Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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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-523-lsmr523-pkt-525-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Republican River (LSM(R)-523) - construction dates, builder, Atlantic Reserve Fleet entry March 1946, renaming 1 October 1955, striking 1 February 1960; spec block (entry dated 25 September 2005) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC DANFS R-section entry 'Republican River' (full entry, ~4 sentences + spec header)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS records LSM(R)-523 laid down 5 May 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Tex.; launched 9 June 1945; delivered 10 August 1945; entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in March 1946; named Republican River on 1 October 1955; struck from the Navy list on 1 February 1960. DANFS header spec block lists class 'LSM(R)-401' and complement 140.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Limitations
- Official NHHC entry for this hull; contains no asbestos information and does not address construction materials. DANFS says 'delivered' where NavSource says 'commissioned' for 10 August 1945 - see gaps. DANFS class label 'LSM(R)-401' diverges from NavSource 'LSM(R)-501 class' - see gaps. Live-verified 2026-10-01 via full-browser render; note the URL returns 404 to non-browser fetch agents (NHHC agent filtering) - content confirmed present for browser clients.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS Republican River (LSMR-523) ex USS LSM(R)-523, archive 10/06/06523 - timeline, awards display, LSM(R) specification block, Green Cove Springs nest photography and sister-ship deck-log transcriptions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource archive page 10/06/06523 (timeline block, awards, spec block, photo captions 100652301-100652303)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource records: commissioned LSM(R)-523 on 10 August 1945, LT Robert A. Sochar, USNR, in command; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater under LSM(R) Flotilla Eighteen (CAPT C. F. Macklin USN), Group Forty-Four, Division One Hundred Eight; decommissioned 2 July 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL; laid up Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; named Republican River LSM(R)-523 on 1 October 1955; struck 1 February 1960; sold 21 October 1960 to Richard W. Guller. Photographs place the hull in the Chesapeake Bay (1945) and moored in LSM(R) nests at Green Cove Springs, FL (January 1946; the 'Operation Zipper' mothballing, March 1946). Spec block: 758 t light / 993 t attack / 1,175 t full; 206'3" x 34'6"; 13 kts; 6 officers + 137 enlisted; 1 x 5"/38, 2 twin 40mm, 4 twin 20mm, 10 twin continuous-loading 5" SS rocket launchers, 4 x 4.2" mortars; 2 GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, twin screws 2,800 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960; page last updated 2007
- Population
- Crew (6 officers + 137 enlisted, spec block)
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled photographic archive; timeline and spec block not independently audited against commissioning documents. The Asiatic-Pacific assignment line is class-wide boilerplate across this archive's LSM(R) pages (identical text on LSM(R)-524, LSM(R)-527 pages); no transit to or combat operation in the Pacific is documented for this hull - she is photographed in the Chesapeake Bay in 1945 and at Green Cove Springs, FL, by January 1946. Deck-log quotes on this page are transcriptions from sister ship LSM(R)-524's log describing the mooring nest - class-level, not this hull's own log.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-02
-
[4]Shipbuilding History, 'Brown Shipbuilding, Houston TX' yard hull table - yard hull 330 = LSM(R) 523 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Brown Shipbuilding yard table, hull 330 row; page summary paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's compiled yard table lists yard hull 330 as LSM(R) 523: keel laid 5 May 1945, launched 9 June 1945, delivered 10 August 1945, 'Later Republican River 1955, sold to Richard W. Guller 1960'. Yard output summary: 359 vessels in four years (12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 DEs, 254 LSMs).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945-1960
- Limitations
- Independently compiled reference table (shipbuildinghistory.com) corroborating NHHC/NavSource milestones; no asbestos content. The table records 'delivered' 10 August 1945, matching DANFS; the commissioning ceremony detail rests on NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-03
-
[5]Eric Pearson, 'The Brown Shipbuilding Company's Rise During World War II,' Naval History (U.S. Naval Institute), June 2025, vol. 39 no. 3 [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Naval History, June 2025 issue, 'Building Different Types of Naval Vessels' and concluding sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- USNI documents the builder: Brown Shipbuilding was established in 1941 by George and Herman Brown of Brown and Root; the yard sat on narrow Greens Bayou off the Houston Ship Channel and launched vessels sideways; peak employment exceeded 25,000 from late 1942, making it the second-largest Houston-area WWII employer; output included 12 PC-461-class submarine chasers, 61 destroyer escorts, 32 LCIs, and 254 LSMs; in 1949 the yard was leased to Todd Shipyards Corporation as a ship repair facility.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1941-1949
