USS LSM-448

Evidence

15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).

1. [1]research packet 579-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Limitations

   qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced).

   Evidence ID

   uss-lsm-448-lsm448-pkt-579-packet-md

2. [2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-448 (10/14/14448.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997; ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 14448.htm header/history block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo-caption series, and commanding-officer list (page last updated 2 January 2026)

   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 20 September 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 13 November 1944; commissioned USS LSM-448 4 January 1945, LT. Leon Grossman, USNR, in command; WWII Asiatic-Pacific Theater assignment - LSM Flotilla Thirteen, LSM Group Thirty-Eight, LSM Division Seventy-Six; post-war occupation service in the Far East 23 September to 14 November 1945; homeported at Guam, Marianas Islands (date unknown); decommissioned 25 January 1957 at Astoria, OR; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; sold October 1958 to Hugo Neu Corp., New York, NY for scrapping. Spec block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 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; two GM 16-278A diesels. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp), National Defense Service Medal. Photo captions place her at Pagan Island, Marianas, 1956; beached in the Marianas circa 1955-56; in two US Navy photographs from the August 1954 issue of All Hands magazine; off Iwo Jima during 'Operation MinAmi' 25 October 1952 (US Navy photo NH 477194, collections of the US Naval Historical Center); and beached at Pagan Island, US Trust Territory. Commanding officers listed: Grossman (Jan-Nov 1945), Cosgrove (Nov 1945-Mar 1946), King (Mar-Jun 1946), McNeeley, Guynn (Sep 1946-?), Hayler (~1951), Robeson Jr., Beyer (1955-25 Jan 1957).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1958

   Population

   Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-57); Hugo Neu scrapping workers (post-1958)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track the Turner Publishing extract; the struck date is explicitly unknown and the first commanding officer conflicts with a crew memoir (see gaps). Page verified live 2026-10-01 via Firecrawl (HTTP 200, navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-01

3. [3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library Online Reading Room: 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   LSM FLOTILLA THIRTEEN > LSM GROUP 38 > LSM DIVISION 76, row 'LSM 448'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The NHHC Navy Department Library transcription of 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' lists LSM 448 under LSM Flotilla Thirteen, LSM Group Thirty-Eight, LSM Division Seventy-Six (ComLSMGrp 38 Lt. Cdr. T. F. Lane, USNR) - the identical flotilla/group/division assignment the NavSource/Turner extract records - in company with LSM 447, LSM 449, LSM 450 (GF), LSM 451, and LSM 452 in Division 76.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Organizational roster only: establishes the hull's Pacific Fleet unit assignment as of 1 May 1945 but documents no operations, location, or service event for this hull, and contains no asbestos or material content. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via Firecrawl.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-02

4. [4]Commander Transport Squadron Twelve (ComNagasakiGroup, C.T.G. 54.3), Action Report - Landings of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945 (serial 30 September 1945) - NavSource-hosted scan of the U.S. Navy report [other_primary]

   Locator

   Report PDF: Task Organization sec. 54.3.32 (LSM Unit TWO list); Part II para. 6 (17 Sept sortie, T.U. 54.19.3 detachment); Part III chronology (1600 23 Sept unloading line, 26 Sept 2103 departure directive, 27 Sept departures list); Part IV sec. (F) para. 16 daily unloading table, row '448' = 100% on 23 Sept

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   A U.S. Navy action report names this hull repeatedly: Commander Transport Squadron Twelve's report on the landings of occupation forces at Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945, lists LSM-448 in LSM Flotilla 16 (Temp), LSM Unit TWO (Lt. Cdr. Lane - the same officer named as ComLSMGrp 38 in the fleet roster). The ship sortied from Saipan the afternoon of 17 September 1945 in T.U. 54.19.2; was detached with LSM 441 and LSM 450 as T.U. 54.19.3 carrying motor transport equipment ahead of the tractor group at best speed for Nagasaki; and unloaded at Nagasaki after landings commenced 1300 on 23 September - the report's daily unloading table records LSM-448 at 100% unloaded on 23 September, and the chronology records 'LSM's 441 and 448 unloaded' at 1600 and LSM-448 among ships 'completely unloaded' at 1700. By direction of CTG 54.3 (dispatch of 26 September 2103), LSM-448 departed Nagasaki with LSMs 450, 439, 441, and 263 about 0800 on 27 September, unescorted for Okinawa at 13 knots. These dates are the ship-specific record behind the 'Occupation service in the Far East from 23 September to 14 November 1945' line in her NavSource history.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-09-17 to 1945-09-27

