USS Wasp (CV-7)
_entering_Hampton_Roads_on_26_May_1942.jpg) The USS Wasp (1942) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Shipyard | |
| Order | September 19, 1935 |
| Keel laying | April 1, 1936 |
| Launch | April 4, 1939 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | April 25, 1940 |
| Whereabouts | sunk on September 15, 1942 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
19,116 tn. l. |
| length |
209.7 m |
| width |
33.2 m |
| Draft |
6.1 m |
| crew |
1800 |
| drive |
Steam turbines with 6 boilers, 75,000 HP on 2 shafts |
| speed |
29.5 knots |
| Range |
12,000 nm at 15 kn |
| Armament |
|
| Planes |
80 |
The USS Wasp (CV-7) was an American aircraft carrier that was commissioned by the US Department of the Navy to replace the older USS Langley (CV-1) on September 19, 1935 . The design was that of a scaled-down Yorktown class .
The keel was laid on April 1, 1936 at the Fore River Shipyard of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Quincy (Massachusetts) . After being launched on April 4, 1939 and commissioning on April 25, 1940, the USS Wasp served two years in the Atlantic as an important part of the American neutrality efforts. She was also involved in the first operations in World War II . She supported the Royal Navy in relocating Royal Air Force aircraft to Malta in the Mediterranean .
In June 1942, the USS Wasp was ordered to the Pacific Ocean , where it was supposed to reinforce the US naval forces after the carrier battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway . This happened particularly with regard to the expected offensive operations in the South Seas .
_burning_on_15_September_1942_(80-G-16331).jpg)
In early August, the USS Wasp was involved in the invasion of Guadalcanal . She then helped defend the island against possible Japanese recapture. On September 15, 1942, she was badly hit south of Guadalcanal by the Japanese submarine I-19 with three torpedoes . The fires that broke out were uncontrollable, so that the ship had to be abandoned by the crew. 193 crew members were killed. The accompanying destroyer USS Laffey and the cruisers USS Helena and USS Salt Lake City took the survivors on board. The destroyer USS Lansdowne sank the USS Wasp shortly afterwards.
The wreck was discovered on March 12, 2019 by the late Paul Allen's research vessel Petrel . The ship lies at a depth of 4200 meters.
See also
- USS Wasp , for other ships of the same name
- List of US Navy aircraft carriers
- List of US Navy aircraft carrier classes
- List of historical aircraft carriers
Web links
- History of the USS Wasp in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- NAVY photos of the USS Wasp (English)
- Archive with many pictures of the USS Wasp (English)
- USS Wasp CV-7 Web Port (private page - English)