Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-420 ex-USS LCI(L)-420 - timeline, specifications, campaign credits, disposal (history text credited to 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry",' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150420.htm header timeline, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions (verified live, HTTP 200, 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 9 February 1944 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, MA; launched 16 February 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-420, 23 February 1944; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Guns) LCI(G)-420, 15 July 1945; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater with campaign credits Convoy UGS-38 (20 April 1944) and Invasion of Normandy (6-25 June 1944); two battle stars; decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register circa 1945-46; transferred to the State Department 20 May 1946 for disposal; transferred to the Netherlands 1946 as HNLMS Zeearend; handed to the Dutch East Indies government on formation of the Indonesian Navy 1950 as KRI Piru; final disposition fate unknown. Specifications: 216 t light / 234 t landing / 389 t loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; two sets of four GM diesels (1,600 bhp), twin variable-pitch propellers; four 20mm + two .50cal (LCI(L)); two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50cal, ten Mk7 rocket launchers (LCI(G)); 2-inch plastic splinter protection. A contributed photograph shows the hull beached high and dry at Normandy.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1950
- Population
- Construction trades (George Lawley & Sons, Neponset, 1944); wartime crew (1944-46); Dutch/Indonesian crews (1946-1950+)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; underlying text is the Turner Publishing LCI history. Decommission/stricken dates given only as 'circa 1945-46' - exact dates unverified. Contains no asbestos or material content. Photograph captions are contributor-supplied.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-01
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[2]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - inventory by ship number [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, page 23, row 'LCI(L)-420 2/23/1944 - 6/30/1945' (PDF verified live, HTTP 200, 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (ship-number inventory, PDF page 23) lists deck logs held by the National Archives for LCI(L)-420 covering 23 February 1944 through 30 June 1945 - the hull's commissioned service through just before her 15 July 1945 reclassification to LCI(G)-420. No LCI(G)-420 row appears in the inventory, so log coverage for the gunboat period and disposal is not shown here.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02-23 to 1945-06-30 (coverage span)
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops recorded in deck logs (Feb 1944 - Jun 1945)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: the inventory documents that logbooks exist and their coverage span; it is not the logs' content and establishes nothing about materials aboard. These are log-coverage dates, not asserted commissioning/decommissioning dates (though the 2/23/1944 begin date coincides with the NavSource commissioning date). Deck logs are RG 24 holdings; this hull's logs are not among the sets NARA has digitized online (navy-online list checked 2026-09-30 - only LCI-hull listing there is Kestrel/AMCU-26, ex-LCI-874).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-02
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[3]NHHC / Navy Department Library, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official order of battle transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC 'US Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' - LCI(L) Flotilla Thirty-Five / Group 111 / Division 222 table (verified live via fetch, 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Pacific Fleet organization document for 1 May 1945 lists 'LCI 420' as a unit of LCI(L) Division 222, LCI(L) Group 111, LCI(L) Flotilla Thirty-Five - placing this hull under Pacific Fleet administrative control eleven months after the Normandy invasion and two months before her LCI(G) reclassification. Division 222 also carried LCI 417, 418, 419, 421, and 542 - of which 417, 418, and 542 are documented Normandy Group-35 sisters (per ev-04).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew aboard during Pacific assignment (May 1945)
- Limitations
- Establishes fleet assignment as of 1 May 1945 only; no location, operations, or material content. The document uses the short form 'LCI 420' - identification as LCI(L)-420 rests on the hull-number series and the surrounding LCI(L) division listing. Flotilla-number mechanics (Normandy-era Flotilla 12 vs Pacific Flotilla 35) are unresolved - see gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-03
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[4]'The Final LCI Assault of Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944,' The Elsie Item No. 95 (November 2016), official newsletter of the USS Landing Craft, Infantry National Association, Inc. [museum_official]
- Locator
- Elsie Item No. 95 (Nov 2016), pp. 12-28, 'The Final LCI Assault of Omaha Beach' (PDF fetched and text-extracted 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Association-compiled narrative naming this hull's organization, officers, and D-Day record: LCI(L)-420 was built at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset (400-series hulls; the 500-series went to New Jersey Shipbuilding) and was flagship of LCI Group 35, Flotilla 12, carrying Group Commander Lt. Cmdr. Clinton Bleecker Duma Brown; commanding officer Lt. John Boyce; executive officer Ens. Steve Besse; communications officer Ens. Harold G. Ashworth. The craft crossed the Atlantic via Horta, Azores (carrying a classified 'crypto photographic' machine as cargo), and on 6 June 1944 sailed with Group 35 (LCIs 401, 403, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420, 537, 538, 539, 542, 556, led by Flotilla 12 flagship LCI(L)-414) in Task Group 126.3 to Omaha Beach, where flagship 420 was among the few LCIs making repeated trips to Easy Red beach - landing Capt. John Kelly and F Company, 26th RCT on the first run, and losing her barrage balloon to near-miss artillery on retraction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (construction through Normandy)
