USS Wright (AVT-7)

Evidence

11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).

1. [1]Crews v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., No. 7:12-cv-01678 (FJS/DEP) (N.D.N.Y.): Dkt. 166 (SJ order, 2014-02-18), Dkt. 165 (remand denial, 2014-02-18), Dkts. 173 & 179 (dismissals/final judgment) [court_record]

   Locator

   Dkt. 166 at 2-3 (service recital), 6-9 (original valves and 'Cranite' replacement-product analysis), 10-11 (grant); Dkt. 165 at 13-14 (colorable federal defense; remand denied)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Summary-judgment order reciting ship-specific service and component-supply facts: plaintiff Dwight Crews served in the U.S. Navy 1965-1971 and 'served aboard the USS Wright for six months in 1966,' entering as a fireman apprentice and working 'in close proximity to senior officers in the engine room who performed maintenance on pumps and valves'; he alleged exposure to asbestos-containing Crane gaskets aboard Wright and USS Bainbridge. The court recited 'apparently no dispute that Defendant Crane Co. manufactured valves or that Defendant Crane Co. supplied valves to the Navy for use on the USS Wright and the USS Bainbridge at the time those vessels were built,' then GRANTED Crane's motion for summary judgment - no evidence Crews was exposed to the original valves ('The USS Wright was built during World War II, nearly forty years prior to the time that Plaintiff was aboard that vessel') and no evidence Crane supplied the alleged asbestos replacement gaskets or packing. Companion order the same day denied plaintiff's remand motion, holding Crane's federal-contractor defense colorable. Remaining defendants settled or were dismissed; final judgment entered 2014-11-06.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1965-1971 alleged exposure; orders 2014

   Population

   Navy fireman apprentice/fireman aboard USS Wright, six months in 1966 (CC-2 era)

   Limitations

   Merits-stage defense outcome: the SJ grant adjudicated that no evidence connected Crane asbestos products to exposure aboard this hull - this row documents that the hull is named in asbestos litigation with a plaintiff-adverse result, NOT that asbestos was present aboard. The Crane valve-supply recital is 'apparently no dispute' litigation-record language and establishes valve supply only, not asbestos content. Exposure allegations remain unadjudicated.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-01

2. [2]Kirks v. General Electric Co. (incl. Wiersma v. A.W. Chesterton Co., Civ. 08-857), 654 F. Supp. 2d 220 (D. Del. Sept. 17, 2009) (Robinson, J.); CourtListener cluster 2517698 [court_record]

   Locator

   654 F. Supp. 2d at 223 (Wiersma recital, D.I. 1 ex. A par. 13; D.I. 5 ex. A) and Conclusion (remand motions denied); official court copy: ded.uscourts.gov opinion 08-856_0.pdf (scanned, no text layer)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Published memorandum opinion on motions to remand two separate but substantially identical asbestos cases removed under the federal-officer removal statute: 'Lee Wiersma served as a radio operator aboard the USS Wright between 1965 and 1969, and allegedly was exposed to asbestos through turbines manufactured by GE'; Wiersma died of mesothelioma July 1, 2007. The court DENIED both remand motions, finding GE's affidavits (including a retired rear admiral's account of Navy supervision over contractor warnings) sufficient to show a colorable federal defense, keeping the cases in federal court.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1965-1969 alleged exposure; opinion 2009

   Population

   Radio operator aboard USS Wright 1965-1969 (CC-2 era); mesothelioma

   Limitations

   Remand-stage procedural ruling - the Wright service and asbestos exposure are complaint allegations recited for jurisdictional analysis, never adjudicated. No product identification or exposure finding was made; the opinion establishes only that GE's federal-officer removal was proper.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-02

3. [3]Varnum v. Air and Liquid Systems, Inc., No. 3:15-cv-00450-NJR-DGW (S.D. Ill.): Dkt. 1-1 (state-court complaint, removal exhibit) and Dkt. 95 (GE opposition to remand) [court_record]

   Locator

   Dkt. 1-1 complaint par. 2 (service chronology and boiler-room assignment); Dkt. 95 at 2 (GE's recital of the Wright allegation)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   State-court complaint filed as a removal exhibit: plaintiff Mickeal Varnum, who joined the Navy at 17 in October 1962, 'served aboard the USS Wright CC-2 in the Bremerton/Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from about end of February 1963 until about November 1963' and 'worked as a FN/BT in Number 2 Boiler Room out of four,' then followed the ship through the Panama Canal transit, San Juan, and the Portsmouth (Norfolk Naval Shipyard) period before transferring to USS Sims; he alleged asbestos exposure 1962-1967 and an asbestos-related disease. A later GE filing opposing remand (Dkt. 95) repeats the allegation that he 'served aboard the USS Wright CC-2 in 1963.' Docket shows the case terminated 2016-02-24.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1962-1967 alleged exposure; complaint filed 2015

