Evidence
12 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-12).
-
[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-496-lcil496-pkt-pn-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(L)-496 - construction/milestone timeline, 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 10/15/150496.htm header block, campaign table, awards/ribbon line, milestone lines, specifications block, image table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down October 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched October 1943; commissioned USS LCI(L)-496, 11 November 1943. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign table lists 'Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944'. Ribbon display: American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal; 'earned one battle star for World War II service'. Decommissioned and leased to the United Kingdom 30 November 1944; returned to US Navy custody 25 September 1946; struck from the Naval Register 13 December 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission and sold 10 November 1947; final disposition 'fate unknown'. Specifications: displacement 236 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; propulsion two sets of 4 General Motors 6051 series 71 diesel engines, 4 per shaft, single GM main reduction gears, twin variable-pitch propellers 2,320 shp, two diesel-driven 30 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators. Page carries two images: six LCIs including this hull in an English port circa 5 June 1944, and USS LCI(L)-490 with this hull approaching Omaha Beach (SC 189987).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); LCI(L) crew ~28 (1943-44); embarked troops (up to 188); Royal Navy lease crew (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 precision. No flotilla/group assignment is printed on this page (unit assignment rests on OpPlan 2-44 and the LCI National Association article - ev-03, ev-06). No asbestos or material content. The UK lease location and her Royal Navy service detail are not stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-01
-
[3]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)-496' row between LCI(L)-495 and LCI(L)-497
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- SL44 inventories Navy deck logs for this hull as 'LCI(L)-496 | Nov. 11, 1943-Oct. 31, 1944 | 2' - i.e., two logbooks covering 11 November 1943 through 31 October 1944 in NARA custody. The hull is styled plain 'LCI(L)-496' - neighboring entries carry (G) gunboat and (FF) flotilla-flagship suffixes (e.g., LCI(L)(G)-473, LCI(L)(FF)-484) while 496 does not, consistent with NavSource showing no reclassification. 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
- 1943-11-11 to 1944-10-31 (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 on the documented commissioning date (11 Nov 1943) and closes 31 October 1944, one month before the documented 30 November 1944 lease to the United Kingdom - consistent with US Navy logkeeping ending at transfer, but the exact final-log boundary is unexplained (sisters show both Oct 31 and Nov 20/30, 1944 endings). SL44 records only what NARA held at compilation. Physical volume count (2) is a logbook count, not a completeness guarantee. The inventory lists the logs' existence; it does not include their contents. Image verified by direct fetch and read 2026-09-30.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-02
-
[4]Operation Plan CTF-122 No. 2-44 (Allied Expeditionary Force, Western Naval Task Force / Task Force 122, TOP-SECRET-NEPTUNE-BIGOT, USS Augusta flagship, Plymouth, England, 21 April 1944) - Task Organization; ibiblio/HyperWar transcription; verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- OpPlan-2-44-1.html, Task Organization, Assault Force 'O' section, 'LCI(L) Flotilla 10' / Group 28 hull list (page I of IX)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official operation plan's task organization names this hull explicitly: under Assault Force 'O' (Rear Admiral Hall, USN - the Omaha Beach assault force), 'LCI(L) Flotilla 10' lists hulls '487, 488, 489, 490, 491, *492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498' under Group 28, followed by '83, 84, 85, *86, *87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, *520' (Group 29) and '409, 410, 553, 554, 555, 557, 408(G), 411, 412, 413, 540, 541' (Group 34). This places LCI(L)-496 in LCI(L) Flotilla Ten, Group 28, in the Assault Force O organization for Operation Neptune.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- April-June 1944 (plan dated 21 April 1944)
- Population
- LCI Flotilla Ten / Group 28 crews (unit level)
- Limitations
- The plan is a pre-operation task organization (21 April 1944); it documents assignment, not execution - participation in the landings is separately documented by the NHHC photo record (ev-04), the NavSource campaign table and battle star (ev-01), and the NARA action-report record (ev-05). Asterisk conventions in the plan are unexplained (496 carries none). HyperWar is a faithful transcription host, not the issuing authority. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-03
-
[5]Naval Historical Center, Online Library of Selected Images - Picture Data for Photo # SC 189987, 'Normandy Invasion, June 1944'; verified live 2026-09-30 [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- ibiblio.org/hyperwar OnlineLibrary photo record s189987c.htm (NHC Photo # SC 189987); same image captioned on NavSource 150496.htm
