Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-391 (10/14/14391.htm) - construction, command, unit assignments, award windows, disposition, specifications, photo captions (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14391.htm - history extract, specifications block, awards table, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium laid down 28 November 1944 at U.S. Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.; launched 17 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-391, 8 February 1945, LT. John H. Libaire USNR in command. WWII Asiatic Theater assignments: LSM Flotilla Fourteen (LCDR. W. R. McCaleb), LSM Group Forty-One, LSM Division Eighty-One. Post-war occupation and China service: Navy Occupation Service Medal window 12 September 1945 - 13 May 1946; China Service Medal (extended) window 30 September 1945 - 13 May 1946. Decommissioned 13 May 1946 and transferred the same day to the Republic of China; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; seized October 1949 by Communist forces; last reported active in People's Republic of China Navy in 1980; final disposition fate unknown. Spec block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kt; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; 2 x GM 16-278A diesels direct drive, twin screws. Photo record documents the hull at the Charleston yard fitting-out piers 10 January 1945 (official US Navy Yard Charleston photo #132-46), beached at Okinawa 20 September 1945 with LSM-96, and pierside at Hai Ho, Tientsin (October 1945), and Taku, China (March 1946). Commanding officers: LT Libaire (8 Feb 1945 - Feb 1946); LTjg Edven William Anderson USNR (Feb - 13 May 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1980
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); crew of ~59 + embarked troops (1945-46); ROC Navy crew (1946-49); PRC service to 1980
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS practice but the Turner Publishing history extract is itself a secondary source. 'Struck, date unknown' is stated without a register date; ROC/PRC name and detailed 1949 seizure circumstances are not documented. No asbestos or material content. Photo captions are contributor-supplied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-01
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[2]ShipbuildingHistory (T. Colton), 'Landing Ships, Medium' builder/disposition table - LSM-391 row; corroborated by uboat.net Allied Warships LSM-391 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net/us-navy-small/lsm/ LSM-391 table row; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12990.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- ShipbuildingHistory's LSM table lists LSM-391 as a Charleston NSY (Charleston SC) hull, commissioned/delivered 8 February 1945, disposed 'to China 1946, seized by PRC 1949' - consistent with NavSource milestones. The table header documents 558 LSMs built by seven shipyards in WWII. uboat.net's LSM-391 page adds contract detail: ordered 13 April 1944; built by Charleston Navy Yard; end of service 13 May 1946, 'decommissioned ... and transferred to China.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Both are reputable secondary compilations, not primary records. The 13 April 1944 order date rests on uboat.net alone - unverified against contract records. 'Seized by PRC 1949' gives no circumstances (defection vs capture). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-02
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[3]Friends of the National Archives - Southeast Region, 'RG 181. Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments - Charleston Ship Commissioning 1942-1946' (transcription; live domain hijacked - Wayback capture cited) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20140628105610 of friendsnas.org/wwii/Defense_Preparedness/RG181_08.htm, LSM table row 'LSM-391 | 2/8/1945 | 8'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A transcription of NARA Record Group 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments) commissioning records for Charleston lists 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-391 | 2/8/1945 | Box 8' - an archival pointer to Sixth Naval District / Charleston Navy Yard commissioning files held at the National Archives at Atlanta, consistent with the documented 8 February 1945 commissioning date.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Commissioning-period crew and yard trades (Feb 1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the live friendsnas.org domain is now a hijacked gambling site (verified 2026-10-01); content taken from a 28 June 2014 Wayback capture. The transcription establishes that a commissioning record for this hull exists in RG 181 Box 8 at NARA Southeast Region - the box contents themselves are unexamined. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-03
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[4]NHHC, 'The Navy's Happy Medium' (Naval Amphibious Operations from WWII art exhibit) - official description of the LSM type [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC exhibit page 'The Navy's Happy Medium' (image 88-159-HN, Reginald Marsh watercolor, 1944)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC describes the LSM type: 'Needing a landing ship somewhere between the size and displacement of an LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) and an LST (Landing Ship, Tank), the Navy turned the problem over to its architects and designers who came up with the compact and maneuverable LSM (Landing Ship, Medium).' No DANFS entry exists for LSM-391 - numbered LSMs that never received names are not covered by the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (candidate URL history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lsm-391.html returns 404; NHHC site search surfaces no entry).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (type era)
- Limitations
- Type-level description only - says nothing about this hull and nothing about materials or asbestos. The absence-of-DANFS finding reflects NHHC's coverage of unnamed numbered amphibious ships, not an indexing error found on this date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-04
