Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet 681-packet.md (1 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lst-499-lst499-pkt-681-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, LST-499 (live NHHC page, verified 2026-10-02) - construction, sponsor, commissioning, Normandy service, loss, battle star [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry text (single paragraph)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: laid down 3 September 1943 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; launched 5 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Porter W. Kohlmeyer; commissioned 10 January 1944. Assigned to the European theater; participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; 'sunk due to enemy action during the invasion on 8 June 1944'; name 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
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1943-44); crew (Jan-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Ship-specific history only; no asbestos or material content. DANFS does not specify the weapon that sank her (mine cause comes from the Cominch post-action table, ev-03). The live NHHC page loaded 2026-10-02 - unlike the standing link-rot defect noted in earlier batches.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-01
-
[3]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-499 (160499) - designation timeline, specifications, commanding officer, awards, photographs (live page verified 2026-10-02) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/16/160499.htm header block, specifications block, CO table, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource page for this hull: LST-491-class tank landing ship; laid down 3 September 1943 Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN; launched 5 November 1943; commissioned 10 January 1944 under LT Elmer F. Witte, USNR (sole listed CO, 10 Jan 1944 - 8 Jun 1944); assigned Europe-Africa-Middle East theater; Invasion of Normandy June 1944; 'Sunk as a result of enemy action, 8 June 1944'; struck from the Naval Register 22 August 1944; one battle star. Awards shown: Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 8 June 1944), American Campaign Medal, EAME Campaign Medal (1), WWII Victory Medal. Specifications: displacement 1,625 t light / 4,080 t full / 2,366 t beaching; 328 ft oa x 50 ft; 11.6 kt; complement 13 officers / 104 enlisted; troop accommodations 16 officers / 147 enlisted; two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, single Falk main reduction gear, three diesel-drive 100 kW 230V DC ship's-service generators, two propellers 1,700 shp; ultimate-design armament 2 twin 40mm w/ Mk 51 directors, 4 single 40mm, 12 single 20mm. Photo captions place the hull at Brixham Harbour 1 June 1944 (US Army Signal Corps SC206438, loading for the invasion) and off Utah Beach 6 June 1944 (US Navy photo 80-G-231960, collections of the US National Archives), plus a Convoy T-4 position chart off Slapton Sands the night of 27-28 April 1944.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944
- Population
- Construction trades (1943-44); ship's company 13 officers / 104 enlisted (Jan-Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation, not a primary registry - milestone dates track DANFS/NVR but photo captions are contributor-curated; the Convoy T-4 chart caption is a reproduction, not a convoy record. Contains no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-02
-
[4]Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (Cominch), 'Amphibious Operations: Invasion of Northern France, June 1944' - official post-action report, ship casualty table (ibiblio HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Chapter 1 annex table 'ships sunk or damaged' - LST 499 row (adjacent rows MEREDITH, RICH, LST 496)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The official U.S. Navy post-action report's vessel casualty table records 'LST 499 | 8 June | Sunk | Mined' - establishing the cause of loss (a German mine) that DANFS only describes as 'enemy action.' Same table records LST-496 '11 June, Sunk, Probably mined' and LST-523 among the other follow-up losses in the Baie de la Seine.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- Crew and embarked casualties/wounded at loss (8 Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Cause-of-loss entry in a post-action summary table - no detail on position, damage, or casualties for this hull (those come from war diaries, ev-07/ev-08). Transcription is a mirror of the printed Cominch report; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-03
-
[5]Operation Neptune Operation Plan 2-44 (Allied Naval Expeditionary Force order of battle; ibiblio HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- OpPlan 2-44 Part 1, Assault Force 'U' composition table - LST Flotilla 10 hull list
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The Operation Neptune order assigns LST-499 to Assault Force 'U' (Rear Admiral Moon, USN, flagship USS Bayfield) under LST Flotilla 10 - the Utah Beach assault force; the flotilla listing names LST-499 among 30 LSTs (with LST-380, -382, -284, -346, -500 and sisters photographed alongside her at Brixham 1 June 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- Crew (assault echelon, Jun 1944); embarked Army troops
- Limitations
- Assignment record only; confirms operational role (Utah Beach assault echelon) but no material content. Secondary compilation (SSAC report, ev-08) further assigns her to LST Group 32, Division 63 within Flotilla 10 - that granularity is not carried here as it rests on the secondary source.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-04
-
[6]NARA NAID 78401756, 'USS LST-499 - Rep of Act Between Convoy of LSTs and Unidentified Enemy Vessel or Vessels, 4/27-28/44' (WWII War Diaries microfilm series; Fold3-sourced digital images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file unit NAID 78401756 (Roll A928)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LST-499's own action report exists at NARA: the ship's report of the night 27-28 April 1944 engagement between the LST convoy and enemy (E-boat) vessels - i.e., her ship-written record of the Exercise Tiger attack on Convoy T-4, in which LST-507 and LST-531 were sunk and LST-289 damaged while LST-499 survived. 6 digital images attached to the catalog record.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-04
