Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet pw-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-556 (no name assigned)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-556-lcil556-pkt-pw-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-556 ex USS LCI(L)-556 (10/15/150556) - designation timeline, campaign credits, specifications, photo captions; stated history source is 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150556.htm header block, campaign table, specifications block, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 19 January 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 16 February 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-556 on 19 February 1944. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign credits: Convoy UGS-38 (20 April 1944) and Invasion of Normandy (6 to 25 June 1944). Reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) USS LCI(G)-556 on 10 July 1945. Decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; sold 10 December 1946; final disposition fate unknown. Two battle stars for WWII service; ribbons shown: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal; call sign NFVI. Photo captions document: the craft 'high and dry' on mud flats in England; crew on the beach at Torquay, England, after D-Day; and the hull moored alongside USS President Warfield (IX-169, serving as a Base and Accommodations Ship for LCIs) on the Seine River, France, circa 1944-45, with LCI(L)-412, -408, -539, and -401 (US Army Signal Corps photo SC-222893, NHHC collections). Specifications: 216 t light / 234 t landing / 389 t loaded; 158' 5.5" x 23' 3"; 16 kts max; propulsion two sets of 4 General Motors diesel engines, 4 per shaft, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch propellers; LCI(L) armament four single 20mm plus two .50 cal MG; LCI(G) armament two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50 cal, ten MK7 rocket launchers; armor 2-inch plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (Jan-Feb 1944); wartime crew (3+21 LCI(L) / 5+65 LCI(G)); embarked troops (up to ~188)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track official records but its stated history source is a veterans-association book (Turner Publishing 1995). Contains no asbestos or material-content information. 'Reclassified' is documented; whether the physical LCI(G) conversion fit was executed aboard this hull before sale is not established. No deck-log detail (damage, repairs, availability) is given.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-01
-
[3]Journal for the 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division - chapter 7 (April-June 1944), transcription on the Historical Text Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter 7, entries for 3 June (company disposition), 5 June (departure), and 6 June (landing) 1944
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A US Army unit journal names this hull as a troop carrier for the Normandy invasion: entry for 3 June 1944, 'The balance of the Battalion is loading aboard LCI's today, the companies being disposed as follows: ... "K" Co. under Captain Moultrap aboard LCI 556 (USS) ...' The battalion moved out of Plymouth Bay at 0230 on 5 June. On 6 June the 26th Infantry was scheduled to land as reserve at Omaha 'Fox Green' beach at approximately H+12 (1930 hrs); the journal records that the battalion hit Omaha Easy Red Beach between 1800 and 1900 hrs 'after vainly trying to get in on Fox Green,' with 'I', 'K', and 'M' Companies landing during this period - i.e., K Company was landed from this craft on Omaha Beach on D-Day evening.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- K Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (~ship's troop capacity) embarked 3-6 June 1944
- Limitations
- Transcription of a US Army unit journal (secondary-hosted primary text) - identifies the embarked unit and landing beach window, not conditions aboard the craft itself. The journal describes the battalion's movement; it does not state the LCI hull's own beaching position by name. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-02
-
[4]National Archives, Special List 44: List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number listing (PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 25, 'LCI(L)-556' line
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 lists Navy deck logs held for this hull: 'LCI(L)-556 2/19/1944 12/19/1945' (PDF page 25) - i.e., logbooks covering commissioning day through 19 December 1945 are in NARA custody (RG 24 deck logs). These are coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning dates; the commissioning date is corroborated by NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-02-19 to 1945-12-19
- Population
- Deck-log subjects: crew and embarked personnel, Feb 1944 - Dec 1945
- Limitations
- Archival lead only: SL44 establishes that logbooks exist and their coverage span; the log text itself was not examined (WWII-era LCI deck logs are not confirmed digitized in the NARA Catalog - catalog is JS-rendered and could not be API-queried this session). The coverage end (1945-12-19) precedes the Naval Register strike (1946-01-08); decommission date is not established by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-03
-
[5]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding' yard table and yard description [other_primary]
