Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]DANFS, Grand River (LSMR-505), Vol. III (1977) p. 134 - construction, commissioning, West Coast service, decommissioning, naming, striking (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404 on all candidate URLs) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. III p. 134, Grand River (LSMR-505) entry - service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down as LSMR-505 on 31 March 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex.; launched 28 April 1945; commissioned 14 June 1945, Lt. Hall B. Wessinger in command. After shakedown along the East Coast, departed Portsmouth, Va., 7 August for duty in the Pacific. 'As World War II came to an end, LSMR-505 was assigned to Squadron 3 operating along the West Coast. Based at San Diego, she engaged in training exercises off California until March 1946. Arriving Astoria, Oreg., 22 March, LSMR-505 reported for duty in an inactive status. She decommissioned 20 May 1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed in the Columbia River Reserve Group, she was named Grand River 1 October 1956. Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958.' Spec block: 'LSMR-505: dp. 790; l. 206'3"; b. 34'6"; dr. 7'2"; s. 13 k., cpl. 138, a. 1 5", 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" m., 10 rkt.; cl. LSMR-401.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1958 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Mar-Jun 1945); commissioning and Squadron 3 crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS prints the naming date as '1 October 1956' where NavSource and the class-wide renaming record give 1 October 1955 - conflict carried in gaps; 1955 carried (consistent with DANFS's own sister-hull entries). DANFS spec block classes her 'cl. LSMR-401' while NavSource and class references carry her as LSM(R)-501 class - noted in gaps. Live NHHC DANFS page 404s on all candidate URLs (standing NHHC link-rot defect); verbatim transcription cited.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Grand River (LSMR-505) ex USS LSM(R)-505 - milestone timeline, specifications, organizational assignment, awards, merchant-service photo captions, disposal [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/06505.htm header block, awards line, specifications block, Merchant Service photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 31 March 1945 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston TX; launched 28 April 1945; commissioned USS LSM(R)-505 14 June 1945, Lt. Hall B. Wessinger, USN in command; WWII assignment listed as Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM(R) Flotilla Eighteen (Capt. C. F. Macklin), LSM(R) Group Forty-Three, LSM(R) Division One Hundred Five; awards line: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Decommissioned 20 May 1946 at Astoria, OR; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group; named USS Grand River (LSM(R)-505) 1 October 1955; struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1958; sold in 1959 to Foss Launch & Tug Co., Seattle WA, converted to a barge; sold for scrapping between 1989 and 1991. Merchant-service photo captions document the hull in commercial service as Bell Marine Sand Co. barge 'Bell 157' loading sand in the Carquinez Strait, tied up at Port Costa CA, and arriving at the Port of Redwood City CA. Specifications: displacement 758 t. light / 993 t. attack / 1,175 t. full; length 206'3"; beam 34'6"; complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted; propulsion two General Motors '16-287A' diesels 1,440 BHP each direct drive, twin screws 2,800 shp (sister-hull pages print 16-278A - see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1991
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1945); crew (1945-46); reserve-fleet caretakers, Columbia River Group (1946-59); Foss conversion crews (1959); Bell Marine barge crews; scrappers (1989-91)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track DANFS except the naming year (1955 vs DANFS-printed 1956; 1955 consistent with sister hulls and the class-wide renaming). Contains no asbestos content. Barge-service dates and the scrapping window are uncaptioned/undated beyond '1989-1991'; the 'Foss 157' intermediate name comes only from a secondary compilation (uswarships.jounin.jp) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-02
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[3]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM(R)-501-class specification block (diesel propulsion, GM diesels, direct drive); DANFS spec block (13 k., cpl. 138); GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation (Navy asbestos-insulation era); construction window March-June 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; DANFS spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven amphibious landing ship built in the second quarter of 1945 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation on hot machinery and exhaust runs, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in a compact, poorly ventilated hull. As a direct-drive diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1991
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (1945-46); reserve-fleet caretakers (1946-59); 1959 barge-conversion crews; 1989-91 shipbreakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, specification sheet, or work package located for this hull. 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-r-505-lsmr505-03
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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 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- 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 (1945) and Navy-service era (1945-58).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch (confirmed 2026-09-30); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-04
