Evidence
5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-88 - milestone timeline, campaign assignment, commanding officers, specifications, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14088.htm header block, campaign block, specifications block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 30 August 1944 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX; launched 23 September 1944; commissioned USS LSM-88, 17 October 1944, Lt. Charles E. Eckhart USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM Flotilla Nine, LSM Group Twenty-Five, LSM Division Forty-Nine; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March - 7 May 1945); occupation service in the Far East 11-28 September 1945 and 29 November 1945 - 8 January 1946; decommissioned 6 June 1946 at NOB Subic Bay, P.I.; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; earned one battle star for World War II service; final disposition - sold 13 February 1948 to the Republic of China, 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; armament one twin bow-mounted 40mm gun and four single 20mm mounts; propulsion two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesel engines, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers. Page photograph captions place the hull offloading vehicles at Okinawa in 1945. Commanding officers: Lt. Charles E. Eckhart USNR (17 Oct 1944 - Dec 1945), Lt.(jg) Samuel H. Birnkrant USNR (Dec 1945 - Mar 1946), Lt.(jg) F. B. Smith USNR (Mar 1946 - 6 Jun 1946).
- 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)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS, but no DANFS entry for this hull is published online to cross-check against (NHHC DANFS carries no LSM-88 page; HyperWar transcribes only LSM-5 among numbered LSMs). 'Struck, date unknown' is an open item. Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live 2026-10-02 at navsource.net (the .net domain - navsource.org is dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-01
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[2]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Leroy Carl Schumacher Collection, AFC/2001/001/127172 (via Wayback capture; live loc.gov page blocked to automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LoC VHP collection AFC/2001/001/127172, service-summary block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Library of Congress Veterans History Project collection documents a named crewmember of this hull: Leroy Carl Schumacher, U.S. Navy, service unit/ship recorded as 'USS LSM-88 (Landing Ship Medium)', location of service Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands), Philippines, Pacific Theater, highest rank Petty Officer Second Class. The collection holds a personal narrative (audio recording and manuscript) of his wartime service - a primary-source lead for shipboard life and conditions aboard this specific hull during the Okinawa operation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (service period)
- Population
- PO2 Leroy Carl Schumacher; LSM-88 crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the collection catalog entry was verified via Wayback capture (2025-02-12) because live loc.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the narrative content itself was not reviewed, and a veteran memoir is a recollection source, not a materials record. Establishes an individual's service aboard this hull; it is NOT an exposure record and contains no asbestos information known to this research. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-02
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[3]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM-1-class specifications for this hull (two Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-04); no class-profile file exists in the class-* worktrees for the LSM-1 class [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (propulsion); GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A landing ship medium built August-October 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a 1944 amphibious hull of this type were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in machinery spaces and accommodations. As a diesel-driven ship she carried no boilers or steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); any ROCN-era population undocumented
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM-88. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-03
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[4]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 text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, including the use of asbestos in Navy ships and the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - documentation that the Navy's asbestos-use era spanned this hull's entire construction and U.S. service period (1944-1946) and beyond.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); Navy asbestos-use era through the 1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. GAO fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither built or overhauled this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description, verified live 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-04
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[5]Batch-6381 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (no page exists); HyperWar DANFS transcription (LSM-5 only); NavSource (hit); NVR (no entry, disposed pre-1987); Library of Congress VHP (hit, via Wayback); GAO product page (hit); CourtListener authenticated searches (opinions and dockets: all zero); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-01 through -08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LSM-88 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searches for "LSM-88" (opinions and dockets) and "USS LSM-88" (opinions) all returned zero results; no law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard this hull was encountered in the secondary sweep (a contrast with most WWII hulls).
- 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 - the hull's 1944 construction inside the Navy asbestos era is itself consistent with era materials having been installed. The hull's early foreign transfer (1948, Republic of China) shortens the window in which U.S.-record documentation could accrue. Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-88-lsm88-05