Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 820-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-234-lsm234-pkt-820-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-234 - construction, commissioning, campaigns, chain of command, occupation service, decommission/strike/disposal, specifications, commanding officers; history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14234.htm - history block, campaign table, occupation-service table, specifications block, commanding-officers table, commissioning photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 15 March 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Company, San Pedro, CA; launched 4 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-234, 17 August 1944, LTjg. Royal W. Rhoton USNR in command. Asiatic-Pacific Theater: Luzon operation - Lingayen Gulf landings 9 January 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation 1 April to 22 June 1945, under LSM Flotilla Three (CDR W. F. Morrison USN), LSM Group Nine (LCDR J. A. Moss USN), LSM Division Eighteen. Occupation service in the Far East 4-24 September 1945 and 7 October - 25 November 1945. Decommissioned 17 April 1946 at Terminal Island Navy Yard, San Pedro; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; sold 11 March 1948 to W. A. Magnus, Sr., New Orleans, LA, fate unknown. Two battle stars; Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and Philippine Liberation Medal in the ribbon set. Spec block: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203'6" x 34'6"; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; two GM 16-278A diesels direct drive 1,440 BHP each, twin screws 2,800 shp. Commanding officers: LT Rhoton (to 4 Jan 1946), LTjg Potter (to 27 Mar 1946), LTjg Barber (to decommissioning). Commissioning-ceremony photographs at the San Pedro yard credited to Austin Roper, the ship's Chief Engineer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944); ship's company ~59 (5 officers + 54 enlisted) plus embarked troops (2 officers + 46 enlisted accommodations)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - its history extract is sourced to the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR volume and its specifications to Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels Vol. III (15 April 1945); milestone dates corroborated independently by ShipbuildingHistory, but the struck date conflicts with secondary compilation uboat.net (5 Jun vs 3 Jul 1946 - see gaps). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-01
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[3]ShipbuildingHistory, 'Landing Ships, Medium - LSM, LSM(R), LSV' construction table (page update 6 January 2018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lsm.htm, LSM table rows 233-252 (Western Pipe / San Pedro block)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent corroboration of this hull's construction line: 'LSM-234 | Western Pipe | San Pedro CA | 17-Aug-44 | Sold to W. A. Magnus 1948'. The same table documents the class context: 558 LSMs built in WWII by seven shipyards; the basic design (originally designated LCT(7)) was 203.5 feet overall and 520 tons light.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled construction table - corroborates builder, yard city, delivery/commissioning date, and disposition against NavSource; column header reads 'Delivery' where NavSource reads 'Commissioned' (same date carried). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-02
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[4]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, diesel-drive generators); ShipbuildingHistory class context (558 LSMs, seven yards, 1944-45); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-05); Franklin v. USX builder-company record (see ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14234.htm specifications block; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lsm.htm class preamble
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LSM-1-class landing ship built March-August 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO: asbestos insulation used extensively aboard Navy ships; substitution not begun until the early 1970s). Era-standard applications aboard a diesel landing ship of this type and period were thermal insulation on machinery and diesel-exhaust runs, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull and machinery spaces. As a diesel plant she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944); ship's company and embarked troops (1944-46); any Terminal Island Navy Yard decommissioning trades (1946); post-sale civilian handlers/scrappers (1948+, undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-234. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The builder-company asbestos record (ev-04) covers a different Western Pipe yard than the one that built this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-03
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[5]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001) (opinion text additionally verified via FindLaw, Leagle, OpenJurist mirrors) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, 87 Cal. App. 4th 615 at 619-620 (General Background); case no. A091473 (filed 2 Mar 2001)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-company documentation: the California Court of Appeal recorded that 'when World War II broke out, WPS entered into a contract with the United States Maritime Commission to again build ships for use in the war. The contract required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos.' Plaintiffs' decedent developed mesothelioma from childhood take-home exposure via parents who worked at WPS's South San Francisco yard 1942-45 in areas where asbestos was present (insulation mixing/work, debris sweep-up). A jury returned a verdict exceeding $5 million against USX as successor in interest to WPS; the Court of Appeal reversed, holding the trial court erred in finding USX the successor - an appellate reversal on successor-liability grounds, not on the exposure record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (exposure period); 2001 (opinion)
- Population
- WPS South San Francisco shipyard workers and household contacts (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Scope-limited builder-company context, NOT a hull record and not a San Pedro-yard record: the opinion documents asbestos use at WPS's South San Francisco yard under a Maritime Commission shipbuilding contract; LSM-234 was built at WPS's San Pedro yard under Navy contract. Whether the San Pedro LSM line ran under contract terms requiring asbestos materials is not established by this source. Per litigation-stage discipline: the exposure narrative stands as trial-stage record; the appellate disposition (reversal for want of successor liability) does not adjudicate exposure. The company-level finding does not establish materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, quantity, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-04
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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 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, confirmed 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-05
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[7]Booklet of General Plans, USS LSM-354 (LSM-1-class), 1944 (incomplete, 7 pages; scanned from the Ed Zajkowski loan via Historic Naval Ships Association / maritime.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- maritime.org/doc/plans/lsm354.pdf, sheets showing inboard profile, decks, and inner-bottom plan
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A 1944 Booklet of General Plans survives for LSM-354, a same-class (LSM-1) sister, showing the class arrangement relevant to exposure spaces: machinery and auxiliary-machinery compartments amidships below the tank well, engine-watch and muffler positions, steering-gear flat, berthing and messing compartments, and deck-level fittings. The booklet is an arrangement document - it carries no insulation or material schedule.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Class-level arrangement drawings for a sister hull (LSM-354), not this hull; drawings establish compartment arrangement only - no material, insulation, or asbestos content is specified on the extracted sheets (scanned images, text read via OCR). Does not establish materials aboard LSM-234.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-06
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[8]Batch-6034 search ledger (this record): NavSource page; ShipbuildingHistory LSM table; NHHC DANFS index + direct URL; Naval Vessel Register; NARA catalog/deck-log finding aid; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, both indexes, all name variants); GAO product page; LSM-354 general plans; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-234-01 through -09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-234 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned verified zero results on both the opinion (type=o) and docket (type=r) indexes for 'LSM-234', 'LSM 234', 'USS LSM-234', and 'Landing Ship Medium 234' (authenticated queries, 2026-10-01) - a clean no-result, not a blocked search. DANFS carries no individual entry for this hull (index checked; direct URL 404). NVR excludes hulls disposed before 1987. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content and a name collision with USS Kingfish (SS-234) - 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 built inside the Navy's documented asbestos era at a yard whose parent company has documented contract-required asbestos use (at its other facility). Deck logs, WPS San Pedro work packages, and any post-sale breakup records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-234-07