Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 456-packet.md (4 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-670. Hull: LCI(L)-670. Designation: LCI(L) (Landing Craft Infantry (Large)). Type: Landing Craft Infantry. Class: LCI(L)-351 class (351-series hull; mirror-sourced).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-pkt-456-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(M)-670 ex USS LCI(L)-670 - construction/milestone timeline, specifications, campaign record, Thai transfer, NARA-captioned photographs [other_primary]
- Locator
- Page timeline block, specifications block, campaign table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large): laid down 1944-03-21 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset MA; launched 1944-03-28; commissioned USS LCI(L)-670 1944-04-04; reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Mortar) LCI(M)-670 1945-05-05. Assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; participated in the invasion of southern France, 15 August - 16 September 1944. Decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; custody assumed by the State Department 1946-10-05; transferred to Thailand 1946 and commissioned into the Royal Thai Navy as HTMS Prap (LCI-741). One battle star for WWII service. Specifications: displacement 246 t light / 419 t loaded; length 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; speed 16 kts max. Propulsion: two sets of 4 General Motors Series 71 diesel engines, 4 per shaft; GM main reduction gears; two 30kW 120V DC ship's service generators; twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp. Complement: 4 officers + 24 enlisted (LCI(L)); 4 + 49 (LCI(M)); troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (U.S. service); 1946-2011 (Thai custody/disposal)
- Population
- U.S. Navy crew (4 officers + 24 enlisted complement) and embarked troops (up to ~188) in 1944-46; RTN crew thereafter
- Limitations
- NavSource is a photographic/historical archive transcribing official records, not a primary source itself; its page text still says 'final disposition, fate unknown' although the hull's May 2011 reef sinking is documented elsewhere (see correction row ev-07). NavSource renders the engine designation '6051 series 71' - the GM 6-71 quad installation; horsepower figures conflict across sources (see gaps). Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-01
-
[3]Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) AK-52, M/V Husky II (LCI(L)-653) (USS Avocet), Seldovia Harbor, Alaska - NPS/Dept. of the Interior written historical and descriptive data [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 data pages, footnote 27 (disposition) and historical-context section (Lawley contract)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- HAER AK-52 documents this hull by designation: 'The U.S. government transferred LCI(M) 670 to the Thai Navy after the war, and it served for many years as the gunboat HTMS Prab before being sunk off Ngam Noi Island, Thailand, in May 2011.' The same report confirms George Lawley & Son Corporation of Boston was one of the two first LCI(L) contractors, receiving its initial BuShips contract in June 1942.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946-2011
- Population
- Royal Thai Navy crews (1946/47-ca. 2006); reef-sinking preparation crews (2011)
- Limitations
- Federal documentation (NPS/DOI) naming this hull's Thai disposition, itself citing the Bangkok Post (2011-05-20) and Elsie Item 76 (July 2011). Day-level sinking date varies across secondary sources (19 vs 20 May 2011) - HAER gives only 'May 2011'. Contains no asbestos information and does not address materials aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-02
-
[4]HAER AK-52 class description of the LCI(L)-351 design - construction materials, machinery, accommodations, and BuShips austerity instruction [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52, 'Historical Context' and construction description, data pages 5-8
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The LCI(L)-351 class was built of welded steel throughout with 15-lb high-tensile steel in the pilot house and conning tower and 10-lb high-tensile steel in the sides and bulwarks of the forward third; armor was 2 inches of plastic splinter protection (crushed granite pebbles embedded in bitumen). Powered by eight six-cylinder General Motors Series 71 diesel truck engines in two quad installations (four per shaft) with variable-pitch propellers, 16-knot maximum. BuShips directed austerity construction: 'Critical materials are to be avoided... no effort is required for the development of appearance or refinements which do not contribute to effective war service.' Crew and troops bunked in five compartments in the hold; officers in three deckhouse cabins.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (design and wartime construction)
- Population
- LCI(L)-351-class crews and troops (class context)
- Limitations
- Class-level federal documentation written for sister craft LCI(L)-653; it describes the type's construction but does not survey or name this hull's materials, and the report mentions no asbestos anywhere - the only insulation it describes is post-1986 spray-foam fitted during a fishing-tender conversion of that hull. 'Austere design' limits but does not eliminate the possibility of era-standard asbestos applications.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-03
-
[5]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (GM Series 71 diesel plant, no steam); HAER AK-52 class construction description; general federal documentation of 1944-era naval construction materials (GAO HRD-80-2 context) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Synthesis of ev-01 (NavSource spec block), ev-03 (HAER class description), ev-05 (GAO program context)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- As a diesel-powered landing craft with no boilers or steam plant, the asbestos-relevant systems aboard - if consistent with 1944 naval small-craft practice - would be limited to exhaust and machinery lagging, gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, and interior deck/insulation materials in the hold and deckhouse spaces. This is type- and era-level inference only; no materials schedule, plan, or survey naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 construction; service era