   Population

   FN/BT (fireman/boiler technician) in No. 2 Boiler Room aboard USS Wright CC-2, ~Feb-Nov 1963, during post-conversion shakedown and transit

   Limitations

   Pleading-stage allegation - the complaint's compartment-level detail (No. 2 Boiler Room, 1963 conversion/shakedown period) is asserted, not adjudicated. No finding that any product aboard contained asbestos or that Varnum was exposed aboard; the docket's 2016 termination order does not adjudicate exposure.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-03

4. [4]Stevens v. CBS Corp., No. 3:11-cv-06073-RBL (W.D. Wash.), Dkt. 92 (order granting in part and denying in part motion to compel, 2012-08-29) [court_record]

   Locator

   Dkt. 92 at 3 n./list recital (Knudson Decl. Ex. 1, Dkt. 67 at 13)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Order on a motion to compel in an asbestos case reciting the plaintiff's claimed exposure list: plaintiff Roland Stevens pointed to 'naval archive records showing specific equipment from each Defendant on many of Mr. Stevens' Navy and PSNS ships,' a list comprising 'the USS Eugene A. Greene, USS Yellowstone, USS Annapolis, USS Wright, USS Beatty, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Coral Sea, USS Belleau Wood, USS Sacramento, USS Camden, and the USS Berkeley' (Knudson Decl., Ex. 1, Dkt. 67 at 13). USS Wright appears as one of eleven hulls in a combined Navy-service and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard exposure narrative.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   Service-era exposure alleged; order 2012

   Population

   Navy veteran and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard worker; ship list of eleven vessels including USS Wright

   Limitations

   Discovery-stage ship-list recital - the order says archive records showed defendant equipment aboard 'many of' the listed ships but does not identify which defendants or equipment tied to USS Wright specifically, and makes no exposure or asbestos-content finding for this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-04

5. [5]Board of Veterans' Appeals, Citation Nr. 0407492, Docket No. 02-20 738 (Mar. 23, 2004) (VA administrative adjudication) [other_primary]

   Locator

   Findings of Fact (ship list and helicopter-maintenance assignment); Conclusion of Law (service connection denied)

   Finding type

   litigation_documented

   Finding

   Board of Veterans' Appeals decision: a veteran who 'performed temporary active duty on numerous ships, including USS Midway (CVB-41), USS Worcester (CL-144), USS Wright (CVL-49), USS Leyte (CV-32), USS Rochester (CA-124), USS Salerno Bay (CVE-110), and USS Roanoke (CL-145),' assigned to helicopter maintenance, claimed COPD, emphysema, and asbestosis from asbestos-insulation exposure aboard those ships. The Board DENIED service connection: 'It has not been shown by competent evidence that the veteran has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, or asbestosis, as a result of asbestos exposure that is related to an in service injury, disease, or event.'

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1948-1954 alleged exposure; decision 2004

   Population

   Veteran on temporary active duty aboard USS Wright CVL-49 and six other ships, ~1948-1954

   Limitations

   Adjudicated negative outcome: the claim naming this hull was denied for lack of competent evidence of an in-service asbestos nexus. Documents that the hull is named in asbestos claims at the administrative level; establishes no asbestos fact aboard the ship. The Navy's contemporaneous statement to VA that era General Specifications 'in high probability included asbestos products' on heated surfaces is program-level, not hull-specific.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-05

6. [6]DANFS, 'Wright II (CVL-49)' - NHHC page (published 2023-01-03), verbatim transcription also at HyperWar [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block and narrative (construction milestones; yard-period chronology); live URL 404s to automated fetch - text verified against Wayback capture 2025-12-09 and the HyperWar verbatim transcription