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1 spec block (diesel-direct-drive landing ship); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for charleston-naval-shipyard (pipe insulation/lagging, boiler and thermal insulation, gaskets, valve and pump packing, fireproofing, asbestos cement, electrical insulation, brake/clutch linings, steam systems, paint/coatings); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos era, see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion); shipyards.json product list for charleston-naval-shipyard; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing ship built November 1944 - February 1945 at a U.S. Navy yard sits squarely inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era (GAO: substitution not begun until the early 1970s) and at a yard whose asbestos use is documented at yard level (Pace record facts; OSHA 1988 citation). Era-standard applications aboard a ship of this type and period: thermal insulation on machinery and exhaust runs, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and insulation/finish materials in accommodation spaces. As a direct-drive diesel ship she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1980
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); crew and embarked troops (1945-46); ROC Navy crew (1946-49); PRC crews to 1980
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification sheet, or work package located for LSM-391. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The yard's litigation-documented asbestos products postdate this hull's construction (1972-95 window).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-05
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[6]Pace v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 14-2416 (4th Cir. 2016) - unpublished opinion affirming summary judgment (appeal from D.S.C. Charleston, No. 2:11-cv-02688-BM; MDL-875 litigation) [court_record]
- Locator
- 4th Cir. No. 14-2416, opinion pp. 2-4 (Pace work history, Shop 31/38 record facts) - Justia mirror (law.justia.com; direct curl 403, content verified via Firecrawl extraction 2026-10-01)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation documenting asbestos-containing products in use at this hull's builder: William L. Pace worked at Charleston Naval Shipyard 1972-1995 - apprentice machinist in Shop 31 (removing thermal insulation from incoming pumps with a needle gun), then marine machinist out of Shop 38 repairing and installing pumps, valves, turbines, boilers, and 'machinery used aboard naval vessels.' The opinion recites as record facts that 'in the shipyard, both asbestos-containing and non-asbestos-containing gaskets, insulation, and packing materials were used with the pumps and valves,' and that Pace attested he 'regularly worked with or in the vicinity of asbestos containing products' whose cutting and handling 'produced a visible dust.' Pace was diagnosed with mesothelioma 12 July 2011 and died; the district court granted summary judgment to defendants and the Fourth Circuit AFFIRMED for the four appealed defendants (Crane, CBS/Westinghouse, Goulds, Buffalo) - a merits-level negative for this plaintiff, who failed to meet the South Carolina causation/product-identification burden.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1972-2016 (exposure window and litigation)
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard machinists/Shop 31, Shop 38 workers (1972-1995 window)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation record, not a hull record: LSM-391 is not named, and the documented work window (1972-1995) postdates this hull's 1944-45 construction by decades - it documents that asbestos-containing products were in use at the yard, not what was installed in this ship. Disposition described exactly: unpublished opinion affirming defense summary judgment on causation - the asbestos-product presence recitals are record facts; the exposure-causation claim failed. Not binding precedent in the 4th Circuit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-06
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[7]OSHA IMIS Inspection Detail 100361849 - Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard, Code 106 (Columbia Area Office; opened 01/06/1988, health complaint inspection, partial scope, SIC 3731; case closed 09/16/1988) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSHA IMIS inspection_detail id=100361849 - violation summary rows 01001 (19101001 D07 I) and 01002 (19101001 J02 I, deleted)
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Government regulatory record documenting asbestos-standard enforcement at this hull's builder: the 1988 complaint-initiated health inspection of Charleston Naval Shipyard produced two citations under the general-industry asbestos standard 29 CFR 1910.1001 - citation 01001 under 1910.1001(D)(7)(i) (issued 03/10/1988, 'Other' classification, still current) and citation 01002 under 1910.1001(J)(2)(i) (later deleted by amendment).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1988
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard establishment (1988 inspection universe)
- Limitations
- Yard-level regulatory record from 1988 - 43 years after this hull was built and 42 years after it left U.S. custody. Documents that the asbestos standard applied and was enforced at the yard; it says nothing about conditions in 1944-45, about any vessel, or about material aboard this hull. No sample results or worker data published on the inspection page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-07
-
[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 (November 1944 - February 1945) and its full U.S. Navy service period (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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, reconfirmed 2026-10-01 - same standing defect as BATCH-01/BATCH-98) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-08
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[9]Batch-6208 search ledger (this record): NavSource amphibious archive; ShipbuildingHistory LSM table; uboat.net; NVR (no entry - pre-1987 disposal); NARA RG 181 transcription via Wayback; NHHC DANFS (no entry exists); NHHC LSM-class exhibit; OSHA IMIS; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 type=o and type=r; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM-391 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned ZERO hits for 'LSM-391' in opinions (type=o) and dockets (type=r), and zero for variant queries ('LSM 391', 'USS LSM-391', 'L.S.M.-391') - a completed negative result, not a blocked search. A secondary web sweep for 'LSM-391 asbestos/lawsuit' surfaced only NavSource, uboat.net, and association photo pages - this hull does not even appear in the law-firm marketing listicles that cover many WWII hulls.
- 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 - era inference strongly suggests era-standard asbestos materials, but no ship-specific documentation exists in the public record. Deck logs (RG 24) and RG 181 commissioning/construction files are undigitized or unexamined leads; the ROC/PRC service period (1946-1980) is undocumented in English-language authoritative sources. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-391-lsm391-09