Evidence
8 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-8).
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[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(M)-809 ex LCI(G)-809 / LCI(L)-809 - designation timeline, builder, milestones, campaign credit, specifications (history text credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, Turner Publishing 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150809.htm - header designation line, history block, campaign table, specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource timeline for this hull: laid down 7 August 1944 at New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber, N.J.; launched 6 September 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-809, 12 September 1944; amphibious training and shakedown in Chesapeake Bay September-October 1944; further training at San Diego November-December 1944; converted to fire-support vessel and redesignated LCI(G)-809 on 31 December 1944; transited via Pearl Harbor to Purvis Bay, Solomon Islands, arriving mid-February 1945; assigned to LCI Flotilla Five (CAPT T. W. Rimer USNR), LCI Group Forty-One (LCDR R. F. Hunnicutt USNR), LCI Division Eighty-Two; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation 26 March - 30 June 1945 providing bombardment support and patrol/escort services April-June 1945; redesignated LCI(M)-809 on 30 April 1945; occupation duty in the Far East 2 September - 15 November 1945; decommissioned date unknown; struck date unknown; transferred to the Maritime Commission 19 March 1947; sold 1947, fate unknown; one battle star for World War II service; photo captions further document a crew photograph taken at Panama circa 1946 (USS LCI National Association newsletter source). Spec block: 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5" length; eight GM 6051-series-71 diesel engines, four per shaft, single GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp; two 30 kW 120 V DC diesel-drive generators; complements 4+24 (LCI(L)), 5+65 (LCI(G)), 4+49 (LCI(M)); troop capacity 6 officers, 182 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding trades (1944); crew (1944-46); troops embarked
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track official records and here are corroborated in outline by the NHHC Online Library page and the ship's own action report. Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live on navsource.net 2026-09-30 (navsource.org domain is dead).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-01
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[2]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - U.S. Navy Ships: 'USS LCI(L)-809 (1944-1947). Later redesignated LCI(G)-809 and LCI(M)-809' (HyperWar/ibiblio mirror of the NHC page; live NHHC URL not located - see ledger) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- usnsh-l/lci809.htm narrative paragraph and photo-caption block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NHC Online Library text for this hull: a 387-ton landing craft infantry built at Barber, New Jersey; commissioned September 1944; amphibious training and shakedown Chesapeake Bay September-October; arrived San Diego November 1944 for more training; converted to a fire-support vessel and redesignated LCI(G)-809 at year's end; transited the Pacific via Pearl Harbor, arriving Purvis Bay mid-February 1945; bombardment support plus patrol and escort at Okinawa from beginning of April through June 1945; redesignated LCI(M)-809 at the end of April; occupation work after the surrender; returned to the United States in late 1945 or early 1946 and was placed out of commission in early April [1946]; sold in March 1947. Page captions identify NARA-held official Navy photographs 80-G-K-3850, -3853, and -3848 of LCI(G)-809 covering the Okinawa landing beaches, 1 April 1945, photographed from USS West Virginia (BB-48).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Crew (1944-46); troops embarked
- Limitations
- Naval Historical Center-produced page (official history office content), fetched via the HyperWar/ibiblio transcription mirror - the live history.navy.mil equivalent returns 404. Decommission date is given only as 'early April' (year inferred as 1946 from the surrounding sentence; the page does not print the year). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-02
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[3]USS LCI(M) 809, File A16, Serial 43-45 - ACTION REPORT - 14 May to 1 June 1945, including the bombardment of the City of Naha, Okinawa; 9 June 1945, CO to Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (scanned original hosted by NavSource) [other_primary]
- Locator
- 150809a.pdf pp. 1-2 (scanned typescript, CONFIDENTIAL markings)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's own action report (two-page scanned original): during 14 May - 1 June 1945 the vessel's principal assignments were anti-aircraft screen and smoke screen; on 14 May, as a unit of Mortar Division Seven, she participated in the first two of four bombardments of Naha City - at 0537 she opened fire with mortars and 40mm, firing 244 mortar rounds and 76 rounds of 40mm ammunition; mortar-box recoil damage (boxes cracking and jumping out of base under maximum 16 powder-ring charges) disabled her three mortars, and she lay to off shore while the rest of the Division bombarded for the third and fourth time; no return fire was observed and no damage was suffered by the vessel beyond the mortar boxes. Signed J. L. Pierce, Commanding Officer; routed via Commander Mortar Support Division Seven (Commander LCI(M) Group 41, CTU 52.24.3), Commander LCI Flotilla 14 (CTG 52.24), Amphibious Groups 4 and 1, and Commander Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet (CTF 51).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-05-14 to 1945-06-09
- Population
- LCI(M)-809 crew, May-June 1945
- Limitations
- Primary contemporaneous document establishing combat service and command - it is an operational report, not a materials record: it contains no asbestos, insulation, or construction-material content. Confirms the flotilla chain for the mortar period (Flotilla 14 / Mortar Division Seven), which differs from the Flotilla Five assignment NavSource prints - consistent with a reassignment upon conversion, not necessarily an error (see gaps).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-03
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[4]HAER No. AK-52, M/V Husky II (ex-USS LCI(L) 653 / USS Avocet AMCU-16 / MHC-16) - Historic American Engineering Record written historical and descriptive data (Library of Congress) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 pp. 2 (spec block), 5-6 (yard history and build blocks), 8 (class context), 19-20 (construction/accommodation description); tile.loc.gov ak0557data.pdf
