Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-454 (LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium) - build record, WWII/postwar assignments, decommissioning, disposition, specifications, commanding officers; history extract credited to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Specifications block, history block, and commanding-officer table, USS LSM-454 page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 31 October 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 22 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-454 on 15 February 1945, LT. Joseph L. Rosson USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fourteen (LCDR. W. R. McCaleb), LSM Group Forty-One, LSM Division Eighty-One. Post-war: Navy Occupation Service 11-20 September 1945; China Service (extended) 27 June 1946 - 22 February 1947. Decommissioned 3 July 1947 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold 29 December 1947 to Ohio Oil Co., Finley, OH, fate unknown. Specifications: 203'6" oa; displacement 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; two GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Wartime crew (5 officers, 54 enlisted); embarked troops (2 officers, 46 enlisted)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a privately compiled archive; its history extract derives from the credited Turner Publishing volume rather than a primary Navy record. Struck-from-register date not given. Contains no asbestos information whatsoever.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-01
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[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, photo catalog NH 84899: 'USS LSM-454 - In San Francisco Bay, California, after World War II' (courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog, NH 84899 title/caption/description fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC holds cataloged photograph NH 84899 of this hull in San Francisco Bay after World War II - consistent with the NavSource-documented post-war occupation/China service and 1947 return to California for decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- Post-WWII (photograph undated; donated 1976)
- Limitations
- Photographic catalog entry only: confirms hull identity and post-war presence in San Francisco Bay; contains no operational detail and no asbestos information. No DANFS ship-history entry exists for LSM-454 (numbered LSMs are not individually covered).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-02
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[3]U.S. Shipbuilding History (shipbuildinghistory.com), Western Pipe & Steel production table, San Pedro CA yard (most recent update January 7, 2022) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Western Pipe & Steel table, WWII section, hull rows 208-219 ('Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro'), row 215
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard production table corroborates the build and disposition record: Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro yard hull 215 = LSM-454, US Navy landing ship, 743 t(d) / 203 ft, part of the LSM 447-458 order batch (ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro), delivered 15-Feb-45 (matching the NavSource commissioning date), disposition 'Sold to Ohio Oil 1947'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Limitations
- Privately compiled yard table assembled from official records, not itself an official record; delivery date aligns with the commissioning date; gives no striking date and no post-sale fate; contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-03
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[4]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (two GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 era documentation (ev-uss-lsm-454-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Inference row; see ev-uss-lsm-454-01 (specifications) and ev-uss-lsm-454-05 (era documentation)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven landing ship built 1944-45 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. There is no steam plant aboard, so the era-typical boiler/steam-line lagging pathway does not apply to this hull; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on diesel exhaust systems, machinery lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical/fireproofing insulation - as era inference only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades (San Pedro, 1944-45); wartime crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no operating manual, survey, work package, or other primary source names this hull or the LSM-1 class for asbestos content. Does not establish that asbestos-containing material was installed, in what quantity, or whether any survives; the hull was sold out of service in 1947 and her fate is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-04
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[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removal, and compensation programs; the Navy's documented practice was extensive asbestos insulation use aboard ships, with substitution of non-asbestos materials not begun until the 1970s (1975 policy removed only damaged insulation; 1979 modification added selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). This spans the hull's entire construction (1944-45) and service era (1945-47).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- Review published 1979; practices described span the WWII era through the 1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level review whose fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; does not name this hull, her class, or her builder; establishes era practice, not conditions aboard any specific vessel. Product-page highlights relied on; full report text not pulled this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-05
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[6]Batch-6266 search ledger (this record): NavSource full-hull page; NHHC photo catalog NH 84899; shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; DANFS/NHHC ship-history search; CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) opinion and docket searches; GAO HRD-80-2; NVR (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-454-01 through sl-uss-lsm-454-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-454 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-10-02): zero opinion hits and zero docket hits for 'LSM-454', 'USS LSM-454', and 'LSM 454'; zero opinion hits for '"landing ship medium" asbestos' - classified as no result: no qualifying asbestos litigation, no other litigation, no name collisions.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the hull's 1944-45 construction falls inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. CourtListener indexes are not exhaustive of all filings (state-court and unreported matters are outside coverage). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-454-06