Evidence
16 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-16).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-473 ex USS LCI(L)-473 (1943-1944) - construction timeline, reclassification, unit assignments, campaign record, awards display, specifications (history sourced to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150473.htm header block, campaign table, awards display, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Timeline documented for this hull: laid down 23 August 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 26 September 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-473, 4 October 1943; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-473, 15 June 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LCI Flotilla Three (CDR M. J. Malanaphy / CDR R. Eikel Jr. USNR), LCI Group Eight (LCDR W. V. Nash USNR), LCI Division Fifteen. Campaigns: Marianas - capture and occupation of Guam, 14 July-15 August 1944; Iwo Jima - assault and occupation (NavSource prints '17 February to 16 March 1944' - a typo for 1945; see ev-16). Decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 1946; sold 14 January 1947; final disposition unknown. Awards: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - Iwo Jima 17-19 February), Presidential Unit Citation, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2 stars), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal (Asia clasp). A July 1945 photograph shows LCI(G)-473 moored in a nest of Group Eight gunboats at Pearl Harbor (captioned from the LCI National Association newsletter 'The Elsie Item,' June 1996). Specs (class): 246 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; 158' 5.5" x 23' 3"; 16 kt max; two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers; LCI(L) complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted, LCI(G) 5 officers + 65 enlisted; LCI(G) armament 2x40mm, 4x20mm, 6x.50cal, 10x Mk7 rocket launchers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- Construction trades (Barber NJ, 1943); crew (1943-46, incl. wartime LCI(G) complement of 70)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its source here is the Turner Publishing LCI history. Milestone dates track official records but one campaign-date typo is present (Iwo Jima shown '1944'; corrected by ev-03/ev-04). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-01
-
[2]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (online reading room transcription of the official fleet organization) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- PacFlt 1 May 1945 org table, 'LCI FLOTILLA THREE > LCI GROUP 8 > LCI DIVISION 15 (G)' block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Official fleet organization lists 'LCI 473 - Lt. C. E. Fisher (USNR)' under LCI Division 15 (G), LCI Group 8 (ComLCIGrp 8 Lt. Cdr. W. V. Nash USNR), LCI Flotilla Three (Comdr. M. J. Malanaphy / Comdr. R. Eikel Jr. USNR) as of 1 May 1945 - confirming the hull's unit assignment and commanding officer in the post-Iwo Jima period.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew under LT C. E. Fisher USNR (1945)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific organizational listing only; documents assignment and CO, not work performed or material content. Citation_type is nhhc_danfs per schema enum - source is an NHHC-hosted fleet-organization transcription, not a DANFS entry (numbered landing craft have no DANFS entry).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-02
-
[3]NHHC H-Gram 086, Attachment 2, 'Iwo Jima: The Battle of the LCI Gunboats' (Samuel J. Cox, Director NHHC, January 2025) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- H-086-2 narrative paragraphs on the 17 Feb 1945 UDT-support action and casualty summary
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC documents that on 17 February 1945 (D-2 off Iwo Jima) seven LCI gunboats under LCDR Willard Nash USNR (embarked on LCI(G)-457) provided close-in covering fire for four underwater demolition teams; Japanese coast-defense fire hit every gunboat repeatedly. 'LCI(G) 474 was lost and LCI(G) 441 and 473 would have to be towed away.' All 12 gunboats were damaged with a group total of 52 crewmen killed and 148 wounded; damaged boats offloaded casualties onto fleet minelayer Terror (CM-5). All the gunboats received the Presidential Unit Citation; Malanaphy, Nash, and 11 gunboat skippers received the Navy Cross.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17
- Population
- LCI(G)-473 crew (approx. 5 officers + 65 enlisted, class complement); UDT swimmers; rescuing crews of Terror (CM-5), Twiggs (DD-591)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific combat record (473 named as one of two boats towed away). The group casualty total (52 killed / 148 wounded) differs from the older NHHC Online Library caption (44 killed / 150+ injured) and the LCI National Association's transcription (47 fatalities of 201 casualties) - unresolved across NHHC products; ship-level NHHC table (ev-04) gives 0 killed / 31 wounded for 473. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-03
-
[4]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'Battle for Iwo Jima' - table 'US Navy Ships Sunk or Badly Damaged By Enemy Action at Iwo Jima' [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Battle for Iwo Jima page, 'US Navy Ships Sunk or Badly Damaged By Enemy Action at Iwo Jima' table, 17 Feb block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's ship-casualty table for Iwo Jima lists, under 17 February: 'LCI(G)-473 - Coastal battery - 0 killed - 31 wounded' - the highest wounded count among the nine LCI(G)s tabulated. The hull is thereby documented as badly damaged by enemy coastal-battery fire in the 17 Feb 1945 gunboat action.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17
- Population
- LCI(G)-473 crew - 31 wounded, 0 killed on 17 Feb 1945
- Limitations
- Ship-specific casualty record only; documents damage and personnel casualties, not material content. Sits alongside the H-gram's 'towed away' description (ev-03). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-04
-
