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 LSSL-4 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-4 - timeline, command organization, campaign record, specifications block, commanding-officer listing [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050004.htm header block, campaign table, commanding-officers table, and specifications block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 5 July 1944 at George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset, MA; launched 15 July 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-4, 11 August 1944, LT. E. W. Welch Jr. in command; international radio call sign NVOO. WWII: assigned Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Five (CAPT. J. M. Mc Isaac USN), LCS(L)(3) Group Fifteen (LCDR. H. Heine USNR), LCS(L)(3) Division Twenty-Nine; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation, assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 18-30 June 1945; earned one battle star. Post-war: Navy Occupation Service (2 Sep-7 Dec 1945) and China Service (8-16 Dec 1945). Decommissioned, date unknown; laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria, OR; redesignated Landing Ship Support Large USS LSSL-4, 28 February 1949; transferred to France 15 August 1950 (RFS LSSL-2, then RFS Arquebuse L-9022); transferred to South Vietnam 1955 (RVNS Linh Kiem HQ-226, later RVNS Le Trong Deim HQ-226); struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; final disposition - sunk in South Vietnam, 3 October 1970. Spec block (per Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, Navships 250-012, 15 Apr 1945; Baker, Allied Landing Craft of WWII; and Lawley's own 'Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' and 'Original Plans of LCS(L)(3)'): 250 t light / 387 t full; 158 ft o.a.; beam 23 ft 8 in; complement 6 officers + 65 enlisted; propulsion 2 quad packs of 4 General Motors '6051 series 71' diesel engines per shaft, 1,600 BHP, single GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2 diesel-drive 60 kW 450 V AC ship-service generators.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (Jul 1944); crew (~71, 1944-decommissioning); French crew (1950-55); RVN crew (1955-70)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestones generally track NVR/DANFS but rest on the compilers' sourcing; the page's spec block cites the wartime official Ships' Data publication (Navships 250-012) plus Lawley's builder documentation. Decommissioning and striking dates are explicitly unknown in the source. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-01
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[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, LCS(L)(3) class index page - class production and post-war disposition summary [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/05idx.htm introductory text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class context: 'One hundred thirty LCS(L)(3)s were built during World War II. They were developed by the George Lawley Company, Neponset, Mass and produced there and by Albina Engine and Machine Works, and Comercial [sic] Iron Works, Portland Oregon. LCS(L)(3)s served only in the Pacific campaign. In 1949 LCS(L)(3)s remaining in the US Navy's inventory were redesignated Landing Ship Support Large (LSSL). Fifty-three LSSLs were transferred to the Japan Maritime Self-defense Force in 1952 and numerous others were transferred to allied nations.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1952
- Population
- All LCS(L)(3) crews and builders (1944-70)
- Limitations
- Class-level framing only - does not distinguish hulls or document materials. Yard hull-count split (47 Lawley / 31 Albina / 52 Commercial Iron Works) per the Landing Craft Support Museum; NavSource does not itemize counts.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-02
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[3]Landing Craft Support Museum (National Association of LCS(L) 1-130), 'History' page - class development, yard split, employment, and post-war disposition [museum_official]
- Locator
- lcsmuseum.org/History.html (full page)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class history from the custodian organization of the sole surviving class member (USS LCS(L)(3)-102, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA): the type was developed from LCI-based gunboat conversions after the Tarawa assault exposed the close-fire-support gap; 130 built 1944-45 - Lawley (Neponset) 47, Albina Engine and Machine Works (Portland) 31, Commercial Iron Works (Portland) 52; employed at the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Borneo; post-war reserve lay-up at Green Cove Springs, FL and Astoria (the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group where this hull lay); reclassified LSSL in 1949; transfers to Japan, France, Vietnam, Italy, Greece, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1942-1955
- Population
- Class crews and construction yards (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Museum advocacy page - accurate on broad class facts but contains a date error (Tarawa assault stated as '20 November 1944'; the assault was 20-23 November 1943) and is not a primary source. No asbestos, materials, or hazmat content. Does not name this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-03
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[4]Transport Doctrine, Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet (WWII-era USN doctrinal publication, HyperWar transcription), Chapter 2/27 landing-craft characteristics table - LCS(L)(3) row [other_primary]
- Locator
- HyperWar transport-2.html, LCS(L)(3) discussion paragraph and characteristics-table row
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Period US Navy doctrine documents the class: LCS(L)(3) 'are adaptations of the basic LCI design, but are originally constructed as support craft'; characteristics table lists LCS(L)(3) at 158 ft 5.5 in, beam 23 ft 3 in, draft 4 ft 8 in fwd / 6 ft 6 in aft, 387 tons, 12 kts, '8-225 HP Diesels', 5,000-mile radius, 10-ton evaporators, 76-ton fuel capacity, armament 3 x 40mm (twin) + 4 x 20mm + 10 Mk7 rocket launchers, splinter armor, complement 5 officers and 65 enlisted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Class crews (1944-45)
- Limitations
- Class/era documentation - the table describes the type, not this hull. Complement and power figures differ from the NavSource spec block (Navships 250-012: 6 officers + 65 enlisted, 1,600 BHP) - conflicts logged in gaps. No asbestos or materials content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-04
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[5]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 U.S. service era (1944-c.1946 active, reserve to 1950).
