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 LSSL-3 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-3 - construction, commissioning, unit assignments, milestones, specifications, merchant-documentation chain (verified live at navsource.net) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050003.htm - header, milestone block, specifications block, awards ribbon display, commanding-officer table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 14 June 1944 at George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset, MA; launched 5 July 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-3 on 31 July 1944, LT. T. J. Ryan USNR in command. WWII assignment: Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Five (CAPT. J. M. Mc Isaac USN), Group Fifteen (LCDR. H. Heine USNR), Division Twenty-Nine. Decommissioned 15 May 1946; laid up in reserve at Naval Station Astoria, OR; redesignated Landing Ship Support Large USS LSSL-3, 28 February 1949; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Merchant chain: registered 1954 by Everett A. Hogland as freight barge Hwaka, homeported Seattle, WA; registered 1961 by B & B Tug & Barge, Juneau, AK; registered 1967 by Bering Sea Fisheries; out of documentation 2009; final disposition fate unknown. Spec block: 250 t light / 387 t full; 158 ft o.a.; 23 ft 8 in beam; 16.5 kt max; complement 6 officers, 65 enlisted; 10-lb STS splinter shields; armament 1x 3"/50 DP bow gun, 2x twin 40mm, 4x 20mm, 4x .50 cal, 10x Mk7 rocket launchers; propulsion four GM 6-71-series diesels per shaft, two shafts (eight engines total, ~1,600 bhp), GM reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia clasp).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-2009
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (Jun-Jul 1944); wartime crew, 71 complement (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestones generally track official records but the page carries two internal defects: its occupation-service sentence names hull -2 (apparent copy-over), and its 'Reactivated in 1952 for loan to Japan' line conflicts with the 1954 Seattle merchant registration it itself lists (see ev-08). No asbestos content. Specifications cite the builder's Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class and Original Plans plus Baker's Allied Landing Craft of World War II - not independently verified against those sources.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-01
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[2]NavSource Online, LCS(L)(3) index (10/05/05idx.htm) and class operational description (10/05/05func.htm, text credited to Robin L. Rielly) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/05idx.htm class header paragraph; 10/05/05func.htm operational description
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level documentation: 130 LCS(L)(3)s built during WWII; the type was developed by the George Lawley Company, Neponset, MA (which performed the design work on the LCI(L)-derived hull) and produced there and by Albina Engine and Machine Works and Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR. LCS(L)(3)s served only in the Pacific campaign - conceived after Tarawa (20 November 1943) showed the need for close-in fire support past the naval bombardment window; assault tactics were three rocket runs at 1,000, 800, and 500 yards, then gunfire on targets of opportunity; at Okinawa the type also ran radar picket stations against kamikazes and screened anchorages for suicide boats, with fire-fighting capability. In 1949 surviving inventory was redesignated Landing Ship Support Large (LSSL); beginning 1952, 53 went to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and others to France, Thailand, and other allies.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1954
- Population
- Class-wide: crews of 130 hulls; construction trades at three yards (Lawley Neponset; Albina and Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR)
- Limitations
- Class-level operational history, not a hull record - documents the type's design origin, tactics, and disposition pattern, not this hull's specific operations. Rielly is the class historian (Mighty Midgets at War, Hellgate Press 2000) but the NavSource page is still a secondary compilation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-02
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[3]NHHC photograph NH 65821, 'Japanese suicide plane attack on LCS(L) 3, circa 1945' - Collection of Admiral H. W. Hill, USN, received June 1968 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog, NH 65821 title/caption/description fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC catalogs a photograph of this hull under Japanese suicide-plane attack, circa 1945, from the collection of Admiral H. W. Hill (an amphibious-forces commander in the Pacific). This is contemporaneous official photographic documentation that LCS(L)(3)-3 was in a combat zone subject to kamikaze attack during the war.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- circa 1945
- Population
- Crew aboard during combat operations, 1945
- Limitations
- The NHHC caption names only 'LCS(L) 3' and 'circa 1945' - it does not identify the operation or date. Sister hulls of the same division (LCS(L)(3) Division Twenty-Nine: -2 and -4 documented on NavSource) served at the Okinawa Gunto operation 18-30 June 1945, but this hull's own campaign is not itemized; the photo is carried as ship-specific combat-presence documentation without attributing it to a named operation. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-03
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[4]NHHC photograph NH 81528, 'USS LCS(L)(3)-1 ... At George Lawley and Son Corp., Neponset, Massachusetts, 15 June 1944' - James C. Fahey collection, U.S. Naval Institute [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC online image catalog, NH 81528 title/caption fields
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC photograph documents the type under construction at the George Lawley yard, Neponset, on 15 June 1944 - the day after this hull (LCS(L)(3)-3) was laid down there (14 June 1944, per NavSource). The photograph shows sister hull LCS(L)(3)-1 at the same yard at the moment this hull was on the ways, corroborating the builder location and construction window.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- June 1944
- Population
- Lawley yard trades, June 1944
- Limitations
- Archival/context lead only: the photographed hull is sister -1, not -3 - the image documents the yard and the type under construction, not this specific hull. Construction-material content cannot be read from the photo. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-04
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[5]ShipbuildingHistory.com, George S. Lawley & Sons yard list, Neponset MA - Lawley contract table (contracts of 5-Apr-44: LCS(L) 1-25, yard nos. 1606-1630; 5-Jun-44: LCS(L) 109-130, yard nos. 1631-1652) [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com Lawley yard table, row yard-no. 1608
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The Lawley yard list records this hull as yard number 1608, U.S. Coast Guard official number 262164, 'LCS(L) 3', delivered/commissioned 31 July 1944, with the disposition note 'Later LSSL 3, sold as Hwaka, scrapped 1950.' The yard table independently corroborates that hull 3 was built at Lawley (contract of 5 April 1944 covering LCS(L) 1-25), that it carried Coast Guard official number 262164 in merchant service, and that it was 'sold as Hwaka' - supporting the merchant-barge path rather than a completed transfer to Japan.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-2009
