Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]research packet po-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-503 | Hull: LCI(L)-503 | Designation: Landing Craft Infantry (Large) | US-built landing craft
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-503-lcil503-pkt-po-packet-md
-
[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (Mine Vessels, Patrol Vessels, Landing Ships and Craft), NAVSHIPS 250-011, 15 April 1945 (digitized scan via shipscribe.com mirror of the GPO volume) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVSHIPS 250-011 Vol. II, printed p. 194 (LC(FF) characteristics table) and p. 195 (LC(FF) builder/commission index) - PDF pp. 211-212; conversion listing 'LCI(L)503 ... Now LC(FF)503' in the redesignation table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The contemporaneous Bureau of Ships tabulation lists 'LC(FF)503 (ex-LCI(L)503)' built by 'New Jersey S. B. Corp., Barber, N.J.' with keel laid 20 Oct 43, ship launched 17 Nov 43, and date of first commission 22 Nov 43 - independent official confirmation of the milestones reported by NavSource. The same volume's conversion listing records LCI(L)503 as 'Now LC(FF)503'. Type-level LC(FF) characteristics given for the class: 159'0" overall, 153'0" waterline, 23'8" beam, full-load displacement 387 tons (trial 381), limiting/navigational draft 5'8", trial speed 14.4 knots, accommodations 14 officers + 50 enlisted, armament five 20-mm AA mounts, propulsion two propellers driven by G.M. Diesel 6051 Series 71 engines at 2,320 shaft hp with single G.M. reduction gears and two 20-kW diesel ship's-service generators.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (Oct-Nov 1943); commissioning crew Nov 1943
- Limitations
- Official Navy tabulation as of 15 April 1945; documents construction milestones, the LC(FF) conversion, and class characteristics - contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. The LC(FF) characteristics row is type-level (describing the conversion class), not a hull-specific survey. Digitized scan hosted on shipscribe.com (reputable reference-site mirror of the Google-digitized GPO volume).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LC(FF)-503 ex-USS LCI(L)-503 (history from USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150503.htm header block, specifications block, and photo captions (verified live 2026-09-30; page last updated 19 December 2025)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 20 October 1943 at New Jersey Ship Building Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 17 November 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-503 on 22 November 1943; reclassified Landing Craft Flotilla Flagship LC(FF)-503 on 31 December 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II; decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register date unknown; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 12 February 1948 at San Pedro, CA (PDX-225, 27 September 1946); final disposition fate unknown. Awards shown: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal - no campaign/battle-star entries listed. Sole photograph shows LC(FF)-503 with LCS(L)(3)-62, LCS(L)(3)-63 and LCS(L)(3)-84, date and location unknown.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Construction trades, New Jersey Shipbuilding (1943); crew 1943-46; flag staff embarked after LC(FF) conversion
- Limitations
- Volunteer secondary compilation - milestone data generally tracks NVR/DANFS conventions but decommissioning and stricken dates are absent ('unknown'), and ultimate fate is unknown. The undated group photograph documents association with LCS(L)(3) support craft but establishes no operation, place, or date. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-02
-
[4]NARA, Special List #44 by Ship Numbers - deck-log coverage listing (RG 24 logbooks finding aid) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF p. 15, row 'LCI(L)(FF)-503 11/22/1943 6/30/1945' (verified live HTTP 200, 910,106 bytes, 2026-09-30); digitized-logs listing checked at https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (hull absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's ship-numbers listing of Navy logbooks lists 'LCI(L)(FF)-503' with log coverage 11/22/1943 - 6/30/1945 (PDF p. 15) - the run begins on the commissioning date, consistent with a complete log series from commissioning through June 1945. The hull does not appear on NARA's 'Navy Deck Logs Available in the National Archives Catalog' page, so these logs are held at Archives II (College Park) but not digitized. Post-June-1945 logbooks (if extant) fall outside this list's coverage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945 (coverage window)
- Limitations
- Finding-aid coverage listing only - not the logs themselves. The 11/22/1943-6/30/1945 window is the cataloged coverage range in this finding aid; the 6/30/1945 end is the list's cut for this run, not evidence of decommissioning or loss. Log content is unexamined.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-03
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (GM diesels, no steam plant); BuShips Ships' Data Vol. II LC(FF)/LCI(L) propulsion rows (G.M. Diesel 6051 Series 71); ONI-226 LCI(L) 351-class spec; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-era documentation (ev-05); Corn & Starr 1987 WWII shipbuilding study (ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150503.htm specifications block; NAVSHIPS 250-011 pp. 194-195, 200; ONI-226 LCI(L) spec row; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built October-November 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were exhaust-manifold and muffler lagging, engine and piping gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation; the December 1944 LC(FF) conversion added flag-staff accommodations and communications spaces built to the same era's materials practice. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, and the asbestos product scope aboard is correspondingly narrower than aboard steam-powered types.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); conversion-yard trades (1944); engine-room crew and embarked flag staff (1943-46); any 1948 buyer-side scrappers/converters
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or conversion record located for LCI(L)-503/LC(FF)-503. 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-503-04
-
[6]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), conversion (1944), and service era (1943-48).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); coverage back through the construction era
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews (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-503-05
-
[7]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 full text (publisher 403s automated fetch, confirmed 2026-09-30)
- 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 emergency-program landing craft was mass-produced in 1943 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard naval and merchant hulls.
