Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 579-packet.md (2 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: MISMATCH
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-raritan-lsm450-pkt-579-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSM-450 (history extract from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II, Turner Publishing Company, 1997, ISBN 1-56311-389-9) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USS LSM-450 page: construction data, service history bullets, awards block, specifications block, commanding officers list, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LSM-450, an LSM-1 class Landing Ship Medium, was laid down 4 October 1944 at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA; launched 3 December 1944; and commissioned USS LSM-450 on 18 January 1945, LTjg. William J. Waters, USNR, in command. During World War II she was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in LSM Flotilla Thirteen (LCDR. C. L. Weigle, USN), LSM Group Thirty-Eight - for which she was flagship (LCDR. T. F. Lane, USNR) - and LSM Division Seventy-Six. Postwar she was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East: Navy Occupation Service Medal for 23 September - 14 November 1945 and 27 July - 3 August 1946; China Service Medal (extended) for 4 August 1946 - 13 March 1947. She decommissioned 17 July 1947 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA; was struck from the Naval Register (date unknown in this source); and was sold in February 1948 to Crowley Launch & Tugboat Co., San Francisco, CA - fate unknown. Awards displayed: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Specifications: 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. fully loaded; 203'6" overall; 34'6" beam; propulsion two GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each at 720 rpm, twin propellers, 2,800 shp; 13.2 kts; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin 40mm bow mount, four single 20mm. Commanding officers: LTjg. William J. Waters USNR (Jan 1945 - Jan 1946); LTjg. John C. Kiely Jr. USNR (Jan - Mar 1946); LTjg. Elvis M. Baxter USNR (Mar - Jun 1946); LT. Chester Valentine Jackson USN (Jun 1946 - 17 Jul 1947). A US Naval Historical Center photograph (NH 84898) shows her under way in San Francisco Bay circa 1945-46.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- Western Pipe & Steel construction trades, San Pedro (1944); crew (1945-47); Mare Island Navy Yard inactivation trades (1947); Crowley Launch & Tugboat commercial crews (1948-?)
- Limitations
- Page verified live 2026-10-01. The history is a secondary-source extract (Turner Publishing 1997), not an official record: no DANFS entry exists for this hull (NHHC URL 404; HyperWar index carries no linked history), so official corroboration of the dates and specifications was not possible; the stricken date is unknown in this source. Contains no asbestos, materials, or insulation-content statement; supports no asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-01
-
[3]shipbuildinghistory.com, Western Pipe & Steel, South San Francisco CA and San Pedro CA - yard hull register (compiled from official sources) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Western Pipe & Steel page, WWII section, 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro' table block, yard hull no. 211 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The shipbuildinghistory.com yard register for Western Pipe & Steel (South San Francisco and San Pedro yards) lists yard hull no. 211 as 'LSM 450', original name 'Unnamed', owner US Navy, type Landing Ship, 743 t. standard, 203 ft, delivered 18 January 1945, disposition 'Sold to Crowley 1948' - independently corroborating the NavSource build and disposal data. The row falls under the register section 'Ordered 4-Apr-44, built in San Pedro', confirming the build yard as the company's WWII West Basin San Pedro yard, not the South San Francisco yard. The register's 'Unnamed' entry is direct register-level confirmation that the hull never received a name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Page verified live 2026-10-01. shipbuildinghistory.com is a secondary compilation of register data, not an official registry; values corroborate NavSource/Turner. The order-date group header reads 4 April 1944 while uboat.net gives 8 April 1944 (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-02
-
[4]uboat.net, Allied Warships of WWII, USS LSM 450 (LSM 450) - warship data sheet [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/13037.html data table (Built by / Ordered / Laid down / Launched / Commissioned / End service / History rows)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's Allied Warships entry for USS LSM 450 corroborates the milestone chain (ordered 8 April 1944; laid down 4 October 1944; launched 3 December 1944; commissioned 18 January 1945; end service 17 July 1947) and supplies a stricken date absent from NavSource: 'Stricken on 28 August 1947. Sold in February 1948.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Limitations
