Evidence
6 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-6).
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[1]DANFS, 'Valley Forge (CV-45)' - NHHC ship histories (migrated entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS migrated HTML entry, spec block and 1943-1953 narrative
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS entry documents construction and career: Valley Forge (CV-45), built with money raised by Philadelphia citizens in a special war-bond drive, was laid down 14 September 1943 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched 8 July 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur A. Vandegrift, wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps; commissioned 3 November 1946, Capt. John W. Harris in command. Spec block: displacement 36,380 tons; length 888'; beam 93'; draft 28'7"; speed 32.7 knots; complement 3,448; armament 12 5-inch, 72 40mm; aircraft 80; cl. Ticonderoga. She launched the first carrier air strike of the Korean conflict from her flight deck 3 July 1950 and made multiple combat deployments (AD Skyraiders, F4U Corsairs, F9F Panthers; ~2,580 sorties and ~1,500 tons of bombs on the second deployment alone; rail-interdiction operations severing lines in at least 5,346 places by June 1952). Reclassified CVA-45 October 1952.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1953
- Limitations
- Authoritative Navy history for milestones; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Spec block lists displacement 36,380 tons - heavier than sister spec blocks - and class 'Ticonderoga' (the long-hull Essex variant); figures carried as stated.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-01
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[2]DANFS, 'Valley Forge (CV-45)' (migrated entry) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS paragraphs covering the 1953-54 Norfolk refit, March-July 1961 Norfolk LPH conversion, Vietnam operations, and Long Beach availabilities
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Yard periods and conversion history per DANFS: west-coast overhaul at San Diego after the first two Korean deployments; transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and refitted at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for her new ASW role as CVS-45, rejoining the Fleet January 1954; entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard 6 March 1961 for overhaul and modification to an amphibious assault ship - reclassified LPH-8 on 1 July 1961 - then Caribbean refresher training and Dominican Republic standby duty. Vietnam operations as an LPH included Operation Double Eagle (January-February 1966), Dagger Thrust, Harvest Moon, Fortress Ridge (December 1967), and Beaver Tooth; between deployments she underwent a major overhaul and training off the west coast, and DANFS records Long Beach upkeep/overhaul periods.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1953-1969
- Limitations
- Documents two substantial Norfolk Naval Shipyard conversion periods plus west-coast overhauls without describing insulation or asbestos materials - yard periods are exposure-relevant context, not material findings. The ship-specific material account comes from the Charlevoix litigation row.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-02
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[3]Charlevoix v. CBS Corp. et al., No. 15-726-SLR-SRF (D. Del.): Report and Recommendation (Dec. 2016) and Report and Recommendation (Feb. 2017), Magistrate Judge (Justia-hosted PDF; substituted 2026-09-29 for the dead CourtListener RECAP URL) [court_record]
- Locator
- R&R Background sections ('Plaintiff's alleged exposure history' - Navy 1961-64, USS Valley Forge boiler tender, boiler-room cleaning) and recommendation charts (GRANT for all moving defendants)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Two published federal Reports and Recommendations document shipboard asbestos-exposure allegations naming this hull. In Charlevoix v. CBS Corp. et al. (asbestos wrongful-death action filed in Delaware Superior Court July 2015, removed to D. Del.), the record shows decedent Stephen Charlevoix enlisted in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1964, was stationed on USS Valley Forge, and worked as a boiler tender; he 'believes he was exposed to asbestos while cleaning the boilers in the boiler room' and developed mesothelioma. A December 2016 Report and Recommendation (addressing CBS/Westinghouse, Goodyear, FMC/Northern Pump, and Ingersoll Rand) and a February 2017 Report and Recommendation (John Crane Inc. and Fiat Allis North America) each recommended GRANTING the moving defendants' summary-judgment motions on product-identification grounds; companion motions by Crane Co., Caterpillar, VIAD, Ford, and Warren Pumps were noted for separate treatment.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- Service 1961-1964; R&Rs dated December 2016 and February 2017
- Population
- Navy boiler tender aboard CV-45 1961-1964; mesothelioma; wrongful-death action
- Limitations
- Stage discipline: discovery/summary-judgment-stage record - the ship-specific content is the plaintiff's alleged exposure history recited in magistrate-judge recommendations, never adjudicated on the merits; all examined motions were recommended GRANTED to defendants on product identification (a plaintiff-side evidentiary failure, not a finding that no asbestos was aboard). Whether the district judge adopted each R&R was not confirmed in this pass; recommendations, not orders, are what the documents contain.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-03
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[4]DANFS, 'Valley Forge (CV-45)' (migrated entry), final paragraphs [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS final two paragraphs (decommissioning/striking, film use, sale)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Disposal chain per DANFS: returned to Long Beach 31 October 1969 to prepare for decommissioning; placed out of commission 15 January 1970, turned over to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at San Diego, and her name struck from the Navy list the same day. In February 1971 her interior was used as a filming location for the 1972 science-fiction film 'Silent Running.' After failure of attempts to raise funds to keep her as a museum, she was sold 29 October 1971 to the Nicolai Joffre Corp., of Beverly Hills, Calif., for scrap.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1969-1971
- Limitations
- Fully DANFS-verified disposal chain; no hazardous-material survey or removal is described, and 1971 commercial scrapping predates hazmat disclosure practices.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-04
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[5]Batch-57 search ledger (this record): CourtListener API throttle + alternative opinion sweeps [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-valley-forge-cv45-04 and sl-uss-valley-forge-cv45-05
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- CourtListener could not be swept for this hull (API HTTP 429 daily-rate-limit throttle; abandoned per batch instructions). Alternative opinion searches surfaced no qualifying asbestos litigation naming USS Valley Forge or CV-45 beyond the Charlevoix matter - 'Valley Forge' hits on CourtListener-indexed opinions were all Valley Forge Insurance Company matters (name collision); VA BVA searches surfaced herbicide/PTSD/radiation claims only, including decisions naming the later cruiser USS Valley Forge (CG-50) in Arabian Gulf service (hull collision).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 2026-09-18
- Limitations
- Incomplete sweep by external constraint - absence of a found case beyond Charlevoix is not evidence of absence. The insurance-company and CG-50 collisions are documented so unrelated matters are not misattributed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-05
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[6]Essex-class profile (class-a/essex-class.class.json) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Class profile era-application list and unmodernized-hull notation
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Class/era context only: Valley Forge is a long-hull (Ticonderoga-group) Essex-class carrier built 1943-45 with the class's eight-boiler/four-turbine steam plant; she was never reconstructed under SCB-27/125 but underwent two substantial conversions at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (1953-54 ASW refit and the 1961 LPH conversion) plus west-coast overhauls - industrial periods when insulation materials were disturbed and replaced. Peak-era Navy insulation specifications applied at construction; no hull-specific inventory for CV-45 was located and none is asserted.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-18
- Study period
- 1943-1970 (commissioned era)
- Limitations
- Context only - no ship-specific asbestos inference is drawn from class, era, boilers, or steam propulsion. Ship-specific content rests solely on the Charlevoix litigation record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-valley-forge-cv45-06