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(L)-524 - construction, commissioning, EAME campaign credits, Project Hula transfer, Soviet service, return, specifications (live page verified 2026-09-30; history credited to Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150524.htm header block, campaign table, Project Hula/disposition paragraph, and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 22 November 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 21 December 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-524, 24 December 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater - campaigns: Invasion of Normandy 6 to 25 June 1944; Invasion of Southern France 15 August to 9 September 1944. Decommissioned and transferred under Project Hula to the Soviet Union at Cold Bay, AK, 29 July 1945, designated Soviet landing ship DS-4; as DS-4 participated in the Soviet invasion of the Japanese Kuril Islands 18 August-1 September 1945; returned to US Naval custody in 1955 and struck from the Naval Register. Two battle stars for WWII service. Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 continuous); 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; 75 tons cargo; five single 20mm guns; endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts loaded; two sets of 4 GM diesels (4 per shaft), twin variable-pitch propellers, BHP 1,600.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (Nov-Dec 1943); crew 4 officers + 24 enlisted (1943-45); embarked troops up to ~188; Soviet crew as DS-4 (1945-55)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - dates generally track official records but the page is not a primary registry; key claims here are corroborated independently (builder/completion/disposition by the shipbuilding-history build table, ev-02; the DS-4 transfer row and 1955 return by the NHC-published Russell monograph, ev-03; Pacific Fleet organization by the NHHC document, ev-04; Southern France service by this hull's own digitized NARA action report, ev-05). The DS-4 Kuril-Islands participation line is carried only at NavSource level - Russell documents that the July-trained LCI(L) group led the main Kuril attack but does not place DS-4 at a specific landing. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-01
-
[2]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data), LCI(L)-524 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lcil.html, LCI(L) hull table row 524
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The build table lists: LCI(L) | hull 524 | New Jersey SB, Barber NJ | 24-Dec-43 | 'To the USSR 1945' - corroborating the builder, yard location, completion/commissioning date, and Soviet transfer on the NavSource page. Surrounding rows (521-527) show the same New Jersey Shipbuilding/Barber block and 'To the USSR 1945' dispositions - her Project Hula cohort.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- NJSB Barber yard trades (1943)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference table - corroboration of builder/date/disposition, not a primary contract record. Yard contract or hull-number-level detail not carried. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-02
-
[3]Russell, Richard A., Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan, No. 4 in The U.S. Navy in the Modern World series, Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, 1997 (full-text mirror at generalstaff.org; appendix 'U.S. Navy Combatant Ships Transferred ... May-September 1945') [other_primary]
- Locator
- generalstaff.org/WW2/Pubs/HULA/Project_HULA.htm - appendix LCI(L) transfer table (row 'LCI(L) 524 | DS-4 | 29 Jul. | 1955-returned'); narrative sections 'Landing Craft, Infantry (Large)', 'Attack on Shumshu', and the late-August Popov-Maxwell passage
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Naval Historical Center monograph's transfer appendix carries this hull: 'LCI(L) 524 | DS-4 | 29 Jul. | 1955-returned' - Soviet designation DS-4, transferred at Cold Bay 29 July 1945, returned to US custody 1955. The narrative documents that the thirty Project Hula LCI(L)s were trained at Cold Bay in two fifteen-ship cycles - the first beginning 7 May 1945, the second group's sailors completing training and heading home at the end of July 1945 - and that Rear Admiral Boris D. Popov reported to Captain William S. Maxwell in late August that LCI(L)s trained by Navy Detachment 3294 in July 'had led the main attack in the Kuril Islands, just ten days after their arrival at Petropavlovsk.' Sixteen American-built LCI(L)s spearheaded the 18 August 1945 Shumshu landing; five were lost (appendix marks DS-5, DS-9, DS-47, DS-1, DS-43 as 1945 combat losses - DS-4 is not among them).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1955
- Population
- Soviet crew of DS-4 (1945-55); US instructors and Soviet trainees, Navy Detachment 3294, Cold Bay (July 1945)
- Limitations
- The appendix row is hull-specific; the Kuril-attack narrative is group-level - it documents that the July-trained group (which included DS-4) led the main attack but does not name DS-4 at a specific landing or date. The book is cited via a full-text mirror (generalstaff.org) of the 1997 Naval Historical Center/GPO publication; pagination refers to the book's appendix table, not verified against the print edition. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-03
-
