Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-396 (10/14/14396) - build timeline (laid down 13 Dec 1944 U.S. Navy Yard Charleston; launched 2 Jan 1945; commissioned 24 Mar 1945, LT John W. Bell USNR), flotilla assignment, occupation-service dates, decommission 2 May 1947 Green Cove Springs, Atlantic Reserve Fleet layup, struck date unknown, April 1959 transfer to Peru as BAP Lomas (LSM-145), Peruvian decommission March 1985; specification block; commanding-officer list. History extract sourced to Turner Publishing, LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (1997). Corroborated by Shipbuilding History, Charleston Naval Shipyard production table (https://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/public/charleston.htm): 'LSM 396 ... delivered 24-Mar-45 ... To Peru 1959 as Lomas (LSM-145), scrapped 1985.' [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource page body text (timeline paragraph), Specifications block, Commanding Officers table, awards ribbon display
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Establishes the hull's construction record (Charleston Navy Yard, laid down 13 Dec 1944, launched 2 Jan 1945, commissioned 24 Mar 1945), WWII Pacific assignment (flagship, LSM Flotilla Fourteen), occupation service 28 Sep-2 Oct 1945, decommissioning 2 May 1947 at Green Cove Springs FL into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, transfer to Peru April 1959 as BAP Lomas (LSM-145), and Peruvian disposal March 1985. Page also displays awards (American Campaign; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign; WWII Victory; Navy Occupation Service w/ Asia clasp) and four commanding officers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1985
- Population
- Construction trades (Charleston Navy Yard, 1944-45); ship's company ~59 and embarked troops/flotilla staff (wartime); Peruvian Navy crew (1959-85)
- Limitations
- Secondary archival compilation citing a published flotilla history - not a primary document. 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown' per this source; Peruvian-era detail and final fate are single-source. No asbestos content. Group/division assignment text (Group Forty-Two, Division Eighty-Three) conflicts with the official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization document (Division 81, Group 41) - see ev-03 reconciliation and gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-01
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[2]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official fleet organization document transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Document body, LSM FLOTILLA FOURTEEN > LSM GROUP FORTY-ONE > LSM DIVISION 81, row 'LSM 396 (FF)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization document lists 'LSM 396 (FF)' under LSM DIVISION 81 within LSM GROUP FORTY-ONE (ComLSMGrp 41, Lt. Cdr. R. McKee, USNR), inside LSM FLOTILLA FOURTEEN. The parenthetical (FF) flag marker used throughout the document denotes flagship vessels (e.g., LST flagships, submarine flotilla flagships), confirming LSM-396 as the LSM Flotilla Fourteen flagship on that date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Ship's company plus embarked LSM Flotilla 14 staff (flagship function)
- Limitations
- Single-date organizational snapshot (1 May 1945); does not itself expand '(FF)', and gives no commanding-officer name for the hull (column blank). Documents administrative organization only - no operational or material detail, no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-02
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[3]NARA, 'USS LSM-396 - War Diary, 7/1-31/45', NAID 83570916; Record Group 38 (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (NAID 4697018); Micro Serial 140303, Serial 016, Roll A1858; digitized, 2 images, unrestricted [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 83570916 digital images 0868-0869 (transmittal letter + enclosure A 'WAR DIARY - July 1945')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own July 1945 war diary (read from the digitized images): underway 1 Jul from Pearl Harbor to Eniwetok in company with Task Unit 13.11.43 per AdComPhibsPac Movement Order 39-45, holding position as formation guide with ComTaskUnit 13.11.43 aboard; anchored Eniwetok 3 Jul; underway 4 Jul for Guam; anchored Apra Harbor 8 Jul; discharged pontoon cargo 16-19 Jul; sailed 23 Jul for Saipan as formation guide of 12 LSMs with O.T.C. aboard; anchored Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, 24-31 Jul. The forwarding letter (LSM Grp 42/A2-11, Serial 016, 16 Aug 1945, signed S. P. Mills Jr.) states LSM-396 'was not under tactical command of Commander LSM Group 42 during the period of this war diary' - i.e., she reported administratively through Group 42 while serving as Flotilla 14 flagship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-07
- Population
- Ship's company (~59) plus embarked task-unit/flotilla command staff (ComTaskUnit 13.11.43; O.T.C.)
