Evidence
13 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-13).
-
[1]research packet 680-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (multiple primary-source corroboration of loss)
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-496-lst496-pkt-680-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'LST-496' - NHHC live page (verified live 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-496 entry text (entire entry)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents for this hull: laid down 24 August 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 22 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Fred McCutchan; commissioned 27 December 1943, Lt. Stanley H. Koch, USNR, in command. Assigned to the European theater; participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; sunk by enemy mines off Omaha Beach, Normandy, 11 June 1944; struck from the Navy list 22 August 1944. Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Construction trades (Evansville, 1943); ship's company + embarked troops (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS names Koch as commissioning CO, conflicting with NavSource's CO table (Gregory, then Koch from Feb 1944) - carried in ev-11/gaps. Live NHHC page verified 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-496 (10/16/160496) - build/milestone block, specifications, CO table, casualty/award line, NHHC/NARA-captioned photography (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160496 header block, specifications block, awards line, CO table, photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource documents for this hull: LST-491 class tank landing ship; laid down 24 August 1943 at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 22 October 1943; placed in reduced commission 19 December 1943 for transit to her fitting-out yard at New Orleans (LT Robert J. Gregory, USNR, in command); commissioned in full as USS LST-496 27 December 1943. Campaign: Europe-Africa-Middle East, Invasion of Normandy 6-11 June 1944; sunk by enemy mines off Omaha Beach 11 June 1944; struck 22 August 1944; one battle star. Specifications: 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full, 328' oa, 50' beam, 11.6 kt trial, complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted, troops 16 officers / 147 enlisted, 2 x GM 12-567A diesels 900 hp, Falk reduction gears, 1,700 shp, twin screws. Personal-awards line records U.S. Navy casualties 15 KIA / 85 WIA and U.S. Army casualties 14 KIA / 14 WIA; StM2c Tom Curtis Evans, USNR, received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for rescuing ENS Rex H. Scott from the wardroom. Photography: NARA photo 80-G-252172 (LST-496 loading with LST-506 and LST-291, early June 1944, credited to NHHC) and a photo of the sunken hulk off Omaha Beach.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops (1943-44)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry; milestone dates track DANFS. Casualty figures are NavSource's compiled award line (15/85 USN, 14/14 USA) and differ from the Atkins report and NHHC-article framings - variance carried in gaps. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-02
-
[4]DANFS, 'Amesbury' (DE-66/APD-46) - account of LST-496's sinking and the rescue (ARCHIVED copy; live NHHC page returned 404 on 2026-10-02) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Amesbury entry, Normandy section (Wayback capture 2025-12-09)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The DANFS entry for USS Amesbury (DE-66) names this hull and documents the loss mechanics: 'At 2112 on 11 June 1944, the tank landing ship LST-496 struck a mine while proceeding in convoy through a channel to the assault area.' Submarine chaser PC-568 cleared LST-496, then Lt. Comdr. Wilber maneuvered Amesbury alongside and moored to remove the remainder of the LST's crew and embarked troops, summoning a doctor from LCI-530. Tug ATA-125 secured a tow line; LST-496, barely underway, began to capsize to port; Amesbury cut lines and cleared; the ship they attempted to salvage soon sank. All of the destroyer escort's sailors were recovered uninjured.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-11/12
- Population
- LST-496 crew and embarked troops; Amesbury, PC-568, LCI-530, ATA-125 rescue personnel
- Limitations
- Ship-specific loss mechanics from a sister-ship DANFS entry; establishes timing, rescue units, and capsizing - no asbestos content. Live NHHC Amesbury URL 404s (link rot); Wayback capture of 2025-12-09 cited and labeled archived.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-03
-
[5]NHHC 'The Sextant' (usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil): Sobocinski, 'The Workhorse of Normandy: Remembering the Role of LSTs in Medical Evacuation' (21 May 2019), by a BUMED historian (ARCHIVED copy; live site unreachable to automated fetch 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Article text, LST-496 paragraph and endnotes xiii-xiv (Wayback capture 2025-11-14)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The NHHC-published BUMED history names this hull: 'On June 11th, LST-496 was struck by German mines three miles off the Normandy coast.' It records that ship's company suffered 80 percent casualties; quotes medical officer LTJG Henrik W. Szylejko's account ('It was as if someone had roughly picked the ship and violently shaken it,' from his 'Abandoning an LST,' Hospital Corps Quarterly 18(5), May 1945); and notes that all 20 embarked corpsmen were injured, that Szylejko and the corpsmen remained aboard the sinking vessel until the last casualty was evacuated, that medical officer LTJG Charles Henderson, MC, USNR, was killed, and that Army medical officer 1LT Frank Davis, MC, suffered a compressed fractured vertebra. Context: 106 of 144 LSTs at Normandy were designated for casualty evacuation; LSTs lifted ~79.62% of Allied casualties (41,035 total).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-11; article 2019
