Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS LCI(M)-431 ex USS LCI(L)-431 page (history transcribed from 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995, ISBN 1-56311-262-0) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150431.htm - header block, campaign table, awards display, and 'Specifications' block; live page returned HTTP 200 on 2026-09-30
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive entry for USS LCI(M)-431 ex USS LCI(L)-431: laid down 9 April 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Barber, N.J.; launched 24 June 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-431 15 July 1943; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Mortar) LCI(M)-431 on 30 April 1945; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater with campaign table (Hollandia operation 21-25 April 1944; Western New Guinea operations - Biak Island 27-28 May 1944; Luzon operation - Lingayen Gulf landing 4-18 January 1945; consolidation of the Southern Philippines - Palawan Island landings 31 January-2 February and 28 February-7 March 1945, Sulu Archipelago landings 2-4 and 9-11 April 1945; Borneo operation - Brunei Bay 10 June 1945); decommissioned in 1946; struck from the Naval Register 28 March 1946; sold 5 December 1946; final disposition unknown; five battle stars. Specification block: displacement 236 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; length 158 ft 5.5 in; beam 23 ft 3 in; 16 kts max; diesel propulsion (two sets of four GM 6051-series-71 engines, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp); armament five single 20mm (as LCI(L)) and, as LCI(M), one 40mm mount forward plus three 4.2-inch chemical mortars in 4ft x 4ft sand-box mounts on the well deck firing forward over the bow, with the No. 2 troop compartment converted to a magazine; international radio call sign NKJL.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); LCI(L) crew (1943-46); embarked troops and Army mortar detachment (1944-45)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation transcribing the Turner Publishing LCI history - a compiled record, not a primary registry; its milestones track well against official sources (NARA log coverage start equals the reported commissioning date; awards-manual engagement codes match the campaign table except the uncredited Brunei Bay line - see gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials information. No photographs of this hull are archived on the page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-01
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[2]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 44 (ship-number edition), entry 'LCI(L)(M)-431 7/15/1943-6/30/1945' [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 19 (LCI(L)(M) section, alphabetical-numeric listing)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' (ship-number edition), inventories deck logs for 'LCI(L)(M)-431' covering 7/15/1943 through 6/30/1945 - documentation of this hull's in-scope wartime logkeeping, held at the National Archives. The coverage start equals the commissioned date reported by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-07-15 to 1945-06-30 (coverage); finding aid consulted 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- The finding aid inventories log coverage only - it establishes that deck logs for this hull exist for the stated span at NARA, not their contents, and the coverage dates are not asserted commissioning or decommissioning dates. The logs are not among the digitized Navy deck logs in the National Archives Catalog; retrieval would require a NARA research-room visit. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-02
-
[3]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), Part IV, Section 2, para. 16 - List of Ships and Units Eligible for Engagement Stars (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Part IV Section 2-16, engagement-star ship list: entries 'LCI(L) 431' (P40, P28-1) and 'LCI(M) 431' (P32-2, P39-1 x2, P39-4 x2); operation-code table in same section (P40 = Hollandia; P32-2 = Lingayen Gulf; P39-1 = Palawan; P39-4 = Zulu/Sulu Archipelago)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (1953 revision), Part IV engagement-star list, credits this hull for five engagements, split across its two designations: as 'LCI(L) 431' - P40 Hollandia operation (Aitape, Humboldt Bay-Tanahmerah Bay), 21-25 April 1944, and P28-1 (listed label: designated duty in connection with motor torpedo boat operations, under the Western New Guinea operations umbrella), 27-28 May 1944; as 'LCI(M) 431' - P32-2 Lingayen Gulf landing 4-18 January 1945, P39-1 Palawan Islands landings 31 January-2 February and 28 February-7 March 1945, and P39-4 Sulu ('Zulu') Archipelago landings 2-4 and 9-11 April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-04-21 to 1945-04-11 (credited operations); manual published 1953
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked Army mortar detachment during credited engagements (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Official wartime-decorations accounting for this hull, transcribed by HyperWar. Two cautions: (1) the manual files the January-April 1945 engagements under 'LCI(M) 431' although NavSource dates the reclassification to 30 April 1945 - the manual either reflects the hull's final designation or an earlier in-theater conversion (see gaps); (2) NavSource's campaign table labels the 27-28 May 1944 credit 'Biak Island operation,' but the assigned code P28-1 is listed in the manual as motor-torpedo-boat duty under Western New Guinea operations, not P28-4 (Biak Island). Both descriptions are carried; neither is adjudicated here. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-03
