Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet pt-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-535
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-pkt-pt-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LC(FF)-535 ex USS LCI(L)-535 - build timeline, LC(FF) reclassification, flotilla assignments, Okinawa campaign, specifications (history block sourced to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995, ISBN 1-56311-262-0) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150535.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, and photo caption (1015053501.jpg)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 7 December 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 11 January 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-535, 15 January 1944, LTjg. H. B. Sims, USNR in command; reclassified Landing Craft Flotilla Flagship LC(FF)-535, 31 December 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LC(FF) Flotilla Twenty-Three (CDR. Dennis L. Francis, USN), LC(FF) Group Sixty-Seven, LC(FF) Division One Hundred Thirty-Five; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation, 26 March - 18 June 1945); decommissioned date unknown; laid up in Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs, FL; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; final disposition fate unknown; earned one battle star. Spec block: displacement 246 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; length 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; speed 16 kt max; complement 4 officers / 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers / 182 enlisted; propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable-pitch propellers. Photo caption documents the hull beached at Virginia Beach, VA during amphibious training exercises.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); ship's company 4 officers / 24 enlisted plus embarked troops (1944-46); LC(FF) flotilla staff (1944-45)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation sourced here to Turner Publishing's LCI volume - authoritative for milestones but not a primary registry; decommission/struck dates and final disposition are absent from this source ('date unknown'/'fate unknown'). Page header labels the hull 'LCI-1 Class' while sister-hull NavSource pages (e.g., LCI(L)-534, -539) and uboat.net place hulls 351+ in the LCI(L)-351 design series - treated as a NavSource labeling inconsistency (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-01
-
[3]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - by-ship-number edition (archives.gov PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 15 (LCI(L)(FF) section): 'LCI(L)(FF)-535 1/15/1944 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs under 'LCI(L)(FF)-535' covering 1/15/1944 - 6/30/1945 - an item list entry confirming that deck logs for this hull exist in NARA holdings (RG 24, National Archives at College Park) for the commissioning-to-mid-1945 window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (log coverage)
- Limitations
- Log-coverage dates only - NOT commissioning or decommissioning dates, though 1/15/1944 coincides with the documented commissioning date. Special List 44 is a holdings index; the logs themselves are the records. Digitization status of this hull's logs in the National Archives Catalog not verified this session (catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-02
-
[4]Action Report, CTG 52.21 (LSM Flotilla NINE), Ie Shima and Southeastern Okinawa, 2-20 April 1945, signed CDR Dennis L. Francis, USN (NavSource-hosted transcription); NavSource photo caption for LC(FF)-535 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/06/0600001.htm (action report cover, 21 April 1945, 'U.S.S. LC(FF) 525, Flagship'); NavSource 10/15/150535.htm photo caption
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NavSource lists LC(FF)-535 among the ships of LSM Flotilla Nine / TG 52.21, and its photo caption states the hull 'became the LSM Flotilla Nine headquarters ship for Commander Dennis L. Francis, USN, during the Okinawa Operation 1945.' The contemporaneous action-report cover letter (21 April 1945, signed D. L. Francis) identifies 'U.S.S. LC(FF) 525' as the flagship - i.e., Francis's flag at report-writing was carried by a different LC(FF); the flag appears to have shifted between flotilla flagships during the operation or the photo caption is approximate. Either way, the hull is documented in Francis's flotilla organization for the Okinawa operations.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-03 - 1945-06 (Okinawa operation)
- Population
- LC(FF)-535 ship's company and embarked flotilla staff (1945)
- Limitations
- Primary document (action-report cover) says LC(FF)-525 as flagship on 21 April 1945; the LC(FF)-535-as-headquarters-ship claim rests on a NavSource photo caption, itself sourced to a postwar book ('The U.S. Navy's Interim LSM(R)s in World War II,' McFarland 2016, p.68). Exact flag-ship assignment timeline within the operation is unresolved. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-03
-
[5]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard table and yard history [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com New Jersey Shipbuilding table, LCI(L) 535 row; header paragraphs on yard history
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard table records this hull: LCI(L) 535, US Navy, Landing Craft, delivered Jan-44, disposition 'Struck 1956.' Yard history: New Jersey Shipbuilding was an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill in Barber (a community absorbed into Perth Amboy, now Maurer); Todd Shipyards took over management in 1942 at the Navy's request; the yard closed after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1956
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding trades (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Standard secondary reference (Colton's shipbuilding history), corroborating the builder and giving the only located strike year; 'Struck 1956' has no day/month and the entry carries no disposal detail beyond it. Yard narrative is yard-level, not hull-level. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-04
-
[6]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-535 (LCI(L)-535) ship entry and LCI 351 class table [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/21599.html; class data at /allies/warships/class/690.html
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent secondary corroboration of milestones: USS LCI(L)-535, LCI 351 class, built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, N.J.); ordered 22 March 1943; laid down 7 December 1943; launched 11 January 1944; commissioned 15 January 1944; reclassified LC(FF), Landing Craft Flotilla Flagship, on 31 December 1944. Class table: 689 ships; diesel engines, 2 shafts, 1,600 bhp; 16 kt; armament 5x 20mm AA.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled secondary database - corroborates NavSource/Turner but is not a primary registry; 'ordered 22 Mar 1943' is the only located order date and rests on this source alone. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-05
