Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 573-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-399-lsm399-pkt-573-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-399 (10/14/14399.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997); page last updated 4 January 2025 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14399.htm header/history block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, and photo-caption series
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull (NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1997): LSM-1-class; laid down 29 December 1944 at U.S. Navy Yard, Charleston, SC; launched 16 January 1945; commissioned USS LSM-399 13 August 1945, LT. Willard A. Healy, USNR, in command; WWII Asiatic-Pacific Theater assignment - LSM Flotilla Fifteen, LSM Group Forty-Three, LSM Division Eighty-Five; decommissioned 26 August 1955 at Green Cove Springs, FL, laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; transferred 3 November 1958 to Greece, renamed HS Ipopliarkhos Roussen (L-164); appeared in the opening minutes of the 1991 Italian film 'Mediterraneo'; final disposition 'scrapped, date unknown' with photographs of the hulk beached for demolition at Eleusina, Greece. Spec block: 520 t light / 1,095 t full load; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow + four single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; endurance 4,900 mi @ 12 kts. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal. Photo captions place her at Knoxville, TN for Navy Day 1945; Algiers Naval Base, New Orleans, circa 13 Nov-9 Dec 1945; San Francisco Bay post-WWII (US Navy photo NH 84995, US Naval Historical Center collections); underway off San Diego 26 August 1954; and at Salamis Naval Base, Greece, 31 August 1979 (Defense Imagery VIRIN DN-SC-82-00333). Commanding officers listed: Healy (Aug-Sep 1945), Frain (Sep 1945-23 Mar 1946), Ingerbretsen (23 Mar-Jun 1946), Broughton (1946-?), Johnson (Jun 1948-Jul 1950), Pirro (Jul 1950-?), Weed (11 Nov 1952-?).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-c.2003
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-55); Hellenic Navy crew (1958-c.2001); Eleusina shipbreakers (unknown date)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track standard references (Turner Publishing extract) but the struck date is explicitly unknown and secondary sources conflict on the launch date and Greek service end (see gaps). Page verified live 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200, navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos content; no hazmat or material record for the Eleusina demolition was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-01
-
[3]National Archives at Atlanta, finding aid for RG 181 Ship Commissioning Files - Sixth Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina (NAID 2694599) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Finding-aid box list: box 9, row 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-399 | 8/13/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds a ship-specific commissioning file for this hull: RG 181 (Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments), 'Ship Commissioning Files, 1942-1945,' Sixth Naval District at Charleston, SC, National Archives Identifier 2694599 - box 9 lists 'Landing Ship, Medium | LSM-399 | 8/13/1945'. The series consists of correspondence, invitations, and instructions relating to the commissioning of naval vessels at the Charleston Navy Yard during World War II.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the finding aid confirms the file exists (box 9); its contents - correspondence, invitations, instructions - were not surveyed and are described at series level only. A commissioning file would not normally carry insulation/material specifications. No asbestos content in the finding aid itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-02
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[4]Hellenic Navy official site, 'Amphibious Forces' Command' history (dad_history_en.asp), via Wayback capture 2009-03-22; namesake corroborated by Hellenic Navy official HS Roussen (P-67) fleet page (live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture of hellenicnavy.gr dad_history_en.asp (1958 acquisition paragraph); https://hellenicnavy.gr/en/fleet/patrol-boats/hs-roussen/ (namesake)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hellenic Navy official Amphibious Forces Command history (archived 2009 capture): in 1958 Greece acquired six American LSMs - 'the GRIGOROPOYLOS, KRYSTALLIDIS, ROYSSEN, DANIOLOS, TOYRNAS and MERLIN' - and 'all the above ships have been disarmed,' excepting MERLIN, sunk in a 15 November 1972 collision with the tanker World Hero off Piraeus with 44 crew dead. ROYSSEN is the ex-USS LSM-399 (pennant L-164; NavSource and navypedia concord). The namesake per the Hellenic Navy's official site is Lieutenant Nikolaos Roussen, captain of HS Papanikolis, killed 22 April 1944 in Alexandria suppressing the Navy mutiny.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1958-2009
- Population
- Hellenic Navy crew, ex-LSM-399 / L-164 (1958-c.2001)
- Limitations
- Official-source history presented via archived copy - the live page no longer resolves; labeled as archived per citation policy. Confirms the 1958 six-ship LSM acquisition and later disarming but gives no per-ship decommission date; Greek service end (2001 vs stricken 2003 in secondary sources) unresolved - see gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-03