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[4]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' landing-craft roster and 'U.S. Navy Radio Call Sign Book (WWII)' Section 18 (ibiblio.org transcriptions of official compilations) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html LCI(M) table ('LCI(M)-431 | 1945'); CallSigns-18.html encode table ('LCI (L) 431 | NKJL')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HyperWar's 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' landing-craft section lists 'LCI(M)-431' under the LCI(M) type (commission column 1945) with class specifications: 385 tons full load, 160 ft 4 in, 4 officers + 49 enlisted, 8 GM diesels on twin screws - confirming the conversion designation. Separately, the wartime U.S. Navy Radio Call Sign Book (Section 18, ships by class) assigns LCI(L) 431 call sign NKJL - matching the call sign displayed on the NavSource page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Roster-level confirmation of the LCI(M)-431 designation and the wartime call sign; the '1945' column refers to the designation era, not a second commissioning. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-04
-
[5]uboat.net Allied Warships - 'USS LCI(L)-431 (LCI(L)-431)' vessel page and Operation Reckless/Persecution movement chronology [other_primary]
- Locator
- Vessel data table ('Ordered' through 'Sold'); notable-events section, 22 Apr 1944, Echelon R-1 Group B sailing order ('1000K/16 ... departed Goodenough Island')
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's Allied Warships entry for USS LCI(L)-431 independently corroborates the build and designation record: LCI 351 class, built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, N.J.), ordered 22 March 1943, laid down 9 April 1943, launched 24 June 1943, commissioned 15 July 1943, reclassified LCI(M) 30 April 1945, sold 5 December 1946. Its transcribed chronology of Operations Reckless and Persecution places LCI(L)-431 in Echelon R-1, Group B of the Hollandia/Aitape assault echelon, departing Goodenough Island 16 April 1944 (1000K/16 entry) for the operations area via Seeadler Harbour, in company with LCI(L)-71, -72, -74, -340, -343, -344, -361, -362, -363, -364, -429, -430, -447, and -448.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (milestones); 1944-04-16 to 1944-04-22 (echelon movement)
- Population
- Ship's company during Hollandia assault echelon (April 1944)
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a respected secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its dates corroborate NavSource but are not independent of the same underlying sources. The echelon listing derives from an operation-order transcription - consistent with the official P40 Hollandia credit. No asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-05
-
[6]shipbuildinghistory.com / Naval Marine Archive - 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard page (hull production table and yard history) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Yard history paragraph; production table row 'LCI(L) | 431 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Jul-43 | Later LCI(M) 431, sold 1946'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The New Jersey Shipbuilding yard production table (shipbuildinghistory.com compilation) records LCI(L) hull 431 for the U.S. Navy, delivered July 1943, disposition 'Later LCI(M) 431, sold 1946' - matching the hull's timeline. The yard page documents that New Jersey Shipbuilding was an LCI assembly line on the Arthur Kill at Barber (now the Maurer section of Perth Amboy), that Todd Shipyards took over yard management in 1942 at the Navy's request, and that the yard closed after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943 (this hull); 1942-1945 (yard operation)
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction workforce (1942-45)
- Limitations
- A respected shipbuilding-history compilation from official production records, not a primary registry; it names this hull directly but is corroborative of - not superior to - the Navy sources. Yard-history text provides construction-site context only. No asbestos or materials information; no NIOSH or OSHA survey of this yard was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-06
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification transcription for this hull (8 GM diesels, no steam plant); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945' LCI(M) class specification (8 GM diesels, twin screws); no BuShips materials list for this hull located [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150431.htm 'Specifications' block (propulsion section); ships-lc.html LCI(M) type specification
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- This hull's documented configuration bounds the era inference: a diesel-powered beaching craft - eight GM series-71 diesel engines in two 4-engine sets (four per shaft), twin variable-pitch propellers, diesel-driven ship's-service generators - with no boilers and no steam distribution system. The era's dominant shipboard asbestos applications (boiler and steam-line lagging) were therefore absent by design on this craft type; residual era-typical candidate applications aboard a 1943 Navy landing craft - engine-exhaust/muffler lagging, machinery gaskets and packing, electrical insulation, interior joiner and deck materials, coatings, brake linings - are plausible but undocumented for this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Engine-room crew (1943-46); New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); Army mortar detachment and added LCI(M) crew (1945-46)
