Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]research packet 569-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: **VERDICT: VERIFIED** — real identity: USS *LSM-372* (never named; "properly referred to by her hull designation") — (mirror) http://www.navsource.net/archives/10/14/14372.htm — archived as `batch6187-02-navsource-lsm.html`
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-372-lsm372-pkt-569-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-372 - construction/commissioning, flotilla assignment, Okinawa campaign, commanding officers, specifications, disposal; history extract transcribed from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14372.htm history block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 9 December 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 30 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-372 on 26 January 1945, LT. Paul B. Unterman USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Thirteen (flagship, LCDR C. L. Weigle USN), LSM Group Thirty-Seven (LCDR W. J. Chisholm USNR), LSM Division Seventy-Three. Campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 to 30 June 1945; earned one battle star. Decommissioned 27 August 1946; laid up in the Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold in December 1958 to Diamond Construction Corp., Savannah, GA, fate unknown. Spec block: displ. 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203'6" oa x 34'6"; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; two Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8x10 diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each, twin propellers 2,800 shp. COs: LT Unterman (26 Jan-Dec 1945), LTjg J. E. Allison (Dec 1945-Feb 1946), ENS/LTjg Waldo F. Stone (Feb-27 Aug 1946). International radio call sign NVOC. Photo captions document the commissioning crew at Little Creek, VA; LSM-372 pierside at Cebu City, Philippine Islands, November 1945; and LSM-372 en route with LSM-394, LSM-467, and LSM-487 from Guiuan, Samar via Apra Harbor, Guam and Pearl Harbor to Port Hueneme, CA, 11 April-21 May 1946.
- 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 (5 officers + 54 enlisted) and embarked troops (up to 46), 1945-46
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation transcribing a published history (Turner); milestone dates generally track official records but the struck date is given as unknown and unit designations conflict with the NHHC fleet-organization document (see ev-02 and gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content. Photographic captions document locations but are contributor-supplied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Online reading room page, LSM Group 38 / LSM Division 75 listing
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization list carries this hull as 'LSM 372 (FF)' under LSM Group 38 (ComLSMGrp 38, Lt. Cdr. T. F. Lane USNR), LSM Division 75, alongside LSM-373, LSM-374, and LSM-375. The '(FF)' marker denotes flotilla flagship - consistent with the Turner/NavSource account of LSM-372 as LSM Flotilla Thirteen's flagship - but the group/division numbers differ (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LSM-372 ship's company and flotilla staff (flagship)
- Limitations
- A fleet-organization snapshot dated 1 May 1945; confirms the hull's Pacific Fleet assignment and flagship marker, not its full unit history. The Group 38/Division 75 designation conflicts with the Turner-history Group 37/Division 73 carried in ev-01 - unresolved, probably a reorganization or transcription difference. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-02
-
[4]ShipbuildingHistory (T. Colton), Brown Shipbuilding construction table - yard hull 249; corroborated by the same site's all-LSM list and by uboat.net (ordered 8 Apr 1944; stricken 15 Jan 1958) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table row 'LSM-372' (hull 249); uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12971.html date block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Brown Shipbuilding production table lists LSM-372 as yard hull number 249: laid down 9 December 1944, launched 30 December 1944, delivered 26 January 1945 - matching NavSource on all three dates - with disposition 'laid up 1947, sold to Diamond Construction 1958'. uboat.net adds contract-order date 8 April 1944 and a stricken date of 15 January 1958, and dates decommissioning 26 August 1946 (one day earlier than NavSource).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilations (Colton build table; uboat.net warship register) - order and stricken dates rest on secondary sourcing since no NVR or register extract was located; decommission and laid-up dates conflict across sources (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory (T. Colton), Diamond Manufacturing Co. yard table (Savannah, GA); B.F. Diamond Construction Co. corporate history [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory Diamond Manufacturing page header and barge/scow rows; Skidaway Times corporate-history piece (50th anniversary, Diamond Causeway)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The December 1958 buyer named in the Navy disposal line - Diamond Construction Corp., Savannah, GA - is identifiable as B. F. Diamond Construction Co. of Savannah and its sister yard Diamond Manufacturing Company (chartered 1954), a marine contractor that built and operated tugs, freight barges, and dredge scows at a yard just upstream of downtown Savannah until liquidation in 1988. Surplus landing ships sold to marine contractors of this type were commonly converted to work barges; however no record located identifies the ex-LSM-372 hull's subsequent employment, and 'fate unknown' stands.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1958-forward (unresolved)
