Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-487 - construction/milestone timeline, theater assignment, campaign table, ribbon display, specifications, disposal; page history credited to 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry, Vol. II' (Turner Publishing, 1995); verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150487.htm header block, awards/ribbon line, EAME campaign table, lease/return/disposal lines, specifications block, image caption
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down September 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched October 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-487, 28 October 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign table lists Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944; ribbon display shows American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal, and the page states 'USS LCI(L)-487 received one battle star for World War II service.' Leased to the United Kingdom 20 November 1944; returned to U.S. Navy custody 4 May 1946; struck from the Naval Register in 1946; transferred to the State Department for disposal, sold 13 February 1948; final disposition 'fate unknown.' Specifications: displacement 246 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; length 158' 5.5"; beam 23' 3"; speed 16 kts max / 14 kts maximum continuous; complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; cargo 75 tons; 2-inch plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house; endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts loaded; armament five single 20mm guns (one bow, two port/starboard forward of wheelhouse, two port/starboard aft of wheelhouse), on some LCIs two .50 cal machine guns added; fuel 130 tons, lube oil 200 gal. Propulsion: two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable-pitch propellers. The page carries one ship-specific image: USS LCI(L)-320 and USS LCI(L)-487 moored in a British port prior to the Invasion of Normandy, circa 5 June 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); LCI(L) crew ~28 (1943-44); embarked troops (incl. Normandy assault); Royal Navy crew under lend-lease (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; its page attributes the history text to the Turner Publishing LCI volume. Milestone dates are unverified against DANFS (no DANFS entry exists for this numbered craft - see search_ledger) or NVR. Laid-down and launched are month-only; secondary uboat.net listings give 18 Sep / 20 Oct 1943 but are not cited as authority. Stricken date is year-only ('in 1946'). This hull's spec block differs from sibling-page figures (246 t. light displacement and 'BHP 1,600' here vs '236 t.' and '2,320 shp' on LCI(L)-480's page) - same template, different numbers; see gaps. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-01
-
[2]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - 'Ships With Symbol and Number Designations,' printed page 341; scanned page image via Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center mirror (narasl44/367.jpg) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SL44 printed p. 341 (ACPL scan narasl44/367.jpg), 'LCI(L)-487' row between LCI(L)(FF)-486 and LCI(L)-488
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- SL44 inventories Navy deck logs for this hull as 'LCI(L)-487 | Nov. 1, 1943-Nov. 20, 1944 | 3' - i.e., three logbooks covering 1 November 1943 through 20 November 1944 in NARA custody. The hull is styled plain 'LCI(L)-487' - neighboring entries carry (G) gunboat and (FF) flotilla-flagship suffixes (e.g., LCI(L)(G)-473/-474/-475, LCI(L)(FF)-484/-485/-486) while 487 does not, consistent with NavSource showing no reclassification. Several neighboring hulls show the same 20 November 1944 coverage end (LCI(L)-489, -490) or nearby ends (-491 through -496 ending October-November 1944) - the November 1944 lend-lease cohort. The inventory documents that logs exist and their coverage; the underlying RG 24 logbooks are held at the National Archives.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-11-01 to 1944-11-20 (coverage); compiled 1978
- Population
- crew and officers generating the 1943-44 logbooks; NARA College Park holds the physical volumes
- Limitations
- The dates are logbook-coverage dates, not asserted commissioning or decommissioning dates: the span opens four days after the documented 28 October 1943 commissioning and closes on the documented 20 November 1944 lease-to-UK date - consistent with U.S. Navy log-keeping ending at transfer, but SL44 only records what NARA held at compilation, so the end date is corroborating, not independent proof of, the lease. The inventory lists the logs' existence; it does not include their contents. Physical volume count (3) is a logbook count, not a completeness guarantee. Image verified by direct fetch and read 2026-09-30.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-02
-
[3]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard page - construction list naming LCI(L) 487; verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm - yard description paragraph and LCI(L) construction-list row '# 487'
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The yard page describes New Jersey Shipbuilding as 'an assembly line for LCIs on Arthur Kill, in Barber, a community immediately to the east of Perth Amboy' (later absorbed into Perth Amboy, now called Maurer); management of the yard was taken over by Todd Shipyards in 1942 at the Navy's request, and the yard was closed after the war. Its construction list carries the row 'LCI(L) | 487 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Oct-43 | Struck 1946' - corroborating the builder, the October 1943 completion/commissioning month, and the 1946 stricken year from an independent secondary compilation. Neighboring rows show the same lease pattern - e.g., LCI(L) 489 and 490 'To Britain 1944, struck 1946' - consistent with the November 1944 lend-lease cohort.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943)
- Limitations
- Shipbuilding History is a respected secondary reference database, not a primary registry; the list gives delivery month (Oct-43) rather than the full milestone set and summarizes disposition as 'Struck 1946' only - it does not record the UK lease, the 1946 return, or the 1948 sale. The yard-history narrative is compiler text. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-03
