Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 560-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LSM-317 (hull number only, never named)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-317-lsm317-pkt-560-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-317 page (history extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces,' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LSM-317 page, archive 10/14/14317.htm - timeline block, campaign table, awards ribbons, CO table, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down 10 April 1944 at Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, IL; launched 24 June 1944; commissioned USS LSM-317 on 28 July 1944, LT Warren J. Ayres USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaigns: Leyte operation - Ormoc Bay landing, 11 and 12 December 1944; Consolidation and capture of southern Philippines - Palawan Islands landings 28 February to 10 March 1945 and Visayan Island landings 29 March to 2 April 1945. Navy Occupation Service in the Far East 7 September - 29 November 1945. Decommissioned 25 March 1947 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA. 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown.' Final disposition: sold 9 February 1948 to Foss Launch & Tug Co., Seattle, WA, converted to a barge, fate unknown. Two battle stars for WWII service; ribbons listed: American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific (2), WWII Victory, Navy Occupation (Asia clasp), Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippines Liberation (2). Call sign NVJU. Commanding officers: LT Warren J. Ayres USNR (28 Jul 1944 - Sep 1945); LT Bruce R. Sullivan USNR (Sep - Dec 1945); LTjg Clarence E. Stotler USNR (Dec 1945 - 1946); LTjg Kenneth Cole Malpus USN (1946 - Nov 1946); LTjg Robert Marshall Hughson USN (Nov 1946 - 25 Mar 1947). Specifications (class-level block): 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203 ft 6 in oa; beam 34 ft 6 in; 13.2 kts; endurance 4,900 mi at 12 kts; armament one twin bow-mounted 40 mm + four single 20 mm; 10-lb STS splinter shield; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks or 6 LVTs or 9 DUKWs; fuel 1,225 bbls diesel; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; generators 2 x 100 kW 450 V AC + 1 x 20 kW 120 V DC.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops, 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Turner Publishing extract on NavSource), not a primary record. Struck date given as 'unknown' - NavalCoverMuseum supplies 4 April 1947 (see ev-04, gap). Sale date 9 February 1948 conflicts with NavalCoverMuseum's 24 January 1948 (see gaps). The spec block's Fairbanks Morse engine model differs from the GM 16-278A diesels shown on sister-hull NavSource pages - class-spec variance, unresolved (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-01
-
[3]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official fleet organization transcription, Navy Department Library Online Reading Room) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LSM Flotilla ELEVEN / LSM Group THIRTY-ONE / LSM Division 61 section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Pacific Fleet organization as of 1 May 1945 lists LSM 317 under LSM FLOTILLA ELEVEN, LSM GROUP THIRTY-ONE, LSM DIVISION 61; the commanding-officer column is blank ('..........') for this entry and the flotilla/group commander cells are likewise unfilled.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew embarked, May 1945
- Limitations
- Point-in-time organizational record (1 May 1945); NavSource does not list a flotilla assignment for this hull, so this is the only unit-assignment record located. CO cell blank - consistent with turnover (Ayres listed through September 1945 per NavSource). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LSM 317 (LSM 317) - build data and 'notable events' compiled from COMTASKGR 74.3 and COMTASKGR 78.2 action reports for the Cebu City operation [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12916.html - warship data table; 'Notable events involving LSM 317' section (24 Mar 1945 entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Build data corroboration: built by Pullman Standard Car Co. (Chicago, Illinois); ordered 5 November 1943; laid down 10 April 1944; launched 24 June 1944; commissioned 28 July 1944; end of service 25 March 1947. Operational detail compiled from the action reports of COMTASKGR 74.3 and COMTASKGR 78.2 for the Cebu City landings (Operation Victor II), 24-28 March 1945: LSM-317 was one of eleven LSMs of the LSM unit (Task Unit 78.2.4) in the TG 78.2 Attack Force - alongside USS LSM-168 (COMLSMGR 24 embarked), LSM-35, LSM-50, LSM-150, LSM-151, LSM-219, LSM-225, LSM-237, LSM-268, and LSM-316; on 27 March 1945 she departed for Leyte in the second return echelon, Task Unit 78.2.16, arriving 29 March.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops, Cebu assault convoy, March 1945
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation transcribing wartime action-report data; the 'ordered 5 November 1943' date appears only here among sources consulted. The Cebu operation sits inside NavSource's 'Visayan Island landings 29 March - 2 April 1945' campaign listing - the action-report window (24-28 March) differs slightly from the campaign-label dates; see gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-03
-