- Population
- Ship's company during Exercise Tiger (27-28 Apr 1944)
- Limitations
- Catalog record verified live (digitized, 6 images); the report text itself was not transcribed this session - the convoy-attack details rest on NHHC's Exercise Tiger narrative and the crew sources (ev-09, ev-10). No asbestos content expected - an engagement report.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-05
-
[7]NARA NAID 126631737, 'LST-499, 1/10/44-4/30/44' - Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities (Ancestry-sourced images) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file unit NAID 126631737 (Roll No. 4561, muster rolls series ID 594996)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's muster rolls for her entire commissioned period through 30 April 1944 are digitized at NARA (51 images): the authoritative roster of every officer and enlisted man who served aboard from commissioning through Exercise Tiger - the definitive crew-exposure population for any future claimant verification.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-01 - 1944-04
- Population
- All hands, commissioning - 30 Apr 1944
- Limitations
- Catalog record verified live; rolls cover 1/10/44-4/30/44 only - the May 1944 and loss-period (June) muster entries were not located in this search (a May-June 1944 file may exist under another roll or was not filed before the sinking; see gaps). Personnel-name-level content not extracted this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-06
-
[8]NARA war diaries of assisting vessels naming this hull in salvage/loss records: USS LCI(L) 319 'Rep of Ops, 6/5-23/44' (NAID 78517501); USS KIOWA 'War Diary, 6/1-30/44' (NAID 78509749); USS ATR-3 'War Diary, 6/1-30/44' (NAID 78483203); USS LST-346 'Rep of Ops, 6/5-9/44' (NAID 78517511) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA catalog file units 78517501, 78509749, 78483203, 78517511 (WWII War Diaries microfilm series)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized NARA war diaries document the loss aftermath contemporaneously: ATR-3's diary records salvage alongside from 1003 on 8 June (Bayfield dispatch #080952), LCI(L)-219 ordered to beach the ship, and HMS Minster mined and sunk 250 yards away during the tow; LCI(L)-319's diary records evening salvage on 8-9 June - secret papers removed, bodies of LST-499 crew recovered, looting suppressed; LST-346's report covers casualty removal on 8 June; Kiowa's diary records salvage attempts 14-17 June at position 49 deg 26'24" N, 01 deg 10'00" W ('at 1758 ship afloat') and the 27 June inspection that left her derelict.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06
- Population
- Salvage parties from LCI(L)-319/321/219/283/11, ATR-3, LST-346, Kiowa (AT-72), PC-484 (8-27 Jun 1944); LST-499 dead recovered aboard
- Limitations
- Contents are quoted via the SSAC secondary compilation (ev-08), which cites each NAID - the quoted entries were not independently re-transcribed from NARA images this session; catalog records for all four NAIDs verified live. Salvage-crew population aboard a flooded wreck - a documented disturbance-of-materials scenario but no material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-07
-
[9]Southsea Sub Aqua Club (UK) project report 'USS LST-496 and LST-523' (2024) - chapter 8 'The Loss of LST-499' + Appendix 1 'Report of Loss - Casualty List' compiling official war-diary extracts and DPAA-provided casualty documents [other_primary]
- Locator
- Report pp. 55-61 (sections 8.2-8.4) and pp. 74-76 (Appendix 1, Tables 7-8)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A specialist dive-report compilation quoting primary documents for this hull's loss: US Navy War Diary Operation Neptune sitrep for 9 June ('Casualties. LST-499 mined and sunk.' and '8 June 1944 0910 LST-499 struck mine off port beam of USS BAYFIELD. She was badly damaged aft.'); war diaries of LST-380, LCI(L)-319, ATR-3, PC-484, and Kiowa (AT-72) covering casualty removal, towing, beaching, enemy shore-battery fire near the crippled ship, and salvage through 27 June when the ship was left derelict; and the 'Report of Loss - Casualty List' compiled from DPAA-supplied documents (COMNAVEU P-53512-CJM of 5 July 1944 and BuPers letter Pers-5323a-asg of 9 Nov 1944 to LT Witte) recording 110 ship's-complement casualties - 12 dead and 98 wounded - plus Hospital Assistant 1c Lloyd F. Arnold reported dead under a second source. Whether any of the wounded soldiers being transported died is unestablished.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1944-06 (events); 2024 (compilation)
- Population
- Ship's company (110 casualties: 12 dead, 98 wounded per compiled DPAA list; +1 medical-department dead); wounded soldiers aboard (count unknown); salvage crews Jun 1944
- Limitations
- SECONDARY COMPILATION - a UK dive-club identity study, not a government record. Its war-diary and casualty transcriptions carry NARA/DPAA anchors (NAIDs cited, documents 'kindly provided by DPAA') but were not independently re-verified against the archival images; crewman Casner's account says 'fourteen crew members died,' a variant of the compiled 12-plus-1 figure. Carried for disposition/casualty detail and as an index to the underlying primary records; no asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-08
-
[10]Library of Congress, Veterans History Project - Per J. Navestad Collection, AFC/2001/001/23019 (service summary + narrative) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LoC item afc2001001.23019 - Veterans History Project Service Summary / Service History Note
