Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 450-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-631 (no name assigned)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-pkt-450-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(M)-631 ex USS LCI(G)-631 ex USS LCI(L)-631 - construction, commissioning, conversions, flotilla assignments, campaigns, China transfer, specifications (live page verified 2026-09-30; history credited to Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150631.htm header block, designation lines, campaign table, occupation/China service table, disposition block, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 15 May 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber, N.J.; launched 8 June 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-631, 16 June 1944, LT. G. P. Hamilton USNR in command. Reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) LCI(G)-631, 31 December 1944; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Mortar) LCI(M)-631, 30 April 1945. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LCI Flotilla Twenty-One (CDR. L. B. Balliere USNR), LCI Group Sixty-One (LCDR. W. T. Dom USNR), LCI Division One Hundred Twenty-One. Campaigns: Iwo Jima operation (as USS LCI(G)-631) - assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 26 February 1945; Okinawa Gunto operation (as USS LCI(G)-631 and USS LCI(M)-631) - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 14 June 1945. Post-war: Navy Occupation service 23 October to 11 December 1945; China service (extended) 11 December 1945 to 12 June 1946. Decommissioned, date unknown; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; transferred to China 7 February 1948, named ROCS Lien Hua (L-285); two battle stars for WWII service; final disposition fate unknown. Awards shown: China Service Medal (extended), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2 stars), WWII Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp). ROC Navy photos document the hull underway as Lien Hua circa 1963. Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 continuous); complements LCI(L) 4+24, LCI(G) 5+65, LCI(M) 4+49; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; LCI(G) armament two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50cal, ten Mk7 rocket launchers; LCI(M) armament one 40mm, four 20mm, three 4.2" chemical mortars in well-deck sand boxes with No. 2 troop compartment converted to magazine; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051-series-71 diesels (4 per shaft), GM main reduction gears, two diesel-drive 30 kW 120V DC generators, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (May-Jun 1944); crew 4 officers + 24 enlisted as LCI(L), rising to 5+65 as LCI(G) then 4+49 as LCI(M) (1944-46); embarked troops up to ~188 as LCI(L)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - dates generally track official records but the page is not a primary registry. Key facts here are independently corroborated: builder/completion/disposition by the shipbuilding-history build table (ev-02); designation sequence by the official HyperWar-transcribed Navy list (ev-03); unit assignment and commanding officer by the NHHC-hosted 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization document (ev-04); both campaigns by this hull's own digitized NARA action reports (ev-05). Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data), LCI(L)-631 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lcil.html, LCI(L) hull table row 631
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The build table lists: LCI(L) | GM | hull 631 | New Jersey SB, Barber NJ | 16-Jun-44 | 'To China 1948 as Lien Hua (L-285)' - corroborating builder, yard location, completion date, the G/M conversion sequence (variant column), China transfer, and the ROC name/pennant on the NavSource page. Surrounding rows (630, 632) show the same New Jersey Shipbuilding/Barber block and China transfers; 630 transferred 1948, 632 in 1946.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- NJSB Barber yard trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference table - corroboration of builder/date/disposition, not a primary contract record. Yard contract or hull-number-level detail not carried. The 'GM' variant marker and the 1948 transfer year are consistent with NavSource; the table does not give the exact 7 Feb 1948 transfer date. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-02
-
[4]HyperWar transcription of 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' (official BuPers-era vessel list), landing-craft section, LCI(G) table row for hull 631 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-lc.html, LCI(G) table, row 'LCI(G)-631'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official-derived list carries: 'LCI(G)-631 | 1944-45 | Converted to Landing Craft, Infantry (Mortar) -- LCI(M)' - corroborating the designation sequence LCI(L) -> LCI(G) -> LCI(M) on a single hull and the 1944-45 gunboat service window on the NavSource page.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- A HyperWar-hosted transcription of an official Navy list - corroborating reference, not the original document image. It confirms designations and years but does not give conversion dates (those rest on NavSource). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-03
-
[5]NHHC, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (official fleet organization document, transcription hosted on history.navy.mil) - LCI Flotilla Twenty-One / Group 61 / Division 121 (M) listing [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Pacific Fleet organization 1 May 1945, amphibious section, 'LCI FLOTILLA TWENTY-ONE / LCI GROUP 61 / LCI DIVISION 121 (M)'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official 1 May 1945 Pacific Fleet organization lists this hull as 'LCI 631 (GF)' under LCI Flotilla Twenty-One (commander Capt. E. C. Rook / Comdr. L. M. Bailliere USNR), LCI Group 61 (ComLCIGrp 61 Lt. Cdr. W. T. Dom USNR), LCI Division 121 (M) - alongside division mates LCI 630 (FF), LCI 638, LCI 756, LCI 757, and LCI 760, all mortar craft - with Lt. G. P. Hamilton (USNR) as commanding officer. Division 122 (M) of the same group carried LCI 632, 633, 1010, 1011, 1012, 1023. This places LCI(M)-631 at Okinawa on 1 May 1945, mid-way through her 26 March - 14 June 1945 Okinawa campaign window, confirms her commanding officer unchanged since commissioning, and marks her with the (GF) group-flagship flag.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- LCI(M)-631 crew (Lt. G. P. Hamilton USNR commanding; 4 officers + 49 enlisted complement); Flotilla 21 / Group 61 staff
