Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-347 ex USS LCI(L)-347 - designation timeline, campaigns, awards, command structure, specifications, disposal (history sourced from USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150347.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions (verified live 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-1 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large), laid down 31 October 1942 at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, TX; launched 3 December 1942; commissioned USS LCI(L)-347 28 January 1943; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-347 15 June 1944. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater; campaigns: Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls 31 January - 8 February 1944; capture and occupation of Saipan 15 June - 28 July 1944; Tinian 24 - 28 July 1944; capture and occupation of Southern Palau Islands 6 September - 14 October 1944; assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto 24 March - 14 June 1945. At Okinawa under LCI(G) Flotilla Three (CDR Micheal J. Malanaphy; CDR R. Eikel USNR from 14 May 1945), LCI Group One (LCDR J. F. McFadden USN), LCI Division Fourteen. Decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; transferred May 1948 to the Maritime Commission for disposal; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Five battle stars plus Navy Unit Commendation as member of LCI(G) Flotilla 3 (31 January - 28 July 1944). Personnel awards note 1 KIA (Gunners Mate Eddington, Saipan). Specs: 236/264/419 t; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troops 6 officers + 182 enlisted; 2" plastic splinter protection; armament five single 20mm; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051 series 71 diesels (4 per shaft), GM reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp. Page photographs: LCI(G)-347 underway at Peleliu 16 September 1944 (NARA RG 19LCM, BuAer 257263). CO listing: LT. William Frederick (Fred) Sorsby, USNR (no dates).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding construction trades (Oct 1942-Jan 1943); crew and embarked troops (1943-1945); 1 KIA documented (GM Eddington, Saipan)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation (history text sourced from Turner Publishing's USS LCI book), not a primary registry; its milestone dates generally track official sources but the decommissioning date is expressly 'unknown' and the Combat Action Ribbon display carries an 'Iwo Jima' caption unsupported by the campaign table (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-01
-
[2]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (1978), page 336 (scanned copy, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Special List 44 printed page 336 (Signal Number Designation, LCI(L) section); ACPL scan display page 362
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 inventories SIX deck logbooks for 'LCI(L)(G)-347' covering 28 January 1943 - 14 December 1945 (page image read directly: line reads 'LCI(L)(G)-347 Jan. 28, 1943-Dec. 14, 1945 6'). Complete commissioning-era coverage from commissioning through the end of her documented service. These logbooks are the in-scope wartime record for this hull, held at NARA; entry confirms the LCI(L) -> LCI(G) conversion in the archived designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-01-28 - 1945-12-14
- Population
- All hands embarked 1943-1945 (deck logs record crew movements, operations, casualties)
- Limitations
- Log-coverage dates are not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates, though the start date matches NavSource's 28 January 1943 commissioning and the end date is consistent with undocumented late-1945 decommissioning. SL44 is an inventory of physical logbooks - it does not establish that these particular logs are digitized online. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-02
-
[3]Attack Landing Order ComTransGr3, 5thPhib No. 17-44, U.S. Third Fleet Western Attack Force TG 32.3 (Peleliu Transport Group), Pavuvu, Russell Islands, 23 August 1944 (scanned original document) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Attack Landing Order page 2, section (h) 32.13.7-32.13.8 (page image read directly)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The contemporaneous Peleliu attack landing order names this hull by number: '(h) 32.13.7 Gunboat Support Unit - Lieut-Comdr. Eikel, USNR; 32.13.8 Gunboat Support Unit ONE - Lieut-Comdr. McFadden; LCI(G)s 77 (F), 78, 79, 81, 82, 347, 454, 725, 726.' Establishes LCI(G)-347 in Gunboat Support Unit ONE (TU 32.13.8) under Lt. Comdr. J. F. McFadden for the Peleliu assault - matching the unit structure NavSource carries for her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08-23 (order date); operation Sep-Oct 1944
- Population
- Crew during Peleliu operation (Sep-Oct 1944)
- Limitations
