Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 452-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-643 | Hull: 643 | Designation: LCI(L) |
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-643-lcil643-pkt-452-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(R)-643 ex USS LCI(L)-643 - construction, designation, unit assignment, campaign, occupation service, disposal, specifications; source credited: USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II (Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150643.htm - timeline block, campaign table, specifications block, photo captions (incl. TG 52.20 chart)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 30 May 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, NJ; launched 28 June 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-643, 6 July 1944, LTjg. R. W. Sauer, USNR, in command (May 1945); reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Rocket) LCI(R)-643, 15 March 1945. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater: LCI Flotilla Sixteen (CDR C. E. Coffin USN), LCI Group Forty-Six (LCDR A. F. Eckelmeyer USNR), LCI Division Ninety-Two. Campaign: Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945; one battle star. Post-war occupation service in the Far East 5 September - 28 November 1945. Decommissioned, date unknown. Struck from the Naval Register 12 April 1946. Transferred to the Maritime Commission 4 February 1947 at Charleston, SC, for disposal (PDX-225, dated 27 September 1946); final disposition fate unknown. Page's L-Day task-organization chart places LCI(R)-643 in TG 52.20.3 (in reserve) at Okinawa alongside LCI(R)-644, -645, -646, -769, -770; a captioned photograph shows her moored in a nest with LCI(R)-1070 and LCI(R)-1068 at Okinawa, probably April 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46, ~3 officers + 21 enlisted as LCI(L), 31 enlisted as LCI(R)); embarked troops (up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted capacity); disposal workforce at Charleston (1946-47)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation (credited source: Turner Publishing's USS LCI Vol. II), not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official records but conflicts exist (see ev-02 organizational numbering; commissioning-date and CO-spelling conflicts in gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content. The 1947 transfer predates modern ACM-handling regulation; no hazmat or material record for the disposal was located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-01
-
[3]NHHC Online Reading Room, 'United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945' (transcribed wartime fleet organization roster) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Page table, 'LCI FLOTILLA TWENTY-ONE > LCI GROUP 62 > LCI DIVISION 124 (I?CM)(R)' entry 'LCI 643 | Lt. (jg) R. W. Saver (USNR)' (HTML table ~line 7533 of rendered text)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC roster places this hull in the Pacific Fleet organization of 1 May 1945: 'LCI 643' under LCI FLOTILLA TWENTY-ONE, LCI GROUP 62 (ComLCIGrp 62: Lt. Cdr. S. J. Kelley, USNR), LCI DIVISION 124 (RCM)(R), commanding officer 'Lt. (jg) R. W. Saver (USNR)'. Division 124's roster - LCI 643, 644, 645, 646, 769, 770 - is identical to the ship set NavSource's L-Day chart lists as TG 52.20.3 (in reserve) at Okinawa.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-01
- Population
- Crew as of 1 May 1945 roster
- Limitations
- Conflicts with NavSource/Turner on both flotilla/group/division numbering (Flotilla 21/Group 62/Division 124 here vs Flotilla 16/Group 46/Division 92 on NavSource - probably an administrative-vs-operational or date-of-roster difference, unresolved) and CO surname spelling (Saver vs Sauer). A roster listing establishes assignment and command, not movements or material. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-02
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships database, USS LCI(L)-643 (LCI(L)-643) entry [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 21708 - data table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary database corroboration: USS LCI(L)-643, LCI 351 class; built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, NJ); laid down 30 May 1944; launched 28 June 1944; reclassified LCI(R) Landing Craft Rocket 15 March 1945. uboat.net lists commissioning as 5 July 1944 - one day earlier than NavSource's 6 July 1944 (conflict in gaps). No command history listed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Secondary reference database (Gudmundur Helgason's uboat.net Allied Warships section), not a primary registry; included as corroboration of builder and milestones and to document the commissioning-date conflict. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-03
-
[5]Naval Marine Archive (Canadian Collection) shipbuilding-history table, 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' - yard description and build/disposition table [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com New Jersey Shipbuilding page - narrative paragraph and disposition table row 'LCI(L) 643'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table corroboration: row 'LCI(L) 643 - US Navy - Landing Craft - Jul-44 - To US Maritime Commission 1947', matching NavSource's delivery month and 1947 Maritime Commission transfer. Yard description: New Jersey Shipbuilding was 'an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber' (a community later absorbed into Perth Amboy, now Maurer); management was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942 at the Navy's request; the yard closed after the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (wartime assembly line)
- Limitations
- Secondary shipbuilding-history reference (Naval Marine Archive / Colton shipyard tables), not a primary contract record. Confirms builder identity, delivery month, and the Maritime Commission transfer destination; contains no asbestos or material content and no construction detail beyond hull type.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-04
-
[6]NARA History Hub forum, staff response re 'Navy records other than deck logs' - records inventory for USS LCI(R) 643 [other_primary]
- Locator
- History Hub thread 'Navy records other than deck logs', staff reply citing USS LCI(R) 643 action report (26 Mar-23 Jun 1945), war diaries (Feb-Jul 1945), and muster-roll entry for KOEHN, Alfred Walter
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA staff confirm College Park holdings for this hull: an action report of USS LCI(R) 643 covering 26 March - 23 June 1945 (invasion and occupation of Okinawa and Kerama Retto) and war diaries for February-July 1945. The same response transcribes a muster-roll datum: 'KOEHN, Alfred Walter, reported aboard U.S.S. LCI(R) 643 on 5 July 1944. Separated from service 26 April 1946' - a crew-reporting entry one day before NavSource's commissioning date (pre-commissioning crew detail). Deck logs for the hull exist in RG 24 at College Park but are not in NARA's digitized-online deck-log list.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (records coverage)
- Population
- Crew (1944-46), incl. named muster-roll entry KOEHN, Alfred Walter (reported aboard 5 Jul 1944; separated 26 Apr 1946)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not content: the response confirms the records exist, not what they contain; none are digitized online. History Hub is a JS-rendered forum - page content captured via search-index snippet; direct fetch returned only the site shell. The crewman datum is personnel-record data, not an exposure record; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-05
-
[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 (May-July 1944) and commissioned service (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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, confirmed 2026-09-30 - same standing block documented in Batch 98); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-06
-
[8]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (diesel-only plant: two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, twin screws, 2,320 shp); LCI-351-class design data; GAO HRD-80-2 program context (see ev-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150643.htm specification block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious landing craft built in mid-1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type and period were engine-exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in confined machinery spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam combatants does not apply, and a 389-ton landing craft's material scope was materially smaller than a large combatant's.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (1944); crew in machinery spaces (1944-46); unknown conversion-yard trades (1945); Charleston disposal workforce (1946-47)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-643. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The LCI(R) conversion (March 1945, location unknown) is an undocumented yard availability - any insulation disturbance during it is unverified.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-07
-
[9]Batch-5368 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC Pacific Fleet organization roster; uboat.net; Naval Marine Archive yard table; NARA History Hub records confirmation; NARA digitized deck-log list; NVR; GAO product page; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-643-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or qualifying case naming USS LCI(L)-643 / LCI(R)-643 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion search across hull-number variants returned zero hits; the RECAP/docket leg was fleet-throttled at submission - logged in search_ledger, an open gap rather than a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying litigation and no law-firm marketing profiles of this specific hull - an unusually clean result for a WWII hull number.
- 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 zero-hit opinion index does not exclude unindexed complaints naming the hull in ship lists - the docket leg is pending (see sl-10). The hull's NARA action report and war diaries (Feb-Jul 1945) and undigitized deck logs are open leads; disposal documentation under PDX-225 is an undigitized lead. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-643-08