-
[4]USS LCI National Association (usslci.org), 'The Story of the LCI(L) 93 and LCI(L) 487 at Normandy' - veteran-published firsthand crew accounts (posted 2017-09-17, updated 2018-10-24); verified live 2026-09-30 via http (site is http-only - TLS fails on https) [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org article body (transit convoy, Flotilla Ten merger, D-Day action, refloat paragraphs)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Ship-specific veteran narrative for this hull: LCI(L) 487 was one of six U.S. Navy 'Round Conn' LCI(L)s (487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492) that formed in columns off the Virginia coast on 24 December 1943 for England, followed in January by 493-498; the twelve merged with twenty-four older 'Square Conn' Coast Guard LCI(L)s of Flotilla Four to form Flotilla Ten for the Normandy invasion. Commanding officer was Lt. Stewart F. Lovell; executive officer Ensign James T. Clinton. On 6 June 1944 at Omaha Beach the ship took artillery hits on the bow; Skipper Lovell ordered most of the crew to evacuate to shelter on the beach and to the nearby stricken LCI(L)-93 (at least sixteen sailors crossed); the remaining crew patched the bow holes with mattresses and refloated her off the sandbar at the evening high tide. USS Doyle and USS Emmons recovered survivors; per the Emmons deck log as quoted in the article, three of her recovered sailors were from LCI(L) 487 and Doyle reported rescuing thirty-seven crewmembers of LCI(L) 93 and LCI(L) 487 combined. Two soldiers carried by 487 - Roland Ehlers and Lt. William Heyward Messer - were killed descending her ramp.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12-24 to 1944-06-06 and Normandy period
- Population
- LCI(L)-487 crew, June 1944 (named individuals: Lovell, Clinton, Coulter, Brown, Siecienski, O'Donnell, Nesmith, Spahr, Mailahn, St. John); embarked 1st Infantry Division troops
- Limitations
- Veterans' association published narrative built from firsthand crew testimony - not an official record; individual details (nicknames, birthday anecdotes) are anecdote-level. The combat narrative is corroborated at unit level by NavSource's campaign table (Normandy 6-25 June 1944, one battle star) and by the Royal Navy Research Archive's Assault Group O-3 roster, but no action report or official damage record for this hull was located. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-04
-
[5]Royal Navy Research Archive, 'H.M.S. LCQ-491' page (sister hull LCI(L)-491) - documents the Atlantic transit group including LCI(L)-487, the Assault Group O-3 roster, and the October-November 1944 lend-lease transfer program; verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/BPF-EIF/Ships/LCQ_491.htm - 'Operation NEPTUNE' assault-group roster and lend-lease transfer paragraph
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Names this hull in two operational contexts: (1) the 24 December 1943 sailing from Norfolk, Virginia for the UK - 'US LCI(L)s 487, 488, 489, 490, and 492' - initially joining convoy UGS-28, detaching for Horta, Fayal, Azores on 3 January 1944, arriving Falmouth, Cornwall on 14 January; (2) Group 28 / Assault Group O-3 - eleven U.S. LCI(L)s (#93, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498) assembled at Weymouth Harbour in early June 1944 for the Omaha Beach EASY Red sector landings, 6-25 June. Program-level context on the same page: 'Beginning in October 1944 the US Navy began transferring a total of 50 LCI(L)s still on station in the UK to the Royal Navy under the lend-lease agreement' - sister LCI(L) 491 was decommissioned in the UK on 18 November 1944 and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LCI(L) 491 the same day, documenting the transfer pattern that produced 487's 20 November 1944 lease.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12-24 to 1944-11 (487 mentions); Oct-Nov 1944 (transfer program)
- Population
- Group 28 / Assault Group O-3 LCI crews; Royal Navy lend-lease LCI crews (program level)
- Limitations
- The RN archive names hull 487 in its convoy and assault-group lists (ship-specific mentions) but provides no dedicated page or service history for 487 in Royal Navy service - the RN commissioning/decommissioning detail is documented for sister hull 491, not this hull; applying the HM LCI(L) styling to 487 rests on secondary listings (uboat.net 'HMS LCI(L)-487'). The '50 LCI(L)s transferred' figure is program-level. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-05
-
[6]NARA catalog records located via Digital Public Library of America mirror (provider: National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference): NAID 120191161 'LCI(L) 487 - Muster Rolls' (Bureau of Naval Personnel records, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships collection) and two war-diary installments in 'World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories' (Office of Naval Records and Library): NAID 78288785 'USS LCI(L) 487 - War Diary, 1/1-31/44' (Micro Serial 64387) and NAID 78329667 'USS LCI(L) 487 - War Diary, 2/1-29/44' (Micro Serial 66791) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA phrase searches '"LCI(L) 487"' and '"LCI(L)-487"' (3 results each, identical set); item pages mapping to catalog.archives.gov/id/<NAID> as listed in citation_value
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Three ship-specific primary records exist in the NARA catalog for this hull: the muster-roll series and two war-diary installments covering January and February 1944 - the Atlantic transit and pre-invasion work-up period. These are the primary-source leads for hull-level movement, operation, and casualty documentation; notably no war-diary installment covering June 1944 (the Normandy operation) appears in the located set, though the diaries are the likeliest official source for it.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-01 and 1944-02 (diary installments located); muster-roll span unverified
- Population
- crew of LCI(L)-487 (muster rolls); ship's officers (war diaries)
- Limitations
