]DANFS, Spectacle (AM-305) - kamikaze hit and LSM-135 rescue sequence (NHHC live page, verified via Firecrawl; ibiblio HyperWar mirror also verified live) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Spectacle (AM-305) service narrative, Okinawa paragraph; mirror: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AM/am305.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS's Spectacle narrative documents the sequence: at 0805 a diving kamikaze crashed into the minesweeper under her port 40-millimeter gun tub; she anchored to avoid running over her men in the water; 'At 0815, LSM-135 began picking up survivors; but, 15 minutes later, the medium landing ship was also hit by a kamikaze and burst into flames.' Spectacle's own losses: 11 killed outright, 4 who died of wounds, 6 wounded, 14 missing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-25
- Population
- LSM-135 crew; Spectacle survivors in the water
- Limitations
- Sister-ship DANFS entry. DANFS compresses the dates: the text ties the attack to 'early that morning' after taking patrol station near Ie Shima on 22 May, but the attack was 25 May per NHHC H-Gram 048 and the Ten-Go page - dating ambiguity noted in gaps. Consistent with H-Gram on sequence and timing (LSM-135 hit roughly 15 minutes after beginning rescue). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-05
-
[7]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas) - LSM-135 unit assignment [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LSM Flotilla Three / LSM Group 8 / LSM Division 16 listing, p. 67 of transcription
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The contemporaneous fleet organization (as of 1 May 1945) lists LSM 135 under LSM FLOTILLA THREE (Commander: Capt. J. P. B. Barrett, with Comdr. W. F. Morrison as relief), LSM GROUP 8 (Comdr. J. G. Blanche, Jr.), LSM DIVISION 16 - with 'Lt. H. L. Derby, Jr. (USNR)' as commanding officer, alongside LSM 24 (GF), LSM 29, LSM 134, LSM 136, and LSM 233. CORRECTION: NavSource's Okinawa-campaign assignment line prints 'LSM Division Fifteen'; the official organization places her in Division 16 as of 1 May 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Lt. H. L. Derby Jr. and LSM-135 crew
- Limitations
- Point-in-time record (1 May 1945); division assignments could shift during the campaign, so the NavSource 'Division Fifteen' line is flagged as a discrepancy rather than declared wrong. Division 16 is carried as the contemporaneously documented assignment. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-06
-
[8]NavSource LSM-135 supplementary page: scans of NARA correspondence - cover letter dated 1 June 2001 from the National Archives and Records Administration enclosing the LSM-135 crew list taken from the casualty files dated 27 June 1945, the crew casualty list, and a memorandum dated 23 July 1945 from Benjamin N. Jenkins Jr., LTjg USNR, former engineering officer, amplifying the loss of the ship (verified live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14135b.htm document-image index (five scans, contributed by Tom Kermen)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds and has released casualty-file material for this hull: the crew list from the LSM-135 casualty files (dated 27 June 1945), the casualty list, and a 23 July 1945 memorandum by the former engineering officer amplifying the loss. These are the primary contemporaneous records of the sinking and the crew manifest - the highest-value archival lead for any exposure-population research on this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-06-27, 1945-07-23; released 2001-06-01
- Population
- LSM-135 crew (manifest); casualties
- Limitations
- Scans hosted by NavSource; the underlying NARA records were not independently located in catalog.archives.gov (catalog search returned no hit - likely not digitized under this hull number). Record-group assignment not stated on the NavSource page. Contains no asbestos information - its value is crew-roster and loss-severity documentation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-07
-
[9]National Museum of the Pacific War, 'Oral History Interview with Keith Evans, July 13, 2001' (accession OH00305; audio + transcript, UNT Portal to Texas History, verified live) [museum_official]
- Locator
- UNT Portal to Texas History item metapth1607617 (audio) and metapth1603652 (transcript), NMPW Oral History Collection OH00305
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum oral history of an LSM-135 crewman: Keith Evans joined the Navy April 1944 and was assigned to USS LSM-135 that year; he describes Battle of Okinawa service, anchoring off Ie Shima delivering supplies, and the May 1945 sinking by kamikaze while the ship was picking up Spectacle survivors. Transcript also held by the museum (ark:/67531/metapth1603652).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (events); 2001 (recording)
- Population
- LSM-135 crew
- Limitations
- A 2001 personal narrative - eyewitness color for service conditions and the sinking, not an official record; the catalog description's 'set up smoke screens for USS Missouri' detail is the interviewee's recollection and is not asserted here as fact. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-08
-
[10]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 14-2416 (4th Cir., decided March 30, 2016; unpublished opinion, D.S.C. No. 2:11-cv-02688-BM affirmed) (verified live via Firecrawl) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, Facts section (Shop 31/Shop 38 narrative); Justia CA4 docket 14-2416
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Appellate litigation documentation that Charleston Naval Shipyard - this hull's builder - used asbestos-containing materials in its shops: the Fourth Circuit recorded that 'in the shipyard, both asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing materials were used with the pumps and valves,' including needle-gun removal of thermal insulation from pumps in Shop 31 and pump/valve work out of Shop 38. The court affirmed summary judgment for the four defendant manufacturers on insufficient causation evidence under South Carolina law.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1972-1995 (exposure alleged); 2016 (opinion)
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard shop workers (1972-1995 window)
- Limitations
- Unpublished opinion - 'not binding precedent in this circuit'; cited for the litigation-record description of yard materials, not as precedent. Stage discipline: an affirmance of summary judgment for defendants is a merits-level negative for that plaintiff, not exposure evidence for any ship. The documented exposure window (1972-1995) postdates this hull's 1944 construction by decades; row is yard-level context only, not evidence of materials aboard LSM-135.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-09
-
[11]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 (1944-45).
- 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. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (standing defect since BATCH-01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-10
-
[12]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (diesel LSM-1 class); NHHC campaign records for this hull; shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for charleston-naval-shipyard (pipe insulation/lagging, gaskets, valve packing, fireproofing, electrical insulation, asbestos cement, thermal insulation for steam systems); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json product list for charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A landing ship medium built March-May 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and fireproofing in accommodation spaces. As a diesel-engined vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but the small, confined hull volume (203 ft, ~59 crew) concentrates whatever insulation work the crew performed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945; 1957 (donation)
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew (1944-45); any post-1957 hulk-salvage workforce (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or construction work package located for LSM-135. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-11
-
[13]Batch-5936 search ledger (this record): NavSource (main + NARA-scans page); NHHC H-Gram 048, Ten-Go damage list, Pacific Fleet org 1 May 1945; DANFS Fleming and Spectacle; NMPW oral history; Pace 4th Cir. opinion; GAO product page; CourtListener opinion search (no result) and docket search (name collision only); NVR and NARA catalog checks; web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-135-01 through sl-uss-lsm-135-14
- 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-135 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion search for 'LSM-135' returned zero results and the RECAP docket search returned one result - LSM Technologies Pty Ltd v. The Sy-Klone Company LLC (M.D. Fla., filed 2022-09-19), a commercial name collision unrelated to the vessel (2026-10-01). The hull sank in combat eleven months after commissioning - no postwar overhaul, reserve-fleet lay-up, or abatement history exists to search. Post-1957 salvage of the donated hulk is undocumented.
- 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 - a 1944 amphibious warship is era-consistent for asbestos insulation. CourtListener indexes are not exhaustive of all litigation (state-court and unreported matters are outside coverage). NARA casualty files and BuShips construction records for this hull are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-135-12