Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet 589-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: REAL
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-546-lsm546-pkt-589-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-546 (10/14/14546.htm), history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1997; ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 14546.htm header/history block, Korean War campaign table, specifications block, awards ribbon display, photo-caption series, and 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, date unknown, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston TX; launched, date unknown; commissioned USS LSM-546 18 January 1946, LT. Durward E. Baggett, USNR, in command; decommissioned 27 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs FL and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; recommissioned 22 September 1950; Korean War campaigns - U.N. Summer-Fall Offensive (21-27 November 1951), Second Korean Winter (28 November-4 December 1951 and 19 February-15 March 1952), Korean Defense, Summer-Fall 1952 (7 May-17 July 1952); decommissioned 15 February 1955; three battle stars for Korean War service; transferred on loan 16 February 1955 under the Security Assistance Program to South Korea; sold outright 15 November 1974; struck from the Naval Register 15 November 1974 (page also carries an undated 'Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown' line); struck from the South Korean Navy list in 1982; final disposition scrapped, date 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; propulsion 2x GM 16-278A diesels, 1,440 BHP each, twin screws. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal (3), UN Service Medal, ROK War Service Medal (retroactive). Photo captions document: LSM-546 against the starboard side of USS LST-762 at Marine Beach, San Diego - Coronado Strand, 17 June 1951, after colliding with the beached LST (collision opened a ~5-ft gash in the LST's starboard side at frame 22); off Coronado CA circa 1952; unloading a Sherman tank at Shiogama, Japan; and a catapult-launched KD2R drone-target-plane operation aboard (drones launched at 60 mph, ~45-min flight time, parachute sea recovery).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1982
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945-46); USN crew (1946-55); ROK Navy crew (1955-82); breakers (post-1982)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track the Turner Publishing extract. Page verified live 2026-10-02 via webfetch (HTTP 200, navsource.net - the .org domain is dead). Page carries an internal strike-date inconsistency (undated line vs 15 Nov 1974) - see gaps. Laid-down/launch dates are 'date unknown' here; sourced separately (ev-02). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (Tim Colton compilation), 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' yard construction table - mirrored at Naval Marine Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- Brown yard table, hull 353 row ('LSM 546 | Landing Ship | 14-Jul-45 | 25-Aug-45 | 18-Jan-46 | Laid up 1947, to Korea 1955, scrapped 1982'); page header yard summary
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-yard construction record: the Brown Shipbuilding yard table (Shipbuilding History / Naval Marine Archive mirror) carries this hull as yard hull number 353: keel laid 14 July 1945, launched 25 August 1945, delivered 18 January 1946 - matching NavSource's 18 January 1946 commissioning date. Disposition column: 'Laid up 1947, to Korea 1955, scrapped 1982.' The yard summary states Brown Shipbuilding was built in 1941 by George and Herman Brown at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel with $9 million in Navy funding and produced 12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 DEs, and 254 LSMs over four years.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary yard-record compilation, not a primary registry - it supplies the laid-down/launch dates NavSource lacks but is itself unverified against builder's records. 'Laid up 1947' conflicts in detail with NavSource's 27 May 1946 decommissioning/Green Cove Springs lay-up (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-02
-
[4]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-762 (10/16/160762.htm), photo-caption series credited to LCDR. William B. Marty USN, CO USS LST-762 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 160762.htm photo captions (51k image: 'USS LST-762 beached at Marine Beach... after being rammed by USS LSM-546')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Cross-page corroboration of the collision: the NavSource USS LST-762 page carries photo captions, contributed by LCDR. William B. Marty USN (CO USS LST-762), documenting that USS LST-762 was beached at Marine Beach, San Diego - Coronado Strand, on 17 June 1951 'after being rammed by USS LSM-546,' that the collision 'created a hole approximately five feet long on the starboard side, frame 22, at the juncture of the main deck,' and that 'LSM-546 failed to drop her stern anchor when beaching.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1951
- Population
- USN crews of LSM-546 and LST-762, Coronado amphibious training area (17 June 1951)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled photo-caption evidence contributed by the other vessel's commanding officer - consistent across both NavSource pages, but it is a caption record, not an accident investigation report. Establishes the collision event only; documents no damage extent to LSM-546 and no material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-03
-
[5]U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archives, 'Landing Ship, LSM-546, 1954' (item 436225) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USNI Photo Archives item page, caption line and Ships and Submarines category
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive holds a cataloged print captioned 'Landing Ship, LSM-546, 1954' (accession 436225), placing this hull in USNI's Mildred M. Mario Photo Archive collection at Annapolis - a physical-archive holding for the ship's final year of U.S. service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1954
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the catalog page shows the print exists and its caption/date, but the image content is not published with descriptive metadata beyond the caption; no event, location, or material information. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-04
-
[6]navypedia.org, 'DAECHO medium landing ships' table (South Korea, amphibious ships and craft); cross-checked against de.wikipedia Liste von Schiffen der Marine der Republik Korea [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia DAECHO table row 1 ('태조 [Daecho] (ex-LSM546) | 601, 1980- 651 | Brown SB, Houston | 1945 | 1945 | 1.1946 // 2.1955 | stricken 1982')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Republic of Korea Navy identity: navypedia's 'DAECHO medium landing ships (1944-1945/1955-1956)' table carries '태조 [Daecho] (ex-LSM546)' - pennant 601, renumbered 651 in 1980 - built by Brown SB, Houston; laid down and launched 1945; completed January 1946; ROK service from February 1955; 'stricken 1982.' This assigns the ROK name and pennant that NavSource's transfer lines omit. The German Wikipedia ROKN ship list independently carries 'Daecho (태조) (ex-USS LSM-546)' with service dated 1955-1989 - a conflicting service-end year (see gaps).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1955-1982
- Population
