Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-218 page - history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997): construction at Dravo Corp., Wilmington DE; launch; commissioning; campaign list; occupation/China service; transfer to Republic of China; PRC seizure; spec block; commanding officers; NH-numbered US Navy photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LSM-218 page, 10/14/14218 - history extract, spec block, CO list, photo captions incl. NH 22082A
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 24 May 1944 at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington DE; launched 11 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-218 on 9 August 1944, LT Arthur B. Howell USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific service: Luzon operation (Lingayen Gulf landings 4-12 January 1945), Manila Bay-Bicol operations (Nasugbu 31 January 1945; Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 February 1945), consolidation of the southern Philippines (Mindanao landings 10 March 1945; Sulu Archipelago 2-4 April 1945). Navy Occupation Service 28 September-2 October 1945; China Service (extended) 1 January-15 June 1946. Decommissioned 15 June 1946 and transferred to the Republic of China the same day; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; seized October 1949 from Chinese Nationalist forces by Chinese Communist forces, fate unknown. Three battle stars for WWII. Commanding officers: LT Arthur Babcock Howell USNR (9 Aug 1944 - 21 Mar 1945); ENS Jaline Wayne Holbrook USNR (21 Mar 1945 - 15 Jun 1946). US Navy photo NH 22082A (US Naval Historical Center collections, captioned on the page) shows LSM-218 inside floating dry dock ABSD-1 at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 17 November 1944, alongside LSM-67, LSM-219, and LSM-269.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Crew (59: 5 officers + 54 enlisted) plus embarked troops; Pacific amphibious operations 1944-45; ROC service 1946-49
- Limitations
- Veteran-association published history (Turner) transcribed by NavSource, corroborated by shipbuildinghistory and by the ship's own war diary at NARA; contains no asbestos information. Does not establish asbestos conditions aboard; campaign and machinery details establish only the vessel's operational and maintenance history.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-01
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[2]NARA RG 38, USS LSM-218 - War Diary, 8/9/44 to 6/30/45, NAID 101726670 (microfilm Roll A1726; Fold3 file 296532334; 53 images digitized). Companion monthly war diaries: NAID 139893691 (2/45), 101746773 (6/45), 83570972 (7/45), 77504979 (8/45), 77532399 (9/45), 77590258 (10/45), 140081252 (11/45) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAID 101726670 (53 images; cover 0347 and interior pages 0348-0349, 0370, 0375 read this session); monthly diaries at NAIDs listed in citation_value
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war diary (cover verified: 'CONFIDENTIAL - U.S.S. LSM #218 - WAR DIARY - AUGUST 1944', serial 130539) documents: accepted for the United States Navy and commissioned at 1700 on 9 August 1944 at Pier 'A', U.S. Navy Yard, Philadelphia PA, LT Arthur B. Howell USNR commanding; fitting out and ammunitioning at Fort Mifflin and deperming at Pier N, Philadelphia Navy Yard; shakedown via C&D Canal to Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek VA, with beaching exercises at Bradford Beach; starboard screw damaged by a submerged object during night beaching 21-22 August, replaced on the marine railway at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation, Norfolk VA, 24 August 1944; Lingayen Gulf operations 9-12 January 1945 under repeated 'Flash Red' air-raid alerts, firing on enemy planes 12 January; second starboard-screw casualty on a submerged obstruction 11 January at Lingayen, screw changed alongside repair ship USS Cable 12 January; Subic Bay and Mariveles Harbor operations February 1945 (beached Mariveles 15 February disembarking Army troops of 2nd Platoon, Battery A, 950 AAA(AW) Bn under CTG 78.3 operation plan 4-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-08-09 to 1945-06-30 (diary); through 1945-11 (monthly units)
- Population
- Ship's crew; Philadelphia Navy Yard fitting-out workers (Aug 1944); Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp marine-railway workers (24 Aug 1944); USS Cable repair-ship workforce alongside at Lingayen (12 Jan 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary-source operations record naming this hull; contains no asbestos, material, or insulation information - it documents operational and repair events only. War-diary coverage verified for 8/9/44-6/30/45 plus separate monthly file units through November 1945; December 1945-June 1946 (China service) coverage not confirmed in the catalog. Digitized microfilm images, not transcriptions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-02
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[3]NARA RG 24, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships: LSM-218, 8/9/44-6/1/46, NAID 126467001 (Roll 3783). RG 38 action reports: USS LSM-218 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf 1/9-12/45 incl. AA actions 1/9 & 12/45 (NAID 139894589, Roll A1433, 9 images); Rep of landing ops at Mariveles, Luzon 2/15-16/45 (NAID 139893108, Roll A1431); Rep of opers in the invasion of Sanga Sanga Island, Sulu Archipelago 4/2-4/45 (NAID 77485102, Roll A1861); Rep of opers in the invasion of Jolo Island, Sulu Archipelago 4/9/45 (NAID 77506025, Roll A1888) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog NAIDs 126467001, 139894589, 139893108, 77485102, 77506025
