Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet tr-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LSM-169. Verified hull: LSM-169. Designation: LSM (Landing Ship Medium). Type/class: LSM-1-class landing ship medium.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-169-lsm169-pkt-tr-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-169 (10/14/14169) - history extract from 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1997): construction at Charleston Navy Yard; launch; commissioning under LT. Paul C. Himelright USNR; campaign record; mining, decommissioning, stricken, and scuttling entries; specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, LSM-169 page - history extract, awards, specifications, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 23 June 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 20 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-169 on 7 September 1944. Asiatic-Pacific service: Lingayen Gulf landings 4-12 January 1945; Manila Bay-Bicol operations (Nasugbu 31 January 1945; Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 February 1945). Struck a mine at Mariveles Harbor 15 February 1945 (two crew killed; Purple Heart awards noted). Decommissioned 19 January 1946 at NOB Subic Bay because of extensive mine damage; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; scuttled 27 February 1946 off Subic Bay. Earned two battle stars. Specifications: 203'6" ovl; 2x General Motors 16-278A reversible diesels, direct drive, 1,440 bhp each at 720 rpm, twin propellers 2,800 shp; diesel-driven ship's service generators; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Commissioning crew (59); embarked troops during amphibious lifts
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary-source vessel history (Turner Publishing extract hosted by NavSource), consistent with the contemporaneous TG 78.3 action report and the NHHC official chronology for the combat record. Contains no asbestos information; establishes identity, milestones, and configuration only. Launch date conflicts with uboat.net's 28 July 1944 (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-01
-
[3]Commander Task Group 78.3 (Commander Amphibious Group NINE), Action Report - Mariveles-Corregidor Landings, 15-16 February 1945, File FE25/A16-3, Serial 0037, 29 June 1945 (scanned document hosted by corregidor.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- TG 78.3 Action Report, Part I General Narrative paragraphs on the eighth wave; Part II chronology entries for 15 Feb 1945; task organization 78.3.4 Transport Unit listing LSMs including 169
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Contemporaneous US Navy action report naming LSM-169 in the TG 78.3.4 Transport Unit for the Mariveles-Corregidor landings: during the eighth wave on 15 February 1945 LSM-169 struck a mine while waiting at the line of departure; the report's chronology records the ship exploding and being enveloped in flames about half-way into the beach, 'the ship's back is broken and there is a hole in the port bow,' and 'only 6 casualties reported'; fire spread to the magazine and to gasoline and oil stored in the vessel and in the Army vehicles aboard; the salvage ship USS Grapple fought the fires; USS Picking received survivors; LSM-169 was beached and subsequently towed to Subic.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-02-15/16
- Population
- LSM-169 crew (59) and embarked Army troops; rescuing crews of USS Grapple, USS Picking, LCS(L)(3)-48, PC-1133
- Limitations
- Primary contemporaneous document scanned and hosted by a private history site (corregidor.org); text recovered by local OCR, minor scan artifacts. Documents battle damage and casualty figures, not hazardous materials. Does not establish asbestos conditions aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-02
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[4]Robert J. Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II (Naval Historical Center / NHHC publication; HyperWar transcription, verified live) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- USN-Chron-1945, entry for 15 February 1945 (Philippines)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy chronology entry for 15 February 1945: 'TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble) lands army forces (151st Infantry RCT and 3d Battalion, 34th RCT) in the Mariveles Harbor area of Bataan Peninsula, Luzon; ... Medium landing ship LSM-169 is damaged by mine off Mariveles; motor minesweeper YMS-46 is damaged by shore battery, 14 deg 23'N, 120 deg 36'E.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-02-15
- Limitations
- Official chronology naming this hull for the mining event; transcription accessed via the HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the NHHC publication (live NHHC online edition not located). Vessel-history content only - no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-03
-
[5]NHHC photographic collection (US Naval Historical Center): 80-G-273341 / 80-G-273344 'Operations in Manila Bay, 1945' - captions describe USS LSM-169 after she struck a mine during the landings at Mariveles, south end of Bataan Peninsula, 15 February 1945; further NHHC photo numbers NH-22093, NH 273341, NH 273320, NH 273322 carried in NavSource captions [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC site search 'Mariveles' photo results (80-G-273341, 80-G-273344); NavSource LSM-169 photo table listing NHHC numbers NH-22093, NH 273341, NH 273320, NH 273322
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC photographic collection holds multiple contemporaneous photographs of USS LSM-169 burning at Mariveles Bay on 15 February 1945 and of her crew abandoning ship and being rescued by USS PC-1133, with the ocean rescue tug standing by and USS LCS(L)(3)-48 and USS LSM-37 assisting - the 80-G series images (accessioned at NARA) and NH-numbered Naval Historical Center prints.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-02-15
- Limitations
- Confirms the event and the existence of a contemporaneous official photographic record. NHHC search interface is JavaScript-rendered; caption text verified via NHHC site-search snippet and NavSource reproduction of the NHHC photo numbers. Direct NARA catalog verification of the 80-G items remains open. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-04
-
[6]Eugene Carey, 'My Life Aboard the LSM-319' (wartime memoir by a crewman of sister ship USS LSM-319; HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Carey memoir, passage describing the Mariveles-Corregidor operation
