Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet 402-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-231 — sources: Wikipedia USN LCI list [snippet] lists USS LCI(L)-231; http://www.navypedia.org/ships/uk/brit_aws_lcil.htm (opened and read) lists "LCI(L)231 (1946- RIM)"
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-pkt-402-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-231 (10/15/150231) - construction, campaign credits, disposal timeline, specifications (history credited to Turner Publishing, USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150231.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions (verified live HTTP 200, 2026-09-29)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline for this hull: laid down November 1942 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, MA; launched December 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-231, 11 January 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater: North African occupation - Tunisian operations 27 March-9 July 1943; Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Anzio-Nettuno advanced landing 21-22 January and 28 January-1 March 1944; Invasion of Normandy 6-15 June 1944. Decommissioned 15 November 1944 at Sheerness, UK; transferred to United Kingdom (leased) 13 November 1944; returned to US Naval custody 30 March 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1947; earned four battle stars for World War II service; transferred to the State Department for disposal (date unknown); final disposition - sold by the State Department in April 1946 to India. Photographic record places her at Pozzuoli Bay, Port of Nisida, February 1944 after the Anzio operations (with LCI(L)-218, -35, -9, HM LCI(L)-104, -215, -213 and LST-197) and moored at Sheerness circa 14 November 1944 awaiting turnover to the Royal Navy (with LCI(L)-75, -229, -35, -193, -238). Specifications (class): 236 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; five single 20mm guns; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1947
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46); Indian service (1946+)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestones generally track official records and are corroborated here by NARA primary documents, but three sequence/figure details conflict with other sources (launch month; transfer-vs-decommission ordering; shp figure - see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-01
-
[3]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' (Bradley, Kurtz et al., comp.; 1978) - LCI(L)-231 entry (via ACPL Genealogy Center page-image mirror) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44, 'Ships with Symbol and Number Designations' section, LCI(L) run (printed p. 335); ACPL scan image /nara/images/narasl44/361.jpg
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 inventories Navy deck logs for LCI(L)-231: 'LCI(L)-231 | Jan. 1-Nov. 15, 1944 | 2' - two logbooks covering 1 January 1944 to 15 November 1944, the day of her decommissioning and Royal Navy turnover. These are log-coverage dates, not asserted commissioning or decommissioning dates; logbooks for her 1943 service do not appear in the list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944 (coverage); compiled 1978
- Limitations
- Deck-log holding inventory only - establishes that NARA holds the logs, not their contents. The listed span is consistent with the end of her US Navy commissioned service (decommissioned 15 November 1944) but starts mid-service; earlier logbooks are absent from SL44 for this hull (whether lost, unaccessioned, or listed elsewhere is undetermined). Cited via the ACPL Genealogy Center scan-image mirror (printed p. 335, scan image 361); OCR-verified against the page image, not the NARA original.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-02
-
[4]NARA, 'USS LCI (L) 231 - Report of Op AVALANCHE', NAID 135946438 - RG 38 (Office of the CNO), WWII War Diaries microfilm series, Roll A547 (Fold3-scanned images on the National Archives Catalog) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAID 135946438; microfilm Roll A547, images 0496-0497
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Her commanding officer's own action report for Operation AVALANCHE (the Salerno landings, September 1943): assigned to Task Force 85.1.3 to carry U.S. Army Rangers into X Beach at Maiori at D-day; embarked 179 Rangers under Maj. William Martin plus four British officers and seven British beach-party personnel with three days' rations at Palermo on D-2; sailed in convoy, formed column near Ustica Island; under air attack (flak, an Me-109, a torpedo-plane attack repelled by HMS Blackmore's gunnery); beached at Maiori at 0337 D-day astern of HMS Prince Charles; Rangers disembarked on dry land; ship suffered neither personnel nor materiel casualties.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-09 (operation); report filed 1943
- Population
- Crew of LCI(L)-231 (ca. 28); 179 embarked US Rangers; British liaison/beach party
- Limitations
- Primary action report - documents participation in the Salerno landing, which NavSource's published campaign/star table for this hull does not list; whether a Salerno campaign credit was officially assigned is unresolved (see gaps). Operational content only - no material or asbestos information. Catalog-level metadata and report text verified via OCR of the Fold3-scanned image; full transcription not performed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-03
-
[5]NARA, 'USS LCI(L) 231 - Op "SHINGLE", Landing on beaches SW of Rome, 1/22/44', NAID 78284460 - RG 38, WWII War Diaries microfilm, Roll A802 (Fold3-scanned) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAID 78284460; microfilm Roll A802, images 0489-0491+
