Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet pz-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-578-lcil578-pkt-pz-packet-md
-
[2]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 (ship-number PDF) [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, p. 25, row 'LCI(L)-578 3/25/1944 12/31/1945' (pdftotext -f 25 -l 25 -layout verified 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official NARA inventory of Navy logbooks lists deck logs for LCI(L)-578 covering 3/25/1944 through 12/31/1945 (PDF page 25 of the by-ship-number list). The coverage start date equals her commissioning date (25 March 1944 per NavSource and uboat.net). The inventory carries her under the plain designation LCI(L)-578 - consistent with her September 1945 reversion from LCI(G) before the coverage window closed. This is the wartime Navy's own log inventory establishing in-scope service for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-03-25 to 1945-12-31
- Population
- wartime crew (1944-1945)
- Limitations
- Log coverage dates are not commissioning/decommissioning dates - they document that logs exist and the coverage window, not that service ended on 12/31/1945 (she decommissioned 22 March 1946 per NavSource, after the inventoried window closed). The logs themselves are not digitized (not on NARA's digitized deck-log list); they are RG 24 textual records at Archives II, College Park. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-578 ex USS LCI(L)-578 (1944) - history credited on-page to 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry", Vol. II, Turner Publishing Co., 1995' (USS LCI National Association volume) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150578.htm - class line, milestone chronology, campaign table, awards block, photo captions (AWM 017591 Morotai; Ormoc Bay 7 Dec 1944; Bonneville Dam c.1945), specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 22 February 1944 at New Jersey Ship Building Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 18 March 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-578 on 25 March 1944; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-578 on 15 June 1944; reverted to LCI(L)-578 on 10 September 1945; decommissioned 22 March 1946; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; transferred to the Maritime Commission 13 November 1947; registered in 1952 as a freight barge at Juneau, Alaska; relocated to Wrangell and to Sitka (dates unknown); out of documentation in 1984; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Asiatic-Pacific campaigns per the on-page table: Western New Guinea operations (Cape Sansapor operation, 31 July and 1 August 1944; Morotai landings, 15 September 1944) and Leyte operation (Leyte landings, 19 to 29 November 1944; Ormoc Bay landing, 12 to 18 December 1944). Awards block: Combat Action Ribbon (Ormoc Bay), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2), WWII Victory Medal, Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Liberation Medal (1); 'earned two battle stars'. Photo caption documents LCI(G)-578 with LCI(L)-613 and LCI(L)-686 'of LCI Flotilla 15 landing troops of the 77th Division at Ormoc Bay, Leyte, P.I., 7 December 1944', after which the Ormoc Attack Group came under roughly ten hours of continuous air attack - USS 'Mahon' (DD-364; the caption's spelling - DD-364 was USS Mahan) and USS Ward (APD-16) lost to kamikazes, USS Liddle (APD-60) and USS Lamson (DD-367) severely damaged, USS LSM-318 abandoned. A second photo (Australian War Memorial 017591) shows troops disembarking from her at Morotai, 15 September 1944; a third shows her 'tied up alongside Booneville [Bonneville] Dam, circa 1945' (caption's spelling). Specs: 246 t light / 264 t landing / 419 t loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max; LCI(L) complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted, LCI(G) 5 officers + 65 enlisted, troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051-series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft, 2,320 shp, twin variable-pitch propellers; two diesel-drive 30kW 120V DC generators; radio call sign NPBH.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1984
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); West Coast conversion-yard workforce (mid-1944, per ev-04); crew 1944-46; postwar civilian barge crews (Alaska, 1952-1984)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates track official sources but the cited underlying work is a veterans' association history volume, not a Navy record. Internal tension: the campaign table lists 'Ormoc Bay landing, 12 to 18 December 1944' while the photo caption places her in the 7 December landing - see gaps. The 'reverted to LCI(L)' line is unusual but is carried verbatim (uboat.net lists no reversion and the HyperWar roster lists her under neither designation - see sl-14/sl-15). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships: USS LCI(L)-578 ship page (ship/21643); LCI 351 class table (class/690); wartime-event orders of battle for Operation Globetrotter (30 July 1944) and Operation Tradewind (15 September 1944) [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship/21643 (spec/date table, History block, events Globetrotter 30 Jul 1944 TU 77.2.5 and Tradewind 15 Sep 1944 TG 77.3.23); class/690 technical table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- uboat.net's ship page independently confirms this hull: built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, NJ); laid down 22 February 1944; launched 18 March 1944; commissioned 25 March 1944; 'Reclassified as LCI(G), Landing Craft Guns on 15 June 1944'. Its wartime-event listings place her, commanding officer Lt.(jg) W.D. Rounds USNR, in the LCI elements of two operation orders of battle: Task Unit 77.2.5 (LCI Unit) at Operation Globetrotter - the Cape Sansapor landings of 30 July 1944 - where the unit is described as drawn from LCI Flotilla 8 (COMLCIFLOT 8, T/Cdr. F.B.C. Martin, embarked in LCI(L)-546); and Task Group 77.3.23 within the Red Beach attack force at Operation Tradewind - the Morotai landing of 15 September 1944. No commanders' full listing or further events are recorded on the page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Lt.(jg) W.D. Rounds USNR (CO at Cape Sansapor and Morotai); ship's company 1944
