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Wasp 1942

Ships

No	Name	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comm	Fate
CV7	Wasp	1460	Bethlehem, Quincy	1.4.1936	4.4.1939	25.4.1940	sunk 15.9.1942

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	15752
Displacement full, t	19116
Length, m	210.3 wl 219.5 oa
Breadth, m	24.9 wl 30.5 oa
Draught, m	7.08 full load
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 sets Parsons geared steam turbines, 6 Yarrow boilers
Power, h. p.	70000
Max speed, kts	29.5
Fuel, t	oil 1602
Endurance, nm(kts)	7500 (15)
Armour, mm	belt: 16mm plating, deck: 32
Armament	8 x 1 - 127/38 Mk 12, 4 x 4 - 28/75 Mk 1, 24 x 1 - 12.7/90, 76 aircraft (F2F, F3F, F2A Buffalo fighters, BG, SBU, SBC Helldiver, SB2U Vindicator, BT diving bombers, TBD Devastator torpedo bombers, SOC Seagull reconnaissance planes)
Complement	2167

Air group

Year	Fighters	dive bombers	torpedo bombers
12.1941	47 F4F Wildcat	33 SB2U Vindicator	3 TBD Devastator
8.1942	29 F4F Wildcat	30 SBD Dauntless	10 TBF Avenger

Standard scale images

Graphics

Aircraft facilities

 (fd - 6,893 m², ha - 3,055 m² / 15,976 m³): Flight deck: 226.0 x 30.5 m. Hangar: 159.1 x 19.2 x 5.23 m. There were 2 elevators (14.6 x 13.4 m, 7.7 t) and 4 catapults H 2 (2 flight deck and 1 doubled athwartships catapult in hangar). Aircraft fuel stowage: 613 500 l.  

Project history

The decision to built CV7 Wasp was accepted 27.3.1934, simultaneously with conversion of CV1 Langley to an airplane transport. In order to avoid excess of resolved by Washington Treaty  summary displacement of USN aircraft carriers, it was necessary to limit displacement of new ship by 14700t. However, Americans have a little played a cunning trick: speaking about the freed tonnage, they have specified full displacement of Langley, and Wasp design have included it as displacement standard. Ship was ordered 19.9.1935. The Wasp design had some original features. Asymmetric hull became unique line of the ship: so designers indemnified weight of island superstructure without ballast stowage on a port. Besides, she differed by unusual arrangement of engine and boiler rooms in en echelone; it was repeated later in Essex design. As experiment, an additional T-shaped deck-edge elevator was fitted at fore part of portside. There were 4 catapults: two on flight deck and two more, arranged transverse, in hangar for launch the planes via the side ports. Because of the limited displacement armour protection was very light.

Ship protection

Only lower (main) deck over machinery had 32mm protection. Steering gear compartment was protected by 87mm belt and 31mm deck. 

Modernizations 1.

1942: + CXAM-1 radar

spring 1942: - 18 x 1 - 12.7/90; + 1 x 1 - 40/56 Mk III, 32 x 1 - 20/70 Mk 4

Naval service

15.9.1942 Wasp was hit S from Guadalcanal (12°25'S, 164°08'E) by 3 torpedoes from Japanese submarine I19 and 6hrs later sunk by destroyer Lansdowne.