Evidence
15 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-15).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-473 (10/14/14473.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997; ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14473.htm header/history block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo-caption table (image IDs 101447301-303, 101447129), 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-1-class; laid down 3 February 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 24 February 1945; commissioned USS LSM-473 on 24 March 1945, LT. Raymond A. Johnson USNR in command; WWII Asiatic-Pacific Theater assignment - LSM Flotilla Fifteen, LSM Group Forty-Four, LSM Division Eighty-Nine; decommissioned 6 May 1946 at Astoria, OR; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria; 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown'; sold October 1958 to American Tug Boat Co., Everett, WA, converted to a barge; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Spec block: 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full load; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow + four single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs; endurance 4,900 mi @ 12 kts. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal. Photo captions place her off Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, TX, 27 March 1945 (three U.S. Navy views); and moored alongside decommissioned USS LSM-471 and minesweepers USS Compel (AM-162) and USS Concise (AM-163) at the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Swan Island, Portland, OR, dated 3 February 1946 - a caption date three months before the stated 6 May 1946 decommissioning (see gaps). Commanding officers listed: LT. Raymond A. Johnson USNR (24 March 1945 - ?).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1958
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); USN crew (1945-46); reserve-fleet maintenance/preservation personnel (1946-1958)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation sourcing the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR history - milestone dates track that extract and are unverified against the primary register; the struck date is explicitly unknown and its 'fate unknown' disposition is superseded by later-documented wreck evidence (ev-03, ev-04). The Swan Island caption's 3 February 1946 date precedes the stated decommissioning - carried as captioned, flagged in gaps. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via webfetch (navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-01
-
[2]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton), 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' yard list - hull 280 = LSM-473 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard list, row for yard hull 280 (LSM 473); page header (yard history, 254 LSM output)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Brown Shipbuilding yard record for this hull: Colton's yard list carries hull number 280, 'LSM 473', keel laid 3-Feb-45, launched 24-Feb-45, delivered 24-Mar-45; disposition entry 'Laid up 1947, sold to American Tug Boat 1958, converted to barge "O & H 125". ON 278373' - documenting the yard hull number and the barge's post-Navy name and U.S. official number. The same page documents Brown Shipbuilding's wartime scale: built 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9mm from the Navy; total output 359 vessels in four years including 254 LSMs; the yard was leased to Todd Shipyards 1949-1984 and later became an offshore fabrication yard (sold piecemeal 2004).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945; 1947-1958
- Population
- American Tug Boat Co. barge-conversion workforce (1958-59)
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled yard list (Colton's shipbuildinghistory.com) - consistent with NavSource on all overlapping dates except 'Laid up 1947' versus NavSource's 6 May 1946 decommissioning (a layup/decommission sequencing difference, logged in gaps). The O & H 125 / ON 278373 disposition entry is corroborated by the Williams registry extract (ev-03) and internationalmaritimelibrary.org. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via webfetch. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-02
-
[3]bathymetricresearch.com, 'West Point Barges' (Gary Fabian, 2015-06-17), quoting Greg H. Williams, 'World War II U.S. Navy Vessels in Private Hands' (McFarland); corroborated by International Maritime Library registry page 'LSM-473 > A T B NO. 61' [other_primary]
- Locator
- bathymetricresearch.com West Point Barges page, LSM-473 paragraph (Williams extract) and survey note (NOAA S1212 / H11605); https://internationalmaritimelibrary.org/lsm-473-a-t-b-no-61/ registry fields
