Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[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-552-lcil552-pkt-813-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-552 (10/15/150552); history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCI(L)-552 page - history block, campaign table, specifications block (verified live; page last updated 15 August 2025)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource per-hull record: LCI-351 class Landing Craft, Infantry (Large); laid down 13 January 1944 at New Jersey Ship Building Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 8 February 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-552 on 14 February 1944. WWII service in both Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific theaters; campaign credit for the Invasion of Normandy (6-25 June 1944) and the Invasion of Southern France (15 August-10 September 1944); Pacific assignment under LCI Flotilla Thirty-Seven (LCDR J. P. Moore), LCI Group One Hundred Nine (LCDR J. W. Detwiler USNR), LCI Division Two Hundred Eighteen; occupation service in the Far East 18-22 October 1945; decommissioned and struck, dates unknown; two battle stars; transferred to the Maritime Commission 19 March 1947 for disposal. Spec block (LCI-351 class): 246 t light / 419 t loaded, 158'5.5" x 23'3", complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted, troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted, two sets of 4 GM diesels, twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- LCI(L)-552 crew (nominal 4 officers + 24 enlisted); embarked troops (capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted)
- Limitations
- NavSource is the canonical per-hull reference but is volunteer-compiled secondary material; it states decommissioning and striking 'date unknown' and its specifications are class-level (LCI-351), not hull-surveyed. No asbestos, insulation, or materials content in this source - supports vessel history only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-01
-
[3]NARA, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ships by signal-number designation (sl-44-ship-number.pdf) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 25, row 'LCI(L)-552 2/14/1944 6/30/1945' (verified by direct pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 (ship-number index) lists U.S. Navy deck logs held for LCI(L)-552 covering 2/14/1944-6/30/1945. These are holdings-coverage dates for the log volumes, not commissioning/disposal dates; the 2/14/1944 start coincides with the NavSource commissioning date.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02-14 to 1945-06-30
- Limitations
- Index establishes that deck logs for this hull exist in RG 24 custody (post-1941 logs held at NARA II, College Park); the logs themselves were not reviewed page-by-page and are not digitized for this hull. Log-coverage end (6/30/1945) predates the ship's documented Pacific/occupation service and 1947 disposal, so the indexed volumes are not the full service record. Contains no asbestos or materials information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-02
-
[4]NARA Catalog, NAID 78477617: 'USS LCI(L) 552 - Act Rep on Invasion of Normandy, France, 6/6/44' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/operational records; micro serial 76587; 8 digitized pages, Fold3 partnership scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78477617 digital objects 0783-0790 (microfilm A_1013 images); letterheads LCI552/A16-3 serials 111-112
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's own Normandy action report (CO to CINC U.S. Fleet, serial 111, dated 11 June 1944, via Commander LCI(L) Group Thirty-Three, Commander LCI(L) Flotilla Eleven, and Commander Landing Craft & Bases, Eleventh Amphibious Force): departed Tor Bay, England 5 June 1944 in company with USS LCI(L)s 527, 528, 529, and 551; arrived transport area 0745 on 6 June; beached on Green Beach after two anchorings; landed 6 officers and 173 men comprising Company L, 359th Infantry, U.S. Army; straddled by shrapnel bursts about 1949 with near misses believed from mortars or 88mm guns - a near miss on the stern wounded Engineering Officer Ensign Louis P. Giordano, USNR (shrapnel through the left thigh) and produced shrapnel holes in the ship; withdrew to the LCI collecting area, took the Group Medical Officer aboard via USS LCI(L)-551, then ordered to sail for Calshot, England. Companion report (XO, serial 112, 13 June 1944, 'Casualties and Behavior of Personnel') states this was the ship's first beaching since leaving the United States and commends Cox. William L. Crews, SM1c Thomas A. McCann, S1c(RM) Harry J. Hildreth, and Ensign George K. Lynn, USNR.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-05 to 1944-06-13
- Population
- LCI(L)-552 crew; 173 soldiers + 6 officers of Co. L, 359th Infantry embarked
- Limitations
