Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-780 page (hull timeline, specifications, awards, commanding officer; history text credited to 'USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry"' Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995; page last updated 31 May 2024) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150780 page - timeline block, specifications block, awards/ribbons block, commissioning photo captions 1015078001-002
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Hull record: laid down 12 July 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR; launched 7 August 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-780, 19 August 1944, LTjg. Robert S. Robinson USNR in command. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater; campaign credit 'Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines - Visayan Island landings (Lubang), 26 March to 20 April 1945'. Awards: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star); World War II Victory Medal; Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; Philippine Liberation Medal (1 star). Decommissioned date unknown; struck from the Naval Register 5 June 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 2 April 1947; final disposition fate unknown. Specifications: 246 t light / 419 t loaded; 158 ft 5.5 in; five single 20 mm guns; 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; international radio call sign NQVT. Commissioning-day crew photograph identifies officers LTjg. Robert S. Robinson (CO), ENS. Lawrence H. Miller (XO), ENS. Francis S. Dennis (engineering), ENS. Samuel Lorenz Jr. (communications watch).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Construction trades, Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR (Jul-Aug 1944); ship's company 4 officers + 24 enlisted; embarked troops up to 6 officers + 182 enlisted
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-maintained photographic archive recognized as the canonical per-hull reference for minor amphibious craft; its history text is credited to the Turner Publishing USS LCI volume, not a primary document. Contains no asbestos, materials, or environmental content. Decommissioning and post-1947 disposition are explicitly unknown on this source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-01
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[2]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. 2 (1945 edition), LCI(L) design table (p.200) and construction roster (pp.201-208) - shipscribe.com scan of the Navy Department Library copy [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LCI(L) design table p.200; roster row 'LCI(L)780' p.208 area; LCI(G) roster anomaly p.197 area
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official BuShips roster row names this hull: 'LCI(L) 780' falls in the Commercial Iron Wks., Portland, Oreg. builder block (ditto chain from the named LCI(L) 733 row) with keel laid 12 Jul 44, ship launched 7 Aug 44, date of first commission 19 Aug 44 - matching NavSource to the day. The LCI(L) 351-1098 design table (the block covering this hull) gives: 159 ft 0 in overall, 153 ft waterline, 23 ft 8 in extreme beam; 387 t standard / 381 t trial displacement; 14.4 kt trial speed; limiting draft 5 ft 8 in; total accommodations 8 officers / 32 enlisted; armament 5 x 20-mm AA machine guns; propulsion 2 propellers, G.M. Diesel 6051 series 71 engines, 2,320 shp, single G.M. main reduction gears; 2 diesel-driven 20-kW 120-V DC ship's service generators; diesel-oil capacity 860.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Construction trades, Commercial Iron Works (1944); design complement 8 officers / 32 enlisted berthing
- Limitations
- Official 1945 BuShips data - authoritative for design and build dates, but the volume predates the ship's striking/disposal and contains no materials or asbestos content. The design-table figures are class-level (351-1098 block); only the roster row is hull-specific. Roster's right-hand conversion column is blank for 780 - no conversion documented. A separate LCI(G) roster row prints 'LCI(G) 730 (ex-LCI(L)780)' - a typographical/OCR artifact for ex-LCI(L)730 (conversions retained hull numbers; keel date 20 Mar 44 is inconsistent with 780's 12 Jul 44); flagged in gaps, not carried as a conversion.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-02
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[3]Seventh Amphibious Force, Command History, 10 January 1943 - 23 December 1945 (Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey), Annex C 'Charts of Task Organization of Forces' - NHHC Navy Department Library online reading room; readable full scan of the CGGS library copy mirrored at 727atb.com [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- Annex C, Task Organization Sheet 24 (Lubang Operation, 1 March 1945) and Sheet 30 (Bicol Operation, 1 April 1945); mirror scan https://www.727atb.com/King%20Two%20Documents/Naval%20Reports/History%2010%20Jan%201943%20to%2023%20Dec%201945%20-%20CGGS%203184.pdf
