The FReeper Foxhole Studies U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers - Part 1 of 2 - January 25, 2004

US Navy ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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A Brief History of U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers


Part I — The Early Years



Nov. 3, 1909 - Lieut. George Sweet was taken up as a passenger in the first Army Wright aircraft by Lieut. Frank P. Lahm, USA, at College Park, Md. Lieut. Sweet is credited with being the first Navy officer to have flown in an airplane.


Sept. 26, 1910 - The Secretary of the Navy, George von L. Meyer, designated Capt. Washington I. Chambers, Assistant to the Aid for Material, as the officer to whom all correspondence on aviation should be referred. This is the first recorded reference to a provision for aviation in the Navy Department.


Nov. 14, 1910 - Eugene Ely, 24, a civilian pilot, took off in a 50-hp. Curtiss plane from a wooden platform built over the bow of the light cruiser USS Birmingham (CL-2). The ship was at anchor in Hampton Roads, Va., and Ely landed moments later on Willoughby Spit.


Nov. 29, 1910 - Glenn H. Curtiss wrote to Secretary Meyer offering flight instruction without charge for one Navy officer as one means of assisting "in developing the adaptability of the aeroplane to military purposes." On Dec. 23, Lieut. T. Gordon "Spuds" Ellyson, left in picture, was ordered to report to the Glenn Curtiss Aviation Camp at North Island, San Diego, Calif. He completed his training Apr. 12, 1911, and became Naval Aviator No. 1.


Jan. 18, 1911 - At 11:01 a.m., Eugene Ely, flying a Curtiss pusher, landed on a specially built platform aboard the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania (ACR 4) at anchor in San Francisco Bay. At 11:58 a.m., he took off and returned to Selfridge Field, San Francisco.


Nov. 5, 1915 - Lieut. Cmdr. Henry C. Mustin made the first catapault launching from a ship. He flew an AB-2 flying boat off the stern of USS North Carolina (ACR 12) in Pensacola Bay, Fla.


Jul. 11, 1919 - The Naval Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1920 provided for the conversion of the collier Jupiter into a ship specifically designed to launch and recover airplanes at sea — an aircraft carrier — later to be named Langley. The engineering plans for this conversion were modified in November and included catapults to be fitted on both the forward and after ends of the "flying-off" deck.


Mar. 20, 1922 - USS Langley (CV 1), converted from the collier USS Jupiter (AC 3), was placed in commission at Norfolk, Va., as the Navy's first aircraft carrier. The ship's executive officer, Cmdr. Kenneth Whiting, was in command.


Apr. 1, 1922 - The specifications of arresting gear of the type later installed in early aircraft carriers were sent to various design engineers. "The arresting gear will consist of two or more transverse wires stretched across the fore and aft wires ... [and which] lead around sheaves placed outboard to hydraulic brakes. The plane, after engaging the transverse wire, is guided down the deck by the fore and aft wires and is brought to rest by the action of the transverse wire working with the hydraulic brake."


Jul. 1, 1922 - Congress authorized the conversion of the unfinished battle cruisers Lexington and Saratoga as aircraft carriers and as permitted under the terms of the Washington Treaty.


Oct. 17, 1922 - Lieut. V.C. Griffin, in a Vought VE-7SF, like the one to the left, took off from USS Langley at anchor in the York River, Virginia, making the first take-off from an aircraft carrier.


Oct. 26, 1922 - Lieut. Cmdr. Godfrey deC. Chevalier, flying an Aeromarine, made the first landing aboard USS Langley underway off Cape Henry, Virginia. Lieut. Cmdr. Chevalier, Naval Aviator #7, died Nov. 14 in the Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Va., of injuries suffered in a plane crash two days earlier at Lochaven, near Norfolk.


Nov. 18, 1922 - Cmdr. Kenneth Whiting, piloting a PT seaplane, made the first catapult launching from USS Langley (CV 1) at anchor in the York River.


Nov. 17, 1924 - Langley reported for duty with the Battle Fleet, thereby ending two years in an experimental status and becoming the first operational aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. On 1 Dec., she also became the flagship for Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet.


Nov. 16, 1927 - USS Saratoga (CV 3) commissioned at Camden, N.J., Capt. Harry E. Yarnell, commanding.


Dec. 14, 1927 - USS Lexington (CV 2) commissioned at Quincy, Mass., Capt. Albert W. Marshall, commanding.


Jan. 11, 1928 - The first take off and landing aboard USS Saratoga (CV 3) was made by the ship's Air Officer Cmdr. Marc A. Mitscher in a UO-1.

Jan. 23-27, 1929 - The carriers Lexington and Saratoga took part in fleet exercises, attached to opposing forces. Saratoga was detached from the main force, and with an escorting cruiser, was sent on a wide southward sweep before turning north to approach within striking distance of her target, the Panama Canal. On the morning of the 26th, while it was still dark, she launched a strike group of 69 aircraft which arrived over the target undetected shortly after dawn and completed the theoretical destruction of the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks without opposition. This demonstration made a profound impression on naval tacticians.


Apr. 9, 1929 - Operations aboard Langley and Saratoga confirmed that the fore-and-aft wires of the arresting gear were not needed. The Secretary of the Navy authorized their removal in September. All carrier aircraft, based on these tests, were equipped with brakes and wheel type tail skids.


Jan. 16, 1930 - USS Lexington (CV 2) completed a 30-day period in which she furnished electricity to the city of Tacoma, Wash., in an emergency arising from a failure of the city's power supply. The electricity from the carrier totaled more than 4.25 million kilowatt-hours.