[5]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'Amphibious Operations: Capture of Iwo Jima' (transcription of the official Fifth Amphibious Force operation report) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Operation report, 17 Feb 1945 UDT reconnaissance narrative; gunboat employment sections
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official operation report documents the unit action in which this hull participated: Gunboat Support Units One and Two (Task Units 52.5.1 and 52.5.2), under Commander M. J. Malanaphy (Commander LCI Flotilla Three), consisting of 1 LCI(L) and 12 LCI(G)s, supported the 17 February 1945 UDT reconnaissance. 'Between 1100 (K) and 1145 (K) all 12 of the LCI(G)s were hit'; LCI(G)-474 capsized and was ordered sunk; shell fragments recovered from the gunboats indicated the heaviest Japanese guns were about 150mm; CTG 52.3 in Terror initiated emergency repairs on serious hull damage and assisted the wounded; only 3 of the 12 LCI(G)s were fit to deliver scheduled rocket support on Dog-Day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17 to 1945-02-19
- Population
- Crews of the 12 LCI(G)s of Gunboat Support Units 1 and 2; embarked UDT personnel
- Limitations
- context_only: the operation report covers Gunboat Support Units One and Two at unit level and does not name LCI(G)-473 individually - the hull's participation and damage are established by the ship-specific rows (ev-03, ev-04). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-05
-
[6]NavSource Online: LCI(G)-473 Navy Cross Citation page - Lieutenant Charles Elton Fisher, USNR [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150473a.htm citation block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Navy Cross citation transcription: 'The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Charles Elton Fisher, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of Landing Craft Infantry Gunboat FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-THREE (LCI(G)-473), operating as a unit of LCI(G), Group EIGHT, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the close-in fire support operations against Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands on 17 February 1945.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17
- Population
- LT Charles E. Fisher, USNR, commanding officer
- Limitations
- Documents the CO's decoration and the hull's role in the action; no asbestos content. Transcription hosted by NavSource (secondary compilation); the same award list appears on usslci.org's combat-awards page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-06
-
[7]NavSource Online: LCI(G) Group Eight Presidential Unit Citation page (citation text, signed James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/15000030.htm citation text and LCI(G) Group Eight member list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- 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, Volcano Islands, on February 17, 1945' - describing the gunboats' advance under fire, rocket barrages, counterfire damage, fires in ready ammunition, flooded engine rooms, towing of powerless companion ships, casualty evacuation, and return to the firing line. The page's member roster includes LCI(G)-473 among the group's twelve units.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17
- Population
- All hands of the twelve LCI(G) Group Eight gunboats (52 killed, 148 wounded group-wide per NHHC H-gram)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific by group membership: the citation is awarded to the group; 473's membership is shown in the page's unit roster and corroborated by the NHHC PacFlt organization list (ev-02). Citation text describes the group action, not per-ship detail. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-07
-
[8]National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (PastPerfect catalog), photo record 2001.0080.50 - 'B&W photo of LCI 473' [museum_official]
- Locator
- PastPerfect photo record 2001.0080.50 metadata block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Museum-cataloged photograph of LCI 473 with metadata matching the NavSource timeline: LCI-351 class, built New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber N.J.; commissioned USS LCI(L)-473 4 October 1943; reclassified LCI(G)-473 15 June 1944; LCI Flotilla 3 / Group 8 (CDR Malanaphy / LCDR Nash); Guam and Iwo Jima campaigns; struck 1946; sold 14 January 1947; two battle stars and the PUC for 17 February 1945. Catalog is tagged to UDT-13, consistent with the gunboat's UDT-support role.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947 (record span)
- Population
- Crew depicted (undated photograph)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the museum holds a photograph of this hull (image not examined for content detail beyond catalog metadata). Catalog metadata carries an erroneous Iwo Jima date range ('15 August to 18 September 1944' - the documented operation was Feb-Mar 1945; see ev-16). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-08
-
[9]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-473 (LCI 351 class) - build and service timeline [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 21515, history table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary warship database records for this hull: ordered 22 March 1943; built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, New Jersey; laid down 23 August 1943; launched 25 September 1943; commissioned 4 October 1943; reclassified LCI(G) 15 June 1944; sold 14 January 1947.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (Gudmundur Helgason's uboat.net); its 25 September launch date conflicts with NavSource's 26 September (see gaps/ev-16). The 22 March 1943 'ordered' date is unverified against a primary contract record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-09
-
[10]NARA Special List #44, 'List of Logbooks of US Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - ship-number sequence (PDF page 18) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf page 18, LCI(L)(G) sequence
