Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet uk-packet.md (2 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-297-lsm297-pkt-uk-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, "USS LSM-297" (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications table; Commanding Officers table; Final Disposition line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LSM-297 (LSM-1 class) was laid down 5 October 1944 at the U.S. Navy Yard, Charleston, SC; launched 30 October 1944; commissioned 18 December 1944 with LTjg. Gilbert A. Harre, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II (per awarded Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal). Decommissioned 4 November 1957 at Astoria, OR; struck from the Naval Register on a date the source states is unknown; sold for scrapping November 1958 to Western Contracting Corp., Sioux City, IA, and converted to a barge, fate thereafter unknown. Specifications: displacement 520 t. light / 1,095 t. full load; length 203' 6" overall; beam 34' 6"; two General Motors (model GM 16-278A, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesel engines, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; speed 13.2 kts max; endurance 4,900 miles at 12 kts; complement 5 officers/54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount and four single 20mm mounts; vehicle capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs. Twelve commanding officers are listed by name and approximate dates from commissioning (1944) through decommissioning (1957).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1957 (ship's active service); 1997 (compiled history source)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific identity, construction, and disposition record. Contains no asbestos information whatsoever - does not establish asbestos presence, absence, quantity, or location aboard this hull. The underlying history text is a 1997 unit-history compilation (Turner Publishing) transcribed by NavSource, not a Navy-issued document; treated here as the identity/service-history source of record consistent with prior batch practice.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-01
-
[3]LSM Division (21) Naval Cruise Book, 1952 (U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA), digitized by e-yearbook.com [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pages 1, 39-40
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- "THE USS LSM 297 is the flagship of LSM Division Twenty-one, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, and was commissioned on December 18, 1944." After commissioning she was stationed at her home port, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia, training future LSM crews. The division history records: first annual CAMID operations (1946); a trip to Chester, PA (October 1946); Caribbean maneuvers off Puerto Rico (February-March 1947); cold-weather operations at Argentia, Newfoundland (October-November 1947); ice-breaking duty in the James River (January 1948); CAMID III (July-September 1948); visits to Washington, D.C. and New York City (late 1948); a second Caribbean operation (early 1949); CAMID IV (July-September 1949); Operation PORTREX with the Atlantic Fleet (early 1950). "In June of 1951, with two other ships of the Division, the 297 left for Operation Blue Jay at Thule, Greenland. While there, the ship was used to ferry workers from barracks transports to the beach," and "all hands were given a letter of commendation from Rear Admiral T. B. Brittain, Commander Task Force 118." Later 1951: Lantflex 51 Caribbean maneuvers. 1952: operations at the Bloodsworth Island shore bombardment range and a late-October visit to Nassau, Bahamas; commanding officer listed as LT. Delbert D. Grantham, USN. NavSource separately documents 1954 (Miami, FL, moored with USS LSM-397), 1956 (San Diego Bay underway; island supply ship duty at San Salvador Island), and an October 1952 visit to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1952
- Limitations
- Primary unit-produced service history; contains no asbestos information. Establishes vessel-history/operational facts only - no exposure, hazard, or materials content of any kind.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-02
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[4]NARA Atlanta, RG 181, Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, Ship Commissioning Files - Sixth Naval District at Charleston, SC (NAID 2694599) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Finding aid table, Box 8 row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Finding-aid table lists a commissioning file for "Landing Ship, Medium, LSM-297," commissioning date 12/18/1944, held in Box 8 of this series, which the finding aid describes as "correspondence, invitations, and instructions relating to the commissioning of naval vessels at the Charleston Navy Yard during the World War, 1939-1945."
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Finding-aid/catalog-level confirmation only; the underlying box contents were not digitized or examined this session. Commissioning paperwork of this type documents administrative/ceremonial matters, not shipboard materials or asbestos content. Archival lead only - left open.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-03
-
[5]Correction: propulsion plant conflict between NavSource Online (ship-specific) and the Wikipedia "USS LSM-297" infobox [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications table; Wikipedia infobox (not cited as a source)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource's ship-specific specifications table states LSM-297's propulsion as "two General Motors (model GM 16-278A, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm ... twin propellers, 2,800shp." The Wikipedia infobox for this hull instead states "2 Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, 2,800 shp" while citing NavSource as its sole reference - the Fairbanks-Morse detail does not appear on the cited NavSource page and is not used in this record. General Motors 16-278A propulsion is carried as the ship-specific figure.
