Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet 588-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-raritan-lsm540-pkt-588-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, Raritan III (LSM-540) - construction, commissioning, reserve lay-up, recommissioning, naming, disposal dates (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS service narrative and spec block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: 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., as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned August 1957, homeported at Miami, Fla. Named Raritan 14 October 1959; decommissioned at Norfolk 1 December 1959; struck from the Navy list 1 January 1960. Third Raritan, named for a river in New Jersey. Spec block: dp. 1,095 (full load); l. 203'6"; b. 34'6"; dr. 8'4"; s. 12 k.; cpl. 59; armament 2 40mm., 8 20mm.; cl. LSM-1.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1960 (entry coverage)
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew Dec 1945-1946; crew Nov 1957-Dec 1959
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. Two dates conflict with NavSource/NARA (out-of-commission March 1946 vs 29 May 1946; recommissioned August 1957 vs 4 November 1957 - see ev-09 and gaps). The entry covers no operations for either commission period.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LSM-540 / Raritan (LSM-540) - milestone timeline, specifications, commanding-officer list, photographic record, disposal chain (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14540.htm header timeline block, specifications block, commanding-officer table, photo captions (Little Creek Feb 1946; Green Cove Springs group photo; Esefjorden Oct 1963)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 10 May 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Corp., Houston TX; launched August 1945; commissioned USS LSM-540, 6 December 1945, LT Roy T. Rector USNR in command; decommissioned 29 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs, FL, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group; recommissioned 4 November 1957; named USS Raritan (LSM-540) 14 October 1959; decommissioned 1 December 1959 at Norfolk, VA; struck from the Naval Register 1 January 1960; sold summer 1961 to the Norwegian company L/L Vestlandske Kraftsamband, arriving at Ålesund, Norway, mid-August, where she served building power lines and transporting heavy items to trackless places including building spans across fjords; re-sold 1963 to Norges Vassdrags- og elektrisitetsvesen (NVE), in use to 1967; re-sold 1969 to a British company; final disposition unknown. Specifications: dp. 520 t. light / 743 t. landing / 1,095 t. fully loaded; l. 203'6"; b. 34'6"; two General Motors 16-278A diesels, direct drive, 1,440 BHP each @ 720 rpm, twin propellers 2,800 shp; complement 5 officers + 54 enlisted; armament one twin bow 40mm, four single 20mm; capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, 6 LVTs or 9 DUKWs. Photographic record places LSM-540 moored at Annex 2, Little Creek, VA in early February 1946 alongside LSM-538; in the 19-ship reserve-fleet photograph at Green Cove Springs; underway off Hampton Roads as Raritan; and beached in Esefjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden, in October 1963 as MS Vestkraft. Commanding-officer list: LT Roy T. Rector USNR (to 15 May 1946), LT John L. McGirr USNR (to 10 November 1946), LTjg Louis F. Pobuda (to 15 March 1947), LT Charles DeBay (15 March - 29 May 1947), decommissioned; LT William Anselm Kearns Jr. USN, later RADM (August 1958).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1969
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1945); crew Dec 1945-1946 and Nov 1957-Dec 1959; Norwegian civilian crew (1961-c.1969)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track DANFS/NVR but conflict internally and with DANFS on the first decommissioning (timeline 29 May 1946 vs commanding-officer table implying 29 May 1947; DANFS says March 1946 - see ev-09 and gaps). LT Rector's listed start date '12 June 1945' precedes even the reported 16 June 1945 laying date - likely a reporting or transcription artifact, unresolved. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-02
-
[4]National Archives, 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' - digitized deck-log index entries for LSM-540 and USS Raritan (LSM-540), monthly file units November 1957 through December 1959 (live index page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online, headings 'LSM-540' and 'Raritan (LSM-540)' (collapsepanel_80842 / collapsepanel_77232); monthly NAID links as enumerated
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's public deck-log index lists 'Raritan (LSM-540)' with commission December 1945, decommission May 1946, recommission November 1957, decommission December 1959, and provides monthly catalog links for the complete second commission: 1957 Nov (NAID 220198998) and Dec (220199058); all twelve months of 1958 (220199124-220199858); all twelve months of 1959 (220199926-220200392 Sep, 296905772 Oct, 296905840 Nov, 296905906 Dec). The catalog record pages resolve (HTTP 200 verified on NAIDs 220198998 and 296905906). These are the ship's own primary operational logs for her Miami-homeported second commission - the most likely source for her undocumented 1957-59 employment.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1957-1959 (digitized coverage)
- Population
- Crew of the second commission (Nov 1957 - Dec 1959)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the index establishes that digitized logs exist, not their contents - individual NAID pages are JS-rendered and their contents (duty stations, exercises, personnel) were not extracted this session. No deck logs for the first commission (Dec 1945 - May 1946) are listed in the index. No asbestos content established.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-03
