Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 588-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-52-lsm52-pkt-588-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-52 - construction/milestone block, campaign table, specifications, awards, commanding-officer list, and captioned photo record; history extract sourced to LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14052.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, awards block, CO table, and photo-caption series
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium; laid down 22 June 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 14 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-52 on 14 August 1944, LT. Joseph H. Colquitt USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: Lingayen Gulf landing 9 January 1945; Manila Bay-Bicol operations - Nasugbu 31 January 1945 and Mariveles-Corregidor 14-28 February 1945; Borneo operation - Brunei Bay 10-14 June 1945. Decommissioned 19 April 1946; struck from the Naval Register 'date unknown'; earned three battle stars for WWII service; transferred to the Maritime Commission 28 November 1947; 'Final Disposition, sold, 12 November 1947, to W.R.& B.K. Parker, Houston, TX, fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 520 t light / 743 t landing / 1,095 t fully loaded; length 203'6"; beam 34'6"; speed 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, direct drive, twin propellers, 2,800 shp. Awards shown: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3), WWII Victory Medal, Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (2). CO list: LT Colquitt (14 Aug 1944 - Dec 1945); LTjg Lioluca Companaro USNR (Dec 1945 - 19 Apr 1946). Photographic record places this hull at Lingayen Gulf 9 Jan 1945 (with LSM-28, LSM-29), beached at Corregidor Island 17 Feb 1945 (with LSM-38), off Labuan/Brunei Bay 10-12 Jun 1945 (in background of the MacArthur landing photograph from the Australian War Memorial collection), embarking Japanese POWs at Pulupandan Beach, Negros, 6 Oct 1945 (with LSM-67), and - post-decommission - ex-LSM-52 in a nest with ex-LSM-375 on the Sabine River circa late 1946 (photo from Gulfport Boiler and Iron Works files, Port Arthur, TX).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); 1947-48 purchaser/scrapping-or-conversion trades if any
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its history extract is sourced to the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR volume, not to NARA originals. Internally inconsistent on disposal order (sale dated 12 Nov 1947 prints after the 28 Nov 1947 Maritime Commission transfer line - 16 days earlier); the struck date is given as unknown (secondary uboat.net carries 23 April 1947 - unresolved variant). Complement is the class-spec figure. Contains no asbestos or material content whatsoever.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-01
-
[3]NARA, Record Group 38 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' - three digitized file units authored by/for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov file-unit pages: NAID 83524537, NAID 140051070, NAID 77485108 (RG 38, WWII War Diaries series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LSM-52's own after-action reporting exists and is digitized at NARA: NAID 83524537 'USS LSM-52 - Rep of opers in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon Island, Philippines, 1/9-15/45' (report dated 1/25/1945; 6 images); NAID 140051070 'USS LSM-52 - Report of operations in the assault and resupply landings at Legaspi, Luzon Island, Philippines, 4/1-8/45' (4 images); NAID 77485108 'USS LSM-52 - Rep of opers in the assault landings in the Brunei Bay Area, Borneo, 6/10-12/45' (4 images). The Legaspi report documents an April 1945 Bicol-area operation that does not appear in the NavSource campaign table - the campaign list in compiled sources is incomplete relative to the hull's own reporting.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-01-09 to 1945-06-12
- Population
- LSM-52 crew during the named operations
- Limitations
- Primary operational records establishing combat-service history only. Catalog metadata (titles, dates, image counts) verified live this session; report full text not extracted - these are also open archival leads for deeper detail. Contain no asbestos information; do not establish materials aboard, individual exposure, or any health outcome.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History, Brown Shipbuilding yard page (Houston/Green's Bayou) - yard history and complete construction table [other_primary]
- Locator
- Brown Shipbuilding yard-history paragraph + construction-table row 157 (LSM 52)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Brown Shipbuilding yard documentation: the yard was built in 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9mm in Navy funding; total wartime output 359 vessels in four years - 12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 destroyer escorts, and 254 LSMs. Construction table assigns LSM-52 yard hull number 157: laid down 22-Jun-44, launched 14-Jul-44, delivered 14-Aug-44, 'sold to W.R. & B.K. Parker 1948'. In 1949 the yard was leased to Todd Shipyards Corporation, which operated it as the Todd Houston Division until 1984; returned to Brown & Root; sold piecemeal 2004; site is now the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction workforce (1941-45)
- Limitations
- Secondary compiled construction table - dates agree with NavSource for this hull (yard no. 157 adds hull-level granularity). Disposal-year entry '1948' conflicts with NavSource's 'sold 12 November 1947' - unresolved variant carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos or material content; the Todd-lease history postdates this hull's construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History, 'Landing Ships, Medium' build list; corroborated by Wikipedia 'Landing Ship Medium' class article (secondary) and uboat.net LSM class data (secondary) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory LSM list header paragraph + LSM-52 row; Wikipedia LSM-1-class infobox (secondary cross-check only)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class documentation: 558 Landing Ships Medium were built in WWII by seven shipyards; the basic design - originally designated LCT(7) - was 203.5 ft overall and 520 tons light displacement. Propulsion for the LSM-1 class was diesel - Fairbanks-Morse or GM Cleveland diesel engines, 2,800 shp, direct drive, two screws - no steam plant. LSM-52's row in the build list confirms Brown SB, Houston TX, delivered 14 Aug 1944, 'sold to W.R. & B.K. Parker 1948.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (construction era)
