Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[1]research packet 405-packet.md (5 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-320 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_Landing_Craft_Infantry
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-320-lcil320-pkt-405-packet-md
-
[2]National Archives, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, ship-number ordering (RG 24 logbook inventory) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, page 22, line items 'LCI(L)-320 9/1/1944 9/30/1944' and 'LCI(L)-320 12/1/1944 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (PDF page 22, verified against downloaded document text) inventories TWO Navy deck-log coverage blocks for this hull: 'LCI(L)-320 9/1/1944 9/30/1944' and 'LCI(L)-320 12/1/1944 6/30/1945' - wartime log coverage in Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (RG 24). These are log-coverage dates, not commissioning or decommissioning dates. The single September 1944 month covers her last weeks in British waters before departing Falmouth 5 October 1944; the second block resumes with her stateside overhaul and runs through the Pacific deployment start.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (log coverage)
- Population
- Commissioned crew of record (wartime)
- Limitations
- Deck-log inventory coverage only: establishes that logs exist in RG 24 for this hull across the stated ranges; does not describe log contents, conditions aboard, or any materials. No RG 24 log coverage is inventoried for February 1943 - August 1944 (the Mediterranean/Normandy combat period) or October-November 1944 (the Atlantic crossing) - coverage gaps, not evidence of inactivity. The uniform 6/30/1945 end date shared by many LCI entries in SL44 is an accession-period artifact, not a ship-specific service endpoint. The logs were not located in NARA's digitized deck-log series.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-320 - build timeline, campaigns, command history, disposition, specifications (history credited to 'The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts, Volume II') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150320.htm header block, campaign tables, specifications block, awards block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LCI-1 class; laid down 26 November 1942 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX; launched 21 December 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-320, 8 February 1943, with a Coast Guard crew - 'manned by the US Coast Guard' - LTjg William K. Scammel, Jr., USCG, in command; succeeding COs LTjg G. H. Herrick, USCG (4 December 1944) and LT Samuel R. Underwood, USCGR. Assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater, LCI Flotilla 4 (CAPT M. E. Imlay, USCG), reassigned to LCI Flotilla 10 for the Invasion of Normandy; campaigns: Tunisian operation 1 June - 9 July 1943; Sicilian occupation 9-15 July 1943; Salerno landings 9-21 September 1943; proceeded to England November 1943; Invasion of Normandy 6 June 1944; departed Falmouth 5 October 1944 for overhaul and refresher training in the US. Joined LCI Flotilla 35; departed San Diego 3 April 1945; reached Kerama Retto 28 May 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation 29 May - 8 September 1945 making smoke for larger naval units; minesweeping operations Wakanoura-Kii (Honshu) 11-27 September and Klondike (East China Sea) 26 October - 7 November 1945; Navy Occupation Service (Asia) 2 September - 25 November 1945. Decommissioned 26 March 1946 at San Pedro, CA; struck, date unknown; sold 9 November 1946, fate unknown. Six battle stars. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 6 June 1944), Coast Guard Unit Commendation, EAME Medal (4), Asiatic-Pacific Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Specifications: displacement 216 t. light / 234 t. landing / 389 t. loaded; length 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; speed 16 kts max; complement 3 officers, 21 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers, 182 enlisted; four single 20mm guns plus two .50 cal; propulsion two sets of four GM diesels, four per shaft, 1,600 bhp, twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-43); USCG crew (3 officers + 21 enlisted) plus embarked troops (up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted); post-war minesweeping-duty crew
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - this entry credits the official USCG history (The Coast Guard At War, Transports and Escorts Vol. II) and its milestones are corroborated by the USCG Historian's Office ship page (see ev-03). 'Struck, date unknown' and 'sold 9 November 1946, fate unknown' carry no further detail in any located source. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-02
-
[4]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'USS LCI(L)-320' ship page (official USCG history; sources cited: LCI(L) file, Coast Guard Historian's Office; The Coast Guard At War, V. Transports and Escorts, Vol. 2, USCG HQ, 1 May 1949, pp. 117-130) [museum_official]
- Locator
- USCG Historian's Office ship page, history narrative and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official USCG history for this hull: commissioned 8 February 1943; proceeded after shakedown and assignment to LCI(L) Flotilla 4 to North Africa; Sicilian occupation 9 July 1943; Salerno landings 9 September 1943; proceeded to England with her flotilla (redesignated LCI(L) Flotilla 10), arriving 3 November 1943; trained for Normandy and on 6 June 1944 'participated by landing troops at Utah Beach'; acted as channel guide for LCTs until 5 October 1944, when she left Falmouth for Charleston, S.C. After repairs and alterations at Savannah, Georgia, and inspection at Charleston, she departed the 15th for training at Little Creek, Virginia, and Solomons Island, Maryland; departed on the 28th for San Diego via Key West and the Canal Zone; in training at San Diego until 3 April 1945; departed Pearl Harbor 20 April; reached Okinawa 28 May 1945 via Eniwetok, Guam, Ulithi, and Leyte; anchored at Kerama Retto making smoke nightly with eight freight-transfer trips to Hagushi in June; mail runs from Buckner Bay to Chimu Wan until 8 September 1945; mine destruction in Kii Suido 11 September - 19 October 1945; Operation 'Klondike' East China Sea mine destruction from Sasebo 26 October - 7 November 1945; departed Sasebo 25 November 1945, arriving San Diego 17 January 1946; decommissioned at San Pedro 26 March 1946; sold 9 November 1946, fate unknown. Six battle stars; all Flotilla 10 LCI(L)s retroactively awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for Normandy. Header lists 'Flotilla 4 / 10 / 35, Group 103, Division 205' and builder as 'Brown Shipbuilding Corporation, Orange, Texas.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- USCG crew 1943-46; embarked troops on assault landings