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official Seventh Amphibious Force command history names this hull twice in its task-organization charts. LUBANG OPERATION, 1 March 1945: TU 78.9.7 Lubang Attack Unit (Capt. H.F. McGee, USN) lists LCI(L) 780 as the flagship task section (TS 78.9.71), Lt(jg) R.S. Robison, USNR - i.e., the attack unit's flagship was this ship; the transport section comprised LCI(L) 960(F), 747, 749, 750, 958, 959 and LSM 36, with a support section listing 'DD SAUFLEY (F)' and 'DE HAAS' [as printed] and LCI(R) 340(F), 225, 226, 341 as rocket support. BICOL OPERATION ('LEGASPI LANDING'), 1 April 1945: TG 78.4 Legaspi Attack Group (Capt. H.F. McGee, flagship Bailey DD) lists 'LCI 780' under TU 78.4.2 Control and Support Craft (Cmdr. S.H. Pattie, USN) with SC 698, 732, LCS 8, 48, and LCI(R) 338.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-03 to 1945-04
- Population
- LCI(L)-780 ship's company and embarked troops; Lubang Attack Unit staff embarked aboard the flagship
- Limitations
- Operation-level task-organization documentation - establishes the hull's assignment and flagship role, not conditions or materials aboard. The CO's surname is printed 'ROBISON' here vs 'Robinson' on NavSource - same officer, spelling variant carried in gaps. The Lubang task sheet is dated 1 March 1945 while NavSource's campaign-credit window for the Lubang landings runs 26 March-20 April 1945; carried verbatim in gaps. NHHC hosts the document as scans; the mirrored CGGS-library scan is the readable text source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-03
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[4]NARA Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - 'by Ship Number' PDF edition, p.28 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, p.28 - 'LCI(L)-780 8/19/1944 6/30/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 lists Navy logbook coverage for LCI(L)-780 spanning 8/19/1944 - 6/30/1945 (the run begins on the commissioning date). Deck logs for the hull's entire commissioned service period through mid-1945 exist in NARA RG 24 holdings - the primary documentary trail for daily operations, movements, and any recorded repair work aboard.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-08-19 to 1945-06-30 (coverage window)
- Limitations
- Coverage endpoints are logbook inventory dates, not commissioning/decommissioning events - the 6/30/1945 end is a holdings boundary (many LCIs' listed coverage ends the same date), not evidence the ship left service then. The logs' content has not been examined for this record; whether the hull's logs are digitized in the NARA Catalog is unconfirmed (the NARA '1941 and later' online deck-log index covers named vessels - this unnamed hull does not appear).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-04
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[5]ShipbuildingHistory.com (Tim Colton), 'Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR' yard table - builder's production list [other_primary]
- Locator
- commercial.htm yard table, row '155 | LCI(L) 780'; yard-history header paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The builder's production table lists yard hull 155 = 'LCI(L) 780', US Navy Landing Craft, 246 (tons), 159 (ft), delivered Aug-44, 'Struck 1946' - independently corroborating the builder, delivery month, and striking year. Yard context from the same table header: Commercial Iron Works was founded November 1916 on a 30-acre site just south of the Ross Island Bridge, built 188 vessels during WWII, closed in 1946, and the site was sold to Zidell Marine as a ship dismantling facility. The yard's next hull (156) was the cancelled LCI(L) 781 (later completed as LCS(L) 79) - LCI(L)-780 was at the end of CIW's LCI(L) run.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (construction); yard history 1916-1946
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction workforce (1944)
- Limitations
- Reputable secondary reference (Colton's yard compilations are the standard shipbuilding-history source) rather than an official record; consistent with the official BuShips roster and NavSource on every checkable point. Documents construction and the yard's fate - no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-05
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[6]Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. OR-180, LCI(L)-713, Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum, Portland, OR (data pages, historian Justine Christianson, 2012) - documentation of the last surviving LCI-351-class hull, a weeks-younger sister [haer]
- Locator