- Limitations
- Primary Navy operational record but a one-month slice; other months not located in catalog search. Contains no personnel, materiel, or asbestos information. Confirms the flagship/formation-guide role and partially reconciles the NavSource Group-42/Div-83 listing with the 1 May organization document (Div 81/Group 41) - residual discrepancy in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-03
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[4]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - full PDF text retrieved via Firecrawl (gao.gov blocks direct curl fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-01) [gao]
- Locator
- HRD-80-2 letter text and Navy response enclosure (attachment discussion of shipboard asbestos applications)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented Navy-wide that 'thermal insulation for machinery, equipment and piping systems has been the major application of asbestos' aboard ships and that 'all ships presently in service contain some quantity of asbestos' - including deck tiling, galley ranges, piping-system gaskets and packing, equipment brakes and clutches, electric cabling, and electrical resistors - with asbestos elimination only beginning via spec changes in 1973-75. A hull built at a naval shipyard in 1944-45 falls squarely inside the documented asbestos era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979 (covering construction era through late-1970s program status)
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; Navy crews generally (class context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO fieldwork was Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; no amphibious auxiliaries or this class are named. Quantities quoted in the report concern other classes (e.g., 87,634 lb thermal insulation on DD-964) and do not apply here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-04
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-396 specification block (2 x GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, 2,800 shp - diesel plant, no steam); HyperWar landing-ship index class line ('Fairbanks-Morse Diesel or G.M. Cleveland Diesel direct drive, 2,800 hp'); shipyard-exposure-map documented asbestos product list for charleston-naval-shipyard (builder yard); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-04) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications; https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-ls.html (LSM class line); shipyards.json product list for charleston-naval-shipyard
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-direct-drive amphibious landing ship built at a U.S. naval shipyard in 1944-45 sits inside the documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a ship of this type and period were thermal insulation on machinery and piping, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation and cabling, deck coverings, and brake/clutch linings on deck machinery. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - 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
- 1944-1985
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); ship's company and embarked troops/staff (1945-47); Green Cove Springs inactivation crews (1947); Peruvian Navy crew and yard workers (1959-85)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-396. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. LSMs were austere wartime auxiliaries - the density of insulation aboard was materially lower than aboard steam combatants.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-05
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[6]OSHA IMIS, Inspection 100361849 - U.S. Dept of the Navy, Commander Charleston Naval Shipyard Code 106, Charleston SC (complaint inspection; asbestos-standard citation 29 CFR 1910.1001 issued 03/10/1988, 'Other' type; a second asbestos citation deleted on amendment; case closed 05/02/1990) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OSHA inspection detail page, Inspection Nr 100361849, violation rows 01001/01002
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- Federal enforcement record establishing the building yard as an OSHA-regulated asbestos environment: a 1988 complaint inspection at Commander, Charleston Naval Shipyard produced a current citation under the asbestos standard (29 CFR 1910.1001 D07 I). Documents the yard-level asbestos presence context in which 1944-45 hulls like this one were built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1988-1990
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard establishment (1988-1990 case record)
- Limitations
- Yard-level regulatory context only - the inspection postdates this hull's construction by 43 years and does not name or measure any vessel. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor yard conditions in 1944-45.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-06
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[7]Batch-6213 search ledger (this record): NavSource page; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NARA catalog (war diary, flotilla diaries, muster index, reserve-fleet logbook); Shipbuilding History Charleston production table; HyperWar landing-ship index; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; OSHA IMIS; CourtListener API v4 (partial - see ledger); NVR scope check; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LSM-396 (or BAP Lomas) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (API v4, authenticated, fleet-paced): quoted opinion search '"USS LSM-396"' returned zero hits; unquoted opinion search 'LSM-396' returned nine hits, all name collisions; docket-index search 'LSM-396' returned 524 token-level hits, all collisions (judge-initial docket suffixes such as '-LSM' for Judge Lawrence S. Margolis, and '396' document/page numbers) - no qualifying asbestos litigation and no case naming this vessel at either index. The July 1945 war diary contains no asbestos content. 'Asbestos aboard' assertions exist only in law-firm listicle material, 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 - era-consistent inference still applies. CourtListener tokenization cannot distinguish the hull designation from judge-initial and document-number collisions; manual review of returned case names found no vessel reference. Reserve-fleet inactivation records and Peruvian-era disposal/scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-07
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[8]NARA catalog: 'USS LSM-396 - War Diary, 7/1-31/45' (NAID 83570916, RG 38 - the row above); flotilla-level war diaries 'COM LSM FLOT 14' covering 4/14/45-7/31/45 (NAID 77486591), 8/1/45-10/31/45 (NAID 140086711), staff 11/1/45-12/8/45 (NAID 140083668); muster-roll index batch 'USS LSM-144 to USS LST-1005' (RG 24, NAID 118967604, 2,968 images); 'Commander, Florida Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet' logbook 12/1/45-1/1/49 (RG 24, NAID 190136896, 503 images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog search 'LSM-396' (95 file-unit results) and 'USS LSM-396' (26 results); NAIDs as listed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized archival leads exist for deeper ship-specific verification: the ship's July 1945 war diary (read this session) plus Commander LSM Flotilla 14 war diaries spanning the ship's flagship tenure; a muster-roll index batch whose hull range covers LSM-396 (crew-level documentation); and the Florida Group Atlantic Reserve Fleet logbook covering the Green Cove Springs layup period into which she was inactivated May 1947.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1949
- Population
- Ship's company (muster-roll index); flotilla staff; reserve-fleet inactivation crews
- Limitations
- Leads, not findings: only the July 1945 war diary was opened and read. Whether the flotilla diaries, muster index cards, or the reserve-fleet logbook name this hull is unverified; no deck-log file unit specifically titled for LSM-396 surfaced in catalog search. None of these records are known to contain asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-396-lsm396-08