- 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 aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-06
-
[8]HyperWar mirror of NHHC 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - Landing Ships and Craft (DANFS appendix tabulation), LC(FF) and LCI(L) sections [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html, LC(FF) section (row 'LC(FF)-503-504') and LCI(L) section; verified live 2026-09-30
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-derived tabulation lists LC(FF)-503-504 among the Landing Craft, Flotilla Flagships and gives the type's definition: 'Converted from Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) - LCI(L) to carry flag officers and crew'; class data 387 tons, 160 ft, 8 GM diesel engines (4 per shaft) on twin variable-pitch screws. LC(FF)-503 has no linked individual page - no DANFS entry exists for this hull; like all numbered landing craft it appears only in the appendix tabulation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Type-level roster tabulation; the hull is listed in a range row without an individual history entry. Confirms the LC(FF) conversion purpose and that no DANFS narrative exists, nothing more. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-07
-
[9]Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI 226 - Allied Landing Craft and Ships, Navy Department, 7 April 1944 (HyperWar scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ONI-226 PDF, LCI(L) row of the U.S. landing-craft characteristics table (verified live HTTP 200, 35,890,998 bytes, 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official recognition manual gives the LCI(L)-(351-) class data applying to this hull: 158'5.5" x 23'3", 250 tons landing / 387 tons loaded, five 20-mm mounts, endurance 8,000 miles at 12 knots, troop capacity 9 officers + 196 enlisted with 32 tons cargo, crew 28 - consistent with NavSource's 4 officers + 24 enlisted complement for the ship's company.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- LCI(L) crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Class recognition data as of April 1944 - predates this hull's December 1944 LC(FF) conversion, which rearranged accommodations for flag staff. Type-level only; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-08
-
[10]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LC(FF)-504 (sister hull; Turner Vol. II source); NHHC, 'The Seventh Amphibious Force - Command History 1945' (HyperWar mirror, ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/OA/419-7thAmphib/7thAmphibs-1.html) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150504.htm assignment block (verified live 2026-09-30); NHHC Seventh Amphibious Force admin history, Part I (LCI Flotilla Seven arrival in Southwest Pacific Force, April 1943)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The sister hull's page documents how the paired New Jersey-built LC(FF)s were organized and employed: LC(FF)-504 (built the same week at the same yard, commissioned 23 Nov 1943, reclassified the same day 31 Dec 1944) served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater as part of 'LC(FF) Flotilla Twenty-Three, LCDR. R. H. Brazeal; LC(FF) Group Sixty-Eight, LT. O. G. Howell; LC(FF) Division One Hundred Thirty-Five,' then performed postwar occupation duty in the Far East before decommissioning, laid up at the Florida Group, Green Cove Springs reserve fleet in March 1946 and stricken 1956. This documents the LC(FF) flotilla/group/division structure into which LC(FF)-503 was also converted - 503's own flotilla assignment is not documented in the sources searched. Related organizational context: the NHHC wartime administrative history of the Seventh Amphibious Force documents that 'the ships of LCI Flotilla Seven, also assigned to the Southwest Pacific Force, commenced to arrive in April 1943' - the formation a veteran obituary associates with this hull (see gaps).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- LC(FF) crews and embarked flag staffs (class context)
- Limitations
- Different hull - describes LC(FF)-504's organization and disposition, not 503's. Included only as organizational context for the LC(FF) type; 503's specific flotilla assignment, any occupation duty, and her reserve-fleet disposition remain unverified. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-09
-
[11]Batch-5224 search ledger (this record): BuShips NAVSHIPS 250-011 scan; NavSource 150503/150504; NARA SL-44 ship-numbers PDF + digitized-logs listing; ONI-226; NHHC/HyperWar ships-lc tabulation; CourtListener opinion search; secondary web litigation and disposition sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-503-01 through -12
- 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)-503 / LC(FF)-503 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero hits for quoted opinion searches "LCI(L)-503", "LCI-503", "LCFF-503", and "LC(FF)-503", and zero for the "LCI(L)-503" docket-index search; an unquoted LCI(L)-503 query returned 616 hits that are all name collisions (e.g., LCI International Inc. securities litigation). Remaining variants - "LC(FF)-503"/"LCFF-503" docket queries and the "USS LCI(L)-503" opinion query - could not be completed: CourtListener was fleet pace-limited mid-session; logged as partially blocked in search_ledger, not as a full negative result. No law-firm marketing page asserting asbestos aboard this specific hull surfaced in web sweeps.
- 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's small diesel-plant profile makes retained material less extensive than aboard steam types, but nothing was located either way. Deck logs (RG 24, 1943-1945 coverage), any conversion work package, and the 1948 disposal/sale file are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-503-10