USS LSM-476

Evidence

8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).

1. [1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USNS T-LSM-476 ex USS LSM-476 - milestone timeline, specifications, awards, photo captions (history extract sourced to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/14/14476.htm header block, awards table, timeline, specifications block, photo captions (contributor Hugh L. Hudson Jr. collection, photos 052/080)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   NavSource/Turner timeline for this hull: LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 10 February 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 3 March 1945; commissioned USS LSM-476 on 29 March 1945, LT Edwin W. Cantrelle USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fifteen / LSM Group Forty-Four / LSM Division Ninety. Post-war: Occupation and China service in the Far East 2 September 1945 - 14 March 1946 (Navy Occupation Service Medal and China Service Medal extended, same window). Decommissioned 15 November 1946 at Astoria, OR; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group. Reactivated and assigned to MSTS 21 April 1950; placed in service as USNS T-LSM-476; operational control transferred to the US Army Transportation Service, then returned to US Navy/MSTS operational control 1 November 1950. Placed out of service 16 November 1953 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Sold October 1958 to Ships & Power Equipment Corp., Elizabeth, NJ; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Spec block: displacement 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t full; 203'6" ovl x 34'6" beam; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount + four single 20mm; propulsion two Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8 (38D81/8X10) diesels, direct drive, 1,440 bhp each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; fuel 1,225 bbls diesel; endurance 4,900 mi @ 12 kts. Photo captions document this hull carrying the 5th Marine Tank Battalion from Hilo, Hawaii to Sasebo, Kyushu, Japan, 27 August - 22 September 1945 (photo taken from LSM-467), and moored in Sasebo Harbor alongside LSM-344 and LSM-80, 22-24 September 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-1958

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); commissioning and wartime crew (~59 + embarked troops); 5th Marine Tank Battalion passengers (Aug-Sep 1945); MSTS/Army Transportation Service crews (1950-53); reserve-fleet caretakers Astoria and Green Cove Springs

   Limitations

   Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation whose history text is an extract of the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR volume, not a primary registry; its laid-down (10 Feb) and launched (3 Mar) dates conflict with the shipbuildinghistory yard table and uboat.net (3 Feb / 24 Feb) and are identical across sisters LSM-476/477/478 - see ev-uss-lsm-476-07 and gaps. Strike date 'unknown' in source. Awards list is campaign-medal entitlement data; no battle stars listed (consistent with post-VJ-Day arrival).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-01

2. [2]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton compilation), Brown Shipbuilding Houston TX yard production table - hull 283 row for LSM 476; corroborated by uboat.net Allied Warships entry ship/13063 (ordered 10 Jul 1944) [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard table, hull #283 row; uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/13063.html

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The Brown Shipbuilding yard production table records this hull as yard hull no. 283, 'LSM 476', Landing Ship type: keel laid 3-Feb-45, launched 24-Feb-45, delivered 29-Mar-45; disposition 'Laid up 1947, sold to Ships & Power 1958'. uboat.net independently carries the same keel/launch dates (laid down 3 Feb 1945; launched 24 Feb 1945; commissioned 29 Mar 1945; ordered 10 Jul 1944; end service 15 Nov 1946; sold October 1958).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1944-1958

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Feb-Mar 1945)

   Limitations

   Secondary compiled reference (yard production table), not the primary builder's ledger; keel/launch dates are the yard-derived record and differ from the NavSource/Turner dates carried in ev-01 - conflict logged in gaps and ev-07. 'Laid up 1947' vs NavSource's 15 Nov 1946 decommissioning is a minor variant. 'Delivered' (29-Mar-45) treated as the commissioning date all sources share. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-02

3. [3]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3 (archived copy; live page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-10-01) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   Naval History June 2025 article body text (production figures; workforce; Greens Bayou site)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Builder documentation: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown & Root at Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; at peak (from late 1942) it employed more than 25,000 workers - the second-largest Houston-area employer of WWII - using assembly-line fabrication and sideways launches into the narrow bayou. Its total wartime output was 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts (38 Edsall-class, 23 John C. Butler-class), 32 LCI(L)s, and 254 LSM amphibious landing ships - of which this hull was one. The yard hosted a Navy inspection office.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1941-1945

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding workforce, peak >25,000 from late 1942

   Limitations

   Yard-level history; does not name LSM-476 and contains no asbestos, materials, or industrial-hygiene content. Documents the construction population that produced this hull; supports era/context only. Cited URL is the 6 March 2026 Wayback capture - the live usni.org page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch (blocked, not dead).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-03