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding workforce (>25,000 peak); construction trades
- Limitations
- Builder/yard-level history; does not name this hull and contains no asbestos information. Establishes the construction site, workforce scale, and postwar ownership (Todd lease 1949) relevant to interpreting yard-level asbestos records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource LSM(R) specification block (2 x GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive; diesel-driven ship's-service generators); sister-ship deck-log transcription on the same page (auxiliary boiler operating in the moored nest, January 1946); 1945 wartime naval construction specifications generally [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 06523 spec block + photo-caption deck-log transcription (LSM(R)-524 log, January 1946)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- LSM(R)-523 is a diesel-driven amphibious ship: two GM 16-278A diesels on direct drive, diesel ship's-service generators - no main steam plant, so no boiler/turbine lagging pathway in the propulsion train. An auxiliary boiler is documented aboard the class (sister LSM(R)-524's January 1946 deck-log entry lists '#1 boiler' among machinery in operation while nested with LSM(R)-523 at Green Cove Springs). Asbestos-relevant systems aboard a mid-1945 naval build of this type are era-standard: thermal insulation on exhaust lines and mufflers, machinery insulation, auxiliary-boiler insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and deck covering.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Construction trades (Brown Shipbuilding, 1945); ship's company (~143)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference, not a hull record: no insulation schedule, survey, or material list for this vessel was located. The auxiliary boiler is documented in a sister ship's deck log (same moored nest), not on this hull - class-level. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard, its quantity, or present-day presence; the hull's post-1960 fate is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-05
-
[7]Hansen v. Johns-Manville Products Corp., 734 F.2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1984) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 734 F.2d 1036 (facts section; affirmed as to liability, remanded on punitives)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Fifth Circuit affirmed liability (remanding on punitive quantum only) for the wrongful death of Andrew Hansen, a Todd Shipyards pipefitter from 1940 who tore out old insulation and installed new asbestos-containing insulation aboard ships, developing asbestosis and fatal mesothelioma; appeal lay from the Southern District of Texas (Houston). Todd Shipyards leased and operated the former Brown Shipbuilding yard - this hull's construction site - as its Houston Division 1949-1984.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940-1976 employment; 1984 opinion
- Population
- Houston shipyard pipefitter; asbestosis + mesothelioma (decedent, d. ~1979)
- Limitations
- Yard-system-level adjudicated record, not a hull record: the opinion does not name this vessel or specify which Houston-area Todd facility hosted the exposure (Todd also operated the former Houston Shipbuilding Corp. site), and Hansen's employment began in 1940, before the Greens Bayou yard built this ship. Establishes asbestos-insulation ship work at the Houston yard system that included this hull's construction site after 1949; does not establish construction-era (1945) conditions at Brown Shipbuilding or any condition aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's asbestos-protection program, including use of asbestos in Navy ships and removal costs, with fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards; documented the 1975 policy (remove and replace with nonasbestos only damaged or necessarily-disturbed insulation) modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1975-1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation, not hull-specific; fieldwork yards are unrelated to this hull's history, and this hull was decommissioned 1946 and sold 1960 - before the reviewed period. Supports era/program context only; establishes nothing about this vessel. Full report PDF exists (gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf); product-page highlights used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-07
-
[9]Batch-5882 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS; NavSource archive and class index; shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; USNI Naval History; CourtListener API v4 (opinion index); NARA catalog; NVR; NIOSH/CDC stacks; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lsm-r-523-01 through sl-uss-lsm-r-523-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LSM(R)-523 / LSMR-523 / Republican River (hull) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener returned zero opinions and zero dockets for the hull numbers and zero asbestos results for 'Republican River'; the 138 'Republican River' opinions are river water-rights and railroad-bridge litigation - name collisions, not the ship.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1945 wartime amphibious hull is era-consistent with asbestos use. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Residual gap: the name-form ('Republican River') docket query stayed fleet-throttled - see ledger; hull-number docket coverage is complete.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lsm-r-523-08