Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-603 (page 10/15/150603) - construction timeline, Guam air-sea rescue assignment, MARAD disposal, specifications; history credited to 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry,' Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-603 page - timeline block, specifications block, awards block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LCI(L)-603, an LCI-351-class Landing Craft, Infantry (Large): laid down 1 April 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 27 April 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-603, 4 May 1944; assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater as an air-sea rescue ship at Guam; decommissioned and stricken dates unknown; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 20 November 1946 at Suisun Bay, CA (PDX-225, 27 September 1946); final disposition unknown. Specs: 236 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; five single 20 mm guns; 8 x GM 6051-series-71 diesels (4 per shaft), GM main reduction gears, 2 x 30 kW DC generators, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp, 16 kts max. Call sign NPFH. Ribbons: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-04-01 to 1946-11-20
- Population
- Ship's company (~28 officers/enlisted) plus embarked troops (up to 188)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photo/history archive; the ship's history text derives from a 1995 Turner Publishing veterans-volume, a secondary source, though consistent with NHHC and NARA primary records (fleet organization listing, NH 86186, SL44). Establishes identity, milestones, and disposal - contains no asbestos information. Decommission and strike dates explicitly unknown; final disposition unknown.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-01
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[2]Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945 - LCI Flotilla SIX, LCI Group 16 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC online reading room, 'LCI FLOTILLA SIX / LCI GROUP 16' section, 'LCI 603' row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists 'LCI 603' under LCI Flotilla SIX (Comdr. A. R. Montgomery), LCI Group 16 (Lt. Cdr. R. S. Rickabaugh, USNR), commanded by Lt. G. R. Haines (USNR) - grouped with LCI-597, LCI-599, LCI-682, and LCI-947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LCI Group 16 ship's companies
- Limitations
- Official Navy organizational listing naming this hull, its flotilla, and its commanding officer as of 1 May 1945; contains no asbestos, materiel, or condition information. A wartime snapshot - does not establish assignments before or after that date.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-02
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[3]NHHC photo NH 86186, 'USS LCI-603' - in San Francisco Bay, California, after the end of World War II; courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1977 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC numerical photo list, NH-86186 catalog page
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHHC catalogs photograph NH 86186 as USS LCI-603 in San Francisco Bay after the end of World War II - placing the hull in California postwar, consistent with the NavSource-reported MARAD disposal at Suisun Bay in November 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1946
- Limitations
- Photograph caption only; establishes identity and postwar San Francisco Bay location, nothing about condition, materials, or asbestos.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-03
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[4]National Archives, Special List 44 (by ship numbers), 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - LCI(L)-603 entry, PDF page 26 [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 by-ship-number PDF, page 26, 'LCI(L)-603' row; digitized-logs check at https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Special List 44 lists Navy deck logs for LCI(L)-603 covering 5/4/1944-6/30/1945 (MM/DD/YYYY) - the commissioning date through the early Guam air-sea rescue period. Coverage is log-coverage dates, not decommissioning information. The logs are not among the digitized deck logs on archives.gov (the online listing shows no LCI(L)-603 holdings).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-05-04 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- Ship's company, May 1944-June 1945
- Limitations
- A catalog entry, not the logs themselves: proves RG 24 logbooks exist at NARA for this coverage window, but their contents (including any material/maintenance notes) are undigitized and unreviewed. Coverage ends 6/30/1945 - the documented 12 July 1945 B-29 rescue postdates the listed coverage, and no postwar log coverage is listed for this hull. No asbestos content implied either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-04
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[5]315th Bombardment Wing Air-Sea Rescue Report (document image via NavSource, contributor Joseph Savko) - rescue efforts by USS LCI(L)-603 and USS LCI(L)-947 of a B-29 crew, 12 July 1945 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCI(L)-603 page, image 1015060301 caption block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A 315th Bombardment Wing Air-Sea Rescue Report, imaged on the NavSource LCI(L)-603 page, documents rescue efforts by LCI(L)-603 and LCI(L)-947 of a B-29 crew on 12 July 1945 - corroborating the Guam air-sea rescue assignment and the LCI Group 16 pairing with LCI-947 in the 1 May 1945 fleet organization.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-07-12
- Population
- LCI(L)-603 and LCI(L)-947 crews; rescued B-29 crew
- Limitations
