Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
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[1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, 1945, Vol. II (Mine Vessels, Patrol Vessels, Landing Ships and Craft), NAVSHIPS 250-011, effective April 1945 (ShipScribe mirror of official BuShips publication) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 Vol. II, LCS(L)(3) class sheet, p. 219 (characteristics) and pp. 219-220 (per-hull build table, 'LCS (L) (3) 47' row)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Primary-source build record naming this hull: 'LCS (L) (3) 47' - 'Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg.' - keel laid 9 Oct 44, ship launched 29 Oct 44, date of first commission 13 Nov 44. The class sheet for 'LCS (L) (3) 1-130' gives: 158' overall / 153' waterline length, 23'8" extreme beam, 387 tons full-load displacement, 5'8" limiting draft, 14.4-knot trial speed, G.M. Diesel 6051 series 71 engines with 1,320 shaft horsepower on trial, single G.M. main reduction gears, 2 diesel-drive 60kW 450V AC ship's service generators, 635 bbls diesel oil, 2 propellers.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1945
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Official BuShips data book, April 1945 edition - documents the hull's construction data and class characteristics only; contains no asbestos or material content. The document predates her disposal, so decommissioning/striking are not covered. Ship's-data trial figures (1,320 shp, 14.4 kt) are design/trial values, not operational maximums.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-01
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCS(L)(3)-47 (page 10/05/050047) - milestones, flotilla assignment, campaign credit, occupation/China service windows, disposal, specifications [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050047.htm header block, campaign/service tables, specifications block, photo captions (last updated 2017-08-11)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 9 October 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR; launched 29 October 1944; commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-47 on 13 November 1944, LT. F. R. Butler USNR in command. WWII assignment: 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. Campaign credit: Borneo operation, Brunei Bay operation, 8-30 June 1945; one battle star for WWII service. Post-war: Navy Occupation Service Medal 4 September - 8 October 1945; China Service Medal (extended) 9 October - 10 December 1945. Decommissioned and struck dates unknown. Final disposition: sold 7 October 1947 to Nick Bez, Seattle, WA - fate unknown. Photographs show -47 at Tsingtao, China, circa late 1945-early 1946 alongside LCS(L)(3)-23 and -46 (National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 / Ken Krayer). Spec block: 250 t light / 387 t full; 158' oa; 23'8" beam; 5'8" draft; complement 6 officers, 65 enlisted; one 3"/50 DP bow mount, two twin 40mm, four 20mm, four .50 cal, ten Mk7 rocket launchers; 10-lb STS splinter shields.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1944); crew (1944-47); Tsingtao duty population (late 1945)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation tracking official records - milestone dates consistent with the BuShips primary record (ev-01). Decommissioning and striking dates are recorded as unknown, and the post-sale fate ('fate unknown') is undocumented - the gap is in the source, not omitted here. 'There is no history currently available for USS LCS(L)(3)-47' on the page - no narrative beyond milestones. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-02
-
[3]'A Brief History of LCS(L)(3) 46' by Lt.(jg) W. P. McCarthy, commanding officer, USS LCS(L)(3)-46 - unit narrative hosted on NavSource naming hull 47 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/050046h.htm, narrative text (sailings of 15 Jan, 30 Mar 1945; Tsingtao 28-30 Nov 1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A first-person unit history by the commanding officer of sister ship LCS(L)(3)-46 explicitly names hull 47 in company: (1) 'on 15 January 1945 we sailed for Pearl Harbor in company with LCSs 45, 47, 59, 60, 79 and 80, arriving at our destination on 24 January' (San Diego - Pearl Harbor transit); (2) 'On 30 March [1945] the 46 left Eniwetok in company with LCSs 45, 47, 58, 59, 60, 79 and 80, with orders to report to the Commander of the Seventh Fleet at Leyte' - the unit was delayed at Kossol Passage, Palau, 6-14 April and arrived San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 17 April 1945; (3) 'we were immediately directed to proceed to Tsingtao, China with the LCS 47 on 28 November [1945]. After arriving at our port on 30 November we reported for duty and were given a dock space in the inner harbor' - placing -47 at Tsingtao, China from 30 November 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-01-15 to 1945-11-30
- Population
- Division Three crew complement in transit (Jan 1945, Mar-Apr 1945); Tsingtao duty (Nov-Dec 1945)
- Limitations