- Limitations
- Official contemporary organization listing - verifies unit assignment, hull designation as of 1 May 1945, CO name, and the (GF) mark; it does not describe operations or material condition. The (GF)/(FF) flags are the document's own markers (group flagship / flotilla flagship reading). NavSource prints the flotilla commander as 'L. B. Balliere' vs this document's 'L. M. Bailliere' - spelling conflict carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-04
-
[6]NARA catalog - five digitized action reports authored by this hull: NAID 139894793 'LCI(G)-631 - Rep of ops in the invasion of Iwo Jima, Bonin Is 2/19-26/45' (5 images, serial 109370, dated 3/2/1945, Roll A1433); NAID 101702482 'LCI(G)-631 - Rep of opers in the invasion of Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 4/1-10/45'; NAID 101715589 'LCI(M)-631 - Rep of Opers in the Occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 4/11-30/45'; NAID 101750196 'LCI(M)-631 - Rep of opers in the occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 5/1-31/45'; NAID 101750211 'LCI(M)-631 - Rep of opers in the occupation of the Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, 6/1-14/45' - all RG 38, series WWII War Diaries/Other Operational Records and Histories (NAID 4697018) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/139894793 (5 images); /id/101702482; /id/101715589; /id/101750196; /id/101750211
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Five digitized US Navy action reports authored by this hull are held at NARA: one covering the invasion of Iwo Jima 19-26 February 1945 under her gunboat designation, and four covering the invasion/occupation of Okinawa Jima/Gunto across April-June 1945 spanning her 30 April 1945 mortar conversion (two as LCI(G)-631, three as LCI(M)-631). These are direct primary documentation of the combat service credited by the NavSource campaign table, written under both later designations.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-19 to 1945-06-14
- Population
- LCI(G)-631 / LCI(M)-631 crew during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live (titles, NAIDs, series, roll IDs, image counts); page-image contents not individually reviewed - the reports' operational detail (positions, expenditure, casualties/damage if any) is unread. An operational/action report documents the operation, not material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-05
-
[7]NARA catalog - NAID 120287511 'LCI(M) 631 - Muster Rolls' (109 digitized images, Ancestry partnership, RG 24 series NAID 594996, first roll dated 16 June 1944 - commissioning day); NAID 120302264 'LCI(L) Flotilla 21 - Muster Rolls'; NAID 139937162 'COM LCI(L) FLOT 21 - Rep of ops in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima, Bonin Is, 2/19-26/45' (Roll A1480); NAID 139921296 'COM LCI(L) FLOT 21 - War Diary, 2/1-28/45'; NAID 139804527 'COM LCI(L) FLOT 21 - War Diary, 12/1-31/44'; index block NAID 118967602 'USS K-1 (SSK-1) to USS LCI(R)-651' (RG 24 Index to Muster Rolls) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120287511 (109 images); /id/120302264; /id/139937162; /id/139921296; /id/139804527; /id/118967602
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized personnel and command records naming this hull and her flotilla: 109 muster-roll images for LCI(M) 631 are online (crew rosters by reporting period beginning at commissioning); the hull falls inside the digitized muster-roll index block running to LCI(R)-651; flotilla-level records include LCI(L) Flotilla 21 muster rolls, the flotilla commander's Iwo Jima operations report covering the same 19-26 February 1945 window as this hull's own report, and Flotilla 21 war diaries for December 1944 and February 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- LCI(L)/(G)/(M)-631 crew (1944-46); LCI Flotilla 21 staff
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live; page-image contents not individually reviewed. Muster rolls, war diaries, and the flotilla action report are personnel/operational records - no material or asbestos content. They are leads for building a crew roster and a verified timeline; this record does not reconstruct either.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-06
-
[8]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number sequence [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, ship-number sequence, row 'LCI(L)(M)-631 6/16/1944 6/30/1945' (verified via pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs held by NARA for 'LCI(L)(M)-631' covering 6/16/1944-6/30/1945 - logbook coverage running from her commissioning date through the end of the Okinawa campaign window (log-coverage dates, not commissioning evidence; the SL44 entry itself corroborates the 16 June 1944 commissioning).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-16 to 1945-06-30
- Population
- LCI(L)(M)-631 crew (1944-45 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the list establishes that logs exist in NARA holdings for that window. No per-month digitized deck-log file unit titled for this hull surfaced in catalog searches (deck-log series searched under 'LCI(M)-631 logbook' and name forms), so these logs were not located online - physical-holdings lead only. Post-June-1945 coverage (occupation/China service through transfer) is not listed in SL44. A deck log is an operational record - location/moorage and noteworthy events, not insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-07
-