- Primary document image hosted on a secondary archive; the report is an Army Air Forces rescue record, not a Navy material record - no asbestos, condition, or materiel content. The event postdates the NARA-listed deck-log coverage (ends 6/30/1945), so the hull's own log for the event is outside the listed coverage.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-05
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[6]Historic American Engineering Record (NPS), HAER No. OR-180, 'LCI(L)-713' - class documentation for the LCI-351 class on surviving sister ship LCI(L)-713 [haer]
- Locator
- HAER OR-180 written historical and descriptive data, pp. 1-3 (loc.gov tile.storage PDF)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HAER OR-180 documents the LCI-351 class design (of which LCI(L)-603 is a member, per NavSource): a Bureau of Ships standard design built of welded 1/4-inch steel plate; cylindrical pilot house and centerline ramp; two decks with engine room housing four pairs of General Motors 6-71 diesel engines on two shafts with variable-pitch propellers; deckhouse containing mess, wardroom, and galley; troop capacity 182 enlisted and six officers; approximately 1,051 type ships built in ten shipyards during WWII.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-2012 (documentation compiled 2012)
- Population
- LCI-351-class crews and builders (class context)
- Limitations
- Class documentation recorded on a sister hull (LCI(L)-713, George Lawley & Son, Neponset MA), not this hull; contains no asbestos or insulation-materials content. Establishes design baseline and diesel propulsion - supports the no-steam-plant framing - but cannot itself establish what materials were aboard LCI(L)-603.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-06
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[7]Era inference built on: NavSource propulsion spec block (diesel plant, no steam); HAER OR-180 class documentation (welded-steel BuShips design); shipbuildinghistory.com yard table for New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ (WWII emergency LCI yard, Todd-managed from 1942, closed postwar) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block; HAER OR-180 pp. 1-2; shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm (secondary - context lead only)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel, diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built in a 1944 emergency yard sits inside the documented asbestos-use era for Navy shipbuilding, but carries a far smaller application set than a steam combatant: era-standard small-craft applications would be machinery and exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation - no boiler or steam-line lagging pathway exists.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 construction; 1944-46 service
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction workforce (1944); embarked troops and crew
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-603. Names era-standard applications, not installed products on this vessel. Does not establish that asbestos was or was not aboard, nor quantity, nor exposure of any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-07
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[8]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page description [gao]
- Locator
- gao.gov HRD-80-2 product page, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation aboard ships and that the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs - modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. Fieldwork reviewed Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1975-1979 policy period; WWII-era construction context
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program context)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull (which left Navy custody in 1946, decades before the policy period). Full text not retrieved - gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to direct fetches; the product page (fetched via Firecrawl) was used.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-08
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[9]Batch-5324 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945; NHHC photo NH 86186; NARA SL44 and digitized-logs listing; NARA catalog (war diary, MARAD status card); HAER OR-180; GAO; secondary web sweep; CourtListener opinion/docket search (zero hits) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed litigation naming USS LCI(L)-603 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion and docket indexes returned zero hits for all hull-name variants (sl-08).
- 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 hull's final disposition is unknown, so no demolition/abatement pathway is documented either way.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-09
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[10]Royal Pioneer Corps Association newsletter (Feb 2004), WWII remembrance - 'LCI 603' landing troops on Queen Red beach, Normandy, D-Day [other_primary]
- Locator
- Royal Pioneer Corps Association 2004 February newsletter (PDF); collision identified during secondary-web sweep
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- CORRECTION/collision flag: a Royal Navy landing craft numbered 'LCI 603' landed 2IC, two subalterns, and 124 other ranks on Queen Red beach (Sword sector) on 6 June 1944 - a different vessel from USS LCI(L)-603, which commissioned 4 May 1944 and served only in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Record and litigation hits for the bare string 'LCI 603' must be checked against this collision.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-06 (collision event)
- Limitations
- A name-collision flag, not a material claim about either vessel; the RN craft is a different hull under a different navy's numbering. Secondary-source newsletter citation is used only to flag the ambiguity, not to establish facts about USS LCI(L)-603.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-603-lcil603-10