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Naval Historical Center's catalog entry for Army Signal Corps photo SC 189987 reads: 'USS LCI(L)-490 and USS LCI(L)-496 approach "Omaha" Beach. The original caption gives date as 7 June 1944, but the heavy smoke ashore strongly indicates that the view was taken on "D-Day", 6 June 1944. Photographed by Wall. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives.' A ship-specific official photographic record documenting this hull in the Omaha Beach assault.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- June 1944
- Population
- LCI(L)-496 crew and embarked troops at Omaha Beach, June 1944
- Limitations
- The NHC catalog retains the caption-date uncertainty: original caption says 7 June 1944 while the catalog assessment reads D-Day, 6 June - the record documents presence at Omaha Beach on one of those days, not independently both. The photograph documents a moment at the assault; it does not by itself establish the duration of her Normandy operations (the NavSource campaign table gives 6-25 June; the NARA action-report record covers 6 June-22 July). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-04
-
[6]NARA catalog records located via Digital Public Library of America mirror (provider: National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference): NAID 120190887 'LCI(L) 496 - Muster Rolls' (Bureau of Naval Personnel records, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships collection); NAID 134351849 'LCI(L)-496 - War Diary, 11/11-30/43' (Micro Serial 60066); NAID 78599832 'USS LCI(L) 496 - Rep Of Ops 6/6/44 to 7/22/44 Invasion of Normandy, France' (Micro Serial 84373, Serial 82, File A6-5, dated 7/26/1944) - Office of Naval Records and Library, WWII War Diaries collection [other_primary]
- Locator
- DPLA phrase search '"LCI(L) 496"' (3 results, all NARA College Park); item pages mapping to catalog.archives.gov/id/120190887, /id/134351849, /id/78599832
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Three ship-specific primary records exist in the NARA catalog for this hull: the muster-roll series; a war diary covering 11-30 November 1943 (the commissioning month); and a Report of Operations for 6 June-22 July 1944 titled 'Invasion of Normandy, France' - a ship-level action report for the Normandy campaign, filed 26 July 1944. The action report is the likeliest single primary source for this hull's D-Day and follow-on operations; the muster rolls are the crew-population lead.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-11 (war diary); 1944-06-06 to 1944-07-22 (action report); muster-roll span unverified
- Population
- crew of LCI(L)-496 (muster rolls); ship's officers (war diary, action report)
- Limitations
- Records located via DPLA's mirror of NARA catalog metadata; catalog.archives.gov is JS-rendered and its public API was unreachable this session, so the NAID records' digitization status and full contents are unverified. Only the November 1943 war-diary installment was located for this hull - other monthly installments are not in the located set (non-production, uncataloged, or titling variants - not established). No asbestos term appears in the located metadata.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-05
-
[7]USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association, 'The Story of the LCI(L) 93 and LCI(L) 487 at Normandy' (usslci.org, posted 2017-09-17) - names this hull in the Flotilla Ten formation narrative; http only (https TLS fails), verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- usslci.org article body: December 1943/January 1944 crossing list and 'twelve Navy "Round Conn" LCIs ... to form the new Flotilla Ten' passage
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The association article documents the hull's transit and unit formation: '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.' And: 'After arriving in England, the twelve Navy "Round Conn" LCIs merged with twenty-four older "Square Conn" Coast Guard LCIs of Flotilla Four to form the new Flotilla Ten for the invasion of Normandy.' This names LCI(L)-496 among the twelve Navy LCIs (487-498) that crossed in January 1944 and formed the Navy component of Flotilla Ten - corroborating the official OpPlan 2-44 task organization (ev-03).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-12 to 1944-06
- Population
- LCI Flotilla Ten / Group 28 crews; Flotilla Four USCG crews (unit level)
- Limitations
- A veterans-association history article - a secondary source, not an official record; its account is corroborated by the official operation plan's Group 28 list (ev-03) and by the NHHC photograph (ev-04). The article is written around LCI(L)-487 and -93; details specific to 496 beyond the group listing are not given. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-06
-
[8]Shipbuilding History (T. Colton), 'New Jersey Shipbuilding, Barber NJ' yard page - construction list naming LCI(L) 496; verified live 2026-09-30 [other_primary]
- Locator
- shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/newjersey.htm - yard description paragraph and LCI(L) construction-list row '496'
- 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) | 496 | US Navy | Landing Craft | Nov-43 | To Britain 1944, struck 1946' - corroborating the builder, the November 1943 delivery/commissioning month, the 1944 transfer to Britain, and the 1946 stricken year from an independent secondary compilation.