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Ship-specific personnel and combat records exist at NARA: muster rolls covering the full U.S. commission period (8/9/44-6/1/46), and four digitized action reports matching the NavSource campaign list - Lingayen Gulf 1/9-12/45 (9 images verified digitized), Mariveles 2/15-16/45, Sanga Sanga Island 4/2-4/45, and Jolo Island 4/9/45.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-08-09 to 1946-06-01
- Population
- Ship's crew (muster rolls); embarked troops and beach parties (action reports)
- Limitations
- Personnel and action records; contain no asbestos or material information. Muster rolls establish who served aboard (crew roster) - relevant to any individual service verification but not to material conditions. Catalog metadata verified; full image sets not individually reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-03
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[4]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net), 'Landing Ships, Medium' construction table: 'LSM-218 | Dravo Corp. | Wilmington DE | 9 Aug 1944 | to China 1946, seized by PRC 1949' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/lsm - table row LSM-218; Dravo Wilmington yard note (65 of 558 LSMs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent construction-table corroboration: LSM-218 built by Dravo Corp., Wilmington DE, commissioned 9 August 1944, transferred to China 1946 and seized by the PRC in 1949. Dravo's Wilmington yard built 65 of 558 LSMs (LSM-201 through LSM-232 and LSM-414 through LSM-446) - this hull sits inside the yard's LSM block (201-232).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Dravo Wilmington shipyard workforce (1943-45 wartime construction)
- Limitations
- Shipbuilding reference table (secondary-compiled from official records); corroborates but does not replace the primary war-diary record. Contains no asbestos information. Yard-block range per the same table.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-04
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (2 x Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 reversible diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers 2,800 shp; diesel ship's-service generators); war-diary fitting-out/shakedown record; shipbuildinghistory Dravo Wilmington construction row; GAO HRD-80-2 era documentation (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; NARA war diary (fitting-out entries, Aug 1944); shipbuildinghistory row
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel-hulled amphibious landing ship built May-August 1944 at Dravo Corp., Wilmington DE sits inside the documented WWII Navy asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation and diesel-exhaust lagging in the machinery spaces, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and brake linings on deck machinery (winches, windlass, bow-door and ramp gear), within the ship's small enclosed compartments. Propulsion is twin-screw diesel - she carried no steam plant, so the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Dravo Wilmington construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); Philadelphia Navy Yard and Norfolk Shipbuilding & Dry Dock fitting-out/repair workers (Aug 1944); USS Cable repair personnel (Jan 1945); ROC/PRC crews 1946-49
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-218. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-05
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[6]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 entire construction (1944) and U.S. 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 fetches, confirmed 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description, same standing defect as batches 01/98.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-06
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[7]Batch-6016 search ledger (this record): NavSource live page; NARA catalog (war diary cover/pages verified, 13 ship-specific file units); shipbuildinghistory; NHHC search; DANFS mirrors; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated); Naval Vessel Register; web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-01 through -12
- 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-218 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (all four queries run): opinion search 'LSM-218' returned 16 hits, ALL name collisions (docket-number fragments inside unrelated opinions - no opinion mentions the vessel); exact-phrase '"USS LSM-218"' and '"LSM-218"' opinion searches each returned 0; RECAP docket search '"LSM-218"' returned 0. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (ibiblio/HyperWar mirror 404 on all URL variants; NHHC catalog search '"LSM-218"' and '"NH 22082"' returned no documents). Naval Vessel Register unreachable this session (connection reset; Firecrawl tunnel failure) - and the hull was struck pre-NVR-era in any case. Unlike marketing-listicle targets, this hull does not even appear in law-firm 'asbestos ship' lists - the only web material is NavSource, uboat.net, and shipbuildinghistory.
- 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 - 1944 Navy amphibious construction is era-consistent with asbestos use, and no survey was ever expected for a hull transferred to China in 1946. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-218-lsm218-07