Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-57 (history extract from 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II', Turner Publishing 1997; commanding-officer list; award ribbons; specifications); corroborated by uboat.net Allied Warships record (ordered 15 Sep 1943) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LSM-57 page, history block, campaign table, specifications, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: LSM-1 class landing ship medium laid down 30 June 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 21 July 1944; commissioned USS LSM-57, 18 August 1944, LT. Leland Barrett Jr. USNR in command; Asiatic-Pacific Theater service - Manila Bay-Bicol operation (Mariveles-Corregidor, 14-28 February 1945) and Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 1 April-17 May 1945), under LSM Flotilla Six / LSM Group Sixteen; occupation service in the Far East 10 October-3 December 1945; decommissioned 8 July 1946; laid up in the Reserve Fleet; loaned to South Korea under the Security Assistance Program in May 1958; struck from the Naval Register and sold outright to South Korea 15 November 1974; redesignated ROKS LSM-657 circa 1980-81; two battle stars for WWII service. Specifications: 520 t light / 1,095 t fully loaded, 203'6" oa; two Fairbanks Morse diesels, twin screws.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1974 (US records); ROK service to c.1980s
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); wartime crew (complement 59); Korean Navy crew (1958 onward)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained archival photo/history site drawing on the Turner Publishing LSM-LSMR volume - secondary compilation, not a government record; dates corroborated against uboat.net and (for Okinawa organization) the NHHC fleet listing. NavSource reads 'LSM Division Thirty-Six' for Okinawa where the NHHC 1 May 1945 organization reads Division 32 - conflict carried in gaps. Documents service history and specifications only; contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-01
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command photo catalog, NH 81018 'USS LSM-57' - 'In San Francisco Bay, 1946.' (courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog, NH 81018 entry (title, caption, catalog number fields)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC photographic collection holds an official catalog record (NH 81018) for this hull: 'USS LSM-57. In San Francisco Bay, 1946.' - an official Navy photograph of the ship in San Francisco Bay in 1946, the year of her decommissioning.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946
- Limitations
- A photo catalog record only - confirms the hull's identity and location in 1946; contains no operational detail and no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-02
-
[3]NHHC, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (online reading room transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- US Pacific Fleet Organization 1 May 1945, LSM Flotilla Six > LSM Group 16 > LSM Division 32
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Navy's 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization listing places LSM 57 in LSM FLOTILLA SIX (Comdr A. R. Quinn), LSM GROUP 16 (Lt. Cdr. J. T. Brugger, Jr., USNR), LSM DIVISION 32, commanding officer Lt. L. Barrett, Jr. (USNR) - her unit chain during the Okinawa Gunto operation then underway.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Wartime crew under Lt. L. Barrett, Jr.
- Limitations
- Primary Navy organizational listing; confirms unit assignment and commanding officer as of 1 May 1945 only. Conflicts with NavSource's 'LSM Division Thirty-Six' for the same operation (Div 32 vs Div 36) - carried in gaps; may reflect a mid-operation reassignment or a compilation error in one source. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-03
-
[4]Jane's Fighting Ships 1962-63, Korea (Republic) fleet list, p. 160: 'WOLMI LSM 609 (ex-U.S.S. LSM 57)' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Jane's Fighting Ships 1962-63 full-text scan, 'Ex-U.S. LSM Type' Korea section (p. 160)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous fleet reference documents this hull's Korean identity: the Republic of Korea Navy operated ex-USS LSM 57 as WOLMI, pennant LSM 609, in a ten-ship ex-U.S. LSM group (with LSM 19, 30, 54, 57, 84, 96, and others). Jane's collective note reads 'LSM 19, 30 54, 57, 84 and 96 were transferred to the Korean Navy at Seattle in 1956.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1956/1958-1962 (as documented); ROK service
- Population
- Republic of Korea Navy crew
- Limitations
- Jane's is the standard contemporaneous fleet reference but not an official government record. Its 'transferred at Seattle in 1956' group note conflicts with NavSource/uboat.net's May 1958 Security Assistance Program loan date - carried in gaps, unresolved. Pennant LSM 609 predates the later LSM-657 renumbering reported by NavSource. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-04
-
[5]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine: Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History, June 2025 issue, article body
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder context: Brown Shipbuilding (Houston, TX) was founded 1941 as a Brown and Root subsidiary with no prior shipbuilding experience; it employed more than 25,000 workers at its wartime peak and built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCI(L)s, and 254 Landing Ship Medium amphibious landing craft using assembly-line construction on the narrow Greens Bayou, launching vessels sideways. This hull is one of those 254 LSMs.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (peak 25,000+)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record - documents the builder's scale and product mix; contains no asbestos or materials information and does not name LSM-57 individually.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-05
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (two Fairbanks Morse 38D81/8X10 diesels, direct drive, twin screws - no steam plant); 1944 Brown Shipbuilding construction within the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2, see ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-07); WWII shipbuilding-asbestos literature (Hedley-Whyte & Milamed 2008, see ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; cross-referenced rows ev-07, ev-08
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing ship medium built in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a ship of this type and period were thermal insulation around machinery and exhaust runs, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck coverings. As a diesel ship she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the diesel machinery/exhaust pathway does.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (US); ROK service
- Population
- Construction trades (Houston 1944); crew (1944-46); ROK crew; unknown disposal workforce
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, work package, or survey located for LSM-57. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no present-day presence claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-06
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 highlights (full report PDF linked but 403 to fetch)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos use in ships and worker-protection efforts (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards), documenting the Navy's extensive use of asbestos insulation aboard ships and its 1975/1979 policies on removing and replacing damaged asbestos insulation - spanning this hull's construction (1944) and service eras.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (review); use era under review extends through the WWII build era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full-text PDF not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page highlights. Yard fieldwork locations (Long Beach, Norfolk) are not this hull's builder.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-07
-
[8]Hedley-Whyte J, Milamed DR. 'Asbestos and ship-building: fatal consequences.' Ulster Medical Journal 2008;77(3):191-200 (PMCID PMC2604477; PMID 18956802) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ulster Med J 77(3):191-200; PubMed abstract PMID 18956802
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical/medical literature documents that necessary asbestos use was associated with WWII-era shipbuilding programs (including the U.S. Maritime Commission's Liberty ship program) and that, after a latency of a quarter century or more, this use is a genesis of malignancy killing thousands - establishing the era-level exposure context for 1944 U.S. naval construction such as this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2008 (publication); WWII exposure era
- Population
- WWII shipbuilding workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era literature, not a hull record - focuses on Liberty-ship production and its sequelae; does not name LSM-57 or the LSM type. Supports class/era context only; establishes nothing about materials aboard this hull, individual exposure, or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-08
-
[9]Batch-6347 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC photo catalog + 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization; Jane's Fighting Ships 1962-63; uboat.net; USNI Naval History; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; PubMed/PMC; CourtListener opinion index; NARA catalog; NVR; va.gov [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-57 (ROKS Wolmi/LSM-657) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion index returned zero hits for 'LSM-57' and 'USS LSM-57' on 2026-10-02. The only 'asbestos aboard' material located is law-firm marketing content (mesothelioma.com, mesothelioma.net, asbestos-ships.com Brown Shipbuilding yard listicles) asserting asbestos use without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 combat-built amphibious ship is era-consistent with asbestos use. CourtListener RECAP docket search was fleet-throttled at session time (see search_ledger) - the docket index remains an open gap, not a negative result. NARA deck logs (RG 24), ship's plans, and ROK Navy disposal records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-57-lsm57-09