- Population
- Diamond Construction/Diamond Manufacturing yard and vessel crews (post-1958)
- Limitations
- Identifies the buyer and its business line only; does not establish what became of this hull after sale - conversion to a barge or scow is consistent inference from the buyer's documented operations, not a documented fact for this hull. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-04
-
[6]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2025 article, 'Building Different Types of Naval Vessels' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard context for this hull's builder: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel with $9 million in Navy funding; it employed more than 25,000 workers at peak (from late 1942) using assembly-line fabrication and sideways launches into the narrow bayou. Output included 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCI(L)s, and 254 Landing Ships Medium - the LSM block spanning LSM-1 to LSM-125, LSM-354 to LSM-388, and LSM-459 to LSM-552, which covers this hull (LSM-372).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce, peak >25,000 (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history; does not name LSM-372 and contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation information - it establishes the workforce scale and production context of the yard that built this hull, nothing more. Cited as reputable professional naval-history press, not a primary record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-05
-
[7]LSM Class Manual, 1 March 1944, Serial No. 1766, issued to USS LSM-294 (NavSource scan of the class manual, contributed by Patrick Blackman) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM manual index; lsm02-30.pdf (Main Propelling Machinery) and lsm02-31-9.pdf (Boilers), OCR reviewed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Navy's class manual for the LSM type documents this hull's machinery plant as built: Chapter 30 covers the two Fairbanks Morse main propulsion diesels (direct drive, twin screws); Chapter 31 auxiliary machinery documents ship's-service diesel generators, bow doors/ramp machinery, anchor windlass, steering gear, a distilling plant, air compressors, refrigeration plants, and an oil-fired auxiliary steam boiler designed for roughly 55 psi working pressure - i.e., the class carried a small auxiliary steam system in addition to diesel main propulsion.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944 (issue)
- Population
- LSM-class crews; construction and repair trades
- Limitations
- Class-level design manual issued to a sister hull (LSM-294), not a record of LSM-372 itself. Image-scan PDFs with no text layer; OCR of the Boilers and Main Propelling Machinery chapters found no explicit 'asbestos' or insulation-material naming - insulation specifications, if present, were not extracted (full chapter set not OCR'd). Archival lead, not an asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-06
-
[8]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 (1944-45) and service era (1945-46 in commission; reserve to 1958).
- 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, consistent with prior-batch findings) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource/Turner spec block (diesel-direct LSM-1 class); LSM Class Manual machinery chapters (FM diesels; oil-fired auxiliary steam boiler ~55 psi; distilling plant; refrigeration); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era finding (ev-07); USNI Brown Shipbuilding yard context (ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ev-01 spec block; ev-06 class manual; ev-07 GAO; ev-05 USNI
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven landing ship built December 1944-January 1945 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on machinery and diesel-exhaust uptakes, lagging on the auxiliary steam boiler and hot lines, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. The confined machinery spaces of a 203-foot amphibious ship concentrate any such materials. Main propulsion is diesel - no boiler/turbine propulsion lagging pathway - but the documented auxiliary boiler means a limited steam-line insulation pathway exists at class level.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); crew 1945-46; reserve-fleet caretakers and 1958 disposal/shipyard workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-372. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-08
-
[10]Batch-6187 search ledger (this record): NavSource live page; NHHC fleet-organization document; NHHC/DANFS index (no entry); NVR (out of scope, disposed 1958); CourtListener authenticated API v4 opinion and docket searches on 'LSM-372' and name variants (HTTP 200, zero results); shipbuildinghistory Brown + LSM + Diamond tables; uboat.net; USNI; LSM Class Manual scan; NARA catalog (JS-blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material inventory, or litigation record naming USS LSM-372 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned a clean negative - authenticated API v4 searches on 'LSM-372' (opinions), 'LSM-372' (dockets), and 'LSM 372' OR 'USS LSM-372' OR 'USS LSM 372' (opinions) all returned HTTP 200 with zero results; this is a true negative for indexed material, not a blocked search. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing coverage naming this specific hull.
- 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 - 1944-45 Navy amphibious construction occurred inside the documented asbestos-use era. CourtListener coverage extends only to indexed opinions and RECAP dockets; unindexed, sealed, non-digitized, or differently captioned litigation would not appear. Deck logs (RG 24), Bureau of Ships work packages, and Diamond Construction conversion records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-372-lsm372-09