- Population
- Construction trades (Neponset, 1944); ship's crew and embarked troops (1944-46); RTN crews (to ca. 2006); reef-scuttling preparation crews (2011)
- Limitations
- Inference only - not ship-proven. No ship-specific asbestos documentation of any kind was located for this hull. Diesel propulsion removes the boiler/turbine lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel exposure, but does not establish absence: gaskets, packing, and electrical/interior materials of the era commonly contained asbestos. Does not establish quantity, location, or present-day presence (the hull is a sunken dive wreck).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-04
-
[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (October 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (403 on full-text fetch, confirmed 2026-09-30)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented the Navy's use of asbestos insulation in shipbuilding and repair across the era that includes this hull's 1944 construction - program-level context that naval vessels of WWII were built during the asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- WWII-1979 (program era)
- Population
- Navy shipbuilding/repair workforce (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level report; does not name this hull, this class, or this builder. gao.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session - citation is to the product page only; full text not extracted. The report postdates this hull's U.S. service by three decades and addresses Navy practices at overhaul yards - relevance to a 1944-built craft disposed of in 1946 is era context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-05
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[7]U.S. National Archives records referenced in NavSource captions and HAER AK-52: Army Signal Corps photos III-SC-192675 and III-SC-192677 (RG 111-SC) depicting this hull; George Lawley & Son Corp. LCI(L) 351-class contract plans, NARA RG 19 microfilm roll 5899 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource photo captions (this-hull images); HAER AK-52 fn 12 (RG 19 roll 5899)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA Army Signal Corps photographs document this specific hull in theater: III-SC-192675 (24 July 1944, near Naples - 30th Inf., 3rd Div. boarding LCI(L)s including LCI(L)-670 for a practice landing ahead of the southern France invasion) and III-SC-192677 (31 July 1944, Formia area - 3rd Inf. Div. troops disembarking from LCI(L)-670 and sisters during practice landings). HAER AK-52 footnote 12 locates the builder's LCI(L) 351-class contract plans in NARA RG 19, 'Plans of U.S. Navy vessels in the records of the shipbuilding division,' microfilm roll 5899 - the plan set under which this hull was built.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-07; construction plan set 1942-44
- Population
- Embarked 30th/3rd Infantry Division troops and LCI crews, July 1944
- Limitations
- Leads, not reviewed records: catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and could not be queried from this session; photo numbers and the plan-roll citation were transcribed from NavSource captions and the HAER report. The RG 19 roll covers the class design rather than a hull-specific materials or insulation schedule. RG 24 deck logs for this hull are not publicly digitized.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-06
-
[8]Disposition cross-check: NavSource text 'Final Disposition, fate unknown' vs HAER AK-52 (May 2011 sinking off Ngam Noi Island) and Thai dive-museum sources [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource disposition line and photo table; HAER AK-52 fn 27; thaiseafarer.com/naval-museum/lsil741/; siamdive.com wreck guide
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource's narrative field still reads 'Final Disposition, fate unknown' although the same page displays a January 2008 photograph of the decommissioned hull moored at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard and links a video titled 'Sinking of ex-USN LSM-333 and ex-US LCI(M)-670 by Thai Navy.' The documented disposition is sinking as an artificial reef/dive wreck off Koh Ngam Noi, Chumphon Province, in May 2011 (HAER AK-52 citing Bangkok Post 2011-05-20; Thai sources concur - Thai Seafarer gives 20 May B.E. 2554; dive-operator writeups give 19 May 2011).
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2008-2011 (hulk to reef)
- Limitations
- The NavSource page was last updated 2015-01-30; its text field was never updated with the documented 2011 sinking - a stale-source discrepancy, not a genuine unknown. Day-level date varies (19 vs 20 May 2011); HAER, the highest-authority source, gives only 'May 2011'. RTN decommissioning/transfer-to-reef-program paperwork not located.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-07
-
[9]Batch-5398 search ledger (this record): NavSource; NHHC DANFS candidate URL; HAER AK-52 full text; CourtListener API v4 opinion search; NARA catalog; GAO product page; secondary web sweeps (uboat.net, Wikipedia LCI list, Thai sources, usslci.org) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LCI(L)-670, LCI(M)-670, or HTMS Prab (LCI-741) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion and RECAP docket indexes both returned zero hits.
- 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 welded-steel diesel landing craft plausibly carried era-standard asbestos-containing gaskets, packing, and insulation materials, and neither a build materials schedule nor a disposal hazmat record was located. The hull lies sunken as a Thai dive wreck - present-day material state unstudied. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-670-lcil670-08