Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 579-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: UNVERIFIABLE
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-449-lsm449-pkt-579-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-449 (10/14/14449.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997; ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14449.htm header/history block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo-caption series, and commanding-officer list
- 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-351 Class' landing ship medium; laid down 2 October 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 3 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-449, 11 January 1945, LT. Jules E. Chourre USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LSM Flotilla Thirteen (LCDR C. L. Weigle USN), LSM Group Thirty-Eight (LCDR T. F. Lane USNR), LSM Division Seventy-Six. Postwar: 'Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 14 October 1945.' Decommissioned 2 June 1947 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA; struck from the Naval Register 23 June 1947; sold 19 February 1948 to Ashland Oil & Refining Co., Ashland, KY - 'fate unknown.' Spec block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin bow-mounted 40mm + 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, twin screws, 2,800 shp. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Photo captions: nested in six or seven LSMs at San Diego April-May 1946; passing under the Golden Gate Bridge with a cargo of lumber, April 1947. CO list: LT Jules E. Chourre (11 Jan 1945 - Sep 1945), LTjg/LT William C. Mason (Sep 1945 - 1946), LT Joseph Edward Gould (1946 - 2 Jun 1947).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-47)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation drawing on the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR history - milestone dates generally track official records but are not a primary registry. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via webfetch (navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-01
-
[3]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library Online Reading Room: 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (archived copy - live NHHC URL returned 404 this session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- LSM FLOTILLA THIRTEEN (1) > LSM GROUP 38 > LSM DIVISION 76, row 'LSM 449 | Lt. J. E. Chouree (USNR)' - verbatim text verified in the Wayback 2025-02-14 capture; live NHHC URL 404 confirmed 2026-10-01 (standing NHHC link-rot defect)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC Navy Department Library transcription of 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' lists LSM 449 under LSM Flotilla Thirteen, LSM Group Thirty-Eight (ComLSMGrp 38 Lt. Cdr. T. F. Lane USNR), LSM Division Seventy-Six, with 'Lt. J. E. Chouree (USNR)' shown as commanding officer - the same flotilla/group/division assignment and CO (spelling variant Chouree/Chourre) that NavSource records. Division 76 roster as printed: LSM 447 (Lt. E. T. Foree USNR), LSM 448, LSM 449 (Lt. J. E. Chouree USNR), LSM 450 (GF) (Lt.(jg) W. J. Waters USNR), LSM 451 (Lt. J. H. Tilton USNR), LSM 452 (Lt. H. J. Dupuy USNR).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Ship's company and LSM Flotilla 13 / Group 38 / Division 76 personnel
- Limitations
- Official organizational roster only: establishes the hull's Pacific Fleet unit assignment and CO as of 1 May 1945 but documents no operations, location, or service event for this hull, and contains no asbestos or material content. Cited via Wayback capture - the live NHHC page is currently unreachable (404).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com), 'Western Pipe & Steel, South San Francisco / San Pedro' yard table and 'Landing Ships, Medium - LSM' type table [other_primary]
- Locator
- westernpipe.htm contract block, yard-hull row 210 ('LSM 449 ... 11-Jan-45 ... Sold to Ashland Oil 1948'); corroborating row in smallships/lsm.htm type table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Western Pipe & Steel construction list carries '210 | LSM 449 | Unnamed | US Navy | Landing Ship | 743d | 203 | 11-Jan-45 | Sold to Ashland Oil 1948' - corroborating the builder (Western Pipe & Steel, San Pedro yard, hull 210), delivery/commissioning date (11 January 1945, matching NavSource's commissioning date), and the 1948 sale to Ashland Oil. The same table documents the yard's LSM block and notes WPS San Pedro delivered 32 LSMs August 1944 - March 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Independent secondary yard list corroborating NavSource dates - not a primary registry. Contains no asbestos content. The delivery column date (11-Jan-45) matches the commissioning date; the table does not separately state a delivery vs commissioning distinction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-03
-
[5]California Military Museum (militarymuseum.org), 'Western Pipe and Steel' - transcribing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers History (1994), Los Angeles District real-estate file findings [other_primary]
- Locator
- Western Pipe and Steel entry, USACE 1994 paragraph - BHCO No. 1830, Berths 120 and 125-131, West Basin, contract date 5 March 1941, post-war dismantling