- Establishes task-organization assignment for the Peleliu operation only; an assignment list is not a claim of specific actions or positions. Scanned document read directly; page 2 of the order. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-03
-
[4]NARA Catalog fileUnit 101759167, 'LCI(G)-347 - Rep of action with enemy suicide boat off the Southern coast of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 4/28/45' (WWII war diaries/action reports series; digitized on Fold3 image 296547177); with fileUnit 101777410, 'LCI(G)-347 - Rep of AA action off Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 4/27/45' (Fold3 image 296590048) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAIDs 101759167 and 101777410 (RG 38 WWII action reports / war diaries series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Two ship-specific primary action reports exist at NARA for this hull: (1) report of AA action off Okinawa, 27 April 1945 (Micro Serial 136181, report dated 4/28/1945); (2) report of action with an enemy suicide boat off the southern coast of Okinawa, 28 April 1945 (Micro Serial 133974). The catalog titles establish that in the space of roughly 24 hours she escaped an air attack and then engaged and destroyed a Japanese suicide boat off southern Okinawa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-04-27 - 1945-04-28
- Population
- Crew during Okinawa inner-screen patrol, 27-28 April 1945
- Limitations
- NARA catalog titles establish the reports' existence, subject, and dates; the report texts themselves sit behind Fold3 (paywalled partner digitization) and were not read this session - narrative detail comes from ev-05. Action reports are operational records, not material or exposure records. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-04
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[5]Robin L. Rielly, 'American Amphibious Gunboats in World War II: A History of LCI and LCS(L) Ships in the Pacific' (McFarland; text consulted via erenow.org mirror, chapters 5 and 11) [reputable_press]
- Locator
- erenow mirror chapters 2, 5, 11 (Peleliu photo caption; Saipan/Peleliu unit rosters; Okinawa suicide-boat narrative)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Published unit history names this hull in three distinct actions: (1) Peleliu - photo caption 'LCI(G) 347 is shown underway at Peleliu on 16 September 1944. She was one of the early conversions and saw action in the South Pacific. NARA 19LCM LCI(G) 347 BuAer 257263'; unit listing among eighteen rocket-carrying LCI(G)s at Peleliu in the unit under Lt. Comdr. J. F. McFadden. (2) Okinawa, night of 3-4 April 1945 - patrolling a station south of LCI(G)-82 when 82 was mortally struck by a Japanese suicide boat; after the action 'his men accounted for and safely on Tracy and LCI(G) 347' - she took aboard survivors of the sinking gunboat. (3) Okinawa, 28 April 1945 at 0013 - 'LCI(G) 347 was off the southern coast of Okinawa. She had escaped an air attack only fifty-five minutes before when her lookouts spotted the wake of a suicide boat off her port side. She took it under fire with her #2 40mm gun and her two port side .50 caliber machine guns. The boat went dead in the water about thirty yards off the ship's port bow. They fired on it again, causing it to explode. The concussion from the explosion temporarily knocked out the ship's power but it was quickly restored.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Crew 1944-1945; survivors of LCI(G)-82 taken aboard ~4 April 1945
- Limitations
- Secondary published history (draws on the same action reports cataloged in ev-04 - consistent with them on dates and events). The erenow.org host is a text mirror; bibliographic citation is the McFarland book. Saipan and Peleliu passages give the parent formation as 'LCI Group Seven'/'Group Nine' under McFadden vs NavSource's 'LCI Group One' and the landing order's 'Gunboat Support Unit ONE' - same commander lineage, numbering varies by source (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-05
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[6]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton), Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston TX yard ledger - hull 51, LCI(L) 347 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Brown yard table, row 51 (LCI(L) 347)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard construction ledger entry: hull number 51, 'LCI(L) 347', type Landing Craft, laid 31-Oct-42, launched 2-Dec-42, delivered 27-Jan-43, disposition 'To NDRF 1948' (National Defense Reserve Fleet). Documents her build slot among Brown's LCI(L) series (hulls 44-54+: LCI(L) 344-354) and that she went to the reserve fleet rather than immediate post-war sale.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades, Houston (Oct 1942-Jan 1943)
- Limitations
- Independently compiled yard ledger (secondary reference, industry standard for US emergency-yard hull lists). Launch date 2-Dec-42 conflicts with NavSource/NavalCoverMuseum 3-Dec-42 (see gaps); 'delivered' 27-Jan-43 vs 'commissioned' 28-Jan-43 (see gaps). 'To NDRF 1948' is consistent with the May 1948 Maritime Commission transfer but does not establish final disposition. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-06