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-Navy registry chain for this hull, quoted from Greg H. Williams, 'World War II U.S. Navy Vessels in Private Hands': 'Registered in 1959 by the American Tug Boat Co., 1318 Grand Ave., Everett, Washington, as the 551-ton freight barge A.T.B. No. 61, homeported at Seattle. Registered in 1970 by the Pioneer Towing Co., Inc., 5001 E. Marginal Way, Seattle, Washington, as the 551-ton freight barge O & H 125. Foundered on November 8, 1973, about 1 mile off the Four Mile Rock Light in Puget Sound, Washington. The O & H 45 was lost also. Official number 278373.' The host page adds that the two sunken steel wrecks - 'West Point Barges' (aka 'Four Mile Rock Barges'), ex-LSM-473/O & H 125 and ex-LSM-429/O & H 45 - lie side by side in about 90 ft of water and were surveyed by NOAA Survey Launch S1212 in 2006-2007 under survey ID H11605. The International Maritime Library registry entry 'LSM-473 > A T B NO. 61' independently corroborates official number 278373, 551 gross tons, dimensions 199.2 x 34.0 x 8.0, rig 'Barge', owner chain 'U.S. Government (USN) > American Tug Boat Co. (WA)', service 'Freight (1960)'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1958-1973; wreck 1973-present
- Population
- American Tug Boat Co. and Pioneer Towing Co. barge crews/handlers (1959-1973); NOAA survey personnel (2006-07); recreational divers (present)
- Limitations
- Secondary registry scholarship (published vessel-registry compilation, privately hosted wreck-research page) - not a primary government record; the merchant registration chain and foundering date trace to Williams's compilation of U.S. documentation records and are corroborated by the Colton yard list (ev-02) and the International Maritime Library entry, but USCG/MERLIN documentation files themselves were not pulled. The page's 'Built in 1944' line conflicts with the February-March 1945 construction dates of every other source - treated as loose. Foundering 'for reasons unknown' - no casualty report located. bathymetricresearch page verified live 2026-10-01 via Firecrawl (direct webfetch returned HTTP 406); IML page verified live via Firecrawl. Contains no asbestos content - barge conversion and sinking are material-history events, not abatement records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-03
-
[4]NOAA Office of Coast Survey / NCEI, Descriptive Report for hydrographic survey H11605 (OPR-S-N912-NRT3-06), AWOIS item 53451 (Danger to Navigation feature record); corroborating dive-site coordinates from emeralddiving.com 'Four Mile Barges' [other_primary]
- Locator
- H11605 Descriptive Report PDF, 'Danger To Navigation' feature record for AWOIS 53451 (search/survey position, remarks, hydrographer recommendations, S-57 attributes); dive coordinates at https://emeralddiving.com/four_mile_barges_frame.html
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- NOAA Office of Coast Survey hydrographic survey H11605 (field operation OPR-S-N912-NRT3-06, survey launch S1212, work December 2006 - March 2007) investigated AWOIS item 53451 - the charted wreck now identified as the West Point/Four Mile Rock barge pair - and recorded: 'The wreck is in two pieces and the high point is at the northeast end of the eastmost section, approximately 70 meters from the center point of the charted symbol. This section is approximately 62 meters long and is oriented toward 218.5 degrees true. The western section is approximately 60 meters long and is oriented toward 191 degrees true. Dive investigation determined least depth to be 17.17 meters/56.3 feet.' Survey position 47°38'25.4"N 122°25'35.6"W; charted least depth 57 ft as a dangerous wreck ('Wk'); charts affected 18449, 18474, 18441, 18445, 18440, 18003, 18007, and small-craft/range charts. A recreational dive-site page describes the same two-barge wreck about 150 ft long, upright and intact in ~90 ft of water ~30 ft apart, at N47°38.403' W122°25.631'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1973-2007 (wreck event through survey)
- Population
- NOAA hydrographic survey and dive-inspection personnel (2006-07)
- Limitations
- The NOAA record documents a charted two-piece wreck at the stated position - it does NOT name the wreck as ex-LSM-473 or 'O & H 125'; the identification rests on the secondary Williams/registry sources (ev-03) and the position match to the Four Mile Rock site. NOAA records the pair as ONE AWOIS item; which of the two hull sections is ex-LSM-473 versus ex-LSM-429 is undetermined (gap). H11605 DR PDF verified live via direct download (HTTP 200, NCEI data archive); emeralddiving page verified live 2026-10-01. Documentation of a sunken steel hull - contains no asbestos survey or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-04
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LSM 473 (LSM 473), ship/13060.html [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 13060, data table and history line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net compiled record for this hull: ordered 10 July 1944; built by Brown Shipbuilding Co. (Houston, Texas); laid down 3 February 1945; launched 24 February 1945; commissioned 24 March 1945; 'End service 6 May 1946'; history line 'Decommissioned on 6 May 1946. Stricken on 30 August 1947. Sold in October 1958.' - all dates match NavSource except the stricken date (30 August 1947), which NavSource lists as unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Limitations
