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USS Langley CVL-27 (WWII)

Originally, the USS Langley CVL-27was supposed to be a light cruiser called the Fargo. But, by the time the keel was laid, plans had been changed and the ship became an Independence class aircraft carrier. She was named after an American scientist and aviation, Samuel Langley. She was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey and launched in May of 1943.

She weighed 11,000 tons and could reach speeds of 31 knots. Her overall length was 622.5 feet and measured 109 foot two inches at her widest point. Her crew consisted of 1,569 officers and enlisted men and she could carry 45 aircraft.

After shakedown in the Caribbean, the left the Philadelphia and set sail for Pearl Harbor. Once there, she took part in a few training operations and then, in January of 1944, joined Task Force 58 for an attack on the Marshall Islands. From January through April, the Langley and her air force hit enemy bases on many different islands, including Wotje, Eniwetok, Yap and the Caroline Islands. They also supported Allied landings on the Island of Kwajalein. At the end of April, her forces began an attack against Truk. Her airplanes accounted for 35 of the enemy planes while only losing one aircraft, herself.

In June, the Langley took part in several different raids. The first involved over 200 American airplanes that ran bombing raids against bases on Saipan and Tinian. In the middle of the month, the forces began attacks centered on the Marianas and then moved to engage the Japanese Fleet in the two day battle dubbed the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Most of the enemy forces were destroyed. The Japanese lost 426 airplanes and three carriers. These losses so weakened them that they weren't able to challenge the American Navy much until the attack on the Gulf of Leyte.

In September and October, the Langley continued to assist with attacks on various targets in the Philippine Islands with Task Force 38. At the end of October, the Japanese tried to take back the hard won Leyte beachhead. After fending off the attack, the Task Force moved to attack the ships that the attack had come from. During the ensuing battle, the enemy lost four carriers, four heavy cruisers, two battleships, five destroyers and one light cruiser. Langley's forces helped destroy the Zuiho and the Zuikako. The Zuikako was the last of the six carriers that had perpetrated the surprise attack against Pearl Harbor. After the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese had lost so many of their forces that they had very little chance of victory left.

The carrier continued to assist with landings on and the capturing of several more Philippine Islands throughout November and into December. She then moved into the South China Sea and added her forces to raids being made against Indo-China, Formosa and the Chinese coast. Even more of the Japanese forces, bases and installations were decimated during these raids. During the first five months of 1945, the Langley and her crew assisted with the occupation of Iwo Jima and then began raids against the Japanese home island. Toward the beginning of the month of May, the ship launched many raids against kamikaze bases that were located on Okinawa and Kyushu.

In June she returned to American bases for a few needed repairs and some modernization. She reached Pearl Harbor, again, at the beginning of August and learned the war was over. She spent the next few months transporting American soldiers home and then joined the reserve fleet. In 1951 she was transferred to the French military, where she was renamed the Lafayette R-96. She returned to the United States in 1963 and was sold to the Boston Metals Company, where she was scrapped. The USS Langley had received nine Battle Stars for her service during World War II.

As with most of the ships in the fleet, asbestos had been used extensively in the construction of the Langley. The mineral is heat and flame resistant and was used as an insulator for the engines and in the walls of the ship. The problem with asbestos is that it is very harmful to people. Dust shakes free from the products that use asbestos as a main ingredient that contains millions of microscopic fibers. These fibers were inhaled and swallowed by the sailors on the ship as it floated around in the holds. It can take as long as fifty years for the damage done by asbestos to show up. There are two diseases that can be directly related to asbestos. These are asbestosis, which is a scarring in the lungs that can cause the victim extreme difficulty with breathing, and mesothelioma, which is a cancer that affects the lining that covers and protects most of the vital organs in the body.

If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the USS Langley CVL-27 (WWII), or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, Asbestos.com offers a free packet with more information. Enter your contact information in the form in the right column and we'll send a copy immediately.

Aircraft Carriers Index

USS America USS Antietam CV 36 K USS Antietam CV 36 USS Badoeng Strait CVE 116 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Belleau wood CVL 24 USS Bennington CV 20 USS Bon Homme Richard CVa USS Boxer CV USS Bunker CV USS Cabot CVL 28 USS Constellation CV USS Coral Sea CV USS Corregidor CVE 58 USS Sable ix USS San jacinto CVL USS Saratoga CV USS Saratoga CV3 USS Shangri La

USS Cowpens CVL 25 USS Enterprise CV 6 USS Enterprise CVN USS Essex CV 9 USS Forrestal CV USS Franklin CV 13 USS Hancock CV 19 USS Hornet CV 12 USS Hornet CV 8 USS Independence C1 USS Independence CVL 22 USS Intrepid CV 11 USS Kearsage CV 33 USS Kearsage CV USS Kitty Hawk USS Sicily CVe USS Sitkoh bay USS Tarawa CV USS Ticonderoga CV USS Valley forge CV

USS Lake Champlain CV 39 USS Langley CV 1 USS Langley CVL 27 USS Lexington CV 16 USS Lexington CV 2 USS Leyte CV 32 USS Midway CV USS Oriskany CV USS Phillipine Sea CV USS Point cruz CVE USS Princeton CV USS Princeton CVL USS Randolph CV USS Ranger CV USS Rendova USS Wasp CV 18 USS Wasp CV 7 USS Wolverine IX 64 USS Yorktown CV 10 USS Yorktown CV 5

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