- Population
- LSM-class construction trades; class-wide crews
- Limitations
- Class-level and list-level data only - establishes the type's design and powerplant family, not any material installed aboard this specific hull. Diesel plant means the steam-vessel boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos insulation era, see ev-06); NavSource/shipbuildinghistory construction record (mid-1944 build at a wartime emergency yard); LSM-1 class diesel propulsion spec [other_primary]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page; NavSource specifications block; shipbuildinghistory LSM class data
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven landing ship built June-August 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type were thermal insulation around machinery and exhaust runs, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation-space insulation. As a direct-drive diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler and steam-line lagging pathway dominant on steam combatants does not apply; residual asbestos-relevant systems are smaller machinery/exhaust insulation, gaskets, packing, and electrical materials in a compact hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); LSM-52 crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey located for LSM-52. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not present aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2 product page, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removal, and compensation programs - documenting that asbestos was used aboard Navy ships through the era covering this hull's construction, with the Navy's 1975 policy to remove/replace only damaged insulation modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1975-1979 (policy window); covers earlier use era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - supports era context only, not any fact specific to LSM-52 or to Brown Shipbuilding. Content taken from the GAO product-page Highlights (verified live 2026-10-02); full 26-page PDF available at gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf but was not re-extracted for this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-06
-
[8]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (opinion and docket/recap types), exact-phrase queries '"LSM-52"' and '"USS LSM-52"', run 2026-10-02 via the fleet helper [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results (see search_ledger sl-uss-lsm-52-03 and -04)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS LSM-52 was located. Opinion search: 0 results for '"LSM-52"' and '"USS LSM-52"'. Docket search: 0 results for '"USS LSM-52"'; 2 results for '"LSM-52"', both classified as name collisions, not the vessel - United States v. Vilar (S.D.N.Y., 1:05-cr-00621, criminal fraud case) and In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Products Liability Litigation (S.D.N.Y. MDL, 1:00-cv-01898), where 'LSM-52' matched inside encoded/OCR-garbled exhibit text, not as a named vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- A name match is not a case naming the ship - both docket hits are text-level collisions in non-maritime litigation; classified down per litigation-stage discipline. Absence of a located public record does not prove no suit was ever filed - state-court and non-digitized federal filings are outside this index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-07
-
[9]Batch-6320 search ledger (this record): NHHC/DANFS (no entry - unnamed hull); NavSource page and photo captions; NARA catalog (3 digitized AARs; deck-log series search; related group reports); NVR (excluded by coverage policy); shipbuildinghistory LSM list + Brown yard table; uboat.net and Wikipedia class article (secondary cross-checks); CourtListener (authenticated); MARAD Vessel History Database (form-based search not scriptable); NIOSH HHE index; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-52-01 through sl-uss-lsm-52-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, insurance or medical record, or docketed case naming USS LSM-52 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced anywhere is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos use at Brown Shipbuilding generally and aboard WWII-era ships (mesothelioma.com, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org) - excluded by source policy as unsourced marketing claims.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1944 wartime build sits inside the documented asbestos-use era, and era inference remains reasonable but is not ship-proven. Deck logs, builder work packages, and the Maritime Commission status card (if one exists) are undigitized or unlocated leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-08
-
[10]NARA 'Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations' series (NAID 594258, RG 24) search-within for 'LSM-52'; plus related NARA unit records (COM LSM GR 6 and COMTASK-UNIT 78.3.2 Corregidor resupply reports; Bailey DD-492 April 1945 logbook) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog search-within/594258 for 'LSM-52'; NAIDs 40453319, 139889712, 139893310; uboat.net ship/12663 'notable events' OBOE VI order of battle (secondary)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for deeper documentation: the NARA deck-log series contains no digitized LSM-52 logbook (8 returned units are LSM-540/Raritan 1958-59 logs plus the Bailey (DD-492) April 1945 logbook, NAID 40453319, whose extracted text contains an 'LSM-52' match - an unverified cross-mention while both ships were in Philippine waters). Group-level operational records document units LSM-52 served in: COM LSM GR 6 report on the 17 Feb 1945 Mariveles/Corregidor resupply landings (NAID 139889712) and COMTASK-UNIT 78.3.2 report on the same operation (NAID 139893310); uboat.net's order-of-battle compilation places LSM-52 in Task Unit 78.1.14 (the LSM unit under T/Cdr. W.E. Verge, COMLSMFLOT 7) within TG 78.1, the Brunei Attack Group, for the 10 June 1945 OBOE VI landings.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- LSM-52 crew; unit-formation crews
- Limitations
- Leads only: the Bailey logbook match is a text-level hit inside another ship's logbook - context not extracted; physical deck logs for this hull (RG 24) are not digitized and would require a NARA pull. Unit-level reports establish what her formations did, not hull-specific material conditions. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-52-09