- Secondary warship database; the stricken date (30 August 1947) and ordered date (10 July 1944) are secondary-only and unverified against the Naval Register or contract record. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via webfetch. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-05
-
[6]Naval History and Heritage Command, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' - read via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror because the NHHC page returns 404 (verified 2026-10-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- HyperWar mirror, LSM FLOTILLA FIFTEEN > LSM GROUP FORTY-FIVE > LSM DIVISION 89 (blank hull cells); Group Forty-Four > Divisions 87-88; dead NHHC original at https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/us-pacific-fleet-organization-1may1945.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-published roster 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (live NHHC page now 404; read on the HyperWar mirror) places LSM DIVISION 89 under LSM GROUP FORTY-FIVE within LSM FLOTILLA FIFTEEN - while NavSource/Turner assigns this hull to LSM Group Forty-Four, Division Eighty-Nine. Under the same Flotilla Fifteen, Group Forty-Four carries Divisions 87-88 and Group Forty-Five carries Divisions 89-90; the hull-number cells for Divisions 87 through 90 are blank in the roster ('LSM' with no number), so the document does not positively list LSM-473 at all. The roster's flotilla/group skeleton is consistent with NavSource on flotilla and division numbers but conflicts on the parent group and does not confirm the hull's assignment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- The 1 May 1945 roster places Division 89 under Group Forty-Five - NavSource's 'Group Forty-Four' is not corroborated and is treated as a documented conflict (the hull's actual wartime group assignment may have shifted after 1 May 1945; unresolved). The hull is not named in the roster at all, so this row neither confirms nor denies the assignment - it constrains it. HyperWar is a transcription mirror of an official Navy organization document; table structure verified in raw HTML. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-06
-
[7]Office of Naval History, 'U.S. Naval Administration in World War II: History of the Eighth Naval District,' Chapter XXXII (Commanding Officer, Commissioning Details, USN, Gulf Area) - HyperWar/ibiblio transcription [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- HyperWar 115-8ND-32.html, pp. 322-325 (subsidiary detail list incl. 'Houston, Texas'; vessel-type list including LSMs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's administrative history of the Eighth Naval District documents the commissioning machinery this hull passed through: 'Commissioning Details, USN, Gulf Area' (established by CNO directive 26 January 1944 under the Commandant, Eighth Naval District) consolidated Gulf-area commissioning activities, including a subsidiary Commissioning Detail at Houston, Texas - the detail serving the Brown Shipbuilding yard where this hull was built and commissioned 24 March 1945. The history lists LSMs among the vessel types handled: 'Among the many types of Naval vessels to receive this assistance were DD's, DE's, APA's, AKA's, AK's, AF's, ATA's, LST's, LCI's, LSM's, LSMR's, ARL's, and other auxiliaries.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945
- Population
- Navy pre-commissioning detail personnel and prospective crews, Houston (1944-45)
- Limitations
- District-level administrative history - documents that a Houston Commissioning Detail existed and handled LSM-type hulls under the 8th Naval District, but does not name LSM-473 or any specific hull's file. Pre-commissioning details dealt with 'construction and installation of equipment' and 'outfitting material' - no material or insulation content is recorded. No asbestos content. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via webfetch.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-07
-
[8]Eisenhower Foundation, 'Ike's Soldiers' tribute page - Dana Faulkner (material courtesy Talmage Historical Museum & Library, Talmage, KS) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Tribute page service-information block ('Unit: Company C, Pioneer BN, USS LSM 473'; '72nd Repl. Draft in the Pacific Theater on USS LSM 473')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A named crew member is documented aboard this hull: the Eisenhower Foundation 'Ike's Soldiers' tribute for Dana David Faulkner records Navy service as Pharmacist's Mate Third Class (PhM3c), 'Company C, Pioneer BN, USS LSM 473', Pacific theater, 72nd Replacement Draft aboard USS LSM 473, 'at Gaum' [Guam], wounded during service per his son; enlisted 25 September 1942, discharged 11 January 1946; honors listed: American Area, Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific, Good Conduct.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- USN embarked/transient personnel, Pacific (1945)
- Limitations
