Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
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[1]Dafler v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 259 N.J. Super. 17, 611 A.2d 136 (App. Div. 1992), aff'd o.b., 132 N.J. 96, 622 A.2d 1305 (1993) [court_record]
- Locator
- Opinion at 259 N.J. Super. 22-24 (Part III factual recital: Dafler ship list incl. Cowpens; Joyce ship list incl. Cowpens; product identifications and 'on each of the nine or ten ships' testimony)
- Finding type
- litigation_product_id
- Finding
- Published New Jersey appellate opinion (affirmed jury verdict; further affirmed on the basis of the opinion by the New Jersey Supreme Court) recites trial testimony expressly naming USS Cowpens among the ships built at New York Shipbuilding, Camden amid asbestos insulation work. Plaintiff Frank Dafler, a shipfitter at the yard 1939-1945, testified he worked on 12-13 ships including 'the carriers: Belleauwood, Cowpens, Cabot, Princeton, Independence, and Monterey,' spending about 70% of his time in engine rooms and boiler rooms 'in very close proximity to the pipefitters who used asbestos and asbestos-containing products to cover the numerous pipes housed in those areas.' Coworker Louis Joyce (yard 1942-1944, sheet-metal department in boiler/engine rooms) listed Cowpens among the nine or ten ships he worked aboard and testified he saw Ehret asbestos pipe covering, Johns-Manville pipe covering, Baldwin Mono Block asbestos covering, Ehret and Johns-Manville asbestos-cement bags, and Garlock gaskets used daily on each ship. The jury found asbestos exposure 'was a substantial contributing cause of Mr. Dafler's lung cancer'; verdicts for plaintiff affirmed.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1939-1945 shipyard employment (Cowpens construction/fit-out window 1941-1943); verdict 1991-05-21; opinion 1992-07-30; aff'd o.b. 1993
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding (Camden) shipfitter and sheet-metal helper working aboard hulls under construction/fit-out, 1939-1945
- Limitations
- Ship-naming and product identifications are trial testimony recited in the published opinion - testimony-level, not an itemized finding of installed materials on this hull; the affirmed verdict found causation for the aggregate 1939-45 yard employment, not allocated per-vessel. Dafler's own work (hull/bulkhead steel) was not asbestos work; his exposure was bystander exposure to the pipe trades' materials aboard the named ships. Does not quantify asbestos aboard, does not establish exposure for any other individual, and does not address service-era (1943-47) conditions.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-01
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[2]DANFS, Cowpens (CV-25/CVL-25) entry - construction, designation, and service record (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page not locatable this session) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Cowpens entry - specifications block, construction paragraph, service narrative, closing bracketed addendum
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official ship-history record for this hull: launched 17 January 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Spruance (daughter of Vice Admiral W. F. Halsey); commissioned 28 May 1943, Captain R. P. McConnell in command; reclassified CVL-25 on 15 July 1943. Full WWII operational record (Wake, Marshalls, Truk, Marianas, Philippine Sea, Palaus, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen, Iwo Jima, Japan strikes). Exposure-relevant events: 'brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor' (July-August 1944); typhoon of 18 December 1944 costing one man, planes and equipment, with repair at Ulithi 21-30 December; 'overhaul at San Francisco' (spring 1945). Placed in commission in reserve at Mare Island 3 December 1946; decommissioned 13 January 1947; struck from the Navy list 1 November 1959 and sold 1 October 1960. Awarded Navy Unit Commendation and 12 battle stars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1960 (construction through disposal)
- Population
- Crew and embarked air groups, 1943-1947; overhaul yard workforces (Pearl Harbor 1944; San Francisco/Mare Island 1945)
- Limitations
- Documents service and yard-period events; contains no asbestos or material information. Live history.navy.mil DANFS page could not be located on 2026-09-26 (same NHHC link-rot pattern logged in Batch 01); row cites the verbatim HyperWar/ibiblio transcription, which carries a bracketed post-publication addendum (struck 1 Nov 1959, sold 1 Oct 1960) and a transcription typo ('19559').
