Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-426 page (history extract reprinted from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997; specification block; commanding officer list; contributed photographs) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page body: history bullets, specification block, awards table, commanding officers table, image captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-1 class landing ship medium: laid down 14 November 1944 at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE; christened and launched 30 December 1944 (sponsor Mrs. Mary Sanner, wife of Dravo Landing Craft Hull Division foreman Melvin Sanner); commissioned USS LSM-426, 27 January 1945, LT. Charles C. Crouch Jr. USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Thirteen (LCDR C. L. Weigle USN), LSM Group Thirty-Nine (LCDR J. M. Rose), LSM Division Seventy-Eight. Post-war occupation and China service: Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 22 September 1945-25 November 1946 and 18 July 1946-23 May 1947; China Service Medal (extended) 18 July 1946-23 May 1947. Decommissioned 17 September 1947; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 23 December 1947 to Foss Launch & Tug Co., Seattle, WA; final disposition listed 'fate unknown.' Specifications: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" oa; 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; one twin 40mm bow gun, four single 20mm mounts; two Fairbanks-Morse diesels, twin screws, 2,800 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Wartime complement (5 officers + 54 enlisted per spec); embarked troops (2 officers + 46 enlisted capacity)
- Limitations
- NavSource is an archival transcription site (Turner Publishing history extract + Navy specification block + contributed photographs), not a primary document; it gives no strike date ('date unknown') and lists final disposition 'fate unknown' - both superseded or contradicted by other sources (see ev-04, gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-01
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[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (retyped fleet organization document) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Page body: Amphibious Forces section, LSM FLOTILLA THIRTEEN > LSM GROUP 39 > LSM DIVISION 78
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's transcription of the 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists 'LSM 426' under LSM FLOTILLA THIRTEEN, LSM GROUP 39 (ComLSMGrp 39 Lt. Cdr. J. M. Rose USNR), LSM DIVISION 78, alongside LSM 424, 425, 427, 428, and 429 - an official document independently corroborating the flotilla/group/division assignment carried by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- Organizational listing only; establishes administrative assignment as of 1 May 1945, not operations, locations, or material condition. Contains no asbestos or construction-material information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-334 page (photo caption) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LSM-334 page, image caption block (LSM-112/LSM-334 entering ABSD-6, Guam, 27 July 1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A photograph captioned on LSM-334's archive page shows USS LSM-112 and USS LSM-334 entering USS ABSD-6 (floating drydock) at Guam, Marianas Islands, 27 July 1945, with LSM-426 and LSM-276 visible in the background - placing LSM-426 at Guam in late July 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-07-27
- Limitations
- Photo-caption evidence only; establishes presence at Guam on the stated date, nothing about operations undertaken or material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-03
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[4]Shaver Transportation Company, 'Shipyard' page (official company site) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page body, 'Shipyard' section, paragraphs 1-2
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The hull survives. Shaver Transportation states that its Portland, Oregon shipyard is 'a unique floating work platform' that 'was originally a Landing Ship Medium (LSM) - 426,' which 'came to Astoria, Oregon where it was purchased by Shaver Transportation and put into new service as our shipyard facility in 1948.' This corrects/supersedes the NavSource 'fate unknown' disposition: after sale to Foss Launch & Tug Co. (23 December 1947), the hull went to Astoria and was acquired by Shaver in 1948, converted into a floating machine shop/work platform, and remains in that service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1948-present
- Population
- Shaver shipyard work force (shipwrights, welders, mechanics) 1948-present
- Limitations
- First-party company statement; the Foss-to-Shaver chain of title between December 1947 and 1948 is implied, not documented here. The page says nothing about asbestos, insulation, or what material was removed in conversion - survival of the hull does not imply survival of original materials. Shaver's 'bring Marines ashore' phrasing is company framing; the Navy record does not specify embarked units.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-04
