Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-348 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997; page maintained by Gary P. Priolo, last updated 5 January 2018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- photo captions; Commanding Officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: six photographs including LSM-348 underway (3), LSM-348 with LSM-85 entering Advanced Base Dock USS ABSD-6 at Guam (Marianas), LSM-348 in a three-LSM nest (US Navy photo #USN 1045171), and LSM-348 moored inboard of LSM-232 at Pier Peter, Port Apra Inner Harbor, Guam, 2 January 1946. Commanding officers: LT. James P. Baldwin Jr., USNR (24 March 1945 - December 1945); LT. Jack M. Brigham (December 1945 - March 1946); ENS. Clay E. Hedrick Jr. (March 1946 - June 1946); ENS. R. P. Carlson (June 1946 - September 1946); LT. Albert Roland Trottier, USN (September 1946 - ?, end unknown).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (CO coverage); photo 1946-01-02
- Population
- crew (1945-1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled secondary archive; its LSM-348 history is credited to a 1997 Turner Publishing veterans' volume, not to DANFS or NHHC. The page carries no build timeline or specifications block for this hull (unlike some LSM pages), so construction dates and specs come from other rows. No asbestos or material content. Photo dates/locations are caption-level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-01
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[2]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company ship list; corroborated by navalmarinearchive.com Pullman-Standard list (https://navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/pullman.html) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Pullman-Standard hull table, LSM-348 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-348: built by Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, for the U.S. Navy as a 520-ton landing ship; delivered 24 March 1945 (official number 256025). Disposition: sold to United Fruit Company 1948 as the merchant vessel Rolando, later renamed Western Explorer. The 24 March 1945 delivery date agrees with the start date of the first commanding officer on the NavSource page.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945 (build); 1947-1948 (disposal)
- Population
- shipyard workforce (1945); post-Navy merchant crew
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations, not primary yard or Navy records; exact laid-down and launch dates not given (year 1945 only, per navypedia.org LSM list). The 'stricken 1947' date is from navypedia.org (secondary wiki); the two ship-list compilations give the 1948 commercial sale without a stricken date. Post-1948 fate (after the Western Explorer renaming) is unknown in all sources checked.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-02
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[3]Deans Marine (model reference, secondary), LSM-1-class descriptive specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- class description and specifications text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1-class standard configuration: ocean-going amphibious ship, 203 ft 6 in length, 34 ft 6 in beam; powered by two diesel engines (General Motors 16-278A or Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8), direct drive, twin screws, approximately 2,800 shaft horsepower, ~13 knots. No steam propulsion plant: no boilers, no steam turbines. Class-standard crew 4 officers / 48 enlisted (not hull-verified).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (class build era)
- Population
- LSM-1-class crews generally
- Limitations
- Class-standard figures from a commercial secondary source, not measurements of this hull and not a Navy publication. Carried as class_or_era: establishes the propulsion type (diesel, non-steam) relevant to asbestos-application inference, not any fact about materials aboard LSM-348. No asbestos content is stated in the source. Complement is class-standard, not hull-verified (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-03
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[4]CourtListener docket index query "USS LSM-348" (authenticated, 2026-10-01): 107 results returned, 0 mentioning LSM-348; opinion-index queries throttled by fleet-wide pacing budget (3 attempts, helper no-retry guidance) [court_record]
- Locator
- API v4 search endpoint
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener docket-index search (authenticated): query 'USS LSM-348' returned 107 results; programmatic review of all 107 found ZERO mentioning LSM-348 (false positives on '348' text fragments in unrelated cases). The opinion-index queries ('LSM-348', 'USS LSM-348') could not be executed - the fleet-wide CourtListener pacing budget (~114 requests/hr shared) was spent at all three attempt windows (18:13, 18:15, 18:35 CDT) and the helper instructed no retry loop. No asbestos litigation naming USS LSM-348 was located in the docket index; the opinion index remains an unchecked access gap.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Docket-index negative is complete (all 107 results reviewed programmatically). Opinion index unchecked due to fleet-wide request pacing, not a per-query failure - a future opinion-index pass could still be run when budget frees.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-04
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program and the service's long reliance on asbestos insulation aboard ships: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required by overhaul, confirming Navy-wide shipboard asbestos use through the 1970s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- pre-1979 (report coverage)
- Population
- Navy shipyard and shipboard workers generally
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Pullman-Standard Chicago. Supports era context only - establishes nothing specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov HTTP 403 from this host, standing block per Batch 01); cited from the product page as verified 2026-09-14.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-05
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[6]Batch-6160 search ledger (this record): NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com; navalmarinearchive.com; CourtListener opinion and docket indexes; NHHC/DANFS (404, no entry); NVR (blocked); GAO (blocked, product page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger sl-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LSM-348 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-present (record availability)
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - 1945 U.S. shipyard construction is era-consistent with asbestos use. Does not establish that asbestos is or was present in any specific application on this hull, nor the condition or quantity of any such material.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-348-lsm348-06