Evidence
10 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-10).
-
[1]DANFS, Langley I (AC-3/CV-1/AV-3), Vol. IV pp. 45-47 - verbatim transcription via HyperWar/ibiblio (live NHHC DANFS page 404 on 2026-09-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Vol. IV Langley I entry, construction and early-service paragraphs; AC-3 and CV-1 data blocks
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents the hull's construction and collier-era service: laid down 18 October 1911 by Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.; launched August 1912 (this transcription reads 24 August; the hazegray transcription of the same DANFS volume reads 14 August - see gaps); sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Ruhm; commissioned 7 April 1913, Comdr. Joseph M. Reeves. 'The first electrically propelled ship of the U.S. Navy.' First vessel to transit the Panama Canal from west to east (Columbus Day, October 1914). WWI Naval Overseas Transportation Service with cargo voyages to France June 1917 and November 1918; coaling duty at Brest supporting the return of the AEF. Carrier conversion authorized 11 July 1919; decommissioned Hampton Roads 24 March 1920. Collier statistics: 19,360 tons, 542 ft, 15 kt, complement 163, four 4-inch guns. The same DANFS entry records that destroyer escort DE-131, laid down 10 July 1942, was briefly named Langley before being renamed Hammann on 1 August 1942 - relevant to name-collision screening.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1911-1920
- Population
- Crew of USS Jupiter, 1913-1920 (complement 163)
- Limitations
- Verbatim transcription of printed DANFS; the live NHHC page returned 404 when checked. Transcription-level conflicts on the launch date (14 vs 24 August 1912) and rename date (11 vs 21 April 1920) exist between mirrors of the same printed entry - the modern NHHC page resolves the rename to 21 April 1920 (General Order 529); the launch-date conflict is unresolved and logged in gaps. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-01
-
[2]NHHC, 'Langley I (CV-1/AV-3)' ship history page by Christopher B. Havern Sr. (published 18 Dec 2024), retrieved via Wayback capture of 2025-12-09 (live NHHC site returned 404 on 2026-09-26) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Langley I page, conversion and 1922-1936 service sections; CV-1 statistics block
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents the carrier conversion and CV-1 career: converted at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA; renamed Langley by General Order 529 on 21 April 1920; reclassified CV-1 on 17 July 1920; recommissioned 20 March 1922, Cmdr. Kenneth Whiting. Conversion laid a 534-foot flight deck over the original bridge, poured concrete into the coal holds for ballast, installed a Mark I catapult and weight-based arresting gear; authorized aircraft complement 22; CV-1 figures 15,150 tons full load, 542'2.5", 14.0 knots, complement 468 including air group. Firsts: first aircraft launched from a U.S. carrier (Lt. Virgil C. Griffin, VE-7-SF, 17 October 1922); first carrier landing (Lt. Cmdr. Godfrey De C. Chevalier, Aeromarine 39B, 26 October 1922); first catapult launch (Whiting, PT floatplane, 18 November 1922). Joined Pacific Battle Fleet at San Diego 29 November 1924 and operated off California and Hawaii for twelve years.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1920-1936
- Population
- Ship's company + air group, 468 (carrier era)
- Limitations
- Authoritative NHHC narrative; retrieved via Wayback because the live site 404'd at access time. CV-1 figures differ from the older DANFS data block (11,500 tons, up to 55 aircraft, 15 kt) - modern figures used; neither block addresses machinery detail or materials. Contains no asbestos information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-02
-
[3]NHHC, 'Langley I (CV-1/AV-3)' ship history page (same capture as ev-02), seaplane-tender and Asiatic Fleet sections [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Langley I page, 1936-1942 narrative sections
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents the seaplane-tender conversion and pre-loss WWII service: detached from the Battle Force 15 September 1936 and entered Mare Island Navy Yard 25 October 1936 for overhaul and conversion; forward part of flight deck removed; conversion completed 24 February 1937 (older DANFS reads 26 February - the return to San Diego); redesignated AV-3 on 21 April 1937 while en route to Pearl Harbor for Fleet Problem XVIII. Aircraft Scouting Force operations out of Seattle, Sitka, Pearl Harbor, and San Diego; Atlantic deployment 1 February-10 July 1939 including propulsion repairs at Norfolk Navy Yard (March-April 1939) and the New York World's Fair; joined the Asiatic Fleet at Manila 24 September 1939 as its only seaplane tender, moored at Sangley Point. During 1940-1941 she surveyed prospective advanced seaplane bases across the Philippine archipelago, supported the Catalina squadrons combined into Patrol Wing 10 (16 December 1940), and was twice serviced in floating dry dock Dewey (YFD-1) at Olongapo (July 1940, May 1941). At war's outbreak 8 December 1941 she lay off Sangley Point; sortied with oilers Pecos and Trinity via Balikpapan, Makassar, Soerabaja to Darwin (arrived 1 January 1942); supported RAAF antisubmarine patrols and embarked VP-22 Catalinas; on 20 January 1942 a Langley OS2U Kingfisher bombed close aboard Japanese submarine I-124, sunk by Edsall.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1936-1942
- Population
- Ship's company and supported squadrons, 1936-1942