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Firsthand account by a crewman of USS LSM-319, which operated in the same landing waves: 'The only ship damaged was the LSM-169, which hit a mine on the way to the beach.' Independently corroborates the mining event from a participant aboard a sister LSM of the same task group.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LSM-319 crew member (eyewitness)
- Limitations
- Personal memoir, not an official record; used only to corroborate the documented mining event. No asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-05
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[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for LSM-169 (LSM-1 class; 2x GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, no steam plant); wartime construction at Charleston Navy Yard (federal yard); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for Charleston Naval Shipyard (pipe insulation 5-50% asbestos, boiler coatings, gaskets, packing, thermal insulation, electrical insulation, asbestos-cement sheeting); peer-reviewed era documentation (Corn & Starr 1987, ev-06); GAO program documentation (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications for LSM-169; shipyards.json product list for charleston-naval-shipyard; Corn & Starr (1987); GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-propelled amphibious landing ship built in 1944 at a U.S. Navy yard sits inside the documented wartime asbestos-use era in naval construction. For a diesel hull of this type the era-standard applications were thermal insulation and lagging on engines and exhaust trunking/mufflers, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and asbestos-cement sheet and insulating materials in accommodation/service spaces where fitted. There is no steam plant aboard an LSM-1-class hull, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); commissioning crew (59); embarked troops; salvage/scuttling crews (1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-169. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The hull was scuttled in 1946, so present-day condition is not a live question.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-06
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[8]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
- asbestos_application
- 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 federal-yard program under which LSM-169 was built at Charleston Navy Yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-07
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[9]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 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. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed this session) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-08
-
[10]National Archives and Records Administration, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (guided research topic) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov guided topic page; RG 19 Entry A1 1266-H (NAID 578185) file-code range covering LSM codes
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's own guide for ship-specific asbestos research states that asbestos in U.S. Navy materiel 1941-1961 is a frequently requested topic and prescribes the record path: vessel history first, then Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) correspondence filed by hull designation code (for this vessel, 'LSM169' within the 1940-1945 General Correspondence series, e.g., Entry A1 1266-H covering file codes L1/A6 thru LVW/NOBS 646), plus shipyard correspondence and class/type files. This is the unresolved path to any hull-level construction-materials record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1961 (records scope)
- Limitations
- NARA research-guide page names the method and record groups, not this hull - no LSM-169 document was pulled. The RG 19 correspondence files are not digitized; any hull-level material list would require on-site or commissioned research. Verification of the existence of responsive records is open.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-09
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[11]Batch-5973 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC DANFS (no entry); NHHC photo collection; TG 78.3 action report (corregidor.org scan); NHHC official chronology (HyperWar); Carey memoir (HyperWar); NARA asbestos research guide; NVR; CourtListener API v4 (opinions + dockets, all name/hull variants); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-01 through -15
- 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-169 / LSM-169 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated searches this session returned: 'LSM-169' opinions - 14 hits, all name collisions (unrelated docket/identifier strings in non-vessel cases); 'LSM 169' opinions - 0; 'USS LSM-169' opinions - 0; 'LSM-169' dockets - 0. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content for landing ships generally (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 - the hull was wartime-built at a Navy yard within the documented asbestos-use era. The hull was scuttled in 1946, so no present-day survey can exist; any hull-level documentation would be construction-era records (NARA RG 19 / RG 24, undigitized). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-10
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[12]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LSM-169 (LSM 169) entry - milestone cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page vs NavSource history extract and launch-photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Date cross-check: uboat.net carries LSM-169 as ordered 15 September 1943, laid down 23 June 1944, launched 28 July 1944, commissioned 7 September 1944, end service 19 January 1946, stricken 7 February 1946, scuttled off Subic Bay 27 February 1946. NavSource carries launched 20 July 1944 (consistent with its own US Navy launch-photo caption dated 20 July 1944), agrees on laid down, commissioned, and decommissioned dates, and states the stricken date is unknown. NavSource's 20 July 1944 launch date is adopted in this record; the 28 July launch variant, the single-source 'ordered 15 Sep 1943,' and the 7 February 1946 stricken date are logged in gaps as secondary-source variants.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a secondary database, not an official source; used only to surface the date conflict, which is disclosed rather than resolved by authority. The primary-source resolution would be the Charleston Navy Yard launch record or BuShips correspondence (undigitized).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-169-lsm169-11