Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (Navy Department Library transcription of the wartime organization document) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet section; LSM Flotilla Fourteen > LSM Group Forty-Two > LSM Division 83 table (printed page 73)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary Navy organization document places this hull, as of 1 May 1945, in LSM DIVISION 83 (LSM 453, LSM 454, LSM 455, LSM 456, LSM 457, LSM 458), under LSM GROUP FORTY-TWO, within LSM FLOTILLA FOURTEEN, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (Commander Amphibious Forces, V. Adm. R. K. Turner). No commanding officer is listed against LSM 456 in the table ('..........').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew, 1945
- Limitations
- Organizational snapshot at one date (1 May 1945); unit assignments in amphibious forces shifted. NavSource's Turner Publishing extract assigns this hull to LSM Group Forty-One / LSM Division Eighty-Two - same flotilla, different group/division; the variance is carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-456 (10/14/14456) - timeline, specifications, commanding officers, photographs; history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14456.htm history block, specifications block, commanding-officers table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 15 November 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 28 December 1944; commissioned USS LSM-456, 13 March 1945, Lt. George M. Brown USN in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LSM Flotilla Fourteen (LCDR W. R. McCaleb), LSM Group Forty-One, LSM Division Eighty-Two. Post-war Occupation and China service, 11 September 1945 to 8 February 1947 (both Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp and China Service Medal extended). Decommissioned 8 February 1947 and transferred the same day to the Republic of China; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; escaped to Taiwan October 1949 with the fall of the Republic of China and redesignated LSM-345; scrapped by the Taiwanese Navy in 1970. Commanding officers: Lt. George M. Brown (13 Mar 1945 - 30 May 1946); Lt.(jg) Bascom J. Rowlett Jr., USNR (30 May 1946 - Aug 1946); Lt. Luther R. Daniels, USN (Aug 1946 - 8 Feb 1947). Photographs document the ship pierside at Tientsin, China, September 1945 (inboard of USS LSM-279) and beached at Samchock, Korea (date unknown). Awards: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp) - no battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- WPS construction trades (1944-45); crew 1945-47; ROC Navy crew 1947-70
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation; its history extract is from Turner Publishing's 1997 LSM-LSMR volume, not a primary registry. The group/division assignment conflicts with the dated NHHC primary document (carried in gaps); the decommissioning date conflicts with uboat.net/NavalCoverMuseum (8 vs 7 February 1947 - carried in gaps); struck date is unknown. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-02
-
[3]shipbuildinghistory.com, Western Pipe & Steel South San Francisco CA and San Pedro CA yard table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Western Pipe & Steel yard table, hulls 208-219 under 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro'; hull 217 row; introductory yard-history text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard table identifies this hull as Western Pipe & Steel yard hull 217, 'LSM 456,' built for the US Navy in the LSM-447 through LSM-458 block ordered 4 April 1944 and built in San Pedro; delivered 13-Mar-45; disposition 'To China 1947, escaped to Taiwan 1949 as LSM-345, scrapped 1970.' The yard history records that WPS ran two distinct WWII yards - the reactivated South San Francisco yard and a new San Pedro yard (West Basin) - both sold to Consolidated Steel at the end of WWII; the LSM orders were built at San Pedro.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (construction); 1947-1970 (disposition)
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary trade-history compilation, not an official registry; corroborates NavSource construction/disposition data and distinguishes the two WPS yards. The block order date (4-Apr-44) conflicts with uboat.net's 'Ordered 8 Apr 1944' (carried in gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-03
-
[4]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001), No. A091473 - CourtListener opinion 2287235 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text at 87 Cal. App. 4th 618-619 (facts: contract, exposure), 621-630 (successor-liability analysis), 630 (disposition: judgment reversed)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published appellate decision documenting asbestos-era shipbuilding practice at this hull's builder: the opinion records as background fact that when WWII broke out Western Pipe & Steel 'entered into a contract with the United States Maritime Commission to again build ships for use in the war. The contract required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos.' A jury returned a verdict exceeding $5 million on the claim that Jeannette Franklin's peritoneal mesothelioma resulted from childhood secondhand exposure carried home by her parents, who worked at the WPS South San Francisco shipyard 1942-1945 'in areas where asbestos was present' including during 'the mixing of mud,' insulation work, and debris sweep-up. The Court of Appeal reversed: USX was not WPS's successor in interest; the judgment against USX was reversed and the court did not reach the issues pertaining to the jury verdict.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (exposure); 2001 (opinion)
- Population
- WPS South San Francisco shipyard workers and their households (1942-1945 exposure window)
- Limitations
- Builder-level, not hull-level: the documented exposure site was the company's South San Francisco yard under a Maritime Commission contract, not the San Pedro yard that built this Navy-contracted hull, and no ship name is involved - the case documents company wartime practice only. Litigation-stage discipline: the jury's exposure verdict was REVERSED on successor-liability grounds; the appellate court did not review the asbestos exposure findings - the exposure record remains a trial-stage determination, not an affirmed judgment. Does not establish asbestos aboard LSM-456.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-04
-
[5]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2
- 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 1944-45 construction and 1945-47 U.S. service era.
