Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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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-257-lsm257-pkt-823-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-257 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LSM-257 page, specifications and campaign blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: laid down 23 March 1944 at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J.; launched 12 May 1944; commissioned 30 May 1944, LTjg. Edward C. Nuter/Nufer USNR in command (spelling varies within the page - see limitations). Asiatic-Pacific Theater service: Leyte landings (13 Oct-29 Nov 1944), Ormoc Bay landings (7-8 Dec 1944), Mindanao Island landings (10 Mar 1945; 17-23 Apr 1945), Balikpapan/Borneo operation (26 Jun-6 Jul 1945); Far East occupation service 7 Oct-1 Dec 1945. Decommissioned 7 May 1946 at San Diego, CA; struck 5 June 1946; sold for scrapping November 1946 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA. Three WWII battle stars. Specifications: 520 t light / 1,095 t full load; 203'6" oal; two Fairbanks Morse Model 38D8-1/8 diesel engines, direct drive with reversible hydraulic clutch, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin screws, 2,800 shp; complement 5 officers/54 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding construction trades, 1944; wartime and occupation-era crew (design complement 59)
- Limitations
- NavSource documents construction, service, and specifications, not asbestos content or material condition. The commanding officer's surname is given as 'Nuter' in the narrative text and 'Nufer' in the commanding-officers table on the same page - uncorrected in this record, carried in gaps. History narrative is credited to a 1997 commercial unit-history compilation (Turner Publishing), not an official Navy document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-01
-
[3]NHHC DANFS - no individual history page exists for LSM-257 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lsm-257.html (404); CourtListener API v4 search, q="LSM-257" and q="USS LSM-257", type=o/r/rd
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No public ship-specific asbestos record was located for this hull: the candidate NHHC/DANFS URL (history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lsm-257.html) returns HTTP 404 (confirmed 2026-10-01) - DANFS does not maintain individual histories for unnamed numbered LSM hulls generally, consistent with coverage patterns for this ship type. No abatement record, hull survey, or hazmat disclosure exists because the vessel was never preserved (scrapped 1946). CourtListener exact-phrase searches for "LSM-257" and "USS LSM-257" across opinions (type=o), RECAP dockets (type=r), and RECAP document full text (type=rd) each returned zero results (verified 2026-10-01, CourtListener API v4, authenticated). Secondary web searches surfaced no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull; the only 'asbestos' web content found was a generic, untraceable claim that all pre-1983 Navy ships carried asbestos risk - excluded as unsourced boilerplate, not ship-specific.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service); 2026-10-01 (search)
- Limitations
- Absence of a DANFS page and a clean CourtListener sweep establish that no qualifying public record was located as of this search date - they do not establish that no asbestos was ever present aboard this hull, nor that no litigation exists outside CourtListener's indexed coverage (e.g., unfiled claims, state-court records not in RECAP, or sealed settlements).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-02
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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); via shipyard-exposure-map dataset record federal-shipbuilding-kearny [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyard-exposure-map dataset, yard_id federal-shipbuilding-kearny, evidence_id ev-federal-kearny-ihs-1944
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Yard-level survey of this hull's builder: Owens-Illinois conducted an Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ, 30 August-2 September 1944, documenting insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces, with dust counts measured during cutting and fitting. The survey window falls squarely within this hull's construction period at the same company (laid down 23 March 1944, launched 12 May 1944, commissioned 30 May 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944 (survey); 1944 (this hull's construction)
- Population
- Shipyard insulators and pipefitters at Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, NJ
- Limitations
- Yard-wide survey, not ship-specific - it does not name LSM-257, does not establish what materials (if any) were installed aboard this particular hull, and does not address crew-era exposure. Conducted by Owens-Illinois, a manufacturer with a commercial interest in the survey's findings; dust counts are in pre-fiber-count mppcf units, not a worker health-outcome study.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-03
-
[5]NavSource specifications block (propulsion: two Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, no steam plant) + era/class inference [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LSM-257 specifications block (propulsion)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era inference: LSM-257 was diesel-electric propelled (two Fairbanks Morse Model 38D8-1/8 diesels, no boilers or steam turbines aboard). A 1944-built LSM-1-class hull of this type would have carried period-standard asbestos-containing thermal insulation on exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation - not boiler/turbine lagging, since there was no steam plant.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Wartime and occupation-era crew, 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. No full ACM inventory, hull survey, or material specification sheet for this hull is public.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-04
-
[6]NavSource disposal entry (sold Nov. 1946 to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA) vs. Wikipedia, National Metal and Steel (company categorized as operating at Terminal Island from 1952 until losing the facility to harbor expansion on 1 January 1986) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource disposal line; Wikipedia 'National Metal and Steel' infobox/categories
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource states this hull was sold for scrapping in November 1946 to 'National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA.' A secondary source (Wikipedia's National Metal and Steel article) places that company's Terminal Island ship-dismantling operation as beginning in 1952, six years after this hull's stated scrapping date, and continuing until the company lost the site to a harbor-expansion project on 1 January 1986. This record does not resolve the conflict (same company operating earlier than indexed, a distinct predecessor firm, or a NavSource/secondary-source date error are all possible).
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1946 (this hull's disposal); 1952-1986 (company's indexed Terminal Island operation per Wikipedia)
- Limitations
- This row explicitly does NOT attribute the asbestos-handling safety violations later reported at National Metal & Steel's Terminal Island yard (improperly stripped asbestos from Navy ships; workers directed to misstate conditions to federal investigators) to this hull's 1946 disposal - those reports concern the company's later-era (post-1970s) operations, decades after LSM-257 was scrapped, and no source connects them to this hull or to 1946 specifically. Carried as an unresolved date conflict, not as exposure evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-05
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[7]NARA online catalog (catalog.archives.gov) - archival lead for RG 181 commissioning/decommissioning files and RG 38 war diary material potentially covering LSM-257 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (search interface, JS-rendered)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds Record Group 181 (naval districts/shore establishments, incl. commissioning/decommissioning files) and Record Group 38 (war diaries) material that may include records for small WWII craft such as LSM-257, per NARA's general guidance on Navy deck-log and ship-history holdings. No specific NAID for this hull was located this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- catalog.archives.gov's search interface is a JavaScript-rendered single-page application; automated fetch returns the application shell, not indexable search results, so a direct hit/no-hit determination could not be made this session. This is an access gap, not a confirmed absence of records - full verification requires a browser-rendered search or a NARA reference request (archives2reference@nara.gov) with hull number and dates.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-257-lsm257-06