- ROK Navy crew of Daecho (1955-1982 per navypedia)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference compilation only - no official ROK Navy source was located for the name; the name/pennant assignments rest on navypedia with de.wikipedia concordance on identity but a conflicting 1989 service-end year. 'Daecho' romanizes 태조 (also rendered Taejo). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (GM 16-278A diesel plant, this hull); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII-shipbuilding asbestos documentation (ev-07); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era program documentation (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; synthesis of ev-07 and ev-08 era documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered LSM-1-class landing ship built mid-1945 at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, sits inside the documented WWII-era U.S. naval shipbuilding asbestos-use period. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious hull of this type and period were machinery and exhaust thermal insulation/lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings in a compact hull volume. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1982
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945-46); USN crew (1946-55); ROK Navy crew (1955-82); unknown breakers post-1982
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, outfitting specification, or work package located for LSM-546. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution for this hull, no present-day presence claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-06
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- AJIM 11(3):359-373, abstract and article
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this LSM-1-class hull was mass-produced at a private Navy-contract yard in 1945 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or this yard and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. DOI verified live 2026-10-02 (302 redirect to Wiley).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-07
-
[9]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
- 2026-10-02
- 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 Houston - so this is era/program context, not a hull or builder-yard finding. Product page verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02; the full-report PDF (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) returned HTTP 403 to direct curl - content quoted from the live Highlights text.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-08
-
[10]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History, U.S. Naval Institute, Vol. 39 No. 3 (June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History June 2025 feature article - yard history, production figures, workforce sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder-yard history: the U.S. Naval Institute's Naval History magazine (June 2025) documents that Brown Shipbuilding Company, established 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown and Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel, won Navy contracts for submarine chasers, destroyer escorts, and landing craft; used assembly-line section fabrication with sideways launches into the narrow bayou; employed more than 25,000 workers at its late-1942 peak; and built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 Landing Ships Medium. This is the yard that built this hull as hull number 353.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (peak >25,000, 1942 onward)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history only: documents the builder's wartime operation and LSM production total; LSM-546 is not named in the article and the article contains no asbestos or material content. Verified live via Firecrawl 2026-10-02 (webfetch returned 403).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-09
-
[11]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (published list, LSM-546 absent); NARA Guide to Federal Records, RG 181 section 181.2.7 (8th Naval District textual records at Fort Worth); HyperWar transcription of the official History of the 8th Naval District, ch. XXXII (Commissioning Details, USN, Gulf Area) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (list scanned - no LSM-546 entry); archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html section 181.2.7; ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-32.html
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads at NARA: (1) This hull is NOT on the National Archives' published 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' list - the only LSM-hulled entries on that list are named conversions (Catapult, Launcher, Hunting, Kodiak, Oceanside, Lakeland, Raritan, Gunnison River, Des Plaines River, Clarion River); RG 24 deck logs for LSM-546 (1946-55) are undigitized and would require Archives II, College Park textual reference. (2) Construction/commissioning-era district records sit in RG 181, 'Records of the 8th Naval District (New Orleans, LA)' - textual records held at NARA Fort Worth, including Commandant general subject files 1925-59, Industrial Manager subject files 1940-58, and war diaries 1941-46; Houston fell under the Eighth Naval District, and the district's administrative history documents a commissioning-detail organization ('Commissioning Details, USN, Gulf Area') established for Gulf-area Navy contracts including the Brown yard's Houston output.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1955
- Population
- USN crew (1946-55 deck logs); Brown Shipbuilding/8th ND administrative correspondence (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the deck-log absence is confirmed against the published digitization list; the RG 181 Fort Worth series is documented at record-group level but no hull-specific file was identified or surveyed. The commissioning-detail history describes the organization generally - it does not name LSM-546. None of these leads contains asbestos content at the level verified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-546-10
-
[12]Batch-6332 search ledger (this record): NavSource (live); Naval Marine Archive/shipbuildinghistory yard table; USNI Photo Archives; navypedia; NHHC DANFS checks; NVR scope check; MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener (four queries complete, one pace-blocked); GAO product page; NARA deck-log list and RG 181 guide; USNI Naval History; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-546-01 through sl-uss-lsm-546-22
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-546 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated searches returned zero results on every completed query: 'LSM-546' opinions (HTTP 200, count 0), 'USS LSM-546' opinions (HTTP 200, count 0), 'LSM 546' opinions (HTTP 200, count 0), and 'LSM-546' docket-level RECAP (HTTP 200, count 0, document_count 0). One query remained pace-blocked at session end: 'LSM 546' at docket level (fleet pacing, helper exit 2) - logged blocked, not a negative result. NHHC has no DANFS entry for this hull; NVR excludes pre-1987 disposals; MARAD ShipList keyword search returns 'No results found'; no Wikipedia article exists. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no 'asbestos aboard' claims for this hull - no law-firm listicle content was found to exclude.
- 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 mid-1945 Navy-contract-built amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing materials, and undocumented ROK-era service plus undocumented scrapping leave material fate unrecorded. The pace-blocked 'LSM 546' docket variant remains a genuine open gap (helper exit 2, short-wait pacing - 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-546-11