Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 592-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: **VERIFIED (hull identity) / milestone dates UNVERIFIABLE
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-64-lsm64-pkt-592-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-64 (archives/10/14/14064.htm); history extract credited to 'LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1997) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14064.htm - header timeline, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officer list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LSM-1 class Landing Ship Medium, laid down 14 July 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 5 August 1944; commissioned USS LSM-64 on 1 September 1944, LT. Stevens B. Whitehead USNR in command; assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater - Manila Bay-Bicol operations (Zambales-Subic Bay, 29-31 January 1945; Mariveles-Corregidor, 14-28 February 1945) and Borneo operations (Brunei Bay, 10-14 June 1945); decommissioned 21 June 1946 at Terminal Island, San Pedro, CA; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; earned two battle stars for WWII service; sold 19 February 1948 to R. J. MacCallum, Compton, CA, converted to towboat (Official No. 277141) and renamed Captain J.G. Van Ness; resold to Tidewater Barge Lines, Vancouver, WA, rebuilt and renamed Tidewater in 1982, in commercial service on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Commanding officers: LT Whitehead (Sep 1944-Dec 1945), LTjg Senteney (Dec 1945-Feb 1946), LTjg Van de Riet (Feb-Jun 1946), ENS Wright (to 21 Jun 1946).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1999 (photo record)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1944); wartime crew (1944-46); commercial towboat crews (1948-1980s+)
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation (history extract transcribed from a 1997 Turner Publishing veterans-volume), not a primary registry - milestone dates should be cross-checked; page lists the strike date as 'unknown' while uboat.net gives 15 August 1946 (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-01
-
[3]ShipbuildingHistory.com (T. Colton), 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' - construction table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- brown.htm production table, row for yard hull 169 / LSM 64; yard-history header
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder production record: Brown Shipbuilding (Houston, TX, Greens Bayou) yard hull 169 = LSM-64, keel laid 14 July 1944, launched 5 August 1944, delivered 30 August 1944, 'Sold to R. J. McCallum 1947, converted to towboat Captain J. G. Van Ness, sold 1982 as Tidewater.' Yard context: founded 1941 by George and Herman Brown with $9M in Navy funding; total wartime output 359 vessels including 254 LSMs - essentially the entire LSM-1-class production run came off this Houston yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary trade-history compilation; keel/launch dates agree with NavSource, but it gives sale year 1947 (NavSource: 19 February 1948) and spells the buyer 'McCallum' (NavSource: 'MacCallum') - see gaps. 'Delivered 30 Aug 1944' precedes Navy commissioning (1 Sep 1944), which is consistent. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LSM 64 (LSM 64), ship/12675 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/12675.html - data table, 'History' line, and 'Notable events' 10 Jun 1945 Oboe VI order of battle (TU 78.1.14 / 78.1.16)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Warship-registry data: ordered 15 September 1943; built by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston; laid down 14 July 1944; launched 5 August 1944; commissioned 1 September 1944; end of service (decommissioned) 21 June 1946; stricken 15 August 1946; sold 19 February 1948. Order of battle for Operation Oboe VI (Brunei landings, 10 June 1945) places USS LSM-64 (Lt. S.B. Whitehead, USNR) in the LSM Unit, Task Unit 78.1.14 under T/Cdr. W.E. Verge (COMLSMFLOT 7), assigned to the 'Brown' Assault Unit, Task Unit 78.1.16.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Wartime crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Secondary database. Its 'Stricken on 15 August 1946' conflicts with NavSource's 'date unknown' - neither is a primary registry entry; strike date unresolved (see gaps). Task-organization data is consistent with the ship's own NARA action report. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-03
-
