Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 564-packet.md (11 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-340-lsm340-pkt-564-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-340 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full page: header/spec block, awards block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-340 (radio call sign November-Victor-Lima-Oscar): 'LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium: Laid down, 30 August 1944, at Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, IL. Launched, 22 December 1944. Commissioned USS LSM-340, 30 January 1945, LT. Robert F. Ehrengerg USNR in command.' During WWII assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Thirteen (LCDR C. L. Weigle USN); LSM Group Thirty-Nine (LCDR J. W. Rose); LSM Division Seventy-Seven. Following WWII, assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East: Navy Occupation Service Medal period 4-16 July 1946; China Service Medal (extended) periods 16 July-8 October 1946 and 9 October-20 November 1946 (source's second date range omits the word 'to' - transcribed as shown). Also awarded American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and WWII Victory Medal. 'Decommissioned, 20 November 1947. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 February 1948, to Orleans Shipwrecking Co., Chicago, IL.' Full specifications given (displacement 520t light/743t landing/1,095t fully loaded; length 203'6" overall; beam 34'6"; draft light 3'6" fwd/7'8" aft, fully loaded 6'4" fwd/8'3" aft; speed 13.2 kts max at 928 tons displacement; endurance 4,900 miles at 12 kts; complement 5 officers/54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers/46 enlisted; armament one twin bow-mounted 40mm gun, four single 20mm gun mounts; armor 10-lb STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house, and conning station; vehicle capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; fuel capacity 1,225 barrels diesel; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse model 38D81/8X10 diesels, 1,440 BHP each at 720rpm, direct drive, twin propellers, 2,800shp; ship's service generators two diesel-drive 100kW 450V AC plus one diesel-drive 20kW 120V DC). Three commanding officers in sequence: LT. Robert F. Ehrengerg, USNR (30 January 1945-16 March 1946); LTjg. G. C. Rhoderick IV, USNR (16 March 1946-June 1946); LT. Oscar Otto Lawrence, USN (June 1946-? - end date not given). Six photographs: five captioned 'date and location unknown,' one captioned 'under way in San Francisco Bay, 1945-46,' credited to 'US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo NH 79839, courtesy D.M. McPherson, 1974.' History extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Pullman Standard construction trades (1944); ship's crew and three successive commanding officers (1945-47)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation (sourced to a 1997 Turner Publishing unit history), not a government primary record - no DANFS entry exists for this hull to independently corroborate it, though uboat.net/Allied Warships and the official NHHC photo catalog each corroborate parts of it (see ev-02, ev-03). Gives no end date for the third commanding officer's tenure. Five of six photo captions give no date or location. Contains no asbestos or material content anywhere on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Photography Collection, catalog NH 79839, 'USS LSM-340' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Catalog entry fields (Title, Caption, Description, Catalog #, Copyright Owner)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC photograph catalog entry: 'Title: USS LSM-340. Caption: Off San Francisco in 1945-46. Description: Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1974. Catalog #: NH 79839. Copyright Owner: Naval History and Heritage Command.' Corroborates NavSource's sixth photo caption (ev-01), which independently cites this same catalog number and attributes the image to San Francisco Bay, 1945-46.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (photo); 1974 (donation)
- Population
- N/A - photographic record only
- Limitations
- Direct fetch of the live history.navy.mil page failed in this research session (connection refused); a Wayback Machine capture dated 2025-12-16 was used instead and is cited here as the accessible copy, consistent with the standing NHHC link-rot pattern documented in prior batches (BATCH-01, BATCH-98). This is a photograph caption, not a DANFS narrative or specifications page - it documents only the image's date/location/provenance, not asbestos, materials, or construction detail.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-02
-
[4]uboat.net, Allied Warships, USS LSM-340 (ship ID 12939) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Full ship-detail page (construction/disposal timeline, commands section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net Allied Warships entry for USS LSM-340: builder Pullman Standard Car Co., Chicago, Illinois; ordered 9 December 1943; keel laid 30 August 1944; launched 22 December 1944; commissioned 30 January 1945; decommissioned 20 November 1947; stricken from naval registry 5 December 1947; sold 26 February 1948. Page states 'no commands listed for USS LSM 340' (i.e., this source's own commanding-officer roster is empty, unlike NavSource's three-officer list) and provides no combat-operations or damage-event detail.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Pullman Standard construction trades (1944); ship's crew (1945-47)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-maintained secondary compilation (WWII Allied naval-history reference site), not a government primary record. Corroborates NavSource on laid-down, launch, commissioning, decommissioning, and sale dates, and adds an order date not given by NavSource - but conflicts with NavSource on the strike-from-register date (5 December 1947 here vs. NavSource's 'date unknown') and on the first commanding officer's surname spelling ('Ehrengberg' here vs. NavSource's 'Ehrengerg'). Neither conflict is resolved; both figures are carried separately, not merged (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-03