[5]NavalCoverMuseum wiki, LSM 317 - designation-history block, postmark record (Locy Type 9#, 7 July 1946), awards summary [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalcovermuseum.org/wiki/LSM_317 - 'Ship Name and Designation History' table; postmarks table; 'Other Information'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Philatelic-museum compilation for this hull: keel laid 10 April 1944, launched 24 June 1944; commissioned 28 July 1944, decommissioned 25 March 1947; 'Struck from the Naval Register April 4 1947'; 'Sold January 24 1948 to the Foss Launch & Tug Co.' Documents a Locy Type 9# postmark dated 7 July 1946 (a 1946 cover held in the museum collection). Awards summary: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 battle stars, World War II Victory Medal, and two Philippines Liberation Medals.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Crew, 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary philatelic-museum compilation; the struck date (4 April 1947) fills NavSource's 'date unknown' but the sale date (24 January 1948) conflicts with NavSource's 9 February 1948 - likely sale-order vs. delivery/title transfer, unresolved (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-04
-
[6]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton) via Naval Marine Archive mirror: Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company yard page and LSM class build list (navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lsm.html) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/pullman.html - yard description and hull table; /sbh/smallships/lsm.html - LSM-317 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder documentation for this hull: in 1943 Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company established a shipbuilding division on Lake Calumet, on the north side of 130th Street, Chicago; hulls were built in 40-ton blocks fabricated at a shop on 111th Street and moved to the yard on gondola cars; in two years the yard built 34 PCEs and 44 LSMs. Hull-table row: 'LSM 317 | US Navy | Landing Ship | 520 | 28-Jul-44 | Sold to Foss 1948, converted to barge.' The class list repeats: 'LSM | 317 | Pullman Std. Car | Chicago IL | 28-Jul-44 | Sold to Foss 1948, converted to barge.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Pullman shipbuilding trades, Lake Calumet yard, 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation; the table's 'delivery' column equals the commissioning date. No barge name or official number (O.N.) is listed for LSM-317 - contrast sister hull LSM-314 ('Sold to Foss 1948 as Foss 161', O.N. 264489) - so the converted barge's merchant identity is undocumented (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-05
-
[7]Phil Brown (plankowner, USS LSM-317) firsthand account, republished on John Delach's blog 'On The Outside Looking In' as 'Kamikaze Attacks' (31 August 2016) [other_primary]
- Locator
- outsidelookingin.blog post 'Kamikaze Attacks' (31 Aug 2016); related post 'Phil Brown's War Experience' (25 Nov 2020)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A plankowner's firsthand narrative for this hull: the original crew took delivery at the Pullman shipyard in Illinois; commissioned 28 July 1944; departed via the Chicago River to the Mississippi (daylight navigation with river pilots; stops at Memphis, Greenville, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge) to New Orleans 'where the guns were installed'; shakedown at Galveston; Panama Canal transit with repairs; then Bora Bora, New Caledonia, the Admiralty Islands, and New Guinea to the Philippines. On 10 December 1944 the ship was loading supplies alongside Liberty ship SS William S. Ladd off Leyte when a kamikaze dove into the Ladd's No. 2 hatch and sank her. On 11 December 1944, in an eight-LSM/four-LCI convoy escorted by six destroyers and four F4U Corsairs on an Ormoc run, a low-flying kamikaze passed over LSM-317 and crashed into USS Reid directly astern - Reid 'blew in half and sank within two minutes' (consistent with Reid's documented loss off Ormoc, 11 December 1944). Per the account, accumulated damage kept LSM-317 from the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations; after the surrender she went to Korea and took the surrender of installations including a kamikaze base on an island the narrator renders 'Sasha To'; the crew returned her to Long Beach, where the narrator left the ship.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Phil Brown (plankowner crew); LSM-317 crew 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Firsthand but secondhand-published: a veteran's decades-later memoir reposted on a personal blog, not an official record; details unverified against deck logs or action reports. Conflicts: 'returned to Long Beach for decommissioning' vs. NavSource's Mare Island Navy Yard decommissioning; 'would be sold for scrap' vs. the documented barge conversion; CO surname rendered 'Ayers' here vs. 'Ayres' in NavSource (see gaps). 'Sasha To' island is unidentified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-06
-
[8]NHHC, 'U.S. Navy Abbreviations of World War II,' letter L [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Entry LSM - Landing Ship, Medium
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC abbreviation list defines LSM as 'Landing Ship, Medium.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Defines the hull designation only; it does not establish the LSM-1 class designation or any particular of LSM-317.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1 class specifications for this hull (diesel plant, no steam); Pullman yard build record (ev-05); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy-wide asbestos-use documentation (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; Pullman yard page; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A U.S. Navy amphibious landing ship built in 1944 under a wartime contract sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were diesel exhaust-manifold and muffler lagging, machinery thermal insulation, flange gaskets, valve and pump packing, electrical and cable insulation, and deck/bulkhead fire insulation in accommodation and machinery spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Pullman construction trades (1944); crew (1944-47); Foss conversion workers and barge crews (1948-forward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-317. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-08