   Population

   LSM-448 crew (Sept 1945); embarked cargo-handling and shore-party personnel

   Limitations

   Primary U.S. Navy operational document naming this hull (scan hosted on NavSource; OCR-layer garbles some type codes - 'LSH'/'LSK' for LSM - but hull numbers read cleanly). Establishes Nagasaki occupation-landing participation 17-27 Sept 1945 but documents no materials, insulation, or asbestos conditions. The temporary operational organization 'LSM Flotilla 16 (Temp)' differs from the administrative LSM Flotilla Thirteen in the NavSource/NHHC records - a task-organization vs administrative-flotilla distinction, noted in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-03

5. [5]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library Online Reading Room: 'Ships, Other Units Eligible Korean Service Medal - Ships L' (Navy-Marine Corps Awards Manual Rev. 1953) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   Ships-L table, 'LSM 448' entry - six date rows

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The NHHC-hosted 'Ships, Other Units Eligible Korean Service Medal - Ships L' (Navy-Marine Corps Awards Manual, Rev. 1953, extract) lists 'LSM 448' with six qualifying Korean-area date windows: 11-15 September 1951; 5-9 September 1952; 11-20 November 1952; 25-29 December 1952; 26 February-6 March 1953; 1-8 October 1953 - documenting recurrent Korean-theater service during 1951-53, consistent with the NavSource photo caption placing her off Iwo Jima during 'Operation MinAmi' 25 October 1952.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1951-1953

   Population

   LSM-448 crew during 1951-53 Korean-theater windows

   Limitations

   Awards-eligibility listing only: establishes the ship operated in qualifying Korean waters on the listed dates but documents no operations detail, no battle stars (the campaign-code column is blank on these rows), and no materials content. The NavSource ribbon display does not include a Korean Service Medal ribbon - eligibility dates are documented, ribbon display is not; noted in gaps.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-04

6. [6]Fleming v. United States, 173 Ct. Cl. 426, 352 F.2d 533 (1965), No. 403-61 - CourtListener opinion 8614543 [court_record]

   Locator

   Opinion findings of fact 8(a)-(b), 9(a)(7), 10(a)(3)-(4) - 'LSM 448'/'LSM-448' named in the trochus-shipment narrative

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   A published Court of Claims opinion names this hull in findings of fact: in Fleming v. United States (1965), the court found that trochus shells collected on Saipan were delivered to Charlie Dock, Tanapag Harbor, 'to await shipment to Japan on board the U.S. Navy LSM 448'; that Navy bill of lading No. 10-57, dated 5 July 1956, showed 25,657 pounds loaded aboard LSM 448; that en route from Saipan to Yokohama the ship 'encountered weather and seas of such degree that the shells burst out of their sacks and scattered about the deck'; and that the cargo was off-loaded at Center Pier, No. 9 Warehouse, Naka-Ku, Yokohama, and sorted aboard. The opinion thus documents the ship operating Saipan-to-Yokohama in July 1956 as a government cargo carrier out of the Marianas - consistent with the Guam homeporting and 'Marianas Express' duty in the crew memoir - but the case is a Fifth Amendment takings dispute over the shells' value, with no asbestos, exposure, or injury element concerning the vessel.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1956-07 (voyage); 1965 (opinion)

   Population

   LSM-448 crew (July 1956 voyage); Saipan civilian shippers

   Limitations

   Classified OTHER LITIGATION, not qualifying asbestos litigation: a Fifth Amendment takings case about confiscated trochus shells; the vessel is the cargo carrier, not a defendant, and no exposure, asbestos, or personal-injury element attaches to the ship. The documented facts are a cargo voyage (Saipan to Yokohama, bill of lading 5 July 1956) and deck-cargo loss in heavy weather - vessel-history value only. Opinion verified live via CourtListener API v4 and page scrape 2026-10-01.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-05

7. [7]HyperWar/ibiblio transcription: 'Brief History of USS LSM-448' by Richard E. Richardson, EN3 (1955-56) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Memoir body text (ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/LSM/lsm448.html; transcribed by Patrick Clancey)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A crew memoir by Richard E. Richardson, EN3 (1955-56), hosted on the HyperWar transcription site, records for this hull: built at Western Pipe & Steel, San Pedro, Calif., commissioned 4 January 1945 (memoir states 'Lt. L.S. Murphy, USN, in command' - conflicting with NavSource/Turner's LT. Leon Grossman, USNR); no WWII action; rescued a downed PBY aircraft shortly after the war; homeported at Guam in 1953 and known as the 'Marianas Express; You Name It - We Haul It,' running supplies and medical staff between Guam and Yokosuka with islanders permitted to ride between islands; decommissioned 25 January 1957 at PacResFlt, Tongue Point Navy Base, Astoria, Oregon, Lt. H. J. Beyers in command; mothballed until sold 1958 to Hugo Neu Corporation (later Hugo Neu-Proler), a New York scrap-salvage firm. The memoir's 2000 query to Hugo Neu about the hull's final disposition went unanswered as of the writing.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-1958; memoir written ~2000

