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 LCI(L)-444 page - build record, campaigns, awards, specifications, disposal (history transcribed from Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150444.htm - designation/history block, Asiatic-Pacific campaign table, awards ribbon block, 'Specifications' block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 21 May 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 4 August 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-444, 15 August 1943. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in LCI Flotilla Five and LCI Flotilla Twenty-Two (1944-45), commanded by CDR Paul McD. Smith USN (1944) then CDR Marion M. Byrd (1944-45). Credited Asiatic-Pacific campaigns: Bismarck Archipelago operation - Green Islands landing, 15 to 19 February 1944; Western New Guinea operations - Noemfoor operation, 2 to 3 July 1944, and Morotai Island landings, 15 September 1944. After the war assigned to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier; decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 17 April 1946; sold 3 December 1946. Two battle stars. Ribbon block: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2), World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Liberation ribbon. International radio call sign NQHG. Spec block: 236 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; five single 20mm guns; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; '2 inch plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Construction trades (New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ, 1943); crew (1943-46); embarked troops
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation transcribing a published veterans' volume, not a primary registry - milestone dates agree with the shipbuildinghistory.com yard list and uboat.net record (see ev-02, sl-07). Contains no asbestos or materials information. Decommissioning date is not given ('date unknown'). Morotai D-Day given as 15 September 1944; the flotilla memoir (ev-03) narrates the landings as 16 September - variant logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-01
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[2]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-444 (LCI(L)-444), ship/21486 - data sheet and war-diary-sourced convoy event of 10 June 1944 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ship/21486.html data sheet (ordered/laid down/launched/commissioned/sold) and 'Notable events' entry of 10 Jun 1944 with source note (HMAS Vendetta report of proceedings; USS Witter, Bowers, Foreman, MTB Ron 9 war diaries)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent warship-record compilation for this hull: ordered 22 March 1943; laid down 21 May 1943; launched 4 August 1943; commissioned 15 August 1943; sold 3 December 1946. Commanding officer as of June 1944: Lt. F.C. Gebhart, USNR. A war-diary-grounded event places her in service: on 10 June 1944 she and LCI(L)-446 departed Langemak Bay (New Guinea) in a convoy of eleven troop transports bound for Humboldt Bay (Hollandia), screened by USS Witter, USS Bowers, USS Foreman, HMAS Vendetta, and HMAS Strahan, alongside ten PT boats of MTB Squadron 9; the convoy arrived 13 June. The entry's source note cites the report of proceedings of HMAS Vendetta plus war diaries of USS Witter, USS Bowers, USS Foreman, and MTB Ron 9 for June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946 (data sheet); 1944-06-10 to 1944-06-13 (convoy event)
- Population
- Crew under Lt. F.C. Gebhart USNR (June 1944); convoy troops and escort crews
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a secondary research compilation - its strength here is that the June 1944 convoy event and the commanding-officer name are explicitly sourced to wartime war diaries and reports of proceedings. Not a primary registry; contains no asbestos or materials information. 'End service' field is blank - decommissioning date remains undocumented here as elsewhere.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-02
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[3]J.E. 'Jim' Talbert (Flotilla 22 staff; President, USS LCI National Association), 'History of LCI Flotilla 22,' hosted on NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150618f.htm - Morotai operation narrative (LCI unit list incl. 444; reef stranding of 519 and 444; 357 standing by) and post-war assignment paragraph (444 to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Flotilla-level firsthand history documents this hull at the Morotai landings and in post-war assignment: in the LCI Unit of Task Group 77.4 for the Morotai invasion, LCI(L)-444 and LCI(L)-519 ran onto a reef about 50 yards short of the beach during the landing approach and had to be left behind unloading while troops waded ashore in water 'almost over their head'; LCI(L)-357 was ordered to remain with the two stranded ships and assist. After Japan's surrender, LCI(L)-444 was among the flotilla's ships assigned to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier (with 63, 333, 334, 335, 357, 358, 360, 443). The same memoir narrates Flotilla 22's wider operations - Lingayen Gulf landings and morning/evening smoke-making (January 1945), the move to Subic Bay (February 1945), escorting the first merchant convoy into Manila Bay (1 March 1945), and later Mindanao landings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Crew and embarked troops at Morotai (September 1944); flotilla crews (1944-45)
- Limitations
