Evidence
9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).
-
[1]research packet 680-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED (sourcing thin
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Limitations
- qualifier: VERIFIED (sourcing thin
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-497-lst497-pkt-680-packet-md
-
[2]Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, 'LST-497' (Naval Historical Center / history.navy.mil; live NHHC URL returned 404 on 2026-10-02 - Wayback Machine capture cited as archived) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry 'LST-497', single-paragraph entry (archived capture dated 2010-12-08)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry for LST-497: laid down 26 August 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 27 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Paul H. Schmidt; commissioned 31 December 1943, Lt. C. V. Riley, USNR, in command. Assigned to the European theater and participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Returned to the United States, decommissioned 18 December 1945, struck from the Navy list 8 January 1946, and sold 30 January 1948 to the Anglo-Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills, Quebec, Canada, for operation. Earned one battle star for World War II service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- Wartime ship's company (13 officers / ~104-106 enlisted) plus embarked troops (up to 16 officers / 147 enlisted)
- Limitations
- Archived copy used because the live NHHC page (https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lst-497.html) returned 404 on 2026-10-02 - standing NHHC LST-port gap. Establishes identity and service history only; contains no asbestos, insulation, or material information. DANFS names Riley as commissioning commanding officer while NavSource's roster places Riley September-December 1945 and Steaken at commissioning - likely a DANFS transcription artifact, logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-01
-
[3]Bureau of Ships, Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II, NAVSHIPS 250-011 (April 1945) - shipscribe.com scan with text layer [other_primary]
- Locator
- SDB 1945 v2: List of Naval Vessels p.175 (LST497 roster row); LST design table pp.168-169
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Bureau of Ships 'Ships' Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II' (NAVSHIPS 250-011, April 1945) List of Naval Vessels roster: LST497 - Missouri Valley B. & I. Co., Evansville, Ind.; keel laid 26 Aug 43; launched 27 Oct 43; commissioned 31 Dec 43. The LST design table for the LST491-541 group documents: 2 G.M. Diesel 12-567A engines, 1,700 shaft horsepower, single Falk main reduction gears, three 100-kW 230-V DC diesel-driven ship's service generators, ~3,960 tons trial displacement, 11.6 kt trial, total accommodations 13 officers / 106 enlisted, armament 2 twin and 4 single 40-mm A.A. mounts; the boiler columns are blank for all diesel LST groups - boilers appear only for the turbine LST1153-1155 group.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1945 publication; 1943 roster dates
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked troops (design accommodations); construction trades (Evansville)
- Limitations
- Official BuShips publication; the roster row names this hull and the design table names its group (LST491-541). Machinery/documentation data only - contains no asbestos or insulation-material statements. The earlier mirror path (shipscribe.com/styles/usnaux/sdb/SDB1945v2.pdf) now returns 404; the /pubs/ path was verified live 2026-10-02.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-02
-
[4]U.S. Maritime Administration, ShipHistory database - LST-497, Ship History Detail 9411, with digitized USMC vessel status card [marad_nrc]
- Locator
- ShipHistory Detail 9411; status card image https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/48D_01.png
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- MARAD ShipHistory record for LST-497 (Ship History Detail 9411): fate 'Sold - No Further Info'. The digitized U.S. Maritime Commission Vessel Status Card (image 48D_01.png) reads: name 'LST 497'; header 'Surplus - Department of Navy'; date-allocated notation 'SPAct 1936' (as written); operator 'Anglo-Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills'; form of agreement 'Pur.' (purchase); date and time delivered '1/30/48'. This primary disposal record independently confirms the 30 January 1948 sale that DANFS reports.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1948
- Population
- Disposal and merchant crews (1948 onward)
- Limitations
- Primary government disposal record. Records only the buyer, purchase form, and delivery date - it gives no merchant rename and no subsequent-fate entries, so it neither confirms nor refutes NavSource's 'Guy Bartholomew' attribution. Contains no asbestos or material information. 'SPAct 1936' transcribed as written on the card.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-03
-
[5]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, Tank Landing Ship LST-497 (page last updated 2014-11-28) [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/10/16/160497.htm - timeline, CO roster, campaign table, specifications
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource LST-497 page: laid down 26 August 1943; launched 27 October 1943; commissioned 23 December 1943, LT William D. Steaken, USNR, in command; commanding-officer roster (Steaken Dec 1943-Feb 1944; Robb Feb-Nov 1944; Thomas Nov 1944-Sep 1945; Riley Sep-18 Dec 1945); Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign credit 'Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944'; decommissioned 18 December 1945; struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission and sold 30 January 1948 to Anglo-Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills, Quebec, 'named MV Guy Bartholomew. In service until the late 1960s. Final Disposition, fate unknown.' One battle star. Call sign NPJU.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1948; merchant service reportedly to late 1960s
