Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 483-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (identity; service details secondary-sourced)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (identity; service details secondary-sourced)
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-943-lcil943-pkt-483-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-943 page (history credited to 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry, Vol. II,' Turner Publishing, 1995) - verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource LCI(L)-943 page, history block + specifications block + photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource record for this hull: LCI-351 class; laid down 15 January 1944 at Consolidated Steel, Orange, TX; launched 10 February 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-943, 18 March 1944; convoy to North Africa, arrived Bizerte 1 June 1944; homeported Pozzuoli, Italy; Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign, Invasion of southern France 15-20 August 1944 (photo caption places her disembarking troops near Sainte-Maxime); departed Mediterranean late November 1944 for Jacksonville, FL overhaul (photographed there December 1944); decommissioned and transferred to the Soviet Union at Cold Bay, AK, 10 June 1945 under Project Hula as DS-43; participated in Soviet invasion of the Kuril Islands 18 Aug - 1 Sep 1945; earned one battle star for WWII service. Specifications: 246 t light / 419 t loaded; 158 ft 5.5 in; five single 20mm guns; complement 4 officers, 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers, 182 enlisted; two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, 1,600 bhp; twin variable-pitch propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (Jan-Mar 1944); USN crew (class standard 4 officers / 24 enlisted); embarked troops (up to 188)
- Limitations
- Contributor-edited archive citing a published LCI history volume - documents service history and class specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The page's final-disposition lines ('Returned to US Naval custody in 1955 and struck from the Naval Register... fate unknown') are boilerplate contradicted for this hull by the NHC Project Hula transfer table - see correction row ev-11. Its 'Saturday, 23 May 1944' convoy-departure line is internally inconsistent (23 May 1944 was a Tuesday; convoy UGS-42 departed Saturday 13 May per uboat.net) - carried in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-01
-
[3]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCI(L)-943 entry + convoy UGS-42 event record - verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net warship record 22008 + 'Notable events' convoy UGS-42 roster (13 May 1944)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Corroborates LCI 351 class, builder Consolidated Steel Corp. Ltd. (Orange, Texas), laid down 15 Jan 1944, launched 10 Feb 1944, commissioned 18 Mar 1944. The convoy UGS-42 record names this hull with commanding officer Lt. J. L. Kuhn, USNR, among eleven LCI(L)s sailing with the convoy that departed Hampton Roads 13 May 1944 and reached Bizerte 1 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- USN crew under Lt. J. L. Kuhn, USNR
- Limitations
- Secondary reference database; the UGS-42 sailing date (13 May) conflicts with NavSource's 'Saturday, 23 May' line - see gaps. Documents identity, command, and convoy movement; no materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-02
-
[4]Richard A. Russell, 'Project Hula: Secret Soviet-American Cooperation in the War Against Japan,' Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, 1997 (GPO; mirrored full text at generalstaff.org) - verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- Russell, Project Hula (NHC 1997): appendix transfer table, LCI(L) rows; 'Attack on Shumshu' section (pp. 30-31 in the printed edition)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy-history transfer table records this hull: 'LCI(L)943 | DS-43 | 10 June | 1945-combat loss' - i.e., transferred to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay on 10 June 1945, designated DS-43, and lost in combat in 1945. The same volume documents Project Hula's transfer of 149 ships and craft at Cold Bay including 30 LCI(L)s, and its Shumshu narrative documents that Japanese shore batteries destroyed five of the sixteen ex-U.S. LCI(L)s in the second assault wave on the morning of 18 August 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- Soviet Navy crew of DS-43; embarked Soviet naval infantry
- Limitations
- NHC publication accessed via full-text mirror (generalstaff.org), not the navy.mil original. The table records '1945-combat loss' without naming the location; the hull-level mapping of DS-43 to the five Shumshu losses is explicit in the Battle of Shumshu literature citing this volume (pp. 30-31) - see ev-04. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-03
-
[5]Battle of Shumshu (Wikipedia, citing Russell, Project Hula pp. 30-31) - verified live 2026-09-30; used only for the explicit hull-to-loss mapping [other_primary]
- Locator