- Limitations
- Ship-specific operational history from NHHC; no materials or asbestos information. Yard availabilities documented (Mare Island conversion 1936-37, Norfolk propulsion repairs 1939, Dewey dockings 1940-41) establish where hull work occurred but not what materials were handled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-03
-
[4]NHHC, 'Langley I (CV-1/AV-3)' ship history page (same capture), final-operation and loss sections; NHHC Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons Appendix 3/5 (Aviation Ships table) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NHHC Langley I page, 1942 loss paragraphs and battle-stars line; NHHC DANAS Appendices 3 and 5, Aviation Ships table
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documents the loss: departed Fremantle 22 February 1942 in convoy MS-5 for Colombo carrying 32 Curtiss P-40E Warhawks plus pilots and ground crews of the USAAF 13th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional); ABDACOM diverted her to deliver the aircraft to Tjilatjap, Java. On 27 February, screened by Whipple (DD-217) and Edsall (DD-219), she was attacked from 1140 by 16 Mitsubishi G4M1 bombers of the Takao Kokutai from Denpasar, Bali, with 15 A6M2 Zero escorts (plus an observation plane and seven more G4M1s joining). After evading two passes she took five hits about 1212; embarked P-40s burned, steering impaired, 10-degree list, then dead in the water. Abandon ship ordered 1332; Whipple rescued 308 and Edsall 177; the destroyers fired nine 4-inch shells and two torpedoes into her at 1429. She sank about 75 miles south of Tjilatjap - the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier lost to enemy action. Per Bureau of Naval Personnel accounting quoted by NHHC, 288 Langley officers and crew were initially posted missing after the losses of Langley and Pecos, and 319 (including the 31 embarked USAAF pilots) were ultimately declared dead in 1945; Pecos was sunk 1 March and Edsall was lost with 31 of the pilots aboard. Langley earned two battle stars. NHHC aviation appendix lists the hull: '3 Langley - 7 Apr 1913 AC-3; CV-1 20 Mar 1922; AV-3 21 Apr 1937; Lost to enemy action 27 Feb 1942.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1942
- Population
- Ship's company plus embarked 13th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) pilots/ground crews; 319 total declared dead by 1945 including Langley survivors lost on Pecos and Edsall
- Limitations
- Casualty and loss narrative verified at NHHC level. The exact sinking position is not given by NHHC ('about 75 miles south of Tjilatjap'); the 8 deg 51 min S / 109 deg 02 min E position in the record's location fields derives from secondary references. Stricken date of 8 May 1942 circulates in secondary sources (NavSource-derived) but NHHC lists only 'Lost, enemy action 27 Feb 1942' - logged in gaps.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-04
-
[5]DANFS, Langley I - propulsion/service statistics and conversion records (verbatim transcription), used here only to document that this was a steam-driven naval vessel of the 1911-1913 building era [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS data blocks and conversion/service paragraphs (establishing propulsion type, build era, and yard periods)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- The hull was built 1911-1913 as a steam vessel (boilers feeding a turbo-electric plant - the Navy's first electrically propelled ship), and underwent major Navy-yard conversions in 1920-1922 and 1936-1937. U.S. naval vessels of this era carried asbestos-containing thermal insulation, gaskets, and packing in boiler, steam-line, valve, and machinery applications as standard practice, and yard conversions of the period disturbed and renewed such materials.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1911-1942
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades (1911-1913); Norfolk Navy Yard conversion trades (1920-1922); Mare Island conversion trades (1936-1937); ship's company 1913-1942
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, shipyard work order, or materials list for this vessel was located. Names era-standard practice, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; the ship sank in 1942, so no present-day material status exists to document.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-05
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps, 2026-09-26 (authenticated fleet quota) [court_record]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-langley-av3-02 through sl-uss-langley-av3-08
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep produced no qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull. Opinion index: "USS Langley" + asbestos = 0; "USS Langley" + mesothelioma = 0; "USS Langley" (unqualified) = 0 opinions in the corpus; "Langley" + "AV-3" = 0; "Langley" + "CV-1" = 21 hits, all name collisions (litigants, trusts, and the law firm Langley & Banack - none concerning the ship); "Jupiter" + "AC-3" = 0. Docket index (RECAP): 2 dockets contain the phrase inside attached documents, neither naming the ship as a party or exposure finding - (a) In re W.R. Grace & Co., Bankr. D. Del. 01-01139, doc. 13705-12: a claimant's asbestos personal-injury questionnaire whose handwritten employment history lists U.S. Navy service from 5/1943 and 'also served on USS Langley' among USS Wyoming and USS Texas - a claimant-allegation artifact whose service dates are consistent with CVL-27 (commissioned Aug 1943) and not this hull (sunk Feb 1942); (b) Ayo v. 3M Co., E.D.N.Y. 2:18-cv-00373, doc. 22-3: a Naval Research Laboratory historical report (NRL/MR/1001-06-8951) attached as an exhibit, mentioning 'USS Langley (CV-1) in 1922' in a carrier radio-homing history aside - a non-asbestos (firefighting-foam) case and pure name collision. See search_ledger.