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N0KFQ > TODAY 27.02.16 17:22l 49 Lines 2278 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 85958_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Feb 27
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160227/1519Z 85958@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1942
U.S. aircraft carrier Langley is sunk
On this day, the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier, the Langley,
is sunk by Japanese warplanes (with a little help from U.S.
destroyers), and all of its 32 aircraft are lost.
The Langley was launched in 1912 as the naval collier (coal
transport ship) Jupiter. After World War I, the Jupiter was
converted into the Navy's first aircraft carrier and rechristened
the Langley, after aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpoint Langley. It
was also the Navy's first electrically propelled ship, capable of
speeds of 15 knots. On October 17, 1922, Lt. Virgil C. Griffin
piloted the first plane, a VE-7-SF, launched from the Langley`s
decks. Although planes had taken off from ships before, it was
nevertheless a historic moment. After 1937, the Langley lost the
forward 40 percent of her flight deck as part of a conversion to
seaplane tender, a mobile base for squadrons of patrol bombers.
On December 8, 1941, the Langley was part of the Asiatic Fleet in
the Philippines when the Japanese attacked. She immediately set
sail for Australia, arriving on New Year's Day, 1942. On February
22, commanded by Robert P. McConnell, the Langley, carrying 32
Warhawk fighters, left as part of a convoy to aid the Allies in
their battle against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies.
On February 27, the Langley parted company from the convoy and
headed straight for the port at Tjilatjap, Java. About 74 miles
south of Java, the carrier met up with two U.S. escort destroyers
when nine Japanese twin-engine bombers attacked. Although the
Langley had requested a fighter escort from Java for cover, none
could be spared. The first two Japanese bomber runs missed their
target, as they were flying too high, but the Langley`s luck ran
out the third time around and it was hit three times, setting the
planes on her flight deck aflame. The carrier began to list.
Commander McConnell lost his ability to navigate the ship.
McConnell ordered the Langley abandoned, and the escort
destroyers were able to take his crew to safety. Of the 300
crewmen, only 16 were lost. The destroyers then to sank the
Langley before the Japanese were able to capture it.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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