Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-438 ex USS LCI(L)-438 page (timeline, campaign table, specifications, photo captions) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Main entry: LCI-351 class build record, commissioning/redesignation line, campaign table, postwar disposition block, specifications block, image-caption table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LCI(L)-351-class landing craft: laid down 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber, NJ (launch date not recorded); commissioned USS LCI(L)-438 on 3 August 1943; designation changed to Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-438 on 15 June 1944. Asiatic-Pacific service with LCI(G) Flotilla Three / LCI Group Eight / LCI Division Fifteen: Marshall Islands (Kwajalein-Majuro 1944-01-31 to 1944-02-08; Eniwetok 1944-02-17 to 1944-02-26), Marianas (Saipan 1944-06-20 to 1944-07-16; Guam 1944-07-21 to 1944-07-28), Iwo Jima (1945-02-17 to 1945-02-21) - three battle stars. Occupation service Far East 1945-09-02 to 1945-09-22. Decommissioned March 1946 at New Orleans; struck from Naval Register 1946-06-05; transferred to Maritime Commission for disposal 1947-11-25; fate unknown. Photo documentation: LCI(G)-438 passed USS Nevada (BB-36) en route to the beach at Iwo Jima 1945-02-17 and returned to Saipan for repairs after several hits from shore batteries while supporting UDT swimmers (mast shot off conning tower); commanding officer LTjg. Bernard J. Powers, USNR, received the Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- LCI(L) complement 3 officers + 21 enlisted; LCI(G) 5 officers + 65 enlisted; embarked troops up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted
- Limitations
- Establishes identity, construction, service, and disposition. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials information; supports no asbestos claim. NavSource is a volunteer photo/history archive - a reputable naval-history source but not a government record; figures such as BHP rating conflict with the NPS nomination for sister hull LCI-713 (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-01
-
[2]NavSource reproductions of official citation texts: LCI(G) Flotilla Three Navy Unit Commendation page; LCI(G) Group Eight Presidential Unit Citation page [other_primary]
- Locator
- NUC page https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/15/15000031.htm (citation text + ship list naming 438); PUC page https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/15/15000030.htm (citation text + member list incl. LCI(G)-438)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- This hull is expressly named in two verbatim unit citations. Navy Unit Commendation to LCI(G) Flotilla Three, Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet, for 'outstanding heroism in action in support of amphibious landings' on Kwajalein and Eniwetok (Marshalls) and Saipan, Guam, and Tinian (Marianas), 1944-01-31 to 1944-07-28 - citation ship list includes 'LCI(G)'s ... 437, 438, 439 ...'. Presidential Unit Citation to LCI(G) Group Eight including the flagship of LCI Flotilla Three, for 'extraordinary heroism during action in support of beach reconnaissance by Underwater Demolition Teams at enemy Japanese-held Iwo Jima' on 1945-02-17 - member ship list includes LCI(G)-438. Both citations signed for the President by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-01-31 to 1945-02-21
- Population
- LCI(G) crew (~5 officers + 65 enlisted during gunboat service)
- Limitations
- Unit-level honors naming this hull; verify combat service and organizational assignment only. The NUC covers 1944-01-31 to 1944-07-28 and lists the hull under its later LCI(G) designation although NavSource dates the redesignation 1944-06-15 - the hull participated in the February 1944 Marshalls operations as LCI(L)-438. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-02
-
[3]National Archives Special List 44, p. 339 (LCI(L)(G)-438 entry) - digitized scan via Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Special List 44 collection [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 printed p. 339 (ACPL scan image 365), entry 'LCI(L)(G)-438 - Aug. 3, 1943-Apr. 30, 1944 / June 1, 1944-June 30, 1945 - 4' ; digitization search page http://genealogycenter.net/nara/speciallists/search_narasl44.php
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947), printed page 339 (digitized scan p. 365, ACPL Genealogy Center), lists deck logs under LCI(L)(G)-438 with date spans Aug. 3, 1943-Apr. 30, 1944 and June 1, 1944-June 30, 1945 - four logbooks. These are log-coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning dates, though coverage opens on the documented commissioning date. A May 1944 coverage gap exists between the two spans. The logs themselves are physical records at the National Archives; they are not in the NARA Catalog online deck-log collection.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-08-03 to 1945-06-30 (coverage)
- Limitations
