Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet ug-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-276-lsm276-pkt-ug-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-276 (hull history and spec block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14276.htm, header history block and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- "Laid down, 11 August 1944, at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J." "Launched, 20 September 1944." "Commissioned USS LSM-276, 16 October 1944, LT. James E. Hemsworth USNR in command." Spec block: displacement 520 tons (light), 743 tons (landing), 1,095 tons (fully loaded); length 203'6" overall; beam 34'6"; max speed 13.2 knots; complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount, four single 20mm mounts; vehicle capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs. LT. Hemsworth commanded October 1944 through February 1946; LTjg. Peter W. Lyall followed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Federal Shipbuilding (Port Newark) construction trades, 1944; ship's company from commissioning
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer enthusiast compilation, not a primary government registry; no live NHHC/DANFS page exists for this hull (verified 2026-10-01 — see ev-11), so this is the best available ship-level source for construction identity. Live-verified 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200); navsource.org (the historically dead domain) was NOT used. Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-276 — WWII service, command structure, occupation duty, decommissioning [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14276.htm, service-history block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- "During World War II USS LSM-276 was assigned to" the Asiatic-Pacific Theater as part of "LSM Flotilla Twelve, LCDR. A. F. Dineen USN (22); LSM Group Thirty-Five, LCDR. W. K. Bradbury USNR; LSM Division Sixty-Nine." "Following World War II USS LSM-276 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 6 December 1945." "Decommissioned, 21 September 1947" and "Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet."
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Ship's company, 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Establishes wartime theater, command chain, and reserve-fleet status only. No Pacific operating-area specifics (which islands/campaigns) are given beyond "Asiatic-Pacific Theater" and no asbestos or materials content appears. No individual DANFS/NHHC entry exists to cross-check this narrative against.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-276 — transfer and final-disposition narrative [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14276.htm, transfer/fate block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- "Transferred in March 1963, to South Vietnam and named RVNS Hau Giang (HQ-406)." "Scuttled early May 1975, near Ben Tre Port, South Vietnam by South Vietnamese forces to prevent capture"; "raised, February 1977, by North Vietnam, refitted for service"; "Decommissioned by North Vietnam in late 1989 and discarded in 1990."
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1963-1990
- Limitations
- The 1963 transfer date is corroborated independently by uboat.net (ev-04). The scuttling (May 1975), raising (Feb 1977), and 1989/1990 Vietnamese decommissioning/discard details are NOT independently corroborated anywhere in this search — uboat.net's command page explicitly stops at "Transferred to South Vietnam in March 1963" and states no further commands are on file; navalcovermuseum.org repeats the identical NavSource wording rather than an independent record. No U.S. government, Vietnamese government, or NARA record of the scuttling/raising was located. Treat the post-1963 fate narrative as single-sourced. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-03
-
[5]uboat.net, Allied Warships — USS LSM 276 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12875.html, full page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent compilation confirms: "Medium landing ship of the LSM class"; builder "Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.)"; "Laid down: 11 Aug 1944"; "Launched: 20 Sep 1944"; "Commissioned: 16 Oct 1944"; "End service: 21 Sep 1947"; "Transferred to South Vietnam in March 1963." The site explicitly notes: "We don't have any commands listed for USS LSM 276 (LSM 276)" and does not mention a scuttling, raising, or 1989/1990 Vietnamese disposal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1963
- Limitations
- Independently compiled (no citation to NavSource found on the page) and agrees on every U.S.-service date with zero conflict — strengthens confidence in the pre-1963 timeline. Its silence on the post-1963 fate is itself informative: it is logged here as the reason ev-03's Vietnam-era fate narrative is flagged single-sourced, not as a contradiction. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-04
-
[6]Naval Cover Museum, LSM 276 ship page (campaign medals and service dates) [museum_official]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/LSM_276, full page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Naval Cover Museum record confirms U.S. Navy service dates ("Keel Laid August 11 1944 - Launched September 20 1944"; "Commissioned October 16 1944 - Decommissioned September 21 1947"; "Laid up in Pacific Reserve Fleet") and lists campaign recognition: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp). The page states "NO POSTMARKS REPORTED" for this hull in the museum's cover collection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Limitations
- A philatelic/postal-cover museum, not a government archive; its date fields read as a restatement of the same NavSource account rather than an independently sourced record. Useful only for the campaign-medal list, which does not appear on the NavSource or uboat.net pages. No asbestos content; no postmark evidence exists for this hull in this museum's collection.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-05
-
[7]Naval Marine Archive, "Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny and Newark NJ" — shipyard hull-production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/large/federal.html, LSM-276 table row and yard-history narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipyard production table lists LSM-276 by hull number under the "Newark (N)" yard of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. (a U.S. Steel Corporation subsidiary), with delivery date 16 Oct 1944 and disposition noted as "To Vietnam 1963 as Hau Giang (HQ-406), scuttled 1975, raised by North Vietnam 1977, discarded 1990." The same table documents that Federal Shipbuilding operated two distinct yards during WWII: the original Kearny, NJ yard ("at Kearny Point where the mouth of the Hackensack River meets Newark Bay") and a second, Navy-funded expansion yard at Port Newark; the Newark yard's hull-number block LSM-253 through LSM-294 (42 ships, delivered May 1944-Feb 1945) includes LSM-276.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1990
- Limitations
