USS Langley (CV-1)

History of USS Langley (CV-1)

USS Langley (CV-1) was the US Navy's first aircraft carrier. Langley's hull previously served as the USS Jupiter (Collier #3), a coal mine or coal ship and a test bed for the US Navy's first turbo-electric propulsion vessel. The experiment aims to improve safety on USN ships by not using standard coal-fired stoves, thereby reducing the potential for dust-induced explosions.

President William Taft attended the keel-laying ceremony, and the ship was officially commissioned on April 7, 1913.

Jupiter had a notable career delivering Pacific Fleet Marines in Mazatlan, Mexico, during the Veracruz crisis. On the way back, she sailed through the Panama Canal on Columbus Day, becoming the first ship to make the east-west crossing. Her main task at the time was to load coal for the fleet, and she was sent to France in 1917 and 1918. Interestingly, on her first voyage, she transported a naval air unit of 7 officers and 122 men to England. It was the first United States Air Force to arrive in Europe and was commanded by Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, who would later become Langley's first senior officer.

She was approved for conversion to an aircraft carrier on July 11, 1919, and she sailed to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she was decommissioned as USS Jupiter in March 1920. The U.S.

Navy chose its first aircraft carrier, named USS Langley (CV-1), after Samuel Pierpoint Langley (1834-1906), a pioneer in the design of heavy aircraft in the United States. It didn't bode well for Orville Wright, another prominent aviation pioneer, who had his own ideas about who the ship should be named after.

The practical purpose of USS Langley becoming an aircraft carrier was to experiment with relatively new naval aviation concepts, and many changes were required to take her away from her coal mine ship origins. The superstructure, crane, main column, mast and funnel were removed, while a rectangular flight deck was installed.

A full-length wooden flight deck is attached to a steel frame. Gaps are provided below deck to allow ventilation and natural light to aid below deck work and general safety conditions. A lift was added amidships and 2 launch catapults were installed on the flight deck.

Six large cargo bays (originally used to store coal on Jupiter) proved to be ideal hangar decks for aircraft and associated cabins located aft. From their Jupiter days, electric propulsion motors power 3 boilers, producing 190psi and 6,500hp via 2 propeller shafts. This powerplant arrangement allows the new displacement of 15,150 tonnes to reach an impressive 15.5 knots. For self-defense, the USS Langley was armed with a single 4 x 5 in/51 caliber gun. The CV-1 had room for about 34 aircraft (biplanes) because folding wings were not popular at the time.

The operational crew section consists of 468 seamen and appropriate air squadron personnel. Her measurements show a length of 542'3" and a width of 65'3". Two gantry cranes were erected, while hole 1 was dedicated to the storage of aviation fuel.

The starboard side brackets are cross-connected to the port side and fold down for unobstructed flight deck operation.

An interesting historical footnote to the Langley lore is a pigeon shed mounted between the 5" 51 caliber anti-aircraft guns in the stern area. Pigeons were still used on naval ships in those days and were taken to seaplanes for information transport, which began during the First World War. US Navy pigeons are being "trained" at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, while USS Langley is being converted into a CV-1. While the use of trained animals may sound applicable here, it presents some natural dilemmas for the operator. It was as if a few pigeons were released at once, and then they returned to the boat.

However, on another occasion, near Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, a large number of pigeons were released and did not return, but chose to fly south and end up at the Norfolk Shipyard. The particular carrier pigeon was "released" from sea service and did not return to Langley.

As a result, the loft was converted into a dormitory for the administrative staff.

October 1922 was an important month in the history of naval aviation, as it marked the first time an aircraft took off and landed at sea from an aircraft carrier. On October 17, 1922, the Vought VE-7 Bluebird biplane made history as the first aircraft to fly from the aircraft carrier USS Langley, with Lieutenant Virgil C. (Squash) Griffin piloting the fighter.

Nine days later, on the 26th, Lieutenant Colonel G. de Chevalier landed an Aeromarine 39B biplane on the deck of the USS Langley while she was in steam.

After some additional maintenance, USS Langley went to the Caribbean for carrier flight operations, which included takeoff and landing tests. By June, she was training on the Atlantic coast until 1924. Langley then took part in training exercises and spent the summer in Norfolk on maintenance work. In November, Langley traveled to the West Coast, arriving in San Diego, California, to join the Pacific Combat Fleet.

She spent the next twelve years operating in the waters off the West Coast and Hawaii, completing basic fleet training, pilot training, and tactical games.

In October 1936, Langley returned to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for an overhaul and conversion to tender for seaplanes. After her career as an aircraft carrier officially ended, her trained pilots were transferred to the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga.

The Langley is now reclassified as an AV-3, and the conversion was completed in February 1937. She was then assigned to the aircraft reconnaissance unit and began working as a maintenance officer in Seattle-Washington, Sitka-Alaska, Pearl Harbor-Hawaii, and San Diego-California.

In July 1939, she left for the Pacific Fleet to Manila, Philippines, and arrived in September of that year.

When the United States entered World War II, Langley broke down near Cavite in the Philippines, undetected by the Japanese. On December 8, after Japan invaded the Philippines, she set off from Cavite for Balikpapan in the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese advance continued, and Langley was ordered to set off for Australia, arriving in Darwin on 1 January 1942. The U.S.

Navy was already very weak by this time, so Langley became part of the combined naval force under the U.S.-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM). In this capacity, USS Langley assists the RAAF on anti-submarine patrols from Darwin, Australia.

In February, Langley transferred 32 Curtiss P-40 Warhawks assigned to the US Army Air Forces 49th Pursuit Group to Tjilatjap, Java, following Allied aircraft needs in Southeast Asia. Langley then left Tjilatjap on 27 February to rejoin the destroyer group consisting of Whipple and Edsall. When she was about 120 kilometers south of Tjilatjap, she attacked nine Japanese twin-engine Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers. During the attack, USS Langley was hit by no less than five bombs, killing 16 crew members.

Her plane, which was parked on her flight deck, was also set on fire during the attack, and a subsequent explosion below her flight deck crippled her piloting ability and forced her to bank to port. The USS Langley sank to her death after her crew made a valiant attempt to return to Java. With her engine room now hopelessly flooded, an order was made for all on board to abandon the ship. After all crew members were safely evacuated, the accompanying destroyer Whipple fired nine 4-inch shells at USS Langley, while Edsall fired two torpedoes on her side for safety. The decision to sink Langley was to ensure that it would not turn into a war with Japan.

The surviving Langley crew subsequently served on many other carriers in the conflict and contributed significantly to the Allied war effort. Langley has left an unforgettable and enduring legacy for those who served under her banner.

USS Jupiter/USS Langley won several awards while at sea. As Jupiter, these include the Mexican Service Medal and the First World War Victory Medal. As a Langley, this includes the U.S. Defense Service Medal ("Fleet" buckle), the Asia Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

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