Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
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[1]research packet pt-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity confirmed; transfer history noted for the Devin — real identity: USS LCI(L)-537
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-pkt-pt-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-537 - construction, commissioning, theater assignment, campaigns, Lend-Lease transfer, disposal, specifications, photographs (live page verified 2026-09-30; history credited to Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150537.htm header block, campaign table, disposition block, specifications block, and three image captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down December 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched January 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-537, 20 January 1944; international radio call sign NWAU. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign credits: Convoy UGS-38, 20 April 1944; Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944. Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease program, 30 November 1944; returned to US Navy custody 4 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1946; transferred to the State Department and sold 7 January 1947; final disposition fate unknown. Two battle stars for WWII service; ribbons shown: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2), World War II Victory Medal. Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3'; draft light 3'1.5" mean; 16 kts max (14 continuous); 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; 75 tons cargo; 2-inch plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house; endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts; five single 20mm guns (bow, port and starboard forward and aft of wheelhouse); two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600; twin variable-pitch propellers; fuel 130 tons. Photographs: crew in England 1944 (US National Archives photo); LCI(L)-403, LCI(L)-538 and LCI(L)-537 nested in an English harbor loading troops circa 4 June 1944; LCI(L)-537 putting troops ashore during the invasion of Normandy, 6 June 1944 (US National Archives photo).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (Dec 1943-Jan 1944); crew 4 officers + 24 enlisted; embarked troops up to ~188; Royal Navy crew (Nov 1944-May 1946)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - dates generally track official records but the page is not a primary registry; key claims corroborated independently here (commissioning/disposal by the shipbuilding-history build table and uboat.net; Normandy service by this hull's own digitized NARA action report; flotilla assignment by FLOT-12 war diaries). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-537 (ship 21601) and HMS LCI(L)-537 (ship 21602) - build dates and Lend-Lease timeline [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship pages 21601 (USN) and 21602 (RN), ship-data blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's USN page gives day-precision dates NavSource states only to the month: ordered 22 March 1943; laid down 11 December 1943; launched 13 January 1944; commissioned 20 January 1944; end of USN service 30 November 1944 ('Transferred to the Royal Navy'); builder New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, New Jersey). The companion Royal Navy page records her as HMS LCI(L)-537, returned to the USN on 4 May 1946 - matching the NavSource timeline.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- NJSB Barber yard trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary specialist reference (Guomundur Helgason's Allied Warships database) - the source of its day-precision build dates is not shown; used to resolve NavSource's month-precision 'December 1943'/'January 1944' into specific dates. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-02
-
[4]NARA catalog, NAID 78477613 - 'USS LCI(L) 537 - Act Rep on Invasion of Normandy, France, 6/6/44' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/Other Operational Records and Histories, series NAID 4697018; micro serial 76586, dated 6/10/1944, Roll A1013; 3 digitized images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/78477613 - file-unit description and 3-image viewer (images 0778-0780, Roll A1013)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's own action report to CINC US Fleet (via Commander Flotilla 12, ComLantCraft11thPhib, ComNavEu), signed by her commanding officer Lt. (jg) Wallace T. Davis, USNR, documents her D-Day service at first hand: moored at Saltash in the Tamar River, she embarked about 168 officers and men of the 26th Infantry, USA, and battalion staff on 1 June 1944; underway 5 June for Cawsand Bay; 6 June 0025 underway with Task Group 126.2 for Omaha Beach near Colleville, designated to land troops on the Fox Green section; arrived the assault area ~1500 and beached at Easy Red ~1803, grounding on a sand bar so that troops went into water over their heads; two further beaching attempts under shellfire before the troops were disembarked (successful beaching ~1940); took aboard 26 survivors plus the crew of LCI(L)-416 (sunk at Omaha); retracted ~2005 with anchor cable fouled on a sunken LCT; attacked by a JU-88 at 2320 with fire across her deck, no damage.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-01 to 1944-06-10 (operation and report date)