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- LoC-cataloged veteran record of a named crewman: QM2c Per J. Navestad served aboard LST-499 1943-1946 window (transferred after the sinking to USS Donnell DE-56). His service note corroborates the itinerary at first person - pickup at Evansville, shakedown at Panama City, New York loading (an LCT embarked at Brooklyn Navy Yard), Halifax convoy, Exercise Tiger 'in which 3 other ships were torpedoed and LST 499 narrowly avoided being struck,' the Utah Beach landing on June 8, and surviving 'LST 499's sinking when it hit a mine.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1946
- Population
- QM2c Per J. Navestad; pre-commissioning/detail crew (Dec 1943-Jan 1944)
- Limitations
- Survivor oral-history record - establishes one crewman's service narrative aboard this hull, not a material or medical record; 'landing on June 8' reflects personal recollection of the unloading/beach period. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-09
-
[11]NavSource-hosted contributed document 'USS LST 499 Schedule' (scan; captioned by exercisetiger.org.uk as Lt. j.g. John H. Hill Collection) - sailing itinerary transcribed by OCR this session [other_primary]
- Locator
- navsource.net/archives/10/16/pdf/160499a.pdf (1-page scan)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A contributed scan of a captain-provided sailing schedule, forwarded between crew families ('the L.S.T. that our son was on... sent us by his captain... your son's ship would have been on this same schedule... both ships had been side by side all the way'): picked up at Evansville 27 Dec 1943; New Orleans for commissioning/fittings 8-25 Jan 1944; Panama City shakedown 26 Jan - 12 Feb; New York loading 1-5 Mar; departed Boston 10 Mar; departed Halifax 14 Mar; Roseneath, Scotland arrived 31 Mar, departed 2 Apr; Milford Haven (fuel oil) and Port Talbot (army equipment) 3-6 Apr; Falmouth home base from 8 Apr with Brixham trips and 'practice invasion'; night of 27 Apr 'our convoy was attacked by German E boats. They sank two of our L.S.T.s and damaged the third. We landed on Slapton Sands'; 5 Jun departed Brixham; 6 Jun arrived off Normandy about noon, 'unable to be unloaded until about 2:30 the 8th'; 'At 8 o'clock on the 8th we started our return to England and at 9:05 we struck the mine that was the end of our L.S.T.'
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-12 - 1944-06
- Population
- Crew (itinerary Dec 1943 - 8 Jun 1944)
- Limitations
- Contributor-provided scan hosted on NavSource - not an official record; provenance is a family letter enclosing a captain's schedule, and attribution (which family's ship) is ambiguous though the itinerary and 8 June mine loss match this hull; OCR transcription by this session ('9:05' vs the official 0910 sitrep is consistent within minutes). No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-10
-
[12]Era inference built on: NavSource specifications for this hull (two GM 12-567A 900 hp diesels, Falk gear, 2 shafts); LST-1/LST-491-group class profile (BuShips Ships' Data 1945 v2 design table; class notes on diesel-LST asbestos-relevant systems); GAO HRD-80-2 (ev-12) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; lst-1-class.class.json class_notes and SDB-1945 v2 design table; GAO HRD-80-2 product description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- An LST-491-group diesel-powered tank landing ship built September 1943 - January 1944 sits inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era; era-standard applications aboard a vessel of this type and period were diesel exhaust lagging and gaskets, engine-room thermal/acoustic insulation, valve packing, deck coverings/tile, bulkhead and accommodation insulation, and winch/crane brake linings. She carried no boilers - the steam-plant lagging pathway does not apply - but she was built at an inland 'cornfield' yard (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Evansville) during the period when asbestos insulation was standard Navy shipbuilding material.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- Study period
- 1943-1944 (construction and service); 1944 (salvage)
- Population
- Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron construction trades (1943-44); crew (Jan-Jun 1944); June 1944 salvage parties; postwar wreck salvors (undocumented)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material schedule, or work package located for LST-499 (none could exist postwar; she sank five months into commissioned service). Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity; no manufacturer attribution for this hull.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-11
-
[13]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 service era (Jan-Jun 1944).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-10-02
- 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 2026-10-02) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-12
-
[14]Batch-7005 search ledger (this record): DANFS live page; NavSource 160499 + schedule PDF; NARA catalog 'LST-499' (185 hits incl. ship's own action report and muster rolls); Cominch Neptune report; OpPlan 2-44; LoC VHP; SSAC compilation; CourtListener; secondary web litigation sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lst-499-lst499-01 through -11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, material schedule, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or litigation naming USS LST-499 was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). CourtListener opinion index (type=o) searched live for '"LST-499" OR "USS LST-499"' - ZERO hits. The RECAP docket index (type=r) could not be queried - the fleet-wide request pacer returned 'budget momentarily spent' on repeated attempts; logged as blocked for that index only, not as a negative result. Secondary web sweeps surfaced no qualifying case; the only 'asbestos' content found in ship-name searches is unrelated Navy litigation (name collisions) - no law-firm listicle claims this specific hull surfaced.
- 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 - and the litigation repository search status is stated exactly in this row and the ledger. The hull's five-month life and 1944 loss foreclose postwar survey/abatement records; builder-yard (Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron) asbestos records were not located in this pass. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lst-499-lst499-13