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-02
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[3]National Park Service, 'USS Cowpens' (Cowpens National Battlefield article covering CVL-25 and CG-63) [nps]
- Locator
- NPS USS Cowpens article - CVL-25 section
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NPS ship account corroborates and details exposure-relevant events for this hull: keel laid 17 November 1941 (as a light cruiser - NPS's 'CL-107' is an error for CL-77, the number borne by NavSource and the class record); 18 December 1944 typhoon with one crewmember lost, loose bombs and aircraft, 100-mph winds, repairs at Ulithi from 21 December, back at sea by the 30th; first light aircraft carrier into Tokyo Bay (27 August 1945); decommissioned 13 January 1947; reclassified aircraft transport AVT-1 but 'never served in that role'; 'sold for scrap in 1961.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1961
- Population
- Crew during typhoon damage/repair and Tokyo Bay occupation periods
- Limitations
- NPS article contains two errors handled in this record: 'CL-107' for the cruiser hull (correct: CL-77; CL-107 was the later Fargo-class Huntington) and 'sold for scrap in 1961' vs. DANFS's 'sold 1 October 1960' (discrepancy logged in gaps). Contains no asbestos or material information; used for event corroboration only.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-03
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[4]NavSource Online Aircraft Carrier Photo Archive, USS Cowpens (CV-25/CVL-25/AVT-1) page - operational/building data block and official-photo captions [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource CV-25 page - 'Operational and Building Data' block; photo captions NS0225xx series (Mare Island, 12-15 May 1945)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Compiled ship chronology and photo archive: ordered as Cleveland-class light cruiser Huntington (CL-77), contract awarded to New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden; laid down 17 November 1941; reordered as aircraft carrier March 1942, renamed Cowpens, redesignated CV-25; launched 17 January 1943; commissioned 28 May 1943; redesignated CVL-25 15 July 1943; in commission in reserve at Mare Island 3 December 1946; decommissioned 13 January 1947; reclassified aircraft transport AVT-1 on 15 May 1959 while in reserve; stricken 1 November 1959; sold for scrap 1960. Photo captions transcribing official USN/NARA records place the ship 'off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 12 May 1945, following overhaul' and at Mare Island 15 May 1945 - identifying the DANFS 'San Francisco' overhaul as a Mare Island Navy Yard availability.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1960
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard workforce (1945 overhaul; 1946-47 deactivation)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer-compiled archive, not a government publication; cited here because its chronology block and captions transcribe official records (NARA/USN photos) and are consistent with DANFS/NPS. The laid-down date (17 Nov 1941) it supplies is corroborated by NPS and Wikipedia and corrects the Independence-class profile's 17 December 1941. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-04
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[5]U.S. Navy / Navy Yard Mare Island, 'Booklet of General Plans - USS Cowpens (CVL-25),' dated 11 May 1945 - NARA RG 19 (Bureau of Ships) file unit 'Plans for the Small Aircraft Carrier USS Cowpens (CVL-25)' (NARA ID 153714435), digitized mirror at Internet Archive [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA RG 19 file unit 153714435; Internet Archive item cvl25bogp1945 (item metadata and file list)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The ship's post-overhaul Booklet of General Plans survives in NARA Record Group 19 (Bureau of Ships ship engineering drawings): a six-sheet Mare Island Navy Yard set dated 11 May 1945 (cover photo 12 May) covering outboard profile, deck/platform arrangements, hold, inner bottom, midship and type sections, and armor arrangement - the authoritative drawing set for identifying installed materials and insulation schedule aboard this specific hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1945 (plans issue date)
- Population
- n/a (plans artifact)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, unretrieved in full: the digitized set is described as incomplete (six sheets of a standard BOGP run) and was not reviewed sheet-by-sheet for insulation or deck-covering schedules this session; such schedules, if present in the complete file unit, are the likeliest primary source for this hull's material suite. Digitization is a third-party mirror (Internet Archive 'ship-design-drawings' collection) of the NARA file unit.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-05
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[6]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960) - era specification for Navy shipboard insulation (class-file hit: independence-class.class.json ev-independence-class-06) [other_primary]
- Locator
- BuShips TM ch.39, sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials) - as transcribed in the class profile
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era specification (carried from the Independence-class profile per batch convention): the BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos suite standard to this hull's plant - 85% magnesia pipe covering ('about 15 percent asbestos fiber'), an amosite-asbestos pipe-covering class, roll asbestos felt (MIL-I-15091), asbestos cloth/tape lagging (SS-C-466, 80-95% chrysotile), asbestos millboard (HH-M-351), asbestos finishing cement, and molded asbestos block - covering the boilers, turbines, and steam piping of this 1941-43 construction. The hull's two-layer material history (Cleveland-class cruiser keel-laying and machinery, then carrier conversion) lies entirely inside the asbestos-specification era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1941-1943 construction; 1960 manual describing era specifications
- Population
- Construction trades (NYSB Camden, 1941-43); engineering and repair crews thereafter
- Limitations
- Specification-level documentation of what the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - does not establish what was installed aboard this hull beyond the testimony recitals in ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-01. The retrieved PDF is a scan of the government manual hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; hosting provenance noted. Class-file citation, not re-retrieved this session.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-06
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[7]Giacobbe v. Celotex Corp., 629 F. Supp. 827 (E.D. Pa. 1985) (class-file hit: independence-class.class.json ev-independence-class-03) [court_record]
