USS LANGLEY (CVL-27)

Name
USS LANGLEY
Hull designation
CVL-27
Vessel class
Independence-class
Evidence tier
Tier 2
Evidence entries
5
Record ID
uss-langley-cvl27
Dataset version
2026.10.12-rc.1
Canonical URL
https://asbestosatlas.org/ships/uss-langley-cvl27

Evidence

5 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-5).

  1. [1]DANFS, USS Langley II (CVL-27) entry (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page returned 404) [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    DANFS Langley II entry - construction paragraph, San Francisco repairs paragraph (Jun-Aug 1945), reserve/transfer paragraphs
    Finding type
    vessel_history
    Finding
    Construction and service milestones (DANFS): originally named Fargo (CL-85); laid down as Crown Point (CV-27) by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 11 Apr 1942; renamed Langley 13 Nov 1942; launched 22 May 1943; reclassified CVL-27 on 15 Jul 1943; commissioned 31 Aug 1943. Documented wartime yard period: repairs and modernization at San Francisco (arrived 3 Jun 1945, departed 1 Aug 1945). Magic Carpet voyages plus two European troop-return trips; assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group, 31 May 1946; decommissioned 11 Feb 1947. Transferred to France under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program 8 Jan 1951 (DANFS date; the NHHC carrier listing shows the French service window 6 Jun 1951-1963 - commissioning-vs-transfer distinction, see gaps); renamed La Fayette (R-96). Returned to the United States 20 Mar 1963. Nine battle stars.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1942-1963
    Population
    New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; crews 1943-47; San Francisco repair workers Jun-Aug 1945
    Limitations
    Ship-specific history from the official ship dictionary; contains no asbestos, insulation, or hazardous-material content. The 'repairs and modernization' at San Francisco Jun-Aug 1945 is documented without a named yard or scope.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-langley-cvl27-01
  2. [2]NHHC, United States Naval Aviation 1910-2010, vol. II, Part IV 'Ships', Chapter 26 'Aviation Ships' - Carrier Listing, hull 27 row; NHHC Online Library USS Langley (CVL-27) page [nhhc_danfs]
    Locator
    Part4.pdf carrier listing hull 27 (pp. 341-342); http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/cvl27.htm
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    Disposition (NHHC): commissioned 31 Aug 1943, decommissioned 11 Feb 1947; designation CVL 27; French service as La Fayette (R-96) 1951-1963; returned to U.S. custody 20 Mar 1963; sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., for scrapping 19 Feb 1964.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    supporting
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1943-1964
    Population
    French Navy crews/yard workers 1951-1963; Baltimore shipbreaking workers 1964
    Limitations
    Official NHHC tabular + narrative data; the twelve-year French service period is documented as to dates only - material changes, refits, or abatement during French custody are undocumented in these sources (see gaps). No material/asbestos content.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-langley-cvl27-02
  3. [3]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual, NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959) [other_primary]
    Locator
    BuShips TM ch.39, materials sections (verbatim OCR text of retrieved PDF scan)
    Finding type
    asbestos_application
    Finding
    Class/era material context: cruiser-program hull construction (keel as CV-27 on the cruiser line, April 1942; carrier conversion through commissioning August 1943) inside the Navy asbestos-specification era. The 1960 BuShips Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the asbestos material suite standard to Navy steam plants of this construction era: MIL-P-2781 pipe covering including 85% magnesia 'formed from a combination of 85 percent magnesium carbonate with about 15 percent asbestos fiber' and a class 'formed from a uniform mixture of amosite asbestos fibers'; roll asbestos felt MIL-I-15091; asbestos cloth/tape SS-C-466 (80-95% chrysotile) as lagging; asbestos millboard HH-M-351; asbestos finishing cement; molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. Her four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, GE geared turbines, and steam piping are the equipment classes those specifications cover.
    Verification
    inferred
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1942-1943 construction; 1960 manual describing era-standard specifications
    Population
    New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1942-43; crews and repair workers
    Limitations
    Specification-level documentation of what the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes what the era insulation suite contained, not what is or was aboard this hull. The retrieved PDF is a scan hosted in the Garlock bankruptcy Daubert-appendix repository; the document itself is the government manual.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-langley-cvl27-03
  4. [4]Simmons v. Pacor, Inc., 543 Pa. 664, 674 A.2d 232 (Pa. 1996) [court_record]
    Locator
    674 A.2d 232 - factual recital (Murray employment at NYSB Camden; trial testimony)
    Finding type
    litigation_documented
    Finding
    Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion (consolidated appeal on a trial record) documents Theodore Murray's work as carpenter, joiner, pipecoverer and insulator at New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, N.J., 1952-1967, with 'considerable asbestos exposure in all areas of his employment' - the yard that built this hull in 1942-43.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    context
    Documentation level
    class_or_era
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    1952-1967 yard employment; opinion 1996
    Population
    New York Shipbuilding insulation/carpentry trades
    Limitations
    Builder-yard context only. The documented exposure period (1952-67) postdates this hull's construction (1942-43); establishes the yard's asbestos work environment in the immediately following era, not material aboard this hull. The opinion's holding (asymptomatic pleural thickening non-compensable) concerns injury definition, not exposure.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-langley-cvl27-04
  5. [5]Batch-67 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC; NHHC Online Library; NHHC carrier listing; CourtListener API (blocked HTTP 429); substitute web-index litigation sweep; NavSource (DNS unreachable); hazegray (DNS unreachable) [other_primary]
    Locator
    search_ledger rows sl-uss-langley-cvl27-01 through sl-uss-langley-cvl27-07
    Finding type
    historical_record
    Finding
    No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, insulation inventory, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or docketed asbestos case naming USS Langley (CVL-27) was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Litigation sweeps surfaced only law-firm marketing pages - banned sources carrying no opinion record; the class profile's 2026-09-16 CourtListener sweep likewise found no qualifying member-naming opinion. The hull was scrapped in 1964; no survey path remains.
    Verification
    verified
    Role
    negative_finding
    Documentation level
    ship_specific
    Accessed
    2026-09-18
    Study period
    search date 2026-09-18
    Limitations
    Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - a 1942-43 New York Shipbuilding build is peak-era for marine asbestos applications. CourtListener API was rate-limited this session so the litigation sweep is a web-index substitute plus the class profile's 2026-09-16 sweep; unindexed or settled matters are invisible to both. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
    Atlas source
    true
    Evidence ID
    ev-uss-langley-cvl27-05

Attribution

Compiled by
Paul Danziger; Rod de Llano
Publisher
Danziger & De Llano, LLP
License
CC-BY-4.0
Citation
Danziger, P., and De Llano, R. (2026). AsbestosAtlas Navy Vessel Asbestos Exposure Dataset. Danziger & De Llano, LLP. DOI: not yet assigned
Dataset version
asbestosatlas-ships-2026.10.12-rc.1
DOI
not yet assigned