- Battle of Shumshu article, second-wave narrative paragraph (citation note 7: Russell pp. 30-31)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Explicit hull-level corroboration of the combat loss: 'Japanese artillery fire had destroyed five landing ships - DS-1 (ex-USS LCI(L)-672), DS-5 (ex-USS LCI(L)-525), DS-9 (ex-USS LCI(L)-554), DS-43 (ex-USS LCI(L)-943), and DS-47 (ex-USS LCI(L)-671)' during the second wave on 18 August 1945 at Shumshu. The claim is footnoted to Russell (NHC 1997) pp. 30-31 - the same primary volume whose transfer table records DS-43 as a 1945 combat loss (ev-03).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-08-18
- Population
- Soviet crew and embarked troops aboard DS-43
- Limitations
- Tertiary corroboration only; its authority is the cited NHC source. The NHC table's '1945-combat loss' entry plus the volume's own Shumshu narrative (five ex-US LCI(L)s destroyed by shore batteries, second wave, 18 Aug 1945) independently establish loss in that action; this row supplies the explicit DS-43 name-to-hull mapping. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-04
-
[6]HyperWar/ibiblio, 'Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 - Landing Ships and Craft,' LCI(L) index - verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- ships-lc.html, LCI(L)-351-class index table, row for LCI(L)-943
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Independent index-level corroboration of the Soviet transfer: the LCI(L) table carries 'LCI(L)-943 | 1942-44 | Lend-Lease to USSR.' No individual HyperWar page exists for this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Limitations
- Index-level corroboration only; gives program era (1942-44) and transfer disposition, no dates or detail beyond 'Lend-Lease to USSR.' No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-05
-
[7]shipbuildinghistory.com (Colton yard tables), Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange TX - construction record table - verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- consolidatedorange.htm construction table, row: hull no. 1237, type LCI(L), no. 943
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-table corroboration: Consolidated Steel Orange yard hull 1237 = U.S. Navy landing craft LCI(L)-943, delivered March 1944, disposition 'To the USSR 1945.' Confirms builder, delivery month, and Soviet transfer independently of NavSource.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel Orange construction trades
- Limitations
- Secondary tabulation of yard build records; contract-date column shows 10-Dec-43 (contract/order event, distinct from 15-Jan-44 keel-laying per NavSource/uboat). No materials or asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-06
-
[8]National Archives, Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units' - ship-number finding aid, LCI(L)-943 entries - PDF verified live 2026-09-30 (910 KB) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL-44 PDF, p. 28 (LCI(L) ship-number rows): 'LCI(L)-943 3/18/1944 3/31/1944' and 'LCI(L)-943 5/1/1944 6/9/1945'
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's deck-log finding aid lists two logbook spans for this hull: 18-31 March 1944 (commissioning period) and 1 May 1944 - 9 June 1945 (ending the eve of the Cold Bay transfer). Deck logs for nearly the entire U.S. commission exist in NARA custody - the primary-source channel through which construction-period materials notes, casualties, or yard availabilities for this hull could be researched.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- USN crew of record, Mar 1944 - Jun 1945
- Limitations
- Finding-aid listing only - establishes that logs exist and their date spans, not their contents. Log pages were not retrieved or reviewed this session; a second-batch artifact that listed the second span as '1 May - 9 June 1945' misread the aid - the verified span is 1 May 1944 - 9 June 1945. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-07
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block for this hull (two sets of 4 GM diesels, twin variable-pitch propellers - diesel only, no steam plant); documented Jan-Mar 1944 wartime construction at Consolidated Steel Orange (ev-01, ev-06); Lemen & Landrigan WWII Navy asbestos-materials statement (ev-09); GAO HRD-80-2 program-level finding (ev-10) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion); Lemen & Landrigan 2017 WWII-era passage; GAO HRD-80-2 highlights
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built in roughly nine weeks in early 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era, but the austere LCI(L) design carried no steam plant and far less fitted insulation than a steam combatant - the steam-turbine insulation pathway named in the era literature does not apply to this hull. Era-typical asbestos applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type and period were limited to engine-exhaust lagging, machinery and piping gaskets, valve packing, electrical insulation, and winch/windlass brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Consolidated Steel construction trades (1944); USN crew Mar 1944 - Jun 1945; Soviet crew Jun-Aug 1945; troops embarked for the Dragoon and Shumshu landings
- Limitations
- Era inference only - no LCI(L)-class material list, insulation survey, hull work package, or builder specification was located naming asbestos products. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution; cannot establish or defeat any exposure or legal-eligibility claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-08