- Locator
- 629 F. Supp. 827 - factual recital (Cabot service 1943-46)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Sister-ship litigation context (carried from the Independence-class profile): an E.D. Pa. opinion recites that plaintiff served aboard USS Cabot (CVL-28) - an Independence-class sister built in the same Camden conversion program - during 1943-1946 performing damage-control and maintenance duties including removing pipe covering, repairing pipes, ripping off gaskets, and replacing pipe covering. Documents service-era insulation-disturbance duties aboard an identical conversion hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1943-1946 service window; opinion 1985
- Population
- sailor aboard USS Cabot (CVL-28), 1943-1946
- Limitations
- Sister-ship recital, not this hull - allegation/deposition-level duties aboard CVL-28; establishes the work pattern for the class, not material aboard Cowpens. Class-file citation carried per batch convention (not re-verified this session).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-07
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[8]Simmons v. Pacor, Inc., 674 A.2d 232 (Pa. 1996) (class-file hit: independence-class.class.json ev-independence-class-04) [court_record]
- Locator
- 674 A.2d 232 - factual recital (NYSB Camden insulation trades)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Builder-yard context (carried from the Independence-class profile): Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion documents a pipecoverer/insulator's occupational asbestos exposure at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, 1952-1967 - the yard that built this hull (1941-1943). Establishes the yard's documented asbestos-trades environment in the era immediately following construction; Dafler (ev-01) supplies the tighter, hull-naming 1939-45 yard record.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1952-1967 yard employment; opinion 1996
- Population
- New York Shipbuilding insulator/pipecoverer, 1952-1967
- Limitations
- Builder-yard context only; the documented exposure period postdates this hull's construction by a decade. Does not name any vessel and does not establish material aboard this hull. Class-file citation carried per batch convention.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-08
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[9]Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions naming 'USS Cowpens': Citation Nr. A25024790 (2025-03-18, docket 240204-413933); Citation Nr. 25001645 (2025); Citation Nr. 9623189 (1996) [other_primary]
- Locator
- va.gov/vetapp decision texts (vetapp25/Files3/A25024790; vetapp25/Files2/25001645; vetapp96/files3/9623189)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Name-collision control: post-1991 'USS Cowpens' claims records concern the Ticonderoga-class cruiser CG-63, not this hull. BVA A25024790 recites a May 2023 VA memorandum finding asbestos exposure 'while serving aboard the USS Cowpens' - but the veteran's service ran January 1993 to October 1997, i.e., aboard CG-63 (commissioned 1991); BVA 25001645 recites Cowpens service June 1995-May 1998 (CG-63); BVA 9623189 recites service aboard 'U.S.S. Cowpen' in 1944-45 - this hull's era - but concerns a brain-cyst/seizure claim, not asbestos. No BVA asbestos decision naming CVL-25 was located.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- decisions 1996-2025
- Population
- Veterans of CG-63 (1993-1998 service) vs. one WWII-era CVL-25 veteran (non-asbestos claim)
- Limitations
- BVA decisions are non-precedential single-claimant adjudications; the TERA finding in A25024790 attaches to CG-63-era service and must not be attributed to this hull. A WWII-era Cowpens naming (9623189) exists but is a non-asbestos claim. Absence of located BVA asbestos claims for CVL-25 reflects index/search limits, not proof none exist.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-09
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[10]CourtListener API v4 opinion-search sweep + this record's search_ledger (sl-uss-cowpens-avt1-04 through sl-uss-cowpens-avt1-08) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener v4 search results for 'USS Cowpens' (count=1) and 'Cowpens asbestos' (count=1), 2026-09-26
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Litigation sweep result for this hull: (1) 'USS Cowpens' opinion search returned one result - Glenn Defense Marine (Asia) PTE Ltd. v. United States, 105 Fed. Cl. 541 (2012), a Yokosuka husbanding-services bid protest tied to CG-63's era and theater; classified other litigation / name collision. (2) '"Cowpens" asbestos' opinion search returned one result - Dafler v. Raymark (qualifying; ev-01). (3) The Independence-class profile's member-name sweeps (2026-09-16, 'member-name sweeps CVL-22/23/24/25/26/27/29/30 + asbestos') reported no qualifying opinion for CVL-25 - superseded by this batch's location of Dafler, which the earlier sweep missed. No additional ship-naming asbestos opinion was located for CVL-25 beyond Dafler.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- search date 2026-09-26
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- CourtListener indexes published/appellate opinions and RECAP dockets - not all filings, MDL-875 complaint exhibits, settlements, or unreported decisions; fleet-wide request pacing interrupted repeat sweeps this session (see ledger). Absence of additional hits is not absence of exposure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-10
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[11]Batch-3087 search ledger (this record): DANFS (ibiblio transcription); NPS USS Cowpens article; NavSource CV-25 page; NARA RG 19 BOGP (archive.org mirror); CourtListener sweeps; VA BVA decision texts; NVR; NHHC PDF tables [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-cowpens-avt1-01 through sl-uss-cowpens-avt1-12
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Beyond the Dafler litigation record, no ship-specific asbestos documentation was located for this hull: no insulation survey, no abatement contract, no hazmat disclosure, and no post-service material record. This is structurally expected - the hull was scrapped in 1960-61, before asbestos regulation (OSHA 1971), before recordation programs (HAER), and was never a museum or a documented reserve-fleet disposal package. The reserve era (1947-1959, Mare Island Pacific Reserve Fleet) produced no located material record; the AVT-1 designation was administrative only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the 1941-43 construction era and the Dafler testimony recitals make era-standard asbestos materials the reasonable presumption; only the documentary record is empty outside Dafler. Does not establish or defeat any individual exposure claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-cowpens-avt1-11