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[5]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (Eric Pearson, June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History June 2025, Vol. 39 No. 3 - production statistics and postwar-disposition paragraphs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder documentation: Brown Shipbuilding Company was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown and Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; at its peak it employed more than 25,000 workers starting in late 1942; it built 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts (38 Edsall-class, 23 John C. Butler-class), 32 Landing Craft Infantry, and 254 Landing Ship Medium amphibious craft - including the LSM(R)-501 class hulls. In 1949 the yard was leased to the Todd Shipyards Corporation as a ship repair facility (the 'Todd Houston' division); Brown and Root took it back as an offshore fabrication yard in 1984; sold piecemeal 2004 as the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial Park.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-2004 (article coverage)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (peak >25,000, late 1942 onward); this hull's construction cohort Mar-Jun 1945
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record - names this hull's builder and documents the wartime workforce scale, but makes no asbestos statement for the yard or this hull. usni.org returns 403 to plain automated fetch; page retrieved and verified via Firecrawl extraction, 2026-09-30. Todd-era asbestos litigation cohort documented separately in the Atlas yard dataset (todd-shipyards) is post-1949 and not attributable to 1945 Brown construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-05
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[6]Miller v. Brown Shipbuilding Co., 71 F. Supp. 672 (S.D. Tex. May 2, 1947) (Kennerly, J.); affirmed per curiam, 5th Cir. 1948 (No. 12097) [court_record]
- Locator
- 71 F. Supp. 672, paragraphs 1-4 (trade list), 10 (dismissal); 5th Cir. per curiam affirmance No. 12097 (1948)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A wartime federal court record documents the builder's workforce and trades: plaintiffs William Paul Miller and LaSalle Bryant sued for themselves and approximately 800 similarly situated Black employees of Brown Shipbuilding, pleading that they were classified and paid as common laborers while performing duties 'as sandblasters, Sander's helpers, buffers, carpenter shop helpers, welder's helpers, timekeeper assistants, material checkers, tank cleaners, tool department clerks, sheering machine operators, etc.' under Navy shipbuilding and repair contracts. The district court dismissed for want of jurisdiction; the Fifth Circuit affirmed per curiam.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1947 (alleged employment period; opinion 1947, affirmed 1948)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding wartime workforce (~800 plaintiffs in the alleged class; skilled/semi-skilled trades named)
- Limitations
- Pleading-stage allegations only, at the lowest litigation stage: the complaint's trade list was never adjudicated - the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds and affirmed without reaching the merits. Not asbestos litigation and not a hull record: documents the construction-era labor population at this hull's builder (the yard active 1941-46, covering this hull's Mar-Jun 1945 build) as alleged by the plaintiffs. No asbestos, material, or exposure finding.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-06
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[7]U.S. Navy, LSM Class Manual, 1 March 1944, Serial No. 1766, issued to USS LSM-294 - scanned complete section set on NavSource (Ship's Organization; Ordnance; Main Propelling Machinery; Auxiliary Machinery incl. boilers; Pumps/Tanks/Piping; Ventilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM Class Manual index, archives/10/14/lsm manual/ - lsm01-00 through lsm05-xx section PDFs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A period U.S. Navy class manual for the LSM family (the parent design of the LSM(R)-501 class) is digitized on NavSource: a complete scanned section set covering organization, ordnance, main propelling machinery, auxiliary machinery, piping systems, and ventilation. The scans are image-only (no OCR text layer); a keyword pass over the Main Propelling Machinery, Auxiliary Machinery, Piping, and Ventilation sections extracted no text and found no readable asbestos/insulation material specifications.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (issue)
- Population
- LSM-family crews and maintenance trades (reference document)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the manual was issued to USS LSM-294 for the base LSM transport design, not the LSM(R) rocket variant (enclosed superstructure aft, no open well deck) - applicability to this hull is at class-family level only. Image-only scans mean material specifications cannot be keyword-searched; absence of extracted asbestos mentions is a limitation of the scan, not evidence of absence in the manual. Full manual OCR is the open lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-07
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[8]Batch-5864 search ledger (this record): DANFS transcription; NavSource hull page and class index; USNI builder history; Miller v. Brown Shipbuilding opinion; LSM Class Manual (NavSource); GAO product page; NVR; NARA catalog; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-01 through -10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum record, or verified litigation naming USS LSM(R)-505 / Grand River (LSMR-505) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the authenticated helper returned fleet-pacing 'budget momentarily spent' on every attempt; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos generally at the builder's yard (mesotheliomalawyercenter.org and similar) - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - wartime amphibious construction is consistent with retained era materials - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (fleet-paced, not run). Deck logs (RG 24), builder work packages, the 1959 Foss barge-conversion contract, and 1989-91 scrapping records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-505-lsmr505-08