USS LCI(L)-489

Evidence

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

1. [1]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-489 (10/15/150489) - build/service/disposal timeline and specification block; page history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing (1995) [other_primary]

   Locator

   navsource.net/archives/10/15/150489.htm - header block, campaign table, specification block (live fetch 200, 2026-09-30)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Documented for this hull: LCI-351 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down September 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Barber, N.J.; launched October 1943; commissioned as USS LCI(L)-489, 30 October 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the Invasion of Normandy, 6-25 June 1944. Decommissioned and leased to the United Kingdom 20 November 1944; returned to US custody 19 June 1946; struck from the Naval Register, date unknown; earned one battle star for World War II service; transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal; final disposition sold 28 February 1949, fate unknown. Spec block: displacement 236 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; length 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; speed 16 kts max / 14 kts continuous; complement 4 officers, 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers, 182 enlisted; armament five single 20mm; propulsion two sets of 4 General Motors 6051-series-71 diesels (4 per shaft), GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp; two diesel-drive 30 kW 120V DC ship's service generators.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1949

   Population

   NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); USN crew (1943-44); Royal Navy lease-period crew (1944-46)

   Limitations

   NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - the page credits its history text to Turner Publishing's USS LCI volume II (1995). Milestone dates here are internally consistent with NARA SL44 deck-log coverage (1943-10-30 to 1944-11-20) and with two crew narratives; striking date is given as unknown. Contains no asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-01

2. [2]NARA Special List 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number list (RG 24 Entry 118 inventory) [other_primary]

   Locator

   sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 24, line 'LCI(L)-489 10/30/1943 11/20/1944'

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   NARA Special List 44 (ship-number order) lists Navy deck logs under LCI(L)-489 covering 10/30/1943-11/20/1944 (MM/DD/YYYY). The coverage window matches the commissioned US-service period exactly - commissioning date through the date she was decommissioned and leased to the United Kingdom; UK-period logs would not appear in the USN series.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1944

   Population

   USN crew, 1943-10-30 through 1944-11-20 (log coverage window)

   Limitations

   This is a holdings-inventory entry establishing that deck logs exist and their date coverage - it is not the log content itself; the logs were not individually retrieved or reviewed. Whether they are digitized in the NARA Catalog is unverified (catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and unfetchable from this network). Log-coverage dates are not themselves commissioning documents.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-02

3. [3]Chuck Phillips, 'LCI(L) 489 - The Engineering Officer's Point of View,' USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association (first-person account by the ship's wartime Engineering Officer) [other_primary]

   Locator

   usslci.org story page (fetched via Firecrawl render 2026-09-30; direct curl failed SSL on this network)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Named crew account of this hull: Phillips, Lt(jg) USNR Engineering Officer, records departure from Lambert's Point, Norfolk, 22 December 1943; convoy UGS-28 sailing 25 December; refueling at Horta, Azores, 5 January 1944; moorings at Falmouth then Dartmouth, England; assignment 'by CNO conf. Serial 0476123 of 13 October 1943 to Com EleventhPhib Force, Flotilla Ten, Group 28, Division 55' (a Coast Guard flotilla with Navy LCIs attached); Exercise 'Secret Fox' landing at Beach Able Red, Slapton Sands, 11 March 1944 (Task Force 125). On D-Day: 189 troops of the U.S. 1st Division (Co. E, F and H, HQ Control 2nd Battalion plus 15 of the 18th RCT medical detachment) embarked 2 June at Weymouth; LCI(L)-489 was a unit of Task Organization 124.5.3, Assault Force 'O' (Rear Admiral Hall), assigned Easy Red beach, Omaha, H+16; arrived ~0630, struck mined obstacles, made repeated beaching attempts under fire, put ~40 troops ashore on the 1300 run, and withdrew to AP-76 USS Anne Arundel; on 7 June took 51 troops of the 315th Engineer Battalion off the mined AP-72 USS Susan B. Anthony; ran Utah and Omaha shuttle trips; then '37 trips across the channel carrying troops and supplies.' Officers: CO Lt. Harry H. Montgomery USNR; XO Ens. Charles McMillan; CommO Ens. William C. McCone; EO Phillips; crew '28 crew members and four officers.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1944