- 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 this session (gao.gov product page used; the standing gao.gov automated-fetch block noted in earlier batches applies).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-05
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (2 x GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, twin screws - no steam plant); shipyards.json product documentation for western-pipe-steel ('asbestos-containing shipbuilding materials (contract-required)' per Franklin v. USX); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use documentation (see ev-05) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; Franklin v. USX (ev-04); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-05)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-drive landing ship built 1944-45 at a yard whose wartime shipbuilding contracts are documented (in appellate litigation) as requiring asbestos-containing materials sits inside the documented asbestos era of Navy shipbuilding. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a 1944 diesel amphibious hull were thermal insulation in machinery spaces, diesel exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck/lining materials. As a diesel-drive ship she carried no boilers or steam propulsion - 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
- 1944-1970
- Population
- WPS San Pedro construction trades (1944-45); crew (1945-47); ROC Navy crew (1947-70)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or ship's data book was located for LSM-456. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-06
-
[7]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (digitized deck-log index) + RG 24 deck-log custody [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online - LSM sections; LSM-456 absent
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's published digitized deck-log index lists numerous LSM hulls (LSM-161, LSM-175, LSM-268, LSM-297, LSM-373, LSM-397, LSM-412, LSM-419, LSM-448, LSM-455, LSM-462, LSM-540) but contains no LSM-456 entry - this hull's deck logs are not in the digitized online series. Deck logs for commissioned Navy vessels of 1945-47 are held in RG 24 at the National Archives as physical records.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1947 (log period)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: absence from the online list means undigitized, not absent from archival custody. Deck-log contents (if extant) could document ports, availabilities, and maintenance evolutions relevant to exposure windows but contain no asbestos itemization by themselves. NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be queried directly this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-07
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py, 2026-10-01: quoted "LSM-456" - opinions 0, dockets 0; quoted "LSM 456" - opinions 0; unquoted "LSM-456" - opinions 9, dockets 495 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-456-09 through sl-uss-lsm-456-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. Quoted exact-string searches returned zero hits: "LSM-456" in both the opinion and RECAP docket indexes, and "LSM 456" in the opinion index. Unquoted searches returned 9 opinion hits and 495 docket hits, all of which are string collisions - reporter page numbers, docket-number fragments, and OCR noise (e.g., 'F.Supp.2d 455', unrelated docket numbers) - none naming the vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Negative finding limited to CourtListener's indexed opinion and docket corpora as searched 2026-10-01; state trial filings, unindexed MDL-875 pleading-line entries, and non-digitized records are outside its coverage. Absence of located litigation does not prove absence of exposure or of claims never filed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-08
-
[9]Batch-6268 search ledger (this record): NHHC fleet-organization document; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory.com; NavalCoverMuseum; uboat.net; NARA digitized-log index; CourtListener authenticated searches; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-456-01 through sl-uss-lsm-456-14
- 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-456 was found in the public sources searched. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced is law-firm/marketing listicle content (asbestos-ships.com, asbestos.com, mesotheliomahope.com, gorilaw.com and similar) asserting asbestos aboard Navy ships generally 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. ROC Navy service records (1947-1970) and any Taiwanese scrapping-yard hazmat record are outside U.S. public sources. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-09
-
[10]Builder-location cross-check: NavSource 10/14/14456.htm ('at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA'); shipbuildinghistory.com Western Pipe & Steel yard table (LSM-447-458 block 'built in San Pedro'); uboat.net ship/13043 ('Built by Western Pipe & Steel Co. (San Francisco, California, U.S.A.)') [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/13043.html vs NavSource 10/14/14456.htm and shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/westernpipe.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: uboat.net lists this hull's builder location as 'San Francisco, California.' The LSM-447-458 contract block, including yard hull 217 (LSM-456), was built at Western Pipe & Steel's San Pedro yard in the Los Angeles harbor West Basin - a different facility from the company's South San Francisco yard (which built Maritime Commission cargo ships). NavSource and the shipbuildinghistory yard table agree on San Pedro. The error conflates the company's two California yards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Corrects a build-yard location error in a secondary compilation, not a material claim. The South San Francisco / San Pedro distinction matters because the Franklin v. USX asbestos documentation concerns the South San Francisco yard specifically.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-456-10