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 (4 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-522-lsmr522-pkt-525-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Red River' (NHHC live page, verified 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block, 'Red River' entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LSM(R)-522 laid down 5 May 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex.; launched 9 June 1945; commissioned 6 August 1945. Following shakedown and exercises out of Little Creek, Va., she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Fla., in May 1946. Recommissioned 2 April 1951; joined the amphibious force of the Atlantic Fleet, participating in fleet operations in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. In January 1955 she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; named Red River 1 October 1955; reclassified LFR on 1 January 1969; remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy list 1 May 1973. Spec block (verbatim): displacement 1,289 (full load); length 211'5"; beam 34'5"; draft 9'9"; speed 12 knots; complement 140; armament 1 5", 4 40mm., 8 20mm., 4 4.2" mortars, 10 5" rocket launchers; class LSM(R)-401. The ship is named for seven Red Rivers in the United States.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew 1945-46 and 1951-55
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; contains no asbestos or material content. DANFS's spec-block class tag 'LSM(R)-401' conflicts with NavSource and the shipbuildinghistory yard table, which both place this hull in the LSM(R)-501 class - see correction row ev-09 and gaps. DANFS gives reserve-fleet entry dates (May 1946; January 1955) rather than the decommission dates NavSource itemizes (19 April 1946; 15 May 1955); carried in gaps. DANFS does not record the post-strike disposal; that comes from NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Red River (LFR-522) ex USS Red River (LSMR-522) (1955-1969) / USS LSM(R)-522 (1945-1955) - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officers, disposal (live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/06522.htm header block, chronology, specifications block, awards ribbons, commanding-officer table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull (LSM(R)-501 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)): laid down 5 May 1945 at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX; launched 9 June 1945; commissioned 6 August 1945 as USS LSM(R)-522, LT Robert W. Gutzwiller, USNR, in command; during WWII 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 19 April 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; recommissioned 2 April 1951; decommissioned 15 May 1955 at Orange, TX, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group; named USS Red River LSM(R)-522, 1 October 1955; reclassified Inshore Fire Support Ship (LFR-522), 1 January 1969; struck from the Naval Register 1 May 1973; final disposition - sold for scrapping by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) 1 June 1974 to Inter Division Shipping Co. S.A., Panama, renamed Bilat, fate unknown. Awards displayed: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal. Photo captions document completion photography off the Brown yard at Houston (August 1945, Supervisor of Shipbuilding Houston), Chesapeake Bay 1945 moored with LSM(R)-523, the March 1946 Operation 'Zipper' mothballing nest of seventeen LSM(R)s at Green Cove Springs (a transcribed USS LSMR-524 deck-log entry lists 522 nested in the same berth), VACAPES operating area circa 1952, and entering Norfolk, VA in 1954 (US Navy photo NH 85001). Commanding officers listed: LT Gutzwiller (Aug-Oct 1945, Sep-Dec 1945), LTjg Durkin (Sep 1945 temp; Dec 1945-17 Jan 1946), LTjg Ginty (17 Jan 1946-19 Apr 1946), LCDR Bonnett (1950s).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew 1945-46 and 1951-55; reserve-fleet maintenance crews (1946-51, 1955-73); DRMS/buyer handling crews (1974)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track DANFS/NVR but decommission-date granularity (19 April 1946; 15 May 1955) exceeds DANFS and is carried pending primary confirmation. Contains no asbestos content. The 1974 DRMS sale predates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat or material record for the disposal was located. Photo-caption provenance (USS LSM/LSMR Association, named contributors) is as captioned.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton compilation), Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston TX yard construction table - hull 329 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- Brown Shipbuilding construction table, yard hull 329 row (and series context, hulls 308-343)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Independent yard-table corroboration for this hull: Brown Shipbuilding hull number 329, 'LSM(R) 522', landing ship - laid 5 May 1945, launched 9 June 1945, delivered 6 August 1945; disposition note 'Later Red River 1955, LFE 522 1969, sold 1974 for scrapping but retained and renamed "Bilal"'. The same table documents that the entire LSM(R)-501 through LSM(R)-536 rocket-ship series was built at Brown (hulls 308-343 in the yard sequence).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1974
- Limitations
- Independent secondary compilation (the yard table USNI Naval History itself cites for Brown's production); 'LFE 522' is a typographical slip for LFR-522, and 'Bilal' conflicts with NavSource's 'Bilat' - spelling variant carried in gaps. 'Retained' implies she may not have been broken up immediately; final fate unknown in both sources. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-03
-
[5]NHHC, 'Ship Abbreviations and Symbols' (live page verified 2026-09-30) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC abbreviations page, L entries
