Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet 823-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-255-lsm255-pkt-823-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LSM-255, citing "LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II" (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1997) as its history-extract source [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14255.htm header block, specifications block, and service-history paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Laid down 24 February 1944 at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J.; launched 22 April 1944; commissioned USS LSM-255, 22 May 1944, LT. Robert O. Sylvester USNR in command. "During WWII USS LSM-255 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla One, CDR. H. B. Taliaferro USN (28);" participated in "Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 28 April to 18 May 1945." Following the war, "assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 17 September to 16 October 1945." "USS LSM-255 earned one battle star for World War II service." Decommissioned 17 October 1946; "sold, 19 February 1948, to R.J. MaCallum, Compton, CA., fate unknown." Specifications: displacement 520 t. (light), 743 t. (landing), 1,095 t. (fully loaded); length 203'6"; beam 34'6"; draft 3'6" fwd/7'8" aft (light), 6'4" fwd/8'3" aft (fully loaded); speed 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount, four single 20mm mounts; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse diesel engines (Model 38D81/8X10), 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin screws, 2,800 shp total.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades (early-mid 1944); crew (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history and specifications only; no asbestos or material content. This is NOT an NHHC DANFS entry - no individual DANFS page for this hull could be located (see ev-02); NavSource's own page attributes its history extract to the commercial unit-history compilation "LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II" (Turner Publishing Co., 1997), not to history.navy.mil. Builder location given as "Newark, N.J."; the company's primary, better-documented facility was at Kearny Point, Kearny, NJ (see builder_location and gaps). Page verified live 2026-10-01 (no archive fallback needed).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-01
-
[3]Negative-result search: NHHC Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (history.navy.mil candidate URL /research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lsm-255.html - HTTP connection refused/cert error on direct fetch; Wayback Machine availability API returned no snapshot for either history.navy.mil or www.history.navy.mil variants of that URL); ibiblio.org/hyperwar DANFS mirror (candidate URL lsm255.html - HTTP 404) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-01 and -02
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No individual NHHC/DANFS entry exists for this hull under any candidate URL or Wayback snapshot searched. This is consistent with Navy practice for the LSM-1 class: individual DANFS entries exist chiefly for hulls later renamed (e.g., LSM-373 became USS Lakeland in 1959, confirmed via ibiblio/hyperwar DANFS mirror) or otherwise notable; LSM-255 was never renamed and apparently never received an individual DANFS write-up. The NavSource vessel-history row (ev-01) is sourced to a commercial unit-history compilation, not to DANFS/NHHC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a DANFS entry is a documented negative result for this specific search, not proof no primary Navy record exists elsewhere (e.g., undigitized deck logs, war diaries - see gaps). Does not bear on asbestos documentation one way or the other.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-02
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[4]Owens-Illinois, Inc., Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944); introduced as Owens-Illinois interrogatory exhibit #20 in Heathman v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Brazoria County, TX (1990); transcribed in the shipyard-exposure-map dataset (yard_id federal-shipbuilding-kearny, evidence_id ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyard-exposure-map dataset, federal-shipbuilding-kearny yard record, evidence_id ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944; source document at toxicdocs.org
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Government/industry documentation of asbestos use at this hull's builder's documented main facility: an industrial hygiene survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, conducted 30 August-2 September 1944, "documented insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces," with "dust counts measured during cutting and fitting operations." The survey window falls shortly after this hull's launch (22 April 1944) and commissioning (22 May 1944), during the same wartime production period at the same company.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. insulators and pipefitters, Kearny, NJ (surveyed Aug-Sep 1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level survey conducted by Owens-Illinois, a product manufacturer with a commercial interest in the findings (dust counts in mppcf, pre-fiber-count era) - not a hull-specific record, and LSM-255 is not named. The survey covers the Kearny Point facility; this hull's vessel-history source gives the builder location as "Newark, N.J.," and whether that refers to the same Kearny Point yard or a separate wartime Port Newark facility is unconfirmed (see gaps). Does not establish materials aboard this specific hull, individual exposure, quantity, or present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-03
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (twin Fairbanks Morse diesels, no steam plant); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for federal-shipbuilding-kearny (Johns-Manville Superex pipe covering, Owens-Illinois Kaylo pipe/boiler insulation, W.R. Grace Monokote fireproofing, Garlock gaskets); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14255.htm specifications block; shipyard-exposure-map federal-shipbuilding-kearny product_normalized list
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LSM-1 class landing ship built in 1944 at a yard with documented contemporaneous wartime asbestos use sits inside that yard's and that era's standard shipboard-material window. Era-standard applications aboard an LSM of this type and period were hull and engine-room thermal insulation, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the vessel's compact machinery spaces. As a diesel-mechanical vessel (two Fairbanks Morse diesels direct to twin screws) she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway documented on steam-powered combatants and auxiliaries does not apply to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew (1944-1946); any 1948 purchaser/conversion trades (unknown)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-255. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are the yard's documented product list, not a manufacturer attribution for this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-04
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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 Navy service (1944-46) era.
- 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 live 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, via cl-auth-search.py helper), queried this session: type=o "USS LSM-255" (1 result, name collision); type=o "LSM-255" quoted (0 results); type=r "USS LSM-255" quoted (0 results); type=r LSM-255 unquoted (1,014 results, high-collision generic docket-text noise, not usable) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search, queried 2026-10-01 (4 distinct queries, see search_ledger sl-04 through sl-07)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. The sole opinion hit for "USS LSM-255" was Tyrone Berry v. State (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.], 2015), a criminal appeal unrelated to this ship or asbestos - a name/term collision, not a case about this vessel. The unquoted docket query "LSM-255" returned 1,014 results, all apparent noise (the string matching unrelated docket text/numbers) - classified high-collision and excluded per batch rule rather than hand-reviewed at that volume. Quoted exact-phrase docket and opinion searches for "USS LSM-255" / "LSM-255" returned zero results.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a located case does not prove absence of exposure or litigation - undigitized or differently-captioned filings (e.g., referencing only "Federal Shipbuilding" or a plaintiff's employer without the hull number) would not surface in a hull-number search. No pleading, discovery record, trial finding, or judgment was found to classify at any litigation stage for this hull specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-06
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[8]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LSM-254 and LSM-256 (10/14/14254.htm and 10/14/14256.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14254.htm and 10/14/14256.htm header/specifications blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Sister hulls LSM-254 and LSM-256 were laid down the same day (24 February 1944) at the same builder, Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., confirming LSM-255 was part of a same-yard, same-period construction batch. LSM-254 was "sold, 20 February 1948, to Harbor Towing Co., Vancouver, Canada, fate unknown" - a near-identical disposal pattern to LSM-255. LSM-256 was decommissioned 3 September 1946 at Shanghai and transferred the same day to the Republic of China Navy (redesignated ROCS LSM-341).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades (Feb-May 1944, same batch)
- Limitations
- Context for construction-batch dating and builder confirmation only; no asbestos content. Does not establish any fact specific to LSM-255's own material history.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-255-lsm255-07