USS LCS(L)(3)-85

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [1]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II, NAVSHIPS 250-011 (15 April 1945), LCS(L)(3) roster table [other_primary]

   Locator

   NAVSHIPS 250-011, LCS(L)(3) roster table, Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg. block, printed pp. 220-221 (PDF p. 14); hull-85 row verified visually against the page scan

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The Bureau of Ships roster identifies LCS(L)(3)-85 as built by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oreg. (ditto continuation of the builder block printed at hull 83 and continuing through hull 108); keel laid 30 October 1944; ship launched 19 November 1944; and date of first commission 9 December 1944.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944

   Population

   Commercial Iron Works construction trades; ship's company at commissioning

   Limitations

   Primary construction and commissioning record only; it contains no asbestos, insulation, abatement, crew-service, or final-disposition information for this hull. The roster's 19 November 1944 launch date conflicts with NavSource's 30 November 1944 (see gaps).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-01

2. [2]NavSource Online, USS LSSL-85 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-85 page (identity, specifications, campaign record, transfer chain) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Page heading, build/commission/service timeline, campaign table, awards block, commanding-officers block, and specifications block

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The page identifies this hull as USS LSSL-85 ex USS LCS(L)(3)-85 (1944-1949); states laid down 30 October 1944 at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; launched 30 November 1944; commissioned 9 December 1944 with ENS. Craig E. Randall USN in command; assigned to LCS(L)(3) Flotilla Four (CDR. N. Phillips USN), LCS(L)(3) Group Twelve (LCDR. B. D. Voegelin USNR), LCS(L)(3) Division Twenty-Two; participated in the Okinawa Gunto operation - assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 17 April to 30 June 1945; assigned to occupation service in the Far East 2 September 1945 to 2 February 1946; decommissioned 9 July 1946 and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tongue Point, Astoria, OR; redesignated USS LSSL-85 (Landing Ship Support Large) 28 February 1949; transferred on loan to Japan 30 May 1953 and named Tsuta; returned to U.S. Navy custody 31 March 1959; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; earned one battle star for World War II service; final disposition - sunk as a target 14 June 1960 off the coast of Oshima, Japan, by USS Renshaw (DDE-499). Awards block lists Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - Okinawa), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star), World War II Victory Medal, and Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp). Specifications block gives complement of 6 officers and 65 enlisted and General Motors diesel propulsion (two quad packs of four GM 6051-series-71 diesels per shaft at 1,600 BHP, single GM main reduction gears, two 60 kW 450V AC diesel-driven ship's-service generators, twin variable-pitch propellers). Page includes a builder's completion photo at Commercial Iron Works, Nov.-Dec. 1944, credited to the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1960

   Population

   Ship's company (6 officers, 65 enlisted per page); Okinawa campaign and occupation-service personnel

   Limitations

   NavSource is an archival compilation rather than a Navy registry; this page supplies ship-specific identity, service narrative, and transfer chain but does not document asbestos, insulation composition, or abatement. The 30 November 1944 launch date conflicts with the Bureau of Ships roster's 19 November 1944 (primary carried - see gaps). The 14 June 1960 target sinking rests on this page alone; DANFS for Renshaw confirms only that she was on a Far East deployment April-October 1960 and does not mention the sinking. Strike date unknown as stated by the page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-02

3. [3]NavSource Online, LCS(L)(3) / LSSL class index [other_primary]

   Locator

   LCS(L)(3) / LSSL class index, LCS(L)(3)-85 / LSSL-85 entry and class note

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The class index presents the designation relationship as LCS(L)(3)-85 / LSSL-85 and explains that 130 LCS(L)(3)s were built during World War II; that the type was developed by the George Lawley Company, Neponset, Mass. and produced there and by Albina Engine and Machine Works and Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; that LCS(L)(3)s served only in the Pacific campaign; and that LCS(L)(3) craft remaining in the U.S. Navy's inventory were redesignated Landing Ship Support Large (LSSL) in 1949.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1949

   Population

   LCS(L)(3) class, postwar Navy inventory

   Limitations

   The redesignation rule and builder roster are class-level; the linked hull heading establishes the LSSL-85 alias for this record. The index does not provide a ship-specific decommissioning, strike, or disposition date.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-03

4. [4]ShipbuildingHistory (Colton & Company), Commercial Iron Works Portland build list [other_primary]

   Locator

   Commercial Iron Works build list, yard hull 197 row

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   The Commercial Iron Works yard build list identifies yard hull 197 as LCS(L) 85, U.S. Navy landing craft, 250 tons, 159 ft, delivered/commissioned 9 December 1944, and records its disposition as 'To Japan 1953 as Tsuta, returned 1959' - corroborating the Bureau of Ships builder assignment, the commissioning date, and the NavSource Japan-loan and 1959 return chain.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1959

   Population

   Commercial Iron Works construction trades

   Limitations

   A compiled shipyard-record reference work, not a government registry; it corroborates but does not replace the Navy roster. It does not document asbestos, materials, or the ship's fate after the 1959 return.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-04