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CO action report Op.7/44 dated 25 January 1944 for Operation SHINGLE (Anzio): 'Assigned to Ranger Group this ship completed her mission without incident. No guns were fired. No casualties nor material failures noted.' Sailed from the Naples area in convoy NAM-11 to the lowering point of HMS Winchester Castle, conducted E-boat patrol, embarked Rangers, anchored near the SNOL(A) flagship, and disembarked troops into LCAs for Yellow Beach. Signed by her commanding officer, Richard J. Foote, Lt., D-V(G), USNR. Copy distribution includes ComLCIFlot 2 and ComLCIGr 6 - documenting her assignment to LCI(L) Flotilla 2, Group 6.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-01-22 (operation); report dated 1944-01-25
- Population
- Crew of LCI(L)-231; embarked Rangers
- Limitations
- Primary action report - operational detail only; no material or asbestos information. Establishes CO name and flotilla/group assignment at the Anzio date. OCR-verified from the Fold3-scanned catalog image; full text not transcribed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-04
-
[6]NARA, 'COM 11th PHIBFOR - USS LCI (L) 231 Rep of Ops in the the Invasion of Normandy, France, 6/6-12/44', NAID 139746346 - RG 38, WWII War Diaries microfilm, Roll A1197 (Fold3-scanned) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAID 139746346; microfilm Roll A1197, images 0080-0083
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Forwarded action report: 'Action Report of U.S. LCI(L)-231 in Assault on UTAH Sector, Coast of NORMANDY' - CO's secret letter of 30 July 1944 covering action in Operation NEPTUNE for the period D-1 to D+6. CTF 125's operation order No. 3-44 (15 May 1944) listed the ship as 'on call'; the forwarding endorsement notes the troops' landing time was not reported and that absence of small boats for ferrying should not have delayed the landing. Endorsement chain: Commander Task Unit 125.5.3 (first endorsement, 12 September 1944, LCI(L) Flotilla Eighteen letterhead - Commander LCI(L) Group Fifty-Three) and Commander Task Group 125.5 (second endorsement, 19 September 1944), via CTF 125/Western Task Force, Commander Eleventh Amphibious Force, and Commander U.S. Naval Forces Europe. Documents assignment to LCI(L) Flotilla 18, Group 53, Task Unit 125.5.3, UTAH sector.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-06-05 to 1944-06-12 (operation); endorsements to 1944-09-19
- Population
- Crew of LCI(L)-231; embarked assault troops
- Limitations
- Primary forwarded report - documents UTAH-sector participation in 'on call' status rather than a first-wave assault run; do not overstate the role. No material or asbestos information. Four scanned pages cover the forwarding endorsements; the enclosed CO letter text was not independently transcribed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-05
-
[7]NARA, 'LCI(L) 231 - Muster Rolls', NAID 120207267 - textual/microfilm file unit, National Archives at College Park, ~50 scanned pages (Ancestry-NARA partnership scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAID 120207267; Ancestry file series 32860_244874, 50 images
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized muster rolls for this hull - quarterly personnel rosters including the commissioning-day muster of 11 January 1943 ('Muster Roll of the Crew, U.S.S. L.C.I.(L) 231'), with further muster dates of January-March 1943 and continuing coverage visible among 50 scanned pages. Muster rolls name every enlisted man attached to the ship and are the primary crew-composition record for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-01-11 onward (muster dates visible to Mar 1943+; full span not enumerated)
- Population
- Crew of LCI(L)-231 (all hands, by name)
- Limitations
- Personnel records - names and ratings of crew, not material or asbestos information. Page-level roster content not extracted; total roster count not tabulated (class complement figure used for crew size - see gaps). Physical media is microfilm at NARA College Park; scans via Ancestry partnership are freely viewable on the Catalog.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-06
-
[8]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'U.S. Coast Guard-Manned LCI(L)s - Landing Craft Infantry (Large)' - official roster of the 28 USCG-manned hulls [other_primary]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office USCG-Manned LCI(L)s page (roster list, verified live 2026-09-29)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NEGATIVE: the official Coast Guard-manned LCI(L) roster lists 28 hulls (LCI(L)-83 through -96, -319 through -326, -349, -350, -520, -562, -581, -583). LCI(L)-231 is not among them - she was US Navy-manned throughout her US commission, consistent with her USN-signed action reports (Lt. Foote, USNR) and Navy muster rolls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Crewing attribution
- Limitations
- Crewing-attribution negative only - excludes the Coast Guard-manning pathway that applies to some sister craft (e.g., the Flotilla 10 hulls lost at Omaha). Does not bear on material or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two GM quad diesel sets, twin variable-pitch propellers - no steam plant); class literature (923 LCI(L)s built in ten US yards 1942-43, per shipbuildinghistory class notes; Lawley described as the LCI(L) design yard in secondary literature - MIT Museum documents the yard's WWII landing-craft production but not the design-yard claim); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block (ev-01); MIT Museum 'George Lawley & Son' organization page (builder history); shipbuildinghistory LCI(L) notes
