USS Kitty Hawk AKV-1 (APV-1)
Of the two Navy aircraft carriers to be named after the North Carolina town where the famous Wright Brothers took their first flight, the USS Kitty Hawk AKV-1 was the first, serving in World War II. Initially called the APV-1, she was renamed in 1944. The Kitty Hawk AKV-1 was initially built as a civilian ship and was later purchased and refitted by the U.S. Navy for use as aircraft transport. Commissioned in 1941, the vessel was built at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation in Chester, Pennsylvania during that same year. Commander E.C. Rogers was at the helm as the ship made her first trip to Hawaii by way of the Panama Canal.
The Kitty Hawk AKV-1 served in Pearl Harbor immediately after the Japanese attack and provided replacement aircraft for U.S. forces in the area. After providing transport service in the Pearl Harbor area for over a year, the vessel traveled to Dumbea Bay in November of 1942 to pick up the crew of the USS Hornet CV-8 after she went down during the infamous Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
The ship continued to transport U.S. troops and provisions well into 1944. The vessel received news that the war had ended while mooring in Pearl Harbor on August 13, 1945, and then made a final trip to the Marianas Island region carrying military cargo. She was decommissioned in 1946.
The men aboard the USS Kitty Hawk AKV-1 (formerly APV-1) provided important transport services throughout World War II. She clearly faced a number of serious dangers, including the threat of enemy attack, but one of the most devastating risks faced by the ship was that of onboard asbestos exposure. Asbestos was found within the majority of World War II Navy ships in the form of piping insulation, and men who served on the Kitty Hawk AKV-1 were most likely exposed. Veterans that were aboard this ship, as well as those who worked on her construction, should speak with their doctor regarding their risk of developing mesothelioma (often referred to as asbestos cancer) as a result of potential exposure to asbestos.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