[5]NARA RG 38, WWII War Diaries / Other Operational Records and Histories - 'USS LSM-64 - Report of operations in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon Island, Philippines, 1/7-14/45', NAID 139906649 (3 scanned images, microfilm serial 110620, roll A1447) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 139906649, images 0955-0957 of roll A1447 - full report read (Parts I-VI)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-authored action report (serial 042, dated 18 January 1945, 'Action Report - Luzon Attack Force'): LSM-64 sortied 4 January 1945 in Task Group 78.1 to land 9 light tanks, 1 heavy tank, 2 ducks and 2 bulldozers at White Beach II, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, on the morning of 9 January. On 7 January she observed a 'Val' dive-bomber attack an LST in column (shot down by AA). On 9 January she beached White Beach II at 1035 after a port bow-door casualty, discharged cargo, retracted at 1047; she saw hits scored on LSM 127 and LSM 219. A second run carried 300 barrels of gasoline, 60 tons of ammunition, 150 service troops and 6 vehicles; repeated beachings 9-14 January under air attack, artillery and mortar fire - the ship was sprayed with shrapnel but took no casualties and no battle damage. Ammunition expended: 136 rounds 40mm HET, 46 rounds BLP, 587 rounds HET. She fueled from USS Mink and departed for Leyte Island 14 January 1945. Signed S. B. Whitehead; copies to Com LSM Flot 7 and Com LSM Gp 20.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-01-04 to 1945-01-14
- Population
- Ship's crew (5 officers, 54 enlisted wartime complement); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Primary ship-authored operations record - documents combat service, not materials. Contains no asbestos or construction-material content. Notably, this Lingayen Gulf operation (D-Day landings, 9 January 1945) does NOT appear in NavSource's campaign table for LSM-64 - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-04
-
[6]NARA RG 38, WWII War Diaries / Other Operational Records and Histories - 'USS LSM-64 - Report of operations in the assault and resupply landings at Legaspi, Luzon Island, Philippines, 4/1/45', NAID 140051075 (2 scanned images, microfilm serial 126752, roll A1668) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 140051075, images 0258-0259 of roll A1668 - full report read (Parts I-VI)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-authored action report (serial 083, dated 2 April 1945, 'Action Report - Lugespi [Legaspi] Attack Group'): LSM-64 underway 28 March 1945 to join Task Group 78.4 for Lemery then Legaspi Port, Luzon, per Operations Plan 3-45, towing an Army LCM; loaded elements of the 158th Infantry Regiment (HQ Co. 2d Bn., Cannon Co., and detachments) plus 1279th Engineer Combat Battalion personnel and vehicles (trucks, field pieces, tank destroyers, jeeps, trailers, bulldozer) at Balayan Bay, 29-30 March; arrived beaching zone 1 April 0810; beached with wave three at 1017, discharged all troops and vehicles by 1042, retracted 1044; departed for Subic Bay 1243 with TUs 78.4.3/78.4.6. No enemy action, no ammunition expended, no battle damage, no casualties. Signed S. B. Whitehead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-03-28 to 1945-04-01
- Population
- Ship's crew; embarked 158th Infantry Regiment troops; Army LCM crew
- Limitations
- Primary ship-authored operations record; no asbestos or material content. Legaspi (Bicol peninsula) is consistent with NavSource's 'Manila Bay-Bicol operations' campaign credit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-05
-
[7]NARA RG 38, WWII War Diaries / Other Operational Records and Histories - 'USS LSM-64 - Report of operations in the assault landings in the Brunei Bay Area, Borneo, 6/10-12/45', NAID 77501784 (2 scanned images, microfilm serial 142687, roll A1883) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 77501784, images 0263-0264 of roll A1883 - full report read (Parts I-VI)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-authored action report (serial 0174, dated 14 June 1945, 'Action Report - OBOE Six Operation'): LSM-64 sortied from Morotai, NEI, 4 June 1945 in TU 78.1.14 as part of Echelon O-6-D bound for Labuan Island, British North Borneo, carrying 3 officers and 51 enlisted Australian Imperial Forces personnel plus equipment (jeeps/trailers, trucks, bulldozer, 40mm guns; 64 tons). 10 June: joined Brown Assault Unit TU 78.1.16; a lone 'Judy'-type plane dropped one bomb at 0651 doing no damage; beached Brown Beach II, Labuan Island at 1121; starboard screw damaged on a sunken log (two blades badly bent); discharged cargo and retracted 1227; proceeded to HMAS Manoora. 11 June: rebeached Slot 1 Brown Beach One; unloaded ~250 tons of rations, ammunition, oil piping, valves and assorted machinery. 12 June: retracted, anchored Berth T 99, departed in echelon O-6-K for Morotai. All materiel performed satisfactorily; no ammunition expended; no casualties. Signed S. B. Whitehead.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-06-04 to 1945-06-14
- Population
