Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 574-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LSM-416 · hull: LSM-416 · designation: LSM · type/class: LSM-1-class landing ship, medium
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-416-lsm416-pkt-574-packet-md
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[2]NavSource Naval History, USS LSM-416 page; history extract sourced from 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces,' Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1997 (ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-416 page; specifications block; commanding officers table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1 class Landing Ship Medium: laid down 13 September 1944 at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE; launched 2 November 1944; commissioned USS LSM-416 26 November 1944, LT. James C. Smith USNR in command. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific: LSM Flotilla Nine (CDR D. L. Francis), LSM Group Twenty-Five (LCDR L. Brouwer), LSM Division Fifty. Participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 17 April to 13 May 1945; earned one battle star. Navy Occupation Service Medal periods: 20 September-12 October 1945 and 22 October-29 November 1945. Decommissioned 12 March 1947; laid up in the Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 19 January 1961 to Walker Diesel Equipment Co., Memphis, TN, converted to a barge; scrapped in the 1980s. Commanding officers: LT James C. Smith USNR (26 Nov 1944-Nov 1945); LTjg Alfred Curtis Bessette (Nov 1945-12 Mar 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1961
- Population
- Crew complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted; embarked troops 2 officers, 46 enlisted
- Limitations
- Secondary published history transcribed by a volunteer-maintained archive (NavSource), not an official Navy record. Flotilla/group assignment conflicts with the NHHC 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization document (Group 26/Division 52 vs Turner/NavSource's Group 25/Division 50); group commander surname Brouwer agrees in both. Commissioning date 26 Nov vs uboat.net's 25 Nov is unresolved; NARA muster-roll coverage beginning 11/26/44 supports the 26th. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-01
-
[3]NHHC Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- LSM GROUP 26 / LSM DIVISION 52 section of the 1 May 1945 organization table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 U.S. Pacific Fleet organization list places LSM 416 in LSM GROUP 26, LSM DIVISION 52, under ComLSMGrp 26 Lt. Cdr. L. Brouwer (9982), with Lt. J. C. Smith (USNR) as commanding officer - corroborating the commanding officer and group commander in the NavSource/Turner extract while differing on group/division numbering (26/52 vs 25/50).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- Official wartime organization document naming this hull. Confirms fleet assignment and commanding officer as of 1 May 1945 only; does not resolve whether NavSource's Group 25/Division 50 reflects an earlier wartime assignment or a transcription error. Contains no asbestos, materials, or condition information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-02
-
[4]National Archives Catalog, file unit 'LSM-416, 11/26/44-3/12/47' (NAID 193163807), Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), Series: Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, Roll 3969 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file unit 193163807; container Roll 3969
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Digitized muster rolls for LSM-416 covering the ship's entire commissioned career (26 November 1944 to 12 March 1947) are held in NARA RG 24 and are available online in the National Archives Catalog. The 11/26/44 start date independently corroborates the 26 November 1944 commissioning date over the 25 November variant.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-11-26 to 1947-03-12
- Population
- All hands aboard LSM-416, 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification only - the roll images were not individually reviewed for this record. Muster rolls document crew assignments; they contain no asbestos, materials, or condition information and cannot themselves evidence exposure conditions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-03
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[5]NavSource Naval History, USS LSM-416 specifications block (LSM-1 class data) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Specifications block, Propulsion and Ship's Service Generators lines
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Propulsion: two Fairbanks Morse model 38D81/8X10 reversible diesel engines with hydraulic clutches, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm; twin propellers, 2,800 shp; ship's service generators two diesel-driven 100 kW 450V AC and one diesel-driven 20 kW 120V DC. The class had no boilers or steam plant - bounding the asbestos inference for this hull to non-steam applications.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Engine-room and machinery-space crew
- Limitations
- Class-level specifications published for this hull's page by a volunteer archive. Establishes propulsion type, not materials; the absence of a steam plant is relevant to exposure-pathway reasoning but is not itself an asbestos finding. Contains no asbestos statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-04
-
[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
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents extensive asbestos use as fireproofing and insulation in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which LSM-416 was built at Dravo, Wilmington - with wartime demand driving unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant hulls.
- 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 (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation; does not name this vessel or class, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-05
-
[7]Era inference combining (a) documented WWII shipbuilding asbestos practice (Corn & Starr 1987) and (b) LSM-1 class design specifications (NavSource/Turner specifications block) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (propulsion); Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3):359-373 (era practice)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Asbestos aboard this hull is a class/era inference, not ship-proven: a vessel built at a Navy-contracted yard in late 1944 falls inside the documented peak of wartime asbestos use in U.S. shipbuilding. Because the LSM-1 class was diesel-powered with no boiler plant, the most plausible period applications are exhaust/muffler lagging, engine-room thermal and acoustic insulation, flange gaskets and valve packing, fire-resistant joiner panels, and brake linings on winches and deck machinery.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944 build; service 1944-1947; disposal 1961-1980s
- Population
- Construction trades (Dravo, Wilmington, 1944); operating crew 1944-1947; barge-conversion and scrapping workers 1961-1980s
- Limitations
- Inference only - no ship-specific survey, specification sheet, deck-log entry, or litigation record names asbestos aboard LSM-416. Does not establish quantity, present-day presence (the hull was converted to a barge in 1961 and scrapped in the 1980s), individual exposure, or causation. Absence of a steam plant narrows but does not eliminate the plausible materials set.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-06
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[8]National Park Service, 'Wilmington, Delaware' (American World War II Heritage City program article) [nps]
- Locator
- Wilmington, DE American WWII Heritage City article, shipbuilding paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NPS documents that the Dravo Corporation was awarded Navy contracts at Wilmington and that the Wilmington shipyards received orders for destroyer escorts and landing ships, including the distinctive 'Wilmington type' Landing Ship Medium, with over 14,100 workers in two yards plus subcontractors - corroborating the builder identification and the yard's role as the LSM production lead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Wilmington shipyard workforce (era context, 14,100+ workers)
- Limitations
- Builder/era context only - the article does not name LSM-416 and contains no asbestos, materials, workforce-health, or condition information. Supports yard identification, not any exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-07
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[9]Batch-6224 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches; MARAD Vessel History Database; NHHC DANFS index; NARA deck-log catalog search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-416-01 through sl-uss-lsm-416-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement record, or materials documentation; no qualifying docketed case or opinion naming LSM-416 on CourtListener (QA-corrected 2026-10-01: opinions 'LSM-416' returned 12 fuzzy token matches, dockets 'LSM-416' returned 778 fuzzy hits, 0 hull mentions — non-qualifying; opinions 'LSM 416' / 'USS LSM-416' and the exact-phrase docket variant UNVERIFIED, not zero); no MARAD vessel-history entry; no individual DANFS entry; no digitized deck logs located for this 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 - muster rolls are digitized but deck logs and any builder specification sheets were not individually reviewed. A failed or empty search is not evidence that no record exists; undigitized BuShips plans and NARA textual holdings remain open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-416-08