The USS Lake Champlain (CV-39), an Essex-class long-hull aircraft carrier, was built at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia and launched in 1944. It was the second Navy ship to be named after Lake Champlain, situated between the Adirondack Mountains of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont, important in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Magic Carpet Duty
The first duty assigned to the USS Lake Champlain was a happy one — participating in the "Magic Carpet" operation, bringing US military personnel back from England to New York. With a crew of 3,500 enlisted men and officers, and able to carry 100 aircraft, the Lake Champlain served ably in:
The Korean War and its aftermath
The Middle East
Project Mercury and Project Gemini, recovering astronauts after splashdown
The Caribbean
The Cuban Blockade
Conversion to an Antisubmarine Carrier
In 1957, the USS Lake Champlain was converted to an antisubmarine carrier. After her nearly 25 years of admirable service to her country, she was “mothballed” (decommissioned) in 1966. She was sold for scrap in 1972.
Asbestos Exposure and the USS Lake Champlain
The shipyard workers and the Navy personnel who had contact with the USS Lake Champlain may also have had contact with a dangerous level of asbestos. In the 1940s, when the Lake Champlain was built, asbestos was used in hundreds of products and applications in all types of seagoing vessels.
Asbestos Products Can Be Harmful
Asbestos is not harmful if it is not disturbed, but unfortunately there are many times when it is disturbed — when it is in a product that is being installed, or when the product is damaged (such as in combat), when it is weathered and deteriorating and when it is removed. Navy ships built in the 1940s had many asbestos-containing components, and these provided countless opportunities for high asbestos exposure to all who came in contact with them.
Looking For Legal Advice?
If you are concerned about the asbestos exposure you received while working on or serving aboard the USS Lake Champlain, contact us to schedule a private consultation with an experienced asbestos attorney.
