USS LCS(L)(3)-43

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCS(L)(3)-43 - construction timeline, wartime assignments, campaigns, awards, disposal, merchant registrations (live fetch verified) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/05/050043.htm - header block (call sign, ribbons), LCS(L)(3)-1 class timeline bullets, campaign table, occupation/China service table, Commanding Officers table, photo-caption block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: laid down 23 September 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR; launched 14 October 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-43, 30 October 1944, 'LT. W. A. Moore USNR in command' (NavSource text - see gaps for the CO conflict); international radio call sign NVSO. Assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater - LCS(L)(3) Flotilla One (CAPT. R.E. Arison USNR), LCS(L)(3) Group Two (LT. M.C. Fitzgerald USNR), LCS(L)(3) Division Three. Campaigns: Consolidation and capture of southern Philippines - Zamboanga landing, 10 March 1945; Borneo operation - Tarakan Island operation, 1 May 1945; Minesweeping Pacific operations - Yangtze River Approaches, February to April 1946. Occupation service in the Far East 12-22 September 1945 and 12-15 April 1946; China Service Medal (extended) 28 September 1945 to 7 April 1946. Decommissioned 17 September 1946. Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown. Three battle stars for WWII service (NavSource's page text carries the typo 'USS LCI(L)(3)-43 earned three battle stars' - LCI for LCS). Ribbon display: China Service Medal (extended); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3); WWII Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Philippines Liberation Medal (1). Sold 7 October 1947 to Nick Bez, Seattle WA. Registered 1956 by Manson Construction & Engineering Co., Seattle WA as freight scow Manson-43; registered 1983 by Sea & Shore Construction, Inc., Seattle WA as freight barge Tug of War; out of documentation 1985; final disposition, fate unknown. Photo captions document the hull's commissioning ceremony 30 October 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, her presence at Tarakan Island, Borneo, 1 May 1945 (visible behind USS LST-667), and the ship underway at Hong Kong circa February 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1985

   Population

   Commercial Iron Works construction trades (Sep-Oct 1944); commissioning crew and crew rotation (1944-46); merchant crews/owners as Manson-43 and Tug of War (1956-1985)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - its milestone dates generally track NVR/DANFS practice but the stricken date is unrecorded ('date unknown'). No asbestos or material content. The merchant-registration trail is reported by NavSource without primary documentation numbers; USCG/MARAD documentation records would settle the trail (Nauticapedia cites Merchant Vessels of the United States vol. 2, 1979 - see ev-10).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-01

2. [2]NavSource specifications block for this hull - sources cited: A.D. Baker III, Allied Landing Craft of World War II (Naval Institute Press, 1989); George Lawley & Sons Corp., Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class and Original Plans of LCS(L)(3) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/05/050043.htm - Specifications block and Specifications Sources note

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Specifications as published for this hull: displacement 250 t light / 387 t full; length 158 ft o.a.; beam 23 ft 8 in; draft 5 ft 8 in limiting/max loaded (4 ft 9 in fwd, 6 ft 6 in aft); speed 16.5 kt max at 650 shaft rpm (14.4 trial; 14.5 kt at 585 rpm); armor 10-lb STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning tower; complement 6 officers + 65 enlisted; endurance 5,500 miles at 12 kt; fuel/stores 635 bbls diesel (76 tons), 10 tons fresh water, 6 tons lubricating oil, 8 tons provisions; fresh-water distillation up to 1,000 gal/day. Armament: bow gun (one single 3"/50 dual-purpose gun mount), two twin 40mm AA mounts, four single 20mm AA mounts, four .50-cal machine guns, ten Mk 7 rocket launchers. Propulsion: 2 quad packs of 4 General Motors diesels per shaft (8 engines total), BHP 1,600; single General Motors main reduction gears; 2 diesel-driven 60kW 450V AC ship's service generators; twin variable-pitch propellers.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1946 (service window for the as-built spec)

   Population

   Crew operating diesel machinery spaces (1944-46)

   Limitations

   Secondary compilation reproducing class spec-sheet data (Baker; Lawley plans/instructions; NavShips 250-012 'Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels' April 15 1945 appears on sister pages of this series). No asbestos or materials content. This page renders the engine designation '6051 series 71' while sister pages render '6-71-series' - the GM 6-71 Detroit Diesel is the documented class plant; transcription variant noted, not silently corrected. The '2 quad packs of 4 engines per shaft' phrasing describes 8 GM diesels total (4 per shaft) driving twin variable-pitch props - consistent with the class's published 1,600 bhp total. This page's bow-gun entry reads 'one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount' (class design allowed a 3"/50, single 40mm, or twin 40mm bow mount; the crew history's mine-destruction ladder ending in '3"50 fire' is consistent with a 3"/50 aboard this hull).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-02

