Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 570-packet.md (4 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-384-lsm384-pkt-570-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II: Mine Vessels, Patrol Vessels, Landing Ships and Craft, NAVSHIPS 250-011 (April 15, 1945), pp. 150-151 and hull roster (shipscribe.com scan, text layer) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB Vol. II pp. 150-151 (LSM design table + engine footnote) and alphabetical/numerical hull roster entry 'LSM384' (Brown S. B. Co. block)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips design data and construction roster for this hull and class: the roster row for LSM384 records builder 'Brown S. B. Co., Houston, Tex.', keel laid 30 Dec 44, launched 20 Jan 45, first commission 18 Feb 45. The LSM design table gives: length overall 203'6", extreme beam 34'6", full-load displacement 1,095 t, trial displacement 743 t, trial speed 12.5 kt, armament 1 twin 40-mm AA mount, accommodations 5 officers / 54 enlisted, propulsion 'Diesel direct drive' on 2 propellers totaling 2,800 shp, ship's service generators 2 x diesel 100 kW 450V A.C. + 1 x diesel 20 kW 120V D.C., diesel oil capacity 1,225 Bbls. The table's engine footnote assigns Fairbanks Morse 38D8-series engines to hull block LSM 354-388 - which includes LSM-384 - while other blocks carried General Motors 16-278A engines (the scan's OCR renders the model fraction ambiguously; NavSource gives 'model 38D8-1/8 x 10').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (construction); design data as of April 1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Dec 1944-Feb 1945); ship's company 5 officers + 54 enlisted (design)
- Limitations
- Official 1945 design/roster document - authoritative for construction milestones, builder, and design characteristics, but contains no asbestos or material-content content; 'accommodations' is a design figure, not a verified wartime muster. The document predates her decommissioning and sinking, so post-1945 milestones come from other rows. Digitized scan hosted by shipscribe.com (private naval-history archive) - URL verified live 2026-10-01 at the relocated path https://shipscribe.com/pubs/SDB1945v2.pdf (the older /styles/usnaux/sdb/ path used in prior batch citations now returns 404).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-384 (archive 10/14/14384) - timeline, unit assignments, awards, specifications, commanding officers, photographs; history extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14384.htm header block, awards band, unit-assignment lines, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions 101438401 and 101438402
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 30 December 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 20 January 1945; commissioned USS LSM-384, 18 February 1945, LT. John Hedu USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fifteen, LSM Group Forty-Four (flagship), LSM Division Eighty-Eight. Post-war: Occupation service in the Far East 20 September 1945 to 13 February 1946. Decommissioned 13 February 1946; struck from the Naval Register 26 February 1946; final disposition: sunk as a target, 16 April 1946. Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Commanding officers: LT. John Hedu USNR (18 Feb 1945-Nov 1945), LT. Howard W. Essig USNR (Nov 1945-13 Feb 1946). Photographs document her on shakedown off Galveston, TX circa early March 1945 (photographed from sister LSM-383) and alongside the surrendered Japanese battleship Nagato in Tokyo Bay circa September 1945. Spec block matches BuShips SDB: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full load; 203'6" oa; 34'6" beam; two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D8-1/8 x 10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm; 13.2 kt max; complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted; troop accommodations 2 officers, 46 enlisted; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; endurance 4,900 miles at 12 kt.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Ship's company (Feb 1945-Feb 1946); embarked troops during amphibious/occupation lift; target-sinking tow/gunnery detail (Apr 1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - the underlying source is the Turner Publishing LSM/LSMR veterans' history, itself a compilation; dates are corroborated by the official BuShips roster (construction) and NHHC fleet organization (unit assignment) but the 16 April 1946 sinking date rests on secondary sourcing only. The division assignment 'Eighty-Eight' conflicts with the official 1 May 1945 org chart (Division 87) - see ev-10. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-02
-
[4]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official wartime organization table published in the NHHC Online Reading Room) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page tables: 'LSM FLOTILLA FIFTEEN' -> 'LSM GROUP FORTY-FOUR' -> 'LSM DIVISION 87' -> 'LSM 384 (F)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official U.S. Pacific Fleet organization chart dated 1 May 1945 lists 'LSM 384 (F)' at the head of the LSM Division 87 block within LSM GROUP FORTY-FOUR (ComLSMGrp 44), under LSM FLOTILLA FIFTEEN. The (F) suffix marks the group flagship - corroborating NavSource's 'LSM Group Forty-Four (flagship)' annotation and placing this commissioned hull in the Pacific Fleet's amphibious forces during the final months of the war. Adjacent blocks show sister hulls LSM 378-383 in LSM Group 40 / Division 79 and LSM 391-396 in Group 41.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- as of 1 May 1945
- Population
- Group 44 flagship complement incl. embarked group staff (1945)
- Limitations