- Page verified live 2026-10-01. uboat.net is a volunteer-compiled secondary database; the 28 August 1947 stricken date is not corroborated by any official source located (NavSource lists the date as unknown) and is carried as secondary-only in the stricken field and gaps. The entry labels the builder 'Western Pipe & Steel Co. (San Francisco, California)' - the NavSource and shipbuildinghistory sources place this hull at the company's San Pedro yard (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-03
-
[5]NHHC DANFS, LSM-450 entry (absent; canonical URL 404 on 2026-10-01); HyperWar/ibiblio 'US Navy Landing Ships/Craft, 1940-1945' index (hull listed without linked history) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- HyperWar index, LSM number block 441-459 (LSM-450 plain row); NHHC canonical URL check
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No DANFS entry exists for LSM-450. The canonical NHHC DANFS URL for the hull returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-01, and the HyperWar/ibiblio 'US Navy Landing Ships/Craft, 1940-1945' index lists LSM-450 (1944-45) as a plain table entry with no linked history, while neighboring hulls (e.g., LSM-448) carry linked DANFS texts. No official ship-specific history, and therefore no official ship-specific materials or asbestos documentation, was located for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- Absence of a DANFS entry is an absence of official narrative history only; it does not bear on whether asbestos was or was not aboard. Hull facts are instead carried from secondary sources (NavSource/Turner, shipbuildinghistory, uboat.net).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-04
-
[6]DANFS, Raritan III (LSM-540) - live NHHC page, published 2005-09-16 (updated 2015); corroborated by NavSource USS Raritan (LSM-540) page and the Wikipedia USS Raritan index (three-ship name list) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Raritan III (LSM-540) entry, full text; NavSource 10/14/14540.htm; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Raritan index
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: the batch-supplied label 'USS Raritan (LSM-450)' conflates two different hulls. Per DANFS, the third Raritan was LSM-540: laid down 10 May 1945 as LSM-540 by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex.; launched August 1945; commissioned 6 December 1945; placed out of commission March 1946 and berthed at Green Cove Springs, Fla., Atlantic Reserve Fleet; recommissioned August 1957 (NavSource: 4 November 1957) and homeported at Miami; named Raritan 14 October 1959; decommissioned at Norfolk 1 December 1959; struck from the Navy list 1 January 1960; sold summer 1961 to Norwegian owner LL Vestlandet Kraftsamband and later NVE, out of service by 1969, fate unknown (NavSource). DANFS records exactly three ships named Raritan - the 1843 frigate, harbor tug WYT-93, and LSM-540. Hull LSM-450 was decommissioned 17 July 1947 and sold out of the Navy in February 1948 - years before the late-1950s wave of LSM naming - and the shipbuildinghistory.com yard register lists her as 'Unnamed'. No authoritative source pairs the name Raritan with LSM-450.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1960 (identities compared)
- Limitations
- Corrects an upstream name/hull pairing error, not a material or asbestos claim. DANFS and NavSource conflict on LSM-540's reserve-period dates (out of commission March 1946 vs 29 May 1946; recommissioned August 1957 vs 4 November 1957) - documented here verbatim for disambiguation only; no conflict resolution was needed because LSM-540 is not the subject hull. A future batch covering LSM-540 should build a separate record under its own slug.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-05
-
[7]CourtListener API v4 searches, 2026-10-01 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper cl-auth-search.py): opinion "LSM-450" (17 hits, all collisions); opinion "LSM-540" (0 hits); opinion "USS Raritan" (0 hits); docket "LSM-450" (0 hits); opinion "Raritan" AND "LSM" (1 hit - Dufrene v. The Tug Diversity, 163 F. Supp. 331 (E.D. La. 1958), name/type collision) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-raritan-lsm450-09 through sl-uss-raritan-lsm450-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming LSM-450 / USS LSM-450 / USS Raritan (either hull) was located. CourtListener API v4 searches on 2026-10-01: opinion query "LSM-450" returned 17 hits, all token/name collisions (e.g., 'LSM L.L.C.' as an Arizona corporate party, postal-service employment matters, criminal appeals) with no vessel reference in any result; opinion query "LSM-540" - the hull number of the actual USS Raritan - returned 0 hits; opinion query "USS Raritan" returned 0 hits; docket query "LSM-450" returned 0 hits; opinion query "Raritan" AND "LSM" returned 1 hit - Dufrene v. The Tug Diversity, 163 F. Supp. 331 (E.D. La. 1958), a wave-wash property-damage case mentioning an unnamed 'LSM' as a moored vessel, a name/type collision, not qualifying litigation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 2026-10-01
- Limitations
- CourtListener does not cover all state courts or unreported matters; absence of a located docket does not prove no claim was ever filed. Three of five queries initially returned fleet-pacing stand-downs and were completed on retry within the session. No litigation-stage classification was required because no qualifying case was located. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-06
