Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 525-packet.md (3 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-521-lsmr521-pkt-525-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Rainy River' (NHHC ship-history entry, published 16 September 2005; live page verified 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Rainy River entry, narrative paragraph and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 'LSM(R)-521 was laid down 5 May 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex., launched 9 June 1945; and commissioned 1 August l945 [sic], Lt. Abram E. Manell in command. After shakedown and training operations, LSM(R)-521 entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in March 1946. Named Rainy River 1 October 1955, she was struck from the Navy list 1 October 1958, and sold in 1959.' Spec block: displacement 1,289 (full load); length 211'5"; beam 34'5"; draft 9'9"; speed 12 knots; complement 140; armament 1 5-inch, 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2-inch mortars, 10 5-inch rocket launchers; class LSM(R)-501. Named for a river in Minnesota.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. The DANFS entry is terse - it gives no decommissioning date or place (NavSource supplies both) and no buyer for the 1959 sale. Launch date conflicts with NavSource (9 vs 4 June 1945) - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Rainy River (LSMR-521) ex USS LSM(R)-521 (1945-1955) - timeline, theater assignment, awards, specifications, disposition (live page verified 2026-09-30; navsource.net domain) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/06521.htm - history bullets, awards display, LSM(R) specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 5 May 1945 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX; launched 4 June 1945; commissioned USS LSM(R)-521, 1 August 1945, LT Abram E. Manell, USNR, in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LSM(R) Flotilla Eighteen (CAPT C. F. Macklin, USN), LSM(R) Group Forty-Four, LSM(R) Division One Hundred Eight. Decommissioned 20 June 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs. Named USS Rainy River (LSMR-521) 1 October 1955. Struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1958. Final disposition: sold 4 August 1959 to Fleet Storage Corp., converted to a barge, fate unknown. Awards displayed: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal. Specifications: displacement 758 t. light / 993 t. attack / 1,175 t. fully loaded; length 206'3"; beam 34'6"; speed 13 kts; complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted; armament one 5"/38 DP mount, two twin 40mm, four twin 20mm, ten twin continuous-loading 5" SS rocket launchers, four 4.2" mortars; armor 10-lb. STS on conning station/pilot-house/radio room/radar plot/rocket control and 10-lb. ASPP around gun mounts and directors; endurance 3,000 miles at 13 kts; propulsion two General Motors 16-278A (non-reversing, airflex clutch) diesels, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, direct drive, twin screws 2,800 shp; generators four 100 kW 450 V AC plus two 20 kW 120 V DC, diesel-driven.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1959
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1945); crew (1945-46); Green Cove Springs inactivation/mothballing personnel (1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track DANFS but the launch date conflicts (4 vs 9 June 1945 - see gaps) and spec figures differ from the DANFS spec block (displacement, length, complement). Contains no asbestos content. 'Fate unknown' after barge conversion closes the documented record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-02
-
[4]NavSource photo captions on the LSM(R)-521 page: Navy Day underway photo (27 October 1945) and the Operation 'Zipper' Green Cove Springs nest photograph quoting the LSMR-524 deck log, March 1946 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/06521.htm - image table captions (Navy Day photo; Operation Zipper nest photo with LSMR-524 deck-log excerpt)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Physical-presence documentation for this hull: a photo shows USS LSM(R)-521 under way on Navy Day, 27 October 1945 (location unknown). A second photo shows seventeen LSM(R)s nested at Green Cove Springs, FL, during Operation 'Zipper' - the mass decommissioning/mothballing of the rocket-ship fleet - in March 1946, with LSM(R)-521 seventh in the nest between LSM(R)-529 and LSM(R)-528; the caption quotes the LSMR-524 deck log for March 1946, 'Moored in Birth Oak 31, St. Johns River Green Cove Springs, Fla.', nested with the same seventeen hulls including 521.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-10-27; 1946-03
- Population
- Green Cove Springs mothballing/inactivation crews (March-June 1946)
- Limitations
- Photographic and sister-ship deck-log documentation of presence, not a work or material record: establishes that this hull was mothballed in the 17-ship Green Cove Springs nest in March 1946, not what preservation materials or coatings were applied to it. The quoted deck log is LSMR-524's, not this hull's; NavSource transcribes the caption text. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-03
-
[5]HyperWar, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - LSM(R)-521 page (transcription; live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar LSMR/LSMR-521.html specification list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HyperWar page for this hull: 'LSM(R)-401 class Landing Ship, Medium (Rocket)'; displacement 1,175 tons loaded; length 203'6"; beam 34'; draft 7'9"; speed 13 knots max loaded; armament 1 5"/38 DP, 2x2 40mm, 4x2 20mm, 4 4.2-inch mortars, 20 continuous-loading 5-inch SS rocket launchers; complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted; 'GM diesel direct drive, twin screws'; 'Converted while building from LSMs'; built at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Tex., and commissioned 1 August 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- Transcription site (compiler Patrick Clancey, page dated 26 Nov 2006); its 'LSM(R)-401 class' label conflicts with DANFS/NavSource 'LSM(R)-501' class assignment - a taxonomy variance carried in gaps, not an error to propagate. 'Converted while building from LSMs' documents that 501-class hulls were ordered as LSMs and converted on the ways, which neither DANFS nor NavSource states. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-04
-
[6]U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History magazine, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II' (June 2025) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- USNI Naval History, June 2025 issue - Brown Shipbuilding article body
