Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive - LSI(L)-883 ex-Killdeer (AMCU 27) ex-LSI(L)-883 (the canonical NavSource page for this hull; the NavSource LCI index maps LCI(L)-883 to this page) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0427.htm header block, timeline, spec block, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 22 September 1944 by the New Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Barber, NJ; launched 19 October 1944; commissioned 26 October 1944 (page prints 'USS LSI(L)-883' - a designation slip, since the LSI(L) symbol did not exist until 1949; the wartime designation was LCI(L)); decommissioned March 1946; named Killdeer 7 March 1952 and reclassified Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator) AMCU-27; conversion to AMCU-27 canceled July 1954 and reclassified back to LSI(L)-883; sunk as a target in 1960. Call sign NXKH. Commanding officer listed: LT T. P. McGueress, USNR (May 1945). Spec block: 216 t. light / 389 t. loaded; 158'5"; beam 23'3"; four 20mm guns, later two .50 cal; two sets of four 200-bhp GM 6-71 diesels, 4 per shaft, twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); commissioned crew (1944-46); no recommissioned crew - AMCU conversion cancelled before activation
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking NVR/DANFS - milestone dates are consistent with DANFS (ev-02) but NavSource is not itself a primary registry. Contains no asbestos content. Page verified live (HTTP 200) on 2026-09-30; the old navsource.org domain is dead - cite navsource.net only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-01
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. III (1968), 'Killdeer' entry (p. 643) - verbatim text verified against the GPO scan at archive.org item dictionaryofamer03wash; NavSource 11/0427 reproduces the same text [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. III p. 643 'Killdeer' (second ship of the name); archive.org item dictionaryofamer03wash full text; NavSource 11/0427 DANFS block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS, verbatim: 'LSIL-883 (q.v.) was commissioned 26 October 1944 and decommissioned in March 1946. On 7 March 1952, while out of commission in reserve, she was named Killdeer and reclassified AMCU-27. In July 1954 she was again reclassified LSIL-883.' The entry confirms: commissioned 26 October 1944; decommissioned March 1946; out of commission in reserve when named Killdeer and reclassified AMCU-27 on 7 March 1952; reclassified back to LSIL-883 in July 1954 - i.e., the AMCU-27 minesweeper conversion was cancelled and she never recommissioned under that name.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1954
- Population
- Commissioned crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- Official Navy history (DANFS) but a stub entry for a numbered craft; it documents milestones only - no operational narrative, no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not give her wartime campaign credits or reserve berth. Live NHHC DANFS pages for this entry were not located (all candidate URLs 404, same standing NHHC link-rot defect); the GPO print text was verified via the archive.org full-text scan of Vol. III and NavSource's verbatim transcription (verified live 2026-09-30).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-02
-
[3]Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), WWII battle-star credit list, per-ship entry for LCI(L) 883 - consulted via commercial transcription (officialmilitaryribbons.com), which reproduces the NAVPERS tables and hosts the 104-page NAVPERS scan [other_primary]
- Locator
- NAVPERS 15,790 transcription, LCI(L) 666-962 table, row 'LCI(L) 883: 30 May 45 - 30 Jun 45 | P34-1'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LCI(L)-883 is credited with participation in the Okinawa Gunto operation - 'Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto', 30 May - 30 June 1945 (campaign code P34-1), and earned one battle star for World War II service. The Okinawa credit is her only listed campaign.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Crew aboard during credited window (30 May - 30 Jun 1945); embarked troops when carried
- Limitations
- The NAVPERS 15,790 instrument is official, but this consultation used a commercial vendor's HTML transcription (scan is image-only, no text layer); transcription integrity assumed, not independently audited against the page image. Campaign credit establishes presence in the Okinawa area during the window - it does not document what she did there (smoke-station duty, mail delivery, or other LCI tasking is documented for sisters but not named for 883 in located sources). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-03
-
[4]NavSource Online: Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) / Landing Ship Infantry Large (LSIL) index - fleet-wide reclassification note and hull index [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/15idx.htm headnote and index row for LCI(L)-883 -> 11/0427.htm
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource type index states: 'All LCI's in the U.S. inventory were reclassified Landing Ship Infantry LSI on 28 February 1949.' LCI(L)-883 was still in the inventory (in reserve) on that date, so she became LSI(L)-883 - the designation under which DANFS refers to her ('LSIL-883') when she was named Killdeer in 1952 and again when reclassified back in July 1954. The index links LCI(L)-883's index cell to the mine-warfare page 11/0427.htm, confirming that page is NavSource's canonical entry for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1949-1954
- Limitations
- Class-level reclassification note, not a hull-specific instrument; the application to this hull follows from her presence in the inventory on 28 Feb 1949 (she was not disposed until 1960). NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-04