- HAER OR-180 data pages pp.1-3 (principal measurements, description, history)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NPS/HAER documentation of the LCI-351 class through the sole surviving example: LCI(L)-713 (keel 27 Jul 44, George Lawley & Son, Neponset MA - laid down 15 days after this hull's keel). The class was a Bureau of Ships standard design of welded 1/4-inch steel plate; hulls built after 1 June 1944 - which includes LCI(L)-780 (laid down 12 July 1944) - carried the modified design with cylindrical pilot house and centerline ramp rather than the early ships' square conning tower and two side ramps. Engine room held four pairs (eight total) of General Motors 6-71 diesel engines on two shafts with variable-pitch propellers. Approximately 1,051 ships of the type were built at ten shipyards. The document describes spaces (troop compartments, crew space, engine room, deckhouse with mess/wardroom/galley) but records no insulation inventory.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 design/build; documentation 2012
- Limitations
- Documents the class design and construction through a sister hull - it does not name or measure LCI(L)-780, and its description contains no asbestos information whatsoever. Design-level layout only; establishes the configuration type this hull was built to, not its material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-06
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[7]Consolidated era inference - BuShips 1945 design data (diesel plant, no boilers) + wartime amphibious-craft construction practice [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data (ev-02 SDB machinery table; ev-06 HAER class description)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this hull type: LCI(L)-780 was a diesel-powered landing craft - eight GM 6-71 diesel engines, no boilers, no steam plant - so the dominant shipboard-asbestos pathway of WWII steam vessels (boiler and steam-line lagging) does not apply. Asbestos-relevant applications standard to 1944 naval construction of this type would be confined to: diesel exhaust lagging, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, machinery gaskets and valve packing, electrical insulation, accommodation/mess-space insulation, and winch and windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1944); crew and embarked troops 1944-1946
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no design drawing, specification, survey, or physical record for this hull was located that names any insulation material. A small diesel landing craft carried materially less asbestos than a steam combatant of the era; nonetheless nothing here proves presence, quantity, or exposure for any individual aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-07
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[8]NOAA Damage Assessment, 'Preassessment Screen for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site' (2007), facility table pp.36-37 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Preassessment Screen, Table facility summary RM 14 (p.36) and narrative 'former ship dismantling facility operated at the Zidell property' (p.8)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Federal trustee documentation for the Portland Harbor Superfund site lists 'Zidell' at river mile 14 - the former Commercial Iron Works property (sold to Zidell Marine in 1946) - with industry type 'Ship dismantling, barge construction, tube forging' and chemicals of interest including 'metals, PCBs, TPH, chlorinated solvents, TBTs, asbestos'. Asbestos is a documented contaminant of interest at the builder's former site, driven by the post-war ship-dismantling era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946-2007 (site history); 2007 (screen)
- Population
- Zidell-era dismantling/yard workforce (post-1946), not wartime construction crew
- Limitations
- Builder-site context only: the asbestos listing attaches to Zidell-era dismantling and yard operations after 1946, not to wartime construction of this hull in 1944 - it establishes nothing about materials installed aboard LCI(L)-780. Included because the builder has no Atlas shipyards entry; the row grounds the yard's documented asbestos footprint without implying hull exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-08
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[9]Batch-5511 search ledger (this record): NavSource; BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2; Seventh Amphibious Force Command History (NHHC); NARA Special List 44; ShipbuildingHistory yard table; HAER OR-180; NOAA Portland Harbor preassessment; NARA online deck-log index; NHHC/DANFS hull page attempts; Naval Vessel Register; CourtListener/PACER ship-name and hull-number searches [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-01 through sl-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located for USS LCI(L)-780: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming the hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). No DANFS entry exists for the hull (NHHC publishes entries for some LCI(L)s, e.g. LCI(L)-777, but none for 780), and the Naval Vessel Register does not cover vessels disposed before 1987.
- 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 - 1944 naval construction of this type would have carried era-standard gasket/packing/insulation materials. The hull's short service life (Aug 1944 - 1946) and 'fate unknown' post-1947 disposition leave no modern survey trail. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-780-lcil780-09