[9]NHHC H-Gram 086-2, 'Iwo Jima: The Battle of the LCI Gunboats' (Director's Corner, official NHHC publication) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC H-086-2, paragraphs on the 17 Feb 1945 UDT-reconnaissance gunboat battle and the PUC award list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CONFLATION GUARD: the famous Iwo Jima LCI gunboat action - the 17 February 1945 close-range battle supporting UDT beach reconnaissance in which all twelve gunboats of LCI(G) Group EIGHT (under Lt. Cdr. Willard Nash USNR, embarked in LCI(G)-457) were hit, losing 52 killed and 148 wounded, with every boat later awarded the Presidential Unit Citation - was a different unit from this hull. LCI(G)-631 belonged to LCI Flotilla Twenty-One / Group Sixty-One / Division 121, not Group Eight, and her documented Iwo Jima campaign credit is the assault and occupation window of 19-26 February 1945 (D-Day onward), supported by her own action report (NAID 139894793). She is not among the twelve PUC gunboats (the H-gram names 457 - the embarked flagship - plus 409, 438, 441, 449, 471, 473, and 474, with 474 lost), and no Presidential Unit Citation appears on her NavSource awards display.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-02-17 to 1945-02-26
- Limitations
- The NHHC article names Group Eight hulls only - it does not mention 631; this row prevents misattribution of the Group-8/PUC story to this hull, a conflation risk in secondary 'LCI(G) at Iwo Jima' material. It does not prove a negative in reverse: this record does not assert that 631 took no hits or casualties in the 19-26 Feb window - her own action report was not read page-by-page. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-08
-
[10]USS LCI National Association, 'Witness to Invasions, Surrenders and Occupation' - LCI(M)-756 crewman Bill Simmons account (usslci.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org, 'Witness to Invasions, Surrenders and Occupation' (Elsie Item category, LCI-756 tag)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Flotilla 21 veteran's account describes the mortar-craft role this hull's division performed: LCI(M)-756 (Division 121 (M) alongside 631) was fitted with three 4.2-inch chemical mortars on transfer to Flotilla 21 in December 1944; at Iwo Jima H-Hour 0900 on 19 February 1945 she fired mortar barrages into the east boat basin/quarry area ahead of the Fourth Marine Division landings, then spent eight days making smoke (fog oil) for the fleet and firing night harassment missions, expending over 2,700 mortar rounds; at Okinawa she made smoke, bombarded Naha, and claimed assists against kamikazes. This is the documented operating pattern of Group 61 LCI(M)s - the unit 631 fought in.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-12 to 1945-08
- Population
- Flotilla 21 / Group 61 / Division 121 (M) crews, 1944-45
- Limitations
- A veterans-association narrative about a sister hull - unit-level context for what Division 121 (M) mortar craft did at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, not evidence about 631 herself. Informal sourcing (crew memoir). 756's own conversion path (mortars at Flotilla-21 transfer, Dec 1944) differed from 631's (gunboat 31 Dec 44 -> mortar 30 Apr 45). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (GM 6051-series-71 diesel plant, diesel-drive generators - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, ev-11); NARA physical logbook holdings (ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json yard list (no NJ Shipbuilding entry); GAO HRD-80-2 context
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built May-June 1944 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type were diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets and valve packing in engine and piping systems, electrical insulation on wiring and in control panels, and thermal insulation in the confined machinery spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply. Her two in-service conversions (gunboat, then mortar) would have involved yard or base work - mortar tubs, magazine conversion of the No. 2 troop compartment, weapons fits - the kind of work during which era insulation was typically disturbed, but no work record for either conversion was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1948
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (1944); crew 28-70 varying by configuration (1944-48 US service); conversion-yard trades (locations undocumented); ROC Navy crew (1948-); shipbreakers/scrappers (fate unknown)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, builder's spec sheet, conversion work package, or abatement record located for LCI(L)(G)(M)-631. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. New Jersey Shipbuilding (Barber NJ) is not in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset, so no yard-level product list was attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-10
-
[12]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), US Navy service era (1944-48), and both conversions.
- 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) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-11
-
[13]Batch-5355 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; shipbuilding-history build table; HyperWar official ships list; NHHC Pacific Fleet org document; NARA catalog (5 hull-authored action reports, muster rolls, flotilla war diaries and reports, index block); NARA Special List 44 PDF; NHHC H-gram 086-2; usslci.org; NHHC DANFS and photo-index checks; NVR check; CourtListener (searched clean, opinions + dockets); secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-631, LCI(G)-631, or LCI(M)-631 was found in the sources searched. CourtListener opinion AND docket searches returned count 0 for every name form (six queries, 2026-09-30) - a clean negative, not a blocked search. The secondary web sweep surfaced no qualifying case and no hull-specific asbestos material. The hull's February 1948 transfer to the Republic of China (fate unknown) forecloses the usual US-side abatement/museum/scrapping documentation trail that produces ship-specific asbestos records.
- 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. Undigitized deck logs (SL44 window 6/16/1944-6/30/1945), NJSB build records, conversion work orders, and ROC navy records are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-631-lcil631-12