- Population
- LST-496 medical contingent and ship's company; Normandy casualty-evac population generally
- Limitations
- NHHC-platform history article, not a primary record; casualty framing ('80 percent of ship's company') differs from NavSource's compiled KIA/WIA line - variance carried in gaps. Does not state LST-496 was on a casualty-evac leg when mined - the loss report shows she was inbound loaded with vehicles. No asbestos content. Live site returned errors to automated fetch; Wayback capture of 2025-11-14 cited and labeled archived.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-04
-
[6]NARA: Report of Loss of USS LST-496 by senior surviving officer LT O. A. Atkins, USNR (4 Aug 1944), catalog ID 78551981; muster roll of the crew at loss, catalog ID 126631645 - contents as transcribed in the DRASSM-permitted Southsea Sub-Aqua Club survey report (2023) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog.archives.gov/id/78551981 (Report of Loss) and /id/126631645 (muster roll); SSAC report section 8.5 and Appendix 2
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- NARA holds this hull's primary loss records. Per the Atkins report as transcribed: LST-496 departed England at 0600 on 11 June 1944 bound for Dog Red sector, Omaha Beach, carrying mainly light and medium tanks plus half-tracks, jeeps, and 2.5-ton trucks; ship's complement was 142 enlisted and 13 officers plus one Army medical officer, an LCVP crew, LST Medical Group 35, Foxy 29, and war correspondent Albert Q. Maisel of Cosmopolitan, with ~241 Army enlisted and 17 Army officers as passengers. At ~2115, about 6 miles from destination, the ship struck at least two mines nearly simultaneously; the blast centered near frame 43 ~15 ft inboard of the port side, blew a 35-40 ft hole through the bottom, destroyed Officer's Country (killing the CO and XO immediately), and flooded the main engine room in under a minute; all officers of the complement were killed or injured and ~75% of enlisted were casualties. At least one corvette, two patrol craft, and a destroyer escort removed all located men before she sank.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06-11; report 1944-08-04
- Population
- Ship's company (142 ENL + 13 officers + 1 Army MO) and ~258 embarked Army passengers at loss
- Limitations
- Archival lead: content is transcribed through the SSAC survey report (a private club report produced under French DRASSM permit), not independently pulled from NARA this session; NARA catalog pages are JS-rendered (IDs return HTTP 200; titles verified only via the report's citation). The muster-roll complement figure is the population aboard at loss, not the design complement. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-05
-
[7]Declassified USS LST-511 action report, Enclosure (A) (27-28 Apr 1944), transcribed by the Exercise Tiger memorial document archive (exercisetiger.org.uk); corroborated by memorial foundation convoy order and NavSource's convoy-T4 chart image on the LST-496 page [other_primary]
- Locator
- Enclosure (A) transcription, sailing-order and timeline paragraphs; exercisetiger.org convoy-T4 history
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- LST-496 sailed in Exercise Tiger convoy T-4 on the night of 27-28 April 1944 - the Slapton Sands rehearsal attacked by German E-boats. The transcribed LST-511 enclosure lists convoy order as LSTs 515, 496, 511, 531, 58 (Plymouth section, Red LST Unit No. 3, TU 125.11.4) joined at 1930 by the Brixham section LSTs 499, 289, 507; escorts HMS Saladin and Azalea. LST-496 was second in line; she returned fire on the E-boats and escaped undamaged while LST-507 and LST-531 were sunk and LST-289 damaged.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-04-27/28
- Population
- LST-496 ship's company and embarked 4th/29th Infantry-division troops during T-4
- Limitations
- The primary document (LST-511 Enclosure A) is real and declassified, but the citation is a memorial-site transcription, not the NARA original - verified to that level, partial otherwise. The NavSource LST-496 page carries a convoy-T4 chart image (credited to a third-party site) consistent with this membership. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-06
-
[8]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II (Jan/Apr 1945), NAVSHIPS 250-011 - LST design table and roster (shipscribe.com scan; live URL verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB1945v2 LST design table + roster (shipscribe scan)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official BuShips design table documents the LST-1-series design groupings under which this hull was built (group LST-491/541): 328 ft oa, 50 ft beam, ~2,366 t light / 3,960-4,080 t trial, 11.6 kt, 2 x GM 12-567A diesels 1,700 shp, accommodations 13 officers / 106 enlisted. Diesel plant - no boilers - which bounds the ship type's machinery-related insulation scope relative to steam vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Class/design documentation, not a hull record; LST-496 does not appear by name in the design table. Machinery figures are design data; NavSource's per-hull spec block (carried in ev-02) is consistent. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-07
-
[9]Corn, J.K., and Starr, J., 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987); era/design application consistent with BuShips SDB-1945 v2 machinery data [other_primary]
- Locator
- Corn & Starr AJIM 11(3):359-373; SDB1945v2 LST design table (machinery scope)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for this 1943 diesel-powered LST: asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in WWII U.S. shipbuilding (Corn & Starr), and LST construction at inland yards was part of that program. For the diesel LST design (no boilers), the era-consistent asbestos-relevant applications are GM diesel engine/exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- MVBI Evansville construction trades (1943); crew (1943-44); rescue crews who boarded during the sinking