3. [3]NavSource history page for this hull: 'A Brief History of LCS(L) 43' - crew narrative provided by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 (live fetch verified) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource 10/05/050043h.htm - full-page narrative 'A Brief History of LCS(L) 43'

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   A crew-authored history of this hull: crew trained at Little Creek VA and Fort Pierce FL August-September 1944; met their skipper Lt. Earl 'Tim' Blakely at Little Creek; eight-day troop-train trip to Portland OR to pick up the ship. Keel laid 23 September 1944, launched 14 October, commissioned 30 October (matches NavSource). Shakedown and supply/ammunition loading along the California coast; departed for Hawaii 1 December 1944; collided one night with LCS-53 en route (both ships damaged, limped into Hawaii, about one month of repairs). Proceeded via the Marshall Islands and the British Admiralties to Hollandia, New Guinea (deck temperatures to 140 degrees, ammunition-safety concern); escort duty for LCTs and amphibious ships in the New Guinea/Philippine area. Reported to Admiral Royal at Mindoro 3 March 1945; Close Fire Support Unit for the Zamboanga, Mindanao landing 10 March 1945 - from 6 March the group protected the minesweeping unit under fire and covered the hydrographic unit near the beach; a Liberator bomber exploded above the beach area during the assault. 16 March 1945: fired on Semut village, Basilan Island on faulty intelligence before realizing the beach held Moro natives, not Japanese (medical aid then sent); 17 March supported the Illana Bay landing in the Polloc Harbor area. From 27 April, with five other LCSs, protected minesweepers off Tarakan and served as a mine-demolition unit; 1 May supported the Tarakan invasion with four other LCSs. 10-12 May: with three other LCSs attempted to retract grounded LSTs at Tarakan; with LCS-8 retracted one LST on 11 May but damaged shafts and screws severely enough to require tow to Morotai for repairs. Post-invasion Balikpapan (after 20 June) mine-demolition detail with sweepers. 15 July: Blakely reassigned to head a shore facility in the Philippines, replaced by Lt. William A. Moore. At the surrender the ship was at Balayan Bay, P.I., working with the First Cavalry Division preparing for the invasion of Japan. Post-surrender: mine-demolition duty in the China Sea; rode out a major typhoon underway inside Buckner Bay, Okinawa, more than 36 hours after losing both anchors. Followed minesweepers clearing the Yangtze River and South China Sea coast for months; several weeks of mine demolition around Hainan Island. Departed Hong Kong 7 April 1946; arrived San Pedro, California 29 May 1946 with worn-out diesel engines and a crew largely under 21; Lt. Norman Fox was skipper on the way home ('the last skipper of the 43'). The narrative closes: 'the 43 was... decommissioned and sold to Nick Bez of Seattle, where she was turned into scrap iron.'

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1946

   Population

   Commissioning crew (Lt. E. A. Blakely, officers and enlisted, 1944-45); Lt. W. A. Moore (CO from ~15 July 1945 per memoir); Lt. N. Fox (final CO, 1946 homeward passage)

   Limitations

   Veterans' association crew memoir - detailed single-source narrative, not an official record; memoir-grade detail (the LCS-53 collision, the Semut village incident, the LST-retraction shaft damage, the Buckner Bay typhoon) is corroborated in outline by NavSource's campaign table and by uboat.net's Tarakan order-of-battle entry but is not independently verified at primary level. CO sequence in this memoir (Blakely to ~15 July 1945, then Moore, then Fox for the homeward passage) conflicts with NavSource's 'LT. W. A. Moore USNR in command' at commissioning - carried in gaps. 'turned into scrap iron' is contradicted by the documented merchant-registration trail 1956-1985 (ev-01, ev-10) - the hull was not scrapped on sale. '50MM machine gun fire' is verbatim source text for .50 caliber (no 50mm MG existed aboard); preserved, not silently corrected. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-03

4. [4]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCS(L)-43 warship facts + Operation Oboe I (Tarakan, 1 May 1945) order of battle entry (live fetch verified) [other_primary]

