Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LC(FF)-399 ex USS LCI(L)-399 (1943-1945) - milestone block, campaign record, specifications, grounding and disposal (page history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150399.htm - 'LCI-351 Class' header block, campaign table, 'Post WWII' narrative lines, specifications block, photo caption table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 15 December 1943 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, MA; launched 23 December 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-399, 30 December 1943, Ltjg. F. H. Doell USNR in command. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April - 30 June 1945); earned one battle star for WWII service. Reclassified Landing Craft (Flotilla Flagship) LC(FF)-399 on 15 July 1945 and assigned to LC(FF) Flotilla Twenty-Three (LCDR. R. H. Brazeal), LCI(FF) Group Sixty-Seven, LC(FF) Division One Hundred Thirty-Three. Occupation duty in the Far East 2 September - 8 December 1945. Decommissioned 16 December 1945 at Buckner Bay, 'where she ran aground on the beach south of Yosabaru Wan'; struck from the Naval Register 3 January 1946; transferred to the State Department for disposal May 1947; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Awards shown: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). Page photographs show the hull aground in Buckner Bay circa November 1945, alongside USS SC-727 and APL hulks. Spec block: 236 t. light / 264 landing / 419 loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; armament five single 20mm; propulsion two sets of 4 General Motors diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Lawley Neponset construction trades (Dec 1943); crew ~28 plus embarked troops/flag staff (1943-45); occupation-duty crew (Sep-Dec 1945)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation citing the Turner Publishing LCI history - not a primary registry; its milestone dates here are corroborated by NARA deck-log coverage (commissioning) and the Navy typhoon damage table (grounding). Contains no asbestos or material content. Grounding date is not stated on the page - photo captions are 'circa November 1945'; attribution of the grounding to the 9 October 1945 typhoon comes from the transcribed Navy damage table (ev-05), not from NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-01
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[2]NARA Special List 44 - List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, ship-number list (archives.gov PDF, PDF page 15); logs reside in RG 24, Entry 118 (NAID 581208) per the NARA Navy logbooks page [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 15, row 'LCI(L)(FF)-399 12/30/1943 12/8/1945'; RG 24 Entry 118 attribution: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 inventories Navy deck logs for 'LCI(L)(FF)-399' covering 12/30/1943 to 12/8/1945 - log coverage spanning commissioning through the occupation-duty window and ending days before decommissioning at Buckner Bay (16 December 1945). The logs are held in Record Group 24 (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel), Entry 118 (NAID 581208). These coverage dates corroborate the NavSource commissioning date of 30 December 1943 but are log-coverage dates, not asserted milestone dates.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12-30 to 1945-12-08 (log coverage)
- Population
- Crew and embarked flag staff generating log content (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Inventory of log holdings, not the logs themselves: establishes that deck logs for this hull exist for the stated coverage window and where they sit, but contains no event detail. The '(FF)' styling across the full coverage window is the archivist's filing label and does not by itself prove flagship configuration at commissioning. Logs are not located in digitized public sources; retrieval requires NARA RG 24 access.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-02
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[3]Shipbuilding History (Colton), 'Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) - LCI(L)' production table, row for hull 399; class summary text (most recent update May 4, 2015) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcil.htm, LCI(L) table rows 351-430 block, hull 399 row; introductory class paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Production-table corroboration: LCI(L) hull 399, variant FF (flotilla flagship), built by Lawley & Sons, Neponset MA; table date 15-Dec-43; disposition 'Wrecked in Buckner Bay 16-Dec-45'. Class context from the same table: 923 LCI(L)s were built by ten U.S. shipyards; the first 350 boats were 158.5 ft / 216 tons light, the remainder six inches longer and about 30 tons heavier; LC(FF)s were configured as Flotilla Flagships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Lawley Neponset construction trades (Dec 1943)
- Limitations
- Secondary production compilation, not an official registry - corroborates NavSource builder and loss data. The table's 'Delivery' date column for hull 399 (15-Dec-43) equals NavSource's laid-down date, while NavSource dates commissioning 30 December 1943; a minor cross-source inconsistency carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-03
-
[4]HyperWar (ibiblio) transcription, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945: USS LC(FF)-399' - official-listing data for the flotilla-flagship configuration [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar LCFF-399 specification list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official-listing data for this hull as LC(FF)-399: Landing Craft, Flotilla Flagship; displacement 387 tons; length 160'; beam 23'3"; draft 5'4" fwd / 5'11" aft (full load); speed 15.5 knots; armament 4 x 20mm; complement 3 officers + 21 enlisted; 8 GM diesel engines (4 per shaft), twin variable-pitch screws; 'Converted from Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) -- LCI(L) -- to carry flag officers and crew.' The source's 'Built at ___ and commissioned ___' fields are blank.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945 (listing coverage)
- Population
- LC(FF) crew plus embarked flotilla flag staff (1945)
- Limitations
- Transcription of the official 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45' listing; the record's own builder and commissioning fields are blank in the source, so no construction data is attributed to it. LC(FF) complement (3+21) excludes embarked flag staff and differs from the LCI(L) baseline (4+24) because the flagship configuration traded troop capacity for staff spaces. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-04
-
[5]'Typhoon "Louise" - The 9 October 1945 Storm at Okinawa' - transcription of the official Navy account and vessel damage table 'Based Upon Progress Reports to 19 November' (USS YMS-425 association site, via Wayback Machine capture 2007-09-29) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Wayback capture 20070929190017 of ussyms425.com/typhoon.htm, vessel damage table, LCI rows ('LCI 399 Grounded')
