Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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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-170. Verified hull: LSM-170. 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-170-lsm170-pkt-tr-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-170 hull page (chronology, specifications, commanding officers; call sign NVNB) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page chronology, specification block, awards block, and commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-170, an LSM-1 class landing ship medium, was laid down 27 June 1944 at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 20 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-170 on 14 September 1944 with LT. Raymond Klevansky, USNR, in command. Spec block: displacement 520 t. light, 743 t. landing, 1,095 t. fully loaded; length 203'6" ovl; beam 34'6"; speed 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers and 54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers and 46 enlisted; armament one twin bow-mounted 40mm and four single 20mm mounts; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; propulsion two General Motors 16-278A reversible direct-drive diesels, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp. Commanding officers: Klevansky (14 Sep 1944 - Dec 1945), LTjg. William F. McCormick USNR (Dec 1945 - Mar 1946), ENS. Stephen J. Garahan USNR (Mar 1946 - 2 May 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction workforce (1944); ship's company (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Establishes construction identity, specifications, and command succession for this hull. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation keyed to official records; a secondary launch-date variant exists (see gaps). The page contains no asbestos, insulation-composition, hazmat, or exposure information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-01
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[3]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-170 hull page (theater assignment, campaign table, occupation-service window, decommissioning, sale) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page Asiatic-Pacific Campaign table and post-war chronology
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- During World War II LSM-170 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LSM Flotilla One (LCDR. H. B. Taliaferro USN), LSM Group Three (LCDR. A. K. Ridgway USNR), LSM Division Six - and participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation, the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945. She earned one battle star for World War II service and was assigned occupation service in the Far East from 23 September to 12 November 1945. She decommissioned 2 May 1946 at Lake Charles, LA., was struck from the Naval Register on an unknown date, and was sold in October 1946 to LSS Marine Co., Camp Hill, PA.; final disposition unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops, Okinawa campaign and occupation service
- Limitations
- Establishes theater assignment, one documented campaign, occupation window, and 1946 disposal. Strike date is stated as unknown by the source; the secondary 19 July 1946 variant is logged in gaps, not asserted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-02
-
[4]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library, 'Typhoons and Hurricanes: Pacific Typhoon at Okinawa, October 1945' (CINCPAC report extract with Appendix III damage table); NavSource LSM-170 photo caption [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC page, Appendix III 'Typhoon Damage at Okinawa' vessel table, row 'LSM 170 - Grounded'; NavSource 10/14/14170.htm photo caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-published extract from the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas report on the Surrender and Occupation of Japan documents Typhoon 'Louise' of 9 October 1945 at Okinawa: the storm's sudden turn caught shipping in Buckner Bay, hundreds of craft were blown ashore, and Appendix III 'Typhoon Damage at Okinawa' (based upon progress reports to 19 November) lists 'LSM 170 - Grounded.' A NavSource photo caption corroborates: 'USS LSM-170 broached on the island of Yanabaru at Okinawa after Typhoon Louise struck Okinawa on 9 October 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-10
- Population
- Ship's company during Typhoon Louise (9-20 October 1945); any salvage/inspection personnel
- Limitations
- Official Navy record establishing that this hull grounded at Okinawa during the 9 October 1945 typhoon and (per crew accounts) refloated - the appendix marks her 'Grounded,' not sunk or abandoned, consistent with her continued occupation service and 1946 return. Establishes a storm-damage event only; no asbestos, repair-scope, or material content is documented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-03
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[5]NavSource Online, USS LSM-170 history subpage - accounts by Bob Frazier and Dennis Harvey, USS LSM-170 [other_primary]
- Locator
- 14170h.htm crew-narrative sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two first-person crew accounts hosted on NavSource document this hull's wartime track: LSM-170 loaded steel pontoons, left Little Creek, VA after shakedown and transited via the Panama Canal, a west-coast ammunition loadout, Hawaii, and Eniwetok to Saipan and Tinian, arriving Okinawa in the final stages of the invasion. During Typhoon Louise on 9 October 1945 she lost both anchors near Buckner Bay and grounded on Yanbaru island; per the Harvey account she had landed Marines at Nagasaki on 28 September 1945, returned to Okinawa loaded with Army personnel, refloated on the high tide of 20 October 1945 using the stern-anchor cable to a reef and the main engines, awaited bottom inspection for two weeks, then reached San Diego 31 December 1945, and proceeded via the Panama Canal and New Orleans to Lake Charles, LA.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company; embarked Marines (Nagasaki lift, 28 September 1945) and Army personnel (Okinawa, October 1945) per the accounts
- Limitations
- Retrospective first-person recollections, not logbooks: the two accounts conflict on sequence and detail (Frazier: Army to Nagasaki after the typhoon; Harvey: Marines ashore at Nagasaki 28 September, then Army embarked for the typhoon), and Harvey's dates contain 1945/1946 inconsistencies. Used for the ship-level event narrative; the official NHHC appendix independently confirms the grounding. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-04
-
[6]National Archives and Records Administration, RG 181 finding aid, Sixth Naval District at Charleston, SC - ship commissioning files [other_primary]
- Locator