-
[5]National Register of Historic Places nomination, USS LCI-713 (NRHP 07000300, listed 12 Apr 2007) - NPS documentation of an essentially unaltered LCI-351-class sistership [nps]
- Locator
- NRHP nomination 07000300, Narrative Description ('As Built' section) and Statement of Significance
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NPS nomination describes the LCI-351 class as built: approximately 1/4-inch steel plate, welded throughout, assembly-line construction; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; designed to carry 182 enlisted troops plus 6 officers; eight General Motors 6-71 truck diesels in two banks of four driving twin variable-pitch propellers (~1,600 bhp per shaft, 16 kt max); above- and underwater exhaust systems; diesel fuel 130 tons; a dedicated smoke-generator oil tank; crew berthing for 24 in the crew compartment. 1,051 LCI hulls were built in ten U.S. yards between mid-1942 and fall 1944. LCI-713 is 'structurally, essentially unchanged since World War II.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (design/construction documentation)
- Population
- LCI-351-class construction trades (all ten yards, 1942-44); crews and embarked troops
- Limitations
- Class-level construction documentation for a sistership (built by George Lawley & Son, Neponset MA - different yard from 883's). The nomination contains NO asbestos statement - it documents structure and machinery, not insulation materials; nothing in it establishes or excludes asbestos aboard this class. Class-level context only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-05
-
[6]Historic American Engineering Record HAER AK-52, M/V Husky II (USS LCI(L)-653, later AMCU-16/MHC-16) - NPS/LOC documentation of a sistership built by the same yard (New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber NJ) [haer]
- Locator
- HAER AK-52 (ak0557data.pdf): Part I narrative (LCI design/production, NJ Shipbuilding history), Part II description of materials
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- HAER AK-52 documents LCI(L)-653 - an LCI-351-class sistership of 883 built at the same Barber NJ yard: 'single-hull, welded-steel infantry landing craft'; 15-lb high-tensile steel in the pilot house/conning tower and 10-lb in the forward third; quad-mounted GM 6-71 diesels ('the engineer's nightmare'), four per shaft, variable-pitch propellers; wartime materials-conservation specification language ('the material going into the craft shall be developed, but no effort is required'). The report also records that New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. was incorporated in 1942 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Barber Asphalt Corp., converting the idled asphalt plant on Arthur Kill into an LCI assembly line. The only 'insulation' in the report is post-war spray-foam applied to convert holds into a refrigerated fish hold - not a wartime material.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1945 (construction); survey 2011-12
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding trades (1942-45); LCI crews
- Limitations
- Class-level documentation of a sistership, not 883; HAER's materials narrative contains no asbestos identification. The spray-on insulation it records was applied post-war for fish-carrier conversion, not during Navy service. Does not establish or exclude insulation materials aboard LCI(L)-883.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-06
-
[7]ShipbuildingHistory.com (T. Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' - yard profile and hull production table [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com yard page, introductory paragraph and production table row 'LCI(L) 883'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Colton's yard history: 'New Jersey Shipbuilding was an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber, a community immediately to the east of Perth Amboy... Management of the yard was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942, at the Navy's request, and was closed after the war.' The production table's row for hull 883: 'LCI(L) 883, US Navy, Landing Craft, Del'y Oct-44, Later AMCU 27, sunk as target 1960.' The neighboring row (LCI(L) 884): 'Later AMCU 28, sold 1960.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1946 (yard operation); 1960 (disposal row)
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding yard workforce (1942-45)
- Limitations
- Specialist secondary reference (Colton's shipbuilding-history compilation), not an official record; it corroborates NavSource's 'sunk as a target in 1960' against the 'sold in 1960' variant (see ev-10). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-07
-
[8]NavSource Online: Coastal Minesweeper (Underwater Locator) (AMCU) / Coastal Minehunter (MHC) index - AMCU program context [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/04idx.htm intro paragraph and AMCU-27 index row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- AMCU program context for this hull's 1952-54 Killdeer designation: 'Of the 50 AMCUs that existed, all except one were originally other type of craft... All AMCUs on the U.S. Naval Vessel Register were reclassified Coastal Minehunters (MHC), 7 February 1955.' The index shows the LCI(L)-derived AMCU-7 class: sister hulls LCI(L)-874 -> Kestrel (AMCU-26), LCI(L)-884 -> Longspur (AMCU-28) were actually converted; Killdeer (AMCU-27) is listed 'ex-LCI(L)-883 - Reclassified LSI(L)-883' without an MHC number - i.e., never converted or recommissioned. Because her conversion was cancelled before recommissioning and she was never an 'AMCU on the Naval Vessel Register' in service, the 7 Feb 1955 MHC reclassification did not apply to her.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1952-1955
- Limitations