- Family-submitted museum tribute, not a service record - establishes that a named sailor is recorded as having been aboard this hull in the Pacific (aboard vs embarked status is ambiguous given the 'Company C, Pioneer BN' Army-style unit label and 'replacement draft' phrasing; he may have been a passenger or attached personnel rather than ship's company). Wounding/circumstance claims rest on family recollection. Page verified live 2026-10-01. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, direct drive, twin screws; diesel-driven ship's-service generators - no steam plant); LSM-1-class WWII construction era (built Feb-Mar 1945); WWII shipbuilding asbestos documentation (Corn & Starr AJIM 1987, ev-10; MARAD/IITRI PB84104108, ev-11; GAO HRD-80-2, ev-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; ev-10, ev-11, ev-12 era documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LSM-1-class landing ship built February-March 1945 at a private Navy contract yard (Brown Shipbuilding, Greens Bayou, Houston) sits inside the documented WWII shipbuilding asbestos era; era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious ship of this type and period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and fireproofing in the confined hull and machinery spaces. As a direct-drive diesel ship she carried no boiler or steam-turbine plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but the confined machinery-space exposure dynamic documented for marine engine rooms applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); USN crew (1945-46); reserve-fleet personnel (1946-1958); American Tug Boat / Pioneer Towing barge-conversion and operating crews (1958-1973)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or work package located for LSM-473. 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-473-lsm473-09
-
[10]Corn JK, Starr J, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373; abstract and keyword block (doi.org/10.1002/ajim.4700110311)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical analysis of WWII-era shipbuilding documents 'the extensive use of asbestos as a fireproofing and insulating material in shipbuilding in the 1940s, when World War II industrial expansion brought about a hitherto unprecedented rise in the amount of asbestos utilized,' and reproduces Navy Secretary Knox memoranda (1941, 1943) extending safety/industrial-health requirements to private shipyards under Navy and Maritime Commission projects - the policy environment covering this hull's 1945 construction at a private contract yard (Brown Shipbuilding).
- 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
- Era/policy-level documentation, not a hull record - LSM-473 and Brown Shipbuilding are not named in the abstract; the source documents that asbestos fireproofing/insulation was standard in 1940s shipbuilding, not its presence aboard this specific hull. Wiley blocks direct fetch (HTTP 403 to curl); citation verified live 2026-10-01 via Firecrawl render of the Wiley page resolved through doi.org. Does not establish materials aboard, individual exposure, quantity, or present-day presence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-10
-
[11]Jones DR (IIT Research Institute, Chicago), 'Assessment of Asbestos Concentrations in the Engine Room Environment of Marine Vessels, Phase 1,' final report, Maritime Administration contract MA-5-38072, NTIS PB84104108 (1979) [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- NTIS title-detail page PB84104108 (abstract, keywords, source agency Maritime Administration)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- Maritime Administration-funded engineering assessment documenting that 'large quantities of asbestos ... have been used in the construction of ships, especially since the World War II shipbuilding boom' and characterizing asbestos in marine-vessel engine-room environments - the machinery-space context relevant to this diesel-driven landing ship (whose propulsion and generator diesels occupied the enclosed engine room).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1979 report on era vessels
- Population
- Marine-vessel engine-room crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/engineering-level documentation from NTIS metadata and abstract; the report does not name LSM-473 or any WWII amphibious ship - it establishes asbestos as a documented engine-room material aboard marine vessels of the era class, not aboard this hull. Full text not extracted (NTRL session-gated download); title-detail page verified live 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-11
-
[12]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
- 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 Brown Shipbuilding - so this is era/program context, not a hull or builder-yard finding. By the report's 1979 window this hull was already a sunken commercial barge (foundered 1973), so the late-era Navy policy window does not reach it operationally; the row documents the Navy-use era only. Product page verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-01; the full-report PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) returns HTTP 403 to direct fetch (standing gao.gov access defect) - content quoted from the live Highlights text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-12