- Resolves which of the builder's two physically separate yards actually built this hull (Port Newark, not Kearny) — this matters because a documented 1944 asbestos-use survey exists for the Kearny yard only (see ev-09) and must not be read onto this hull. Enthusiast-compiled reference table, not a government record; corroborates NavSource/uboat.net dates with no conflict. No asbestos content of its own.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (LSM-1 class, diesel propulsion, 1944 construction); general WWII-era shipbuilding asbestos-use documentation (see ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- N/A — inference row, not a document locator
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era inference only: a diesel-powered steel landing ship built in 1944 at a wartime-expansion U.S. shipyard, inside the period documented generally for asbestos use in U.S. WWII shipbuilding. Era-standard applications for a vessel of this type and era: machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, pipe and boiler-adjacent insulation (no boiler plant aboard this LSM type, but insulated piping/hot-water systems were standard), valve and flange gaskets, and packing. No LSM-type-specific material list, builder's specification sheet, or hull survey was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1990
- Population
- Port Newark construction trades, 1944; ship's company, 1944-1963 (U.S. service); Vietnamese naval personnel, 1963-1990
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only — no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-276. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no present-day-presence claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-07
-
[9]Owens-Illinois, Inc., Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944), as listed in a 1990 Owens-Illinois deposition exhibit index (via toxicdocs.org); same survey cited in shipyard-exposure-map dataset entry "federal-shipbuilding-kearny" [other_primary]
- Locator
- toxicdocs.org document 4ayjMMY2q6pqomB4eDk5Nq9op, exhibit #20 index entry
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- A documented 1944 industrial-hygiene survey exists for this builder, but for the wrong facility: "Owens-Illinois, Inc., Industrial Health Survey of Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, NJ (Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 1944)" documented insulator work with asbestos pipe covering (Johns-Manville Superex) and boiler insulation in confined shipyard spaces at the Kearny yard, and was introduced as an exhibit in later (1990) asbestos litigation unrelated to this hull. This vessel was built at Federal Shipbuilding's separate Port Newark yard (see ev-06), not the Kearny facility the survey describes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Kearny yard insulators and pipefitters, 1944 (not this hull's builder facility)
- Limitations
- Deliberately demoted from class_or_era to context_only: this is yard-level documentation for the Kearny facility, which is NOT the yard that built LSM-276 (that was Port Newark — see ev-06). Included only to show the research was done and to explain, on the record, why it is NOT used as yard-era evidence for this hull. The toxicdocs page itself is a litigation deposition's exhibit-index entry citing the survey, not the full survey text. No facility-specific asbestos documentation for the Port Newark yard was located anywhere in this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-08
-
[10]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, "Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding," American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DOI resolver confirmed live (302 to Wiley Online Library, 2026-10-01); full text behind paywall (HTTP 403 to automated fetch) — abstract-level claim only
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material across U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era and emergency-production program under which this hull was built, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard U.S. naval and merchant-type hulls generally.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article published 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and naval/merchant ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, this hull's builder, or either Federal Shipbuilding yard specifically. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-09
-
[11]Batch-6080 search ledger (this record): DANFS index search; CourtListener authenticated helper (opinion + docket types); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located, and no individual NHHC/DANFS history page exists for this hull at all: searches of history.navy.mil's DANFS index and direct URL guesses for "LSM-276" returned no result (distinct from link-rot — DANFS appears never to have published an individual entry for this hull-number-only LSM, consistent with DANFS's historical practice of writing full entries primarily for named ships). CourtListener (via the fleet-authenticated helper): "USS LSM-276" (opinion search) returned 0 results; "LSM-276" (opinion search, no quotes/prefix) returned 11 results, all name/number collisions unrelated to this vessel or to asbestos (e.g., Carmona v. Leo Ship Management; Collins v. State; O'Connor v. Televideo; docket numbers and citations coincidentally containing "276"); "Hau Giang" (opinion search) returned 3 results, all unrelated name collisions (Vietnamese personal/place names in probate and family-law matters); "USS LSM-276" (docket/RECAP search) returned 0 results. Two further planned queries — "RVNS Hau Giang" (opinion) and "Hau Giang" (docket) — were NOT completed: the fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was paced/exhausted mid-session (logged as blocked, not a negative result).
- 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. Two CourtListener queries remain genuinely unrun (paced, not negative) — "RVNS Hau Giang" (opinion) and "Hau Giang" (docket); re-run both when the fleet-wide quota resets. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no law-firm/marketing content naming this hull either (notably absent even from the excluded-source class), which is itself worth recording — unlike several other hulls in this project, no marketing-site claim had to be excluded here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-10
-
[12]NARA Guide to Federal Records: RG 19 (Bureau of Ships); NARA military logbook finding aid [other_primary]
- Locator
- https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html ; https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads (not retrieved — no box-level research performed, no spend authorized): NARA RG 19 (Records of the Bureau of Ships) holds shipbuilding-contract and vessel-characteristics files for Navy-contracted hulls including LSM-type landing ships; NARA's military logbook holdings (deck logs, 1941-forward) are organized by hull and would include LSM-276's U.S.-service deck logs if they survive and were transferred; no Port Newark-facility-specific industrial-hygiene or OSHA-successor record (comparable to the Kearny-yard 1944 survey in ev-08) was located in any public index searched this session.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1963 records (if extant)
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping only; no box-level retrieval performed. Existence of asbestos-specific or Port Newark-facility-specific documents for this hull is unknown until surveyed in person. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-276-lsm276-11