The USS Kitty Hawk is the second Navy ship named after the site of the Wright brothers’ first powered aircraft flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A supercarrier, the Kitty Hawk was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. of Camden, New Jersey and commissioned in 1960 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
The earlier Kitty Hawk, originally called the SS Seatrain New York, was a cargo ship and aircraft transport built by the Sun Ship Building & Dry Dock Corp. in 1932 and renamed the Kitty Hawk in 1941.
Service around the World
The second USS Kitty Hawk is the only conventionally fueled aircraft carrier still in active Navy service. The ship was overhauled in 1964 in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and her crew of more than 5,600 enlisted men and officers served in a wide variety of locations and activities.
January 2009 is the reported decommissioning date for the USS Kitty Hawk.
Asbestos and the USS Kitty Hawk
The strict limits on asbestos in the construction of Navy and commercial ships did not begin until the mid-1970s, long after the USS Kitty Hawk was built. It is likely that the Kitty Hawk had many asbestos-containing components, at least before it was overhauled in 1964.
If you or a family member helped build, maintain, repair, or overhaul the USS Kitty Hawk, you should be aware that the asbestos that was probably present in the environment may lead to the development of diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
Symptoms of Asbestos Diseases
The symptoms of asbestos diseases, which often do not appear until years or tens of years after the asbestos exposure, include:
 Respiratory distress
 Chest and/or abdominal pain
 Ascites (fluid build-up in the abdomen)
 Difficulty moving
 Unusual fatigue
Talk to an Asbestos Attorney
Don’t wait until you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-caused disease to consult an asbestos attorney about your circumstances. You have legal rights that will be protected by a knowledgeable and aggressive legal team.
Contact us today to schedule a private consultation with an experienced asbestos attorney.
