Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 521-packet.md (16 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-pkt-521-packet-md
-
[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Blackstone River' (LSMR-403), Raymond A. Mann (archived Wayback capture 2024-05-27; the live NHHC URL returns 404 as of 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS narrative paragraphs 4-12 (Korean War operations, inactivation, naming, striking, battle stars)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The same DANFS entry records LSMR-403's Korean War service: departure from San Diego 10 July 1950, arrival Yokosuka 6 August, and sailing 8 September with Task Force 90 for the Inchon landing; the Wolmi Do pre-landing rocket barrage on 15 September 1950 (three rocket ships each firing an allowance of 1,000 5-inch spin-stabilized rockets, quoting Field's History of United States Naval Operations: Korea) and LSMR-403's later firing of 2,000 rockets on Red Beach; covering fire for the Hungnam evacuation 11-24 December 1950 in Rear Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter's Gunfire Support Group; support of the Inchon evacuation in January 1951; and from November 1951 eight months of harbor-siege fire support at Wonsan, Songjin, Chinnampo, Inchon, and Taeju. DANFS records placement in commission, in reserve, 14 February 1955; decommissioning 13 May 1955; berthing with the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet; naming as Blackstone River on 1 October 1955; striking from the Navy list on 1 October 1958; and seven battle stars for the Korean conflict.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1950-1958
- Population
- Ship's company, 1950-1955 Korean War-era crews
- Limitations
- Operational and administrative history only - no asbestos, insulation, hazmat, exposure, or causation content. DANFS's 1 October 1958 striking date conflicts with NavSource's 'struck 1955'; DANFS is carried and the conflict is logged in gaps. DANFS ends at striking and does not record the sale or scrapping date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-02
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Blackstone River (LSMR-403) ex USS LSM(R)-403, history and specifications page (chronology credited to DANFS; last updated 4 January 2025) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Hull page: awards/campaign-ribbon block, chronology paragraphs, specification block, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's live USS Blackstone River (LSMR-403) / ex-USS LSM(R)-403 hull page, whose chronology is credited to DANFS, records the same construction and Korean War chronology; assignment to LSMR Squadron Five; seven named Korean War campaigns (North Korean Aggression, Communist China Aggression, Inchon Landing, First U.N. Counter Offensive, U.N. Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean War Winter, Korean Defense Summer-Fall); decommissioning 13 May 1955 at San Diego; naming 1 October 1955; sale in 1959 to Riedel International Inc. of Portland, Oregon, and conversion to a barge; and final disposition scrapped circa 1989-1990. Its hull-specific specification block lists displacement light 758 / attack 994 / fully loaded 1,084 tons, length 203'6", beam 34'6", draft 7'2", speed 12.6 knots, complement 5 officers and 133 enlisted, and propulsion of two General Motors 16-287A non-reversing diesel engines with airflex clutch, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin screws, 2,800 shaft horsepower. A commanding-officer table and dated photo captions (San Francisco crew photo circa January-February 1945; dry dock Sasebo 1951; moored Yokosuka 1 May 1951; underway off San Diego April 1954) corroborate the service window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1990
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades; ship's company 1945-1955
- Limitations
- Volunteer archive restating DANFS plus specification and photo material. It documents service and specifications, not asbestos, insulation composition, hazmat condition, exposure, or causation. Two internal conflicts: NavSource prints 'struck 1955' against DANFS's 1 October 1958, and prints engine model '16-287A' against the sister-ship page's '16-278A'; both variants are logged in gaps. The .net URL was verified live (HTTP 200) on 2026-09-30; the dead .org mirror was not cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-03
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[4]Shipbuilding History, Charleston Naval Shipyard construction table, LSM(R)-403 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- Charleston Naval Shipyard table, LSM(R) 401-class block, row LSM(R) 403
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Shipbuildinghistory.com's Charleston Naval Shipyard construction table lists 'LSM(R) 403, landing ship, 520 [tons], delivered 25-Apr-45' with disposition 'Named Blackstone River 1955, sold to Riedel Int'l. 1960, converted to barge, scrapped 1989.' The entry independently corroborates the builder (Charleston Naval Shipyard), the delivery/commissioning date, the 1955 naming, the barge conversion, and scrapping.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945; 1955-1989
- Population
- Charleston Naval Shipyard construction workforce
- Limitations
- Compiled shipyard production reference, not a government record; corroborates DANFS/NavSource on builder and disposal. Its 1960 sale year conflicts with NavSource's 1959; both are carried as a gap. It contains no asbestos, materials, hazmat, or exposure content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-04
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[5]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Ivan Frederick Ayris Collection, AFC/2001/001/76762 [other_primary]
- Locator
- LOC item page: Veterans History Project service summary and materials list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Library of Congress Veterans History Project catalog record for the Ivan Frederick Ayris Collection (AFC/2001/001/76762) identifies the veteran's service unit as USS Blackstone River (LSMR 403), service dates 1948-1952, location Korea, campaigns Inchon and Chosin Reservoir, and records his role as a diesel mechanic and 'throttle man of one of two engines' - a firsthand ship-specific corroboration of the two-diesel propulsion plant. The collection contains an oral-history audio recording (2010), six photographs (1951), and a typewritten unit history titled 'History of U.S.S. LSMR-403.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1948-1952
- Population
- Crew member Ivan F. Ayris (diesel mechanic), 1948-1952
- Limitations
