USS Monterey (AVT-2)

Evidence

9 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-9).

1. [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

   259 N.J. Super. at 22-24 (Facts section: Dafler ship list including Monterey; Joyce ship list including Monterey; named products; 'named seven ships in common'); verdict/apportionment sections

   Finding type

   litigation_product_id

   Finding

   Published appellate opinion reciting trial testimony that shipfitter Frank Dafler worked aboard USS Monterey (named in his ship list, 'the carriers: Belleauwood, Cowpens, Cabot, Princeton, Independence, and Monterey') during 1939-45 employment at New York Shipbuilding, Camden, spending ~70% of his time in engine 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.' Product-identification witness Louis Joyce (sheet-metal helper 1942-44, installing ventilation in boiler/engine rooms) independently named Monterey among nine or ten ships he worked; the opinion states the two men 'named seven ships in common, not including cruisers.' Joyce testified he observed Ehret asbestos pipe covering '80% of the time,' Baldwin Mono Block asbestos covering, Johns-Manville pipe covering, and Ehret and Johns-Manville asbestos-cement bags 'on each of the nine or ten ships he worked on,' plus Garlock gaskets. The jury found asbestos exposure a substantial contributing cause of Dafler's lung cancer; the Appellate Division affirmed (1992), and the N.J. Supreme Court affirmed the apportionment holding o.b. (132 N.J. 96, 1993).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1939-1945 employment window (ship's construction 1941-12 to 1943-06); opinion 1992; affirmance 1993

   Population

   New York Shipbuilding construction workforce aboard USS Monterey, 1942-1943 (shipfitter and ventilation/sheet-metal trades; pipefitters and pipecoverers in engine and boiler rooms)

   Limitations

   Adjudicated case ending in an affirmed plaintiff verdict - but ship attribution is testimony-level: the jury found causation from Dafler's aggregate shipyard exposure, not ship-by-ship. Establishes that construction-era asbestos pipe covering, cement, block insulation, and gaskets were worked around and aboard this hull by named products; does not quantify material, does not address insulation retained after commissioning, and does not establish any other individual's exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-01

2. [2]USS Monterey (CVL-26), 'Pacific Typhoon, 17-18 December 1944: Action Report Extract' (ship's action report; PDF hosted by NavSource, sourced to Naval History & Heritage Command) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Action report extract, pp. 1-2 (fire chronology 0908-1025; damage paragraph item 8)

   Finding type

   historical_record

   Finding

   The ship's own action-report extract for the 17-18 December 1944 typhoon documents a major hangar-deck gasoline fire (planes adrift punctured tanks near frame 77) that gutted approximately two-thirds of the hangar, transmitted fire below through ruptured supply-ventilation ducts (laundry-space fire, third deck), filled all engineering spaces except the after engine room with smoke within two minutes (forcing temporary abandonment and skeleton fireroom/engine-room crews on rescue breathing apparatus), required securing No. 2 fireroom due to scalding-water flooding, and caused considerable structural and electrical damage. Monterey reached Bremerton, Washington (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) for overhaul in January 1945.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-12-17/18; repair early 1945

   Population

   Ship's company during Typhoon Cobra; skeleton engineering/fireroom crews during the fire; Bremerton repair workforce Jan 1945

   Limitations

   Ship-generated primary record of fire/structural damage and the compartments affected (hangar, ventilation ducts, engineering spaces, firerooms) - all asbestos-relevant spaces on a 1943-built hull subsequently repaired at a Navy yard. The report makes no mention of insulation materials or asbestos; material disturbance and re-insulation scope of the Bremerton repair is inferred from era practice, not documented.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-02

3. [3]Gerald R. Ford Library, 'Gerald R. Ford Papers Relating to His U.S. Navy Service, 1941-1975' finding aid + BuPers Officer Fitness Report Jacket (ships-and-stations page, PDF document 1536933) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Finding aid scope note; personnel-file PDF 'Ships and Stations' list (CFO USS Monterey at NYSB Camden, May 1943)

