Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
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[1]research packet pn-packet.md (2 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-pkt-pn-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-494 - construction, commissioning, Normandy campaign, Lend-Lease to UK, disposal, full spec block, awards (history credited to USS LCI 'Landing Craft Infantry', Vol. II, Turner Publishing, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150494.htm - header block, awards line, history paragraph, campaign table, disposal lines, specifications block, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down October 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched October 1943; delivered November 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-494, 8 November 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign listed: Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944; one battle star for World War II service. Decommissioned November 1944; leased under the Lend-Lease Act to the United Kingdom 30 November 1944; returned to US Navy custody 15 August 1946; struck from the Naval Register 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission and sold 24 June 1947; final disposition fate unknown. Awards listed: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal. Radio call sign NQUK. Spec block: 236 t. light / 264 t. landing / 419 t. loaded; 158'5.5"; beam 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 continuous); complement 4 officers + 24 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; five single 20mm guns; propulsion two sets of 4 GM 6051-series 71 diesel engines, 4 per shaft, GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp; two 30 kW 120V DC generators; endurance 4,000 mi at 12 kts loaded. Photos: Weymouth divine-services image showing USS LCI(L)-490 and USS LCI 494 in background; underway off Normandy Beach June 1944 (NARA NAID:17951, Local ID 111-ADC-4149).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); crew ~28 officers/enlisted plus embarked troops (1943-44); Royal Navy crew (1944-46)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation sourcing the Turner Publishing LCI history - milestone dates track official records (commissioning matches NARA deck-log coverage start) but are not themselves primary. No asbestos or material content. The page carries no flotilla assignment or commanding-officer table for this hull (unlike some sisters). Page verified live 2026-09-30 (supersedes the batch prompt's noted prior retrieval failure).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-01
-
[3]NARA Special List 44, 'List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947' - ship-number listing, LCI(L)-494 log coverage [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 24 - 'LCI(L)-494 11/8/1943 11/30/1944' (verified via pdftotext -layout)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA's official wartime logbook inventory lists deck logs for LCI(L)-494 covering 11/8/1943 - 11/30/1944 (verified directly at PDF page 24 of the ship-number list, adjacent to sisters LCI(L)-491 through -499, each opening on its own November 1943 commissioning date). The start date equals the commissioning date - the log series opens at commissioning - and the 11/30/1944 end coincides exactly with the Lend-Lease lease date to the United Kingdom: the US Navy log series terminates at transfer.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-11-08 to 1944-11-30
- Limitations
- Log-coverage dates only: the 11/30/1944 end marks where this US Navy series stops for the hull (at lease to the UK), not final disposition - she remained in Royal Navy service to 15 Aug 1946. Royal Navy logbooks for the lease period, if extant, are UK records outside Special List 44. Digitized status of these logs unverified (NARA catalog is JS-rendered).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-02
-
[4]Operation Plan CTF-122 No. 2-44 (ONWEST TWO), TOP-SECRET-NEPTUNE-BIGOT, USS Augusta flagship Plymouth 21 April 1944 - Task Organization (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OpPlan-2-44-1.html task-organization table, page I-of-IX, TG 124 Assault Force 'O' / TransDiv Ninety-Seven / LCI(L) Flotilla 10 cell
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official wartime task organization for Operation Neptune names this hull: under Task Group 124 (Assault Force 'O', Rear Admiral Hall, USN), TransDiv Ninety-Seven, the LCI(L) Flotilla 10 block lists '487, 488, 489, 490, 491, *492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498 / 83, 84, 85, *86, *87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, *520 / 409, 410, 553, 554, 555, 557, 408(G), 411, 412, 413, 540, 541'. Assault Force 'O' was the Omaha Beach assault force. Hull 494 carries no asterisk in the list (asterisked craft were marked 'Loaned to Assault Force O for Assault Lift').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944 (plan dated 21 Apr 1944; operation 6-25 Jun 1944)
- Population
- Embarked assault troops and LCI crews of Flotilla 10 (June 1944)
- Limitations
- Transcribed official document hosted on HyperWar (ibiblio), a reputable secondary mirror of Navy primary records - transcription verified against the rendered table structure; the underlying document is a US Navy operation plan. The plan assigns the hull to the assault organization; it does not itself record her individual beach landings or post-assault employment. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-03
