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-418 · hull: LSM-418 · designation: LSM · type/class: LSM-1-class landing ship, medium
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-418-lsm418-pkt-574-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Naval History, Amphibious Photo Archive - USS LSM-418 page (navsource.net/archives/10/14/14418.htm); narrative extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces,' Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1997 (ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LSM-418 archive page: history block, awards block, class specifications block, commanding-officer roster, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-418, an LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium: laid down 1944-09-27 at Dravo Corp., Wilmington, DE; launched 1944-11-14; commissioned 1944-12-07, LTjg Benjamin E. Ferguson USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in LSM Flotilla Twelve / LSM Group Thirty-Six / LSM Division Seventy-Two; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 1945-04-17 to 1945-05-18). Postwar occupation service in the Far East 1945-09-20 to 1945-10-25 (photos show the ship at Wakayama, Japan). Decommissioned 1946-10-07; laid up in the Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 1958-08-19 to James K. Ulrick, Cincinnati, OH, fate unknown. Earned one battle star for WWII service. Specs: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t loaded; 203 ft 6 in; 34 ft 6 in beam; two Fairbanks-Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, direct drive, twin screws, 2,800 shp, 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40 mm bow mount, four single 20 mm.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Ship's crew (5 officers, 54 enlisted per class spec); embarked troops (up to ~46-48)
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary archive, not a primary record; no DANFS entry exists for this hull, so NavSource's Turner-volume extract is the fullest located narrative. Unit assignment and first CO independently corroborated by the NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization document (see ev-02); stricken date and post-1958 fate remain unknown in all located sources. No asbestos, insulation-material, abatement, or condition-survey information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command / Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online reading room) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- LSM FLOTILLA TWELVE > LSM GROUP 36 > LSM DIVISION 72 table, p. --72--
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Navy Department Library document 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' lists 'LSM 418' under LSM Group 36, LSM Division 72, commanded by 'Lt. B. E. Ferguson (USNR)' - independently corroborating the ship's Pacific assignment, organizational chain, and commanding officer as of 1 May 1945 (mid-Okinawa operation period).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- Official organization listing names the hull and CO but contains no technical, materials, or asbestos information; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-02
-
[4]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 that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII, the era and program under which this 1944-built LSM-1-class hull was mass-produced, and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in naval construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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 class 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-418-lsm418-03
-
[5]Class propulsion spec per NavSource LSM-418 page (Fairbanks-Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, direct drive - no steam plant); era asbestos-use patterning per Corn & Starr, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block (propulsion) + AJIM era study
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era-consistent asbestos applications inferred for a 1944 diesel-powered amphibious hull of this type: machinery gaskets and packing, exhaust-system lagging, winch/windlass brake linings, and insulation in accommodation and mess spaces. Unlike steam-propelled combatants, the LSM-1 class carried no boilers or high-pressure steam plant (per class spec), so boiler and steam-line lagging - the dominant asbestos application on larger warships - is less applicable here.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 service era
- Population
- Construction trades (Dravo Corp., Wilmington DE, 1944); engine-room and deck machinery crews
- Limitations
- Inference from class design and construction era, not a hull record - no source names LSM-418 with an asbestos application. The absence of boilers reduces but does not eliminate likely asbestos applications. Does not establish presence, quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-04
-
[6]National Archives Catalog, naId 2760918 - file unit 'LSM-418', Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation (RG 38) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog search 'LSM-418'; file unit metadata incl. series ancestor and reference unit
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA file unit 'LSM-418' (naId 2760918), series 'Material Inspection Reports and Related Documentation' (naId 2092723, ca. 1940-1978), RG 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), creator Board of Inspection and Survey; paper, container 99, National Archives at College Park. A Board of Inspection and Survey material-inspection report is the strongest located lead for hull-specific material-condition documentation on this vessel; contents not reviewed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- ca. 1944-1958
- Limitations
- Catalog-level record only - file unit not retrieved (paper, College Park; no spend authorized). Whether the inspection report documents insulation or asbestos-containing materials is unknown until surveyed. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-05
-
[7]National Archives Catalog, naId 26869534 - file unit 'Individual Ships, LSM 418', World War II Command Files (RG 38) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog search 'LSM-418'; file unit metadata incl. series ancestor and reference unit
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA file unit 'Individual Ships, LSM 418' (naId 26869534), series 'World War II Command Files' (naId 23857284), RG 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), Naval Historical Center creator; loose sheets/paper, container 494, College Park. Ship-specific WWII command file; contents not reviewed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Catalog-level record only - file unit not retrieved (paper, College Park). Command files are operational/administrative and may or may not contain materials information. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-06
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[8]National Archives Catalog, naId 77555060 - 'COM LSM GR 36 - War Diary, 9/1-30/45' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries; Fold3-digitized microfilm A1940) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog record naId 77555060; Fold3 image set A_1940 images 0706.jpg et seq.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA file unit 'COM LSM GR 36 - War Diary, 9/1-30/45' (naId 77555060), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (naId 4697018), RG 38; microfilm roll A1940; digitized via Fold3 partnership with images on the National Archives Catalog. Parent-unit operational record of LSM Group 36 - the formation to which LSM-418 was assigned (per NHHC 1 May 1945 fleet organization) - covering September 1945, the ship's occupation-service period.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-09
- Limitations
- Unit-level (group commander) war diary, not a hull record - LSM-418 is not named in the catalog title; the diary plausibly references assigned ships but contents were not page-reviewed. September 1945 coverage only. Nothing in this row is an asbestos finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-07
-
[9]Batch-6226 search ledger (this record): NavSource LSM-418 page; NHHC Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945; NARA Catalog 'LSM-418' search (95 hits); NVR; CourtListener API v4 name/hull searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-01 through sl-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no DANFS entry exists for this hull (NavSource substitutes a Turner-volume extract); the Naval Vessel Register does not cover vessels disposed before 1987 (this ship sold 1958); CourtListener authenticated API v4 opinion searches for 'LSM-418' and 'LSM 418' returned zero results; no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or museum custodial record naming the hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944-built amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials in machinery gaskets, packing, exhaust lagging, and compartment insulation. The INSURV material-inspection file (naId 2760918) is the most promising unexamined lead. Does not establish presence or absence; does not establish or defeat any exposure claim or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-418-lsm418-08