- 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 (Nov-43) rather than the full milestone set and summarizes disposition as 'To Britain 1944, struck 1946'. The yard-history narrative is compiler text. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-07
-
[9]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 1943 construction and 1943-44 US Navy service era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979 (report); era covered includes 1943-44
- 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, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description, same standing limitation as batches 01/98/5200.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-08
-
[10]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 (full record 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 crew aboard 'Navy ships built during and following WWII' were among those exposed, 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)-496. Abstract-level read; article body not retrieved. No quantity, product, or individual exposure data.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-09
-
[11]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications block (diesel propulsion: two sets of four GM 6051 series 71 diesels, 4 per shaft; GM main reduction gears; twin variable-pitch propellers, 2,320 shp; two diesel-driven 30 kW 120 V DC ship's-service generators); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-08); Rushworth NEJ 2005 (ev-09) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 150496.htm specifications block; GAO HRD-80-2 product page; NEJ 117(2) 2005
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A geared-diesel landing craft built October-November 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.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1947
- Population
- New Jersey Shipbuilding construction trades (1943); crew (1943-44), esp. engine-room personnel; Royal Navy lease crew (1944-46); purchasers/scrappers post-1947
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or work package located for LCI(L)-496. 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-496-10
-
[12]Batch-5216 search ledger (this record): NavSource main page; NARA SL44 printed p.341 via ACPL scan (image read directly); Operation Plan 2-44 task organization via HyperWar; NHHC Online Library photo record SC 189987; NARA catalog records via DPLA mirror; usslci.org Flotilla Ten article and combat-awards page; shipbuildinghistory.com yard page; GAO HRD-80-2; NEJ 117(2); CourtListener API v4 (opinions x2, dockets x1 - all completed); secondary web litigation sweep; batch intake cross-check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-496-01 through -13
- 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)-496 was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion searches returned zero results for both spelling sets ('LCI(L)-496' OR 'LCI-496' OR 'LCI(L) 496' OR 'LCI 496'; and 'USS LCI(L)-496' OR 'USS LCI-496' OR 'LCI(L)496' OR 'LCI496'), and the docket-level (type=r) search also completed with zero results, 2026-09-30. The only asbestos-adjacent web material surfaced is generic shipyard/landing-craft marketing content that does not name this hull - excluded by source policy. Ship-specific records that DO exist (OpPlan 2-44 listing, NHHC photo SC 189987, NARA action-report record NAID 78599832, muster rolls NAID 120190887, November 1943 war diary NAID 134351849) document service and unit history, not asbestos.
- 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: 2 logbooks, 1943-11-11 to 1944-10-31), the November 1943 war diary, the June-July 1944 Normandy action report, and muster rolls are unexamined primary leads. UK-lease-era records (Nov 1944-Sep 1946) would be in British archives and were not searched. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-496-11