- Finding-aid table: '7 | Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-170 | | 9/14/1944'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA RG 181 (Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) finding aid for Sixth Naval District, Charleston, South Carolina, lists a ship commissioning file for 'Landing Ship, Medium - LSM-170' dated 9/14/1944 in box 7 - a cataloged archival record of this hull's commissioning administration at her builder yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Commissioning-period ship's company and yard administrative staff (1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the finding aid confirms a commissioning file exists at NARA (Atlanta) for this hull; the file's contents are undigitized and unexamined. Whether it contains material specifications bearing on asbestos is unknown. No asbestos content in the finding aid itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-05
-
[7]Shipbuilding History, Charleston Naval Shipyard yard table and Landing Ships, Medium program table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Charleston yard table row 'LSM | 170 ... 14-Sep-44 | Sold to LSS Marine 1946'; LSM program table header and builder column
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Shipbuilding History's Charleston Naval Shipyard production table lists LSM-170 delivered 14 September 1944 and 'sold to LSS Marine 1946'; its Landing Ships Medium program table records 558 LSMs built in WWII by seven shipyards, with Charleston Navy Yard building 97 hulls including the LSM-126 through LSM-187 block that contains this hull - the yard was the principal government builder of the class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction workforce (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary production tabulation consistent with NavSource delivery/commissioning and disposal facts; names this hull's builder block and buyer. The 'sold to LSS Marine 1946' entry restates - it does not resolve - the post-sale fate. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, no steam); GAO HRD-80-2 product-page description; shipyard-exposure-map asbestos-product profile for charleston-naval-shipyard [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource propulsion block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; shipyards.json profile for charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, product inventory, abatement record, or condition report was located. As a WWII U.S. Navy diesel landing ship built mid-1944 at a Navy yard, LSM-170 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2: the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s). Possible applications on a diesel LSM of this era were machinery and diesel-exhaust insulation, gaskets, valve and machinery packing, electrical insulation, deck covering, and fireproofing in accommodation spaces. The diesel plant carried no steam system - the boiler and steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-46); unknown post-sale handlers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package was located for LSM-170. Names era-standard application categories, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, location, condition, or individual exposure is established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-07
-
[9]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 14-2416 (4th Cir. Mar. 30, 2016) (unpublished; affirming grant of summary judgment); OSHA Inspection 100361849, Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Code 106; shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json profile for charleston-naval-shipyard [court_record]
- Locator
- 4th Cir. opinion caption and recitations (Justia mirror, live); OSHA inspection record id 100361849 (osha.gov page returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - characterized via the shipyards dataset); shipyards.json employment series
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Appellate-level litigation documents Charleston Naval Shipyard - this hull's builder - as an asbestos workplace in its later decades: Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp. (4th Cir. No. 14-2416, decided 30 March 2016, affirming the D.S.C. at Charleston) arose from asbestos-exposure claims by the estate of yard worker William L. Pace and records yard-shop work with asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and thermal insulation in Shops 31 and 38 in the 1970s-1980s. The internal shipyards dataset separately records OSHA inspection 100361849 (1988-90) citing Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard under the asbestos standard 29 CFR 1910.1001, and WWII peak employment of 25,948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1970s-1990 (litigation record); 1944 (hull construction)
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard trades (documented window 1970s-1990); WWII construction workforce context (peak 25,948, 1943)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation only: Pace and the OSHA record address Charleston Naval Shipyard shop work in the 1970s-1990 period - decades after this hull's June-September 1944 construction - and neither names LSM-170 nor establishes conditions aboard her. They establish that the builder was a documented asbestos workplace, supporting era inference only. Pace itself was a defense summary-judgment affirmance on product-identification grounds - it documents the workplace record, not a finding favorable to the plaintiff.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-08
-
[10]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 2026-10-01)
- 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 (1944-46).
- 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 blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-09
-
[11]Batch-5975 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull and history pages; NHHC DANFS (no entry) and Pacific Typhoon October 1945 appendix; NARA RG 181 finding aid and catalog; NVR; CourtListener API v4 (opinions and dockets); GAO; OSHA; Shipbuilding History; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, product inventory, or qualifying litigation naming USS LSM-170 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener was searched successfully this session: exact-phrase 'USS LSM-170' returned 0 opinions and 0 dockets; loose 'LSM-170' queries returned only fuzzy-match noise unrelated to this vessel. No law-firm or marketing page specifically naming LSM-170 surfaced in the secondary sweep.
- 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 Navy-yard-built hull sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos era, and undigitized records (NARA RG 181 commissioning file, RG 24 deck logs, post-sale commercial records) may contain material information. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-170-lsm170-10