- Primary-narrative source (a wartime CO's unit history) hosted on a secondary site; it documents hull 47's movements where named but is the sister ship's narrative, not -47's own deck log or history. Intermediate legs (Pearl Harbor - Eniwetok March 1945; Leyte - Morotai 4-7 May 1945; the 11 December 1945 Tsingtao departure for Pearl Harbor) are unit-level context - the narrative does not name -47 on those specific legs, only that she was in company on the documented ones. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-03
-
[4]uboat.net Allied Warships, USS LCS(L)-47 - build data and Operation Oboe VI (Brunei, 10 June 1945) order of battle [other_primary]
- Locator
- uboat.net ship page 22279 - build table and 'Notable events: 10 Jun 1945, Operation Oboe VI' order of battle (TU 78.1.31, TU 78.1.37)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Build data for this hull: ordered 5 April 1944; built by Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR; laid down 9 Oct 1944, launched 29 Oct 1944, commissioned 13 Nov 1944; sold 7 October 1947. For Operation Oboe VI (Allied landings at Brunei, Zebra Day 10 June 1945, landing the Australian 9th Division in Brunei Bay): USS LCS(L)-47 (Lt. F.E. Butler, USN) was assigned to Task Unit 78.1.31, the LCS Unit under T/Capt. R.E. Arison USN (embarked in LCI(L)-778), and to the 'Green' Support Unit (TU 78.1.37) with LCI(L)-778, LCS(L)-42, LCI(G)-65, LCI(G)-68, LCI(R)-74, LCI(R)-338 and LCI(S)-961.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947; Brunei operation 1945-06
- Population
- Crew (~71) during Brunei operation
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a respected secondary compilation transcribing official action-report orders of battle; CO name initial differs from NavSource ('F.E. Butler, USN' vs 'F. R. Butler, USNR') - variant carried in gaps. Order-of-battle transcription supports -47's participation in the Brunei operation consistent with her battle-star credit; it does not document ship-level actions at Brunei. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-04
-
[5]NHHC, 'Casualties: Navy and Coast Guard Ships' (official WWII loss/damage list) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC casualties page, 'Landing Craft, Support (Large)(Mk. III) (LCS(L))' section
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NHHC's official casualty list records six LCS(L)(3) hulls lost or damaged beyond repair in WWII: LCS(L)(3)-7, -15, -26, -33, -49 (sunk by kamikaze, suicide boat, or shore battery at Mariveles, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima), and -127 (sunk off California 5 March 1945), plus -37 (engines damaged beyond repair off Okinawa). USS LCS(L)(3)-47 is NOT on the list - consistent with her documented survival to sale in October 1947.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1941-1945 (list scope)
- Limitations
- Negative finding on war-loss only: establishes that -47 was not a WWII casualty; it says nothing about post-war condition, disposal mechanics, or any material/asbestos content. Absence from an official list is itself a documented result, not an inference.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-05
-
[6]NavSource LCS(L)(3) / LSSL photo index - class build summary and 1949 redesignation note; National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 class history (mightymidgets.org page6) - LCI-hull design origin [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/05/05idx.htm header text and index entry for LCS(L)(3)-47; mightymidgets.org/page6.htm class history
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Class-level documentation: '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 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...' The veterans' association history adds the design origin: 'Using the existing plans for the LCI hull, the Lawley yard had designed a new fire support ship' - the class known as the 'Mighty Midgets' (Rielly, 'Mighty Midgets at War'). The index lists this hull plainly as 'LCS(L)(3)-47' with no '/LSSL-47' suffix - unlike hulls still in the 1949 inventory - consistent with her October 1947 sale predating the reclassification; this hull never held an LSSL designation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1952
- Limitations
- Class-level context for the designation and design history: the no-LSSL conclusion for -47 is derived from the 1949 reclass date vs. the documented 7 Oct 1947 sale, corroborated by the index's naming convention (LSSL suffixes shown only for redesignated hulls). The association history is a veterans' secondary source, not an official record. Negative-designation evidence, not a material/asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-06
-
[7]Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 'Zidell Waterfront Property Cleanup' (2012 community presentation); DEQ ECSI Site ID 689, Zidell Waterfront Property, CERCLIS 027765650, 3121 SW Moody Ave, Portland [other_primary]
- Locator
- DEQ FilterDocs ph-ZidellCAG.pdf (Background, Site Contaminants, Regulatory Milestones sections); DEQ ECSI ecsidetail seqnbr=689; 77 FR 19544 (2012-7784) Regulated Navigation Area