-
[13]USNI Naval History 39(3), Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- usni.org Naval History June 2025 article body (assembly-line/Greens Bayou/workforce/production-count passages)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard documentation: Brown Shipbuilding Co. of Houston, Texas - the yard that built this hull - won government contracts for destroyer escorts, submarine chasers, and landing craft; used assembly-line fabrication launching vessels sideways into narrow Greens Bayou; employed a peak workforce of more than 25,000 starting in late 1942; and built 12 PC-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCIs, and 254 LSMs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (peak >25,000, from late 1942)
- Limitations
- Yard-level historical journalism from the U.S. Naval Institute, not a hull record - establishes the builder's scale, location (Greens Bayou), wartime Navy contract work, and LSM production count during this hull's construction period. Contains no asbestos content; documents no occupational-health condition at the yard. Page verified live 2026-10-01 via Firecrawl (direct fetch returned HTTP 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-13
-
[14]Rice University, Woodson Research Center - 'Series V: Brown Shipbuilding Company Files, 1939-1950' (archives.library.rice.edu finding aid, verified live); RG 24 deck-log and RG 181 district-file holdings, NARA (catalog JS-rendered, not queried) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.library.rice.edu Series V finding-aid entry (scope: Brown Shipbuilding business records, U.S. Navy/DoD correspondents, 1939-1950); catalog.archives.gov returned the SPA shell to API-style queries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads located: (1) the Woodson Research Center at Rice University holds 'Series V: Brown Shipbuilding Company Files, 1939-1950' (Brown & Root / George R. Brown Executive Files, MS 0488; 3 linear ft, 5 boxes) - builder business records including correspondence with the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense covering the period of this hull's construction; (2) NARA RG 24 deck logs for USS LSM-473 (commissioned March 1945 - decommissioned May 1946) are a standard holding at College Park; (3) any NARA RG 181 commissioning file for this hull would sit in Eighth Naval District / Gulf Area records - no digitized finding aid for that series was located this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - none of these collections has been searched for asbestos-relevant content (specs, work packages, correspondence); the Rice finding aid lists series scope but not hull-level files. RG 24 deck logs for this era are not publicly digitized and the NARA catalog is JS-rendered and could not be queried from this session. No asbestos content located in the leads themselves.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-14
-
[15]Batch-6287 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard list (live); uboat.net (live); NHHC Pacific Fleet organization document (HyperWar mirror; NHHC original 404); 8th Naval District admin history (HyperWar); Eisenhower Foundation tribute (live); bathymetricresearch.com + International Maritime Library registry (live); NOAA H11605 Descriptive Report (live); NHHC DANFS checks (404); NVR scope check (live); MARAD ShipHistory (no result); GAO product page (live via Firecrawl); NTIS title page (live); Wiley DOI (live via Firecrawl); secondary web sweeps; CourtListener (blocked) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-473-lsm473-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum/museum-grade condition report, or litigation naming USS LSM-473 (or its barge identities A.T.B. No. 61 / O & H 125 / ON 278373) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull (numbered LSMs generally not covered; candidate URL 404, HyperWar DANFS mirror 404). The Naval Vessel Register does not cover her - NVR excludes ships disposed prior to 1987 per its own scope statement, verified live this session, and she left Navy custody by sale in 1958. MARAD's Vessel History Database returns 'No results found' for LSM-473 - she was a Navy-to-commercial sale, never in MARAD custody. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no asbestos content for this hull at all - no law-firm listicle claims were found to exclude. CourtListener searches could not be completed this session - the fleet-paced API budget was momentarily spent; logged as blocked, not as negative results.
- 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 February-March 1945 Navy-contract-yard-built amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and 1958-59 commercial barge conversion plus 1973 foundering leave material fate undocumented (the wreck is a charted NOAA feature). The unrun CourtListener queries remain a genuine open gap (fleet pacing block, not run to completion). 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-473-lsm473-15