- Records located via DPLA's mirror of NARA catalog metadata - catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and its API endpoints return the SPA shell, so contents and digitization status are unverified (DPLA itself was WAF-challenged to direct fetch; retrieved via Firecrawl). Only three records located under both spellings ('LCI(L) 487' and 'LCI(L)-487') - far fewer than Pacific-service siblings, consistent with the short 13-month U.S. commission ending at the UK lease. Whether June 1944 and later installments exist under variant titling or were never produced is unknown. Presence of a record does not indicate asbestos content; no asbestos term appears in the located metadata.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-06
-
[7]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's product page describes a report reviewing the Navy's efforts to protect workers from asbestos exposure (fieldwork at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards), specifically the use of asbestos in Navy ships, the cost of removing asbestos from Navy ships, and compensation programs for asbestos-related disabilities; it records the Navy's 1975 policy of removing and replacing 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 that asbestos insulation remained aboard Navy ships into the late 1970s and that the WWII-era fleet, including this hull's construction and service era, was built inside that use era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era covered includes 1943-48
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and ship crews of the asbestos era
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated fetch; product page and highlights retrieved via Firecrawl 2026-09-30) - standing limitation shared with batches 01/98/5200. The substitution-era wording ('did not begin substituting alternatives until the early 1970s') carried in sibling records derives from the report body, which was not directly re-read this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-07
-
[8]Rushworth, Denis H., 'The Navy and Asbestos Thermal Insulation,' Naval Engineers Journal 117(2), 2005, pp. 35-48, DOI 10.1111/j.1559-3584.2005.tb00336.x; verified live 2026-09-30 via Firecrawl [reputable_press]
- Locator
- NEJ 117(2) 2005 article record + abstract, ingentaconnect art00012
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed Naval Engineers Journal article (American Society of Naval Engineers) documents that asbestos 'was once used in U.S. Navy shipboard pipe and machinery thermal insulation and in many other shipboard products,' that plaintiffs in asbestos lawsuits 'include many who were exposed to asbestos while serving in Navy ships built during and following WWII,' and that 'the most likely source of their Navy shipboard exposures was thermal insulation' because the materials were 'dry, friable, and easily accessible.' Covers this hull's construction and service era at the practice level.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2005 (article); WWII-era practice documented
- Population
- WWII-and-later Navy ship crews; shipyard insulation workers
- Limitations
- Era/practice-level documentation - names no hull and no product list for this vessel; establishes the Navy-era practice, not installed materials aboard LCI(L)-487. Abstract-level read; article body not retrieved (paywalled). No quantity, product, or individual exposure data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-08
-
[9]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (diesel propulsion: two sets of four GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable-pitch propellers); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-07); Rushworth NEJ 2005 (ev-08) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150487.htm specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; NEJ 117(2) 2005
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A geared-diesel landing craft built September-October 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber, N.J., sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard asbestos applications aboard a diesel amphibious craft of this type and period were engine and exhaust thermal insulation/lagging, gaskets, valve packing, and electrical insulation. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam vessels does not apply; exposure-relevant confined spaces were her engine room and machinery spaces. Her documented battle damage at Normandy (artillery hits to the bow, patched with mattresses and refloated) and her 1944-46 Royal Navy lease are additional disturbance/maintenance contexts, though no repair or conversion record naming this hull was located.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); U.S. Navy crew (1943-44), esp. engine-room personnel; Royal Navy crew (1944-46); purchasers/scrappers post-1948
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, work package, or repair record located for LCI(L)-487. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. The battle-damage remark describes a plausible disturbance context, not documented insulation damage. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-09
-
[10]Batch-5207 search ledger (this record): NavSource main page; NARA SL44 printed p.341 via ACPL scan (image read directly); shipbuildinghistory.com yard page; usslci.org Normandy crew-account article + combat-awards page; royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk LCQ-491 page; NARA catalog war-diary/muster-roll NAIDs via DPLA (Firecrawl - direct fetch WAF-challenged); GAO HRD-80-2; NEJ 117(2); CourtListener API v4 (opinions x2 completed - both count 0; docket query deferred by fleet pacing - see ledger); secondary web litigation sweep; uboat.net cross-check only [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-487-01 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 LCI(L)-487 was found in the public sources searched. Both CourtListener opinion queries completed with count 0 (2026-09-30): 'LCI(L)-487' OR 'LCI-487' OR 'LCI(L) 487' OR 'LCI 487' and 'USS LCI(L)-487' OR 'USS LCI-487' OR 'LCI(L)487' OR 'LCI487'. The docket-level (type=r) query was attempted three times across ~15 minutes and deferred by repeated fleet-pacing stand-downs - logged pending in the search ledger, not claimed as a negative. The only asbestos-adjacent web material is generic landing-craft marketing content that does not name this hull - 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. NARA deck logs (SL44: 3 logbooks, 1943-11-01 to 1944-11-20), the two located war-diary installments, muster rolls, and any UK-held lend-lease service records are unexamined primary leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-487-10