   Locator

   uboat.net ship/22275 facts table and 'Notable events' - 1 May 1945 Operation Oboe I, Task Group 78.1.31 entry

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Independent corroboration of this hull's identity and milestones: built by Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR; ordered 5 April 1944; laid down 23 September 1944; launched 14 October 1944; commissioned 30 October 1944; sold 7 October 1947. 'Notable events' lists the ship in Operation Oboe I, the Allied landings at Tarakan, 1 May 1945: USS LCS(L)-43 (Lt.(jg) E.A. Blakley, USNR) in Task Group 78.1.31, the LCS Unit of the Tarakan Attack Group (R.Adm. F.B. Royal USN), alongside USS LCS(L)-8, -28, -44, -48 and -50 (TG 78.1.31 under the TG 78.1.3 Support Unit).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1947

   Population

   Crew under Lt.(jg) E.A. Blakley USNR at Tarakan, 1 May 1945

   Limitations

   Secondary warship database; its order-of-battle text reads as a compiled action-report narrative but no primary document is attached to the entry. Notably it lists 'Lt.(jg) E.A. Blakley, USNR' as this hull's commanding officer at Tarakan on 1 May 1945 - corroborating the crew memoir's sequence (Blakely relieved by Moore on 15 July 1945) and conflicting with NavSource's 'LT. W. A. Moore USNR in command' at commissioning; carried in gaps. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-04

5. [5]National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130, 'A Brief History of the Mighty Midgets' (veterans' association class history) [other_primary]

   Locator

   mightymidgets.org page6.htm, full-page class history text

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Class history: 130 LCS(L)s built by three yards (per the association: Lawley 47, Albina Engine & Machine Works 31, Commercial Iron Works 52). Developed from LCI hull plans for close-in fire support after the Tarawa landing lesson; first gunboat launched 15 May 1944 at George Lawley & Sons, Neponset MA. Campaigns: Philippines (Mariveles Bay suicide-boat attack 16 February 1945 sank LCS(L)s 7, 26, 49 and damaged 27), Iwo Jima assault 19 February 1945, Okinawa Hagushi beaches 1 April 1945 followed by 'skunk patrol' and radar picket duty (LCS(L)s 15 and 33 sunk by kamikazes; 25, 31, 51, 52, 57, 88, 116, 121, 122 damaged; 119 hit returning from a picket station; 37 disabled by a suicide boat), Borneo assault 1 May 1945 with LCS(L)s clearing mines alongside YMSs before the landing. Post-war: minesweeping operations around the Japanese islands, Korea, Taiwan and other Far East locations; by early 1946 most ships returned stateside into reserve at Green Cove Springs FL or Astoria WA; remaining in-service LCS(L)s reclassified LSSL in 1949; extensive foreign transfers (53 to Japan; also France, Vietnam, Italy, Greece, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines). Only LCS(L)-102 remains afloat (ex-Royal Thai Navy Nakha, to the Mare Island Historical Foundation, Vallejo CA); ex-LCS(L)-50 survives as a fishing boat in the Pacific Northwest.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1949

   Population

   LCS(L) crews class-wide (1944-46)

   Limitations

   Veterans' association secondary history - authoritative on class narrative but not a primary registry; per-yard production counts (47/31/52) do not match the contiguous hull blocks in the shipbuildinghistory delivery table (Lawley 1-25, Commercial 26-47, Albina 48-130), so per-yard totals are carried as a conflict in gaps rather than asserted. The page dates the Tarawa assault '20 November 1944' - the actual assault was 20 November 1943; source error noted, not propagated. Hull 43 is not individually named on the page, but the class campaigns it describes (southern Philippines, Borneo 1 May 1945, post-war minesweeping) match this hull's documented campaign table. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-05

6. [6]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (eight GM 6-71 diesels, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch props, diesel-driven generators - no steam plant); class design history (LCI-derived 158-ft combatant hull); GAO HRD-80-2 Navy asbestos-use era (see ev-07); documented asbestos contamination at the builder's Portland site (see ev-08) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource specifications; GAO HRD-80-2; site-cleanup reporting for the builder's yard (ev-08)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A naval combatant built in five weeks of September-October 1944 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a diesel-driven amphibious gunboat of this type and period were: exhaust lagging on the diesel exhaust runs, thermal insulation in machinery spaces, gaskets and valve packing throughout piping systems, and electrical insulation aboard a ship carrying 60kW generation and extensive gun/radar wiring. The confined 158-ft hull concentrates any such materials in small working volumes. As a diesel craft she carried no boilers or steam turbines - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1985