- Ship's crew; embarked Australian Imperial Forces (3 officers, 51 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Primary ship-authored operations record; no asbestos or material content. Consistent with NavSource's Brunei Bay campaign credit and with uboat.net's Oboe VI task-organization listing.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-06
-
[8]Australian War Memorial collection items 111165 (Labuan, 10 June 1945) and 109864 (Morotai, 20 June 1945) [museum_official]
- Locator
- AWM collection 111165 description field; AWM collection 109864 description field; NavSource 14064.htm captions transcribing the AWM photo numbers
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Australian War Memorial photograph 111165 (place made: Labuan; date made: 1945-06-10) documents 'MEMBERS OF 1 BEACH GROUP UNLOADING A JEEP FROM LANDING SHIP MEDIUM 64 AT BROWN TWO BEACH NEAR RAMSAY POINT SOON AFTER THE OBOE 6 OPERATION LANDING BY MEMBERS OF 9 DIVISION' - an official museum record naming this hull on the beach at Labuan on the date her action report records. AWM 109864 (Morotai, dated 20 June 1945) shows personnel and equipment of the 7 Division loading aboard landing ships mechanised at No. 1 Dock Jetty for the OBOE 2 operation; NavSource captions identify LSM-63 and LSM-64 among the ships shown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-06
- Population
- Ship's crew; Australian 1 Beach Group and embarked troops
- Limitations
- AWM 111165 explicitly names 'LANDING SHIP MEDIUM 64' - ship-specific. AWM 109864's own description names no hull (NavSource's caption identifies LSM-63/64); its date (20 June, for OBOE 2) conflicts with NavSource's caption (10 June, OBOE 2) - LSM-64's action report places her at Morotai staging for OBOE SIX on 4 June, so hull attribution in the second photo rests on the NavSource caption alone. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-07
-
[9]Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI 226 'Allied Landing Craft and Ships' (1944), LSM entry (HyperWar/ibiblio facsimile PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ONI 226 facsimile, 'LANDING SHIP, MEDIUM' recognition-card entry (unpaginated; LSM section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official U.S. Navy recognition-manual data for the LSM type: 'An oceangoing tank landing ship designed to operate with LCI(L)'s. A new design, derived from a combination of the LST and LCT(6), and formerly designated LCT(7).' Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT or 9 DUKW (150-ton max load); troops 2 officers, 52 men; crew 4 officers, 48 men; speed 13.3 knots; propulsion 'Fairbanks-Morse Diesel or General Motors Cleveland Diesel direct drive, 2,800 hp @ 720 r.p.m.' - an all-diesel propulsion plant (the recognition card does not cover auxiliary machinery; the class ship's manual documents a per-vessel auxiliary steam boiler - see the manual evidence row).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Class crews (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Class/type-level manual entry, not a hull record. Documents the diesel-only propulsion that bounds this class's asbestos-relevant plant. No materials or asbestos content. Crew figure (4 officers, 48 men) differs from NavSource's ship-page spec (5 officers, 54 enlisted) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-08
-
[10]Ship's Organization and Regulations / engineering manual for Landing Ship Medium (LSM), dated 1 March 1944 - image-scan PDFs hosted on NavSource, contributed by Patrick Blackman; Chapter 31 Auxiliary Machinery, section 31-9 Boilers [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM manual index (archives/10/14/lsm manual/lsm manual index.htm), chapter 31-9 PDF, page No. 31-5 Section II, section 31-9 'BOILERS' - page image read in full
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The period ship's manual for the LSM type (dated 1 March 1944) documents the machinery fit beyond the diesel mains: Chapter 31 (Auxiliary Machinery), section 31-9 'BOILERS': 'There is an Auxiliary Steam Boiler supplied to each vessel designed to supply 1500 pounds of saturated steam per hour at 35 pounds per square inch, gage steam pressure, with feed water temperature of 100F. The boiler is designed for a pressure of at least 50 pounds per square inch. It is an oil fired water tube or fire tube type. The burner or burners are electric motor driven rotary cup type. The boiler is located in the boiler room, compartment C-101-1/2E, Main Deck, starboard side, between frames 24 and 26.' Same chapter documents refrigerating plants, compressors, distilling plant, anchor windlass and stern anchor winch - the auxiliary machinery population around which insulation-era materials would concentrate.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crew working machinery spaces and boiler room (1944-46); construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Class/type-level manual, not a hull record - it documents what the design supplied 'to each vessel,' not what was actually installed aboard LSM-64 or what its materials were made of. The word 'asbestos' does not appear; it establishes that a lagged low-pressure steam boiler and steam piping existed aboard the type, bounding the era-inference row. The manual is NavSource-hosted scan of a period document (contributor-credited), not an official archive copy.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-09
