Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-455 (history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997; specifications; commanding officers; merchant-service photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14455.htm history block, awards table, specifications block, Commanding Officers/Officer in Charge table, Merchant Service photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium laid down 14 November 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 27 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-455 on 12 March 1945, LT. Robert A. Hamilton, USNR, in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fourteen (LCDR. W. R. McCaleb), LSM Group Forty-One, LSM Division Eighty-Two. Post-WWII occupation and China service: Navy Occupation Service Medal periods 11-25 September 1945 and 25 May - 6 October 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 25 May 1946 - 6 October 1947. Decommissioned 25 March 1949 at San Diego; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group; placed in service 13 November 1951; placed out of service 13 March 1959; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; sold in 1959 for conversion to a barge, renamed Sandpiper. Officer-in-Charge list: LTJG Donald W. Ryan USNR (1956-10 Sep 1957), LT John W. Sellers USN USNA '54 (Oct 1957-Jun 1958). Photo captions document the ex-hull as the Jones Sand Co. barge Sandpiper at Martinez, CA, February 1995. Awards shown: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) - no battle stars displayed. Specification block: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. full; 203'6" ovl; beam 34'6"; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; two GM 16-278A reversible diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1995
- Population
- Construction trades, WPS San Pedro (1944-45); commissioned crew (1945-49); in-service caretaker/reserve complement, Long Beach (1951-59); barge conversion crews (1959+)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation drawing on the Turner Publishing unit history - milestone dates generally track official sources but it is not a primary registry; 'struck, date unknown' leaves the strike date open. Contains no asbestos or material content. Occupation/China medal periods establish qualifying presence windows, not itineraries. The spec block is builder-fit specific (Brown-built sister LSM-45 shows Fairbanks-Morse engines on its page) but is not independently verified against a BuShips data sheet for hull 216.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-01
-
[2]Shipbuilding History (Colton), 'Western Pipe & Steel, South San Francisco CA and San Pedro CA' yard-hull table - hull 216 = LSM 455 [other_primary]
- Locator
- westernpipe.htm, 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' block, hull rows 208-219 (hull 216 = LSM 455)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard-hull table places LSM-455 as Western Pipe & Steel hull 216 in the 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' contract block (LSM 447-458), delivery listed 12-Mar-45 with disposition 'Laid up 1949, sold 1959, converted to barge Sandpiper.' The page history documents that WPS's WWII San Pedro yard was a separate, newly established (1939) facility in the West Basin (Berths 125-132), distinct from the reactivated South San Francisco yard - fixing the builder location as San Pedro.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference compiled from Maritime Commission/Navy records - authoritative for hull assignment and delivery but not a primary registry. Contains no asbestos content. Conflicts noted: uboat.net lists the builder city as 'San Francisco' (incorrect - WPS corporate/parent-city shorthand); contract block date 4-Apr-44 vs uboat.net 'ordered 8 Apr 1944' (minor).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-02
-
[3]NARA, RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations,' file unit 'LSM-455 - July 1956' (NAID 204679518, 102 images, Veterans Benefits Administration / Blue Water Navy Deck Log Project digitization); catalog search 'LSM-455' returns the monthly deck-log series covering July 1956 through March 1959 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 204679518, NAVPERS 716 title page (July 1956) and NAVPERS 720 sheet dated Sunday 1 July 1956
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own deck log documents her in-service status: the July 1956 title page reads 'DECK LOG BOOK OF THE U.S.S. LSM-455,' Officer-in-Charge D. W. Ryan, LTJG, USNR, attached to the ELEVENTH Naval District, commencing 1 July 1956 at Long Beach, California. The 1 July 1956 log sheet records: 'Moored port side to Net Pier, U.S. Naval Station, Long Beach, California with a standard moor of four (4) manila lines, doubled. Receiving the following services from the pier: shore power, water, steam and telephone [ext] 592. Various ships and units of the U.S. Pacific Fleet present. Modified condition "BAKER" set. SOPA is Commander Mine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1956-1959 (digitized coverage)
- Population
- Officer-in-Charge, caretaker/reserve complement, and any Naval Station Long Beach personnel working the moored vessel (1956-59)
- Limitations
- Primary source read directly (title page and daily sheet). Establishes berth, district attachment, and reduced-readiness status - NOT an asbestos or material record. The digitized series is confirmed July 1956 - March 1959; logs for the commissioned era (1945-49) and the 1951-56 in-service years were not located in the digitized set (open archival lead - RG 24 at NARA College Park). The logbook collection as a whole was not exhaustively read; repair or yard-work entries bearing on materials could exist within it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-03
-
[4]NARA, RG 24 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations,' file unit 'LSM-455 - March 1959' (NAID 219136564) - the ship's final deck log [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 219136564, NAVPERS 716 title page and NAVPERS 720 sheet dated Monday 9 March 1959 (final remarks block)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Her final deck log documents the deactivation: title page marked 'Decomm' in pencil, Officer-in-Charge D. E. Turner, LTJG, USNR, ending 0800 9 March 1959 at Long Beach. The 9 March 1959 sheet records: 'Moored starboard side to Pier Seven (7) Berth Two (2) U.S. Naval Station Long Beach, California ... USS LSM 175 is moored alongside to port ... SOPA is ComMinPac' and the closing entry '0800 Closed out NAVPERS 720 for this vessel to meet deactivation schedule' - the logbook ending four days before the formal out-of-service date (13 March 1959) carried by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1959-03
- Population
- Deactivation-period crew and Naval Station Long Beach trades (March 1959)
- Limitations
- Primary source read directly. Confirms deactivation at Long Beach in March 1959 with LSM-175 nested alongside; the formal 'placed out of service' date (13 March 1959) rests on NavSource/Turner. Contains no asbestos or material content. Officer-in-Charge D. E. Turner, LTJG USNR, does not appear in the NavSource officer list - the log supplements it.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (two GM 16-278A diesels, no steam plant); LSM-1 class literature (Fairbanks-Morse or GM diesels by builder; 558 units 1944-45); shipyard-exposure-map shipyards.json record for western-pipe-steel (contract-required asbestos-containing shipbuilding materials); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; Wikipedia LSM-1-class article propulsion line (cross-check only); shipyards.json western-pipe-steel record; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious landing ship built 1944-45 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era and her builder's documented asbestos-contract era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were exhaust and muffler insulation, machinery insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and winch/windlass brake linings. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); commissioned crew (1945-49); in-service complement (1951-59); 1959 barge-conversion workers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-455. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-05
-
[6]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 construction (1944-45), commissioned era (1945-49), and entire in-service period (1951-59).