Sept. 26, 1931 - The keel for USS Ranger (CV 4), the first ship of the U.S. Navy to be designed and constructed as an aircraft carrier, was laid at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Va. The ship was launched on 25 Feb. 1933, and commissioned 4 Jun. 1934 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Capt. Arthur L. Bristol, commanding.


Nov. 1, 1934 - The Naval Aircraft Factory was authorized to manufacture and test a flush-deck hydraulic catapult, Type H Mark I. This catapult was designed to launch land planes from aircraft carriers and was the Navy's initial development of a hydraulic catapult, a type which was to be the primary means of launching land planes from carriers.


Apr. 21, 1937 - Following a four-month conversion period, the Navy's first carrier USS Langley was converted to a seaplane tender and reclassified as AV-3.


Sept. 30, 1937 - USS Yorktown (CV 5) was placed in commission at the Norfolk Naval Operating Base (NOB), Norfolk, Va., with Capt. Ernest D. McWhorter in command. The ship's keel was laid on 21 May 1934 and it was launched on 4 April 1936.


May 12, 1938 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) was placed in commission at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Va., Capt. N. H. White commanding. The ship was launched 3 Oct. 1936.


Jun. 11-13, 1939 - USS Saratoga (CV 3) and the tanker USS Kanawha (AO 1) conducted underway refueling tests off the coast of southern California, demonstrating the feasibility of refueling carriers at sea.


Apr. 25, 1940 - USS Wasp (CV 7) was placed in commission at the Army Quartermaster Base, Boston, Mass., Capt. John W. Reeves, Jr., commanding. The ship's keel was laid 1 Apr. 1936, at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., and the ship was launched 4 Apr. 1939.


Jun. 2, 1941 - USS Long Island (AVG 1), the Navy's first escort carrier, commissioned at Newport News, Va., Cmdr. Donald B. Duncan in command. The ship was originally built as Mormacmail, a cargo ship, by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pa., and converted in 67 days to a flush-deck carrier. She was reclassified as CVE-1 on 15 Jul. 1943.


Oct. 20, 1941 - USS Hornet (CV 8) was placed in commission in Norfolk, Va., Capt. Marc A. Mitscher in command. The ship was launched 14 Dec. 1940 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.


Dec. 7, 1941 - Carrier aircraft of the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and on the military and air installations in the area. The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[WaterDragon]

Well, of course! LOL! I should have known. Thanks for the info. I'd just never thought about it.

[Light Speed]

Your Fathers ship saw alot of action..and had many close calls.

Sara in Her battle colors...note 5"-38's

Sara recieved alot of damage externally and internally during a Kamikaze attack on Feb 21st 1945.

Navsource has a photo collection ...**warning..some of the photos show dismembered bodies.

Kamikaze Attack

[radu]

Good evening to all at the Foxhole!

To all our military men and women, past and present,
THANK YOU for serving the USA!

[SAMWolf]

When Snippy did her thread on naming ships it showed just how confusing the whole sysytem is and how it changes depending on who's running things.

[radu]

Dang! Did it again! Post #63 is for everyone. :-)
Forgot the ping list.....that's what I get for trying to do this stuff while sick. LOL!!

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Light Speed.

It makes one appreciate even more the price these men paid for us.

[SAMWolf]

Evening Radu!

[SAMWolf]

Another one who's sick! There has to be some nasty bug going around.

[radu]

Hi SAM.
I'm just cursed with a nasty head cold. Could have been a lot worse....I was afraid it might be the flu when this first hit last night.
It makes it difficult to do anything on the 'puter, though. The monitor is awfully bright! LOL! Makes my eyes water and I can't see to read and type very well.

Hope you're doing well and have managed to keep from getting the "crud" that seems to be running rampant these days. :-)

[SAMWolf]

So far so good but Snippy and Feather seem to have been hit pretty bad. Feather is on the mend but Snippy's is just starting out.

Maybe I should quarantine the Foxhole before it spreads to all of FR. ;-)

[Soaring Feather]

Well now you're in The FOXHOLE!! LOL

Take care radu.

[radu]

Oh my. I knew feather had been sick but is feeling better. Didn't know snippy had come down with it. Hope it's just a cold. That won't last too long.

I think a quarantine is too late....it's already all over FR, I do believe. LOL! That time of year!

[SAMWolf]

She just started coming down with it yesterday and I talked to her today and she really sounds terrible. I'm hoping it's just a cold too.

[Samwise]

More good work, snippy!

[radu]

*giggle*
I'm struggling all around FR as best I can. SO far behind and trying to catch up. Don't think I'm gonna make it but I'm trying.

[radu]

She just started coming down with it yesterday and I talked to her today and she really sounds terrible. I'm hoping it's just a cold too.

Sounds like we got clobbered at the same time. With luck, we'll both feel chipper again in a couple of days. :-)

[Samwise]

Just doin' my job as the resident Space Geek

Then you must have one of these on your desk: http://www.asciipr0n.com/archive/0013/bonnie/craft/

[Samwise]

Oops! Try this link:

http://www.asciipr0n.com/archive/0013/bonnie/craft/

[Soaring Feather]

Oh my gosh radu you gotta go to the ZOT threads, two today. LOL

[radu]

hehehe....I spotted the pings and was just getting ready to see what the Viking Kitties have accomplished today.
Gonna be a lot of that going on the next several months, I'd guess.