-
[11]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History, June 2025 issue - article body (retrieved via Firecrawl; direct curl returns HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder history: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of the Brown and Root construction company on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; it was the second-largest employer in the Houston area during WWII, employing more than 25,000 workers at its peak starting in late 1942; it built 12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 destroyer escorts and 254 LSMs. The yard was leased to Todd Shipyards in 1949, returned to Brown & Root in 1984 as an offshore fabrication yard, and sold off piecemeal in 2004 as the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1941-1946 (construction era)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (25,000+ peak)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history - the article does not name this hull. Establishes the construction-era workforce population at the yard that built her. Contains no asbestos-specific disclosure about the yard or its ships.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-10
-
[12]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, confirmed 2026-10-02)
- 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 construction (1944) and naval service era (1944-46), though not her post-1948 commercial career.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-11
-
[13]Era inference built on: period LSM ship's manual sec. 31-9 (auxiliary steam boiler aboard each vessel); ONI 226 LSM entry (diesel propulsion, class design); NavSource specifications block (Fairbanks-Morse diesels, generators); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy-wide asbestos-use window) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM manual ch. 31-9; ONI 226 LSM entry; NavSource 14064.htm specifications block; GAO product page HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An amphibious ship built in 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2). The class ship's manual documents that each LSM carried an auxiliary oil-fired steam boiler plus diesel mains, so era-standard asbestos applications aboard this type were auxiliary boiler and steam-line lagging, diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery-space thermal and acoustic insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, deck covering, and brake linings on the anchor windlass and stern anchor winch. As a direct-drive diesel ship she carried no propulsion steam plant - the main boiler/turbine-lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - but the auxiliary boiler and the confined machinery-space exposure dynamic remain.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1982 (construction through towboat rebuild)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); commercial conversion and towboat crews (1947-1980s+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-64. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Does not establish individual exposure or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-12
-
[14]Batch-6355 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA catalog (3 ship-authored action reports located and read); CourtListener API v4 opinions + RECAP dockets (authenticated, 2026-10-02); shipbuildinghistory; USNI; AWM; ONI 226; GAO product page; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-01 through sl-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LSM-64 (or her commercial names Captain J.G. Van Ness / Tidewater) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero qualifying results: exact-phrase 'LSM-64' yielded 0 opinions and 0 RECAP dockets; the unquoted 'LSM-64' query returned 39 opinion hits that are all name collisions (Louisiana State Museum 'LSM' plus a '64' statute/fragment match), none vessel-related or asbestos-related; 'LSM 64' + asbestos and '"Van Ness" towboat Columbia' returned zero. Open-web sweeps surfaced no qualifying material - only generic mesothelioma marketing pages, 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 Navy diesel ship sits squarely in the documented asbestos-use era. The Naval Vessel Register could not be reached this session (connection reset, 2026-10-02) - logged as blocked; her 1946 strike predates NVR online coverage in any case. Deck logs and muster rolls (RG 24) for this hull were not located as digitized file units. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-64-lsm64-13