Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, Langley I (AV-3) - construction, carrier conversion, tender conversion, loss (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS Langley I (AV-3) entry - narrative and spec blocks (AC-3 and CV-1)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented milestones and yard periods for this hull: laid down as collier Jupiter (AC-3) 18 Oct 1911 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.; launched 24 Aug 1912; commissioned 7 Apr 1913 - the first electrically propelled ship of the U.S. Navy. Carrier conversion authorized 11 Jul 1919; decommissioned at Hampton Roads 24 Mar 1920; converted at Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va.; renamed Langley 21 Apr 1920; reclassified CV-1 and recommissioned 20 Mar 1922 (Comdr. Kenneth Whiting). CV-1 spec block: dp. 11,500; l. 542'; cpl. 468; ac. 55 (max). Operated with the Pacific Battle Fleet from San Diego (arrived 29 Nov 1924) for ~12 years; entered Mare Island for seaplane-tender conversion; conversion completed 26 Feb 1937; reclassified AV-3 21 Apr 1937; joined the Asiatic Fleet at Manila Sep 1939.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1911-1942
- Population
- Mare Island Navy Yard construction trades (1911-13); Norfolk Navy Yard trades (1920-22); Mare Island trades (1936-37); ship's company 163 (collier) / 468 (carrier)
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for milestones and yard periods; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. DANFS text dates the tender conversion entry "25 October 1935," inconsistent with its own 12-year Pacific-operations span - 1936 is carried per NavSource and standard references (see gaps). Live history.navy.mil DANFS URL returned 404 on 2026-09-18; citation is the verbatim HyperWar transcription.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-01
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[2]Office of Naval Intelligence, Combat Narrative: The Java Sea Campaign (1943), chapter 'Sinking of the Langley and Pecos, February 27 and March 1' (HyperWar transcription) [other_primary]
- Locator
- USN-CN-JavaSea-14.html, 'Sinking of the Langley and Pecos' section (pp. 45-47)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Contemporaneous ONI account of the loss: Langley departed Fremantle 22 Feb 1942 in convoy with 32 assembled P-40E fighters on deck plus pilots and flight personnel; detached toward Tjilatjap with destroyers Whipple (DD-217) and Edsall (DD-219). The narrative notes she 'had only half a flightdeck, too short to launch the fighters she carried' - the full-length carrier flight deck had been partially removed in the 1936-37 tender conversion. Attacked 1140 on 27 Feb by nine twin-engine bombers at ~15,000 ft; five direct hits and three near hits on the third run; fires on deck and below; 10 deg list to port; flooding reached the engine room and main motors. Abandon ship ordered 1332; Whipple fired nine 4-inch shells and two torpedoes to sink her ~74 miles south of Tjilatjap. The narrative records six killed and five missing.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1942-02-22 to 1942-02-27
- Population
- Ship's company and embarked USAAF pilots/flight personnel, Feb 1942
- Limitations
- Operational loss account, not hazardous-material documentation - no asbestos content. Casualty count (6 killed + 5 missing) differs from DANFS/NavSource's 'loss of 16' - variance carried in gaps, not reconciled.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-02
-
[3]DANFS Langley I spec blocks + NavSource CV-1 spec block (3 boilers 190 psi; geared turbines and electric drive; 2 shafts; 6,500 shp) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- NavSource CV-1 spec block; DANFS spec blocks; era substitution timing per GAO HRD-80-2 product description
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A steam-driven hull built 1911-13 and twice converted at Navy yards (Norfolk 1920-22; Mare Island 1936-37) sits inside the period in which marine steam plants were lagged and gasketed with asbestos-containing materials. Era-standard applications included boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine insulation, valve and flange gaskets, machinery packing, and compartment insulation. The Navy did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s, so every insulation installation on this hull (1913 build; 1920-22 and 1936-37 conversions) predates the substitution era.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1911-1942
- Population
- Mare Island and Norfolk Navy Yard trades (1911-13, 1920-22, 1936-37); ship's company (1913-1942)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey, material list, or product identification located for this ship, and the wreck interior's material condition is undocumented. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; no quantity; no exposure for any individual.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-03
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[4]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 - meaning every insulation installation aboard this ship (1913, 1920-22, 1936-37) predates the substitution era.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards. Supports era context for insulation practice at build and conversions, not any fact specific to this hull; full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - description via product page.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-04
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[5]Indonesian press reporting on the July 2023 Indonesian navy (Kopaska) dive survey off Cilacap (Tjilatjap): detik.com (21-22 Jul 2023) and Indonesia Business Post [reputable_press]
- Locator
- Indonesia Business Post (English) and detik.com Jateng reporting, Jul 2023 - Kopaska/Lanal Cilacap statements
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A Kopaska diving team surveyed a heavily broken, unidentifiable WWII-era wreck between Nusakambangan and Cilacap after fishermen reported thousands of .50-caliber rounds on the seabed; the ammunition was identified as U.S.-made (Pennsylvania, dated 1933/1942-era) of the type carried by P-40 aircraft. The diving-team commander stated the wreck 'can't be sure' without identifying artifacts such as a bell; local historical divers speculated it could be Langley, whose 1942 loss position (~74-75 mi south of Tjilatjap) lies in this area.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2023-07
- Population
- None - wreck documentation only
- Limitations
- The survey event is documented in reputable Indonesian press; the wreck identification is speculative and explicitly unconfirmed by the officials quoted. The reported wreck was described as only ~40-50 m of recognizable structure - Langley's condition and even identity on the seabed remain unverified; Java Sea WWII wrecks are subject to commercial salvage pressure.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-05
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[6]Batch-106 search ledger (this record): DANFS/HyperWar; ONI Java Sea combat narrative; NavSource; NVR; CourtListener API v4 (throttled); general web index; Indonesian press on 2023 Kopaska survey; GAO HRD-80-2 [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-langley-cv1-01 through sl-uss-langley-cv1-08
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Langley (CV-1) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). The CourtListener opinion/docket index itself could not be swept this session (API rate limit, HTTP 429); a general web-index substitute surfaced only law-firm and competitor marketing pages - no docketed case naming this hull.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - the ship sank substantially intact and 1913/1922/1937-era insulation plausibly went down with her, but the wreck interior is undocumented. The litigation negative finding is qualified: CourtListener was never searched directly this session (throttled), and 'Langley' is a collision-prone name (CVL-27, Langley AFB, Langley, Va.). Does not establish that asbestos is or is not present; does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-langley-cv1-06