-
[5]Royal Navy Research Archive, HMS LCQ-491 history - documents LCI(L)-494's flotilla/group assignment and Assault Group O-3 composition; lend-lease transfer context [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCQ_491.htm paragraphs on Group 28 work-up, Assault Group O-3 composition, and the October 1944 lend-lease transfer program
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- A sister-ship history names this hull in its wartime organization: LCI(L)-491 (same builder group) 'commissioned ... at Barber, New Jersey' and 'was assigned to Flotilla Ten, Group Twenty-eight, Division Fifty-five, of the Atlantic Fleet'; Group 28 crossed to the UK, worked up at Dartmouth/Slapton Sands (exercises DUCK II, FOX, FABIUS I), and 'USS LCI(L) 491 and other vessels of Group 28 were part of Assault Group O-3 [11 US LCI(L)s #93, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498] assembled in Weymouth Harbour in early June 1944 from where they sailed to participate in the Normandy landings, 6th to 25th June, for Omaha Beach landings on sector "EASY Red".' The page also documents the post-Normandy program in which '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' beginning October 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Group 28 / Flotilla 10 crews (1943-44); embarked troops
- Limitations
- Secondary research archive (volunteer-compiled Royal Navy history site), not an official record - it names hull 494 within Assault Group O-3 and corroborates the OpPlan-2-44 flotilla assignment, but the EASY Red sector detail is asserted for the group, not documented per-hull in the cited page. Details specific to 491 (LCQ conversion, India service, Operation ZIPPER) do NOT apply to 494 - no source located documents 494's Royal Navy employment. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-04
-
[6]Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images, Photo 80-G-295945 - King George VI inspecting US Navy officers, southern English port, circa May 1944, USS LCI(L)-494 in background [other_primary]
- Locator
- g295945c.htm picture-data page, photo caption block
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official US Navy photo catalog (Naval Historical Center, via HyperWar/ibiblio mirror) identifies this hull in the pre-invasion record: 'King George VI, of Great Britain (center) Inspecting U.S. Navy Officers, probably in a southern English port shortly before the Normandy Invasion, circa May 1944. Also in the inspecting party are ... Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, USN; Rear Admiral John Wilkes, USN; and Rear Admiral John L. Hall, Jr., USN. USS LCI(L)-494 is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.' RAdm Hall commanded Assault Force 'O' - the organization OpPlan-2-44 assigns this hull to.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- circa May 1944
- Limitations
- Photographic placement only - the caption documents the hull present in a southern English port circa May 1944, consistent with the Weymouth assembly for Assault Group O-3; it establishes presence, not any material condition. No asbestos or material content. NHC page is a 2004-era catalog record mirrored on ibiblio (live verified 2026-09-30).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-05
-
[7]uboat.net Allied Warships of WWII, USS LCI(L)-494 (ship/21543) + HMS LCI(L)-494 (ship/21544) - build/milestone tables and Royal Navy service dates [other_primary]
- Locator
- ship/21543.html and ship/21544.html detail tables (Ordered/Laid down/Launched/Commissioned/End service/History rows)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Secondary milestone corroboration for this hull with more precise build dates than NavSource: USS page - class LCI 351; built by New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. (Barber, New Jersey); ordered 22 March 1943; laid down 2 October 1943; launched 30 October 1943; commissioned 8 November 1943; end of USN service 30 November 1944; 'Transferred to the Royal Navy on 30 November 1944'; 'Returned to the USN by the RN on 15 August 1946'. Companion HMS page - commissioned into the Royal Navy 30 November 1944; returned to USN 15 August 1946 (no commanding officers or events listed for either page).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Limitations
- uboat.net is a long-running secondary compilation - milestone dates corroborate NavSource/shipbuildinghistory and add day-level precision (laid 2 Oct, launched 30 Oct) not otherwise sourced; treat the precise day dates as secondary-attributed. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-06
-
[8]shipbuildinghistory.com LCI(L) production table + New Jersey Shipbuilding yard page - builder row and class production context for hull 494 [other_primary]
- Locator
- smallships/lcil.htm row '494' and class header notes; shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm row for hull 494
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Builder-table corroboration: 'LCI(L) | 494 | New Jersey SB | Barber NJ | 8-Nov-43 | To Britain 1944, returned 1946, sold 1947' (yard page: 'To Britain 1944, struck 1946'). Class context from the same table header: 923 LCI(L)s built by ten shipyards; the basic design covered the first 350 boats and hulls 351+ (this hull's group) were six inches longer and about 30 tons heavier; 'most of these boats were sold after the war but there are few records of who bought them or what they were used for.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Limitations