- Population
- LCI(L)-537 crew and ~168 embarked 26th Infantry troops during the assault; LCI(L)-416 survivors recovered aboard
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (title, NAID, series, 3 images); page-image contents reviewed this session via local OCR of the public scans - typewritten text with OCR noise; quoted particulars (troop count, beach sections, times, JU-88 attack) are as read from the OCR and should be re-verified against the images before any quotation-level use. An operational/action report - documents the operation, not material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-03
-
[5]NARA catalog, NAID 78512101 - 'USS LCI(L) 537 - AA Act Rep, 6/18/44, English Channel While Returning to England After Having Disembarked Troops on France' (RG 38, same series; micro serial 78441, dated 6/19/1944, Roll A1041; 4 digitized images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/78512101 - file-unit description and 4-image viewer (images 0048-0051, Roll A1041)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's own anti-aircraft action report documents a night action on 18 June 1944: operating independently at 2303 while overtaking an LCI(L) convoy, she engaged a JU-88 that had attacked the convoy and then approached her head-on at ~200 feet; four 20mm guns fired 222 rounds total; the aircraft's starboard engine caught fire, it lost altitude into the mist and darkness, and a bright glow was observed on the water - an outcome 'confirmed by observers on convoy ships ahead.' An earlier pass at 2310 saw the aircraft drop 'two objects which may have been mines or torpedoes' before veering off.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-18 to 1944-06-19 (action and report date)
- Population
- LCI(L)-537 crew during the Channel shuttle phase
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (title, NAID, series, 4 images); contents reviewed via local OCR of the public scans - quoted particulars should be re-verified against the images before quotation-level use. An operational/action report - not a material record. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-04
-
[6]NARA catalog, COM LCI(L) FLOT 12 war diaries - NAID 633387119 (9/1-30/44, Roll A1182, 7 images) and NAID 78659875 (10/1-31/44, Roll A1239, 4 images) - 'LCI(L) Flotilla TWELVE', next higher echelon 'The Commander LCI(L)s, ELEVENTH AMPHIBIOUS FORCE' [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/633387119 (images 0422-0428) and /id/78659875 (images 0828-0831)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The flotilla commander's digitized war diaries establish this hull's organizational assignment and document her operations by name. September 1944 diary: '9 September LCI(L)s 403, 537, 538, 502, and 507 proceeded to Royal Pier, Southampton to load troops destined for UTAH beach'; and on 28 September 'LCI(L)s 537, 500, 420, 413, 542, and 408 reported in from the far shore.' October 1944 diary: 'LCI(L)s 537 and 417 were sailed at 1635' and '417 and 537 arrived at 0700' (early October); on 9 October she sailed at 0645 and later 'arrived from the far shore'; on 27 October 'LCI(L) 537 was sailed at 1315' and the 537 again at 1405 - cross-Channel troop shuttle runs in the weeks before her 30 November transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-09-01 to 1944-10-31
- Population
- LCI(L)-537 crew; Flotilla 12 staff; embarked troops on Southampton-Utah shuttle runs
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live; page-image contents reviewed this session via local OCR of the public scans (typewritten text, OCR noise - 'TWELVE'/'TWEIVE' rendering varies; quoted particulars should be re-verified against the images before quotation-level use). Establishes flotilla assignment and operations, not material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-05
-
[7]NARA catalog - 'LCI(L) 537 - Muster Rolls' NAID 120246674 (RG 24, 23 digitized images, Ancestry partnership; first muster roll dated 20 January 1944); this hull's own war diaries in RG 38: NAIDs 78353444 (3/44), 78406761 (4/44), 78448618 (5/44), 78482240 (6/44), 78551024 (7/44), 78621471 (8/44); muster-roll index block 'USS K-1 (SSK-1) to USS LCI(R)-651' NAID 118967602; LCI(L) Flotilla 12 muster rolls NAID 120301315 [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120246674 (23 images); /id/78353444, /id/78406761, /id/78448618, /id/78482240, /id/78551024, /id/78621471; /id/118967602 (index block); /id/120301315 (FLOT 12 muster rolls)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A full digitized personnel-and-operations record set names this hull: 23 muster-roll images for LCI(L) 537 beginning with the 20 January 1944 (commissioning-day) roll; monthly war diaries for March through August 1944 (six file units) covering her convoy and Normandy-period service; the flotilla's own muster rolls; and her place 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
- 1944-01-20 to 1944-11-30 (USN log/muster window)
- Population
- LCI(L)-537 crew (1944); Flotilla 12 staff
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (titles, NAIDs, image counts); page-image contents not individually reviewed except as noted for the action reports and flotilla diaries. Muster rolls and war diaries are personnel/operational 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-537-lcil537-06
-
