America's Very First Aircraft Carrier |
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There have been many great naval warfare ships over the history of the U.S. Navy. Many aircraft carriers went on to great distinction especially in the heroic battles that were part of World War II Naval warfare history. Names like the Lexington, the Saratoga, the Yorktown and the Enterprise fill the history books of great warships of World War 2 naval warfare. But the humble USS Langley has a long and distinguished career that included becoming the first ship to be retrofitted into an aircraft carrier that make the Langley worth of its own place in U.S. Naval history as well.
 For the next decade, the Jupiter served primarily support functions mostly doing cargo duty and that was the service it provided during World War I. The Jupiter did see many ports performing support functions throughout Europe before returning to Norfolk Virgina to start a new life. On December 12, 1919, the life of "the Jupiter" came to an end when it was decommissioned. But for the vessel itself, this was only the beginning of its long and honorable career as a US naval warship. It was in Norfolk that the former USS Jupiter underwent a transformation. Not only did it take on the name USS Langley in honor of Samuel Pierpont Langley, the ship underwent a dramatic transformation into the very first prototype of a U.S. naval aircraft carrier. The final configuration of the overhauled naval vessel was compete in 1922. Her very first commander in this new assignment was Kenneth Whiting and it was he who proudly put the Langley to work helping the navy develop the Navy's powerful aviation warfare capabilities that would make such a huge difference in winning the war against the axis powers that lay ahead. As the first aircraft carrier ever in what would become the backbone of the American naval aircraft infrastructure, the Langley racked up plenty of firsts. October 17, 1922, was the first time a pilot took off from the deck of a ship. Just nine days later Lieutenant Commander Godfrey de Courcelles Chevalier was the first pilot to land on an aircraft carrier deck when he set down on the deck of the Langley.  The Langley continued to be a valuable part of the US naval arsenal even after it was converted to a seaplane trader in 1936. Then on February 27th, 1942, while supporting antisubmarine maneuvers during World War II, The Langley was struck by an onslaught of nine Japanese bombers, which tragically damaged the ship critically causing it to sink in the line of duty. But it is worthwhile to take some time as we have done here today to look back on an important part of our US naval history at a ship that through many evolutions served its country honorably and ushered in the era of the US Navy aircraft carrier. And that historic ship was the USS Langley. Related Articles
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Featured World War II Articles
- There have been many great naval warfare ships over the history of the U.S. Navy. Many aircraft carriers went on to great distinction especially in the heroic battles that were part of World War II Naval warfare history. Names like the Lexington, the Saratoga, the Yorktown and the Enterprise fill the history books of great warships of World War 2 naval warfare. But the humble USS Langley has a long and distinguished career that included becoming the first ship to be retrofitted into an aircraft carrier that make the Langley worth of its own place in U.S. Naval history as well.
The reason that World War 2 naval wars is such an exciting part of military history is that there were so many pivotal battles where American military genius turned the tide against a powerful and fearful enemy. Between Germany and Japan, we faced enemies who were ruthless, powerful and crafty and it took all of the military genius we had to muster to defeat them. One such brilliant WWII naval battle that turned the war in our favor was the Battle of Midway.
In the history of ground warfare, there may be no more historic battle than the one that occurred on the coast of France in June of 1944, which came to be known as D-Day. Not only was the Allied invasion the largest ever attempted during World War II, it became the single more ambitious ground warfare effort ever carried out.
On August 6, 1945, an event occurred that changed the world in every way imaginable and whose effects we are still living with today. That was the day that President Truman ordered an act of aerial warfare so destructive that there was no possible retaliation. That was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan.
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History of War World War II WW II Sea America's Very First Aircraft Carrier
History of War World War II WW II Sea America's Very First Aircraft Carrier