- Limitations
- Authoritative official history but compiled secondary, not contemporaneous record. Two internal variances to flag: builder location 'Orange, Texas' conflicts with Houston, TX (NavSource, shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table - Brown's yard was at Green's Bayou, Houston Ship Channel; Consolidated Steel's Orange, TX yard built other Flotilla 4 boats per the USCG flotilla history - probable conflation); and header 'Group 103, Division 205' conflicts with the war diary's Group 104 and NHHC's 1 May 1945 listing (Division 207, Group 104) - see gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-03
-
[5]NARA file unit NAID 101712319, 'LCI(L)-320 - War Diary, 12/1/44 to 1/31/45' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries; microfilm roll A1712; 6 images; Serials 061-062 signed G. H. Herrick, submitted to Cominch 28-29 June 1945) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 101712319, images 0604-0609 (cover letter; daily entries 1 Dec 1944 - 31 Jan 1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own war diary (read at image level) documents a December 1944 - January 1945 yard-availability sequence on this hull: 1-3 December 1944 'ship was undergoing repairs and alterations at the Rourke Iron Works, Savannah, Ga. in preparation for future operations' (then attached to LCI(L) Group 89, LCI(L) Flotilla 30, Tenth Fleet); 4 December berthing shifts at Ocean Steamship Co. pier and Colonial Oil Co., Savannah; 5 December Navy Section Base, Cockspur Island for water and ammunition; 9-15 December Berth 'J', Charleston Navy Yard - 'ship received further alterations and repairs, the work being done at the Charleston Navy Yard'; 17 December Comphibtralant inspection at ATB Little Creek - 'Effective as of 13 December, 1944, ship became member of LCI (L) Group 104, LCI (L) Flotilla 35'; 20-23 December 'Norfolk Ship and Drydock Co., Berkley, Va.' - 'Further alterations were then begun by the Norfolk Ship and Drydock Co.'; departed Norfolk 28 December with LCI(L) 84 and LCI(L) 94; 3-7 January 1945 Naval Operating Base Key West 'for main engine and refrigerator repairs'; transited the Panama Canal 14 January with LCS 120 and LCI(L) 504; weathered at Cedros Island, Mexico, 24 January; moored Naval Repair Base, San Diego, 26 January; 27 January Comphibtrapac Ship Inspection Board material and personnel inspection; 28-30 January training under Ship Training Group NRB (STG Operations Plan A30-45); 31 January routine upkeep at the base.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1944-12-01 to 1945-01-31
- Population
- USCG crew under LTjg G. H. Herrick; yard trades at Rourke Iron Works Savannah, Charleston Navy Yard, Norfolk Ship and Drydock Co. Berkley (Dec 1944); NOB Key West and NRB San Diego trades (Jan 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary operational record of daily position/status and the work sites only - no material, insulation, or work-scope detail; 'repairs and alterations' content unrecorded. Diary filed late (submitted June 1945). Establishes three distinct yard events plus naval-station repair periods; does not establish what was worked on.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-04
-
[6]NARA Catalog search 'LCI(L)-320' - ~29 file units, RG 38 WWII War Diaries and related series, ~25 digitized [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search 'LCI(L)-320' (29 results, 25 available online, retrieved 2026-09-29); NAIDs as listed
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized ship-specific operational records exist for this hull in the National Archives Catalog: monthly war diaries spanning December 1944 - November 1945 (NAID 101712319 12/44-1/45; 83570158 2/45-5/45; 101712326 6/45; 83570167 7/45; 77553246 8/45-9/45; 633451182 10/45-11/45); and 'COM 8th FLEET - Fwding with comment action reports on the Salerno (Italy) Operation' (NAID 77622307, 102 images) - a 15 March 1945 H. K. Hewitt forwarding letter for Uncle Green Beach unit (TG 85.1.2) action reports in which this hull's designation appears in the indexed text. The forwarding letter's enclosure list (A-N) comprises CTU 85.1.2 serials and LST/SC/LCT reports; the specific LCI(L)-320 mention lies inside the file's images, not pinpointed in this session.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (record coverage)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: file units were cataloged, not read page-by-page (one war diary was read at image level - see ev-04). These records were not screened for materials content; they are the repository to consult for any work-order, repair, or casualty detail on this hull. The Salerno file match is a full-text index hit; whether it contains a dedicated LCI(L)-320 report vs. a composition-list mention is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-05
-
[7]NHHC photograph SC 175758, 'Sicily Operation, July 1943' (National Archives copyright owner) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC photo page SC 175758, catalog/caption block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official caption: 'Landing craft infantry -LCI-L loading troops at North African Port, in preparation for the invasion of Sicily. Vessels present include-left row, -LCI -320, LCI -213, LCI -321, LCI -86 and LCI -92. -right row-, LCI -14, LCI -326, LCI-88, LCI -91, LCI -229, LCI -85, LCI -325, LCI -322, LCI -84, LCI -232, LCI -209 and LCI -93. Other LCIs are standing out to sea, accompanied by a British minesweeper.' Dated 1 July 1943 - ship-specific NHHC photographic documentation placing this hull at a North African port loading for the Sicily invasion.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1943-07