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- Government documentation of asbestos at the builder's yard site: the former Commercial Iron Works shipyard (Ross Island / South Waterfront, Portland - 'Ironworks shipyard before WWII; building, repair and salvage of Victory Ships during WWII') was 'purchased by Zidell in 1946: 336 ships dismantled over 30 years - scrap sold, waste used as site fill.' DEQ site documentation lists asbestos among confirmed site contaminants in groundwater, upland soil, and riverbed sediment ('Asbestos is also prevalent in upland and bankline soil' per the ECSI Site 689 summary), requiring a DEQ-overseen remedial action including asbestos abatement with certified workers and an engineered sediment cap in the Willamette River (USCG Regulated Navigation Area, Federal Register 2012-7784).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1946-2012 (site history through remediation)
- Population
- Zidell shipbreaking workforce (1946-1970s); cleanup workers (2000s-2010s)
- Limitations
- Yard-site documentation, NOT a hull record: documents asbestos contamination at the site where this hull was built in 1944, but the documented asbestos derives primarily from 1946-onward shipbreaking operations (wire burning, ship-scrap fill) - it does not establish that asbestos was installed in this hull, and it post-dates her construction. Relevant as builder-yard context and as a post-war Pacific Northwest shipbreaking pathway; does not establish exposure for this hull's builders, crew, or any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-07
-
[8]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2, Highlights section
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, including 'the use of asbestos in Navy ships'; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas - documenting Navy-wide asbestos insulation use aboard ships well before substitution began in the early 1970s, spanning this hull's entire construction (1944) and service era (1944-47).
- 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 yards were Long Beach and Norfolk - Commercial Iron Works was not a surveyed yard. Product-page highlights verified live 2026-09-30 (gao.gov has intermittently blocked automated fetches in prior sessions).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: BuShips Ships' Data 1945 class sheet (all-diesel LCS(L)(3) plant - G.M. 6051-series 71 engines, 2 x 60kW diesel generators, no boilers); NavSource spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos era); DEQ Zidell site record (builder's yard contamination) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Ships' Data 1945 Vol. II LCS(L)(3) class sheet; NavSource 10/05/050047.htm spec block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered amphibious support craft built late 1944 at a wartime Portland yard sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a Navy craft of this type and period were thermal insulation around machinery and hot piping, diesel-exhaust lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation in the confined hull volume. As an all-diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; the machinery-space and exhaust lagging pathway does.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1947
- Population
- Commercial Iron Works construction trades (1944); crew (1944-47); any post-sale conversion/scrapping workforce (1947+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, construction specification, or work package located for hull 47. The Lawley 'Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class' and original class plans cited by NavSource were not located online and were not reviewed. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-09
-
[10]Batch-5718 search ledger (this record): BuShips Ships' Data 1945 (ShipScribe mirror); NavSource ship page, unit narrative, and class index; NHHC casualties list; uboat.net order of battle; Oregon DEQ Zidell documentation; GAO product page; CourtListener (searched; residual class-level items blocked); NARA catalog; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lcsl347-01 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)-47 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener (authenticated API, 2026-09-30): exact-hull opinion query 'LCS(L)(3)-47' returned zero results; designation-variant opinion query ('LCSL-47' OR 'LSSL-47' OR 'LCS(L)-47') returned zero results; a docket-index query across all hull variants returned zero results. A class-level opinion search for 'LCS(L)' returned 2 hits - 'Cardona, Gabriel' (Tex. App. 2015) and 'Fastship, LLC v. United States' (Fed. Cl. 2017) - both apparent name collisions on the 'LCS' string, neither a WWII landing-craft or asbestos case (full-text verification pacing-blocked - see ledger). REMAINING OPEN: a class-level 'LCS(L)' docket sweep and full-text verification of the two opinion hits could not be completed - the fleet-wide request budget was intermittently spent; logged as blocked in search_ledger. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' material naming the builder's yard is law-firm marketing content (asbestos-ships.com, mesowatch.org) asserting 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. Hull-level and variant-level opinion AND docket searches returned zero; the residual gap is the class-level docket sweep and full-text verification of two apparent name-collision opinion hits (paced). Deck logs (NARA RG 24), CIW build contracts/work packages, and any 1947 sale/conversion records are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lcsl347-10