- Verification
- disputed
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944 (as-built)
- Limitations
- Resolves a propulsion-plant conflict only; does not bear on asbestos content. Wikipedia text itself is not used as a source anywhere in this record per house source policy - it is flagged here only because the conflicting figure appears in secondary aggregations of this ship's data and could otherwise propagate.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-04
-
[6]Class/design inference: LSM-1-class diesel propulsion and WWII-era shipboard materials practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- N/A - inference from class propulsion type and documented WWII-era Navy shipbuilding practice
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- LSM-297 was diesel-powered (two GM 16-278A diesels, no steam plant), so there is no boiler/turbine steam-lagging pathway aboard this hull. Era-standard applications for a 1944-built diesel-powered naval amphibious vessel are inferred only, by class/era, not proven for this hull: diesel exhaust lagging and machinery-space insulation, gaskets and valve packing in fuel/water/hydraulic piping, electrical cable and switchboard insulation, and insulation in berthing and accommodation spaces - materials commonly asbestos-containing in U.S. Navy construction of this period.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944 (construction era)
- Population
- WWII-era Navy amphibious-ship construction and crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/design-level inference, not a hull record - no document cited here names this vessel or states 'asbestos' aboard it. Does not establish quantity, location, or present-day presence of any asbestos-containing material on this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-05
-
[7]Gavin Jackson, "Charleston asbestos-related deaths are higher than state, national average," The Post and Courier, 25 March 2016 (updated 2 November 2016) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Full article text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Reports that Charleston Naval Shipyard "operated for more than 95 years, constructing and servicing ships and submarines," and that workers there "installed and removed hazardous asbestos insulation without proper precautions" through the 1980s; asbestos attorney Christopher Swett is quoted that manufacturers "were still supplying asbestos-containing products to the shipyard" across multiple decades. Charleston County's asbestos-related mortality rate (8.8 deaths/100,000/year, ~29 deaths/year) is reported as roughly double the state rate and above the national average.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1909-2016 (yard operating history); article published 2016
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard workforce and surrounding county population, multi-decade
- Limitations
- Yard-level, multi-decade retrospective on the builder yard generally; does not name LSM-297, does not address 1944 construction-period conditions specifically, and establishes nothing about this hull's materials, any individual's exposure, or causation. Context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-06
-
[8]U.S. General Accounting Office, "Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure," HRD-80-2, 18 October 1979 (publicly released 22 October 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product summary, HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, focused on the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering asbestos use aboard naval vessels, cost of removal, and compensation programs. Found the Navy's 1975 policy limited asbestos removal to damaged insulation or material that had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas expected to need repair during a ship's next operating cycle.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workforce, Long Beach and Norfolk, late 1970s
- Limitations
- Program-level GAO review of two shipyards (Long Beach, Norfolk) that are neither this ship's builder (Charleston) nor her decommissioning port (Astoria). Does not name LSM-297, does not address LSM-1-class vessels, and establishes general Navy-wide policy context only, not conditions aboard this hull or at either of her actual yards.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-07
-
[9]Batch-6103 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 (authenticated, via fleet helper), NHHC DANFS index, Naval Vessel Register [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-01 through sl-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-03
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. CourtListener opinion search on "LSM-297" returned 8 results, none naming this vessel (name collisions: "LSM" as an abbreviation for Leo Ship Management and other unrelated parties; one 1966 D. Or. admiralty case, Chamberlain v. Shaver Transportation Co., 263 F. Supp. 47, references an unidentified "converted Landing Ship Medium (LSM)" moorage in Portland, OR with no hull number given - not matched to LSM-297, whose own final disposition was a barge conversion via a Sioux City, IA contractor, not a Portland, OR moorage). An exact-phrase opinion search for "LSM-297" and an exact-phrase docket/RECAP search for "USS LSM-297" both returned zero results. No individual DANFS/NHHC ship-history page for LSM-297 was located (most numbered LSM hulls of this class do not have individual DANFS entries). LSM-297 does not appear in the online Naval Vessel Register, which excludes vessels disposed of prior to 1987.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a located litigation record does not prove no exposure occurred - it reflects the state of searchable public records as of this session. CourtListener searches completed without throttling (not a blocked/incomplete search).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-297-lsm297-08