Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]research packet uk-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-296-lsm296-pkt-uk-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-296 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14296.htm header block, specifications block, and command list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1 class Landing Ship, Medium. Laid down 5 October 1944 at U.S. Navy Yard, Charleston, SC; launched 30 October 1944; commissioned USS LSM-296, 18 December 1944, LT. Frederick M. Butler, USNR, in command. During World War II assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Sixteen, LSM Group Forty-Six, LSM Division Ninety-One. Decommissioned 23 May 1946 at Astoria, OR; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; final disposition sold for scrapping May 1960 to Schnitzer Steel Product, Co. Awards: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. International radio call sign November-Victor-India-Delta (NVID). Spec block: displacement 520 t. (light), 743 t. (landing), 1,095 t. (fully loaded); length 203'6" (oa); beam 34'6"; draft light 3'6" fwd/7'8" aft, fully loaded 6'4" fwd/8'3" aft; speed 13.2 kts. max.; complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers, 46 enlisted; armament one twin bow-mounted 40mm gun, four single 20mm gun mounts; vehicle/boat capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; fuel capacity 1,225 bbls diesel; endurance 4,900 miles @ 12 kts.; armor 10-lb STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house, and conning station; propulsion two General Motors (model GM 16-278A, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesel engines, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; ship's service generators two diesel-drive 100kW 450V A.C., one diesel-drive 20kW 120V D.C.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-1946)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific vessel history and specifications only; no asbestos or material-content information. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation (crediting a 1997 Turner Publishing unit history), not a Navy primary registry, but its milestone dates are internally consistent and corroborated by the NARA commissioning-file finding aid (ev-03) for the commissioning date. Live NHHC DANFS page could not be located for this hull (see search_ledger, sl-03) - no individual DANFS entry was found to exist for this non-renamed LSM hull, so this record relies on NavSource as the vessel-history source of record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-01
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[3]Naval History and Heritage Command Photography Collection, Catalog #NH 81029, "USS LSM-296" (archived copy - Wayback Machine capture 2025-12-17; live NHHC page at history.navy.mil returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-01) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC Catalog #NH 81029 detail page (Title/Caption/Description/Catalog # fields)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC-held photograph of this hull: "USS LSM-296, in San Francisco Bay, 1945-46." Description: "Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974." Catalog #NH 81029, copyright owner Naval History and Heritage Command, original medium B/W photo.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Physical-presence photographic documentation only - confirms the hull's identity and a 1945-46 San Francisco Bay location, nothing about material content, work performed, or asbestos. Live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-10-01 (standing sitewide NHHC link-rot defect noted in prior batches, e.g. BATCH-01, BATCH-98); a Wayback Machine capture from 2025-12-17 was used and is labeled archived here, not presented as the live source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-02
-
[4]National Archives at Atlanta, Finding Aid, RG 181, Charleston Navy Yard ship-commissioning files, 1939-1945 (correspondence, invitations, and instructions relating to the commissioning of naval vessels at the Charleston Navy Yard) [other_primary]
- Locator
- RG 181 Charleston Navy Yard commissioning-files finding aid, ship table entry for LSM-296, Box 8
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The finding aid's tabular listing of commissioned vessels includes an entry for LSM-296: Landing Ship, Medium, commissioning date 12/18/1944, held in Box 8 of the RG 181 Charleston Navy Yard commissioning-files series.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard commissioning staff and ship's company (1944)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the finding aid is a folder-level index (box/date table), not the commissioning-file contents themselves; the underlying correspondence was not retrieved this session and its content (construction detail, material lists, hazmat notes) is unknown. Corroborates the 18 December 1944 commissioning date in ev-01. No asbestos content indicated at the finding-aid level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-03
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[5]Charleston Naval Shipyard yard-level asbestos-product documentation (shipyard-exposure-map project dataset, yard_id charleston-naval-shipyard, evidence_tier 2), combined with NavSource specifications for this hull (diesel direct-drive propulsion, confined amphibious-hull machinery spaces) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipyard-exposure-map/client/src/data/shipyards.json, yard_id charleston-naval-shipyard, asbestos_products_documented field