4. [4]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (two Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8 diesels, direct drive, twin screws - diesel plant, no steam); GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation of Navy asbestos use through the early 1970s (ev-05); wartime construction within the federally controlled asbestos-supply shipbuilding era [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/14/14476.htm specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page (ev-05)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A 1945-built Navy combatant sits inside the documented asbestos-use era: GAO found the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative materials until the early 1970s. For a small diesel-powered landing ship of this type and period the era-standard applications were engine-exhaust and uptake lagging, thermal insulation in machinery spaces, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation - the direct-drive Fairbanks-Morse diesel plant means the boiler/turbine steam-lagging pathway of larger steam vessels does not apply. Wartime construction (Feb-Mar 1945) falls within the period when federal asbestos supply was reserved for military shipbuilding.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-1958

   Population

   Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (~59) and embarked troops; MSTS/Army crews (1950-53); 1958 disposal/scrapping workers

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction specification, or work package was located for LSM-476. Names era-standard application categories, not confirmed installed materials aboard this hull; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. Asbestos presence aboard this hull is not ship-proven.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-04

5. [5]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 entire 1945 construction and 1945-53 service life, reserve-fleet layups, and 1958 disposal.

   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 returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-01); content via product-page description.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-05

6. [6]Batch-6290 search ledger (this record): NavSource 10/14/14476; NHHC DANFS candidate URLs; shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table; uboat.net ship/13063; USNI Naval History (archived); NARA catalog (JS-rendered/API-key gated); MARAD vessel history DB (interactive form); NVR (out of scope, pre-1987 disposal); CourtListener API v4 five authenticated queries; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-476-01 through sl-uss-lsm-476-12

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-476 / USNS T-LSM-476 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero results on every variant - "LSM-476" (opinions: 0; dockets: 0), "LSM 476" (opinions: 0; dockets: 0), "USS LSM-476" OR "T-LSM-476" (opinions: 0). A secondary web sweep surfaced no qualifying case and no marketing-source asbestos claims naming this hull.

   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 1945 hull of this era and type plausibly carried era-standard insulation, and absence of records reflects the thin documentation typical of numbered amphibious hulls. CourtListener indexes published opinions and RECAP dockets; unreported or settled claims would not appear. Deck logs, BuShips work packages, and disposal/contract records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-06

7. [7]Date conflict across secondary compilations: NavSource/Turner extract (10 Feb 1945 laid down; 3 Mar 1945 launched) vs shipbuildinghistory yard table hull-283 row and uboat.net ship/13063 (3 Feb 1945 keel; 24 Feb 1945 launch; 29 Mar 1945 delivery/commissioning) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/14/14476.htm vs shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard table hull rows 280-286 and uboat.net ship/13063

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CORRECTION/CONFLICT: the NavSource/Turner timeline prints laid down 10 February 1945 and launched 3 March 1945 - dates identical to those NavSource prints for sisters LSM-477 and LSM-478, consistent with a grouped-batch entry rather than per-hull data. The shipbuildinghistory yard production table assigns this hull (yard no. 283) to the earlier batch: keel 3 February, launched 24 February, delivered 29 March 1945; uboat.net independently carries 3 Feb / 24 Feb / 29 Mar. This record carries the yard-table dates (1945-02-03 laid down, 1945-02-24 launched, 1945-03-29 commissioned) in its top-level fields; the NavSource/Turner variant is preserved in ev-01 and gaps.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945

   Limitations

   Both sides are secondary compilations; neither cites the primary builder's ledger page by image. The yard table's per-hull differentiation (LSM-473..476 share 3 Feb/24 Feb; LSM-477..479 share 10 Feb/3 Mar) weighs toward the earlier dates for hull 283, but the conflict is unresolved against primary records. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-07

8. [8]Archival leads: NARA RG 24 deck logs (USS LSM-476, 1945-46; USNS T-LSM-476 MSTS period 1950-53); NHHC print DANFS coverage for numbered LSMs; Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9), the compiled source behind the NavSource extract; Navy disposal/sale records for the October 1958 sale to Ships & Power Equipment Corp. [other_primary]

   Locator

   catalog.archives.gov (JS-rendered; API v2 key-gated); history.navy.mil DANFS candidate URLs returned 404

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Open archival leads for this hull: (1) NARA deck logs - WWII-era deck logs are a digitized NARA series (RG 24), but catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and the v2 API requires a key, so digitization of this hull's logs could not be confirmed this session; (2) NHHC's online DANFS has no individual page for LSM-476 (candidate URLs 404) - print DANFS appendix coverage for numbered landing ships is unverified; (3) the underlying Turner Publishing volume (LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, 1997) is the compiled source for the NavSource history extract; (4) the instrument and terms of the October 1958 sale to Ships & Power Equipment Corp., Elizabeth, NJ - which would document the scrapping pathway - were not located in digitized sources.

   Verification

   unverified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-10-01

   Study period

   1945-1958 (records coverage)

   Limitations

   Leads, not findings: none of these records was examined. Presence, content, or digitization status of LSM-476 deck logs, print DANFS text, and the 1958 sale instrument is unverified. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lsm-476-08