- Limitations
- The diesel configuration is documented for this hull; the asbestos-relevant material content aboard is not. Absence of boilers/steam removes the largest era-typical asbestos mass but does not eliminate smaller era-typical applications - this row bounds the inference; it establishes neither presence nor absence, no quantity, and no present-day condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-07
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[8]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373 (doi.org returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch - publisher bot-block, not a dead link; article is a stable published source)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II - the era and program under which this 1943 naval landing craft was built at an emergency wartime yard - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel, its builder, or the LCI(L) type, and does not establish that asbestos was aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-08
-
[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, confirmed 2026-09-30 - same standing defect as prior batches)
- 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 (1943-46).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era coverage spans this hull's 1943-46 service
- 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) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-09
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 search, type=o, queries '"LCI(L)-431"', '"LCI(M)-431"', '"LCI-431"' - 0 results each, authenticated helper, 2026-09-30 [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-08 and -09
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener API v4 (authenticated) opinion searches on 2026-09-30 returned zero hits for all completed spellings of this hull - '"LCI(L)-431"', '"LCI(M)-431"', and '"LCI-431"'. No opinion names this hull under any completed spelling. The docket-type (type=r) sweep and the LCIL-431 spelling could not be completed within the fleet pacing window and are logged as blocked, not negative results, in the search ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- accessed 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Zero-hit opinion indexes are negative results for those indexes only: wartime-era and early asbestos litigation is thin in RECAP/opinion coverage, and any crew exposure claims would name defendants (builders, manufacturers, operators), not the hull number, so this does not establish that no claimant ever served aboard. The docket index and the LCIL-431 spelling remain unsearched (paced/blocked).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-10
-
[11]Batch-5146 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44; Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual; HyperWar ships roster and call-sign book; NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive; uboat.net; shipbuildinghistory/Naval Marine Archive; NHHC DANFS pattern check; NARA digitized-log index; CourtListener opinion sweep; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located. No DANFS/NHHC ship-history entry exists for this numbered landing craft (candidate history.navy.mil URL pattern returns 404; no NHHC page indexed). No asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials specification, or surviving-hull documentation names this hull; the craft was sold out of service in 1946 before such documentation regimes, and her fate is unknown. Secondary web sweeps surface only law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos aboard LCI-type ships without primary sourcing (excluded by source policy). NIOSH/OSHA surveys of the builder yard were not located.
- 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 hull was never surveyed and is untraced since 1946. A negative finding is a documentation result, not evidence about exposure or about eligibility/ineligibility for any claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-11
-
[12]National Archives and Records Administration record groups RG 24 (Special List 44 inventory), RG 19, RG 38 (mapped, not retrieved) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA Special List 44 ship-number PDF p.19; NARA deck-log access guidance (history.navy.mil deck-log access page describes RG 24 / Modern Military Branch custody)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival path for any deeper record: NARA RG 24 deck logs for this hull are inventoried (Special List 44: 15 July 1943 - 30 June 1945) but undigitized; RG 19 (Bureau of Ships LCI(L) design/construction correspondence and materials specifications) and RG 38 (Seventh Amphibious Force / LCI flotilla war diaries and operation reports, including the Hollandia echelon in which this craft sailed) are the mapped repositories for construction-era materials detail. None retrieved; no retrieval was performed.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Record-group mapping is a research path, not evidence about this hull; holdings' contents were not examined and their coverage of this specific craft's materials is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-431-lcil431-12