Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-160 page - construction, commissioning, flotilla assignment, Okinawa campaign, occupation service, decommissioning, 1958 disposal, specifications, commanding officers (verified live, HTTP 200, 2026-10-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14160.htm: header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline documented for this hull: laid down 3 June 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 27 June 1944; commissioned USS LSM-160, 16 August 1944, LT. Royal B. Embree Jr., USNR, in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla One (LCDR. H. B. Taliaferro USN), LSM Group Two (LCDR. H. G. Maxey USNR), 'LSM Division Three'; campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 to 18 June 1945 - earning one battle star. Post-war: occupation service in the Far East 17 September to 15 October 1945; decommissioned 10 December 1946; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 12 August 1958 to Ship Supply Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y., converted to a barge, fate unknown. Spec block: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. fully loaded; 203'6" ovl; 34'6" beam; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers + 46 enlisted; two GM 16-278A diesels, 2,800 shp, twin screws; one twin 40mm + four single 20mm guns; vehicle capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs. Commanding officers: LT. Embree (16 Aug 1944 - Feb 1946); LTjg. Walter Leroy Oulliber (Feb - 13 Apr 1946); LT. Edwin Paul Smith Jr. (13 Apr 1946 - 1946); LTjg. Leif Tollefson (- 10 Dec 1946). Photo captions document the commissioning-era crew at Charleston (c. Aug 1944), LSM-160 beached on Luzon alongside LSM-161 and other LSMs, and the ship beached at Subic Bay, P.I., on 15 January 1946 with a named crew roster.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew (~59) and embarked troops (up to 48) 1944-46; barge-conversion yard workers 1958
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its history extract is credited to Turner Publishing's 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces,' Vol. II (1997) - not a primary registry; milestone dates generally track official records. Its 'LSM Division Three' assignment conflicts with the NHHC 1 May 1945 fleet-organization table (Division 4 - see ev-07). Contains no asbestos or material content. The 1958 sale pre-dates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat record located for the barge conversion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-01
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[2]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (Navy Department Library transcription of the wartime fleet-organization document) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fleet-organization table, LSM Flotilla One / LSM Group 2 / LSM Division 4 section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- An official U.S. Navy document names this hull: the 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization table lists 'LSM 160' under LSM FLOTILLA ONE (Commander LSM Flotilla One: Lt. Cdr. H. B. Taliaferro, USNR), LSM GROUP 2 (ComLSMGrp 2: Lt. Cdr. H. G. Maxey, USNR), LSM DIVISION 4 - alongside LSM 155, LSM 161, LSM 170, LSM 171, and LSM 256; the commanding-officer column for LSM 160 is blank ('..........'). Confirms the hull in active Pacific Fleet service under the documented flotilla/group chain at the time of the Okinawa campaign.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew aboard LSM 160 as of 1 May 1945 (complement ~59)
- Limitations
- Point-in-time administrative organization table; no asbestos or material content. Its 'LSM Division 4' placement conflicts with NavSource/Turner's 'Division Three' (see ev-07 correction row - primary NHHC document carried). Blank CO column is consistent with the junior-officer command pattern of the type, not a vacancy finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-02
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[3]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (GM 16-278A direct-drive diesel plant, no boilers); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-04); shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json entry charleston-naval-shipyard (documented asbestos product list for the builder yard - ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14160.htm spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; shipyards.json charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven amphibious landing ship built at a U.S. Navy yard in mid-1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on machinery and exhaust runs, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve and pump packing, electrical insulation, and fireproofing/finish materials in berthing and accommodation spaces. The ship's direct-drive GM diesel plant means no boiler or steam-turbine lagging pathway - the exposure-relevant systems are engine/exhaust insulation, auxiliary machinery, and accommodation-space materials rather than a steam plant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-46); 1958 barge-conversion yard workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-160. 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-160-03
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[4]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 commissioned 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, confirmed 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-04
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[5]OSHA Inspection 100361849, U.S. Dept of the Navy / Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Code 106 (opened 01/06/1988, case closed 09/16/1988; one current 'Other' citation under asbestos standard 29 CFR 1910.1001 D07 I, issued 03/10/1988; a second 1910.1001 citation deleted); plus shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json entry charleston-naval-shipyard (documented products incl. asbestos gaskets, packing, thermal insulation, spray-on insulation; litigation citations incl. Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 4th Cir. No. 14-2416 (2016), and a $70.8M verdict for Navy machinist Robert Whalen, 2014) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSHA IMIS inspection detail id=100361849 (violation summary); shipyards.json charleston-naval-shipyard evidence/products_documented