- Primary-source combat narrative by the commanding officer - establishes the vessel's D-Day role, the embarked unit (Co. L, 359th Infantry), and one battle casualty. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content; does not establish any exposure condition. 'Green Beach' per the report; maps to the Utah Beach assault area under CTF 125 orders.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-03
-
[5]NARA Catalog, NAID 78640053: 'USS LCI(L) 552 - Rep of Ops, 8/12-24/44, Invasion of Southern France' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/operational records; micro serial 86880; 3 digitized pages, Fold3 partnership scan) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAID 78640053 digital objects 0547-0549 (microfilm A_1150 images); letterhead LCI552/A16-3 serial 125
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship's own Southern France action report (CO to CINC U.S. Fleet, serial 125, dated 31 August 1944, via TG 85.8, TF 85, TF 81, and Commander U.S. Naval Forces Northwest African Waters): departed Salerno, Italy 12 August 1944 (D-3) with 98 soldiers of the 179th Infantry, 45th Division aboard; transited the Straits of Bonifacio and anchored at Ajaccio 13 August; entered the assault area 15 August and, after initially being directed toward Yellow Beach, was ordered by Commander LCI(L) Flotilla Eleven to hit Green Beach - anchored at 1232 and disembarked troops in 3 feet of water, completing at 1240. Follow-on employment: convoy to Naples via the Bonifacio Straits; moored Pozzuoli 17-19 August and fueled (9,500 gallons); embarked 60 more soldiers 20 August and returned with a 21-LCI(L) convoy; beached at Beach 261N on 22 August and discharged troops; anchored in the Bays of Bougnon and Briande; transferred 400 gallons of diesel to LCI(L)-555 on 24 August and sailed with the outbound convoy. Signed F. P. Yost.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08-12 to 1944-08-31
- Population
- LCI(L)-552 crew; 98 soldiers (179th Infantry) embarked on the assault lift; 60 soldiers on the follow-on lift
- Limitations
- Primary-source operational narrative - establishes the embarked unit (179th Infantry, 45th Division), two beachings (Green Beach 15 Aug; Beach 261N 22 Aug), and underway period 12-24 Aug 1944. Contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials content; does not establish any exposure condition.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-04
-
[6]NARA Catalog: NAID 120192074 (muster rolls); NAID 101746491 and NAID 101779036 (war diaries, RG 38) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov record pages for NAIDs 120192074, 101746491, 101779036; digital-object counts and series attribution per catalog metadata
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Catalog holds additional digitized ship-specific records for this hull: NAID 120192074 'LCI(L) 552 - Muster Rolls' (147 page scans, RG 24 Muster Rolls series, Ancestry partnership); NAID 101746491 'LCI(L)-552 - War Diary, 2/26/45 to 6/30/45' (16 scans, Fold3, micro serial 132840); NAID 101779036 'LCI(L)-552 - War Diary, 7/1-31/45' (1 scan, Fold3, micro serial 136390). The war-diary dates document continued U.S. Navy commissioned service through at least July 1945 - consistent with the NavSource-reported Pacific assignment and October 1945 occupation service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- LCI(L)-552 crew (muster-roll rosters)
- Limitations
- Catalog-level verification only: existence, titles, dates, and page counts are confirmed; page-level content was not reviewed. Muster rolls are the crew-roster lead for any future personnel-level exposure research. No asbestos or materials information is expected or claimed from these records.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-05
-
[7]The National WWII Museum Digital Collections, '45th Infantry Division landing on the coast of Sainte-Maxime, France, 1944' (accession 2013.495.1497) [museum_official]
- Locator
- Image record page; the same photograph is reproduced and credited to NHHC (SC 193146) in the museum's Operation Dragoon article at nationalww2museum.org
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- National WWII Museum digital collection holds the Signal Corps photograph (SC-193146 / museum accession 2013.495.1497) of 45th Infantry Division soldiers wading ashore from USS LCI(L)-552 near Sainte-Maxime on 15 August 1944, with USS LCI(L)-522 in the background - corroborating the ship's documented Green Beach landing on D-Day of Operation Dragoon.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08-15
- Population
- Embarked 45th Division troops
- Limitations
- The wartime caption on the print reads '46th Div. men hit St. Maxime beach' - a caption error; the ship's own action report (NAID 78640053) documents 179th Infantry, 45th Division embarked, and the museum indexes the image under the 45th. Photograph confirms landing participation only - no asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-06
-