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library (NARA) materials document a named plankowner: LT Gerald R. Ford's Bureau of Naval Personnel file lists 'New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, N.J. (CFO USS MONTEREY (CVL-26))' May-June 1943 and 'USS MONTEREY (CVL-26) (Assistant Navigator)' June 1943-December 1944. The Library's finding aid records Ford's service aboard Monterey as director of physical training, gunnery officer, and assistant navigator, including during the December 1944 typhoon.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1943-05 to 1944-12

   Population

   Ship's company including commissioning detail (plankowners), 1943-1944

   Limitations

   Documents a specific crew member's presence aboard from Camden fit-out through the typhoon - establishes personnel exposure window and compartment presence only; contains no asbestos information, and no asbestos-related illness is documented for Ford (he died in 2006 at age 93 of cardiovascular causes). Not an exposure finding.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-03

4. [4]U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ships Technical Manual NAVSHIPS 250-000, Chapter 39 'Thermal Insulation' (1960, page date 15 April 1959); DANFS Monterey III spec block; Independence-class conversion record [other_primary]

   Locator

   BuShips TM ch.39 sections 39-11 through 39-13 (materials); DANFS spec block (1943 completion)

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Monterey was completed June 1943 inside the Navy's peak asbestos-specification era with a four-boiler, four-turbine steam plant; the 1960 Bureau of Ships Technical Manual's insulation chapter enumerates the era-standard material suite applicable to this plant: MIL-P-2781 pipe covering (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), asbestos millboard HH-M-351, asbestos finishing cement, and molded asbestos block for high-temperature service. The cruiser-hull conversion (CL-78 keel December 1941, carrier conversion 1942-43) gives this hull a two-layer material history, both layers inside the asbestos-spec era.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1941-1943 construction; specification suite as of 1960

   Population

   Construction trades (1941-43); ship's company (1943-47, 1950-56); yard workers at documented overhauls

   Limitations

   Specification-level documentation of what the Navy specified, not a ship-specific installation record - establishes the era material suite covering this plant type, not confirmed installed materials on this hull beyond the litigation-named products in ev-uss-monterey-avt2-01. 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-monterey-avt2-04

5. [5]Simmons v. Pacor, Inc., 674 A.2d 232 (Pa. 1996) [court_record]

   Locator

   674 A.2d 232 - factual recital (NYSB Camden insulation-trades asbestos exposure 1952-67)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   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 (1941-43) and all nine Independence-class hulls; the documented exposure window is continuous with, and immediately postdates, this hull's construction era.

   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 trades

   Limitations

   Builder-yard context only. The documented exposure period postdates this hull's 1941-43 construction; establishes the yard's asbestos work environment in the adjacent era, not material aboard this hull. Dafler (ev-01) is the hull-specific counterpart covering the construction period itself.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-05

6. [6]Giacobbe v. Celotex Corp., 629 F. Supp. 827 (E.D. Pa. 1985) [court_record]

   Locator

   629 F. Supp. 827 - factual recital (Cabot service 1943-46; pipecovering/gasket duties)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   E.D. Pa. opinion recites a damage controlman's service aboard sister ship USS Cabot (CVL-28) 1943-1946 - shipfitter/hull-technician duties including removing pipe covering, repairing pipes, ripping off gaskets, and replacing pipe covering - the standard insulation-disturbance work of the era on an identical Camden-built 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 record, not this hull - included because it documents crew-side insulation disturbance aboard a same-class CVL built at the same yard in the same period; allegation/deposition-level recital, not an adjudicated finding on installed products, and no equivalent crew-side opinion names Monterey.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-06

7. [7]DANFS, Monterey III (CVL-26) - construction, conversion, service and yard-period record (verbatim transcription; live NHHC page unavailable); NHHC Online Library photo page; NavSource CV-26 chronology [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block and service narrative; NHHC Online Library usnsh-m/cvl26.htm disposition paragraph; NavSource archives/02/26.htm chronology table

