USS LANGLEY CV-1. America's first aircraft carrier

[The Sailor]

USS Langley (CV-1, later AV-3), 1922-1942.

USS Langley, a 11,500-ton aircraft carrier, was converted from the collier USS Jupiter beginning in 1920. Commissioned in March 1922, Langley was the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier. In October-November 1922, she launched, recovered and catapulted her first aircraft during initial operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean areas.
Transferred to the Pacific in 1924, Langley was the platform from which Naval Aviators, guided by Captain Joseph M. Reeves, undertook the development of carrier operating techniques and tactics that were essential to victory in World War II. Though newer, larger and faster aircraft carriers arrived in the fleet in the later 1920s, the old "Covered Wagon" remained an operational carrier until October 1936, when she began conversion to a seaplane tender.

She was sent to the Far East in 1939 and was still there when the Pacific War began in December 1941. Through the early months of the conflict, she supported seaplane patrols and provided aircraft transportation services.

While carrying Army fighters to the Netherlands East Indies on 27 February 1942, Langley was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Hit by several bombs and disabled, she was scuttled by her escorting destroyers.

Photo 1 In Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, with 34 planes on her flight deck, May 1928.
Note booms rigged out from her sides.

Photo 2 Underway off San Diego, California, 1928, with Vought VE-7 aircraft on her flight deck.
USS Somers (DD-301) is in the background

Photo 3 The famous Billy Mitchell standing by a Vought VE-7 aircraft

[BB60]

She was lost in the SW Pacific in the dark days of 1942.

[The Sailor]

The Langley seemed to have fought everywhere Jeff.
It even took 300 Marines to the Mexican Civil War. Through the 1st World War and I was amazed to find her still fighting in the Second World War when she was sunk by the Japanese.
This ship was layed down in 1912 and had an active career of 30 years.

[herakles]

And very progressive thinking to build a carrier in those days. Especially in light of the Washington Treaty.

Such a shame she died the way she did.

[Gypsyvannergirl]

At least it's nice to know she didn't have the same bad luck as her three sister ships: USS Cyclops; USS Nereus and USS Proteus.

[Don Boyer]

As Jupiter, this vessel was also the test unit for the type of turbo-electric propulsion drive later installed in Saratoga and Lexington. She had two Curtis electric drive turbines pushing about 9000 shaft horsepower.

The Japanese navy bought a similar hull from the New York Navy Yard in Camden, NJ in 1922 with the same type of power plant to test out the system for Japanese use. Once slightly modified in Japan, she became the Kamoi, used as a tanker and seaplane tender in WWII. During the war, Kamoi was torpedoed by submarine Bowfin and later Bonefish, bombed by aircraft and survived the war, one of the few ships to survive the onslaught.

[John Odom]

Most informative! Thanks.

[Ian Foster]

Did anyone apart from Lt Cdr Tom Donovan survive its sinking in 1942?

[Don Boyer]

There were around 230 survivors from Langley and Pecos. The Langley survivors had a tough time of it; many were transferred to the tanker Pecos, which was also sunk later the same day, putting everybody in the water again. The destroyer Edsall was also lost in this melee. Over 700 men from all three ships were lost. During the rescue of survivors from this second sinking for the Langley survivors, rescue destroyer Whipple detected a submarine and was forced to break off the rescue effort, leaving many men in the water who would not be recovered.

The story of Langley and tanker Pecos is well told in "Pawns of War" by Dwight R. Messimer (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1983).

It is an excellent read in that it shows how bad it really was for the Asiatic Fleet units caught by the Japanese sea and air assests deployed for the invasions of the southern territories. They were outnumbered, outgunned and outfought on almost every occasion, and few of the ships made it out of the area before the end.

[tone]

Did anyone apart from Lt Cdr Tom Donovan survive its sinking in 1942?

I believe a friend's father survived Langley's sinking. His last name is Valline.

tone

[spruso]

USS Langley sinking 27 Feb 1942. USS Edsall standing by. Photo taken from USS Whipple

Cheers
Bruce

[Graham Barnes]

Hello,

"Did anyone apart from Lt Cdr Tom Donovan survive its sinking in 1942?"

Yes, a number from LANGLEY survived {Donovan, who was stranded at Xmas Isl., was the only POW, in fact} but only two AAF made it though the February mission to Java: one was killed in 1943 in a training accident in the states, and the other ended up captured by the Germans in June, 1944 & spent the rest of the war as a POW.

Some of the remains interred with EDSALL's people at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetary are thought to be bodies of AAF personnel picked up after DD-219 was sunk, and executed with the destroyer's survivors. These Americans were all murdered on 24 March, 1942 at Kendari, Celebes by Japanese SNLF troops there, and they were mixed in amongst a larger number of Dutch merchant sailors from the sunken M/S Modjokerto, of the Rotterdam-Lloyd Line. Modjokerto was sunk earlier the same day as EDSALL, and by the same IJN forces. Her survivors were picked up a few hours after by one of the accompanying Japanese DDs with this task force.

The guys who survived the LANGLEY and PECOS sinkings have got to be some of the luckiest men in WWII, IMHO, as the entire operation was a mess from start to finish.

Another book to read on this episode is A BLUE SEA OF BLOOD (Zenith Press, 2008) by Donald M. Kehn, Jr. Read about it here: http://www.strategypage.com/bookreviews/464.asp

I've attached a rare(ish) photo of the old LANGLEY as she appeared at Darwin in early '42, before her final mission.