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The 1994 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers real-estate history for the site (as transcribed by the California Military Museum) records that the Navy Department acquired a use permit under Board of Harbor Commissioners Order No. 1830 for Berths 120 and 125-131 in the West Basin of the Port of Los Angeles and entered a contractual arrangement with Western Pipe and Steel on 5 March 1941; the site was used by WPS to fill shipbuilding orders for the Navy and Coast Guard, and the facilities were dismantled after WWII. This is the yard where this hull was built in late 1944 - builder-site documentation fixing the San Pedro yard's location and government arrangement.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1994 (site history window); hull construction Oct 1944-Jan 1945
- Population
- WPS San Pedro workforce (1941-1945)
- Limitations
- Builder-site documentation only: establishes where and under what government arrangement the WPS San Pedro yard operated, not what materials went into any hull. The USACE summary notes no real-estate ledger found and postwar redevelopment; the reported absence of contamination findings is a site statement, not a statement about materials aboard ships built there. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-04
-
[6]History of NAS Kodiak, Alaska, supplement 1 Apr - 31 Dec 1946 (NA34/A12, 10 Feb 1947) - verbatim transcription hosted at kadiak.org (USS Kadiak/NAS Kodiak veterans' site) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Transcribed NAS Kodiak history, September 1946 chronological entries (~line 564 of the text file)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A transcribed official Navy document names this hull in postwar Alaskan service: the History of Naval Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, supplement for 1 April - 31 December 1946 (CO letter NA34/A12, serial 95:CEF:nn, dated 10 February 1947, R. C. Sutliff) records that 'On the 5 Sept. the Supply Officer departed to Matanuska Valley, Palmer, Alaska, on a provision purchasing trip for purchase of fresh provisions to off set shortages caused by the shipping strike and lag in the reefer schedule. Via LSM 449, purchase of 50 tons of potatoes and 25 tons of miscellaneous fresh items was contracted and successfully delivered.' LSM-449 thus was carrying provisions in Alaskan waters (Kodiak) in September 1946, between her Far East occupation service (ending 14 Oct 1945 per NavSource) and the April 1947 Golden Gate lumber-cargo photograph.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1946-09
- Population
- LSM-449 crew (Sept 1946 Alaska run); NAS Kodiak supply establishment
- Limitations
- Ship-specific operational detail from a primary Navy document, accessed as a web transcription - the host is a veterans' site, not an official archive; the transcription is verbatim-looking but unauthenticated against the original. Documents a provisioning delivery via this hull at Kodiak in Sept 1946; no asbestos, material, or crew-exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-05
-
[7]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 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Task-organization section (LSM Flotilla 16 (Temp) / LSM Unit ONE / LSM Unit TWO rosters, PDF p.5) and chronology Part III (27 September 1945 departure entries, PDF p.18) - OCR-assisted reading of scanned typewritten pages
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A U.S. Navy action report relevant to this hull's flotilla was consulted and does NOT list LSM-449: Commander Transport Squadron Twelve's Action Report on the landings of occupation forces at Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945 (serial 30 September 1945; NavSource-hosted scan) organizes 'LSM Flotilla 16 (Temp)' into LSM Unit ONE and LSM Unit TWO, the latter under Lt. Cdr. Lane - the same officer named as ComLSMGrp 38 in the 1 May 1945 fleet roster. LSM Unit TWO's printed roster is LSMs 450 (F), 448, 465, 263, 462, 452, 122, 466, 103, and 286. LSM-449 - a Group 38/Division 76 hull - is not listed in either LSM unit; the report's 27 September entries also record 'LSMs 450, [439/441], 263, and 443' departing Nagasaki for Okinawa without 449. Her documented occupation service (2 Sep - 14 Oct 1945) is therefore NOT corroborated to the Nagasaki landing force by this report.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-09
- Population
- LSM Unit ONE/TWO crews at Nagasaki (Sept 1945) - not this hull's crew as listed
- Limitations
- Negative extraction, not negative evidence: the report's LSM-unit rosters do not include this hull, so LSM-449's Far East occupation service should not be attributed to the Nagasaki landings on the strength of her Group 38 parentage. OCR of a poor-quality scan - a faint roster entry could be missed; flagged accordingly. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-449 specifications block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, this hull); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII-shipbuilding asbestos documentation (ev-08); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (ev-09); Franklin v. USX stipulated contract fact at the builder company (ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; synthesis of ev-08, ev-09, and ev-10 era/builder documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LSM-351-class landing ship built October 1944 - January 1945 at Western Pipe & Steel's San Pedro yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; 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
- 1944-1948
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); USN crew (1945-47); Ashland Oil & Refining conversion/operation workforce (post-1948, undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or work package located for LSM-449. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The hull was sold to commercial ownership in 1948 (fate unknown), so present-day presence is undetermined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-07
-
