Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]research packet 410-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-351 — 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-351-lcil351-pkt-410-packet-md
-
[2]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (1978) - printed page 336, Ships with Symbol and Number Designations section (digitized page image verified via Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center NARA finding-aid scan, display image 362) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 printed page 336, 'Ships with Symbol and Number Designations,' entry LCI(L)-351 (ACPL Genealogy Center scan, nara/images/narasl44/362.jpg); archives.gov live SL44 named-vessels page lists nominal-designation vessels only - numbered craft appear in the signal-number section of the publication
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 catalogs four logbooks for this hull under 'LCI(L)-351' spanning two periods: May 15-June 30, 1943 and Sept. 16, 1943-June 30, 1945 (a 1 July-15 September 1943 coverage gap exists in the accessioned series). Log coverage thus begins the day after commissioning (14 May 1943) and runs through the entire combat period, including the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns and both redesignations. NOTE: the batch-intake description of this entry ('5/15/1943 to 6/30/1943') captured only the first span - verified coverage is the two spans above.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-05-15 to 1945-06-30 (log coverage)
- Population
- Crew of LCI(L)/LCI(G)/LCI(M)-351 (1943-1945), as documented in her own deck logs
- Limitations
- Logbook coverage is an inventory record, not examined content: the logs are undigitized and were not reviewed. Per NARA's own asbestos research guide, deck logs and muster rolls 'do not provide any information on the use of or presence of asbestos in Navy ships or ship components and therefore provide no direct evidence of asbestos' - they document dates, locations, and work periods only. Coverage dates are log-accession spans, not commissioning/decommissioning dates. SL44 catalogs the hull as 'LCI(L)-351' though she served as LCI(G)/LCI(M) during most of the second span - the catalog entry reflects logbook labeling, not current designation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(M)-351 ex USS LCI(G)-351 ex USS LCI(L)-351 - timeline, organization, campaigns, specifications, disposal (page verified live 2026-09-30; page credits 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry", Vol. II,' Turner Publishing Co., 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150351.htm header block, timeline, campaigns table, and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 5 March 1943 at George Lawley & Sons Shipbuilding Corp., Neponset, MA; launched 8 April 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-351, 14 May 1943, LT. D. C. Week USNR in command (May 1945); redesignated LCI(G)-351 (gunboat) 31 December 1944; redesignated LCI(M)-351 (mortar) 30 April 1945. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LCI Flotilla Fourteen (CAPT T. W. Rimer), LCI Group Forty-Two (LCDR A. H. Conners USNR), LCI Division Eighty-Four. Campaigns: Iwo Jima operation (assault and occupation, 19-26 February 1945) and Okinawa Gunto operation (26 March-14 June 1945); two battle stars. Decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 22 March 1948 for disposal; final disposition unknown. Radio call sign NHXL. Specs: 236 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; two sets of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels, 4 per shaft, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, two 30kW diesel generators; 16 kts max; complement LCI(L) 4 officers + 24 enlisted, LCI(G) 5 + 65, LCI(M) 4 + 49; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted. Photographs include the craft moored at the Lawley yard (May 1943, US National Archives collection) and underway off Boston (20 May 1943, US Navy photo) and off Okinawa (Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945, US Navy photo).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1943); crew (1943-1946); embarked troops (to 182) on landing operations; conversion-yard trades at her 1944-45 re-armings (yard undocumented)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its timeline generally tracks official records but conflicts with other secondary sources on the LCI(G) date (see ev-09) and leaves decommissioning and final disposition undocumented. Specification figures conflict with class-wide figures on shaft horsepower and complement (see gaps). Contains no asbestos content. 'In command (May 1945)' phrasing places LT. Week as CO at that date - not necessarily at commissioning.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-02
-
[4]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association / Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum, 'Elsie Item' Issue 109 (June 2020), 'Last Amphibious Landings of WWII' by Jeff Veesenmeyer - LCI(M)-351 at the Iheya Shima and Aguni Shima landings (veterans-association historical publication; PDF text extracted verbatim) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Elsie Item Issue 109 (June 2020), pp. 14-17 (PDF text), 'Last Amphibious Landings of WWII'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Association history documents this hull in the subsidiary landings of the Okinawa campaign: 'LCI 351 was among a dozen mortar gunboats participating in the Iheya Shima landing' (3 June 1945, Attack Group 31.25, Operation Iceberg Phase III; 'Division 3 LCI(M)s 351-356' flanked the landing lanes, and the LCI(M)s 'hit the beach with mortar rounds and walked their barrage inland behind the beach ridge line'), and again at Aguni Shima 9 June 1945 where 'the LCI(M) 351-356 gunboats were instructed to keep the shortest falling mortars on the beach line.' The Iheya landing force comprised 77 ships landing the 8th Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-06-03 to 1945-06-09
- Population
- LCI(M)-351 crew and embarked mortar teams during the Okinawa subsidiary landings (June 1945)
- Limitations
- Veterans-association secondary history, not an official record - it corroborates and particularizes the NavSource-documented Okinawa Gunto campaign credit but is not independently verified against an action report. Use as operational context; the underlying action reports are the open primary lead. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-03
-
[5]National Archives, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' (official NARA research guide) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA guided-topic page, 'Researching Asbestos aboard US Naval Vessel up through 1961' - Beginning Research; RG 19 correspondence sections; 'Specifications and Standards' and Cartographic/Special Media sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official guide locates vessel-level asbestos documentation for a hull of this era in RG 19 Bureau of Ships general/confidential/secret correspondence (1940-1961, filed by ship designation and hull number - for this hull, under her LCI designations, and for the class, under namesake hull LCI(L)-351 itself), in builder correspondence for private yards (filing designation QM/George Lawley & Sons), in RG 19 'Hull Series' ship engineering drawings arranged by hull number - explicitly naming S39 (Insulation and Lagging) among 'the most frequently reviewed' material groups for asbestos research - and in Board of Inspection & Survey reports and General Information Books. The guide also states deck logs/muster rolls (RG 24) 'do not provide any information on the use of or presence of asbestos... and therefore provide no direct evidence of asbestos,' though they can date major work periods to narrow RG 19 review.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940-1961 (record-series coverage)