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[5]Chamberlain v. Shaver Transportation Co., 263 F. Supp. 47 (D. Or. 1966), Civ. No. 66-73 (Kilkenny, J.; supplemental opinion 13 January 1967), aff'd, Shaver Transportation Co. v. Chamberlain, 399 F.2d 893 (9th Cir. 1968) [court_record]
- Locator
- District opinion 263 F. Supp. 47, statement of facts; appeal opinion 399 F.2d 893 (CourtListener 281445)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A federal district court opinion describes libelant Howard Chamberlain's normal duty station as 'Shaver's machine shop, a converted Landing Ship Medium (LSM), afloat at the company's Portland moorage' - judicial corroboration that Shaver operated a converted LSM as its floating machine shop at Portland in the 1960s, consistent with the company's identification of that facility as ex-LSM-426. On the underlying March 25, 1965 injury, the district court entered judgment of $300,710, reduced to $225,532.50 for contributory negligence; the Ninth Circuit affirmed on appeal and cross-appeal in a combined 1968 opinion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1966
- Population
- Shaver machine-shop personnel (circa 1960s)
- Limitations
- The opinions say 'a converted Landing Ship Medium (LSM)' without a hull number; the identification of that hull as LSM-426 rests on Shaver's own statement (ev-04). This is a seaman-status/unseaworthiness personal-injury case, NOT asbestos litigation - no exposure finding of any kind. CourtListener URL is the verified Ninth Circuit opinion (281445); the district opinion's CL URL was not captured (fleet pacing) - district cite verified via F. Supp. reporter and OpenJurist/vLex mirrors.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-05
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[6]Landing Ship Medium (LSM) Class Manual, 1 March 1944, Serial No. 1766, issued to USS LSM-294 (scanned chapters hosted by NavSource); Chapter 31, Auxiliary Machinery, sections 31-8/31-9 (refrigerating plants; auxiliary steam boiler) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Manual index page; Chapter 31 (Auxiliary Machinery), lsm02-31-9.pdf boiler section
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The WWII LSM class manual documents the class's machinery fit: twin Fairbanks-Morse diesels for propulsion (no main steam plant) plus an auxiliary oil-fired steam boiler (designed for 1,500 lb steam/hr at 55 psi) located in a boiler room, plus ship's-service diesel generators, air compressors, distilling plant, refrigeration plants, pumps, and hydraulic bow-door/ramp and winch machinery. Aboard a 1944 hull of this fit, era-standard applications that commonly contained asbestos were boiler/steam-line insulation, exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and accommodation insulation.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LSM crews; shipyard construction trades (class context)
- Limitations
- Class documentation issued to a sister ship (LSM-294), not a hull record - the manual does not name LSM-426 and does not state 'asbestos' content; the asbestos applications are era inference, not ship-proven. Scanned pages are image-only (OCR-assisted reading of the boiler section). Does not establish quantity, location, condition, or present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-06
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[7]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
- Article, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (DOI resolves to Wiley Online Library)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documenting that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and emergency construction program under which this Dravo-built LSM-1-class hull was produced - 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 (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or its builder 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-426-lsm426-07
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[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944-45) and service era (1945-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - and this hull left Navy custody in 1947, before the policies the report evaluates. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-08
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[9]Batch-6235 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull/class pages; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document and DANFS index; LSM class manual scan; MARAD ShipHistory database; NARA catalog; Shaver Transportation; Chamberlain v. Shaver (263 F. Supp. 47); shipbuildinghistory.com Dravo Wilmington table; CourtListener API v4 (opinion and RECAP docket indexes) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming LSM-426 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches "LSM-426" and "LSM 426" (unhyphenated variant) and RECAP docket search "LSM-426" all returned 0 results (2026-10-01). The hull's survival as a converted work platform since 1948 means any original-era materials may have been disturbed in conversion or persist aboard - neither is documented.
- 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 - the hull survives in industrial use, and the 1948 conversion's material scope is undocumented. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-426-lsm426-09