[9]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 hull was mass-produced at a contract Navy yard in late 1944 - 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 resolves to Wiley (403 to automated fetch of full text; DOI resolution verified 2026-10-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-08
-
[10]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 (via Wayback capture; live gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session - standing access defect)
- 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 this hull's builder - so this is era/program context, not a hull or builder-yard finding. Cited via archived copy because live gao.gov 403s to automated fetch; content quoted from the archived Highlights text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-09
-
[11]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 background section (USMC contract 'required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos'; parents' 1942-45 WPS employment and asbestos-present areas) and holding (successor-liability reversal)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-level asbestos litigation record: in Franklin v. USX Corp. (2001), the plaintiff alleged mesothelioma from childhood secondhand exposure to asbestos carried home by her parents, who worked at Western Pipe & Steel's South San Francisco shipyard 1942-45 - 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,' exposed to airborne dust during insulation mixing, insulation work, and sweeping. A jury returned a verdict exceeding $5 million; the Court of Appeal reversed solely on successor-liability grounds (USX held not to be WPS's successor in interest), leaving the trial-level exposure description undisturbed as the record's stated facts.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (exposure window); 2001 (opinion)
- Population
- WPS workforce and families (WWII era, both yards by corporate-level implication)
- 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 this hull, the San Pedro yard, or any LSM. The contract language is general to the company's wartime shipbuilding but the litigated contract was a U.S. Maritime Commission contract, whereas this hull was a Navy hull. Per litigation-stage discipline the appellate disposition is described exactly: reversal on successor liability, exposure facts left as the record stated them at trial level.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-10
-
[12]CourtListener API v4 via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py (authenticated) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-449-07 through -11; authenticated exact-name, exact-phrase, and hull-number queries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The authenticated CourtListener sweep found no qualifying asbestos litigation record for USS LSM-449. Exact-phrase opinion searches for 'LSM 449' and 'USS LSM-449' returned zero results; an unquoted 'LSM-449' opinion search returned 11 results, each inspected and classified as a name/text collision (Texas and Louisiana criminal and civil opinions, a Louisiana State Museum abbreviation match, USPS employment cases, an MDL order) - none names this vessel. The unquoted 'LSM-449' RECAP docket search returned 527 document-level hits - a broad text-index collision set (habeas-corpus exhibits, sentencing attachments, financial records); no vessel-identifying matter found on inspection of the result set.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- This is a search result, not proof that no unindexed or non-text-linked case exists. Quoted-phrase docket variants ('LSM-449', 'USS LSM 449') were fleet-pace blocked this session - logged as blocked, not as negative results. The unrelated matches do not identify this vessel, its crew, or asbestos exposure aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-449-11
-
[13]Batch-6260 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); NHHC fleet-organization document (archived); NHHC DANFS checks; NVR scope check (unreachable); MARAD (app error); CourtListener opinion/docket searches; NARA catalog (JS-gated); NARA Atlanta RG 181 finding aids; Nagasaki action report OCR; GAO (archived); Corn & Starr DOI; USACE site history; kadiak.org NAS Kodiak history transcription [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-449-01 through -19
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation-material statement, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM-449 was found in the public sources searched. NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull (numbered LSMs generally not covered; candidate URL and the HyperWar mirror both 404). The Naval Vessel Register excludes vessels disposed before 1987 (sold 1948) and was unreachable this session regardless. MARAD's Vessel History Database returned an application error on every query path tried. NARA's catalog is JS-rendered/API-gated; a ship-specific file unit for this hull (e.g., a deck-log or material-inspection unit) could not be confirmed - the parallel hull LSM-447 has a located InSurv file unit (NAID 2760938) so a similar unit for LSM-449 is a plausible open lead, not a confirmed holding. The Nagasaki occupation-landing action report was consulted and does not list this hull (ev-06). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no 'asbestos aboard' claims for this hull - no law-firm listicle content was found to exclude.
- 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 late-1944 Navy-contract amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and 1948 commercial sale plus undocumented disposal leave material fate unrecorded. Several repositories were access-blocked this session (NVR, MARAD, NARA catalog API, quoted-variant CourtListener queries) - logged as blocked, not negative. 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-449-12