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Government documentation of the LCI(L) 351 class and of this hull's builder, through a same-yard sister: LCI(L) 653 was built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corporation in Barber, New Jersey, 'one of ten U.S. yards to build large infantry landing craft (LCI(L)s) during World War II'; the company was incorporated in 1942 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Barber Asphalt Corporation on the idled asphalt-plant site on the Arthur Kill, was managed by Todd Shipyards at the Navy's request, employed about 2,500 workers, and used an assembly-line process prefabricating hull and deckhouse sections at a factory 14 miles away. Per the report's footnote, New Jersey Shipbuilding built LCIs 239-318, 423-657, 782-821, and 866-884 - the 782-821 block includes hull 809. Class documentation: Bureau of Ships designed the LCI(L) in May 1942 (George Lawley & Son Corp. detail design); welded steel throughout with 2-inch plastic splinter protection (crushed granite pebbles embedded in bitumen) on gun tubs, conning tower, and pilot house; eight six-cylinder General Motors Series 71 diesel truck engines, four per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers, 16 knots maximum; complement per the wartime guide four officers and twenty-four sailors; five below-deck compartments for troops/crew plus a midships deckhouse containing officers' staterooms, galley, stores, washrooms, chart/radio room, and crew mess.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (LCI program and hull 653 coverage); report date 2011-2012
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding workforce (~2,500), wartime LCI crews (class)
- Limitations
- Class- and yard-level documentation through a sister hull, not this hull's record: it establishes design, builder, and construction method, not materials aboard LCI(L)-809. The report's only insulation references are 1980s fishing-tender conversion work (spray foam), post-Navy and not probative of 1944 materials. No asbestos statement either way. Cited BuShips detail spec 'Detail and Special Specifications for Building Landing Craft Infantry (Large) LCI(L) 351-542' is itself an archival lead (covers the 351-542 block; the spec block governing hull 809 not located).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-04
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[5]HyperWar: 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945' landing-craft index (ibiblio mirror of the Naval Historical Center's ship-type tables) - LCI(G)-809 and LCI(M) 801-810 table rows [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html LCI(G) table row 'LCI(G)-809'; LCI(M) table row 'LCI(M)-801-810'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHC ship-type index corroborates this hull's designation sequence: the LCI(G) table lists 'LCI(G)-809 ... 1944-45 ... Converted to Landing Craft, Infantry (Mortar) - LCI(M)', and the LCI(M) table carries the 'LCI(M)-801-810 ... 1945' block, which includes 809. Class-level spec lines: LCI(G) 387 tons full load, 160'4", 15.5 knots, 2-3 40mm / 3-4 20mm / 6 .50cal / 10 Mk 7 + 2 Mk 22 rocket launchers; LCI(M) 385 tons full load, 160'4".
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Index-level corroboration only - block entries ('801-810') confirm the designation series, not an individually itemized hull record; table is a transcription of NHC compilations. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-05
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications (eight GM Series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers; diesel fuel and lube-oil capacities); HAER AK-52 class construction description (welded steel, diesel plant, accommodation deckhouse); GAO HRD-80-2 program-level finding (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; HAER AK-52 construction sections; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered, welded-steel landing craft built in 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard candidate applications aboard a small diesel Navy craft of 1944 were engine and exhaust-system lagging, gaskets, valve and machinery packing, electrical insulation, deck coverings, and brake linings on the anchor winch. She carried no steam plant - the boiler/steam-line lagging pathway that dominates steam-vessel exposure does not apply to this hull.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding trades (1944); crew (1944-46); San Diego conversion trades (Dec 1944); any post-sale civilian crews (1947+, undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder specification was located for LCI(L)-809. Names era-standard application categories, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. The small size and diesel plant of the type make the era inference materially weaker than for a steam-driven combatant.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-06
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[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 (1944) and service era (1944-1946).
- 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, same standing access defect as batches 01/98.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-07
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[8]Batch-5542 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page and action-report PDF; NHC Online Library page (HyperWar mirror); HyperWar/Silverstone ship-type index; HAER AK-52; DANFS URL probes; NVR probe; NARA deck-log index; CourtListener opinion and docket queries; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-809-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no insulation survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LCI(L)-809, LCI(G)-809, or LCI(M)-809 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion-index queries for 'LCI-809', 'LCI(L)-809', 'LCI(G)-809', 'LCI(M)-809', and 'USS LCI-809' each returned zero results, and a docket-index query for 'LCI-809' returned zero; supplemental variant queries ('LCI 809' opinions; designation-variant docket queries) could not be completed this session - fleet-paced quota exhausted, logged as blocked rather than a negative result. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (all candidate NHHC URLs 404; NavSource history text is credited to Turner Publishing's USS LCI volume). Secondary web sweeps surfaced only marketing-listicle assertions without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy.
- 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 - deck logs, builder specifications, conversion work packages (San Diego, Dec 1944), and the 1947 sale file are undigitized leads. The supplemental CourtListener coverage is an open gap, not a negative. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-809-08