   Population

   Commercial Iron Works construction trades (Sep-Oct 1944); crew (1944-46); merchant crews/conversion trades on Manson-43 and Tug of War (1956-1985); any breakers if ultimately scrapped

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or builder's specification sheet naming asbestos was located for LCS(L)(3)-43. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull. The class's Lawley plans and NavShips 250-012 spec sheet (cited by NavSource) are undigitized leads that could carry material callouts.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-06

7. [7]GAO, Navy's Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) - product page plus full report text retrieved via browser-agent fetch this session [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page HRD-80-2; report letter 'Navy's Policy on Use of Asbestos' section (full text via browser-agent fetch)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented that asbestos was the Navy's major thermal-insulation material aboard ships and that its use era spans this hull's entire construction and service period (1944-46). Verbatim from the report: 'although all ships contain some asbestos in such components as clutches and electric cables, most ships delivered in the last several years or now under construction have little or no asbestos as thermal insulation, which was the Navy's major use of asbestos aboard ships.' 'The Navy's policy to eliminate the use of asbestos and materials containing asbestos, where suitable alternate materials have been designated, was issued in October 1975 after specifications had been revised to eliminate asbestos as an acceptable material for thermal insulation.' 'Product specifications for thermal insulation had been changed in 1973 to specify the use of asbestos-free materials, [but] asbestos materials had already been purchased and in some cases installed in ships under construction. Therefore, some ships were delivered with asbestos insulation as late as May 1978.'

   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. Fieldwork shipyards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards - Commercial Iron Works is not a covered site. Direct fetch of the report PDF returned HTTP 403 (gao.gov blocks automated requests, consistent with prior batches); full text was retrieved this session via browser-agent fetch of gao.gov/assets/hrd-80-2.pdf and quoted verbatim.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-07

8. [8]Oregon Public Broadcasting, 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard For World War II Ships' (Cassandra Profita, 1 Dec 2016) and 'Zidell's Willamette River Cleanup Is Coming to a Close' (Bonnie Stewart, 6 Oct 2011) [reputable_press]

   Locator

   opb.org 'Portland's Toxic Graveyard' (1 Dec 2016); opb.org 'Zidell's Willamette River Cleanup' (6 Oct 2011) - both fetched live 2026-09-30

   Finding type

   environmental_record

   Finding

   The site where this hull was built is a documented asbestos-contaminated industrial cleanup site. Commercial Iron Works' Willamette River shipyard built warships for the Navy during WWII (OPB property history: 'Commercial Iron Works built 200 ships for the U.S. Navy'). Zidell Machinery & Supply leased the old CIW yard from 1946 and built it into the nation's largest shipbreaking operation; the site 'was covered in ship scraps laced with toxic pollutants like lead, asbestos and... PCB' and 'the insulation on the ships, the wiring, the linoleum on the floors and even the paint was full of contaminants' (OPB, 2016). Remediation under Oregon DEQ oversight included trucking asbestos-contaminated soil to a Wasco County landfill and capping PCB/metal/tributyltin-laced river sediment (OPB, 2011).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   context_only

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1916-2011

   Population

   Commercial Iron Works wartime workforce (1941-45); Zidell shipbreaking workforce (1946-late 1970s); remediation crews (2006-2011)

   Limitations

   Yard-site environmental record, not a hull record: the documented asbestos contamination is dominated by the post-1946 Zidell shipbreaking era, which post-dates this hull's 1944 construction. It does not establish that materials aboard LCS(L)(3)-43 contained asbestos, nor quantify wartime-construction exposure at the yard. Oregon DEQ project files for the Zidell site (ECSI No. 689) are the primary-source lead behind the press coverage.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-08

9. [9]ShipbuildingHistory (Tim Colton), 'Landing Craft, Support (Large) - LCS(L)' construction table, via Wayback Machine capture (live page unreachable to automated fetch); corroborating delivery data at uboat.net [other_primary]

   Locator

   ShipbuildingHistory LCS(L) table row for hull 43 (Wayback capture 2026-04-15); uboat.net ship/22275 facts table