-
[10]Lemen, R.A. & Landrigan, P.J., 'Toward an Asbestos Ban in the United States,' Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 14(11):1302 (2017), via CDC Stacks - verified live 2026-09-30; full text cross-checked at MDPI (doi:10.3390/ijerph14111302) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Lemen & Landrigan 2017, WWII-era paragraph (citing refs 41-43)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical review states: 'The advent of World War II brought an acceleration in the use of asbestos for insulating warships and other war-related equipment. In the U.S. Navy asbestos was used for insulating piping, in gaskets and packing in valves, and in insulating high temperature steam turbines.' Establishes the era context for this hull's Jan-Mar 1944 construction window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (era reviewed)
- Population
- WWII Navy crews and shipyard workers (era context)
- Limitations
- Era-level literature context only - does not name this hull, the LCI(L) type, or Consolidated Steel; the steam-turbine application it names does not apply to this diesel craft. Cannot establish asbestos presence aboard this specific hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-09
-
[11]GAO, 'Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure,' HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page and highlights verified live 2026-09-30 [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page highlights (HRD-80-2)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed Navy asbestos-protection efforts at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, documenting the Navy's use of asbestos insulation in ships and its substitution policy (1975 remove-only-when-damaged policy; 1979 selective replacement in high-maintenance areas). Program-level confirmation that this hull was built inside the Navy's asbestos-use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era review covering this hull's 1944 construction
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers (program level)
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation - fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk, not Consolidated Steel; addresses insulation aboard Navy ships generally, not this hull or class; does not establish asbestos presence aboard LCI(L)-943.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-10
-
[12]Disposition cross-check: NavSource LCI(L)-943 page ('Returned to US Naval custody in 1955 and struck from the Naval Register... fate unknown') vs. Russell/NHC transfer table ('1945-combat loss') and NavSource's own LCI(L)-672 page (identical 'returned 1955' boilerplate on a documented Shumshu combat-loss hull, navsource.net/archives/10/15/150672.htm) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150943.htm disposition block; navsource.net/archives/10/15/150672.htm (sister hull, same boilerplate); Russell transfer table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION: NavSource's final-disposition lines for this hull are wrong. The NHC Project Hula transfer table records DS-43 (ex-LCI(L)-943) as a '1945-combat loss,' and the hull is among the five ex-U.S. LCI(L)s destroyed by Japanese shore batteries in the 18 August 1945 Shumshu second wave (ev-03, ev-04). A craft sunk in Soviet service in August 1945 could not have been 'returned to US Naval custody in 1955.' The identical 'returned 1955 / fate unknown' boilerplate appears on NavSource's page for LCI(L)-672 (DS-1) - also a documented Shumshu combat loss - indicating boilerplate disposition text across NavSource's Project Hula LCI pages rather than hull-specific findings.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1955 (disposition window)
- Limitations
- Corrects a circulating disposition error, not a materials claim. The exact U.S. Navy administrative striking action/date for this lost-in-foreign-service hull is unverified - carried in gaps. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-11
-
[13]Batch-5589 search ledger (this record): NavSource; uboat.net; NHC Project Hula mirror; HyperWar ships-lc index; shipbuildinghistory yard table; NARA Special List 44 finding aid; NHHC DANFS index; NVR; NARA catalog; CourtListener API v4; usslci.org; secondary web asbestos sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-943-01 through -15
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-943 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). None is expected to exist: the hull lies wrecked at Shumshu where it was lost in August 1945, so no museum, donation, or remediation record can exist. The only 'asbestos + Consolidated Steel' content surfaced is law-firm marketing material (mesothelioma.net, mesowatch.org, mesotheliomalawyercenter.org and similar) asserting yard exposure 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 - era construction remains consistent with era-typical gasket, lagging, packing, and insulation materials. CourtListener opinion-index queries on exact hull strings ('LCI(L)-943', 'LCIL-943') returned zero hits this session; the docket-index query and broad-name variants were fleet-rate-paced at write time - see search_ledger. NARA deck logs for this hull exist per the finding aid (ev-07) but were not reviewed. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-943-12