Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-369 (10/14/14369) - construction, commissioning, unit assignments, campaign credit, occupation service, disposal; history extract sourced to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997). Live URL verified 2026-10-01 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14369.htm - header/history extract block, awards display, specifications block, commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 2 December 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 23 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-369 on 23 January 1945, LTjg. Gordon S. Foster USNR in command; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in LSM Flotilla Thirteen (LCDR C. L. Weigle USN), LSM Group Thirty-Seven (LCDR W. J. Chisholm USNR), LSM Division Seventy-Four. Credited campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 30 May to 30 June 1945; earned one battle star for World War II service. Post-war Navy Occupation Service in the Far East 20 September-5 October 1945 and 22 October-16 November 1945. Decommissioned 30 September 1946 and laid up in the Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 3 September 1958 to Inter-Insular Mails, Ltd., Miami, FL; final disposition - fate unknown. Commanding officers: LT Gordon S. Foster USNR (23 Jan 1945-Mar 1946), ENS Edmund F. Ticer Jr. USNR (Mar-Jun 1946), LTjg Richard E. Welker USNR (Jun-30 Sep 1946). Awards displayed: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Spec block: displ. 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kt max; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount + four single 20mm; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels, direct drive, 1,440 bhp each at 720 rpm; ship's service generators two 100kW 450V AC diesel-drive + one 20kW 120V DC; twin propellers, 2,800 shp; endurance 4,900 mi at 12 kt. International radio call sign NVNW.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history from a volunteer secondary compilation quoting the Turner Publishing veteran-association volume - milestone data generally tracks official records but the page is not itself a primary registry. Contains no asbestos or material content. The extract text carries an internal typo ('USS LST-369' in the occupation-service line). Stricken date given as 'date unknown'; secondary compilations carry 29 August 1957 (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-01
-
[2]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (transcription of the official order-of-battle document) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Pacific Fleet organization transcription - LSM Flotilla Thirteen, LSM Group 37, LSM Division 74 listing
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 U.S. Pacific Fleet organization published by NHHC lists 'LSM 369' under LSM Flotilla Thirteen, LSM Group 37 (ComLSMGrp 37 Lt. Cdr. W. K. Chisholm USNR), LSM Division 74 - corroborating the flotilla/group/division assignment in the NavSource/Turner history and placing this hull in the Pacific Fleet amphibious structure during the Okinawa operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company of LSM-369 (1945)
- Limitations
- Administrative order-of-battle listing only: establishes organizational assignment as of 1 May 1945; no commanding officer is printed beside LSM 369's line (dash). The group commander's middle initial reads 'W. K.' here vs 'W. J.' in the Turner extract (minor source discrepancy, carried in gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-02
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-369 - contributed photograph captions (USS LSM/LSMR Association; H. E. Freeman PhM/1c of LSM-116; T. Horrell; B. Skrocki) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14369.htm photo captions (Okinawa beachhead circa 1-3 Apr 1945; Wakayama Sep 1945 series; San Francisco Bay)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Photographic documentation naming this hull: (1) USS LSM/LSMR Association-captioned image shows USS LSM-249, LSM-367, LSM-289 and LSM-369 (fourth in line) approaching the Okinawa beachhead, captioned 'circa 1 to 3 April 1945'; (2) a three-photo series by H. E. Freeman PhM/1c of USS LSM-116 shows LSM-369 with LSM-289 and LSM-367 heading for and on the beach at Wakayama, Japan, during occupation duty, September 1945; (3) a further image shows LSM-369 at Wakayama, September 1945, photographed from LSM-116; (4) an image shows LSM-369 entering San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge, date unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops at Okinawa and Wakayama (1945)
- Limitations
- Caption metadata is contributor-supplied and approximate ('circa'). The circa 1-3 April 1945 Okinawa caption precedes this hull's credited Okinawa Gunto campaign window (30 May-30 June 1945); sister LSM-289 shows the same pattern (credited 18-30 June). Either the photo date is loose or the ship was present at Okinawa earlier than its credited window - unresolved, carried in gaps. Photographs establish presence, not material content - no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-03
-
[4]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (LSM-1 class; Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 direct-drive diesels, twin screws) + GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos program documentation (see ev-05) + era-standard naval auxiliary material practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14369.htm specifications block (propulsion plant); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down in December 1944 at a wartime emergency yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel-powered amphibious vessel of this type and period were machinery and diesel-exhaust insulation and lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and asbestos-containing deck covering and adhesive compounds. Her twin Fairbanks Morse diesels were direct-drive - there is no boiler or steam-turbine plant aboard, so the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); engine-room and deck crews (1945-46); reserve-fleet and disposal-handling personnel (1946-58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or as-built specification was located for LSM-369. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-04
-
[5]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 - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service era (1945-46).
- 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; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, previously confirmed in batch-98 work 2026-09-18) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-05
-
[6]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History, June 2025 issue, Brown Shipbuilding article
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The builder is documented by the U.S. Naval Institute's Naval History magazine: Brown Shipbuilding Company was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of the Brown & Root construction company on part of Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; it was the second-largest Houston-area employer during WWII (peak employment more than 25,000) and built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 Landing Ship Medium amphibious assault landing craft - the LSM series of which this hull is one - using assembly-line techniques, launching vessels in sideway slips on the narrow waterway.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce, Houston (1941-46)
- Limitations
- Documents the builder's wartime shipbuilding activity at Houston - yard-level context, not a hull record; LSM-369 is not named in the article. Contains no asbestos content. Brown Shipbuilding is not an entry in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset (carried in gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-06
-
[7]Batch-6183 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page and sister-hull pages; NHHC DANFS index; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; Naval Vessel Register; NARA digitized deck-log index (series NAID 594258); CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket APIs (six queries, all zero hits); secondary disposal-data cross-checks (Shipbuilding History, uboat.net); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-369 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero hits across opinion and RECAP docket indexes for 'LSM-369', 'LSM 369', and 'USS LSM-369' (2026-10-01). NHHC has no DANFS entry for this numbered hull (numbered LSMs were unnamed and generally lack DANFS entries). The only 'asbestos aboard' content surfaced is law-firm marketing material asserting asbestos generically for the LSM type - 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 - a 1944-45 naval vessel of this type sat within the asbestos era. Deck logs (RG 24) and any builder work packages remain undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-369-lsm369-07