[8]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)537 | 1/20/1944 | 11/30/1944' (verified via pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs held by NARA for LCI(L)537 covering 1/20/1944-11/30/1944 - i.e., logbook coverage running from her commissioning date to the day of her decommissioning and transfer to the United Kingdom (log-coverage dates, not commissioning evidence). The coverage end date exactly matches the documented 30 November 1944 Lend-Lease transfer, consistent with USN logging ceasing on transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-01-20 to 1944-11-30
- Population
- LCI(L)-537 crew (1944 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the list establishes that logs exist in NARA holdings for that window. A search of the digitized WWII deck-log file units (series NAID 594258) returned no file unit titled for this hull under the 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-537-lcil537-07
-
[9]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data), LCI(L)-537 row; companion New Jersey Shipbuilding yard page [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lcil.html, LCI(L) hull table row 537; /sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.html yard page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The build table lists: LCI(L) | hull 537 | New Jersey SB, Barber NJ | 20-Jan-44 | 'To Britain 1944, returned 1946, sold 1947' - corroborating the builder, yard location, completion date, and the Lend-Lease/return/sale sequence on the NavSource page. The yard-level page lists 'LCI(L) | 537 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Jan-44 | To Britain 1944, struck 1946.' Surrounding rows show the same New Jersey Shipbuilding/Barber block (534-539): 535 and 536 were LCI(L)(FF) flotilla-flagship variants (536 later LSIL-536 in 1949), 538 to Admiral Farragut Academy 1946, 539 to NDRF 1948.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- NJSB Barber yard trades (1943-44)
- 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-537-lcil537-08
-
[10]UK National Archives (TNA) Discovery, WO 361/661 - 'Casualties at sea, North West Europe: LCI(S) 537 (landing craft infantry small), sunk by mine during Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944' [other_primary]
- Locator
- discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11483755 - catalog description, WO 361/661
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION / name-collision guard: the British National Archives casualty file WO 361/661 records an 'LCI(S) 537' - a Landing Craft Infantry (SMALL), the British-designed small landing-craft type - sunk by a mine during the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944. That is a DIFFERENT craft, not this hull: USS LCI(L)-537 demonstrably survived 6 June 1944 - her own action report covers that day's landings, her anti-aircraft action report is dated 18-19 June 1944, Flotilla 12 war diaries name her in September and October 1944 operations, and she was not transferred to the Royal Navy until 30 November 1944. No 'sunk at D-Day' claim belongs on this record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Limitations
- Prevents a real collision: '537' landing-craft hull numbers existed in both the US LCI(L) series and the British LCI(S) series. The TNA piece itself is a casualty-file catalog description (record not digitized); it does not mention this US hull. Not a material or asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM diesel plant, 4 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 December 1943-January 1944 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
- 1943-1947
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (1943-44); crew 28 (1944); embarked troops (transient, up to ~188); Royal Navy crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, builder's spec sheet, or work package located for LCI(L)-537. 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-537-lcil537-10
-
[12]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 US Navy service era (1944).
- 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-537-lcil537-11
-
[13]Batch-5258 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; uboat.net USN/RN pages; NARA catalog (muster rolls, six war diaries, two action reports, flotilla war diaries and muster rolls, index block); NARA Special List 44 PDF; NHHC DANFS and photo-index checks; NVR check; UK National Archives Discovery; shipbuilding-history build table and yard page; CourtListener (5 of 6 combos zero-hit, one combo pacing-blocked); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-537-lcil537-01 through -12
- 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)-537 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero hits on five of six name-form/type combos (opinions and RECAP dockets); the sixth combo was pacing-blocked on retry and remains an open residual check (see search_ledger sl-10). The hull's post-service disposition (Lend-Lease to the UK 1944-46, State Department sale January 1947, fate unknown) 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 one residual litigation check remains (the spaced name-form docket query was pacing-blocked; five of six combos returned zero). Undigitized deck logs (SL44 window 1/20/1944-11/30/1944), NJSB build records, Royal Navy service records (TNA), and post-1947 purchaser 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-537-lcil537-12