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Yard-level history of this hull's builder: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of the Brown & Root construction company, on narrow Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel (vessels launched on sideways slips). It was the Houston area's second-largest wartime employer, peaking above 25,000 workers from late 1942, built submarine chasers and destroyer escorts plus 32 Landing Craft Infantry and 254 Landing Ship Medium amphibious hulls, averaged one delivered ship per week, and received the Army-Navy 'E' production award in December 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 peak, from late 1942)
- Limitations
- Yard-level context, not a hull record: the article does not name LSM(R)-521 and does not address asbestos or any material content at the yard. USNI Naval History is reputable professional-association press, not a government source; used for builder history only. No asbestos finding for Brown Shipbuilding is implied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-05
-
[7]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published Oct 18, 1979; publicly released Oct 22, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing it, and compensation programs; fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. It documents that the Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships through this hull's 1945 construction era, and that Navy policy (1975, modified 1979) was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, later extended to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); Navy asbestos use spans this hull's 1945 construction
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull - HRD-80-2 does not name LSM(R)-521, and its fieldwork yards (Long Beach, Norfolk) are not this hull's builder. Live product page and 26-page PDF link verified 2026-09-30 (full text not extracted this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-06
-
[8]NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 85-21-1654, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard insulation shop (PDF verified live, HTTP 200, 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- HETA 85-21-1654 report sections on insulation-shop scope and work practices
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- NIOSH documented that a Navy shipyard insulation shop (Portsmouth Naval Shipyard) had previously prepared and stored asbestos insulation and that shipyard insulators performed rip-outs and pipe covering aboard Navy ships and submarines - occupational-practice documentation for how shipboard insulation work exposed workers during the Navy's asbestos era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1984-1985
- Population
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard insulation workers
- Limitations
- Different shipyard (Portsmouth NSY, not Brown Shipbuilding) and later period (1984-85 evaluation); program-level occupational-health evidence only. It does not identify LSM(R)-521, prove asbestos aboard it, or establish exposure for its crew or builders.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-07
-
[9]NHHC, 'Deck Log Access' services page (live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC deck-log access page, custody paragraph; NARA Modern Military Branch, College Park
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC states that unclassified deck logs from 1941 to 1983 are held by the Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md. This hull's commissioned-service deck logs (August 1945 - June 1946) fall inside that window and are an open archival lead; a sister hull's March 1946 deck log (LSMR-524, Green Cove Springs nest) is transcribed on the NavSource page, confirming the logs exist in the series.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1946 (log coverage window)
- Population
- Crew of record, 1945-46
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the NARA catalog did not return a ship-specific digital object for LSM(R)-521 in this session (catalog search is JS-rendered and unfetchable programmatically); whether this hull's logs are digitized is unverified. Deck logs record positions/operations, not material content - they are a lead for service documentation, not asbestos evidence.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches via cl-auth-search.py, 2026-09-30 (fleet-paced, 2,800/day shared quota) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-05 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying litigation naming this hull located in CourtListener: opinion search 'LSMR-521' returned 0 hits; 'USS LSM(R)-521' returned 0 hits; '"Rainy River" USS LSMR' returned 0 hits; opinion search 'LSM(R)-521' returned 123 hits, every reviewed hit a name collision on the 'LSM' string (e.g., LSM General Construction, LSM Security Services, 'In Re Lsm' family matters) with no ship, Navy, or asbestos content; docket search 'LSMR-521' returned 13 hits, all text-fragment collisions (e.g., Biesterfeldt v. Epix Pharmaceuticals, Carter Bryant v. Mattel); docket search 'LSM(R)-521' returned 3,642 hits, all 'LSM'-string collisions (BASF Corp. v. LSM LLC, court-deputy '(LSM,)' signature initials) with zero asbestos/Navy/ship signal across all returned text; opinion search '"Rainy River" ship' returned 13 hits, all geographic/railway collisions on the Minnesota-Ontario river name (Minneapolis & Rainy River Railway, Pigeon River Improvement Slide & Boom, Minnesota Canal & Power).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Searched-source negative, not proof of no litigation: CourtListener indexes published opinions and PACER-mirrored dockets, not state-court trial filings generally; MDL-875 pleading lists would not surface by hull number in opinion text. Non-indexed or non-digitized litigation is not ruled out.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-09
-
[11]Search of official/authoritative sources for ship-specific asbestos documentation (DANFS, NavSource, NVR, GAO, NIOSH, NARA leads, secondary litigation sweep) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-01 through -16
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- No ship-specific asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material inventory, or other primary asbestos record for LSM(R)-521 / Rainy River (LSMR-521) was located in the sources searched. Ship-specific asbestos documentation is unknown, not established absent. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced is law-firm marketing content asserting generic LSM(R)/shipyard exposure without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-2026
- Population
- Hull-specific records
- Limitations
- Negative finding limited to searched and accessible public sources. The 1959 barge-conversion yard (Fleet Storage Corp.) generated no located hazmat record; mothballing-era preservative records for the Green Cove Springs nest are not digitized. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-521-lsmr521-10