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   DANFS documents construction and the full yard-period chronology: laid down 1944-08-21 at Camden by New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched 1945-09-01, sponsored by Mrs. Harold S. Miller (niece of the Wright brothers); commissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1947-02-09, Capt. Frank T. Ward in command. Spec block: 14,500 tons, 684 ft, 33 knots, complement 1,787, 50+ aircraft. Carrier-qualification duty at Pensacola 1947-49 (40 operational cruises). Yard periods: post-shakedown Philadelphia NSY Nov-Dec 1947; Norfolk NSY overhaul from 1949-01-26 (four months); Norfolk NSY overhaul after first Mediterranean deployment (1951); Boston NSY repairs (early 1952); Philadelphia NSY overhaul 1953-07-31 to 1953-11-21; 7th Fleet deployment 1954; Long Beach NSY Oct 1954 to 1955-02-23; Mare Island NSY inactivation prep from 1955-07-14; Puget Sound NSY final preservation from 1955-10-17; decommissioned Puget Sound 1956-03-15 to Bremerton reserve group.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   supporting

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1956

   Population

   Ship's company ~1,787 plus trainees/air detachments; naval shipyard workers across listed availabilities

   Limitations

   Authoritative Navy history for milestones and yard periods; contains no asbestos or insulation-material content. Yard periods are documented as events - the asbestos rip-out or re-insulation scope of each is not documented per-hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-06

7. [7]DANFS 'Wright II (CVL-49)' (NHHC/HyperWar); NHHC Online Library ship page 'USS Wright (CC-2)' (HyperWar mirror); NavSource CVL-49 archive page [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS reserve-period and conversion paragraphs plus closing disposal line; NHHC Online Library usnsh-w/cc2.htm ('receiving the new hull number CC-2 in September of that year'; 'sold for scrapping in July 1980'); NavSource operational/building data and FATE line

   Finding type

   vessel_history

   Finding

   Designation chain and disposal: DANFS states that while in reserve 'Wright was reclassified on 15 May 1959 an auxiliary aircraft transport, AVT-7. However, she never served in that role, but remained inactive until 15 March 1962, when she was taken to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for conversion to a command ship and reclassified as CC-2' - a year-long conversion rebuilding hangar deck into command spaces and flight deck into antenna arrays, with facilities for three helicopters. Recommissioned as CC-2 at Puget Sound 1963-05-11; Norfolk homeport from December 1963 under the National Emergency Command Post Afloat mission, alternating alert duty with Northampton (CC-1); regular overhauls at Norfolk Naval Shipyard 1964-1970; service highlights include April 1967 communications support for President Johnson's Punta del Este summit, the 8 May 1968 tow of the disabled Guadalcanal (LPH-7), and the February 1969 Pueblo-crisis alert standby. Decommissioned 1970-05-27 into reserve at Philadelphia; stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 1977-12-01. NavSource adds the 1974-04-05 tow from NISMF Norfolk by USS Edenton (ATS-1) to INACTSHIPFAC Philadelphia, and records a DRMS sale for scrapping on 1980-08-01 with scrapping beginning August 1980.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   correction

   Documentation level

   ship_specific

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1959-1980

   Population

   Puget Sound Naval Shipyard conversion workforce 1962-63; Norfolk NSY overhaul workers 1964-70; reserve/mothball caretakers 1970-1980

   Limitations

   Establishes the controlling fact for this record: AVT-7 was a reserve-fleet paper designation only - the ship never operated as an aircraft transport; the hull's operating designations were CVL-49 and CC-2. Minor unresolved variants: NHHC Online Library dates the CC-2 hull number to September 1962 vs DANFS's reclassification-at-conversion-start framing; 'sold in July 1980' (DANFS addendum/NHHC OL) vs DRMS sale 1980-08-01 (NavSource). See gaps. No asbestos content in any cited source.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-07

8. [8]DANFS construction/service record (build era, steam plant, conversion scope); NavSource Saipan-class spec block (machinery) [nhhc_danfs]

   Locator

   DANFS spec block (CVL-49 era) and conversion paragraph; NavSource class machinery line

   Finding type

   asbestos_application

   Finding

   Class/era context: Wright was built 1944-45 at New York Shipbuilding, Camden, with a General Electric geared-turbine four-screw steam plant (120,000 shp per NavSource class data) in the peak years of Navy asbestos use; era-standard applications included boiler and fireroom insulation, steam-line lagging, valve and flange gaskets and packing, deck tile, bulkhead fireproofing, and cable insulation. The 1962-63 Puget Sound conversion was a deep rebuild of a WWII-era hull - the kind of yard event under which era insulation would have been disturbed and replaced.