- Secondary shipbuilding-history compilation - the table's date column is delivery/commissioning (matches the 8 Nov 1943 commissioning). Disposition wording is shorthand ('sold 1947' vs NavSource's exact 24 Jun 1947 transfer-and-sale line). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-07
-
[9]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association, 'The Story of the LCI(L) 93 and LCI(L) 487 at Normandy' - flotilla-transit narrative naming hull 494 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org story page - opening paragraph naming the January 1944 group (493-498)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The veterans' association narrative of Flotilla 10's deployment names this hull: 'Six US Navy Landing Craft Infantry (LCIs) formed in columns off the Virginia coast on December 24th, 1943 for their journey to England - LCI(L)s 487, 488, 489, 490, 491 and 492. They were followed in January by LCIs 493, 494, 495, 496, 497 and 498.' The story also documents the flotilla's Omaha Beach losses: sister LCI(L)-497 'would be destroyed by German teller mines at Omaha Beach' and LCI(L)-93 was abandoned under artillery fire on D-Day.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12 to 1944-06
- Population
- LCI(L)-494 crew (Jan-Feb 1944 Atlantic crossing)
- Limitations
- Veterans' association publication (secondary narrative, crew-recollection based) - corroborates the January 1944 crossing and the flotilla's Omaha service at the group level; it does not detail hull 494's individual D-Day conduct. HTTP-only site (https unreachable). No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-08
-
[10]GAO HRD-80-2, report on Navy asbestos use/insulation policy (product page) - Navy asbestos-use era and substitution timeline [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product-page Highlights text
- 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; the Navy's 1975 policy was to remove/replace only damaged insulation or insulation that had to be removed for repairs, modified in 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas. Fieldwork for the report was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); covers Navy asbestos practice through the early 1970s
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers and crews (program-level)
- Limitations
- Program-level survey, not a hull record - establishes the Navy-wide asbestos-use era spanning this hull's 1943 construction and 1943-46 US/RN service, nothing hull-specific. gao.gov returns HTTP 403 to direct curl fetches; the product-page description was captured via Firecrawl and the full-text PDF remains an open lead (standing defect per Batch-01 report).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-09
-
[11]Era/design inference for this hull - diesel-plant LCI(L) built 1943 inside the documented Navy asbestos era (NavSource spec block; shipbuildinghistory class table; GAO HRD-80-2) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource spec block (propulsion); shipbuildinghistory class table; GAO HRD-80-2
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A 1943-built diesel-powered Navy landing craft sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-insulation era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel combatant of this type and period: exhaust/engine lagging in the machinery spaces, thermal insulation on hot piping, gaskets and valve packing, and electrical insulation - all in an exceptionally confined 158-foot hull where crew lived and worked alongside the plant. As a diesel craft she carried no steam plant, so 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
- 1943-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding trades (1943); USN crew ~28 (1943-44); Royal Navy crew (1944-46); any post-sale commercial crews (1947+)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-494. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity. Product names are normalized era terms; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-10
-
[12]Batch-5214 search ledger (this record): NARA Special List 44; NavSource 150494; OpPlan-2-44 task organization (HyperWar); RNRA LCQ-491; NHC photo 80-G-295945; uboat.net USS/HMS pages; shipbuildinghistory; usslci.org; GAO product page; CourtListener API v4 (o and r) [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-494-01 through -17
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LCI(L)-494 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener returned zero opinions and zero dockets for the exact hull forms 'LCI(L)-494'/'LCI-494' and zero opinions for the looser spaced variants 'LCI 494'/'LCI(L) 494'; the looser docket variant could not be completed - fleet pacing budget spent (see gaps and search_ledger). Secondary sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing pages asserting asbestos aboard generic 'LCI class' ships without primary sourcing - excluded by source policy. NavSource carries no asbestos material for this hull.
- 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. Deck logs (RG 24, coverage verified to 30 Nov 1944), builder records for New Jersey Shipbuilding, Royal Navy lease-period records (1944-46), and the MARAD sale file (1947) are undigitized leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-494-lcil494-11