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level material schedule, survey, or work package exists or was located for LST-496. Does not establish that asbestos was installed aboard this hull, quantity, location, or exposure of any individual. The diesel plant removes the boiler-lagging pathway but not the gasket/packing/deck-covering/accommodation pathways.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-08
-
[10]Southsea Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC 0009), 'USS LST-496 AND 523' - report of the 2022 DRASSM-permitted survey of wrecks EA3232 and EA3152, Baie de Seine (May 2023) [other_primary]
- Locator
- SSAC report Summary, sections 4.1, 6.5, 8.5, 9 (positions, survey conclusions, final identification)
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- A DRASSM-permitted underwater survey concludes the wrecks were long misidentified: charted site EA3232 (49°30.186'N 00°47.910'W, traditionally 'LST-496') is not an LST (debris field ~11 x 8 m, possibly an LCM), and wreck EA3152 (49°28.66'N 00°58.01'W, traditionally 'LST-523') is identified as USS LST-496 on the basis of intact starboard bow door, capsized attitude consistent with the port-side capsize in the loss reports, and hull-damage position consistent with the Atkins report's frame-43 blast location. The wreck lies ~11 NM northwest of Port-en-Bessin.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2022-2023 survey; wreck since 1944
- Population
- Divers/archaeologists (2022); wreck site itself (war grave)
- Limitations
- A private dive-club archaeological report under French DRASSM permit - the identification is the authors' analysis, not a government chart correction or judicial finding; UKHO/French charting was not updated by it as of the report. Wreck-site documentation only; no asbestos, materials, or human-remains condition content relevant to exposure claims.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-09
-
[11]Woolsey v. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., 119 Ind. App. 391, 88 N.E.2d 54 (Ind. Ct. App. 1949) - CourtListener cluster 3428445 [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion text, 119 Ind. App. 391 at 392 (employment/findings recital); posture line ('Affirmed. By the court in banc.')
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard litigation context, non-asbestos: a pipe fitter employed at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron 'in the compartment of ships' June-November 1944 (the same Evansville yard and production window as this hull) brought an Indiana occupational-disease claim alleging death by poisoning from inhaled fumes of welded galvanized metal; the Industrial Board found no compensable occupational disease and the Court of Appeals affirmed denial (opinion filed 17 Oct 1949). Documents that the builder yard's wartime workforce generated occupational-disease litigation - but the claim was non-asbestos and failed on causation.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-1949
- Population
- MVBI Evansville shipyard trades (1944)
- Limitations
- Yard-level litigation, not a hull record and NOT an asbestos case: the alleged agent was welding/galvanizing fumes, and the claim was denied. Included to document the classified result of the builder-yard litigation sweep (affirmed denial at the intermediate appellate stage). Establishes nothing about asbestos or about conditions aboard this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-10
-
[12]Commissioning-CO source conflict: DANFS (ev-01) vs NavSource CO table (ev-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS LST-496 entry; NavSource 10/16/160496 commanding-officers table
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Source discrepancy documented, not resolved: DANFS states LST-496 was 'commissioned on 27 December 1943, Lt. Stanley H. Koch, USNR, in command,' while NavSource's commanding-officer table lists LT Robert J. Gregory, USNR, 19 December 1943 - February 1944 (spanning both the reduced and full commissioning), then LTJG Stanley H. Koch, USNR, February 1944 - 11 June 1944 (KIA). Both agree Koch commanded at the sinking. The record carries both framings; neither is asserted as controlling.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-12 to 1944-06
- Limitations
- Personnel-history discrepancy only; does not affect identity, loss, or asbestos status. Resolution would require the commissioning orders/deck log (NARA).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-11
-
[13]Batch-7002 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live + archived), NavSource (live), NHHC The Sextant (archived), NARA catalog IDs, shipscribe SDB-1945 v2, SSAC/DRASSM survey report, CourtListener API v4 sweeps, builder-yard litigation check [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-496-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming LST-496 was found in the public sources searched. Authenticated CourtListener API v4 sweeps (2026-10-02): 'LST-496' - 0 hits in opinions (type=o) and 0 in RECAP dockets (type=r); '"LST 496" asbestos' (opinions) - 0 hits; '"Missouri Valley Bridge" asbestos' (opinions) - 0 hits. Hull lost by enemy action June 1944: never decommissioned, never in MARAD custody, predates NVR indexing (pre-1987 disposal). No museum/abatement track exists (unlike surviving LST-325/393/510).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 2026-10-02
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the era-consistent inference stands but is not ship-proven, and the hull is a sunken war grave unlikely to generate future survey records. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. A 'LST-496' variant sweep could not be rerun for every hyphenation form; the canonical hull-number forms were swept clean.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-496-12