-
[7]Secretary of the Navy commendation to LCI(G) Flotilla Three, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (Navy Unit Commendation text, transcribed on NavSource flotilla page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCI(G) Flotilla Three page - SECNAV commendation text; membership per NavSource ship page
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- SECNAV commended LCI(G) Flotilla Three 'For outstanding heroism in action in support of amphibious landings on enemy Japanese-hold Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in the Marshall Islands, and on Saipan, Guam and Tinian in the Marianas, from January 31 to July 28, 1944. Operating dangerously in poorly charted waters off the reef-studded shores of those heavily fortified hostile bases, LCI(G) Flotilla THREE preceded the assault waves to deliver concentrated rocket and gunfire at perilously close range against beach entrenchments, pill boxes and blockhouses...' LCI(G)-347 is documented as a member of Flotilla 3 earning this commendation (NavSource ship page); her documented campaigns inside the window: Kwajalein/Majuro 31 Jan-8 Feb, Saipan 15 Jun-28 Jul, Tinian 24-28 Jul 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-01-31 - 1944-07-28
- Population
- Crew during Kwajalein and Marianas operations (Jan-Jul 1944)
- Limitations
- Unit-level award - establishes flotilla membership during the cited window, not hull-specific actions within it. Kwajalein participation (31 Jan-8 Feb 1944) predates her 15 June 1944 gunboat reclassification - she was then LCI(L)-347 (early gunboat conversions in her unit were already underway in-theater; exact configuration at Kwajalein undocumented). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-07
-
[8]NARA Catalog fileUnits 120166385 'LCI(G) 347 - Muster Rolls' and 120166319 'LCI(L) 347 - Muster Rolls' (RG 24 crew muster rolls; Ancestry-scanned microfilm, NARA-Ancestry partnership db 1143) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Catalog NAIDs 120166385 (LCI(G) 347) and 120166319 (LCI(L) 347)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Separate muster-roll file units exist for both designations of this hull - 'LCI(L) 347' and 'LCI(G) 347' - the name-level crew rosters submitted quarterly to the Bureau of Navigation. These are the authoritative population records for who served aboard each configuration of the ship across 1943-1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- All enlisted crew, both hull designations (1943-1945/46)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: catalog entries confirm the records exist; the rolls themselves are on Ancestry microfilm (paywalled partner access), not read this session. Muster rolls document crew presence by name and rating - an exposure-relevant population record, but not an exposure record. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-08
-
[9]USS LCI National Association, 'Elsie Item' newsletter No. 97 (June 2017), p.360 - Jim McCarthy (LCI 685) reporting former CO W. Fred Sorsby's account of the hull's disposal; with No. 95 (Nov 2016), pp.81-127 - Joe Flynn, 'Emile J. Roy, Cook for the 347' [other_primary]
- Locator
- Elsie Item 97 p.360 (Sorsby sinking account); Elsie Item 95 pp.81-127 (Roy/Flynn service account)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Veteran-association primary accounts: (1) Photo caption - 'LCI's 347, 385, 454 and 72, at the dock in San Diego after the War, in 1945 awaiting decommissioning. Photo courtesy of W.F Sorsby, Skipper of LCI 347. Some of these ships were scrapped... but the LCI 347 was, according to Skipper W. Fred Sorsby, sunk off the coast of San Diego in Naval gunnery practice. Likely resting place is beyond the Nine Mile Bank off Point Loma in 600 fathoms.' (2) Cook Emile J. Roy's account (per Flynn): 'Emile picked up the 347 in Brownsville, TX, sailed through the Panama Canal and up the coast to San Diego. After training there, the 347 joined a Flotilla to the Aleutians to roust the Japanese from Attu and Kiska' - the ship then came through a williwaw returning to Hawaii, and Roy served aboard 'throughout the Campaign in the Pacific.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948 (account window)
- Population
- Crew at San Diego decommissioning staging (1945); 1943 Aleutians-period crew (per veteran account)
- Limitations
- Veteran testimony published by the crew's own association - ship-specific but not official. The sunk-as-target claim conflicts with nothing directly (official/compilations sources say only 'fate unknown') but is unverified against any Navy disposal record; the Aleutians 1943 service claim is not reflected in the official campaign/battle-star list (see gaps). Photo is documented veteran provenance (from the former CO). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-09