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   CORRECTION: the ShipbuildingHistory delivery table lists hull 43 as 'Commercial IW, Portland OR, FY44, delivery 30-Oct-44, Scrapped 1947.' The 'Scrapped 1947' disposition conflicts with the documented merchant trail - registered as freight scow Manson-43 (Manson Construction & Engineering Co., Seattle, 1956) and freight barge Tug of War (Sea & Shore Construction, Seattle, 1983), out of documentation 1985. A hull continuously registered into 1985 was not scrapped in 1947; the table's '1947' matches only the Navy sale date (7 October 1947 to Nick Bez). The crew memoir's 'turned into scrap iron' close is likewise contradicted. NavSource's documented merchant trail is carried; 'Scrapped 1947' is treated as a generic disposal label, not a breaking record. uboat.net independently corroborates: ordered 5 April 1944; laid down 23 September 1944; launched 14 October 1944; commissioned 30 October 1944; sold 7 October 1947.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1985

   Limitations

   Corrects a disposition conflict, not a material claim. NavSource's merchant trail rests on unreferenced registration data (no USCG/MARAD documentation numbers given on the ship page); Nauticapedia's matching trail cites Merchant Vessels of the United States vol. 2 (1979) (ev-10). The final fate after 1985 is genuinely unknown in all sources. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-09

10. [10]Nauticapedia (BC's Heritage Vessel Database), vessel profile LCS(L)(3)-43 (U.S.S.) (live fetch verified) [other_primary]

    Locator

    nauticapedia.ca vessel.php?id=92327 - 'Story', 'Historical Notes', 'Owners & Masters', 'References' blocks

    Finding type

    vessel_history

    Finding

    Independent registry-style corroboration of the merchant trail: 'This landing craft (lcs(l)(3)) was built in 1944 by Commercial Iron Works in Portland, OR.' Owners/masters sequence: United States Navy (1944-1957); Nick Bez, Seattle WA (1947); Manson Construction & Engineering Co., Seattle WA (1956-1983); Sea & Shore Construction Inc., Seattle WA (1983-1985); 'laid up' 1985. Cited reference: Merchant Vessels of the United States, Vol. 2 (1979) - the USCG merchant-vessel documentation series.

    Verification

    partial

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-30

    Study period

    1944-1985

    Population

    Merchant crews/owners of Manson-43 and Tug of War (1956-1985)

    Limitations

    Heritage-vessel database secondary compilation; its date ranges overlap oddly (US Navy listed to 1957 alongside Nick Bez 1947 and Manson 1956) - registry artifacts rather than a clean sequence, so the trail is carried at NavSource's dates with Nauticapedia as corroboration. Its cited reference (Merchant Vessels of the United States vol. 2, 1979) is the primary documentation series behind the merchant trail and remains an open verification lead. No asbestos content.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-10

11. [11]Batch-5714 search ledger (this record): NavSource ship page and crew-history page; NHHC/DANFS coverage check; NVR; uboat.net (facts + Tarakan order of battle); mightymidgets.org class history; shipbuildinghistory via Wayback; Nauticapedia; GAO product page + full text; OPB site-cleanup coverage; secondary web litigation sweep; CourtListener (partial - exact-string query completed, variants pacing-throttled) [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-01 through -13

    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)-43 was found in the public sources searched. No DANFS entry exists for this hull (numbered landing craft were not individually covered); the Naval Vessel Register does not cover ships disposed prior to 1987 (this hull sold 1947). CourtListener: the discriminating queries all completed with zero results - "LCS(L)(3)-43" in both opinions (type=o) and dockets (type=r), and "LCS-43" / "LCSL-43" in opinions; residual variants ("LCS(L)-43" type=o, merchant names "Manson-43"/"Tug of War", type=r on variants) were pacing-throttled this session - logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as negative results. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case naming this hull; the only 'asbestos aboard' material seen on sister-hull searches is law-firm marketing content (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 covered the discriminating hull strings in opinions and the exact string in dockets - all zero - but residual variants remain pacing-blocked, so litigation status is recorded as a near-complete negative with residual queries open, not a fully exhaustive negative. NARA RG 24 deck logs (Oct 1944 - Sep 1946), Commercial Iron Works contract/work records, Lawley class plans (NavShips 250-012 and the Lawley instruction set cited by NavSource), and USCG merchant documentation (Merchant Vessels of the United States) for Manson-43/Tug of War are undigitized or unverified leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lcs-l-3-43-lcsl343-11