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[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, this hull); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII-shipbuilding asbestos documentation (ev-05); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; synthesis of ev-05 and ev-06 era documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LSM-1-class landing ship built 1944-45 at Charleston Navy Yard sits inside the documented WWII-era U.S. naval shipbuilding asbestos-use period. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were machinery and exhaust thermal insulation/lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings in a compact hull volume. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - 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-c.2003
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-55); Hellenic Navy crew (1958-c.2001); Eleusina shipbreakers (unknown date)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or work package located for LSM-399. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull, no present-day presence claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-04
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[6]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this LSM-1-class hull was mass-produced at a Navy yard in 1944-45 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or this yard and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure (fieldwork at the Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards), covering 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities.' Per the report highlights, the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed to accomplish necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - establishing that asbestos insulation was in service aboard Navy ships of this hull's era and remained a managed material into the late 1970s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy window
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - not Charleston - so this is era/program context, not a hull or builder-yard finding. Product page verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-01; the full-report PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) returned HTTP 403 to direct curl - content quoted from the live Highlights text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-06
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[8]US EPA Envirofacts/FRS facility detail for CHARLESTON NAVAL COMPLEX (registry 110043669214, EPA ID SC0170022560); Navy BRAC Program Management Office, Former Naval Shipyard Charleston page; EPA Superfund profile (Non-NPL, deferred to RCRA) [other_primary]
- Locator
- EPA FRS facility detail (information-system table: RCRAINFO, NCDB, BRAC rows); https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/BRAC-Bases/Southeast/Former-Naval-Shipyard-Charleston/ ; https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0404802
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The builder yard is a documented contaminated federal facility: EPA Envirofacts carries CHARLESTON NAVAL COMPLEX (EPA ID SC0170022560) with RCRA hazardous-waste TSD and 'other hazardous waste activities' records, a National Compliance Database TSCA compliance activity (C04#TSCAIV-92-ER001) for CHARLESTON NAVAL SHIPYARD, and a BRAC listing; the Navy BRAC-PMO page documents the 1993 BRAC closure recommendation, operational closure 1 April 1996, and phased conveyance under environmental-restoration review. The shipyard where this hull was built in 1944-45 thus has a post-closure environmental record - a builder-yard context, not a hull finding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1988-2005 (records window); yard operation 1901-1996
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard workforce (operational era through 1996 closure)
- Limitations
- Builder-yard environmental record only: documents the yard's post-closure regulatory status (RCRA/TSCA/BRAC), not asbestos aboard any hull built there. The TSCA compliance activity identifier does not specify asbestos versus other TSCA-covered substances (e.g., PCBs). No survey ties yard contamination to this vessel. Does not establish presence, exposure, or causation for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-07
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[9]Batch-6216 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); NARA RG 181 finding aid; Hellenic Navy official history via Wayback + live fleet page; NHHC DANFS checks; NVR scope check; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener opinion searches; GAO product page; EPA FRS / Navy BRAC [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-399-01 through sl-uss-lsm-399-13
- 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-399 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches returned zero results for 'LSM-399', 'LSM 399', and 'Ipopliarkhos Roussen'/'Ypoploiarchos Roussen' (authenticated API v4, HTTP 200, count 0). CAVEAT: the docket-level (RECAP) search could not be completed this session - the fleet-paced request budget was momentarily spent at session end; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no 'asbestos aboard' claims for this hull at all - no law-firm listicle content was found to exclude.
- 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 Navy-yard-built amphibious hull is era-consistent with retained asbestos-containing materials, and the hull's long Greek service (to c.2001) plus undocumented Eleusina demolition leave material fate unrecorded. The docket-level litigation search is a genuine open gap (fleet pacing block, not run to completion). Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-399-lsm399-08