-
[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II, the era and program under which this LSM-1 class hull was mass-produced (built October 1944 - January 1945), and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel landing ship of this type and period were machinery gaskets, valve packing, and insulation felts; as a direct-drive diesel ship she carried no boilers or turbines, so the steam-era boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation. DOI returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on prior batches; citation carried from prior verified batch use (batch-05, verified 2026-09-15; reused under identical terms by batch-6238 on 2026-10-01).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-07
-
[9]Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615, 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 11 (Cal. Ct. App. 1st Dist., Div. 3, 2001), No. A091473 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion, Facts/General Background and Discussion sections
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Appellate litigation documents asbestos at this hull's builder company: in Franklin v. USX Corp., 87 Cal. App. 4th 615 (2001), the court recites that when World War II broke out Western Pipe & Steel 'entered into a contract with the United States Maritime Commission to again build ships for use in the war' and that 'the contract required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos.' Plaintiff Jeannette Franklin's parents worked at WPS 1942-1945 and she contracted peritoneal mesothelioma from childhood take-home (secondhand) exposure; a jury returned a verdict for plaintiffs exceeding $5 million. The court of appeal reversed solely on successor-in-interest grounds (USX was not the successor to WPS/Consolidated Steel liabilities) and expressly did not reach the exposure merits ('we do not address the issues pertaining to the jury verdict').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (exposure period); 2001 (opinion)
- Population
- WPS wartime shipyard workers and household contacts (opinion concerns South San Francisco yard, 1942-45)
- Limitations
- Company/yard-level documentation, not a hull record: the exposure site in the opinion was the WPS South San Francisco yard, while this hull was built at WPS's San Pedro yard (West Basin); the opinion's asbestos finding is stated at company contract level ('the contract required the use of ship building materials containing asbestos'). Litigation-stage note: the trial-level exposure finding (jury verdict) was left undisturbed on its merits - the reversal was exclusively on successor liability, a non-exposure ground. Does not establish materials aboard this hull, exposure of any individual, or quantity.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-08
-
[10]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, Landing Ship Medium (LSM) / LSM(R) class index [other_primary]
- Locator
- LSM/LSM(R) photo index page: class narrative, LSM Class Manual entry
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Class context: 558 Landing Ship Medium (LSM) and Landing Ship Medium (Rocket) (LSM(R)) hulls were built during World War II, most serving in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and some in the Korean and Vietnam wars. An 'LSM Class Manual, March 1 1944, Serial No. 1766' (issued to USS LSM-294) is documented in the NavSource class index - a class-standard manual that may document insulation and materials specifications for the type; not consulted for this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Page verified live 2026-10-01. Class-level background only; the manual's materials content is unknown because the manual was not consulted, and class-standard materials cannot be attributed to this hull without ship-specific documentation. Does not establish asbestos presence aboard LSM-450.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-09
-
[11]Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945 (scan contributed by Douglas Gritzinger, hosted on NavSource under USS Braxton APA-138, archives/10/03/pdf/03138a.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LSM-450 page 'Additional Resources' link; PDF is a scanned image document (no text layer)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival lead: the NavSource LSM-450 page links a scanned 'Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945' (hosted under the USS Braxton (APA-138) archive, 03138a.pdf), consistent with this hull's documented Navy Occupation Service window of 23 September - 14 November 1945 and her status as flagship of LSM Group Thirty-Eight. The 30 MB scan is image-only and its ship-specific content could not be verified; whether the report names LSM-450 is unconfirmed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-01
- Study period
- September 1945
- Population
- Occupation-force amphibious crews, Nagasaki (Sep 1945)
- Limitations
- Force-level document: the report covers the Nagasaki occupation landing and is filed under the APA-138 archive; it is consistent with this hull's service window but does not verifiably name her. Image-only scan - contents unverified, no text extraction possible. Not an asbestos or materials record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm450-10