-
[5]Kringom / Fylkesarkivet i Vestland (Vestland county archive local-history platform), 'MS Vestkraft - pa oppdrag i Esefjorden 1963' by Hermund Kleppa, citing Fossekallen (NVE) Dec 1963, Avisa Sogn og Fjordane 09.10.1963, and the Sogn og Fjordane county history [other_primary]
- Locator
- Kringom article 'MS Vestkraft - pa oppdrag i Esefjorden 1963' (published 06.02.2024, updated 22.05.2025); photo captions credited Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane and NVE
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Norwegian county-archive documentation of this hull's second career: L/L Vestlandske Kraftsamband (VK), formed 1955 to build trunk power lines in Sogn og Fjordane / south Møre og Romsdal, searched from 1960 for a suitable military landing ship both to carry transformers and materiel to roadless sites and to build power-line spans across fjords. A Norwegian crew took over the ex-USS Raritan at Norfolk at the end of July 1961 and crossed by the southern Atlantic route, arriving Ålesund after exactly 14 days (mid-August 1961), where she was renamed MS Vestkraft. In October 1963 Vestkraft placed the first 300 kV power span across Esefjorden - a Norwegian record by voltage, 1,700 m between masts roughly 400 m above the fjord - in a nine-day operation with winches, brakes and cable drums worked from the deck; the local paper Sogn og Fjordane carried a front-page feature 9 October 1963. VK sold the vessel to NVE; NVE's company magazine documented the operation in December 1963.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1961-1963
- Population
- Norwegian civilian crew (home port Ulsteinvik); VK/NVE line-crews working aboard (1961-1963+)
- Limitations
- Documents commercial use of the hull, not Navy service; no asbestos or material-content information. The vessel's conversion and heavy deck machinery work aboard (1961-63) is documented as event history only - any disturbance of original-era materials is inference, not a documented fact.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-04
-
[6]Fossekallen, company magazine of Norges vassdrags- og elektrisitetsvesen (NVE), December 1963 (issue 1963_04), feature 'VESTKRAFT - NVE som skipsreidar' plus cover note; full text extracted from NVE's own digitized publication server [other_primary]
- Locator
- Fossekallen 1963_04 PDF, feature section 'VESTKRAFT - NVE som skipsreidar' (pp. 12-15 of extracted text) and Esefjorden span description
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary-source account of the hull's purchase and NVE service: VK had sought a landing ship for transformer transport since 1949/50 planning and renewed the search in 1960; a candidate inspected in Scotland was rejected as being in poor condition. In May 1961 Globe Shipping advised VK of a landing ship for sale at Norfolk, Virginia; civil engineer Tron Horn (NVE) inspected her on VK's behalf during a business trip and found her 'a near bullseye' - built by the U.S. Navy, finished only after the war's end in 1945, 'practically not used' and mostly in 'mothballs'. VK bought her on favorable terms. Norwegian crew fetched her at Norfolk; renamed M/S Vestkraft on arrival Ålesund mid-August 1961. Jan-Feb 1962: two transformer transports Åndalsnes-Sykkylven and Åndalsnes-Ørsta in severe weather. Summer 1963: conversion work at Ulstein mek. verksted to meet Sjøfartskontoret (Norwegian Maritime Directorate) and Det Norske Veritas requirements; transport jobs including two transformers Åndalsnes-Orkanger for Chr. Salvesen & Chr. Thams, an Ålesund-Oslo coast voyage with a Sireåen trial run for the future Åna-Sira plant, and ~200 t of galvanized steel masts Jarlsø-Førde; then the Esefjorden 300 kV span. Technical data in the article: load capacity 365 t; free deck length ~50 m, average deck width ~5.5 m, ramp width 4.2 m; two main engines ~1,800 hk each driving twin propellers; two auxiliary engines driving 100 kW generators; trim tanks totaling 120 t water pumpable in ~12 min; draws 4 ft forward / 6 ft aft with empty trim tanks; hull 'very strongly constructed' for deliberate beaching. NVE Statskraftverkene had taken over the boat from VK with support from Kraftforsyningens Sivilforsvarsnemnd and NVE Elektrisitetsdirektoratet.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1961-1963
- Population
- Norwegian crew (Ulsteinvik-based); Ulstein mek. verksted conversion trades (1963); VK/NVE line crews
- Limitations
- Owner-operator's own publication - contemporaneous and ship-specific for the Norwegian period, but with expected promotional framing ('practically not used' simplifies her actual 1945-46 and 1957-59 commissions; engine rating ~1,800 hk conflicts with NavSource's 1,440 BHP - see gaps). The name is spelled 'Rarifon' in the article - a phonetic misspelling of Raritan. No asbestos content; the Ulstein conversion scope is not itemized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: DANFS spec block (LSM-1 class, 1945); NavSource specifications (two GM 16-278A diesels, direct drive, twin screws); LSM-1 class context (558 hulls built 1944-45 for the USN; Fairbanks-Morse or GM Cleveland diesels per class literature); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource specifications block; Wikipedia LSM-1-class article (class context only); GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-driven LSM-1-class landing ship medium built May-August 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard an amphibious hull of this type and period were thermal insulation on exhaust trunks and machinery spaces, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. As a diesel direct-drive vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945-1969
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1945); crew 1945-46 and 1957-59; Ulstein conversion trades 1963; later civilian crews and any breakers
