Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]NavSource Naval History, Amphibious Photo Archive: USS LSM-453 (history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS LSM-453 page - history extract, awards ribbons, occupation-service table, commanding-officer table, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource hull record for USS LSM-453 (LSM-1 class Landing Ship Medium): laid down 30 October 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 22 December 1944; commissioned 14 February 1945, Lt. Walter H. Jungbluth USNR in command; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater (history extract credits LSM Flotilla Twelve, LSM Group Thirty-Five, LSM Division Sixty-Nine); photographed beached at Okinawa with USS LST-399 after the island had been secured, circa 1945, and at a seaplane ramp in Japan during occupation duty; occupation service periods 20 September-4 October 1945 and 19 October 1945-21 March 1946; decommissioned 14 June 1946 and transferred the same day to the Republic of China; struck from the Naval Register on an unknown date; seized by Communist forces October 1949, fate unknown. Commanding officers: Lt. Jungbluth (Feb 1945-Nov 1945), Lt.(jg) Peter D. Ellis USNR (Nov 1945-14 Jun 1946). Specifications block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full load; 203 ft 6 in oa x 34 ft 6 in; 13.2 knots; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; two GM 16-278A reversible diesels, 1,440 bhp each at 720 rpm, direct drive, twin screws.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Ship's company: 5 officers, 54 enlisted; embarked troops 2 officers, 46 enlisted
- Limitations
- Standard amphibious reference work; not an official Navy record. Contains no asbestos or materials information of any kind - supports identity, construction, and service history only. Its flotilla/group assignment (Flotilla 12 / Group 35 / Division 69) conflicts with the official NHHC organization chart (Flotilla 14 / Group 42 / Division 83) - see ev-uss-lsm-453-02 and the gaps field.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-01
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library online reading room: 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- LSM Flotilla Fourteen > LSM Group Forty-Two > LSM Division 83 > 'LSM 453 | Lt. W. H. Jungbluth (USNR)'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy Department Library's official 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' lists 'LSM 453' in LSM Flotilla Fourteen, LSM Group Forty-Two, LSM Division 83, with commanding officer 'Lt. W. H. Jungbluth (USNR)' - corroborating the hull's commissioned Pacific service and first commanding officer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- A one-day organizational snapshot; establishes wartime assignment and commanding officer only - contains no materials, construction, or asbestos information. Conflicts with the NavSource/Turner extract's Flotilla 12/Group 35/Division 69 assignment; both attributions carried unresolved (assignment may have changed over time).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-02
-
[3]National Archives and Records Administration, Catalog file unit NAID 77501824 (RG 38, WWII War Diaries microfilm digitization) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search q="LSM-453" (76 full-text matches; this file unit's extracted text contains the string); NAID 77501824
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NARA Catalog full-text search for 'LSM-453' returns a digitized WWII file unit - 'COMTRANSRON 14 - Report of operations in the occupation of the Wakayama Area, Honshu, Japan, 9/25-26/45' (NAID 77501824, Record Group 38, series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories', 55 images online) - whose extracted text matches the hull number, consistent with the ship's documented September 1945 occupation-service window in Japan.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-09
- Limitations
- Hull-name match is via the catalog's OCR extracted text; the 55-page report has not been read page-by-page to confirm context of the mention. No file unit titled 'LSM-453' (muster roll or deck log) was located among digitized holdings - the hull's own logs appear not to be digitized. This is an archival lead, not an exposure record; it contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-03
-
[4]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton, ed.), 'Western Pipe & Steel, South San Francisco CA and San Pedro CA' production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- WWII section, 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' block: hull 214 / LSM 453 / delivered 14-Feb-45 / 'To China 1946, seized by PRC 1949'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The compiled Western Pipe & Steel production table (shipbuildinghistory.com) lists LSM 453 as yard hull number 214, US Navy Landing Ship, 743 t/203 ft, delivered 14 February 1945 (the commissioning date), in the 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' contract block, with disposition 'To China 1946, seized by PRC 1949' - corroborating the builder, build dates, and loss of the hull to Communist Chinese forces.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- Construction trades, Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro yard, 1944-45
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary reference (from yard/USMC production records), not an official record; independently consistent with NavSource on every overlapping fact (builder yard, delivery/commissioning date, China transfer, PRC seizure). Contains no asbestos or materials information. The 'ordered' date differs from uboat.net's 8 Apr 1944 - minor discrepancy, not resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-04
-
[5]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (Cal. Ct. App. 1st Dist., Div. Three, Mar. 2, 2001), No. A091473 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, Facts section (General Background; Trial Court Proceedings) - full text read at Justia 2026-10-01
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (2001): published California Court of Appeal opinion on take-home asbestos exposure at the builder company. The stipulated trial record established that Western Pipe & Steel's WWII U.S. Maritime Commission shipbuilding contract 'required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos' and that plaintiff Jeannette Franklin's parents, employed at the company's South San Francisco yard 1942-1945, 'worked in areas where asbestos was present'; she developed peritoneal mesothelioma. A jury verdict for plaintiffs exceeding $5 million was reversed on appeal solely on successor-liability grounds - the court held USX was not the successor in interest to WPS and did not reach the verdict issues.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945 exposure; 2001 opinion
- Population
- WWII Western Pipe & Steel shipyard workers and household members (company-level context)
- Limitations
- Company-level documentation, not hull- or yard-site-specific to this vessel: the exposure findings concern Western Pipe & Steel's South San Francisco yard, whereas LSM-453 was built at the same company's San Pedro yard (per NavSource and the yard production table). Take-home/household exposure pathway, not shipboard or construction-worker exposure aboard this hull. Disposition reported exactly: trial-court successor-liability finding and $5M+ jury verdict REVERSED on appeal on non-exposure grounds - the exposure record stands as a stipulated-trial record, not an affirmed judgment. Does not establish asbestos aboard LSM-453.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-05
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[6]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 (DOI resolves to Wiley Online Library)
- 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 emergency construction program under which this LSM-1 class hull was built in 1944 - and that wartime naval and merchant demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard ship hulls.
- 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 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-453-06
-
[7]Batch-6265 search ledger (this record): NavSource, NHHC (DANFS lookup + Pacific Fleet org chart), NVR, NARA Catalog, CourtListener authenticated API (opinion index), shipbuildinghistory.com, Naval Marine Archive, uboat.net, general web search [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-453-01 through sl-uss-lsm-453-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed opinion or RECAP docket naming LSM-453 was found in the public sources searched; no DANFS entry exists for this unnamed hull; the Naval Vessel Register carries no record (ships disposed before 1987 are outside NVR coverage); no digitized muster roll or deck log for this hull was located at NARA. The hull's 1946 transfer to the Republic of China and October 1949 seizure by Communist forces foreclosed the usual U.S. documentation paths (reserve fleet custody, domestic scrapping, museum records).
- 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-built wartime hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and no post-service survey exists to establish either presence or removal. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-453-07