The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Naval Historical Center #63547
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Tonnage |
11,050 tons
standard displacement |
|
Dimensions |
542' by 65' by 27'8" 165.20m by 19.81m by 8.43m |
|
Maximum speed |
14 knots |
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Complement |
163 |
| Aircraft |
2 catapults At least 32 aircraft could be ferried |
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Armament |
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| Machinery |
2-shaft General Electric
turboelectric (7000 shp) 3 Bureau boilers |
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Bunkerage |
2300 tons fuel
oil |
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Range |
10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 10 knots |
The Langley was
the first United
States aircraft
carrier, converted from the
collier Jupiter in 1922. Jupiter
was the first U.S. Navy ship with turboelectric drive, and this
was
retained after the conversion. She provided
invaluable experience with
carrier operations but was much too primitive a design for fleet
operations. She was converted to a seaplane
tender in 1937 by removing the
forward portion of the flight deck to install a handling crane,
and
she was assigned to
Asiatic
Fleet. In this role, she served as a floating base for the
Asiatic Fleet's aircraft, for which there were inadequate shore
facilities because of the fortifications
clause of the Washington
Treaty. Her large deck area gave ample space for bringing
aircraft aboard for maintenance and repair.
Langley was at Cavite
at the
outbreak of war, but was crippled by Japanese
aircraft south
of Java on 27
February 1942 while acting as an aircraft ferry. Her escorts were
compelled to scuttled her.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