- Population
- Construction/overhaul trades (research population frame)
- Limitations
- A research-pathway guide, not a record: nothing in it documents asbestos aboard this hull. It establishes where a hull-level asbestos record would live if one exists - none of the named series has been examined for this craft. The QM-yard file pathway is relevant because the builder was a private yard (George Lawley & Sons).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-04
-
[6]National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS LCI-713 (NRHP 07000300, listed 2007-04-12) - preserved LCI(L)-351-class sistership built at the same yard (full text extracted) [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination continuation sheet, Section 7 (Narrative Description) and Section 8 (Significance), LCI-713
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NRHP nomination for sistership LCI-713 documents the LCI-351 class's as-built construction: 1/4-inch steel plate, welded throughout for rapid assembly-line production, flat beachable hull; engine room holding eight GM 6-71 diesel engines in two banks of four, controllable-pitch propellers protected by three skegs, and a dual exhaust system 'designed with both above and underwater exhaust systems, with the latter used during landings when it was necessary to lessen engine noise.' It documents builder George Lawley & Son of Neponset, MA as the oldest LCI yard (in business since 1866, pre-war yacht builder), constructor of 160 LCIs and 47 LCSs, closed at the end of WWII. It records that the first 350 LCIs were 'square conns' and that the deckhouse redesign applied thereafter - consistent with the 351-class designation this hull leads.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (construction era); nomination prepared 2006-2007
- Population
- LCI construction trades at the ten LCI yards (1942-45); class-wide crew population
- Limitations
- Class/construction documentation for a sistership, not this hull: contains no asbestos or material-content statement for any LCI (the document was searched - 'asbestos' and 'insulation' do not appear). Engine-bank shaft-horsepower phrasing differs from NavSource and class references (see gaps). The nomination describes LCI-713 as preserved/altered over time - original-material survival is not evidence of this hull's fit-out.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-05
-
[7]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 (1943) and service era (1943-1946 Navy, to 1948 disposal).
- 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 returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on 2026-09-30 (confirmed this session); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block for this hull (all-GM diesel plant, no steam); NPS NRHP LCI-713 nomination (class construction, dual exhaust, machinery); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era); NARA asbestos research guide (where hull-level documentation would live) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; NRHP LCI-713 nomination Section 7; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; NARA asbestos guide
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel diesel landing craft built in 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel amphibious craft of this period were: engine and exhaust insulation/lagging (the class's dual above-water/underwater exhaust system and generator spaces are the principal thermal paths), machinery gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and accommodation/magazine insulation. The confined, low-volume interior of a 158-foot craft concentrates any installed insulation relative to crew working and berthing spaces.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1943); crew (1943-1946); conversion-yard trades (1944-45); any disposal/shipbreaking workforce after 1948
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or engineering drawing (e.g., RG 19 S39 series) has been examined for LCI(L)-351. LCIs were austerity-built beachable craft and may have carried less insulation than larger combatants - the direction of the difference is undocumented either way. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-07
-
[9]Batch-5075 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 scanned page; NavSource verified live; NPS NRHP LCI-713 nomination full text; NARA asbestos research guide; GAO product page (403); USS LCI National Association Elsie Item 109; MARAD Vessel History Database (no entry); NVR (pre-1987 disposal, no entry); DANFS (no entry exists); CourtListener opinion search partial (see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-01 through -12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, material list, or docketed case naming LCI(L)-351 in any designation (L/G/M) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CAVEAT: CourtListener was only partially searched - three opinion queries ('LCI(L)-351', 'LCI(M)-351', 'LCIL-351') returned zero results; 'LCI-351', 'LCI 351', 'LCI(G)-351' and the docket index were repeatedly fleet-paced and are logged as blocked, not as negative results. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard LCI' material is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 search is a genuine open gap (partial, throttled). The SL44 logbooks, RG 19 BuShips correspondence (hull and QM/Lawley yard files), and Hull Series S39 drawings are unexamined primary leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-08
-
[10]Designation cross-check: NavSource timeline (LCI(G) redesignation 31 December 1944; header spans LCI(L) 1943-1944, LCI(G) 1944-1945) vs uboat.net warship record ('Reclassified as LCI(G)... on 31 December 1943'); sister-page check (LCI(L)-353 NavSource: 31 December 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/13645.html designation table; NavSource 10/15/150351.htm timeline and header; NavSource 10/15/150353.htm (sister comparison)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: secondary databases conflict on the LCI(L)-351 -> LCI(G)-351 conversion date - uboat.net gives 31 December 1943; NavSource gives 31 December 1944, consistent with its own designation spans and with the documented operational pattern (Flotilla 14 gunboat conversions ahead of the February 1945 Iwo Jima operation; the craft was still stateside/Atlantic in mid-1943 per her deck-log start). The NavSource 1944 date is carried; the 1943 variant is rejected as a probable year slip in uboat.net's record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating designation-date error, not a material claim. Neither source is a primary registry; NavSource is carried because it is internally consistent (header spans, sister-craft pages, campaign sequence). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-351-lcil351-09