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Charleston Naval Shipyard's own yard-level record documents, across its operating history (1901-1996): magnesia pipe insulation; asbestos-cement products; pipe insulation containing 5-50% asbestos content; boiler external coatings with 15% asbestos; spray-on insulation for walls and ship interiors; asbestos gaskets in pumps and valves; packing materials for rotating equipment; thermal insulation for steam systems; electrical insulation throughout vessels. This hull was built at that yard in 1944, inside the yard's documented asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1901-1996 (yard operating era); 1944 (this hull's construction)
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level documentation, not a hull-specific survey, material list, or work package - it does not name LSM-296 and does not establish what, if anything, was installed on this particular hull. The yard dataset's own litigation-documented rows (two civilian jury verdicts, 2014 and 2018) concern Navy veterans/machinists generally and do not name this hull; they are not carried into this record. No quantity, and no present-day presence can be inferred.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-04
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two GM 16-278A diesel engines, direct drive, no steam plant); LSM-1 class design (confined amphibious-ship machinery spaces); Charleston Naval Shipyard yard-level product list (see ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14296.htm specifications block; shipyards.json charleston-naval-shipyard product list
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LSM-1 class landing ship built in 1944 at a yard with documented WWII-era asbestos use; era-standard applications aboard a diesel-direct-drive amphibious hull of this type and period were diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery/thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. As a diesel direct-drive vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of major steam combatants does not apply, but the confined-space engineering-compartment exposure dynamic common to small amphibious/auxiliary hulls applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944); ship's company (1944-1946); any yard trades during the 1946-1960 Pacific Reserve Fleet lay-up at Astoria
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-296. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-05
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[7]CourtListener (API v4, authenticated, type=o and type=r): "USS LSM-296" and "LSM-296" searched as exact-phrase queries across opinions and dockets [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener search API v4, queries run 2026-10-01 via authenticated helper (fleet-paced; two requests briefly throttled and retried after the pacing window cleared)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. Opinion search for "USS LSM-296" returned 0 results; opinion search for "LSM-296" returned 0 results; docket (RECAP) search for "USS LSM-296" returned 0 results; docket search for bare "LSM-296" returned 1 result, which is an unrelated New Jersey Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing (In re Graphic Technology Services, Inc., Bankr. D.N.J.) - a name collision from incidental text matching, not a reference to this vessel or to asbestos litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- N/A
- Population
- N/A - negative finding
- Limitations
- A negative CourtListener search result establishes that no qualifying case was found in CourtListener's indexed holdings as of this search date - it does not establish that no litigation naming this hull exists anywhere (unindexed state-court filings, settled/sealed matters, or pre-digitization records would not appear). The single docket hit was individually reviewed and excluded as a collision, not classified as a finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-06
-
[8]U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Vessel History database - vessel movement card for SS Brigadier General Alfred J. Lyon (ex Nathaniel Scudder, EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship), showing redelivery/transfer to Schnitzer Steel Prod. Co. at Astoria, OR, 11-5-62; a second movement card (SS Charles Crocker) separately documents a Schnitzer Steel Products Co. transfer at Astoria dated 11-22-56 (https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/documents/45213e6c-5439-4dda-b3ad-fd0dc926649e.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov vessel movement-card PDFs (Schnitzer Steel Prod./Products Co., Astoria OR recipient entries, 1956 and 1962 examples)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- MARAD vessel-movement records document Schnitzer Steel Prod./Products Co. as an active recipient of merchant and Reserve Fleet vessels for scrap/layup at Astoria, OR, both before (1956) and after (1962) LSM-296's May 1960 sale to the same company - consistent with (but not direct confirmation of) an Astoria-area breakup location for this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1956-1962
- Population
- Shipbreaking/layup trades, Astoria, OR area (1956-1962, by analogy)
- Limitations
- Context/plausibility only, not a disposal record for this hull - both cited movement cards are for Liberty-ship merchant vessels, not LSM-296 or any Navy combatant, and neither mentions asbestos or hazmat handling. The MARAD database's own name-search interface returned a server error when queried directly for "LSM-296" this session (see ev-05 citation_value note / search_ledger sl-10); these two cards were located via general web search on the buyer/port pattern, not a direct hit on this hull. Whether this hull was broken up at Astoria itself or towed elsewhere is unconfirmed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-296-lsm296-07