-
[5]Naval Marine Archive - The Canadian Collection, 'Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago IL' (Emergency Shipbuilding Program pages) and companion 'Landing Ships, Medium - LSM, LSM(R), LSV' page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pullman Standard yard-history page (production summary); https://navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lsm.html (program totals, builder list, date range)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder/yard and class-program background: Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company established a shipbuilding division in 1943 at Lake Calumet, Chicago ('on the north side of 130th Street, at the most southerly point of the lake'), operating for approximately two years. Construction used modular assembly: hulls were 'built in 40-ton blocks... the blocks being assembled in a fab shop on 111th Street and moved to the yard on gondola cars.' The division built 34 PCEs (180 ft, 640 tons) and 44 LSMs (203 ft, 520 tons) in that period. The broader LSM building program totaled 558 LSM hulls plus 60 LSM(R) and 6 LSV variants, built by seven yards (Brown Shipbuilding Houston, Charleston Navy Yard, Dravo Corp. Wilmington, Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro, Federal Shipbuilding Newark, Pullman Standard Chicago, Willamette Iron & Steel Portland, and Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula) between April 1944 and November 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Pullman Standard shipyard construction trades, Lake Calumet, Chicago (1943-c.1945)
- Limitations
- Independent maritime-history archive, not an official Navy/NPS/NARA source - used here as builder/program background only, not as evidence of any fact specific to this hull. Contains no mention of workforce size, materials, insulation, or asbestos at the Pullman Standard yard. Does not establish any asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - a program-level finding spanning this hull's construction (1944) and active-service era (1945-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation (GAO fieldwork sites were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards); supports general Navy-era context only, not any fact specific to this hull or to Pullman Standard/Chicago. Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-10-01, same standing block documented in BATCH-98 and BATCH-6148); content via product-page description only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-05
-
[7]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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era and program under which this LSM hull was built, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard Navy and merchant-type hulls alike.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class/era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, Pullman Standard, or the LSM type specifically, and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-06
-
[8]Research synthesis across all sources checked this session (NHHC/DANFS, NHHC photography, NavSource, uboat.net, Naval Marine Archive, GAO, NIOSH/CDC Stacks, OSHA, CourtListener) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger (this record), all rows
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/archival record, or litigation naming USS LSM-340 was found in the public sources searched.
- 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 - a 1944 diesel landing craft of this type and era is era-consistent with some asbestos-containing machinery/electrical insulation, gaskets, and packing, but nothing ship-specific was found. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-07
-
[9]CourtListener API v4 searches (via cl-auth-search.py authenticated helper): exact-phrase 'USS LSM-340' (type=o, type=r), exact-phrase 'LSM-340' (type=o, type=r), 'LSM-340 asbestos' (type=o); unquoted bare-term 'LSM-340' (type=o) and 'USS LSM-340' (type=r) as noise-rate controls [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-06 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, or genuine name match naming this hull was found on CourtListener. Exact-phrase queries 'USS LSM-340' and 'LSM-340' (type=opinion and type=docket/RECAP) all returned zero hits; 'LSM-340 asbestos' (type=opinion) returned zero hits. Two unquoted bare-term control queries ('LSM-340' type=opinion: 13 hits; 'USS LSM-340' type=docket: 153 hits) returned large sets of relevance-ranked results with no genuine connection to this vessel (patent suits, marine-contract disputes, an MDL drywall case, an MDL opioid case, unrelated bankruptcies, a Texas criminal appeal, etc.) - spot-checked and classified as search-engine noise/name collision, not qualifying litigation, and not adopted as evidence of anything.
- 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 litigation - CourtListener coverage of 1940s-era small-craft asbestos litigation (if any exists) may be incomplete regardless of search discipline. This session's requests were throttled twice by the fleet-wide pacing limiter (short waits, not the daily quota) and resumed successfully each time; all reported queries completed with HTTP 200, none were abandoned mid-throttle.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-340-lsm340-08