Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
-
[1]NavSource Online, Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-496 hull page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page history bullets and awards block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records USS LSM-496 as an LSM-1-class landing ship medium laid down 10 March 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas; launched 31 March 1945; commissioned 10 May 1945 with Lt. Willis T. Stewart, USNR, in command; assigned during World War II to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Fifteen, LSM Group Forty-Four, and LSM Division Eighty-Eight; decommissioned 20 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida; laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; struck from the Naval Register on an unknown date; sold in January 1959 to Missouri Valley Dredging Co., Birdsboro, Pennsylvania; and recorded with final disposition unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce; USS LSM-496 crew; Atlantic Reserve Fleet and disposal personnel
- Limitations
- Ship-specific historical timeline and disposition through sale; the page does not document asbestos, material composition, exposure, causation, or legal eligibility. The history extract is attributed on the page to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997), and the Naval Register strike date is explicitly unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-01
-
[2]NavSource Online, USS LSM-496 specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page Specifications, Complement, Troop Accommodations, and Propulsion blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The ship-specific specification block reports 520 tons light displacement, 743 tons landing displacement, 1,095 tons full-load displacement, 203 feet 6 inches overall length, 34 feet 6 inches beam, 13.2-knot maximum speed, a complement of 5 officers and 54 enlisted, accommodations for 2 officers and 46 enlisted troops, and two General Motors 16-278A reversible diesel engines with hydraulic clutches, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, and 2,800 shaft horsepower.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Ship's crew and embarked vehicle/troop personnel
- Limitations
- Establishes a diesel propulsion plant and ship-specific design figures; it does not identify asbestos-containing components or prove that any insulation, gasket, packing, electrical, deck, or brake material aboard this hull contained asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-02
-
[3]U.S. Government Accountability Office, HRD-80-2, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure (1979), archived PDF capture [gao]
- Locator
- Archived GAO report, Navy shipboard asbestos-use and control discussion
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- GAO's Navy-wide review describes shipboard asbestos use and Navy control practices, including thermal insulation for machinery, equipment, and piping and related shipboard applications. This provides period/program context relevant to a 1945 Navy landing ship, but does not identify USS LSM-496 or any component aboard it.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 construction era; 1979 review
- Population
- Navy ships and shipyard workers generally
- Limitations
- Class/era and program-level context only; it does not establish asbestos aboard this hull, product identity, location, quantity, condition, crew exposure, or legal eligibility. The live GAO page and PDF were blocked to automated retrieval on 2026-10-02, so the archived capture is labeled as archived.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-03
-
[4]Naval Historical Center/NARA photograph 80-G-176520, official Navy collection transcription, LSM-1-class camouflage drawing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NARA photograph 80-G-176520 description and catalog fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy/NARA collection transcription identifies a Bureau of Ships camouflage drawing for the LSM-1 class dated 13 July 1944, documenting the class during the period in which USS LSM-496 was built.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- LSM-1-class construction and operating personnel
- Limitations
- Class-level archival context only; the drawing is not a construction or material record for LSM-496 and does not mention asbestos or any shipboard product.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-04
-
[5]Authenticated CourtListener API v4 searches through cl-auth-search.py [court_record]
- Locator
- Search-ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-01 through -04
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The required authenticated CourtListener v4 sweep returned zero results for exact "USS LSM-496" opinion search, exact "USS LSM-496" docket search, exact "LSM-496" opinion search, and exact "LSM-496" docket search. No qualifying asbestos litigation, other litigation, or name collision was identified in these four result sets.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02 search
- Limitations
- A zero-result indexed search is not proof that no unindexed, sealed, non-digitized, or differently worded litigation exists. It establishes no asbestos exposure, product identity, causation, or legal eligibility. Searches were authenticated and paced by the required helper; no anonymous or v3 request was used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-05
-
[6]Search of accessible authoritative/public sources for ship-specific asbestos documentation [other_primary]
- Locator
- Research sweep documented in search-ledger rows sl-01 through sl-08
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, construction-material inventory, or primary asbestos exposure record for USS LSM-496 was located in the accessible sources searched. Ship-specific asbestos documentation remains unknown, not established absent.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-2026
- Population
- Hull-specific records
- Limitations
- Negative finding is limited to accessible public sources. Firecrawl search/scrape was unavailable because its hosted MCP reported a multi-hour quota stand-down; the live NHHC/DANFS hull page was not located, and the NVR/GAO/NAVSEA paths were blocked, absent, or non-specific. Non-digitized Navy technical files were not reviewed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-496-lsm496-06