- Population
- Crew and embarked Army troops during Sicily embarkation, July 1943
- Limitations
- Photograph caption documents presence and troop-loading only - no operational detail beyond, no materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-06
-
[8]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (Navy Department Library online reading room) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC page, 'LCI(L) GROUP 104' / 'LCI(L) DIVISION 207' table section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Pacific Fleet organization listing dated 1 May 1945 places 'LCI 320' in LCI(L) DIVISION 207 under LCI(L) GROUP 104 alongside LCI 89 (flag), LCI 319, LCI 322, LCI 323, and LCI 324 - documenting this hull's Pacific Fleet assignment during her Pearl Harbor - Okinawa transit period (departed Pearl Harbor 20 April 1945 per the USCG history).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Limitations
- Administrative listing only - establishes assignment, not physical location or activity on that date (she was at sea en route Okinawa). Conflicts with the USCG page header 'Group 103, Division 205' - see gaps. No materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-07
-
[9]shipbuildinghistory.com, Brown Shipbuilding yard table, Houston TX (independent shipbuilding-industry compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Brown yard table, hull 99 row; yard profile paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Brown Shipbuilding yard table carries this hull as yard hull number 99: 'LCI(L) 320, Landing Craft, keel laid 26-Nov-42, launched 21-Dec-42, delivered 8-Feb-43, Sold 1946' - corroborating the NavSource milestones to the day (delivery = commissioning date). The yard profile documents the Brown yard's wartime output as 12 PCs, 32 LCI(L)s, 61 DEs, and 254 LSMs built 1941-45 at the junction of Green's Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel, a yard built with $9 million of Navy funding.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-43)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary industry compilation, not a primary registry; date values corroborate NavSource exactly. 'Delivered' is the yard's delivery date - treated as consistent with commissioning 8 February 1943. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-08
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource and USCG specifications blocks (GM diesel plant, no steam) for this hull; shipbuildinghistory Brown yard table; documented December 1944 yard availabilities (ev-04); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150320.htm and USCG specifications blocks; NAID 101712319; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steel diesel-powered landing craft built November 1942 - February 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO HRD-80-2: asbestos insulation used extensively aboard Navy ships, alternative materials not substituted until the early 1970s). Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel craft of this type and period were machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior finishes; with no steam plant, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway does not apply. The documented December 1944 - January 1945 availabilities (Rourke Iron Works Savannah; Charleston Navy Yard; Norfolk Ship and Drydock Co.; NOB Key West; NRB San Diego) are shipyard work events of the kind that disturbed and replaced installed materials - content unrecorded.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1942-1946
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Nov 1942 - Feb 1943); USCG crew and embarked troops (1943-46); yard trades at the five documented availability sites (Dec 1944 - Jan 1945)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-320. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no present-day presence (sold 1946, fate unknown).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-09
-
[11]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 (1942-43), wartime service in both theaters, the 1944-45 overhaul/alteration availability, and post-war minesweeping service.
- 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, standing defect since Batch-01) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-10
-
[12]Batch-5041 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF; NARA Catalog file units and image-level war-diary read; NHHC photo and fleet-organization pages; USCG Historian's Office ship page; DANFS spelling-variant check; NVR check; NavSource; shipbuildinghistory yard table; CourtListener opinion and docket searches; secondary web litigation sweep; usslci.org [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-320-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-320-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LCI(L)-320 / LCI-320 / LCIL-320 was found in the public sources searched. DANFS has no entry under either spelling (live 404, verified). Naval Vessel Register carries no entry (hull sold 1946, pre-dating NVR scope). CourtListener opinion and docket searches on hull-number variants returned zero hits each (authenticated, fleet-paced, 2026-09-29). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only name-collision noise (BMW 'LCI 320' chassis references) - no law-firm listicle specifically asserting asbestos aboard this hull was even located.
- 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 - era-consistent materials are expected on a 1942-43 Navy craft and her unknown post-sale fate forecloses any modern survey pathway. RG 24 deck logs (SL44 coverage) are undigitized; RG 38 war diaries exist only for December 1944 onward - the Feb 1943 - Nov 1944 record is thin at NARA catalog level. Work-package records for the December 1944 yards (Rourke Iron Works, Charleston Navy Yard, Norfolk Ship and Drydock) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-320-11