- Fleet-organization snapshot at a single date (1 May 1945); establishes unit assignment and flagship role, not operations performed, and no asbestos content. The chart lists her under the LSM Division 87 heading, while the NavSource/Turner unit list says Division Eighty-Eight - documented conflict carried in ev-10 and gaps. Commander names for ComLSMGrp 44 and Flotilla 15 are blank in the published table.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-03
-
[5]Naval Marine Archive, 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' emergency-yard hull table (compiled production record of the builder) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com Brown Shipbuilding table, yard-hull rows 257-265
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder's-yard production table corroborates this hull: Brown yard hull #261, type 'Landing Ship', Navy number LSM 384, keel laid 30-Dec-44, launched 20-Jan-45, delivered 18-Feb-45, disposition 'Sunk as target 1946'. The same table gives the block context: yard hulls 257-265 = LSM 380-388, all Dec 1944-Feb 1945 deliveries, with sisters' dispositions (LSM 380 sold to Fred Devine 1948 and converted to the salvage vessel Salvage Chief, ON 258699; LSM 382 sold to Fairbanks Morse 1948 for scrapping; LSM 386 and LSM 387 to China 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (build and disposition entries)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding Houston construction workforce, Dec 1944-Feb 1945
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled yard list (Naval Marine Archive research collection), not the yard's primary ledger; corroborates - does not independently verify - the BuShips roster dates. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data Vol. II machinery table for this hull (diesel direct drive, Fairbanks Morse block, no boilers); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos era, ev-06); Rushworth NEJ 2005 on the wartime BuShips thermal-insulation specification (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips SDB v2 LSM design table (propulsion block); GAO HRD-80-2; Rushworth 2005 (see ev-06, ev-07)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing ship built Dec 1944-Feb 1945 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were: diesel engine and exhaust lagging; gaskets and valve packing in machinery and piping; thermal and acoustic insulation in machinery spaces and accommodation areas; asbestos-containing deck coverings/tile; and brake linings on winches and boat-handling gear. As a diesel-direct-drive ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/main-steam lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel exposure does not apply, but the confined machinery-space and crew-accommodation applications remain relevant at small-ship scale.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops (1945-46); sinking/tow detail (Apr 1946)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey located for LSM-384. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantities; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Her commissioned life was ~14 months with no documented overhaul, so wear-driven disturbance records do not exist either.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-05
-
[7]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 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 (Dec 1944-Feb 1945) and service era (Feb 1945-Apr 1946).
- 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 - standing access defect noted since Batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-06
-
[8]Rushworth, D.H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2):35-48 (2005) - peer-reviewed history of the Navy's asbestos insulation specifications, citing Bureau of Ships Technical Manual chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation,' NAVSHIPS 250-000(39), wartime edition of 24 August 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NEJ 117(2):35-48; NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) edition of 24 Aug 1945 as cited therein
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed documentation that the Navy's thermal-insulation specification regime required asbestos-containing insulation materials aboard its ships during the era that includes this hull's construction. Rushworth traces the specification through Bureau of Ships Technical Manual chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation,' NAVSHIPS 250-000(39) - including the edition dated 24 August 1945, which was the current chapter revision while LSM-384 was fitting out. Prior-batch verification of the 1960 edition of chapter 39 documented the material suite by federal spec: 85% magnesia pipe covering (about 15% asbestos fiber for strength/bond), an amosite-asbestos class, roll asbestos felt (MIL-I-15091), asbestos cloth/tape lagging (SS-C-466, grades to 80-95% asbestos), asbestos millboard (HH-M-351), asbestos finishing cement, and molded asbestos block.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (specification in force); 2005 (publication)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Era/specification-level documentation - establishes what the Navy's insulation specifications contained in 1944-45, not what was installed aboard LSM-384 specifically. Diesel-powered landing ships had far less insulated piping than steam combatants; the applications that did exist were concentrated around machinery/exhaust and interior finishes. The 1960-edition chapter-39 scan used for the material list in prior batches (Garlock bankruptcy document repository S3) returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-01 - material detail is carried from that prior verification, not re-verified this session. Rushworth full text is paywalled; DOI resolves to the Wiley record (verified live).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-07
-