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government and litigation records document asbestos at this hull's builder yard: OSHA's 1988 health-complaint inspection of Charleston Naval Shipyard (Code 106) produced a citation under the federal asbestos standard (29 CFR 1910.1001); the Atlas shipyard dataset's Charleston Naval Shipyard entry documents asbestos products at the yard including gaskets, valve/pump packing, thermal insulation on pumps and valves, and spray-on insulation, anchored to litigation records (Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., 4th Cir. 2016; Whalen v. John Crane verdict, 2014).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1988 (inspection); documented product periods 1971-mid-1980s
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard establishment and trades (documented period 1970s-1988; WWII construction era by era inference)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull record - LSM-160 is not named in any of these sources. Dated yard records (Pace-era ~1971-mid-1980s, OSHA 1988, verdicts 2014/2018) postdate this hull's 1944 construction; they establish that asbestos use is documented at the yard, not its scope in June 1944. OSHA page renders via Firecrawl but returns 403 to plain curl - verified 2026-10-01 via rendered fetch. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, quantity, or present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-05
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[6]Batch-5964 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS ship-history search; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization table; NavSource; CourtListener API v4 (type=o and type=r); Naval Vessel Register; NARA digitized deck-log index; NavalCoverMuseum; NHHC NMUSN photography index; GAO; OSHA IMIS; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-160-01 through sl-uss-lsm-160-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LSM-160 / LSM-160 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned 0 opinions and 0 dockets for "LSM-160", and 0 opinions for the variant query "LSM 160" OR "USS LSM-160" (authenticated API, 2026-10-01). No DANFS entry exists for this hull (LSMs were unnamed hull-designation vessels; NHHC site search surfaces only the fleet-organization table). LSM-160 is absent from NARA's digitized deck-log index. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case - no law-firm page for this hull was even encountered (contrast sister hulls with marketing-page coverage); the generic shipyard pages that do exist (Charleston Naval Shipyard entries on mesothelioma.net et al.) are excluded by source policy.
- 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 - WWII-era naval construction at a Navy yard is era-consistent with asbestos use. Deck logs, builder's work packages, and any 1958 sale/conversion hazmat records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-06
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[7]Designation/date cross-check: NHHC Pacific Fleet organization table (1 May 1945) vs NavSource/Turner unit line; NavSource vs uboat.net (uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12771.html) strike-date entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC fleet-organization table (LSM Flotilla One / Group 2 / Division 4); NavSource 10/14/14160.htm unit line and disposal line; uboat.net ship/12771.html history table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: two secondary-source discrepancies affect this hull's record. (1) Unit assignment: the official NHHC 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization table places LSM 160 in LSM DIVISION 4 (Flotilla One, Group 2); NavSource - crediting Turner Publishing's LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II - assigns her to 'LSM Division Three.' The primary NHHC document is carried in this record's prose. (2) Stricken date: NavSource lists 'struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; uboat.net lists 'Stricken on 29 October 1946' - a date that precedes the documented 10 December 1946 decommissioning and is internally inconsistent; neither source is authoritative on the strike action, which remains unresolved. uboat.net also lists an 'Ordered 15 Sep 1943' date not verified against any primary source.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (discrepancy window)
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating secondary-source discrepancies, not a material claim. The strike date in particular is genuinely unknown in accessible public records; uboat's pre-decommissioning date is treated as erroneous pending a primary register entry.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-07
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[8]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' index page [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (LSM entries in index; access note for non-digitized logs)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LSM-160 does not appear in NARA's public index of digitized Navy deck logs (the index carries other LSM hulls, e.g. LSM-268, LSM-297, LSM-397, for their 1950s service). WWII-era deck logs for this hull, if extant, sit in the undigitized textual holdings - the index page directs researchers for non-listed ships to the textual reference staff at Archives II, College Park (archives2reference@nara.gov). Deck logs are the open archival lead for day-level service detail, yard availabilities, and any recorded material conditions aboard.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (coverage sought); 2026-10-01 (index checked)
- Population
- Crew (1944-46) - prospective deck-log subjects
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: absence from the digitized index establishes that logs are not publicly online, not that they do not exist. No deck log or work package was inspected for this record; physical-holdings status unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-160-08