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (GM 6051-series diesel plant, twin screws - no steam); Brown yard ledger (1942 construction at a wartime emergency yard); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos program documentation (ev-11) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; Brown yard ledger row 51; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered Navy landing craft built October 1942 - January 1943 at a wartime emergency yard sits inside the documented Navy asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period: thermal insulation and lagging on diesel exhaust lines and mufflers, gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, and compartment fire/thermal insulation in machinery spaces. As a diesel craft she carried no boilers and no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; asbestos exposure pathways aboard would concentrate in the engine room and damage-control/refit work, and would have been materially lighter than aboard steam-driven hulls.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1948
- Population
- Brown Shipbuilding trades (1942-43); engine-room ratings and repair parties (1943-46); conversion trades at undocumented 1944 conversion site
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, conversion work package, or veteran exposure testimony located for LCI(L)(G)-347. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity; no manufacturer attribution. Her June 1944 gunboat conversion location is undocumented ('one of the early conversions' - likely in-theater field conversion; see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-10
-
[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 entire construction (1942-43) and service era (1943-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- 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 confirmed this session) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-11
-
[12]Batch-5070 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship page; NARA Special List 44 p.336 (ACPL scan); NARA Catalog (2 action-report fileUnits + 2 muster-roll fileUnits + flotilla war diaries); CTF 32 / ComTransGr3 5thPhib Peleliu attack landing order; Brown yard ledger; Rielly published history; LCI National Association newsletters; NavalCoverMuseum; CourtListener (opinions live result + remaining queries throttled); secondary web litigation/asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-347-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material list, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-347 / LCI(G)-347 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener searches "LCI(L)-347" and "LCI(G)-347" each returned count=0 at both opinion (type=o) and docket (type=r) level - four authenticated queries, 2026-09-30; loose-spelling variants were throttled by the fleet-wide quota this session - logged as blocked in the search ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case or record; law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard Navy vessels generally (e.g., mesotheliomaveterans.org on Brown Shipbuilding, asbx.org listing 'USS LCI (L-790)') was excluded by source policy and does not name this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the litigation repository search does not cover loose-spelling variants (throttled; marginal value for a numbered hull - the canonical designation forms are the forms a caption would carry). The six deck logbooks, muster rolls, and conversion/availability work records at NARA are undigitized or partner-paywalled leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-12
-
[13]NavalCoverMuseum wiki, LCI(G) 347 page - designation history, awards and ribbons [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150347 awards display vs campaign table; NavalCoverMuseum LCI(G) 347 ribbon list; LCI National Association Iwo Jima Group 8 roster (usslci.org LCI(G) 474 article)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/QUALIFICATION on two NavSource display anomalies: (1) The awards display annotates the Combat Action Ribbon '(retroactive, Iwo Jima)' - but Iwo Jima does not appear in her campaign table or battle stars, and the documented roster of the twelve LCI(G)s at the Iwo Jima D-2 UDT operation (LCI(G) Group Eight: 346, 348, 438, 441, 449, 450, 457, 466, 469, 471, 473, 474) does not include 347; the '(retroactive, Iwo Jima)' caption appears to be page boilerplate rather than an Iwo Jima action claim for this hull. (2) NavalCoverMuseum's ribbon list for the same ship adds 'Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)' absent from the NavSource ribbon display - consistent with post-surrender Far East presence through the deck-log window ending 14 December 1945, but unverified.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Limitations
- Corrects a display-level inconsistency, not a material claim. CAR eligibility itself is plausible from her documented combat record (she does not need Iwo Jima for it). NOSM award requires verification against her 1945-46 logs. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-347-13