Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
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[1]research packet 497-packet.md (5 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (mirror-sourced)
- Evidence ID
- uss-lcs-l-3-18-lcsl318-pkt-497-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LSSL-18 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-18 (1944-1949) - milestone timeline, specification block (Baker, Allied Landing Craft of World War II; Lawley class instructions/plans), flotilla/group/division assignments, campaign and medal windows, CO list, photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050018.htm header block, campaign tables, specification block, CO list
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 28 August 1944 at George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset, MA; launched 6 September 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-18, 30 September 1944, LTjg. John F. Lehman USNR in command. Assigned Asiatic-Pacific: LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Three (CAPT. T.C. Aylward USN), Group Eight (LCDR. E.C. Thomas USNR), Division Sixteen. Campaigns: Okinawa Gunto 1 April - 25 June 1945; Minesweeping Operations Pacific 29 November 1945 - 16 December 1946. Occupation service 2 September - 26 November 1945 and 5 January - 15 February 1946; China Service (extended) 27 November 1945 - 4 January 1946. Decommissioned, date unknown; laid up Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria, OR. Redesignated LSSL-18, 28 February 1949. Transferred on loan to Japan 30 June 1953, renamed JDS Yamayuri; returned to US Navy custody 30 June 1958. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Final disposition: designated as a target, sunk by gunfire December 1958. Two battle stars for World War II service. CO list: LTjg. John F. Lehman USNR (30 September 1944 - ?), ENS. A. O. Hungerford USNR (from May 1945). Specs: 250 t light / 387 t full; 158' oa; complement 6 officers + 65 enlisted; diesel propulsion (GM quad packs, 1,600 BHP).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46; complement 71)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS-era records but the page itself documents no decommissioning or stricken date (those come only from the jounin.jp secondary compilation - see ev-04 and gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content. Direct fetch verified live 2026-09-30 (navsource.net, not the dead .org domain).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-01
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[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, 'A Brief History of LCS(L) 18' by Lt.(jg) John F. Lehman, Commanding Officer - first-person commissioned-service narrative provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050018h.htm, full narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- First-person CO narrative for this hull: commissioned at the George Lawley Shipyard, Neponset (narrative dates it October 2, 1944); shakedown Chesapeake Bay from Solomons, MD (arrived October 11); Key West transit with LCS 17 and LCI 714; Panama Canal 12 November; San Diego 23 November; drydocked 23-27 December for hull painting and skeg repair. Departed San Diego 4 January 1945 with LCS(L) Group Eight; Pearl Harbor West Loch 13 January - 1 February; Guadalcanal/Purvis Bay rehearsals 17 February - 3 March; Tulagi drydock 7-9 March (hull inspection, skeg repair); Ulithi 21 March; sortied 25 March with Northern Attack Force tractor unit. Okinawa: 1 April beach strafing and rocket salvos ahead of the first wave, then AA screen for USS Portland; 4-27 April Harbor Entrance Controller, south gate Kerama Retto (splashed a fighter believed a Tojo 18 April); radar picket RP 3 and RP 13 (splashed a Betty bomber 30 April); 10 June alongside USS William D. Porter - moored to her port quarter, pumped approximately three hours, took her in tow, embarked 27 men and five officers at abandon-ship; patrolled RP 1/RP 15 to 19 June; Leyte 30 June; drydocked 2-3 August at San Pedro Bay; sortied for Tokyo Bay; typhoon refuge Buckner Bay 17 August; Mutsu Bay/Aomori 24 August - occupation landing support and firefighting/salvage duty; Yokosuka 9 October; Sasebo logistics 29 October - 1 November; mine-demolition duty East China Sea/Formosa; then Shanghai with the China occupation force.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- Crew (complement 71); yard trades at San Diego, Tulagi, and San Pedro Bay drydockings (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Veteran-authored retrospective hosted by NavSource via the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 - primary-grade personal account but not an official record; its 2 October commissioning date conflicts with the NavSource header's 30 September (see gaps). Contains no asbestos or material content; the drydock and repair entries document yard-availability events (San Diego, Tulagi, San Pedro Bay) without describing materials disturbed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-02
-
[4]NHHC H-Gram 049-1, 'Victory at Okinawa' (Director's Corner) - William D. Porter (DD-579) sinking, 10 June 1945 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- H-Gram 049-1, 'William D. Porter (*), 10 June 1945' section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official NHHC account names this hull: on 10 June 1945 at Radar Picket Station No. 15A northwest of Okinawa, the 'pallbearers' LCS(L)-18, -86, -94 and -122 were in company with William D. Porter when a kamikaze's bomb exploded under the destroyer; the four LCSs came to assist, two tied up alongside and brought their pumps to bear for over three hours, and LCS(L)-86 and LCS(L)-122 took off the crew - all 273 survived. (The CO narrative for this hull, ev-02, gives the deck-level view: LCS(L)-18 moored to Porter's port quarter, pumped, towed, and embarked 27 men and five officers.)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-06-10
- Population
- Crew during radar-picket rescue operations, 10 June 1945
- Limitations
- NHHC is an official source and does name this hull, but the account is engagement history, not a material or asbestos record. The two sources differ on which LCSs physically embarked the survivors (NHHC credits -86 and -122; the CO narrative has -18 alongside and embarking 32 survivors) - both carried, not reconciled. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-03