- First-person veterans' memoir written decades after the fact - detailed on events the author witnessed but not an official record; it narrates the Morotai landings as 'September 16th' versus the campaign table's 15 September. Flotilla-level narrative: LCI(L)-444 is named in the Morotai LCI unit list and the Philippine Sea Frontier assignment list, but her participation in each other operation the memoir describes (Lingayen, Subic, Manila Bay, Mindanao) is not separately documented - those passages are flotilla context, not hull-specific credit. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-03
-
[4]National Archives and Records Administration, Special List #44 - List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units (sl-44-ship-number.pdf, by ship number); RG 24 Entry 118, NAID 581208 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 24, line 'LCI(L)-444 8/15/1943 6/30/1945'; series description at archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy
- 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 listing, shows LCI(L)-444 with logbook coverage 8/15/1943 to 6/30/1945 - i.e., deck logs for this hull exist in RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Entry 118 (NAID 581208). The start of coverage coincides with her commissioning date (15 August 1943). The logs themselves are not digitized.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (coverage window)
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked personnel logged 1943-08-15 to 1945-06-30
- Limitations
- Log-coverage dates are holdings dates, not service dates - they confirm logs exist but do not by themselves establish decommissioning (coverage ends 6/30/1945 while the ship served into 1946; later logs may be in other series or lost). Contents unexamined - deck logs record movements, weather, and personnel, not materials or asbestos; they are the retrieval path for detailed day-by-day service and any recorded damage or repairs.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-04
-
[5]Australian War Memorial, collection object 304260 (Green Island, Solomon Islands, 1944-02-16, New Zealand troops filing down the ramp of the American LCI); plus AWM-sourced Trinity Beach photograph dated 9 November 1944 (caption transcribed on NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- awm.gov.au/collection/304260 (catalog title and date); NavSource 10/15/150444.htm photo captions (Trinity Beach, 2/1 Pioneer Battalion, exercise Octopus)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Australian War Memorial photography documents this hull in two operations: AWM 304260 shows New Zealand troops filing down USS LCI(L)-444's ramps at Green Island, Solomon Islands, 16 February 1944 (the Green Islands landing in the Bismarck Archipelago operation). A second AWM-sourced photograph shows the ship beached at Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia, 9 November 1944, while Australian troops of the 2/1 Pioneer Battalion practiced embarkation on landing craft ahead of exercise 'Octopus' - documenting a joint amphibious-training evolution with the Australian Army after her combat operations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Crew; New Zealand troops landed at Green Island (Feb 1944); Australian 2/1 Pioneer Battalion trainees (Nov 1944)
- Limitations
- Photographic records of presence and operations only - no materials or asbestos content. AWM 304260 verified directly in the AWM online collection; the Trinity Beach photograph's AWM accession number is not given in the NavSource caption, so that image is verified via the archive-hosted caption rather than the AWM catalog record itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-05
-
[6]Naval History and Heritage Command, National Museum of the U.S. Navy - 'Landing Craft Infantry (Large)-10 (USS LCI(L)-10)' photography and class-description page (the page under which NHHC files LCI(L) class description) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Page lead paragraphs (class description) beneath the LCI(L)-10 entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC's National Museum of the U.S. Navy describes the LCI(L) type: Navy-designed craft launched by the hundreds; approximately 157 feet long, speeds up to 14 knots, crew of 24 officers and men, four 20mm guns; the same hull was modified into mortar, gunboat, and rocket versions to give direct fire support for amphibious assaults, and others were altered as landing-craft flotilla flagships.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- WWII (class description)
- Population
- LCI(L) crews and embarked troops (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level description published on a sister hull's page, not LCI(L)-444-specific. Rounded class figures (157 ft, four 20mm guns, crew of 24) differ slightly from the detailed transcription for this hull (158 ft 5.5 in, five 20mm guns, 4 officers + 24 enlisted) - variant not reconciled. Contains no materials or asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-06
-
[7]Corn JK, Starr J, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); PMID 3555021 [other_primary]
- Locator
- PubMed abstract, PMID 3555021
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed scholarship documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding in the 1940s - the era and program under which this 1943 naval landing craft was built - and that World War II industrial expansion produced an unprecedented rise in the amount of asbestos utilized; asbestos diseases later manifested among thousands of shipyard workers and others exposed in the 1940s and postwar period.