- 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, consistent with prior batches) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-05
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[6]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (Navships 250-012 via NavSource - diesel plant, all-welded steel LCI-type hull); NavSource class index (three yards, 1944-45 production); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos use through early 1970s) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block and class index; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A welded-steel amphibious gunboat built in July 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a small combatant of this type and period were thermal insulation around the engine and generator spaces, diesel exhaust lagging, gaskets and valve packing on machinery and piping, electrical insulation, and fireproofing in the confined hull volume. As a diesel-powered craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply, but the small-ship confined-space exposure dynamic (a ~250-ton hull worked and fought by ~71 men) applies.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1970
- Population
- Lawley construction trades (Jul-Aug 1944); crew 1944-c.1946 and reserve-fleet maintenance; French (1950-55) and South Vietnamese (1955-70) crews and any refit trades
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, builder's specification excerpt, or work package located for LCS(L)(3)-4. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-06
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[7]MIT Museum, McInnis-Lawley Collection (George Lawley & Son plans and photographs, ~1,700 sheets / ~150 designs); NARA RG 24 deck logs (not digitized); NHHC donated collection 'Rhame, L. Richard and National Association of LCS(L)(3) Papers' [other_primary]
- Locator
- mitmuseum.mit.edu collection page; archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online (LCS(L) absent from digitized list); history.navy.mil personal/donated collections index (Alden page listing the Rhame collection)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Archival leads for hull- and builder-level documentation: (1) MIT Museum's McInnis-Lawley Collection holds ~1,700 plan sheets for ~150 Lawley designs collected after the 1946 yard closure - the builder's own LCS(L)(3) documentation NavSource cites ('Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' and 'Original Plans of LCS(L)(3)') is the type of material this collection preserves; (2) NARA RG 24 WWII-era deck logs for this hull are held at Archives II, College Park - none appear on NARA's published list of digitized Navy deck logs; (3) NHHC's donated-collection index lists 'Rhame, L. Richard and National Association of LCS(L)(3) Papers' - a class-organization archive.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946 (logs); collection coverage undated
- Limitations
- Leads only - none of these holdings has been pulled or examined; whether the Lawley plans, deck logs, or association papers contain material or maintenance detail for this hull is unknown. MIT Museum collection page verified live; NARA digitized-logs list checked 2026-09-30 (no LCS(L) entries); catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and unfetchable from this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-07
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[8]Batch-5710 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page + class index; LCS Museum history; HyperWar Transport Doctrine; GAO product page; NVR (no entry); NARA digitized-logs list (no entry); CourtListener (partial - see below); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-01 through -11
- 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)-4 / USS LSSL-4 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion search returned zero results for both '"LCS(L)(3)-4"' and '"LSSL-4"' (authenticated API v4); remaining CourtListener queries (docket-type searches and broader class-name terms) were blocked by the fleet pacing limiter this session - logged as blocked in the search_ledger, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; the only 'asbestos aboard' material is law-firm marketing content (mesowatch.org and similar shipyard/vessel listicles 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. The litigation repository search is partially open - only two opinion-type queries completed before the fleet pacing limiter blocked further requests; docket-type and class-name queries remain unrun. Deck logs, Lawley yard records (MIT Museum lead), and any French/RVN-era maintenance records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcs-l-3-4-lcsl34-08