-
[10]GAO, 'Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (18 October 1979; publicly released 22 October 1979) - product page and full-text PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page Highlights; PDF transmittal letter and 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's use of asbestos in ships and worker protection at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards: thermal-insulation product specifications were not changed to asbestos-free until 1973, and 'some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978'; per the Navy, 'all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables,' with thermal insulation the major shipboard use. The October 1975 policy removed/replaced only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs; modified January 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas; a one-time removal program was rejected on a ~$2 billion estimated cost. The documented Navy-wide asbestos-use window spans this hull's entire construction (1944) and U.S. service era (1944-1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979 (report); policies 1975/1979; use era through early 1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - neither built this vessel, and her only documented Navy-yard tie is decommissioning at Mare Island. LSM-317 left Navy custody in 1947-48, before the policies described. Full text extracted via firecrawl of the GAO PDF (direct curl returns HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-09
-
[11]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' - digitized deck-log index [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA navy-online index, 'L' / 'LSM' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LSM-317 does not appear on NARA's digitized Navy deck-log index (the index lists LSM-161/Kodiak, LSM-175/Oceanside, LSM-268, LSM-297, LSM-373/Lakeland, LSM-397, LSM-412/Des Plaines River, LSM-419, LSM-448, LSM-455, LSM-462, and LSM-540/Raritan, but no LSM-317). Her 1944-47 deck logs, if extant, would be in NARA textual holdings at Archives II, College Park, undigitized; WWII muster rolls are separately held.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947 (records); 2026-10-01 (index check)
- Limitations
- Index coverage checked 2026-10-01; absence from the digitized list does not prove the paper logs do not exist - textual reference at Archives II is the open lead. Deck logs do not normally record materials/asbestos data; value is operational detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-10
-
[12]Official-photograph attributions via NavSource captions: NHHC photo NH 350413 and U.S. National Archives photo USN 1045170 (contributed by the USS LSM/LSMR Association) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14317.htm photo table (two images with catalog numbers)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two official photographs of this hull are attributed through NavSource captions: NH 350413 (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command) - 'USS LSM-317 beached at Oloilio, Panay Island, Philippines, 8 September 1945,' inside her documented occupation-service window; and USN 1045170 (U.S. National Archives collections) - 'USS LSM-317 under way, date and location unknown.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew, Philippines occupation service, September 1945
- Limitations
- Archival leads only: the photo numbers are NavSource caption attributions, not independently verified catalog entries - NH 350413 has no live NHHC online-catalog page (searched 2026-10-01) and the NARA catalog entry for USN 1045170 was not located in an automated search (catalog is JS-rendered). Photographs document presence/activity, not materials. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-11
-
[13]Batch-6126 search ledger (this record): NavSource archive page; NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945; NHHC WWII abbreviations; uboat.net ship page; NavalCoverMuseum; ShipbuildingHistory/NMA Pullman yard + LSM list; NARA digitized deck-log index; GAO HRD-80-2 product page + full-text PDF; CourtListener API v4 (type=o and type=r); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-01 through sl-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM-317 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-01): opinions for "LSM-317", "USS LSM-317", and "LSM 317" (unhyphenated variant) all returned zero; dockets for "USS LSM-317" returned zero; dockets for "LSM-317" returned one result - Starostenko v. UBS AG (S.D.N.Y., 1:19-cv-09993, securities class action), a token/name collision on a PACER document, not vessel-related and not asbestos-related. The only 'asbestos aboard' material located is law-firm marketing listicle content asserting asbestos for WWII hulls without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - era-consistent inference supports likelihood of asbestos-containing materials. Deck logs, Pullman work packages, and the Foss barge-conversion record are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-317-lsm317-12