October 1922 was an important month in naval aviation history, marking the first take-off and landing of an aircraft from an aircraft carrier at sea. One such Vought VE-7 Bluebird biplane made history by being the first airplane to take-off from the USS Langley on October 17th, 1922 with Lieutenant Commander Virgil C. (Squash) Griffin at the controls of the fighter aircraft. Nine days later, on the 26th, Lieutenant Commander G. de Chevalier landed an Aeromarine 39B biplane aircraft on the deck of the USS Langley while she was under steam.
After some additional repairs, the USS Langley proceeded to the Caribbean Sea for carrier flight operation consisting of launching and landing tests. By June she was training along the Atlantic coast until 1924. Langley then participated in training maneuvers and spent the summer at Norfolk for repairs. In November, Langley departed for the West Coast and arrived in San Diego, California to join the Pacific Battle Fleet. For the next twelve years she would operate off the West Coast and in Hawaiian waters, undergoing basic fleet training, pilot training, and tactical game exercises.
In October 1936, Langley returned to Mare Island Navy Yard in California for an overhaul and conversion as a seaplane tender. With her career as an aircraft carrier officially ended, her trained pilots were transferred to the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga. Langley was now re-classified as AV-3 with the conversion completing in February of 1937. She was then assigned to the Aircraft Scouting Force and commenced her tending duties out of Seattle-Washington, Sitka-Alaska, Pearl Harbor-Hawaii, and San Diego-California. In July of 1939, she departed to assume her duties with the Pacific Fleet at Manila in the Philippines arriving in September that year.
Upon the US entry into World War II, Langley was anchored off Cavite, Philippines and remained undetected by Japanese forces. On December 8th, following the invasion of the Philippines by Japan, she steamed from Cavite to Balikpapan in the Dutch East Indies. Japanese advances continued and Langley was ordered to depart for Australia, arriving in Darwin on January 1st, 1942. The US Navy at this time was stretched perilously thin so Langley became part of a combined naval force with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM). In this capacity, USS Langley assisted the Royal Australian Air Force in running anti-submarine patrols out of Darwin, Australia.
With the Allies needing aircraft in Southeast Asia, Langley ferried 32 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft assigned to the United States Army Air Force 49th Pursuit Group to Tjilatjap, Java in February. Langley then left Tjilatjap on February 27th to rejoin her destroyer group made up of the Whipple and Edsall. When she was about 75 miles (120 km) south of Tjilatjap, nine Japanese twin-engine Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers attacked her. During the attack, USS Langley was hit by no less than 5 bombs, killing 16 of her crew members. Her planes resting along her flight deck were also set afire in the attack and ensuing explosions below her flight deck impaired her ability to steer, forcing her to list to port. After a valiant attempt by her crew to return to Java, the USS Langley went dead in the water. With her engine room now flooding beyond hope of recovery, the order was given to abandon ship for all hands aboard. Once all crew were safely transferred off the ship, the accompanying destroyer Whipple fired nine 4" inch shells into USS Langley while Edsall fired two torpedoes into her side for good measure. The decision to sink Langley was to ensure she would not become a Japanese war prize. The surviving Langley crew went on to serve on many other carriers in the conflict, aiding greatly to the Allied war effort. Despite her unceremonious fate at sea, the USS Langley had already achieved a memorable and lasting legacy for those that served under her banner.
The USS Jupiter/USS Langley received several awards during her tenure at sea. As the Jupiter, these included the Mexican Service Medal and the World War 1 victory medal. As the Langley, this included the American Defense Service Medal ("Fleet" clasp), the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War 2 Victory Medal.
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