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents construction and career milestones plus exposure-relevant yard periods for this hull: laid down as CL-78 Dayton by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden 29 Dec 1941; reclassified CV-26 27 Mar 1942; renamed Monterey 31 Mar 1942; launched 28 Feb 1943; commissioned 17 Jun 1943; redesignated CVL-26 15 Jul 1943; Pearl Harbor overhaul August 1944; Bremerton overhaul January 1945 (post-typhoon); Magic Carpet voyages Naples-Norfolk; decommissioned 11 Feb 1947 to Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group; recommissioned 15 Sep 1950; Pensacola training carrier 1951-mid-1955 under Naval Training Command ('training thousands of naval aviation cadets, student pilots, and helicopter trainees'); departed Pensacola 9 Jun 1955; decommissioned 16 Jan 1956; reclassified AVT-2 15 May 1959; berthed at Philadelphia into 1969. NHHC Online Library and NavSource add: no active service as AVT-2; stricken 1 Jun 1970; sold for scrapping May 1971.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1941-1971

   Population

   NYSB construction trades 1941-43; wartime crew ~1,569 plus air group; Pearl Harbor and Puget Sound yard workers; Pensacola training-command crew and cadets 1951-55; Philadelphia reserve-fleet and 1971 scrapping personnel

   Limitations

   Authoritative Navy history for milestones and yard periods; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Yard-period asbestos disturbance (Pearl Harbor 1944, Bremerton 1945, Philadelphia inactivation, 1950 reactivation) is era inference, not a per-hull record. Live history.navy.mil DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-26; entry cites the verbatim HyperWar transcription and NHHC-mirrored photo page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-07

8. [8]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 the Navy's asbestos-protection program: standing policy (1975) removed asbestos insulation only when damaged or required for repairs, modified 1979 to selective replacement in high-maintenance areas - meaning original-era insulation typically remained in place for decades unless a yard period disturbed it. Monterey's 1947-50 and 1955/56-70 reserve-fleet lay-ups at Philadelphia fall inside this policy era.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1979 (report); policy era 1975-79

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; reserve-fleet maintenance personnel

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards, not Monterey's yards. Supports era context for material retention aboard mothballed hulls, not any fact specific to this ship; full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403) - description via product page.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-08

9. [9]This record's search_ledger (sl-uss-monterey-avt2-03 through -08, -14): CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket sweeps by name and hull designation [other_primary]

   Locator

   search_ledger rows sl-uss-monterey-avt2-03 through -08 and -14

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   CourtListener sweeps (authenticated API v4, 2026-09-26): opinion queries '"USS Monterey" asbestos' (0 hits), '"CVL-26"' (0), '"AVT-2"' (1 - Isaac Benavidez v. State, Tex. App. 2015, criminal appeal, OCR-artifact collision), '"USS Monterey"' unqualified (1 - United States v. Golden-Franklin, N.M.C.C.A. 2017, court-martial appeal naming a modern-era namesake vessel or place), 'Monterey asbestos ship' (10 - 9 collisions incl. Mercury Monterey automobile and Monterey County/Park references; 1 qualifying, Dafler v. Raymark, ev-uss-monterey-avt2-01), 'Monterey asbestos shipyard' (1 - Dafler only), 'Monterey mesothelioma' (2 - City of L.A. v. Super. Ct. B308909, place reference; Hellam v. Crane Co. 239 Cal. App. 4th 851, 'Monterey Boiler Service' workplace - both collisions). Docket query '"USS Monterey"' (type=r) returned 5 hits - collisions: U.S. v. 8,911 Type 56-1 Assault Rifles (D.D.C. 2023, CG-61 weapons-interdiction forfeiture); In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation No. VI (generic MDL-875 master docket, no per-hull allegation verified); Zhang v. Zoley (securities); Northwest Territorial Mint (bankruptcy); and McCue v. General Electric (N.D. Cal. 3:08-cv-03181, asbestos complaint naming 'USS MONTEREY (1932)' at Todd Shipyards Alameda 1953-55 - the (1932) tag and dates identify the Matson liner SS Monterey, not this hull, which was at Pensacola then).

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   negative_finding

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   search date 2026-09-26

   Limitations

   One qualifying opinion located (Dafler); every other hit classified as name collision or non-qualifying with reasons logged. Absence of further indexed litigation is not absence of exposure - CourtListener covers published/appellate opinions and RECAP dockets, not all filings, settlements, or unreported decisions; the MDL-875 master-docket hit could not be resolved to a per-hull allegation.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-monterey-avt2-09