- Population
- LCI(L)-420 officers and crew (1944); embarked 26th RCT troops (D-Day)
- Limitations
- Postwar compiled veteran-association newsletterism based on named crew interviews (Ashworth, Besse, and Group 35 shipmates), Fold3 muster rolls/action reports, and the 26th RCT field order - the newsletter masthead expressly disclaims per-article fact-checking. Corroborated at the campaign level by NavSource's battle-star listing and by a contributed photograph of the hull beached at Normandy. Not a contemporaneous Navy record; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-04
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[5]Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI 226 'Allied Landing Craft and Ships' (1944 recognition manual; HyperWar/ibiblio transcription scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ONI-226 PDF, LCI(L) sections ('Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) - Numbers 1-350' and 'Nos. 351-'; LCI Gunboat section)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous official class description: the LCI(L) is an ocean-going infantry carrier for direct beach unloading with limited 48-hour troop accommodation; propulsion '2 sets of G.M. Diesels; max. B.H.P. 1,600; twin variable-pitch screws'; splinter protection of '2 inch plastic' on gun positions, conning tower, and pilothouse. The manual's LCI gunboat section documents that 'some LCI(L)'s have been converted to gunboats in Pacific theaters as an interim expedient' - the program context for this hull's 15 July 1945 reclassification to LCI(G)-420.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LCI(L) crews and embarked troops (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level official description, not a hull record; does not name LCI(L)-420 and contains no asbestos or material statement. The manual is a recognition guide, not a construction specification - product-level insulation content is not addressed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-05
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (GM diesel plant, no steam); ONI-226 official class description; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications; ONI-226 LCI(L) sections; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A U.S. Navy amphibious craft built in February 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel-powered combatant of this type were thermal insulation, machinery and diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but the confined-volume crew/troop compartments typical of the type concentrate whatever insulation materials were installed.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-circa 1950
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (Feb 1944); wartime crew; any Dutch/Indonesian-era maintenance workers (1946+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or construction work package located for LCI(L)-420. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution. ONI-226 describes the design but does not enumerate insulation products.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-06
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[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 U.S. construction and service era (1944-46).
- 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, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-07
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[8]U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, 'US Coast Guard-Manned LCI(L)s' (official service history of LCI(L) flotilla organization and Pacific redeployment) [other_primary]
- Locator
- history.uscg.mil 'USCG-Manned LCI(L)s' article, flotilla redesignation paragraphs (fetched 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Coast Guard Historian's Office documents the wartime LCI(L) flotilla reorganization pattern: the Coast Guard-manned flotilla (Flotilla 4 at Sicily/Salerno, renumbered Flotilla 10 for Normandy, reinforced with 12 Navy-manned LCIs) returned to the U.S., was redesignated Flotilla 35, and deployed to the Pacific via San Diego - corroborating the NHHC Pacific Fleet organization's listing of a Pacific LCI(L) Flotilla Thirty-Five in which this hull appears on 1 May 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- LCI(L) crews, CG- and Navy-manned (class context)
- Limitations
- Class/flotilla context only: LCI(L)-420 was Navy-manned (her officers were USN, per the association newsletter), not one of the 28 Coast Guard-manned hulls, and this source does not name her. It documents that a Flotilla 35 went to the Pacific; it does not resolve how the Normandy-era Navy Flotilla 12/Group 35 maps onto the Pacific Flotilla 35/Group 111 listing (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-420-08
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[9]Batch-5134 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44 ship-number inventory; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NavSource hull page; USS LCI National Association Elsie Item No. 95; ONI-226; USCG Historian's Office; GAO product page; CourtListener opinion index; secondary web litigation/VA sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-420-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-420-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming LCI(L)-420/LCI(G)-420 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion index returned zero results for quoted "LCI-420", "LCI(G)-420", and "LCI 420"; an unquoted "LCI(L)-420" query returned 622 loose-token hits, all name collisions (e.g., LCI International Inc., docket-number matches) with none naming the vessel. RECAP docket-index queries were rejected mid-session by fleet-wide pacing and are logged as blocked, not negative. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case, VA/Board decision, or survey; the only 'asbestos' material located is law-firm marketing content targeting the builder's yard (George Lawley & Sons) - 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. The RECAP docket index is a genuine open gap (paced, not exhausted). Deck logs (SL44-documented, undigitized), Lawley construction work packages, and Dutch/Indonesian disposal records 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-420-09