   Verification

   inferred

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1944-1970

   Population

   New York Shipbuilding construction trades 1944-45; crew 1947-56 and 1963-70; Puget Sound conversion trades 1962-63

   Limitations

   Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation survey or material inventory located. Names the era standard, not confirmed installed materials on this hull; the asbestos scope of the 1962-63 conversion is inferred from era practice, not documented per-hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-08

9. [9]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 to automated fetch, HTTP 403 - description via product page, consistent with prior batches)

   Finding type

   gov_survey

   Finding

   GAO documented the Navy's asbestos-protection program in 1979: 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. Wright had regular overhauls at Norfolk Naval Shipyard through her 1964-70 CC-2 service - one of the yards where GAO conducted fieldwork.

   Verification

   verified

   Role

   context

   Documentation level

   class_or_era

   Accessed

   2026-09-26

   Study period

   1979

   Population

   Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review

   Limitations

   Program-level documentation; GAO fieldwork was at Long Beach and Norfolk Naval Shipyards (Norfolk was one of Wright's CC-2-era overhaul yards, so the policy context is adjacent but not hull-specific). Supports era context for why insulation persisted aboard, not any fact specific to this hull.

   Atlas source

   true

   Evidence ID

   ev-uss-wright-avt7-09

10. [10]CourtListener API v4 opinion and docket searches, 2026-09-26 [court_record]

    Locator

    Opinion queries '"USS Wright" asbestos' (count 1), '"USS Wright" mesothelioma' (count 1), '"USS Wright"' unqualified (count 1), '"CVL-49"' (0), '"Wright CC-2"' (0), '"AVT-7"' (0); docket query '"USS Wright" asbestos' (count 7, document_count 10)

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    CourtListener sweep 2026-09-26 (authenticated, fleet-paced): opinion search '"USS Wright" asbestos' returned exactly 1 hit (Kirks/Wiersma, 654 F. Supp. 2d 220); '"USS Wright" mesothelioma' returned the same single cluster; the unqualified '"USS Wright"' opinion query returned exactly 1 hit (the same Kirks cluster - no other opinion in the database names this ship); '"CVL-49"', '"Wright CC-2"', and '"AVT-7"' opinion queries each returned 0. Docket search '"USS Wright" asbestos' returned 7 dockets: 5 qualifying asbestos-litigation matches naming the hull (Crews N.D.N.Y.; Kirks v. Carborundum D. Del. - the same litigation decided in the published opinion; Varnum S.D. Ill.; Stevens W.D. Wash.; an MDL-875 master-docket filing attaching a member complaint, C.D. Cal. 2:12-cv-02284), 1 plaintiff-surname name collision (Wright v. ABB, E.D. Pa. 2022), and 1 docket where the Wright mention sits inside a removal-exhibit bundle whose pinpoint was not resolvable from the text layer (Lyautey v. Alfa Laval, S.D. Fla.). No opinion located adjudicates asbestos exposure or asbestos-content aboard this hull - every mention is pleading/discovery stage or a defense outcome.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    negative_finding

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    sweep 2026-09-26

    Population

    n/a (search sweep documentation)

    Limitations

    Negative/absence finding for adjudicated exposure: the corpus contains named-hull allegations but no merits finding of asbestos exposure aboard Wright; Crews ended in a defense summary judgment and the BVA claim in a denial. The unqualified '"USS Wright"' opinion query confirms no non-asbestos opinion names the ship either.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-wright-avt7-10

11. [11]BVA decision 25004229 (2025, radiation claim); Wright v. ABB, Inc. docket (E.D. Pa. 2022) [other_primary]

    Locator

    BVA 25004229 radiation-exposure recital naming 'USS Wright CC-2'; RECAP docket 63352679 caption

    Finding type

    litigation_documented

    Finding

    Non-qualifying name hits identified and classified out: a 2025 Board of Veterans' Appeals decision names USS Wright CC-2 but concerns claimed ionizing-radiation exposure during the command-ship era (service connection for brain tumor granted on radiation theory) - not asbestos; 'Wright v. ABB, Inc.' (E.D. Pa. 2:22-cv-02137) is a plaintiff-surname collision involving Gerald and Rita Wright, not the ship.

    Verification

    verified

    Role

    context

    Documentation level

    ship_specific

    Accessed

    2026-09-26

    Study period

    2004-2025

    Population

    n/a (classification documentation)

    Limitations

    Classification hygiene row - records name-similar records affirmatively excluded from the asbestos evidence set so they are not later mistaken for qualifying hits.

    Atlas source

    true

    Evidence ID

    ev-uss-wright-avt7-11