5. [5]National Archives, Special List #44, by Ship Numbers (NARA logbook holdings index) [other_primary]

   Locator

   sl-44-ship-number.pdf p. 34, LCS(L)(3)-85 row

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The National Archives ship-number list records LCS(L)(3)-85 with a begin date of 12/9/1944 (the commissioning date) and an end date of 12/31/1945 - indicating NARA holds logbook material for this hull covering commissioning through the end of 1945. The hull does not appear on NARA's 'Navy Deck Logs Available Online' list, so these logs are held but not digitized for public access.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1944-1945

   Population

   U.S. Navy vessel administrative records

   Limitations

   The list's begin/end columns index logbook coverage, not a complete commissioned/decommissioned history - the 12/31/1945 endpoint reflects holdings coverage, not the ship's July 1946 decommissioning. It contains no asbestos information and does not establish exposure or the condition of materials aboard this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-05

6. [6]U.S. Naval Academy Nimitz Library Special Collections & Archives, MS 415 World War II Ship Action Reports finding aid [other_primary]

   Locator

   MS 415 finding aid, Series 2 (SHIPS L), Box 12, Folder 33 entry

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The MS 415 finding aid lists an action report filed by this hull: 'U.S.S. LCS (L) (3)-85 (Landing Craft - Support), May - June 1945. Action in the Okinawa area.' - Box 12, Folder 33. The collection comprises reports filed by individual U.S. Navy vessels describing battle action, amphibious landings, shore bombardment, anti-aircraft engagements, and kamikaze attacks, January 1942 - November 1945. The listing independently corroborates the hull's Okinawa-area service in May-June 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1945

   Population

   Ship's company during the Okinawa Gunto operation (May-June 1945 coverage)

   Limitations

   Archival lead only: the report itself was not reviewed; the finding-aid entry establishes that a hull-filed action report exists in the collection, not its contents. No asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-06

7. [7]U.S. GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (published 18 October 1979, publicly released 22 October 1979) [gao]

   Locator

   GAO product page highlights (HRD-80-2)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure, including the use of asbestos in Navy ships and the cost of removing it; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove and replace with nonasbestos materials only insulation that was damaged or had to be removed for necessary repairs, modified in 1979 to selectively replace asbestos insulation in high-maintenance areas. This provides Navy-era program context for a 1944-built landing craft.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1975-1979 policy review; context applied cautiously to 1944 construction

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers and Navy shipbuilding/repair program

   Limitations

   Program-level evidence, not a record of LCS(L)(3)-85 or the LCS(L)(3) class; fieldwork yards were Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. It does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, identify products or quantities aboard, establish exposure or causation, or show what remains. The GAO product page was retrieved via Firecrawl; direct automated retrieval returns HTTP 403.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-07

8. [8]NHHC Personal Papers & Donated Collections index: Rhame, L. Richard & National Association of LCS(L)(3) Papers, 1943-2000 [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   NHHC PD-R index listing and rhame-l-richard-lcs-l-3.html stub page

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The NHHC Personal Papers & Donated Collections 'R' index lists 'Rhame, L. Richard and National Association of LCS(L)(3) Papers, 1943-2000' with a linked collection page - a class-level donated collection that may hold hull-level documentation not otherwise located.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-2000 (collection date range as indexed)

   Population

   LCS(L)(3) class veterans' association records

   Limitations

   Index entry and stub page only; the collection's contents were not reviewed or indexed to this hull and no hull-level itemization is published on the page. No ship-specific or asbestos-related content is established.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-08

9. [9]Batch 5760 source sweep across Bureau of Ships Ships' Data Vol. II, NavSource, ShipbuildingHistory, NARA Special List #44 and digitized deck-log list, USNA MS 415, NHHC/DANFS, NVR, NPS, GAO, NHHC donated collections, CourtListener, and general web search [other_primary]

   Locator

   Search-ledger rows sl-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-01 through -18

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record was located for USS LCS(L)(3)-85 or LSSL-85: no hull survey, abatement record, hazmat disclosure, asbestos product identification, or verified litigation finding naming this hull was found in the sources searched. No individual DANFS entry exists for this numbered landing craft; the Naval Vessel Register has no detail record for this WWII-era hull (SHIPSDETAIL URL redirects to the NVR home page); the NARA digitized deck-log list does not include it; no NPS record exists (hull sunk as a target 1960, never preserved). CourtListener returned zero opinions for the exact designation, zero dockets for the USS-name form, and zero opinions for the LSSL-85 alias; only the LSSL-85 docket query was left pending by fleet pacing and is not a negative result - coverage is recorded in the search ledger.

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   2026-09-30

   Limitations

   A negative public-record search does not prove absence of asbestos aboard. CourtListener queries were submitted through the authenticated fleet-paced helper; any query left blocked by the fleet-wide request budget at research cutoff is disclosed in the search ledger and is not a negative result. No exposure, causation, quantity, present-day material, or legal-eligibility conclusion follows.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lcs-l-3-85-lcsl385-09