- Locator
- New Jersey Shipbuilding yard table, row 'LCI(L) | 556 | US Navy | Feb-44 | Struck 1946'; yard description paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent yard-table corroboration for this hull: New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber NJ, LCI(L) hull 556, US Navy, delivered Feb-44, struck 1946. Yard description: 'an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber, a community immediately to the east of Perth Amboy which was later absorbed into Perth Amboy and is now called Maurer. Management of the yard was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942, at the Navy's request, and was closed after the war.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding / Todd-managed construction workforce, 1942-45
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary compilation, not an official registry - corroborates builder, delivery month, and strike year already carried from NavSource. Yard-history text describes the facility, not this hull's construction specifics. No asbestos or material content; no yard asbestos record is offered by this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-04
-
[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (diesel propulsion, armor description); HyperWar 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Landing Ships and Craft' (official USN data transcription), LCI(L)-351 class block and this hull's dual listing (LCI(L)-555-556, comm. 1942-44; LCI(G)-556, comm. 1944-45); GAO HRD-80-2 program-era documentation (ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150556.htm specifications; ships-lc.html 'LCI(L)-351 Class' block and LCI(G) block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944 diesel-powered amphibious landing craft sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this type were engine and diesel-exhaust lagging and muffler insulation, machinery gaskets, valve and flange packing, electrical insulation, and felt/pad insulation in accommodation spaces. The class carried no steam plant (two sets of 4 GM diesels, 1,600 BHP, twin variable-pitch screws) - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply. Documented splinter armor is a 2-inch 'plastic' material, not an asbestos application.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops (1944-45); any post-sale civilian owners (1946-forward)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction specification text, or work package was located for LCI(L)-556. 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-556-05
-
[7]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 service era (1944-46).
- 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, re-confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-06
-
[8]DANFS, Lansdale (DD-426) - verbatim transcription (HyperWar/ibiblio) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Lansdale service narrative (UGS-38 attack passage); NavSource campaign table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Context for this hull's first campaign credit: NavSource credits LCI(L)-556 with 'Convoy UGS-38, 20 April 1944.' Per DANFS (USS Lansdale), on the evening of 20 April 1944 convoy UGS-38 was attacked by German aircraft in three waves off Cape Bengut, Algeria: torpedoes damaged SS Samite and detonated the explosives cargo of SS Paul Hamilton, killing all 580 men aboard; a second wave damaged two more merchant ships, one fatally; and a third wave sank Lansdale with aerial torpedoes.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-04-20
- Population
- Crew embarked aboard LCI(L)-556 during UGS-38 transit, April 1944
- Limitations
- Establishes convoy-level context only: the NavSource campaign credit places this hull in UGS-38 on the date of the documented air attack, but neither source states that LCI(L)-556 itself was fired on, damaged, or suffered casualties. Deck logs (NARA, ev-03) are the unresolved primary source for the craft's own actions that day. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-07
-
[9]Batch-5277 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NARA Special List 44 PDF; Historical Text Archive (3/26 Inf journal); Shipbuilding History yard table; HyperWar class data; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; CourtListener API v4 (opinions + RECAP dockets); NHHC/DANFS; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-556-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-556-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-556 / LCI(G)-556 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener authenticated API returned 0 results for '"LCI(L)-556"' (opinions), '"LCI(G)-556"' (opinions), and '"LCI(L)-556" OR "LCI(G)-556" OR "LCI-556"' (dockets). No individual DANFS entry exists for this numbered landing craft (NHHC page 404 confirmed) - consistent with Navy practice of not giving named-ship histories to numbered amphibious craft. Secondary sweeps surfaced only encyclopedic list coverage (uboat.net, hullnumber.com) and generic 'LCI asbestos' marketing material asserting era use 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 - a 1944 naval craft is consistent with era-standard insulation use. Deck logs (RG 24, coverage through 1945-12-19), BuShips contract/specification records, and any disposal documentation are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-556-lcil556-08