[8]Consolidated era inference - NavSource LCI-351 class spec block (diesel plant, dimensions, complement) plus era amphibious-craft construction practice; peer-reviewed era context in Corn & Starr (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCI(L)-552 specifications block (propulsion section); see also ev-uss-lci-l-552-08 era documentation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this diesel-powered amphibious landing craft: no boilers or steam plant (eight GM diesels per the LCI-351 spec), so the steam-lagging pathway does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications aboard a 1944 steel landing craft of this size would era-typically have been limited to engine exhaust lagging, machinery gaskets, valve packing, electrical cable insulation, deck covering compounds, and accommodation-space insulation. The hull was built in 34 days (laid down 13 Jan, launched 8 Feb, commissioned 14 Feb 1944) at an emergency small-craft yard - spartan finish-out with minimal interior outfitting relative to blue-water hulls.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Construction trades (New Jersey Ship Building Corp., Barber NJ, 1944); engine-room crew; embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class/era inference, not a hull record: no ship-specific materials list, survey, or abatement record exists for this vessel, and no inference here asserts that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull. The diesel plant narrows but does not eliminate era-typical asbestos pathways (exhaust lagging, gaskets, electrical). Does not establish quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-07
-
[9]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
- AJIM 11(3):359-373 (DOI resolves to the published article record, verified 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as an insulating and fireproofing material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II - the era and program under which this 1944 emergency-built landing craft was produced - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization in ship construction generally.
- 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 (era context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or class 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-552-08
-
[10]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 not retrieved - gao.gov blocks automated fetch, 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 (1944-1947).
- 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. Content is via the product-page description; full-text pull remains the open lead (same standing gao.gov 403 noted in prior batches).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-09
-
[11]'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Landing Ships and Craft,' HyperWar/ibiblio transcription of the wartime Naval Vessel Register / Ships' Data roster [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCI(L) hull table, LCI(L)-552 row (commissioning window '1942-44', notes column blank)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Roster corroboration: the HyperWar transcription of 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' lists LCI(L)-552 among U.S. Navy landing craft with a 1942-44 commissioning window and NO loss, conversion, or Lend-Lease notation - in a table that does annotate neighboring hulls 'Lend-Lease to UK' or 'Lend-Lease to USSR' where applicable. Combined with the NavSource disposition line (transferred to the Maritime Commission 19 March 1947 for disposal), no foreign transfer of this hull is documented in the sources reviewed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1940-1945 roster
- Limitations
- Roster-level corroboration: absence of a Lend-Lease annotation is consistent with continuous U.S. custody but is not itself affirmative proof that no foreign or merchant service followed the 1947 Maritime Commission transfer - post-disposal identity is undocumented. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-10
-
[12]Batch-5273 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA SL44 + Catalog (5 NAIDs); NHHC DANFS (no entry); HyperWar roster; National WWII Museum; CourtListener; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-552-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-552-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LCI(L)-552 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener API v4 returned zero hits for 'LCI(L)-552' in both opinion and docket indexes and zero hits for the 'LCI-552' spelling in opinions; remaining variant spellings were fleet-paced and stay open. The only 'asbestos aboard landing ships' material encountered is generic law-firm marketing content that does not name this hull - 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 - a 1944-built hull is era-consistent with asbestos-containing gaskets, lagging, and electrical insulation. CourtListener coverage was not fully exhausted this session ('LCI(L) 552', 'LCIL-552' and docket-variant spellings remained fleet-paced); litigation status is partially open, not fully negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-552-11