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's deck-log inventory lists 'LCI(L)(G)-473' with log coverage 10/4/1943-6/30/1945 - i.e., the hull's deck logs exist in NARA holdings spanning her commissioning through the end of June 1945 (covering the Guam and Iwo Jima periods).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-10-04 to 1945-06-30 (log coverage)
- Population
- Crew entries in deck logs (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: these are logbook coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning dates, and the logs' contents were not examined. Post-6/30/1945 logs (through decommissioning and 1946 strike) fall outside this list entry. Deck-log digitization status for this hull not confirmed - the NARA navy-online index lists named vessels, and numbered landing craft are not in its named-ship index.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-10
-
[11]USS LCI National Association, 'LCI (G) 474 at Iwo Jima' - transcribed excerpts from the LCI(G) Group 8 Action Report [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org article, quoted action-report timeline
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The association transcribes excerpts of the LCI(G) Group 8 action report: '10:07 - LCI(G)s 457(GF), 441, 449, 438, 474, 450, and 473 approached base of Mt. Suribachi... in column'; '10:55 - ... LCI(G)s 449, 474, 450, and 473 were hit'; 'LCI(G)s 441, 450, and 473 each fired rocket salvo on the beach'; '11:15 - LCI(G) 473 transferred eleven wounded to TWIGGS.' The article also lists the group's Navy Cross recipients including 'Lt. Charles E. Fisher, CO, LCI(G) 473' and gives group casualties of 201, of whom 47 were fatalities.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17
- Population
- LCI(G)-473 crew (eleven wounded transferred to USS Twiggs, DD-591)
- Limitations
- Secondary transcription of a primary action report, hosted by the veterans' association - the underlying Group 8 action report (NARA) was not directly examined; treat quoted timestamps as report-derived but verify against the original. Its group casualty figure (47 of 201) conflicts with NHHC products (52/148 in H-gram; 44/150+ in the older Online Library caption) - unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-11
-
[12]Naval Marine Archive / shipbuildinghistory.com, 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard production list [other_primary]
- Locator
- New Jersey Shipbuilding yard table, LCI(L) section, hull 473 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard's production list records hull #473 as an LCI(L) for the US Navy, delivered October 1943, disposition 'Struck 1946' - corroborating the builder, delivery month, and strike year. No post-sale buyer or further disposition is listed for this hull.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. construction trades, Barber NJ (1943)
- Limitations
- Secondary shipbuilding-data compilation (shipbuildinghistory.com mirror); consistent with NavSource and uboat.net but not a primary registry. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-12
-
[13]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 (1943) and service era (1943-47).
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description; same standing limitation as prior batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-13
-
[14]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers - diesel plant only); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-13) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built in 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were machinery and diesel-exhaust insulation in the engine space, gaskets and 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, and insulation scope on a 246-ton landing craft was far smaller than aboard a steam combatant.
- 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 (1943-46); any repair/yard trades during wartime availabilities
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-473/LCI(G)-473. 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-473-lcil473-14
-
[15]Batch-5192 search ledger (this record): NavSource main/citation/PUC pages; NHHC H-gram 086-2, Battle for Iwo Jima casualty table, PacFlt org 1 May 1945, Amphibious Operations report; NARA Special List 44 and navy-online index; UDT-SEAL Museum catalog; uboat.net; usslci.org; Naval Marine Archive yard list; GAO product page; CourtListener (partial - paced); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-01 through -20
- 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)-473 / LCI(G)-473 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero hits across designation variants on both indexes (type=o opinions: "LCI(G)-473"/"LCI(L)-473" and "LCI-473"/"LCI 473"; type=r RECAP dockets: all four variants). Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm listicle content naming this hull.
- 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. CourtListener coverage is limited to indexed opinions and RECAP dockets - unindexed trial filings are outside it. NARA deck logs and any wartime repair/damage work packages are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-15
-
[16]Date-conflict cross-check: NavSource timeline vs uboat.net ship page vs UDT-SEAL Museum catalog metadata vs NHHC products [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150473 campaign table; uboat.net ship page; PastPerfect record 2001.0080.50 details field; NHHC ev-03/ev-04 dates
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTIONS: (1) Launch date - NavSource prints 26 September 1943; uboat.net prints 25 September 1943; NavSource carried. (2) NavSource's campaign table prints the Iwo Jima operation as '17 February to 16 March 1944' - a typo for 1945 (the PUC, Navy Cross, and NHHC records all document 17 February 1945). (3) The UDT-SEAL Museum catalog metadata prints 'Assault and occupation Iwo Jima, 15 August to 18 September 1944' - likewise erroneous; the documented participation was February-March 1945.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Corrects circulating date errors in compiled sources, not material claims. The correct launch date (25 vs 26 September 1943) remains unresolved against a primary builder or Navy record - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-473-lcil473-16