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Litigation-stage discipline applied: the Grace document is a claimant questionnaire (below pleading-stage allegation, never adjudicated on the ship reference) and on its stated service dates identifies CVL-27 rather than this hull; the Ayo document is a history report exhibit in unrelated litigation. Absence of a located opinion does not prove no claim was ever filed - asbestos-era complaints naming WWII ships are often unreported, settled, or in non-digitized state dockets; PACER and state-court records were not searched.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-06
-
[7]Batch-3040 search ledger (this record): NHHC DANFS (live + Wayback + HyperWar/hazegray transcriptions); NHHC naval-aviation appendices; CourtListener API v4; NARA logbook finding aids; NavSource (unreachable); Indonesian press coverage of 2023 Cilacap ammunition find [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-langley-av3-01 through sl-uss-langley-av3-11
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no insulation survey, abatement contract, materials manifest, museum or donor hazmat disclosure, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The hull was lost in 1942 - before the environmental-survey and asbestos-litigation eras that generate most ship-specific records for surviving vessels.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2026-09-26
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - era practice makes some asbestos aboard plausible, but it is unproven for this hull. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-07
-
[8]National Archives finding aid: Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations (RG 24, Entry 118; Special List 44 covers logs through 1940) and NARA Still Pictures (e.g., 80-G-1041082, Langley drydocked in Dewey); NHHC photographic holdings (NH 92472-92476 sinking series) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NARA logbook finding aid (RG 24 Entry 118, Special List 44); NARA still-picture identifier 80-G-1041082 as cited by NHHC captioning
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Primary records for this hull exist but were not retrieved: Jupiter/Langley logbooks sit in NARA RG 24 Entry 118 (coverage through 1940; wartime logs in the RG 24 1941+ deck-log series), NHHC holds the ship's photographic collection including the 27 February 1942 sinking series photographed from Whipple, and NARA Still Pictures holds drydock imagery (80-G-1041082). Navy-yard work packages for the 1920-1922 Norfolk Navy Yard and 1936-1937 Mare Island conversions are the likeliest primary sources on insulation materials handled aboard this hull.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1913-1942
- Limitations
- Archival lead only - none of these records was examined; no retrieval authorized. Their contents may or may not address insulating materials.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-08
-
[9]Hampton Roads Naval Museum (official U.S. Navy museum) blog, USS Langley series: Jupiter 'the second of four sister ships' and 'the first vessel in the fleet to be powered by a turbo electric drive'; sister-hull context places the four ships as the Proteus-class colliers [museum_official]
- Locator
- hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com, USS Langley label feed, Part 1 introductory paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Official Navy museum narrative corroborates the hull's identity and classification context: Jupiter was the second of four sister colliers (the Proteus class, with Cyclops, Proteus, and Nereus) and the fleet's first turbo-electric-drive vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 1911-1913
- Limitations
- Museum blog, not a primary registry - used to corroborate the sister/class identification and turbo-electric characterization that DANFS states less precisely. Contains no asbestos or materials information. (Note: the blog's Part 3 misprints the hull designation as 'AG 3'; the designation was AV-3 per NHHC.)
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-10
-
[10]detik.com (Jateng), July 2023 reports on recovery of thousands of rounds of U.S.-made WWII ammunition near the PT SBI pier channel off Cilacap (Tjilatjap) and an unidentified wreck suspected locally of being Langley [reputable_press]
- Locator
- detik.com Jateng, 2023-07-21 and related July 2023 coverage of the Cilacap ammunition find
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Indonesian reporting (July 2023) documents recovery of U.S.-made WWII ammunition (12.7 mm rounds marked 1933 manufacture) off Cilacap and an unidentified wreck that Indonesian naval personnel speculated could be Langley; a Kopaska (navy frogman) dive did not confirm the wreck's identity, and the reported wreck length (40-50 m) is inconsistent with Langley's 165 m hull. The wreck of Langley remains unlocated and unconfirmed.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- context_only
- Accessed
- 2026-09-26
- Study period
- 2023
- Limitations
- Press reporting of an unconfirmed identification - included only to document that the wreck site is not officially established. Not evidence about materials aboard; not an authoritative identification.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-av3-09