   Population

   USN crew of LCI(L)-489 (4 officers, ~28 enlisted); 189 embarked 1st Division troops (June 1944)

   Limitations

   Veteran-authored reminiscence published by the USS LCI National Association - memory-level detail, not an official record; corroborates the NavSource/SL44 framework and supplies organization/task-force detail. Narrative-level quantities (troops carried, channel trips) conflict with a second crew account - see gaps. No asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-03

4. [4]James Roland Argo, 'LCI(L) 489 on D-Day, Omaha Beach, June 1944,' USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association (first-person account by the ship's Pharmacist's Mate) [other_primary]

   Locator

   usslci.org story page (fetched via Firecrawl render 2026-09-30)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Named crew account of this hull: Argo, the ship's pharmacist's mate, recalls complement as 'four officers and between 25-28 enlisted men'; two additional medical personnel (PhM1/c Burton H. Hockel and HA2/c Harold Alvin Kadle) taken aboard around May 1944 in preparation for D-Day; ship quarantined approximately two weeks before the invasion; under shellfire at Omaha Beach through 6-7 June with the sick bay expanded to the mess hall and deck; no crew casualties on D-Day. 'LCI (L) 489 was decommissioned in Nov. 1944 in Edinburgh Scotland.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1944

   Population

   USN crew (incl. temporarily-assigned medical personnel, May-June 1944)

   Limitations

   Veteran-authored reminiscence - memory-level detail. The Edinburgh decommissioning location is crew testimony only; NavSource confirms the 20 November 1944 decommission/lease date without a location. Enlisted complement (25-28) varies from the 24-enlisted spec block - wartime augmentation incl. temporary medical personnel; carried in gaps. No asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-04

5. [5]Karl J. Bischoff, 'LCI 489,' USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association (first-person account by a Machinist's Mate of this hull) [other_primary]

   Locator

   usslci.org story page (fetched via Firecrawl render 2026-09-30)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   Named crew account of this hull: Bischoff, then an 18-year-old machinist's mate, states 'LCI 489 was built in New Jersey'; sailed for England on Christmas Eve 1943, arriving Falmouth January 1944, operating out of Weymouth; took aboard 220 First Division soldiers for the invasion; sustained hull damage from beach obstacles at Omaha on 6 June 1944 and an anchor cable wrapped around a propeller; among the first craft to reach the mined transport Susan B. Anthony on 7 June; made 21 England-to-France round trips after repairs; 'In November, 1944, it was decided we were in pretty bad shape and no longer seaworthy. The craft was decommissioned at Edinburgh, Scotland, and turned over to the Royal Navy.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1944

   Population

   USN crew

   Limitations

   Veteran-authored reminiscence - memory-level detail. Troop count (220 vs Phillips's 189) and channel-trip count (21 vs Phillips's 37) conflict between the two crew accounts - carried in gaps, neither asserted. Second crew account placing decommissioning at Edinburgh. No asbestos or material content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-05

6. [6]shipbuildinghistory.com (Tim Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' - yard build table, row for hull LCI(L) 489 [other_primary]

   Locator

   shipbuildinghistory.com yard table, LCI(L) 489 row (live fetch 200, 2026-09-30)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The builder-yard table lists this hull: 'LCI(L) | 489 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Oct-43 | To Britain 1944, struck 1946' - corroborating builder, delivery month (October 1943), UK transfer (1944), and giving a struck year of 1946.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1946

   Population

   NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943)

   Limitations

   Secondary reference compilation, not a registry document. Its 'struck 1946' conflicts with NavSource's 'struck, date unknown' - carried as an unresolved variant in gaps; neither date is asserted as primary. Contains no asbestos content.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-06

7. [7]Fold3 index listing: 'War Diary, 10/30/43 to 12/1/43 - USS LCI (L) 489' in US, World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945 (digitized NARA RG 38 records) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Fold3 document index 270520194 (search-index snippet; direct fetch blocked 403)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   A war diary for USS LCI(L) 489 covering 10/30/43-12/1/43 exists in the WWII War Diaries collection (NARA RG 38 records digitized at Fold3) - an open archival lead for the ship's earliest operations (work-up, Little Creek training, Atlantic crossing).