[4]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (Navy Department Library online reading room transcription) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- history.navy.mil reading-room page, 'LCI(L) FLOTILLA THIRTY-SEVEN / LCI(L) GROUP 110 / LCI(L) DIVISION 220' block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists 'LCI 524' under LCI(L) FLOTILLA THIRTY-SEVEN, LCI(L) GROUP 110, LCI(L) DIVISION 220 - the same document also carries the rest of her 29 July transfer cohort in Flotilla 36/37's groups (521-523, 525-527 alongside her in Group 110; 551, 554, 557, 945, 946 in Flotilla 36 Group 108 Division 216; 671, 672 in Group 108 Division 215; 666 in Group 107 Division 214; the non-transferred hulls 513-517 also appear in Group 110). Documents the hull's Pacific Fleet assignment in the pre-transfer staging period consistent with the Project Hula training cycle.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LCI(L)-524 crew (May 1945)
- Limitations
- An organization roster - establishes fleet/unit assignment on 1 May 1945, not operations or material condition. Commanding-officer column for this hull is blank ('..........'). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-04
-
[5]NARA catalog, NAID 139740297 - 'LCI(L)-524 - Rep of Ops in the Invasion of Southern France, 8/15-24/44' (RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; series 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories', NAID 4697018; micro serial 88046, file A9-8, report dated 9/11/1944; 6 digitized images via Fold3; microfilm Roll A1164, NARA College Park) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139740297 - file-unit description and 6-image viewer (Fold3 file 287100892)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A digitized US Navy action report authored by this hull covers her part in the Invasion of Southern France, 15-24 August 1944 - direct primary documentation of combat service consistent with the NavSource campaign credit.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08-15 to 1944-09-11 (operation and report date)
- Population
- LCI(L)-524 crew during the Southern France assault
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (title, NAID, series, serial/file numbers, 6 images online); page-image contents not individually reviewed. An operational/action report - documents the operation, not material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-05
-
[6]NARA catalog, NAID 120248913 - 'LCI(L) 524 - Muster Rolls' (112 digitized images, Ancestry partnership, first image a 31 December 1943 muster roll; RG 24 Bureau of Naval Personnel); related index block NAID 118967602 'USS K-1 (SSK-1) to USS LCI(R)-651' (RG 24 Index to Muster Rolls) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120248913 (112 images); /id/118967602 (index block)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized personnel records naming this hull: 112 muster-roll images for LCI(L) 524 are online (crew rosters by reporting period beginning 31 December 1943), and the ship appears in the muster-roll index block covering hulls up to LCI(R)-651.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-524 crew (1943-45)
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live; page-image contents not individually reviewed. Muster rolls are personnel records - no material or asbestos content. They are leads for building a crew roster and timeline, which this record does not do.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-06
-
[7]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number sequence, PDF page 25 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 25, row 'LCI(L)-524 | 12/24/1943 | 7/28/1945'; cohort rows for 521-527 (p.25), 666/671/672 and 945/946 (later pages) all end 7/28/1945; June-cohort rows end 6/8-6/9/1945 (10 Jun group), 6/13/1945 (586/587, 14 Jun), 665 at 5/31/1945 (pdftotext extraction verified 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs held by NARA for LCI(L)-524 covering 12/24/1943-7/28/1945 - logbook coverage running from her commissioning date to the day before the Cold Bay transfer (log-coverage dates, not commissioning evidence). The 7/28/1945 end date is shared by every other LCI(L) in her 29 July transfer cohort listed in SL44 (521, 522, 523, 525, 526 [second window], 527, 551, 554, 557, 666, 671, 672, 945, 946), and the June-transfer cohort's windows likewise terminate at their transfers - 6/8-6/9/1945 for the 10 June group, 6/13/1945 for the 14 June pair (586, 587), with 665 an early exception (5/31/1945). An internal-consistency corroboration: SL44 log coverage ends on the eve of each hull's transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12-24 to 1945-07-28
- Population
- LCI(L)-524 crew (1943-45 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the list establishes that logs exist in NARA holdings for that window. A catalog search of the digitized WWII deck-log file units returned no file unit titled for LCI(L)-524 under tested name forms, so these logs were not located online - physical-holdings lead only. A deck log is an operational record, not a material survey; it would document location/moorage and noteworthy events, not insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-07
-