[9]Batch-6200 search ledger (this record): NavSource 10/14/14384; BuShips SDB1945v2; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NHHC Crossroads target-vessel disposition; Naval Marine Archive Brown yard table; DANFS index (hazegray + live NHHC + ibiblio); NVR (blocked); NARA catalog (blocked); CourtListener authenticated API v4, type=o and type=r, all name/hull variants; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-384 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated searches this session returned ZERO results for "LSM-384" (opinions and dockets), "USS LSM-384"/"USS LSM 384" (opinions), "LSM 384" (dockets), and "LSM 384"+asbestos (opinions) - a genuine negative finding, not a blocked search. DANFS contains no LSM-384 entry (the dictionary covered only five LSMs: 175, 373, 398, 446, 540 - index verified). No Wikipedia article exists (title is a redlink). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only veterans' reunion material, crew obituaries (LTJG John F. Daniels Jr.; Seaman Gerardo Liguori), and law-firm/marketing listicle content asserting asbestos aboard 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 - this hull's entire commissioned life was ~14 months ending in April 1946 sinking, so the usual documentary tracks (surveys, availabilities, abatement, litigation) never developed. NARA deck logs (RG 24) and action reports (RG 38) remain undigitized leads; NARA catalog was JS-rendered/unfetchable and NVR unreachable (curl error 35) this session - both logged as blocked in the ledger, not as negatives. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-08
-
[10]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'Disposition of Target Vessels' (Operation Crossroads target-fleet disposition list); cross-checked against NavSource's 'sunk as a target, 16 April 1946' disposition [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC 'Disposition of Target Vessels' page - 'LSMs (Landing Ship, Medium): LSM-60 completely destroyed by Test Baker at Bikini, 25 July 1946' (only LSM listed); NavSource 10/14/14384 disposition line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION (preventive): 'sunk as a target' in 1946 in a Pacific context invites automatic misattribution to Operation Crossroads. It does not apply here: LSM-384 was sunk 16 April 1946, more than two months before the first Crossroads shot (Test Able, 1 July 1946). The NHHC Crossroads target-vessel disposition list contains exactly one LSM - LSM-60, destroyed by Test Baker at Bikini, 25 July 1946 - and LSM-384 appears nowhere on it. Her sinking was a separate, undocumented-location target disposal (compare sister LSM-265, sunk as a submarine-torpedo target off Pearl Harbor in 1946 per NHHC/USNI material).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- April-July 1946
- Limitations
- The 16 April 1946 sinking date itself rests on secondary sourcing (NavSource/Turner history; Naval Marine Archive yard table gives only 'Sunk as target 1946'). Location, sinking agency, and ordnance used are undocumented in located public sources - the correct unit records (RG 38 operational/action reports, RG 24 deck logs) are undigitized. This row prevents a misattribution; it does not establish where she sank.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-09
-
[11]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' vs NavSource 10/14/14384 unit-assignment lines [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC org chart 'LSM GROUP FORTY-FOUR / LSM DIVISION 87 / LSM 384 (F)'; NavSource line 'LSM Division Eighty-Eight'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's unit list - drawn from the Turner Publishing LSM/LSMR history - assigns this hull to 'LSM Division Eighty-Eight,' but the official Pacific Fleet organization chart of 1 May 1945 places 'LSM 384 (F)' at the head of the LSM Division 87 block within LSM Group Forty-Four. The (F) flagship annotation agrees across both sources; only the division number differs (87 per the official chart, 88 per the Turner compilation). The official wartime document is carried as authoritative for the 1 May 1945 snapshot.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Possible explanations include a late-war reassignment between divisions or a compilation error in the Turner history - unresolvable from public sources; both numbers are recorded rather than silently picking one. Not a material claim; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-10
-
[12]NARA archival leads: RG 24 deck logs USS LSM-384 (Feb 1945-Feb 1946); RG 38 WWII ship/unit action reports and ComLSMGrp 44 / LSM Div 87-88 operational records incl. Kure-Hiroshima occupation reporting (a Scribd transcription 'Hiroshima Occupation (1946)' surfaces 'LSM 384' in a Kure-Hiroshima action-report context, pointing to the underlying RG 38 original); BuShips wartime correspondence for Brown yard-hull 261 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov (JS-rendered, unfetchable); Scribd doc 33757288 'Hiroshima Occupation (1946)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Undigitized primary records that would document this hull's operations and sinking exist at NARA: RG 24 deck logs (commissioned Feb 1945 through decommission Feb 1946, the only sources likely to record the April 1946 target-sinking location and towing detail) and RG 38 action/operation reports for LSM Flotilla 15 / Group 44, including the September-October 1945 Kure-Hiroshima occupation operations for which a circulated transcription mentions LSM-384. NARA's catalog is JS-rendered and could not be queried programmatically this session - these are logged as open leads, not verified holdings.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - the Scribd transcription is an unofficial document copy whose underlying action report was not independently verified; the catalog's search layer was unreachable. No asbestos content expected in deck logs/action reports; their value is operational chronology and the sinking location.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-384-lsm384-11