[rmlew]

CV-1 Langley ceased to be an aircraft carrier in 1936. It was converted to a seaplane tender. She was sunk delivering P-40 Warhawaks to the defense of Java.

CV-4 survived World War 2 and was decommissioned in 1946.
1942 was a brutal year for the US Navy and out carriers. We lost Langley in January. A few days later USS Saratoga was torpedoed but survived the aborted mission to save Wake Island. Her sister USS Lexington was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea. USS Yorktown was patched up in a few days after damage at the Coarl Sea, but lost at Midway. USS Hornet didn't even survive one year of service and was sunk protecting Guadalcanal. USS Wasp was torpedoed by submarine and lost in the Guadalcanal campaign.
CVE-1 was transfered to the Pacific in early 1942. But in the fall of 1942, all we had was USS Enterprise and USS Long Island. Fortunately, the Japanese Navy and their air service were spent.
People claim that it was our production that defeated Japan. They forget the sacrifices of 1942, which crippled both navies.

[BroJoeK]

rmlew: "People claim that it was our production that defeated Japan.
They forget the sacrifices of 1942, which crippled both navies."

Totally agree.
Thanks for the info on CVE-1 Long Island -- somehow I was under the impression it remained in the Atlantic, now see it was critical to the Guadalcanal campaign.
BTW, Saratoga was damaged by a Japanese torpedo on August 31, 1942, but survived and limped back to dry-dock repairs at Pearl Harbor, where she remained until November 12.

Thus when Hornet was sunk on October 26, 1942 only Enterprise and Long Island were still in service.
After Saratoga return to service (Nov. 12), that remained the situation until the brand new Essex arrived in May 1943, followed slowly by a mounting flood of other new carriers.

Plus I see where USS Copahee (CVE-12) arrived at Guadalcanal around October 11, 1942, suggesting there may have been more escort carriers available from the end of '42 until mid '43.

USS Copahee (CVE-12)