- 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. 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-455-06
-
[7]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (2001) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, statement of facts (WPS contract, South San Francisco yard, asbestos-required materials); 87 Cal. App. 4th at 619-625
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- An appellate record documents her builder's wartime contracting: the opinion states that Western Pipe & Steel 'entered into a contract with the United States Maritime Commission to again build ships for use in the war' and that 'the contract required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos'; plaintiff's decedent was a child whose parents worked at the Western Pipe & Steel shipyard in South San Francisco during WWII, in areas where asbestos was present (take-home exposure; peritoneal mesothelioma; the appeal addressed USX's successor liability, which was reversed in part).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- WWII exposure; opinion filed 2001
- Population
- WPS shipyard workers and household contacts (WWII era, SSF yard)
- Limitations
- Builder-company context only - the contract and exposure facts concern Western Pipe & Steel's South San Francisco yard under a Maritime Commission contract, NOT the San Pedro West Basin yard (a Navy-permit facility) where hull 216 was built; no finding about this vessel, this yard, or any Navy LSM contract. Opinion-level court record. Justia page verified reachable via full-text scrape 2026-10-01 (direct curl returns 403 - UA-blocked, not dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-07
-
[8]U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District - site history/findings for the Western Pipe & Steel San Pedro yard (reproduced by the California State Military Museum, militarymuseum.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- militarymuseum.org Western Pipe & Steel page, 'US Army Corps of Engineers History (1994)' section
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- The USACE site history documents the Navy contract yard where this hull was built: 'the Navy Department acquired a use permit under Board of Harbor Commissioners Order (BHCO) No. 1830 for Berths 120 and 125-131 in the West Basin of the Port of Los Angeles and entered into a contractual arrangement with Western Pipe and Steel on 5 March 1941. The site was used by Western Pipe and Steel Company to fill ship building orders for the Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard' (LCTs, cutters, icebreakers); shipbuilding facilities 'reportedly dismantled after World War II'; permit not terminated until 30 June 1960; site redeveloped (APL and Yang Ming container terminals, Western Fuel Oil); 'information provided by the County of Los Angeles, Department of Health Services suggests that no contamination is attributable to this site.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1960 (site use); 1994 (USACE history)
- Population
- WPS San Pedro workforce (peak ~12,285 as of Oct 1943 per the cited Clarence Mitchell field report context); later terminal workers
- Limitations
- Yard-site record, not a hull record - documents the facility under Navy permit and a no-contamination-attributed finding for the site, which does not speak to materials installed in hulls built there. USACE text reproduced on a third-party host (California Military Museum site); the underlying FUDS-style file is the primary document (archival lead). No asbestos mention either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-08
-
[9]U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives, photo 436219 - USS LSM-455 (caption: 'Comm. March 12, 1945, Decom. March 25, 1949, Sold 1959') [other_primary]
- Locator
- photos.usni.org photo ID 436219
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A cataloged USNI photograph of this hull exists in the Naval Institute's photo archive - a physical-image archival lead corroborating the commission/decommission/sale milestones in its caption.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1959 (ship era)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - a photograph establishes the hull's documented image, not work, materials, or condition; no asbestos content. Caption dates match NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-09
-
[10]Batch-6267 search ledger (this record): NavSource; shipbuildinghistory yard table; NARA RG 24 digitized deck logs (Jul 1956-Mar 1959, title pages and daily sheets read); NVR (no entry); NHHC DANFS (no entry); USACE site history; USNI photo; GAO product page; CourtListener (blocked x4); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-455-01 through sl-uss-lsm-455-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM-455 was found in the public sources searched. CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper returned the fleet-wide pacing stand-down on all seven attempts; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content (mesotheliomaveterans.org and similar listicles) asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (blocked, not run). The digitized deck logs were spot-read (title pages and key daily sheets), not exhausted. WWII-era deck logs (1945-49) and the barge-conversion work record (1959) are unfound/undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-455-10