Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-185 (including U.S. Navy Yard Charleston launch photograph and history extract attributed to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS LSM-185 page, lines 22-33 (timeline/disposition), 35-61 (specifications), and 67-75 (photograph captions)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USS LSM-185 was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, on 13 August 1944; launched 7 September 1944; commissioned 20 October 1944; assigned in World War II to LSM Flotilla Eight, LSM Group Twenty-Two, and LSM Division Forty-Four; decommissioned 7 June 1946 at Mare Island Navy Yard; and sold 26 February 1948 to Basalt Rock Co., Napa, California. The source states her final fate is unknown. Its specifications identify two direct-drive General Motors diesel engines, 2,800 shp total, and a design complement of five officers and 54 enlisted personnel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction workers; Navy crew; Mare Island Navy Yard decommissioning personnel
- Limitations
- This source documents ship identity, service assignment, diesel propulsion, and reported disposal, not asbestos content, individual exposure, material quantities, or legal eligibility. Its occupation-service line mistakenly says LSM-184; that statement is excluded rather than attributed to LSM-185. NavSource is cited at its verified live .net URL.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-185-lsm185-01
-
[2]National Archives, RG 181, Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, Ship Commissioning Files, Sixth Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina, National Archives Identifier 2694599 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Finding aid, series description at lines 45-47 and box 7 listing at line 145
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's finding aid for the Charleston Navy Yard's 1942-45 Ship Commissioning Files lists Landing Ship, Medium LSM-185 in box 7 with date 20 October 1944. The series consists of correspondence, invitations, and instructions related to commissioning naval vessels at the yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard commissioning personnel and prospective crew
- Limitations
- The online finding aid establishes that a commissioning-file entry exists and corroborates the 20 October 1944 commissioning date; it is not the file itself and does not document asbestos, individual exposure, products, or quantities.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-185-lsm185-02
-
[3]CDC/NIOSH, 100 Years of Respiratory Protection History (archived CDC page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- CDC/NIOSH page, World War II Navy asbestos/pipe-insulation history section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- CDC/NIOSH states that U.S. Navy use of asbestos increased during World War II for insulation of pipes in naval vessels, and that a Navy medical officer recognized the risk from cutting and wetting asbestos-containing insulation in 1939.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1939-1946 context
- Population
- Navy ship construction, repair, and maintenance personnel during the World War II era
- Limitations
- Navy-wide historical context only. It does not identify LSM-185, establish asbestos aboard this hull, overcome the absence of a hull survey or specification, identify a product on this diesel-propelled vessel, or establish individual exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-185-lsm185-03
-
[4]National Archives, Researching Asbestos Aboard U.S. Naval Vessels up through 1961 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA asbestos-research guide, 'Specification Files' and 'Other Specifications and Standards Series' sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA identifies RG 19 ship-specification and Bureau of Ships correspondence series as research routes for vessel components and propulsion, but expressly cautions that listed specification files do not themselves provide information on asbestos use or presence in Navy ships or components.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1937-1966 record-series coverage
- Population
- Future archival researchers; no vessel-specific exposure population documented
- Limitations
- This is an archival research guide, not evidence that LSM-185 contained or lacked asbestos. No LSM-185 component file, survey, or materials specification was retrieved. The NARA warning means the listed series cannot be represented as direct asbestos evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-185-lsm185-04
-
[5]CourtListener API v4, authenticated helper search: exact query "USS LSM-185", opinions (type=o), 2026-10-01 [court_record]
- Locator
- Authenticated helper output: count 0, next null, previous null, results []
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- The authenticated CourtListener API v4 exact-name opinion search for "USS LSM-185" returned zero results.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- Search performed 2026-10-01
- Population
- CourtListener indexed opinions only
- Limitations
- A zero-result opinion search is a bounded negative finding, not proof that no litigation exists. Required exact-name docket and hull-number searches could not be completed because the fleet-wide authenticated helper's pacing budget was exhausted; no anonymous or raw CourtListener request was used. This row establishes neither asbestos absence nor legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-185-lsm185-05