   Population

   LSM-448 crew (memoirist's 1955-56 service window)

   Limitations

   Veteran memoir, not an official record: firsthand but unverified on details (first-CO name conflicts with NavSource/Turner; 'no action in WWII' and PBY-rescue claims are uncorroborated). Used for the Tongue Point decommissioning-site detail and Guam-era employment flavor only. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-06

8. [8]National Archives Catalog, file units for 'LSM-448' - RG 24 Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (VA Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project digitization) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Catalog search 'LSM-448' (164 results, textual records); verified file-unit page NAID 204679464 ('LSM-448 - January 1957', 52 images, 'Image Provided by: Veterans Benefits Administration / Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project')

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA holds digitized ship-specific deck logs for this hull: a catalog search for 'LSM-448' returns 164 file units, including monthly deck-log file units in RG 24 (Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations) digitized under the Veterans Benefits Administration / Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project - verified examples: NAID 146205101 (November 1955), NAID 146205165 (December 1955), NAIDs 204678026/204678158/204678280/204678410/204678536/204678666/204678794/204678922/204679050/204679174/204679306/204679398 (January-December 1956), and NAID 204679464 (January 1957, 52 images) - the last covering the decommissioning month at Astoria and the July 1956 unit covering the Fleming-documented trochus voyage. The hull also appears in muster-roll index file units and other wartime records within the same result set.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1955-11 to 1957-01 (digitized window)

   Population

   LSM-448 crew (deck-log coverage 1955-1957)

   Limitations

   Archival lead only: the catalog entries establish that digitized deck logs exist for at least Nov 1955-Jan 1957; their page contents have not been examined image-by-image. Deck logs record navigation, personnel, and remarks - not material inventories - so asbestos-relevant entries are possible (yard availabilities, repairs) but not expected. No asbestos content established. Earlier-war deck logs (1945-46) were not in the digitized set seen.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-07

9. [9]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com), 'Western Pipe & Steel - South San Francisco CA and San Pedro CA' yard construction table [other_primary]

   Locator

   WPS yard table, San Pedro WWII section, hull 209 row; contract-block header 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com) Western Pipe & Steel yard table carries this hull as WPS yard hull 209, 'LSM 448,' in the contract block 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' (hulls 208-219 = LSM 447-458), delivery 4-Jan-45 - corroborating the NavSource builder-city attribution (San Pedro) against uboat.net's 'San Francisco, California' variant. The same table row reads 'Sold to Hugo Neu 1948 for scrapping' - a documented error (the ship remained in commission to January 1957; NavSource carries the sale as October 1958), logged in gaps.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1945 (construction); disposal entry erroneous

   Population

   Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro construction workforce (1944-45)

   Limitations

   Secondary compiler database (Colton), not a primary record - used here to resolve the builder city and contract date against uboat.net's San Francisco variant. The row's '1948' disposal year is internally inconsistent with the hull's documented 1957 decommissioning and is not adopted. No asbestos or materials content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-448-08

10. [10]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, this hull); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII-shipbuilding asbestos documentation (ev-10); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (ev-11); Franklin v. USX stipulated contract fact (ev-12) [other_primary]

    Locator

    NavSource specifications block; synthesis of ev-10, ev-11, and ev-12 era/builder documentation

    Finding type

    asbestos_application

    Finding

    A diesel-powered LSM-1-class landing ship built 1944-45 at Western Pipe & Steel's San Pedro yard sits inside the documented WWII-era U.S. shipbuilding asbestos-use period. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery and piping thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, bulkhead/overhead insulation, deck covering, 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

    1944-1958

    Population

    WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-57); Hugo Neu scrapping workforce (post-1958)

    Limitations

    Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or work package located for LSM-448. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull, no present-day presence claim. The hull was scrapped (sale October 1958), so present-day presence is moot.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-448-09

11. [11]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 West Coast 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. DOI verified live 2026-10-01 (302 redirect to Wiley).