- Population
- Merchant crews, Hwaka (1954-2009)
- Limitations
- Secondary compilation (ShipbuildingHistory.com, T. Colton), consistent with NavSource but not a primary registry. Its 'scrapped 1950' tail note conflicts with the documented merchant registration chain running to 2009 (NavSource) - 'scrapped 1950' is likely shorthand for sale/strike timing and is flagged in gaps, not asserted. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-05
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[6]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - full text retrieved this session via Firecrawl (https://www.gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO HRD-80-2, letter report + Navy enclosures I-II (insulation-applications narrative; asbestos-free spec history; per-class insulation table)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented Navy-wide asbestos use: per the Navy's own enclosure, 'all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables,' thermal insulation was 'the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships,' and 'there are so many common uses of asbestos that it is nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral' - applications enumerated include thermal insulation, gaskets, pipe hanger liners, brake/clutch linings, and electric cables. Asbestos-free thermal-insulation specifications were not adopted until 1973, and ships continued to be delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978 - this hull's entire 1944 construction and 1944-46 service fall inside the documented asbestos era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); covers construction era through May 1978
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; shipboard populations Navy-wide
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. The report's fieldwork and insulation-weight tables cover 1970s fleet classes (DD-963, CGN, SSN, AOR, AGOR, YTB, YON) - it does not describe a 1944 amphibious craft specifically, though the qualitative statement about the breadth of shipboard asbestos applications spans the era. No hull named.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-06
-
[7]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (four GM 6-71-series diesels per shaft, two shafts, GM reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2x 60 kW diesel-drive generators); NavSource class operational description; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy enclosure (asbestos in clutches, electric cables, gaskets, pipe hanger liners, thermal insulation; 'nearly impossible to build a Navy ship free of the mineral') [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050003.htm spec block; NavSource 05func.htm; GAO HRD-80-2 Navy enclosure
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 250-ton amphibious gunboat built in 1944 at a Navy-contracted yard sits inside the documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel vessel of this type and period were machinery and engine-exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing on fuel/cooling/machinery systems, electrical insulation and cable insulation, brake and clutch linings on deck machinery (winches, windlass), and thermal/acoustic insulation in the compact crew spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of larger warships does not apply, but the confined-hull exposure dynamic (71 crew in a 158-ft vessel) applies with full force.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-2009
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (1944); crew (1944-46); reserve-fleet maintenance (Astoria); merchant crews/conversion trades, Hwaka (1954-2009)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCS(L)(3)-3. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. Merchant-era conversion scope (1954+) is undocumented and could have removed or disturbed original materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-07
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[8]Designation/disposition cross-check: NavSource 050003.htm milestone text; NavSource 05idx.htm class transfer summary; shipbuildinghistory.com Lawley table row 1608; NavSource sibling pages 050002.htm / 050004.htm (Division Twenty-Nine sisters -2, -4) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 050003.htm milestone block vs 050002.htm/050004.htm sibling entries; shipbuildinghistory.com Lawley table; NavSource 05idx.htm JMSDF-transfer summary
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CORRECTION/CONFLICT RECORD: (1) The NavSource -3 page's occupation-service sentence reads 'Following World War II USS LCS(L)(3)-2 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 September to 20 November 1945' - it names hull -2 with -2's identical dates, an apparent copy-over; the -3 page's own ribbon display does include the Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp, so this hull likely performed occupation service, but the -2-dated line cannot be asserted for -3. (2) NavSource records 'Reactivated in 1952 for loan to Japan' for this hull, but lists no Japanese name and itself records US merchant registration as the barge Hwaka in Seattle in 1954; the ShipbuildingHistory yard list independently reads 'Later LSSL 3, sold as Hwaka' with no Japan entry. A completed JMSDF transfer is unsupported - if reactivation for a loan began in 1952, it was not consummated, and the documented path is merchant sale. (3) ShipbuildingHistory's 'scrapped 1950' conflicts with the merchant documentation chain to 2009.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-2009
- Limitations
- Documents source conflicts, not a material claim. Whether any reactivation work was performed on this hull in 1952, or the line is a NavSource template artifact, is unresolved - the merchant chain (1954 Hogland/Seattle, 1961 B&B Juneau, 1967 Bering Sea Fisheries, out of documentation 2009) is the consistent documented path across two compilations. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-08
-
[9]Batch-5699 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship/class/operations pages; NHHC NH 65821 + NH 81528; shipbuildinghistory.com Lawley yard list; NHHC DANFS candidate URLs (404); NVR (pre-1987 disposal, no entry); CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches; GAO HRD-80-2 full text; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCS(L)(3)-3 / LSSL-3 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion search for '"LCS(L)(3)-3" OR "LSSL-3"' returned zero results; the same query on the docket index returned only tokenization noise (unrelated docket numbers containing '3-3' fragments), and a broadened type-designation + asbestos opinion query returned generic asbestos dockets with no match to this hull or type. Secondary web sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing content (mesothelioma.net-class listicles; mesowatch.org yard page for George Lawley & Sons) 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. Deck logs (RG 24), builder work packages (Lawley Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class and Original Plans, cited by NavSource but not located online), Navy muster/transfer records, and the merchant documentation file for Hwaka (official no. 262164) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-3-lcsl33-09