Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet 813-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-551-lcil551-pkt-813-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-551 (history text credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry,' Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150551.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, commanding-officer list, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: LCI-351 class; laid down 12 January 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 7 February 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-551, 11 February 1944, LTjg Fred Caraiedo USNR in command; assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater - Invasion of Normandy 6-25 June 1944 and Invasion of Southern France 15 August-21 September 1944; decommissioned and transferred under Project Hula to the Soviet Union at Cold Bay, AK, 29 July 1945; participated in the Soviet invasion of the Kuril Islands 18 August-1 September 1945; returned to US Naval custody in 1955 and struck from the Naval Register; two battle stars; 'Final Disposition, fate unknown.' Specs: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158' 5-1/2" x 23' 3"; five single 20mm guns; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troops 6 officers + 182 enlisted; propulsion 'two sets of 4 GM Diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers.' Commanding officers listed: LTjg Caraiedo (11 Feb 1944 - ?), LTjg Don A. Buswell (WWII). Photos: underway May 1945 at half-mast for FDR; crew photo at 'Fowley,' England (caption names officers left to right: Engineering Officer Langenheim, Executive Officer Buswell, Commanding Officer LTjg Fred Caraiedo, Medical Officer Johnson, and O'Brien).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- Construction trades (New Jersey Shipbuilding, Jan-Feb 1944); commissioned crew (~4 officers + 24 enlisted plus embarked troops)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official records and the Project Hula transfer facts here are corroborated by the NHC monograph (ev-03), but the page's Soviet designation ('DS-3') conflicts with that monograph ('DS-48' - see ev-05). The campaign table transcribes official Navy campaign-credit lists but the page does not identify her Normandy beach, flotilla, or wave assignment. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-01
-
[3]NHHC, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 (Navy Department Library transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC transcription, LCI(L) Flotilla Thirty-Six section, LCI Division 216 listing (page ~84-85 of the document)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Pacific Fleet organization document of 1 May 1945 lists 'LCI 551' in LCI(L) FLOTILLA THIRTY-SIX (Lt. Cdr. T. Gore USNR), LCI GROUP 108 (Lt. Cdr. E. H. Draine USNR), LCI DIVISION 216, alongside LCI 951, 554, 557, 945, and 946 - nearly the complete 29 July 1945 Project Hula LCI(L) transfer group (554=DS-9, 557=DS-10, 945=DS-6, 946=DS-49, 551=DS-48). This documents the hull's Pacific Fleet assignment three months before transfer and places her in the formation being staged for Project Hula. The commanding-officer column is blank for LCI 551.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew as of 1 May 1945 (unnamed; CO column blank)
- Limitations
- Documents fleet organizational assignment as of 1 May 1945 only - not operations, locations, or conditions aboard. CO column blank, so no command attribution from this source. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-02
-
[4]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan' (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1997) - full-text mirror at generalstaff.org [other_primary]
- Locator
- Appendix transfer table (LCI(L) block, 29 Jul. entries) and the 'Landing Craft, Infantry (Large)' photo caption in the vessels section; Epilogue paragraphs on 1955 recovery
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Naval Historical Center's Project Hula monograph documents this hull in two places. (1) Appendix 'U.S. Navy Combatant Ships Transferred ... May-September 1945' table: 'LCI(L) 551 | DS-48 | 29 Jul. | 1955-returned.' (2) The monograph's LCI(L) section is illustrated with this hull's photograph: 'LCI(L) 551 underway, May 1945. The colors are at half-mast in honor of President Roosevelt, who died on 12 April. As DS-48, this landing craft participated in the Kuril Island operations. The Soviet government returned it to American custody some ten years later.' Context: Project Hula trained ~12,000 Soviet personnel and delivered 149 ships at Cold Bay; 16 American-built LCI(L)s spearheaded the second wave of the 18 August 1945 assault on Shumshu Island and Japanese shore batteries destroyed five of them (DS-48 is not among the five combat losses listed in the appendix). Epilogue: the Navy spent ~$250,000 recovering 89 ships from the Soviet navy in summer 1955 - 27 frigates (1949) aside, the 1955 recovery included 15 former LCI(L)s - and the government earned $6,537 from their sale as scrap.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-07-29 - 1955