- Locates and dates physical logbooks only; contents not examined - deck-log entries could document operations, casualties, repairs, or material conditions but are undigitized. The May 1944 gap plausibly coincides with the 1944-06-15 gunboat conversion but is unverified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-03
-
[4]National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS LCI-713 (Landing Craft), NRIS 07000300 [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination Sections 7-8: 'LCI-713 As Built' description, builder table (New Jersey Shipbuilding - Barber, New Jersey - 375), LCI construction narrative
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS NRHP nomination for class sister USS LCI-713 (NRIS 07000300, listed 2007-04-12; architects: U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships / George Lawley & Sons) documents the LCI type: 1,051 LCIs built across ten contract yards, of which New Jersey Shipbuilding at Barber, NJ built 375 - the most of any yard; construction was all-welded quarter-inch steel plate for assembly-line production; propulsion was eight General Motors 6-71 diesel engines in two banks of four driving twin variable-pitch propellers (each shaft rated 1,600 BHP); internal layout was troop compartments, a 24-berth crew compartment, engine room, and officers' spaces - no boiler or steam plant anywhere in the design.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- nomination researched/filed 2007; construction period 1942-1945
- Population
- LCI construction trades across ten yards (1942-1945)
- Limitations
- Class-level documentation via a sister hull's nomination - describes the LCI type and builder program, not this hull. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement; establishes only construction configuration (diesel, welded steel, no steam plant). BHP-per-shaft rating conflicts with NavSource's total BHP figure for this class.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-04
-
[5]Era inference built on: NPS NRHP nomination for LCI-713 (class construction); NavSource specifications (diesel propulsion, complements); Corn & Starr AJIM 1987 and GAO HRD-80-2 (era documentation, ev-06/ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- see ev-04, ev-06, ev-07 citations
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built in 1943 sits inside the documented WWII-era asbestos-in-shipbuilding window; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this period were diesel-exhaust and engine-room insulation, machinery gaskets and packing, and electrical insulation. Because the LCI-351 class carried no boiler or steam plant, the dominant steam-lagging exposure pathway of larger combatants does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); crew (1943-1946); Maritime Commission disposal personnel (1947)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder record located for LCI(L)-438. Names era-typical applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, location, condition, or present-day presence. Product terms are normalized era descriptions; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-05
-
[6]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 resolves to Wiley online library; publisher blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403 - standard bot response, link valid)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during WWII - the era and program under which this 1943 landing craft was mass-produced - 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 scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, individual exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-06
-
[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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403 - content via product-page description)
- 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).
- 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 HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-09-30) - description content only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-07
-
[8]Batch-5153 search ledger (this record): NavSource main + roster + citation pages; NARA SL44; NPS NRHP LCI-713; DANFS attempt (404); NARA Catalog online deck-log collection; CourtListener API v4 (opinions and docket index, all zero) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-01 through -08
- 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)-438 / LCI(G)-438 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener API v4 opinion searches for 'LCI(L)-438', 'LCI(G)-438', and 'LCI-438' returned zero results and the docket index (type=r) search for 'LCI(G)-438 OR LCI(L)-438' returned zero results; a broadened 'landing craft' + asbestos opinion query returned only name-collision opinions (an accommodation-ladder injury case; a contract appeal) - neither names this hull. A crew-roster search surfaced no exposure claims.
- 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 built and crewed inside the documented era window. Undigitized deck logs (NARA Archives I, per SL44) and Maritime Commission disposal records are open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-438-lcil438-08
