USS LSM-422

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]NavSource Online, USS LSM-422, Amphibious Photo Archive (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Ship history bullets, disposition block, commanding-officer table, and photo captions; accessed live

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource records LSM-422 as laid down 23 October 1944 at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware; launched 7 December 1944; commissioned 1 January 1945 under LTjg. Rowland K. Chase USNR (Chase in command to March 1946, then LTjg. Robert L. Pillow USNR to 19 July 1946); assigned in WWII to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with LSM Flotilla Twelve, LSM Group Thirty-Five, LSM Division Sixty-Nine; Far East occupation service 2 September-12 October 1945 and 26 October-21 December 1945; decommissioned 19 July 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; recommissioned 15 September 1950; participated in four Korean War campaigns (U.N. Summer-Fall Offensive 16-24 November 1951; Second Korean Winter 24 November 1951-30 April 1952; Third Korean Winter 1 December 1952-30 April 1953; Korea Summer-Fall 1953, 1 May-27 July 1953) earning four battle stars; decommissioned and transferred to France 5 February 1954; returned to U.S. Navy custody March 1956; struck from the Naval Register on an unknown date; transferred to Taiwan November 1956 and redesignated LSM-351; decommissioned by the Taiwanese Navy in 1971; final disposition scrapped, date unknown. Page photo captions place the hull at Naval Magazine, Theodore, Alabama, 20 September 1946; en route Mobile, Alabama to Jacksonville, Florida, 15 May 1946; beached at Pusan Harbor, Korea, February 1952; and off San Diego, October 1953.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1971

   Population

   Ship's crew; Navy, transfer, and disposal personnel

   Limitations

   Ship-history and disposition record; does not document asbestos content, an asbestos survey, abatement, individual exposure, causation, or legal eligibility. NavSource states the struck-from-register date is unknown and the scrap date is unknown. The WWII flotilla/group/division assignment (Flotilla Twelve, Group Thirty-Five, Division Sixty-Nine) differs in group/division numbering from the NHHC 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization (Group 36, Division 72) - see ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-03; both place the hull in LSM Flotilla Twelve.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-01

2. [2]NavSource Online, USS LSM-422 specifications [other_primary]

   Locator

   Specifications, propulsion, and ship's service generator blocks

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NavSource gives this hull's LSM-1-class specifications as 520 tons light, 743 tons landing, 1,095 tons fully loaded; 203 feet 6 inches overall; 34 feet 6 inches beam; 13.2 knots maximum; propulsion of two Fairbanks Morse model 38D81/8X10 reversible diesel engines with hydraulic clutch, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shaft horsepower; ship's service generators of two diesel-drive 100 kW 450V AC units and one diesel-drive 20 kW 120V DC unit; complement of 5 officers and 54 enlisted with troop accommodations for 2 officers and 46 enlisted. The plant is diesel-only; there is no boiler or steam propulsion system.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1971

   Population

   Ship's crew and construction personnel

   Limitations

   Ship specification record used for identity, crew, and propulsion summary; it does not establish asbestos-containing materials or exposure aboard this hull. A diesel plant removes the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway typical of steam ships but does not establish the absence of other era insulation materials.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-02

3. [3]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Page 72, LSM Flotilla Twelve / LSM Group 36 / LSM Division 72 listing

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NHHC's 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists LSM 422 in LSM Division 72, which sits under LSM Group 36 within LSM Flotilla Twelve (the flotilla boundary is marked by the start of LSM Flotilla Thirteen immediately below).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-05-01

   Population

   LSM-422 crew and Pacific Fleet organization

   Limitations

   Fleet organization record confirms Pacific Fleet assignment on the stated date; it does not document asbestos materials, exposure, or causation. Group/division numbering differs from NavSource's Group Thirty-Five/Division Sixty-Nine assignment statement - likely a different reporting date; not reconciled in this record.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-03

4. [4]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (Rev. 1953), Ships and Other Units Eligible for the Korean Service Medal, Ships L [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Ships L table, LSM 422 entry; live page verified 2026-10-01

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NHHC's Korean Service Medal eligibility list gives LSM 422 medal-qualifying service periods of 5 November 1951-5 April 1952 and 23 February-3 August 1953, with engagement-star dates 21-27 November 1951 (code K6); 28 November-3 December 1951, 18-19 January 1952, 31 January-17 February 1952, and 8-13 March 1952 (code K7); 30 April 1953 (code K9); and 1-17 May 1953, 1-12 June 1953, and 15-19 July 1953 (code K10).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1951-1953

   Population

   LSM-422 crew

   Limitations

   Medal-eligibility record documents Korean theater service periods and engagement-star dates, not a complete movement history; it does not establish battle-star count wording (NavSource states four battle stars), nor anything about asbestos, exposure, or causation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-04

5. [5]C. A. Weslager, Delaware's Forgotten River: The Story of the Christina (1947), Internet Archive scan [other_primary]