- Population
- Wartime crew; merchant crews
- Limitations
- Volunteer-compiled archive (reputable secondary). Two documented discrepancies: (1) commission date 23 Dec 1943 conflicts with DANFS and the BuShips SDB roster (31 Dec 1943) - NavSource's date may reflect a reduced-commission river transit to the New Orleans fitting-out yard, the pattern documented for sister LST-496, but that is unverified; (2) the 'MV Guy Bartholomew' merchant identity conflicts with registries documenting that name (IMO 5138656, later Fort Kent, foundered 7 Dec 1992 off Long Harbour, Newfoundland) as ex-LST-511 - treated as unresolved and probably erroneous cross-contamination. No asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-04
-
[6]Consolidated era inference - BuShips SDB 1945 v2 machinery data (LST491-541 group) plus era amphibious-ship construction practice (lst-1-class class profile) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class technical data; SDB 1945 v2 pp.168-169
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/design inference for the diesel-powered LST491-541 group: no boilers or steam plant, so the boiler/turbine lagging pathway is absent; asbestos-relevant applications typical of the type are GM diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, deck coverings and 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-late 1960s
- Population
- Construction trades (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville, 1943); wartime engine-room crew; postwar merchant crews
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no ship-level asbestos record was located for this hull or for any LST-1-class member. Establishes no quantities, locations, condition, or individual exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-05
-
[7]Corn, Jacqueline Karnell, and Jennifer Starr, 'Historical perspective on asbestos: Policies and protective measures in World War II shipbuilding,' American Journal of Industrial Medicine 11(3):359-373 (1987) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Abstract and article, AJIM 11(3):359-373
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Peer-reviewed historical study documents that asbestos was used extensively as a fireproofing and insulating material in U.S. shipbuilding during World War II - the era and emergency mass-production program under which this hull was built at an inland yard in 1943 - and that wartime demand drove unprecedented asbestos utilization aboard U.S.-built hulls.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1940s era documented; article 1987
- Population
- WWII shipyard workers and ship crews (class context)
- Limitations
- Program/era-level scholarly documentation of asbestos use in WWII shipbuilding generally; does not name this vessel or the LST type and does not establish that asbestos was or remains aboard this hull, nor quantity, location, condition, exposure, or causation.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-06
-
[8]Orange County (IN) honors-plaque transcription, ingenweb.org (memorial text asserting the false sinking) - disproven by the DANFS service record [other_primary]
- Locator
- ingenweb.org/inorange honors plaques, 'Reikes, Jerome Leon' entry
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- An Orange County, Indiana veterans' honors-plaque transcription states that a sailor was 'assigned to the USS LST-497 at Plymouth, England. On 28 April 1944 during Exercise Tiger ... a German submarine torpedoed and sank the LST-497.' The sinking claim is false: the documented Exercise Tiger LST losses were LST-507 and LST-531 (with LST-289 damaged), and DANFS records LST-497 in continuous service through the June 1944 Normandy invasion to a December 1945 decommissioning. The plaque is useful only as an indication that LST-497 was in UK waters in spring 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944 (event misdescribed)
- Limitations
- Genealogy/memorial transcription, not an official record - cited to document and correct an erroneous claim that circulates on the open web (it conflates Exercise Tiger casualties with a hull that survived the war). The plaque's assignment detail (LST-497 at Plymouth, spring 1944) is consistent with the ship's documented European-theater assignment; its sinking claim is not.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-07
-
[9]Batch-7003 search ledger (this record): archived DANFS; BuShips SDB 1945 v2; MARAD ShipHistory + status card; NavSource; CourtListener API v4 (opinion + docket); NVR; NARA catalog; secondary web [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-497-lst497-01 through sl-uss-lst-497-lst497-10
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming LST-497 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener authenticated searches on 2026-10-02 returned zero hits for 'LST-497' in both the opinion and docket (RECAP) indexes and zero hits for '"LST 497" asbestos' in opinions.
- 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 - a 1943 emergency-built diesel LST would be expected to carry era-standard asbestos applications even without a steam plant. Does not establish or defeat any exposure or eligibility claim. Deck logs and builder records at NARA are undigitized open leads.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-497-lst497-08