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small diesel-powered infantry landing craft built November-December 1942 at a Massachusetts yard falls inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a combatant of this type and period were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and limited accommodation insulation - in substantially smaller volume than aboard steam ships. She carried no boilers or steam plant, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel asbestos records does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1942-43); crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46); Indian Navy personnel (1946+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-231. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity. Product terms are normalized era names; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Small shallow-draft landing craft had materially less insulated plant than oceangoing steam vessels - the inference is correspondingly weaker.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-08
-
[10]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 entire construction (1942) and US service era (1943-44).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- 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 2026-09-29) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-09
-
[11]DANFS amphibious index (hazegray/losthistory.net transcription mirror; live NHHC DANFS index returned 404 on 2026-09-29) - LCI(L) coverage: only LCIL 869, 973, 976, 982, 1001, 1022 have entries [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- losthistory.net/hazegray/danfs/amphib/ index, LCI(L) run; ibiblio hyperwar dafs/LCIG/ volume index
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NEGATIVE: no DANFS entry exists for LCI(L)-231. The DANFS amphibious index lists only six numbered LCI(L) hulls (869, 973, 976, 982, 1001, 1022 - all post-war-era craft); the ibiblio/hyperwar LCI(G) volume covers only hulls converted to gunboats, which she was not. Consistent with the batch-routing note that no primary-tier match was found under checked spellings, same-number conversions, or documented renumberings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29 (index check)
- Limitations
- Index-level negative from a volunteer transcription mirror of the official DANFS - the mirror is faithful but not itself the NHHC site (which 404s - the standing NHHC link-rot defect). Absence of a DANFS entry is a documentation gap, not evidence about the ship's service or materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-10
-
[12]Royal Navy Research Archive, BPF/EIF ship pages (LCH-261 and LCH-267): 'She was sold to the Indian Navy along with LCI(L) 173, 231, 244, 261, 265, 279, and 312 on this date' (context: return to US custody March 1946, struck late April 1946); corroborated by navypedia Indian-Navy LCI(L) list and shipbuildinghistory LCI(L) table [other_primary]
- Locator
- RNRA LCH-261 and LCH-267 pages (sale-sentence); navypedia.org/ships/india/in_ls_lcil120.htm (Indian list row); shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcil.htm (row: 'To Britain 1944, returned 1946, to India 1946')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Post-transfer disposition corroboration: after RN service she was returned to US naval custody 30 March 1946 and sold to the Indian Navy in April 1946 as one of seven ex-lend-lease LCI(L)s (173, 231, 244, 261, 265, 279, 312) in the same sale that included the converted headquarters craft LCH-267. Navypedia lists her among Royal Indian Navy LCI(L)s under her original number (no Indian name shown); her builder is tabulated as 'George Lawley, Neponset' with launch 5 January 1943 (conflict with NavSource's December 1942 - see gaps). Indian service career and ultimate fate undocumented in the sources consulted.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1946 (sale); 1944-1946 (RN return window)
- Population
- Indian Navy personnel (1946+); disposal-chain officials
- Limitations
- Compiled secondary references (RNRA research site; navypedia; shipbuildinghistory) - consistent with each other and with NavSource's April-1946 sale entry, but no Indian Navy primary source was located; the sale date rests on secondary reporting of the disposal. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-11
-
[13]Batch-5022 search ledger (this record): NARA Catalog API (4 ship-specific file units + flotilla/group records); NARA media-image OCR of action reports and muster cover; Special List 44 via ACPL mirror; NavSource; USCG Historian roster; DANFS amphibious index; RNRA/navypedia/shipbuildinghistory corroboration; CourtListener (partial - see below); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-231 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener: authenticated type=o queries for the exact strings "LCI(L)-231" and "USS LCI(L)-231" each returned zero results this session; the type=r (docket) query and the remaining name variants ("LCI-231", "LCI(L) 231", "LCI 231") could not be run - the fleet-wide CourtListener request budget was spent at session time (HTTP 429/pacing stand-down), logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; only law-firm marketing listicles assert asbestos aboard LCI-type craft generically - excluded by source policy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (partially throttled, docket index unsearched). Deck logs (SL44-listed), muster rolls, and builder work packages are surviving archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-231-lcil231-12