- Population
- US crew to 29 Jul 1945; Soviet crew 1945-1955; US custody/caretaker and disposal trades 1955
- Limitations
- Official Naval Historical Center publication; cited via the generalstaff.org full-text mirror (NHHC-hosted copy not located at a live URL this session - logged in search_ledger). Documents transfer, Soviet designation, Kuril participation, and 1955 return for this hull; it does not document the hull's individual disposal after return (aggregate scrap-sale figure only) and contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-03
-
[5]National Archives, 'Special List #44, by Ship Numbers' (deck-log holdings list; companion to Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 25, LCI(L) sequence (row: LCI(L)-551, begin 2/11/1944, end 7/28/1945)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's deck-log finding aid lists 'LCI(L)-551 ... 2/11/1944 ... 7/28/1945' - Navy deck logs covering the hull's entire U.S. commissioned career, from the 11 February 1944 commissioning through the day before the 29 July 1945 transfer to the Soviet Union. These are log-coverage dates, not assumed commissioning/decommissioning dates, and they corroborate both endpoints independently. The logs themselves are not digitized in the National Archives Catalog's online deck-log index (checked 2026-09-30) - physical/consultation copies at NARA only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02-11 - 1945-07-28
- Population
- Commissioned crew 2/1944-7/1945 (population at potential interest)
- Limitations
- A holdings index establishes that logs exist and their date span - not their contents. The logs are undigitized, so nothing in this record rests on their content. Coverage ends the day before transfer; no Soviet-period or 1955-custody log coverage exists (Soviet service generated no US logs, and the 1955 return was administrative - the craft was not recommissioned). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-04
-
[6]Designation cross-check: NavSource 10/15/150551.htm ('DS-3') vs Russell/NHC Project Hula appendix ('DS-48'; table also shows 'LCI(L) 523 | DS-3'); Wikimedia Commons file USS_LCI(L)-551.jpg captioned DS-48 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150551.htm ('designated DS-3 by the Soviet Union'); Russell appendix table rows for LCI(L) 523 and LCI(L) 551; Russell LCI(L)-section photo caption; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_LCI(L)-551.jpg
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's LCI(L)-551 page gives her Soviet designation as 'DS-3.' The Naval Historical Center's Project Hula appendix and the monograph's own photo caption give 'DS-48,' and the same appendix assigns 'DS-3' to ex-LCI(L)-523. NavSource's designation text is a misattribution; DS-48 is the documented Soviet designation for this hull. (NavSource's own sibling pages show the same pattern - e.g., its LCI(L)-554 page correctly prints DS-9, matching the appendix - so the DS-3 error is local to the 551 entry.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1955 (designation window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating designation error, not a material or asbestos claim. The misattribution matters operationally for litigation/name searches: Soviet-designation records for this hull are filed under DS-48, not DS-3. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-05
-
[7]HAER No. AK-52, M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L) 653, later AMCU-16, MHC-16), Library of Congress Prints & Photographs / Historic American Engineering Record [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 written data pp. 4-8 (builder history; LCIs in WWII; original plans/specs for LCI(L) 653)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HAER monograph on a same-class sister hull built at the same yard (New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ; LCI(L)-653 laid down June 1944, four months after -551) documents: New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. was incorporated 1942 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Barber Asphalt Corp., converting the idled Perth Amboy asphalt plant on Arthur Kill into an assembly-line LCI(L) yard; Todd Shipyards took over management in 1942 at the Navy's request; the yard built LCI(L)s 239-318, 423-657, 782-821, and 866-884 (551 falls in the 423-657 run) and was dismantled after the war. Class construction: welded steel throughout; eight six-cylinder GM Series 71 diesel truck engines, four per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 16 knots max, ~8,000-mile range at 12 knots; class dimensions 159 ft overall and 387 long tons fully loaded (the report's 1944 spec table lists 158 ft 5-1/2 in oa, 23 ft 3 in beam, 387 LT loaded displacement, 1,800 designed shp, 16 kt loaded); 'plastic splinter protection' was 2 inches of crushed granite pebbles embedded in bitumen; the Navy instructed builders that 'critical materials are to be avoided.' The report contains no asbestos mention.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (class construction era); report dated 2012
