Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-162 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM-162 page, specifications and history-extract blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laid down 6 June 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, SC; launched 26 June 1944; commissioned USS LSM-162, 22 August 1944, ENS. Paul Rowan, USNR, in command. During WWII assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Five (CDR. W. H. Carpenter, USN), LSM Group Fifteen (LCDR. A. H. Hall, USNR), LSM Division Twenty-Nine. Participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April-7 May 1945), earning one battle star for WWII service. Decommissioned 26 December 1945 at Terminal Island Navy Yard, San Pedro, CA; struck from the Naval Register 21 January 1946; sold 16 March 1948 to Martinolich Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, CA, fate unknown. Commanding officers: ENS. Paul Rowan, USNR (22 Aug 1944-25 Oct 1945); LTjg. Rudolph J. Cebull, USNR (25 Oct 1945-26 Dec 1945). Specifications: displacement 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. fully loaded; length 203'6" overall; beam 34'6"; speed 12.5 kts. max.; armament one twin 40mm AA mount, six single 20mm mounts; propulsion two General Motors 16-278A diesel engines, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers; vehicle/boat capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's crew (1944-1945)
- Limitations
- No official DANFS/NHHC entry exists for this hull (she was never assigned a name, and DANFS individual-ship coverage of the 558-unit LSM-1 class is limited almost entirely to hulls later renamed for Reserve/MSTS service). The NavSource history extract is ultimately sourced to a commercial unit-history compilation (Turner Publishing, 1997), not a government primary record; dates are independently corroborated by uboat.net's Allied Warships compilation (build/launch/commission/decommission/sale dates match) but uboat.net is itself a secondary enthusiast compilation and is not cited as evidence here - noted only as a cross-check. Establishes identity, construction, WWII service, and disposal; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Does not establish post-1948 fate.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-01
-
[2]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and yard-program in which this LSM-1 class hull was built, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard U.S. Navy and merchant-type hulls alike.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, Charleston Navy Yard, or the LSM type specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-02
-
[3]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, confirmed 2026-09-30); product-page summary describes 1975/1979 Navy asbestos-removal policy and review fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the U.S. Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships Navy-wide and did not begin a policy of selective removal/replacement with non-asbestos materials until 1975, modified further in 1979 - spanning this hull's construction and commissioned-service window (1944-1945) within the period of unrestricted original asbestos use.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policy history 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review (Long Beach, Norfolk fieldwork)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO's review fieldwork covered Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Charleston Navy Yard or this hull - supports era/policy context only, not any fact specific to this vessel or its builder. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1 class specifications (two GM 16-278A diesel engines, no steam plant); shipyard-exposure-map Atlas record for charleston-naval-shipyard (yard-level asbestos product list); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-03); Corn & Starr AJIM 1987 (see ev-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Cross-reference of NavSource spec block with charleston-naval-shipyard Atlas evidence rows
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-propelled medium landing ship built 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard sits inside that yard's documented WWII-era asbestos-use period (shipyard-exposure-map Atlas record for Charleston Naval Shipyard documents magnesia pipe insulation, asbestos cement products, boiler external coatings, gaskets, packing, and related insulation materials used at the yard). Era-standard applications for a diesel-propelled vessel of this type and period would be exhaust-system lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and machinery/electrical insulation; as a diesel vessel with no steam plant, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway common to steam-propelled combatants of the same era does not apply to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's crew (1944-1945); 1948 purchaser's yard trades (Martinolich Shipbuilding Co., San Diego) if any post-sale work occurred
- Limitations
- Class/era/yard-level inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-162. Names era-standard applications for the propulsion type, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no confirmation of present-day presence or absence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-04
-
[5]CourtListener API v4 (courtlistener.com), authenticated search via fleet helper script [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-07 and -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM-162 (by name or hull number) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion-type (type=o) searches for the exact strings "LSM-162" and "USS LSM-162" each returned zero results (API v4, authenticated, 2026-09-30). CourtListener docket-type (type=r/RECAP) search could not be completed this session - the fleet-wide shared rate limiter reported the request budget as momentarily spent on four separate attempts spanning roughly 25 minutes; logged as blocked, not as a negative result, per batch policy against retrying into a ban.
- 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. The RECAP/docket search is a genuine open gap (fleet pacing, not run to completion) rather than a confirmed negative - re-run "LSM-162" and "USS LSM-162" type=r when fleet capacity allows. Secondary web sweeps for litigation surfaced only law-firm marketing content (excluded by source policy) with no qualifying case naming this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-162-lsm162-05