- 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 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-444-lcil444-07
-
[8]LCI(L)-444 specification transcription (8 GM diesels, 4 per shaft; 2,320 shp; 30 kW diesel-driven generators; 860 bbl diesel) per NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, corrorborated by the same spec block across sister-hull pages of the class [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource USS LCI(L)-444 page, 'Specifications' block (propulsion section)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The LCI(L) was a diesel-powered beaching craft: the specification transcribed for this hull records eight GM 6051-series-71 diesel engines (four per shaft) with twin variable-pitch propellers and diesel-driven service generators - no boilers and no steam 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 materials on a diesel landing craft (engine-exhaust/muffler lagging, gaskets, packing, electrical insulation, joiner and deck materials, coatings) are not documented for this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- Engine-room crew (diesel machinery spaces); construction trades (New Jersey Shipbuilding, 1943)
- Limitations
- The diesel configuration is documented; the asbestos-relevant material content aboard is not. Absence of boilers/steam removes the largest era-typical asbestos mass, but era-typical smaller applications (exhaust lagging, gaskets, electrical insulation, coatings) are plausible and undocumented - this row bounds the inference, it does not establish presence or absence. The specification block is an unofficial archive transcription; no BuShips materials list for this hull was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-08
-
[9]Batch-5160 search ledger (this record): NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive; uboat.net war-diary-sourced record; Flotilla 22 firsthand history; NARA Special List 44; NHHC DANFS URL checks; NHHC NMUSN class page; shipbuildinghistory yard list; AWM collection; MARAD/PMARS checks; CourtListener (blocked); AFMM/LCI(L)-713 asbestos disclosure check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-01 through -16
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (the NHHC DANFS URL patterns for LCI(L)-444 return 404; NavSource attributes the hull's history to Turner Publishing Vol. II, not DANFS). No asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying litigation naming USS LCI(L)-444 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was sold out of service in December 1946, before modern asbestos survey/abatement documentation regimes, and no post-sale fate record was located. CourtListener searches (see sl-09) were blocked by fleet-wide pacing at session end - litigation status is an open gap, not a negative result.
- 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 for this purpose and the post-sale fate is unknown. Deck logs (1943-45), BuShips construction records, and the 1946 sale/disposal contract are undigitized leads. CourtListener being unsearched means the litigation surface is genuinely open - a hull-name negative in court records would not in any case preclude crew claims filed under defendant names. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-09
-
[10]National Archives and Records Administration record groups RG 19, RG 38, RG 24, plus WSA/Maritime Commission surplus-disposal series (mapped, not retrieved) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-04 and -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival path for any deeper record: NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships records - LCI(L) design and construction correspondence and any materials specifications for the New Jersey Shipbuilding contract block), RG 38 (Chief of Naval Operations wartime records - LCI Flotilla Five and Flotilla Twenty-Two war diaries and action reports covering this craft's Green Islands, Noemfoor, Morotai, and Philippine operations), RG 24 deck logs for this hull covering 8/15/1943-6/30/1945 (confirmed extant, see ev-04), and maritime-disposal records for the 3 December 1946 sale (War Shipping Administration/Maritime Commission surplus-vessel disposal files). None of these holdings is digitized for this hull; 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 (other than the SL44 coverage listing) and their coverage of this specific craft's materials is unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-444-lcil444-10