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a volunteer secondary compilation of official records - credible on dates/designations but not a primary registry. Its event rosters carry her under the LCI(L) pennant during July-September 1944 although NavSource dates the LCI(G) reclassification to 15 June - a roster-designation lag noted but not resolved. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-03
-
[5]Australian War Memorial collection record, accession 017591 - official photograph (negative) by Jack Band, 'Place made: Netherlands East Indies: Halmahera Island, Morotai Island, New Guinea; Date made: 15 September 1944' [other_primary]
- Locator
- awm.gov.au/collection/017591 - title, accession number, maker, place/date-made, and description fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Australian War Memorial holds an official photograph of this hull: accession 017591, captioned 'New Guinea. LCI (landing craft, infantry), no. 578, following US Army Alligator amphibious tracked craft in the Allied landing on Morotai Island in the Moluccas. Being unable to get close into shore the troops had to land in comparatively deep water.' Date made 15 September 1944; maker Jack Band; public domain. A national-archive primary photographic record naming hull 578 at the Morotai landing - corroborating at primary-source level the Morotai participation reported by NavSource and uboat.net.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-09-15
- Population
- embarked troops disembarking at Morotai; ship's company
- Limitations
- A photographic record: it establishes the hull's presence and activity on 15 September 1944 and nothing more - no personnel identification, no material/condition detail, and no asbestos content. AWM catalogs her as 'LCI ... no. 578' without the (G) suffix even though NavSource dates the gunboat conversion to June 1944.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-04
-
[6]Robin L. Rielly, 'American Amphibious Gunboats in World War II: A History of LCI and LCS(L) Ships in the Pacific' (McFarland, 2013, ISBN 978-0-7864-7422-6) - text accessed via erenow.org mirror; author was Historian/Archivist of the USS LCS(L) 1-130 Association [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Rielly 2013, Appendix II 'Building and Conversion Locations' (mirror p. 16); Leyte/Ormoc narrative chapter (mirror p. 6)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Rielly's Appendix II ('Building and Conversion Locations') places this hull inside two list ranges: under LCI(L) Builders, 'New Jersey Shipbuilding Corporation, Barber (Perth Amboy), NJ: LCI(L)s 428, 431, 437-442, 449-475, 506, 514, 516, 517, 528, 538-544, 546-548, 556-561, 563-568, 570-580, 582, 588, 594-596, 630-633, 638, 642-651, 785, 801-810' - a list whose header note states these hulls 'underwent conversion to gunboats after their initial construction as LCI(L)s'; and under LCI(L) Conversion Locations, 'West Coast Yards (General): LCI(G)s 42-46, 195, 234, 422, 466, 514, 517, 528, 566, 570-579, 751' - i.e., the gunboat conversion of hulls 570-579, including this hull, is assigned to unspecified West Coast yards (contrast sister LCI(G)-568, whose conversion the appendix lists at Portsmouth, VA). In the narrative, Rielly's Leyte chapter describes the Ormoc Attack Group (TG 78.3, Rear Admiral A. D. Struble) landing the Army's 77th Infantry Division at Ormoc on 7 December 1944 with twenty-seven LCIs, followed by sustained kamikaze attacks - consistent with the NavSource Ormoc photo caption - but does not name hull 578 individually.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- West Coast conversion-yard workforce (mid-1944); crew 1944-45
- Limitations
- Published secondary history, not itself a primary record - built on NARA action reports but citing none for this hull. Range-inclusion only: the appendix establishes that 578 falls inside the listed build and conversion ranges, not a per-hull work order, and the specific West Coast conversion yard is unidentified. Text accessed via the erenow.org mirror (print-edition pagination). Contains no asbestos content; combat events carry no asbestos implication in this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-05
-