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official Navy nomenclature for this hull's designation chain: 'LSM(R) -- medium landing ship (rocket), (now LFR)'; 'LFR -- inshore fire support ship (formerly IFS, LSMR)'; 'IFS -- inshore fire support ship (now LFR)'. This supports reading the PRIMARY canonical designation LSMR-522 (the un-parenthesized rocket landing ship form used 1955-1969) and LFR-522 (post-1 January 1969) as the same hull as LSM(R)-522.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Generic nomenclature reference, not hull-specific - establishes what the designations mean, not facts about this vessel. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (two GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, twin screws - no boilers); DANFS spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 program documentation (ev-06); USNI/shipbuildinghistory builder documentation (ev-03, ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; DANFS spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-06)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven amphibious landing ship built in 1945 at a wartime emergency yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck covering in the ship's confined hull volume. Her propulsion was diesel - two GM 16-278A engines - so she carried no steam plant, and the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the diesel-exhaust and general shipboard insulation applications remain the era-consistent pathways.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1974
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew 1945-46 and 1951-55; reserve-fleet maintenance crews (1946-51, 1955-73); disposal/shipbreaking or conversion crews (1974+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LSM(R)-522. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product terms are normalized era descriptions; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-05
-
[7]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 construction (1945) and her entire Navy service (1945-1973).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30 - standing defect since Batch-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-06
-
[8]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 feature (text and footnotes 15-16)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Builder documentation for this hull's construction yard: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown and Root on Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel; it was the second-largest Houston-area employer of WWII with more than 25,000 workers at peak from late 1942, side-launching vessels into the narrow waterway. Per the article (citing shipbuildinghistory.com), Brown 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 assault landing craft - the series that includes this hull's LSM(R) type.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1945
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce, peak 25,000+ (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Yard-level history, not a hull record - does not name LSM(R)-522 and contains no asbestos information; establishes the construction-yard context and workforce population only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-07
-
[9]NARA, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' (digitized-deck-log index, live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA navy-online deck-log index; LSMR/LFR sister entries present, no 522 entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's digitized deck-log index lists no entry for LSM(R)-522 / LSMR-522 / LFR-522 / Red River. Sister rocket ships DO appear - Clarion River (LSMR-409), Des Plaines River (LFR/LSM/LSMR-412), Gunnison River (YV-3/LSMR-508), St. Francis River (LSMR/LFR-525), White River (LSMR/LFR-536), mostly for their 1960s inshore fire support service - so the class's deck-log coverage pattern is established, but this hull (in commission only 1945-46 and 1951-55) is not among the digitized set. Deck logs for her commission years presumably exist in RG 24 holdings but are not online.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1955 (commissioned periods)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: absence from the digitized index is not absence from NARA holdings - RG 24 deck logs for her commissioned periods may exist undigitized. The NARA catalog API endpoint returned the JS application shell (proxy-api search not scriptable this session); the navy-online HTML index itself was searched. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-08
-
[10]Designation/class cross-check: NavSource page class label 'LSM(R)-501 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)'; shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table series listing (LSM(R)-501 through -536 built at Brown, hulls 308-343); DANFS spec block tag 'cl. LSM(R)-401' [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block 'cl. LSM(R)-401' vs NavSource class label and shipbuildinghistory hulls 308-343 series
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the DANFS spec block for this entry tags the class 'LSM(R)-401'. NavSource's page label and the shipbuildinghistory yard table both group this hull in the LSM(R)-501 class - the -501 series (hulls 501-536) built at Brown Shipbuilding in 1945, distinct from the earlier twelve-hull LSM(R)-401 series. The class is carried as LSM(R)-501; the DANFS '401' tag is treated as a spec-block artifact, not propagated.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Corrects a class-assignment discrepancy, not a material claim. All three sources agree on builder, dates, and hull identity; only the class label differs. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-09
-
[11]Batch-5881 search ledger (this record): live DANFS page; NavSource 10/06/06522; shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table; NHHC abbreviations; USNI Naval History; NARA deck-log index; NVR detail-page check; CourtListener opinion searches (partially completed); secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-01 through sl-uss-lsm-r-522-lsmr522-15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LSM(R)-522 / USS Red River (LSMR-522 / LFR-522) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion-level searches for 'LSM(R)-522', 'LSMR-522', and 'USS Red River' each returned zero hits (authenticated API, 2026-09-30). CAVEAT: deeper CourtListener coverage - docket-level queries, the 'LFR-522' opinion query, a bare 'Red River' asbestos collision check, and a builder-level 'Brown Shipbuilding' asbestos query - could not be completed this session; the helper's fleet-wide pacing budget refused further requests (logged as blocked in search_ledger, NOT as a negative result). The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced in web sweeps is law-firm marketing content listing the hull or its yard without primary sourcing - 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 - the hull was built and served entirely within the Navy's documented asbestos era, and her 28 years in reserve-fleet custody (1946-51, 1955-73) are consistent with largely unaltered wartime material. The litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (partially searched, then fleet-paced). Deck logs and Brown Shipbuilding construction 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-522-lsmr522-10