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The transcribed Navy typhoon-damage table for the 9 October 1945 storm at Okinawa (Buckner Bay) lists 'LCI 399 - Grounded' among the damaged vessels, alongside sister craft marked refloated, damaged, or total loss - while LCI 399's entry shows no refloat. This documents that this hull went aground in Typhoon Louise and corroborates NavSource's photographs of the grounded hull south of Yosabaru Wan (circa November 1945) and her decommissioning in place on 16 December 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-10-09 to 1945-12-16
- Population
- Crew aboard at grounding; salvage/strip parties (Oct-Dec 1945)
- Limitations
- Archived web transcription of an official Navy progress-report damage table, not a scan of the original document; the original report is an archival lead. The table uses the base hull number 'LCI 399' for the craft then designated LC(FF)-399 - the hull number is unique, so identification is sound. The entry 'Grounded' does not itself state she was never refloated; the wreck/decommission-in-place conclusion rests on NavSource plus this table together.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-05
-
[6]NHHC-hosted command operation report, USS Leonard F. Mason (DD-852), 1966 - commanding officer biography of CDR Alan M. Hazen listing prior ship service [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Leonard F. Mason 1966 command operation report, Enclosure (1), Command Organization section, CDR Hazen biography and ship list (PDF pp. ~2-3)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official NHHC-held document names this hull in a personnel service record: CDR Alan M. Hazen (commissioned Ensign 20 October 1945) lists 'USS LCFF-399' among the ships in which he served - a service window consistent with LC(FF)-399's occupation duty and in-place decommissioning at Okinawa (Oct-Dec 1945).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945 (service window)
- Population
- Ens./Lt.(jg) Alan M. Hazen; final-commission crew (Oct-Dec 1945)
- Limitations
- Personnel-record mention only: establishes that a named officer served aboard this hull late in its commissioned life; it is not an exposure record and makes no material or conditions claim. OCR of the scanned 1966 report is imperfect but the ship-name list is legible.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-06
-
[7]Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center, oral history interview of Paul M. Hegge (OH386), WWII Navy service aboard LCI-399 [museum_official]
- Locator
- Hegge-Paul-_OH386.pdf, abstract and interview transcript (Solomons assignment, Okinawa passages)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- An official state veterans-museum oral history names a crewman of this hull: Paul M. Hegge enlisted, trained at Great Lakes, and was assigned at Solomons, Maryland ('report down on the dock to 399 ... LCI 399'); he served aboard as the ship's cook, resupplied at Guadalcanal, and took part in the attack on Okinawa where, per the museum's abstract, 'his ship was the flotilla flagship and directed other landing crafts'; during the assault the ship was ordered to cease firing after friendly fire downed a plane; Hegge was evacuated ill aboard hospital ship USS Samaritan via Saipan, Hawaii, and Oakland. Roughly four months aboard ending at Okinawa.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (service window per recollection)
- Population
- Crewman Paul M. Hegge (ship's cook); crew and embarked troops, Okinawa assault period
- Limitations
- Oral-history recollection decades after the fact, abstracted by the museum - an archival lead, not a contemporaneous record. The 'flotilla flagship' description for the Okinawa assault precedes NavSource's formal reclassification date (15 July 1945); NARA's 'LCI(L)(FF)-399' filing label across the full log window suggests flagship configuration in administrative records earlier, but the discrepancy is noted, not resolved. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-07
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource/HyperWar specification blocks (diesel propulsion, no steam plant); Shipbuilding History class summary (923 LCI(L)s built 1942-45 by ten yards); GAO HRD-80-2 (see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource and HyperWar specification blocks; shipbuildinghistory.com/smallships/lcil.htm class summary; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built in December 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Era-standard applications aboard a small craft of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. She carried no boilers and no steam system - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply - but machinery-space, exhaust, and accommodation-area insulation and gasket/packing materials of the era commonly contained asbestos.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Lawley Neponset construction trades (Dec 1943); crew and embarked troops/staff (1943-45); salvage and disposal personnel (1945-47)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or construction specification located for this hull. 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-lci-l-399-08
-
[9]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 (Dec 1943) and service era (1943-45).
- 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, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-09
-
[10]Batch-5109 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA Special List 44; Shipbuilding History LCI(L) table; HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45' LC(FF)-399 listing; transcribed Navy typhoon-damage table; NHHC Leonard F. Mason command report; Wisconsin Veterans Museum oral history; uboat.net Allied Warships; CourtListener (fleet-paced); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-399-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-399 / LC(FF)-399 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-30) returned zero results in the opinion index for 'LCI(L)-399', 'LCI-399', and 'LCFF-399', and zero results in the docket index for 'LCI(L)-399'; the parenthesized 'LC(FF)-399' opinion query and remaining docket permutations were blocked mid-session by fleet-wide request pacing. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no ship-specific asbestos content - the only 'asbestos' material in the ecosystem for numbered landing craft is law-firm marketing listicles asserting asbestos aboard 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. Litigation search coverage is partial: the completed hull-number queries returned no hits, but the 'LC(FF)-399' spelling and most docket permutations were never run (blocked) - generic 'LCI' queries are not separable from name collisions and were not attempted. NARA deck logs (RG 24 E118) and any Bureau of Ships construction specifications for the Lawley contract are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-399-10