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-206, history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page sections: 'LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium' summary block; Iwo Jima photo-caption narrative; 'Commanding Officers' table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific construction and service record for this hull: laid down 22 February 1944 at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE; launched 22 April 1944; commissioned 29 May 1944, LT. Gordon C. Mackenzie, USNR, in command. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Five (CDR W. H. Carpenter, USN), LSM Group Fourteen (LCDR A. E. Lind, USNR), LSM Division Twenty-Eight. On 19 February 1945 (D-Day, Iwo Jima) LSM-206 was part of LSM Unit Baker (Task Unit 53.4.2, 18 ships) landing Fourth Marine Division tanks and shore-party equipment at Yellow Beach; arrived to offload at 1320 amid a beach choked with destroyed vehicles, used a sunken Japanese lugger as an improvised landing reference, and made repeated return trips through 16 March 1945 exchanging men/equipment for casualties, including evacuating wounded Marines alongside USS Newberry (APA-158) between 17-27 February 1945. Assigned to Far East occupation service 25 October-3 December 1945. Decommissioned 29 July 1946 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA. Earned one battle star (Iwo Jima) and the Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp. Sold 29 December 1947 to Walter H. Wilms, Detroit, MI, and converted to a barge; final disposition unknown. Specifications: 520 t light/1,095 t fully loaded displacement; 203'6" oa length; 34'6" beam; two Fairbanks Morse Model 38D8-1/8x10 diesel engines (1,440 BHP each), twin screw, 2,800 shp, 13.2 kt max; complement 5 officers/54 enlisted; troop lift 2 officers/46 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount and four single 20mm mounts. Commanding officers: LT. Gordon C. Mackenzie, USNR (29 May 1944-Sep 1945); LTjg. Paul D. Hanlon, USNR (Sep 1945-Mar 1946); LTjg. Lawrence P. Crosetti, USNR (Mar-Jun 1946); LT. John Stanko, USN (Jun-Dec 1946); LTjg. Robert Aloysius Scherrer, USN (Dec 1946-29 Jul 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked Fourth Marine Division troops, 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Documents construction, combat/service history, specifications, and command roster - contains no asbestos information whatsoever. The page's own commanding-officers table (service through 29 July 1947) conflicts with its summary block's 29 July 1946 decommissioning date - both are carried; see gaps. No DANFS/NHHC individual ship-history page exists for this hull to cross-check against (confirmed absent, not merely inaccessible - see search_ledger sl-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-01
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[2]Naval History and Heritage Command Photographic Section, catalog #NH 79860, 'USS LSM 206' (Wayback Machine archived capture, 2025-03-04; live NHHC page returns HTTP 404 as of 2026-10-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture dated 2025-03-04T04:24:47Z of NH 79860 catalog page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official NHHC photograph of this hull, captioned 'In San Francisco Bay, 1945-46,' courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1974 (catalog #NH 79860). Corroborates the vessel's identity and a 1945-46 San Francisco Bay location independent of the NavSource/Turner Publishing account.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- A single archival photograph with a minimal caption - documents the ship existed and was photographed in San Francisco Bay in 1945-46; contains no asbestos, material, or hazard information. Cited from an archived (Wayback) copy because the live NHHC site returned HTTP 404 site-wide at research time (2026-10-01) - labeled as archived per citation-hygiene policy, not presented as a live source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-02
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[3]CourtListener API v4 search (type=o Opinion and type=r RECAP/Docket), queries '"USS LSM-206"', '"LSM-206"', '"LSM 206"' - via fleet-authenticated helper (cl-auth-search.py), 2026-10-01 [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener RECAP docket 4223608, Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 3:05-bk-03817), recap_document id 112466253 (Order, ECF No. 4663, filed 2005-12-15)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. Opinion-type (type=o) searches for "USS LSM-206", "LSM-206", and "LSM 206" returned zero results. RECAP/docket-type (type=r) searches for "LSM-206" and "LSM 206" each returned exactly one hit, both the same docket: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., Ch. 11 bankruptcy, Bankr. M.D. Fla., No. 3:05-bk-03817 - a grocery-chain claims-administration proceeding (an 'Order ... Disallowing and Expunging Certain Equity Claims and Duplicate Liability Note Claims') with no vessel, maritime, or asbestos subject matter; the string match is coincidental (most likely a claim-reference or docket-entry number within the case's large claims register), not a reference to this ship. Classified as a name collision, not a qualifying hit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01 (search date)
- Limitations
- CourtListener's indexed opinion and RECAP corpus is not exhaustive of all state-court or unreported federal filings; a negative sweep here means no litigation naming this hull was found in the indexed corpus searched, not that no such litigation exists anywhere. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-03
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[4]LSM-1-class technical specifications (propulsion, builders, production totals) cross-referenced against NavSource's hull-specific specifications for this vessel [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wikipedia 'Landing Ship Medium' specifications table; NavSource LSM-206 propulsion specifications (ev-01)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/propulsion-type inference: the 558 LSM-1-class hulls built 1944-45 (including the 65 built by Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE) were diesel-propelled (Fairbanks-Morse or GM diesel engines, direct drive, twin screw) rather than steam-turbine vessels. A 1944-built diesel-powered Navy amphibious hull to wartime Bureau of Ships specifications would carry era-standard asbestos-containing material on diesel exhaust manifolds/silencers and engine-room piping (lagging), gaskets and packing on engine and auxiliary systems, and insulation/deck covering in crew and machinery spaces - not boiler or turbine lagging, which diesel LSMs did not carry.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Dravo Corporation (Wilmington, DE) construction trades, 1944; ship's crew 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Class/era/propulsion-type inference only, not a hull-specific finding - this hull's own equipment list, specification sheet, or shipyard material manifest was not located. Does not establish quantity, exact shipboard location, or present-day presence of any ACM. Dravo Corporation appears as a named defendant in unrelated later asbestos mass-tort venue litigation (State ex rel. Mobil Corp. v. Gaughan, 211 W. Va. 106, 563 S.E.2d 419 (2002), CourtListener cluster 1305706) concerning Dravo's general industrial/construction-era operations; that litigation does not reference the Wilmington shipyard, LSM construction, or this hull and was excluded as non-responsive company-level context rather than carried as a supporting row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-04
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[5]Batch-6003 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS index; NHHC Photographic Section; NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive; CourtListener API v4 (opinion + RECAP); National Archives catalog/RG24-RG38 deck-log guidance; Naval Vessel Register [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-01 through sl-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement record, or hazmat disclosure naming LSM-206 was located in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The vessel left Navy custody in 1947, was never a museum or memorial ship, and its post-1947 fate as a civilian barge is unknown - there is no contemporary owner, operator, or physical hull available to have produced such a record.
- 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; it reflects both the limited digitization of small-craft WWII Navy records and the fact that this hull left Navy and public record-keeping entirely in 1947. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-206-lsm206-05