- Program-level context; the negative implication (no MHC reclassification for Killdeer) follows from the index listing and DANFS rather than a hull-specific instrument. NavSource is a secondary compilation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource 11/0427 spec block (eight GM 6-71 diesels, variable-pitch props); NPS NRHP 07000300 class construction description; HAER AK-52 materials narrative; GAO HRD-80-2 program context (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Synthesis of ev-05, ev-06, ev-08 source documents
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An all-welded, all-diesel landing craft built Sep-Oct 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era (GAO: asbestos insulation used extensively aboard ships until substitution began in the early 1970s). For a diesel craft with no steam plant the asbestos-relevant systems are not boiler/turbine lagging but era-standard applications: diesel exhaust lagging and muffler insulation (the class carried above- and underwater exhaust systems), gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and galley/food-service surfacing. The confined below-deck troop/crew compartments and engine room make any installed insulation a potential exposure pathway for the small crew and yard trades.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1960
- Population
- NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1944); commissioned crew (1944-46); reserve-fleet maintenance and any target-tow prep crews (1946-60)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-883. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution. The HAER/NRHP class documentation does not mention asbestos; absence of mention in those documents is not proof of absence aboard.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-09
-
[10]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 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 blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-10
-
[11]Disposition cross-check: NavSource 11/0427 ('sunk as a target in 1960'); shipbuildinghistory.com production row ('Later AMCU 27, sunk as target 1960'); Wikipedia 'USS Killdeer' disambiguation ('sold in 1960'); DANFS Vol. IV 'Longspur' entry (sister LCI(L)-884 sold to Mills Marine Co. 18 May 1960) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0427 timeline; shipbuildinghistory.com NJ Shipbuilding table row 883; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Killdeer; DANFS Vol. IV 'Longspur' (archive.org item dictionaryofamer04wash)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: Wikipedia's 'sold in 1960' for Killdeer (AMCU-27)/LCI(L)-883 conflicts with both NavSource and shipbuildinghistory.com, which report 'sunk as a target in 1960.' The Wikipedia claim is probably conflated with sister LCI(L)-884/Longspur, which DANFS documents as sold to Mills Marine Co. 18 May 1960. Record carries 'sunk as target 1960' (two secondary sources agree); the 'sold 1960' variant is flagged rather than propagated.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1960
- Limitations
- Resolves a circulating disposal conflict by weight of sources, not by primary documentation - no disposal instrument (sale contract, target-sinking order, or strike-action document) was located; secondary compilations remain the authority level here.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-11
-
[12]Designation cross-check: NavSource 11/0427 ('Commissioned USS LSI(L)-883, 26 October 1944'); NavSource LCI index headnote ('All LCI's... reclassified Landing Ship Infantry LSI on 28 February 1949'); DANFS Killdeer entry (commissioned 1944, i.e., as LCI(L)) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 11/0427 timeline line 3; NavSource 10/15/15idx.htm headnote
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's AMCU-27 page prints 'Commissioned USS LSI(L)-883, 26 October 1944' - but the LSI(L) (Landing Ship Infantry, Large) designation did not exist until the fleet-wide LCI-to-LSI reclassification of 28 February 1949. She was commissioned USS LCI(L)-883 in October 1944; the LSI(L) symbol applied from 28 Feb 1949 (while she lay in reserve). NavSource's 'LSI(L)-883' commissioning label is an anachronism, corrected here.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Limitations
- Corrects a designation label, not a material fact; the commissioning date itself (26 October 1944) is consistent across DANFS and NavSource.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-12
-
[13]Batch-5580 search ledger (this record): NavSource 11/0427 + LCI/AMCU indexes; DANFS Vol. III Killdeer entry (archive.org GPO scan); NAVPERS 15,790 transcription; NPS NRHP 07000300; LOC HAER AK-52; shipbuildinghistory.com; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; CourtListener (partial - pacing); NARA catalog (JS-blocked); NVR; secondary web sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-883-01 through -13
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, museum documentation, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-883 / LSI(L)-883 / LSIL-883 / Killdeer (AMCU-27) was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener exact-string opinion searches returned zero hits for 'LCI(L)-883', 'LCI-883', 'LSI(L)-883', 'LSIL-883', and 'USS Killdeer'; docket-type searches and the broader 'Killdeer' name query could not be completed - the fleet-wide CourtListener pacing budget was repeatedly exhausted this session and those queries are logged as blocked, not as negative results. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; the only 'asbestos aboard LCI' material found is law-firm marketing content asserting asbestos 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 - and the CourtListener coverage is partial (docket and broad name queries unrun). RG 24 deck logs, BuShips work packages, and the reserve-fleet custody file for this hull are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-883-lcil883-13