[8]NARA catalog digitized unit war diaries surfaced under hull-name search: COM LCI(L) FLOT 11 (NAID 78311081, 1/1-31/44; NAID 78411674, 4/1-30/44; NAID 78507340, 6/1-30/44); COM LCI(L) GR 32 (NAID 78383286, 3/44; 78404938, 4/44; 78453949, 5/44; 78519039, 6/44; 139733518, 8/44; 134369269, 9/44; 78653105, 10/44; 78717872, 11/44); COM LCI(L) GR 110 (NAID 140011741, 2/25-4/30/45); COM LCI(L) GR 109 (NAID 77617125, 1/1-22/46); COM 11 (NAID 140050057, 5/45); COM 13 (NAID 101752523, 6/45; 77485895, 7/45); COM 8th FLEET forwarding letter on Southern France action reports (NAID 83522364) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov search '"LCI(L) 524"' and '"LCI-524"' - 48+ file-unit result sets naming the listed NAIDs
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NARA catalog's index surfaces digitized war diaries of LCI(L) Flotilla 11 and LCI(L) Group 32 across March-November 1944, Group 110 for February-April 1945, Group 109 for January 1946, and 1945 COM 11/COM 13 diaries under queries for this hull - consistent with this hull's assignment to those units during the Normandy/Southern France period (FLOT 11/GR 32) and the pre-transfer staging period (GR 110), matching the NHBC-documented Flotilla 37/Group 110 organization. A COM 8th Fleet forwarding letter covers Southern France action reports including, per catalog indexing, this hull's.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- LCI(L)-524 crew; Flotilla 11/Group 32/Group 110 staff
- Limitations
- These hits are catalog-index matches on digitized document text - the hull designation appears somewhere in each scanned diary, but the specific page mentions were not individually reviewed; unit assignment is inferred from the matches, not separately verified by a hull roster. 'COM 11'/'COM 13' unit identity is ambiguous in the catalog titles. War diaries are operational records - no material or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-08
-
[9]NHHC, Operation Neptune 'Sunk and Damaged Ships and Craft' table (Navy Department Library online reading room) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Operation Neptune sunk/damaged table, LCT(6) section row '524 DAMAGED' vs. LCI(L) section (no 524)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- DISAMBIGUATION: a '524 | DAMAGED' row appears in the NHHC Operation Neptune sunk-and-damaged table, but it sits under the LCT(6) [Landing Craft, Tank (Mark VI)] heading - that is LCT-524, not this hull. LCI(L)-524 does NOT appear in the table's LCI(L) section (hulls listed: 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 209, 212, 219, 232, 416, 497, 553). This hull was not recorded as sunk or damaged in the Normandy operation per this official list.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Limitations
- Pre-emptive disambiguation - the identical hull number in a different craft type is an easy misread. Absence from this casualty list does not prove no damage occurred (minor damage may not be listed), and it is not a material or asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-09
-
[10]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM diesel plant, 4 engines per shaft - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, ev-11); NARA physical logbook holdings (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json yard list (no NJ Shipbuilding entry); GAO HRD-80-2 context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built November-December 1943 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type were diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets and valve packing in engine and piping systems, electrical insulation on wiring and in control panels, and thermal insulation in the confined machinery spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1955
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (1943); crew 28 (1943-45); embarked troops (transient, up to ~188); Soviet crew (1945-55)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, builder's spec sheet, or work package located for LCI(L)-524. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. is not in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset, so no yard-level product list was attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-10
-
[11]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 US Navy service era (1943-45).
- 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-11
-
[12]Batch-5245 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; shipbuilding-history build table; NARA catalog (Southern France action report, muster rolls, unit war diaries, muster-roll index block); NARA Special List 44 PDF; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NHHC Operation Neptune sunk/damaged table; NHHC DANFS and photo-index checks; NVR check; Russell Project Hula (NHC 1997, generalstaff.org mirror); CourtListener opinion index (clean); CourtListener docket index (blocked); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-524 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion index returned zero hits under two query forms (2026-09-30); the docket index could not be queried - the fleet pacing limiter returned 'budget momentarily spent' on repeated attempts (exit 2, paced ~114/hr shared across sessions); logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The hull's 1945 transfer to the Soviet Union (returned 1955, struck, final disposition undocumented) forecloses the usual US-side abatement/museum/scrapping documentation trail that produces ship-specific asbestos records.
- 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 - and the docket-index search is a genuine open gap (pacing-blocked, not run). Undigitized deck logs (SL44 window 12/24/1943-7/28/1945), NJSB build records, and post-return disposal records are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-524-lcil524-12