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or construction specification located for LSM-540. 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-raritan-lsm540-06
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (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 (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards), covering the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing it, and compensation programs. The Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs; in 1979 the policy was modified to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. This frames the era in which this hull was built (1945) and served - asbestos insulation was standard aboard Navy ships until substitution began in the early 1970s.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era coverage spans this hull's construction and service
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Content from the GAO product page and its Highlights section; the 26-page PDF exists at gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf but full-text extraction was not performed this session (gao.gov intermittently blocks automated fetch).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-07
-
[9]Batch-6326 CourtListener sweep via authenticated API v4 (cl-auth-search.py): type=o "USS Raritan" (2 hits), "LSM-540" (10 hits), "\"USS Raritan\" asbestos" (0), "Raritan asbestos" (25 hits), "\"USNS Raritan\"" (0), "\"LSM 540\"" (0), "\"Brown Shipbuilding\" asbestos" (0); type=r "USS Raritan" (104 hits), "\"LSM-540\"" (0), "\"Brown Shipbuilding\" asbestos" (1 hit) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-raritan-lsm540-04 through -08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Raritan (LSM-540) located in CourtListener. All hits classified as collisions or noise: the two type=o 'USS Raritan' hits are Navy husbanding-contract bid protests (Glenn Defense Marine (Asia) v. United States, 105 Fed. Cl. 541 (2012); Constellation West v. United States, 125 Fed. Cl. 505 (2015)) - 2009-2015 contract disputes that cannot concern this hull, which left U.S. service in 1961; any vessel 'Raritan' there is USNS Raritan (T-ATF-301) era traffic, i.e., a name collision. The 10 'LSM-540' opinion hits are token-splitting noise (docket numbers, section cites) with no maritime or asbestos content for this hull. The 104 'USS Raritan' docket hits are Raritan-NJ place/party/entity names (Raritan Baykeeper, Raritan Valley Sheet Metal, etc.); the lone 'Brown Shipbuilding' asbestos docket hit (Toro v. Combustion Engineering, D. Haw. 2003) is an exposure-history mention of the builder yard inside another plaintiff's case - not a case about this vessel. No MDL-875 or state-court hit names this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- CourtListener covers published opinions and RECAP dockets - not state trial filings, settled/unfiled claims, or trust claims; absence of a qualifying hit does not prove no claim was ever asserted. Docket-text matches were reviewed at headline level; deep RECAP filing text was not OCR-verified page by page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-08
-
[10]Batch-6326 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource LSM-540 page; NARA deck-log index; Kringom/Fylkesarkivet Vestland; NVE Fossekallen 1963_04 PDF; MARAD Vessel History Database; NVR (unreachable); CourtListener authenticated sweep; uboat.net; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-raritan-lsm540-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, donation/transfer condition, or verified litigation naming USS Raritan / LSM-540 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The MARAD Vessel History Database has no status card for this hull (only RARITAN 1908 and 1919 exist). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing pages asserting asbestos at Brown Shipbuilding and aboard LSMs generally without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. The digitized 1957-59 deck logs (ev-03), Brown Shipbuilding construction records, the 1961 sale file, and the 1963 Ulstein conversion file are undigitized/uncited leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-09
-
[11]Decommissioning-date reconciliation: NavSource timeline 29 May 1946; NARA deck-log index 'Decommission: May 1946'; uboat.net 'End service 29 May 1946' - vs. DANFS 'placed out of commission in March 1946' and the NavSource commanding-officer table implying 29 May 1947 (LT DeBay '15 March 1947 - 29 May 1947' followed by 'Decommissioned 29 May 1947 - 4 November 1957') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/14/14540.htm timeline vs commanding-officer table; archives.gov deck-log index 'Raritan (LSM-540)' commission/decommission block; uboat.net ship/13091; DANFS Raritan III
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: three sources conflict on the first decommissioning. The weight of ship-specific evidence - NavSource's own timeline, the NARA deck-log index (which independently lists 'Decommission: May 1946'), and uboat.net - supports 29 May 1946 at Green Cove Springs, over DANFS's 'March 1946' and the internally contradictory NavSource commanding-officer table (which lists three additional COs through 29 May 1947 and is likely a year-transposed artifact). The 29 May 1946 date is carried in this record; the variants are retained in gaps. Not an asbestos claim.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1946-1947 (disputed window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating date ambiguity using the preponderance of sources; the underlying primary document (decommissioning directive) was not seen. The NavSource CO table cannot be dismissed outright - a 1946-to-1947 active extension with three listed COs is internally coherent - so the conflict is logged rather than fully resolved.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-raritan-lsm540-10