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-448-10

12. [12]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 Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro - 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-448-11

13. [13]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., Div. 3, 2001), review denied May 23, 2001 - CourtListener opinion 2287235 [court_record]

    Locator

    Opinion, 87 Cal. App. 4th 615 (No. A091473), Facts/General Background and disposition paragraphs - CourtListener opinion 2287235 verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-01

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Builder-level asbestos litigation record: Jeannette Franklin alleged mesothelioma from childhood secondhand exposure to asbestos carried home by her parents, who worked at Western Pipe & Steel's South San Francisco shipyard from 1942 to 1945 - the same parent company that built this hull at its San Pedro yard. The opinion states on stipulated facts that WPS's wartime contract with the U.S. Maritime Commission 'required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos' and that the parents 'worked in areas where asbestos was present' and 'were exposed to airborne dust during the mixing of mud, during insulation work, and when workers swept up debris.' A jury returned a verdict in excess of $5 million. The Court of Appeal reversed solely on successor-liability grounds - USX was held not to be the successor in interest to WPS - and expressly did not address the issues pertaining to the jury verdict; the exposure findings therefore remain at trial-stage, undisturbed.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    class_or_era

    Accessed

    2026-10-01

    Study period

    1942-45 (alleged exposure); 2001 (opinion)

    Population

    WPS South San Francisco shipyard workforce families (1942-45 exposure window alleged)

    Limitations

    Builder/corporate-level litigation, not a hull record: the documented exposure site is Western Pipe & Steel's SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO yard, while this hull was built at the company's SAN PEDRO yard - the opinion does not name the San Pedro yard or any vessel, and the stipulated 'required asbestos' contract was with the U.S. Maritime Commission (WPS also held Navy contracts; this hull was a Navy hull). The appellate disposition is a successor-liability reversal on non-exposure grounds, leaving the trial-stage exposure findings intact but deciding nothing about San Pedro operations or this ship. Classified context per litigation-stage discipline.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-448-12

14. [14]EPA, Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket; Notice (tenth update, CERCLA sec. 120(c)), 62 FR 34780-34840 (June 27, 1997), FR Doc. 97-16517 [federal_register]

    Locator

    62 FR 34780, facility table - Oregon row: 'Tongue Point Job Corps Center, Betwn Mp 95 & 96 Hwy 30, Astoria, OR 97103, Labor, 3010 103c'

    Finding type

    environmental_record

    Finding

    The site's later federal record is documented: EPA's Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket (tenth update under CERCLA section 120(c), Federal Register Vol. 62, No. 124, June 27, 1997) lists 'Tongue Point Job Corps Center, Betwn Mp 95 & 96 Hwy 30, Astoria, OR 97103' under the Department of Labor with RCRA section 3010 and CERCLA section 103(c) reporting codes - the Job Corps occupied the former Tongue Point Naval Station, the Pacific Reserve Fleet site where this hull was decommissioned 25 January 1957 and mothballed until her 1958 sale (per the crew memoir). The mothball site where she lay in reserve thus appears on the federal hazardous-waste compliance docket - reserve-fleet-site context, not a hull finding.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    Accessed

    2026-10-01

    Study period

    1957-1958 (hull presence); 1997 (docket notice)

    Population

    Tongue Point facility workforce; PacResFlt Columbia River Group personnel (1957-58 berthing window)

    Limitations

    Mothball-site context only: the docket entry postdates the Navy's tenure (listed under Labor as the Job Corps facility) and documents federal hazardous-waste/CERCLA reporting at the site - it does not say asbestos, does not name any vessel, and does not establish that materials aboard LSM-448 were removed or released there. The Tongue Point attribution for the reserve-fleet berthing rests on the crew memoir, not an official station record. FR notice verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-01.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lsm-448-13

15. [15]Batch-6259 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); Shipbuilding History WPS table; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document; NHHC Korean Service Medal eligibility list; ComTransRon 12 Nagasaki action report (NavSource-hosted PDF); NARA catalog; NARA Riverside RG 181 finding aids; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated); MARAD ShipHistory; NVR; hazegray; HyperWar; uboat.net; GAO product page; EPA Federal Register docket; OSHA/DTSC yard searches [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-448-01 through sl-uss-lsm-448-19

    Finding type

    historical_record

    Finding

    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS LSM-448 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener coverage this session: 'LSM-448' opinion search - 1 hit (Fleming v. United States, 1965, a Fifth Amendment trochus-cargo takings case naming the ship - classified other litigation, not asbestos); 'LSM-448' docket/RECAP - 0; 'LSM 448' opinion - 1 (same Fleming opinion); 'LSM 448' docket - 0; 'USS LSM-448' opinion - 0; 'USS LSM 448' opinion - 0. NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull (candidate URL 404; numbered LSMs generally not covered); hazegray DANFS mirror unreachable; NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals and was unreachable this session; MARAD Vessel History Database search returned site error pages (blocked, not a negative). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no 'asbestos aboard' claims for this hull - law-firm listicle pages exist for sister hulls (e.g., LSM-427) but none for LSM-448 itself.

    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-built Navy amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and builder-level litigation corroborates asbestos-material use under WPS wartime contracts (South San Francisco yard). The hull was scrapped post-1958 with scrapping site unrecorded, leaving material fate undocumented. 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-448-14