[7]Naval Marine Archive / shipbuildinghistory.com, 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard history and delivery table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.html - yard history paragraph and delivery row 'LCI(L) 578 ... Mar-44 Struck 1946'; same row at shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The New Jersey Shipbuilding delivery table carries the row 'LCI(L) | 578 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Mar-44 | Struck 1946' - agreeing with NavSource on builder and build month and supplying a 1946 striking year where NavSource carries 'date unknown'. The same page documents the yard as 'an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber' (a community absorbed into Perth Amboy, now Maurer) whose management 'was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942, at the Navy's request, and was closed after the war.' Identical table row on the shipbuildinghistory.com original.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- A compiled delivery table, not a primary registry - 'Struck 1946' is the table's claim while NavSource carries 'struck ... date unknown'; carried as a yard-table statement, not reconciled. No postwar/civilian trail for this hull appears in the table (contrast the yard's O.N.-annotated rows for other hulls). Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (8 GM 6051-series diesels, twin variable-pitch screws, diesel ship's-service generators - diesel plant, no steam); uboat.net LCI 351 class table (diesel engines, 2 shafts, 1,600 bhp); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, see ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150578.htm specifications block; uboat.net class/690 technical table; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built February-March 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a craft of this type and period were diesel engine and exhaust lagging, machinery-space thermal insulation, gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch brake linings. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1984
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); West Coast conversion workforce (1944); crew 1944-46; decommissioning/disposal workforce (1946-47); civilian barge operators (1952-1984)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or underway-maintenance record located for LCI(L)-578/LCI(G)-578. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution, no statement about what (if anything) remained aboard through the gunboat conversion, decommissioning, the 1947 Maritime Commission transfer, or the 1952-1984 barge career.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-07
-
[9]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (abstract text; direct fetch blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships; its 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to include selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service era.
- 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. GAO's fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - neither is this hull's builder or documented conversion yard. Product page retrieved via Firecrawl 2026-09-30; direct curl fetch returns HTTP 403 (standing access defect).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-08
-
[10]Batch-5299 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44; NavSource; uboat.net; NHHC (DANFS slug candidates; Operation Neptune sunk/damaged table; Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945 via HyperWar); HyperWar LCI rosters; Rielly combat history; Naval Marine Archive + shipbuildinghistory yard tables; Australian War Memorial 017591; Amphibious Forces memorial list; ODU special collections; CourtListener opinion + docket searches; secondary web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-578-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-578-18
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LCI(L)-578/LCI(G)-578 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated API v4 searches completed 2026-09-30 returned zero opinion hits for both the exact-designation query and the variant-spelling query ('LCI 578', 'LCIL-578', 'LCI(L) 578', 'LCI(G) 578', 'LCIG-578'), and zero docket hits for the exact designations. The only 'asbestos aboard' material surfaced is law-firm marketing content for the LCI type generally, asserting asbestos on Navy/amphibious ships 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 - era inference is consistent with retained era materials during service, and her long postwar civilian barge career (1952-1984) is an undocumented materials window. The undigitized RG 24 deck logs (3/25/1944-12/31/1945) and the ODU Heflin & Williams ship-data volume covering this hull range 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-578-09
-
[11]Old Dominion University Libraries Special Collections, Heflin & Williams Naval Engineering Reference Collection (MG 138) - 'Volume 02: LCI(L)-351 - LCI(L)-1098 (Landing Craft Infantry, Large)', ship data files organized by hull number; plus the undigitized NARA RG 24 deck logs inventoried by Special List 44 [other_primary]
- Locator
- archivesguides.lib.odu.edu archival object 88476 (Binder Case 23, Volume 02); NARA SL44 p.25 and navy-online digitization list (absent)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- ODU holds a ship-data file collection (Heflin & Williams) whose Volume 02 spans hulls LCI(L)-351 through LCI(L)-1098 - a range including this hull - with files organized by ship class, hull designation, and hull number. Together with the undigitized NARA RG 24 deck logs (coverage 3/25/1944-12/31/1945 per Special List 44), these are the located archival paths most likely to hold ship-specific files.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945 (log window)
- Population
- N/A - record-location lead
- Limitations
- Archival leads only - the volume's title establishes hull-range coverage, not that an LCI(L)-578 file actually exists inside it or what it contains; undigitized, open to researchers without restrictions per the finding aid. Deck-log inventory coverage establishes existence, not content. NARA catalog (catalog.archives.gov) is JS-rendered and could not be queried directly this session. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-578-10