- The catalog record is verified; the oral-history audio, photographs, and the 'History of U.S.S. LSMR-403' manuscript were not retrieved or reviewed, so their contents - including any material or condition descriptions - are unknown. The record contains no asbestos, exposure, or causation information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-05
-
[6]HyperWar / ibiblio, Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945, Landing Ships and Craft index, LSM(R)-401 class specification block [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-ls.html, 'LSM(R) -- Landing Ships, Medium (Rocket)', LSM(R)-401 Class block
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era context: HyperWar's Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945 landing-ship index carries the LSM(R)-401 class block: 1,175 tons loaded, 203'6" length, 34' beam, 7'9" draft, 13 knots, complement 6 officers and 137 enlisted, armament of one 5"/38 DP gun, two twin 40-mm, four twin 20-mm, four 4.2" mortars and twenty continuous-loading 5" SS rocket launchers, 'GM diesel direct drive, twin screws,' and 'converted while building from LSMs.' For a Navy diesel landing ship built in 1945, possible asbestos-relevant applications include machinery or diesel-exhaust insulation, pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, and fireproofing; these remain class/era inferences only.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- World War II LSM(R)-401-class construction and operating personnel
- Limitations
- This source describes the class, not LSM(R)-403's installed materials. It does not establish that asbestos was present aboard this hull, identify products or manufacturers, quantify material, describe condition, or establish exposure or causation. The diesel plant means no boiler or steam-turbine lagging pathway is claimed. The class context is deliberately not promoted to a ship-specific finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-06
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[7]Batch research review of the sources listed in search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-01 through -15 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Source-review negative finding; see search_ledger and gaps
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos documentation was located in the official and archival sources reviewed for this hull: the archived NHHC DANFS entry, the live NavSource hull page, the Charleston Naval Shipyard production table, the LOC Veterans History Project record, the HyperWar class block, the NARA Atlanta RG 181 finding aid, the Naval Vessel Register, and the CourtListener opinion and docket indexes identify the vessel and its service but do not document asbestos, insulation composition, abatement, a hazmat survey, or a qualifying exposure claim. The absence is reported as a research negative, not as proof that the hull never contained asbestos.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- A negative public-source finding is not proof of absence. Deck logs, inactivation work packages, reserve-fleet layup records, and the barge-conversion yard file were not retrieved; non-digitized material may hold relevant records. Asbestos documentation level therefore remains class_or_era, not ship_specific.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-07
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[8]CourtListener API v4 via /Users/charlesfletcher/devin-prompts/cl-auth-search.py; opinion and docket queries on 2026-09-30 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-09 through -14
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener litigation sweep via the authenticated helper returned zero opinion results for 'LSMR-403', 'LSM(R)-403', and 'USS LSM(R)-403 OR USS LSMR-403', and zero docket results for both hull-number queries. A 'Blackstone River' docket search returned 80 results, all name collisions (the Rhode Island/Massachusetts river, a credit union, a realty company, watershed environmental litigation); a 'Blackstone River' + asbestos opinion search returned one result, CPC International v. Northbrook Excess & Surplus Insurance (R.I. 1995), an environmental insurance-coverage case concerning the Blackstone River site - a name collision, not the ship. No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Clean negative across hull-number and exact-name queries in opinion and docket indexes; name-collision results were individually classified and none name the vessel. Absence of a located case is not proof that no claim was ever filed - PACER/RECAP coverage gaps and settled or unindexed matters are not visible.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-08
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[9]Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'Blackstone River' (LSMR-403), Raymond A. Mann (archived Wayback capture 2024-05-27; the live NHHC URL returns 404 as of 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS specification block and narrative paragraphs 1-3 (construction, shakedown, Pacific transit, 1945-1950 duty)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC DANFS entry 'Blackstone River' (LSMR-403), written by Raymond A. Mann, records that the hull was laid down on 6 January 1945 at Charleston, S.C., by the Charleston Navy Yard; launched on 26 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Frank Norris; and commissioned on 25 April 1945 with Lt. John M. Roye in command. It records May-June 1945 shakedown at Little Creek and Chesapeake Bay; departure for the Pacific on 3 June 1945 with LSMR-404, -405, and -406; Panama Canal transit 13-14 June; San Diego arrival 25 June; departure in the second week of August for the war against Japan and receipt en route of word of Japan's capitulation; Pearl Harbor arrival 21 August; and reporting for duty with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Portland, Oregon, on 11 October 1945, followed by 13th Naval District operations to May 1946 and four years based at San Diego.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1950
- Population
- Charleston Navy Yard construction trades; ship's company, 1945-1950
- Limitations
- Official Navy ship history documenting construction and service chronology; it does not document asbestos, insulation materials, hazmat condition, exposure, or causation. The live NHHC page is dead link-rot; the Wayback capture is cited and labeled archived. DANFS prints the commissioning officer as 'Lt. John M. Roye' while NavSource prints 'LT. John M. Royer' / 'LT. Roye. John Marshall'; DANFS is carried and the variant is logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-403-lsmr403-01