USS Wasp (CV-7) was an aircraft carrier used by the United States Navy, commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942. She was the eighth ship to be named Wasp, and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed in the United States.
Description[]
USS Wasp displaced at 19,116 tons under a full load, and measured 225.9 meters long in total, and 209.7 meters from bow to stern, 24.61 meters in beam and 6 meters in draught. USS Wasp was powered by steam turbines turning two shafts and generating up to 75,000 shp. This gave her a maximum speed of 29.5 knots. USS Wasps crew numbered at 1,800 total, and some eighty-four aircraft could be carried initially. Armament comprised of eight single 5/38 DP guns, sixteen 1.1 inch anti-aircraft guns, and twenty-four 12.7 mm Browning M2HB heavy machine guns mounted in defensive positions. The design was based upon that of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, but was not satisfactory, has USS Wasp had even less underwater armor protection than that of the Yorktown-class ships.[1]
History[]
USS Wasp was designed to take up the remaining carrier tonnage for the United States Navy under the restrictions of the 1922 Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty, and replaced USS Langley in the carrier fleet. As the first carrier built with asymmetrical hull, to counterbalance the weight of the island, USS Wasp did not have an armor belt built into hull to resist torpedo damage due to remaining weight limitations imposed by treaty when she was built.[1]
As well as making two trips to Malta, delivering Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V fighters to fend off Luftwaffe bombers and fighters, USS Wasp was the first US carrier to launch US Army aircraft, such as the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.[1]
References[]
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