Navy Yard built the Navy’s first aircraft carrier, U.S.S. LANGLEY, converted from collier JUPITER.
April 5, 1919
While early flight tests took place off the deck of the USS Birmingham as early as 1910, it wasn’t until 1919 that construction of America’s first aircraft carrier began. The USS Langley (CV1) was officially commissioned on March 20, 1922 and was named after Samuel Pierpont Langley, one of America’s first aeronautical engineers. On October 17, 1922, a Vought biplane, piloted by Lieutenant V.C. Griffin, rumbled off the wooden flight deck of the Langley while at anchor in the York River. This was the first takeoff from a U.S. Navy carrier. The ship was nicknamed “The Covered Wagon” and was converted in the Shipyard from the Jupiter, a collier original launched in 1911.
Navy Yard built the Navy’s first aircraft carrier, U.S.S. LANGLEY, converted from collier JUPITER.
April 5, 1919
While early flight tests took place off the deck of the USS Birmingham as early as 1910, it wasn’t until 1919 that construction of America’s first aircraft carrier began. The USS Langley (CV1) was officially commissioned on March 20, 1922 and was named after Samuel Pierpont Langley, one of America’s first aeronautical engineers. On October 17, 1922, a Vought biplane, piloted by Lieutenant V.C. Griffin, rumbled off the wooden flight deck of the Langley while at anchor in the York River. This was the first takeoff from a U.S. Navy carrier. The ship was nicknamed “The Covered Wagon” and was converted in the Shipyard from the Jupiter, a collier original launched in 1911.