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[7]Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. AK-52, M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L) 653), and HAER No. OR-180, LCI(L)-713 - NPS engineering documentation of the LCI(L) type (both hulls same class/design family as LCI(L)-535; LCI(L)-653 built at the same New Jersey Shipbuilding yard) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 (ak0557data.pdf), 'Builder'/'Description' sections pp. 5-8; HAER OR-180 (or0606data.pdf) short form
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HAER documents the LCI(L) design and construction: designed by the Bureau of Ships; working plans by George Lawley & Son Corp.; built of welded steel throughout with 15-lb high-tensile steel in pilot house/conning tower and 10-lb high-tensile steel forward as small-arms protection, plus 2-inch plastic splinter protection (crushed granite in bitumen) on gun tubs, conning tower, and pilot house; powered by eight six-cylinder General Motors Series 71 diesel truck engines, four per shaft. Design changes first appeared in LCI(L) 351 (May 1943): full-width deck house, cylindrical pilot house, enlarged troop compartments, improved ventilation and lighting. New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. was incorporated 1942 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Barber Asphalt Corp. to convert the idled Perth Amboy asphalt plant into an LCI yard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (class design/build era)
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades; LCI crews and embarked troops (class context)
- Limitations
- Class- and yard-level engineering documentation of same-class hulls (653, 713), not of hull 535 - supports design/construction context only. Neither report contains any asbestos or insulation-materials statement: absence of a mention in a general engineering history is not evidence of absence. Spray-foam insulation noted aboard LCI(L) 653 is a post-Navy fishing-tender conversion detail, not original construction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-06
-
[8]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
- 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 LCI(L)-351-class craft was mass-produced (Dec 1943 - Jan 1944, New Jersey Shipbuilding), 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 or this class, and does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-07
-
[9]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 (1943-44) and service era (1944-56).
- 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-535-lcil535-08
-
[10]HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' - Landing Ships and Craft index, LC(FF) section (DANFS-derived compilation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html 'LC(FF) -- Landing Craft, Flotilla Flagships' section (type spec; table row 'LC(FF)-535-536'); NavSource 10/15/150618f.htm LCI Flotilla 22 history (LC(FF) conversion description)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The LC(FF) type is documented as an LCI(L) conversion 'to carry flag officers and crew' - LC(FF) spec block: 387 tons, 160 ft, 23'3" beam, 15.5 kt, 4x 20mm, complement 3 officers / 21 enlisted, 8 GM diesel engines (4 per shaft), twin variable-pitch screws. The type table lists LC(FF)-535-536 in the 1943-44 commissioning block, corroborating this hull's flotilla-flagship conversion (NavSource gives the date 31 December 1944). NavSource-hosted flotilla-history material describes LC(FF) conversions as carrying the latest radar/radio equipment with troop compartments converted to offices.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Flotilla staffs embarked on LC(FF) conversions (class context)
- Limitations
- Type-level description, not hull-specific - documents what the LC(FF) conversion was and lists this hull's number in the type table; does not document this hull's conversion yard, scope, or date beyond the table block. Complement figure (3/21) differs from the LCI(L) spec (4/24) and excludes embarked staff. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (all-diesel GM plant, no boilers); HAER AK-52 / OR-180 class construction documentation (welded steel, 8 GM Series 71 diesels); Corn & Starr AJIM 1987 (WWII shipbuilding asbestos era); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos insulation use through early 1970s) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150535.htm specifications; HAER AK-52 pp. 5-8; AJIM 11(3):359-373; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built Dec 1943 - Jan 1944 sits inside the documented WWII/Navy asbestos-use era. Era-standard asbestos-relevant applications aboard a craft of this type and period were diesel-exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, deck coverings/tile, and bulkhead/accommodation insulation. As an all-diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway of larger steam vessels does not apply; the asbestos-relevant pathway concentrates in the engine spaces and interior finish materials of a small welded-steel hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1956
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943-44); engine-room crew (1944-46); LC(FF) conversion yard trades (1944); Green Cove Springs reserve-fleet caretakers; any disposal shipbreakers (1956+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-535/LC(FF)-535. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-10
-
[12]Batch-5256 search ledger (this record): NavSource per-hull page and LSM Flotilla Nine action-report host page; NARA Special List 44 by-ship-number PDF (archives.gov); shipbuildinghistory.com yard table; uboat.net Allied Warships; HyperWar Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-45 LC(FF) section; HAER AK-52 and OR-180 (LOC full text); MARAD ShipHistory; CourtListener (blocked); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-01 through -10
- 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)-535 / LC(FF)-535 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CAVEAT: CourtListener could not be queried this session - the fleet-wide authenticated request budget was exhausted at each attempt (paced ~114/hr shared across concurrent sessions); logged as blocked, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos aboard LCI' material is law-firm marketing content (bellucklaw.com, mesotheliomaveterans.org and similar) asserting asbestos on landing craft without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 litigation repository search is a genuine open gap (budget-limited, not run). Deck logs (NARA SL44-listed coverage 1/15/1944-6/30/1945), NJ Shipbuilding work packages, and any 1956 disposal records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-535-lcil535-11