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1942-44)
- Limitations
- Sister-hull class documentation, not a record of this hull: LCI(L)-653's construction details are class-standard for the LCI(L)-351 design at the same yard, but no material in this row names LCI(L)-551 or establishes anything aboard her. The 'critical materials' instruction is a design-economy directive; it is consistent with minimal asbestos use but does not prove absence - period gaskets, packing, and electrical materials could still have contained asbestos fiber. No asbestos content in the source itself.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM diesels, no steam plant); HAER AK-52 class construction detail (diesel plant, welded steel, bitumen/granite splinter armor, 'critical materials are to be avoided' instruction); GAO HRD-80-2 program context (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150551.htm specifications block; HAER AK-52 pp. 4-7; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A small all-steel diesel-powered amphibious craft built in early 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, and era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings. Against that inference: the craft carried no steam plant (no boiler or turbine lagging), the class was built to a stripped-down specification ('no effort is required for the development of appearance or refinements... Critical materials are to be avoided'), and its documented 'plastic splinter protection' was a bitumen-and-granite armor, not asbestos. The credible exposure population is small - ~28 crew plus embarked troops for short voyages - but includes construction trades at New Jersey Shipbuilding and any repair personnel.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1955
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (Jan-Feb 1944); commissioned crew (1944-45); Soviet crew and yard personnel (1945-55); disposal trades (1955+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or asbestos finding located for LCI(L)-551. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. The 'critical materials' instruction lowers - does not eliminate - the likelihood of asbestos aboard. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution. Soviet-period (1945-55) modifications aboard, if any, are undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-07
-
[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 (1944) and U.S. service era (1944-45).
- 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 including the /assets/ direct PDF path) - content via product-page description and prior-batch extraction.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-08
-
[10]CourtListener API v4 authenticated searches (via fleet helper cl-auth-search.py): "LCI(L)-551" type=o, "LCI(L)-551" type=r, "USS LCI(L)-551" type=o - all zero results, 2026-09-30 [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py results, 2026-09-30 (HTTP 200, count 0, for each completed query)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation located naming this hull: authenticated CourtListener searches for "LCI(L)-551" (opinions and RECAP dockets) and "USS LCI(L)-551" (opinions) each returned zero results. A numbered landing craft name is a low-collision identifier - unlike common ship names, a hit would be attributable - and none exists in the searched indexes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Two sweeps were completed and one further variant (unhyphenated 'LCI-551'/'LCI 551') was not run - fleet pacing budget intermittently spent this session; logged as partial in search_ledger, not as a negative result for that variant. CourtListener coverage is not exhaustive of all courts/dockets; absence of a located case does not prove no claim was ever filed. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-09
-
[11]Batch-5272 search ledger (this record): NavSource 10/15/150551.htm; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; Russell/NHC Project Hula (generalstaff.org mirror); NARA Special List 44 ship-numbers PDF; NARA online deck-log index; HAER AK-52 (LCI(L)-653); GAO HRD-80-2 product page; CourtListener API v4 (partial); NVR; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-551-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-551-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, veteran claim list, or docketed case naming USS LCI(L)-551 (or Soviet DS-48) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull predates modern ACM-handling regulation in both construction (1944) and disposal (1955 cohort sold as scrap). The NavSource page's history text derives from a veterans' association publication (Turner Publishing, 1995); no law-firm or marketing 'asbestos ship list' naming this hull surfaced in secondary 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 craft was built inside the Navy's asbestos era, and period gaskets, packing, and insulation could have contained asbestos fiber without leaving a surviving document. The 1944-45 deck logs (documented, undigitized) and any Soviet-period maintenance records are open archival leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-551-lcil551-10