   Locator

   Christina River launch narrative, chapter on wartime Dravo yards (djvu full-text scan)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Weslager, writing as an eyewitness, records that he was present at the Dravo yards on Pearl Harbor Day, 7 December 1944, for the launching of what he describes as the 40th Landing Ship Medium, purchased by the citizens of Wilmington through war-bond subscriptions; LSM-422 was christened representing an expenditure of $1,200,000, with speakers including Mayor Albert James, and was side-launched into the Christina River because of the river's narrow width.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-12-07

   Population

   Dravo Wilmington shipyard workers; launch attendees

   Limitations

   Contemporary local-history account of the launch ceremony only; it does not document construction materials, asbestos, exposure, or causation. The author's '40th Landing Ship Medium' phrasing is his framing and is not reconciled here against Dravo yard hull numbering.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-05

6. [6]U.S. GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page highlights

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   GAO reviewed the Navy's use of asbestos in ships and stated that the Navy's 1975 policy removed and replaced damaged insulation or insulation removed for repairs, with a 1979 modification for selected high-maintenance areas.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1975-1979

   Population

   Navy ships and shipyard workers generally

   Limitations

   Navy-wide program context, not hull-specific; the report does not name LSM-422 or establish asbestos aboard this hull, its locations, quantity, removal history, or remaining material. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to direct automated fetches; product-page highlights were retrieved via firecrawl.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-06

7. [7]NIOSH HETA 85-021-1654, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (January 1986) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Report background, pp. 4-5 of PDF

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   NIOSH documented that a Navy shipyard insulation shop had previously prepared and stored asbestos insulation and that its workers performed rip-outs and pipe covering aboard Navy ships and submarines.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1984-1985 evaluation; report issued 1986

   Population

   Portsmouth Naval Shipyard insulation workers

   Limitations

   Different shipyard and later period; occupational-health context only. The report does not identify LSM-422, prove asbestos aboard it, or establish exposure for its crew or workers.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-07

8. [8]National Archives, Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961 [other_primary]

   Locator

   NARA guided-topic page, Beginning Research sections

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA's guided research topic identifies Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships) general and confidential correspondence series spanning 1940-1946 - the period covering this hull's construction - plus insulation, lagging, and piping records as research paths for vessel asbestos questions.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   2026-10-01

   Limitations

   Archival research lead only; the guide lists where asbestos-related records may exist but contains no LSM-422-specific material, and those hull files were not requested or surveyed. It establishes nothing about asbestos aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-08

9. [9]NARA Catalog public search for LSM-422 deck logs and hull records [other_primary]

   Locator

   catalog.archives.gov search results, first page reviewed

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A NARA Catalog search for the quoted string "LSM-422" returned 98 results dominated by cross-references inside other vessels' war diaries and logbook file units; no dedicated LSM-422 deck-log file unit or asbestos-relevant record surfaced in the reviewed results. Korean-war-era LSM deck logs exist in the Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations series (RG 24) for other hulls, so LSM-422 logs may exist but were not located in this bounded search.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   2026-10-01 search

   Population

   Indexed NARA catalog records

   Limitations

   Bounded catalog search only - the catalog's relevance-ranked, fuzzy text search does not guarantee exhaustive hull coverage, and RG 24/RG 19 series were not pulled by file unit. Not a negative finding that no records exist.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-09

10. [10]Authenticated CourtListener exact-name and exact-hull litigation sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    Search ledger entries sl-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-05 through sl-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-08

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying asbestos-litigation opinion or docket record was identified in authenticated CourtListener searches for the exact ship name and hull number. Quoted exact-name "USS LSM-422" returned zero results on both the opinion and docket indexes; the unquoted opinion search for LSM-422 returned 13 hits, all name collisions (e.g., LSM as 'letter sorting machine' in Postal Service cases); the unquoted docket search returned 858 loose token matches with no vessel-related dockets in first-page review.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-01

    Study period

    2026-10-01 search

    Population

    CourtListener opinions and RECAP dockets

    Limitations

    Coverage is limited to indexed CourtListener material actually returned; it does not establish absence of unindexed, sealed, non-digitized, or differently captioned litigation. The quoted hull docket sweep and spaced 'LSM 422' variant remained incomplete under fleet pacing limits - see search ledger.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-10

11. [11]Search of official and authoritative sources for ship-specific asbestos documentation [other_primary]

    Locator

    Research sweep documented in search ledger entries sl-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-01 through -13

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material inventory, or other primary asbestos record for LSM-422 was located in the accessible sources searched. Ship-specific asbestos documentation is unknown, not established absent.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-10-01

    Study period

    1944-2026

    Population

    Hull-specific records

    Limitations

    Negative finding limited to accessible public sources. Non-digitized Navy technical files, Dravo yard records, and French and Taiwanese Navy records were not reviewed. Absence of a located record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard and does not establish exposure, causation, quantity, current condition, or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-422-lsm422-11