USS Wasp (CV-7)

USS Wasp (CV-7) was a unique United States Navy aircraft carrier built under the constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty. Commissioned in 1940, she served in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean during the early, critical years of World War II. Her career, though brief, was marked by vital contributions to the Allied war effort, most notably in the Mediterranean Sea and the Solomon Islands campaign, before her loss in 1942.

Design and construction

Authorized under the Second Vinson Act, the design for Wasp was a direct result of the tonnage limits imposed by the expiring Washington Naval Treaty. Naval architects at the Bureau of Construction and Repair were forced to make significant compromises to fit a functional carrier into a reduced displacement, leading to a design with less armor and torpedo protection than her larger contemporaries like USS ''Yorktown''. She was built at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel. Her construction incorporated design elements from the earlier USS ''Ranger'' but featured a novel, compact machinery arrangement to save weight. Launched in April 1939 and sponsored by the wife of a former Secretary of the Navy, she was commissioned into service on 25 April 1940 under the command of Captain John W. Reeves Jr..

Service history

Following shakedown and training exercises in the Caribbean, Wasp was initially assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. In early 1942, she conducted neutrality patrols and, following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, ferried vital Spitfire fighters to the besieged island of Malta during Operation Calendar and Operation Bowery, missions that earned praise from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After transferring to the Pacific Theater in mid-1942, she joined Task Force 18 under Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes. Wasp provided crucial air support for the Guadalcanal campaign, covering the landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August. Her air group engaged Imperial Japanese Navy forces during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, attacking the seaplane carrier ''Chiyoda'' and the light cruiser ''Jintsū''.

Loss

On 15 September 1942, while escorting transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal, Wasp was operating southwest of San Cristobal. The Japanese submarine ''I-19'', commanded by Commander Takakazu Kinashi, fired a spread of six torpedoes. Three struck Wasp on her starboard side, igniting catastrophic fires in her aviation fuel system and among armed and fueled aircraft on her hangar deck. Efforts by the crew and supporting destroyers like USS ''Lansdowne'' and USS ''Laffey'' to contain the blazes failed. After evacuating the crew, the destroyer USS ''Lansdowne'' was ordered to scuttle the blazing hulk with torpedoes. Wasp sank later that evening, with the loss of 193 sailors. Remarkably, the same torpedo salvo from I-19 also damaged the battleship USS ''North Carolina'' and sank the destroyer USS ''O'Brien''.

Legacy

Despite her short service life, Wasp earned two battle stars for her World War II service. Her design lessons, particularly the vulnerabilities exposed by her loss, directly influenced the protection schemes of the subsequent ''Essex''-class carriers. The name was quickly revived for a new, larger carrier, USS ''Wasp'' (CV-18), an Essex-class ship that served with distinction for the remainder of the war. The story of CV-7 remains a poignant example of the severe risks faced by early-war Allied navies and the high cost of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Her wreck was discovered in 2019 by the research vessel RV Petrel in the Coral Sea.

Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts Category:1940 ships