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[5]Navypedia, 'YURI large amphibious fire support ships' (JMSDF page): Yamayuri (ex-LSSL18, ex-LCS(L)(3)18), pennant LSSL-437; plus uboat.net ship page (ship 22250) and the Japanese-language LSSL compilation uswarships.jounin.jp [other_primary]
- Locator
- navypedia jap_ls_ajisai.htm Yamayuri row (LSSL-437); uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/22250.html data table; uswarships.jounin.jp/lssl.htm LSSL-18 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Foreign-service and disposal corroboration for this hull: navypedia's JMSDF table lists Yamayuri (ex-LSSL18, ex-LCS(L)(3)18), pennant LSSL-437, George Lawley Neponset, laid 8.1944, launched 6.9.1944, completed 9.1944, JMSDF 6.1953, returned 6.1958. uboat.net: built by George Lawley & Sons, ordered 5 April 1944, laid down 29 August 1944, launched 6 September 1944, commissioned 30 September 1944; transferred to Japan 30 June 1953, returned to the USN 30 June 1958, sunk as target December 1958. The jounin.jp LSSL table adds Japanese-side dates: commissioned 1944-09-30; decommissioned 1946-06-03; struck 1959-01-01; redesignated LSSL-18 1949-02-28; loaned to Japan 1953-06-30 as guard vessel Yamayuri (LSSL-437); reclassified guard boat 1954-07-01; struck from JMSDF and returned 1958-06-30; sunk as gunnery target 1958-12.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1959
- Population
- JMSDF crew 1953-58 (Yamayuri); USN caretaker/reserve-fleet personnel 1946-53
- Limitations
- All three are secondary compilations, not primary registries; they corroborate the NavSource milestone spine and fill its blank decommission/stricken dates, but those fills are unverified against a primary record (no DANFS entry, no NVR entry - the hull predates NVR coverage). uboat.net's 29 August laid-down date conflicts with NavSource's 28 August (see gaps). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-04
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[6]shipbuildinghistory.com, George Lawley & Sons yard list - contract award 5-Apr-44, hull 1623 = LCS(L) 18, delivered/commissioned 30-Sep-44, 'Later LSSL 18, to Japan 1953 as Yamayuri, returned 1958, sunk as target 1958' [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Lawley yard table, hull 1623 row
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard-record compilation for this hull's builder: the Lawley yard list carries LCS(L) 18 as yard hull number 1623 under contract award 5 April 1944, delivered 30 September 1944 - consistent with the NavSource commissioning date and confirming George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset as builder. The same list shows the 5-Apr-44 contract covered Lawley hulls 1606-1630 (LCS(L) 1-25) and the follow-on 5-Jun-44 contract hulls 1631-1644 (LCS(L) 109-122) - Lawley's share of the 130-boat class.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation of yard output records, not a primary contract document; consistent with all other milestone sources. Establishes builder and contract/hull number only - no materials, no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-05
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specification block (diesel propulsion - GM quad packs, no steam plant; class index: 130 LCS(L)(3)s built 1944-45 by Lawley, Albina, and Commercial Iron Works, developed by the George Lawley Company); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era (see ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specification block and class index (10/05/05idx.htm); spec sources Baker USNI 1989 and Lawley class instructions
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1944 combat-program amphibious gunboat sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this period were diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve and machinery packing, electrical insulation, and interior finish/fireproofing materials. Because the specification block documents diesel propulsion (no boilers, no steam plant), the boiler-room and steam-line lagging pathway of steam-driven ships does not apply; the confined-space dynamic of a 158-foot, 71-man craft applies instead - any asbestos materials aboard concentrated in a small hull volume.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1958
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); reserve-fleet and transfer-processing personnel (1946-53); JMSDF crew (1953-58)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCS(L)(3)-18. Lawley's own 'Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' and 'Original Plans of LCS(L)(3)' (cited as NavSource spec sources) are not digitized publicly and are the standing archival lead for a material-level answer. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials; no quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-06
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[8]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 existence (construction 1944 through sinking as a target 1958).
- 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 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, confirmed 2026-09-30 - standing access defect since batch 01); content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-07
-
[9]Batch-5686 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship page + CO narrative + class index; NHHC DANFS index and site search; NHHC H-Gram 049-1; NVR; uboat.net; navypedia; uswarships.jounin.jp; shipbuildinghistory.com; NARA catalog/deck-log lead; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-18-01 through sl-uss-lcs-l-3-18-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming USS LCS(L)(3)-18 / LSSL-18 / JDS Yamayuri was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion searches returned zero hits for 'LSSL-18', 'LCS(L)(3)-18', and 'Yamayuri'. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing material asserting asbestos aboard WWII landing craft generically (asbestos-ships.com landing-craft page and similar listicles) - excluded by source policy; none names this hull.
- 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 - the hull was sunk as a target in 1958 and the sources that could settle materials content (Lawley class instructions/plans, BuShips plans, deck logs) are not publicly digitized. CourtListener coverage is partial: five queries verified zero (opinions: LSSL-18, LCS(L)(3)-18, Yamayuri; dockets: LCS(L)-18, Yamayuri) but 'LCS(L)-18' opinion and the LSSL-18/LCS(L)(3)-18 docket queries were fleet-paced at record time - residual open gap, not a negative result (see sl-uss-lcs-l-3-18-10). Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-18-08