   Verification

   partial

   Role

   archival_lead

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943

   Population

   USN crew, Oct-Dec 1943

   Limitations

   Index-level result only: fold3.com returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch - the diary was not retrieved or reviewed. The underlying primary record is at NARA (RG 38, WWII War Diaries 1941-1945). No asbestos content established.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-07

8. [8]Era inference built on: NavSource spec block (diesel propulsion: GM 6-71-series diesels, no steam plant); ship type/era (WWII amphibious landing craft built Oct 1943); GAO HRD-80-2 era documentation; BuShips TM ch.39 era insulation specs (see ev-08, ev-09) [other_primary]

   Locator

   NavSource spec block; consolidated era documentation

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   A diesel-powered amphibious landing craft delivered October 1943 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel amphibious craft were engine and exhaust lagging, machinery-space gaskets and valve packing, thermal/acoustic insulation within the confined hull volume, and electrical insulation. With no steam plant, the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of larger combatants does not apply; the confined-space dynamic of a 158-ft welded landing craft does.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1943-1949

   Population

   NJ Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); USN crew (1943-44); RN crew (1944-46); MARAD disposal/shipbreakers (1949)

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-489. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. No manufacturer attribution for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-08

9. [9]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) - specification-level document for Navy shipboard insulation materials [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   The BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy shipboard insulation of the era: MIL-P-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber for strength and bond' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091 'composed of medium long asbestos fiber'; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 'made of good quality chrysotile asbestos' in grades running 80-95 percent asbestos as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; and molded asbestos block for high-temperature service.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-30

   Study period

   1960 (manual); describes era-standard specifications

   Population

   n/a

   Limitations

   Specification-level documentation of materials the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes what the era insulation suite contained, not what is or was aboard this hull. The 1960 manual postdates this craft's 1943 construction, and its framing addresses steam-plant insulation of larger vessels; applicability to a diesel landing craft's smaller machinery suite is limited (exhaust lagging, gaskets, millboard, felt-type materials). The retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual (verified, 206 partial fetch 2026-09-30).

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-09

10. [10]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 (1943) and US-service era (1943-44), the UK lease period (1944-46), and its 1949 disposal.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    context_only

    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, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-10

11. [11]Batch-5209 search ledger (this record): NavSource page fetch; NARA SL44 ship-number PDF; usslci.org named-crew narratives x3; shipbuildinghistory.com NJ-yard table; NHHC DANFS index; NVR; NARA Catalog; Fold3 index; CourtListener API v4 (type=o and type=r); secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]

    Locator

    search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-01 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 LCI(L)-489 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener searches for 'LCI(L)-489' returned zero results in both the opinion (type=o) and RECAP docket (type=r) indexes; variant spellings throttled by the fleet pacer at write time (see gaps). The secondary web sweep surfaced no qualifying case and no law-firm marketing assertion naming this hull - an unrelated omnibus order (Spurlin v. Air & Liquid Systems, concerning USS McGinty DE-365 and USS Rowan DD-782) surfaced on the hull-number query and is a name/number collision, not a hit.

    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 - asbestos presence is era inference. Deck logs (SL44: 1943-10-30 to 1944-11-20) and the RG 38 war diary (1943-10-30 to 1943-12-01) are unreviewed archival leads; UK lease-period records are in British archives. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-lci-l-489-lcil489-11