| USS Wasp (CV-7) In port, with a motor launch coming alongside. Planes on deck, some with wings folded, include Vought SB2U Vindicator scout bombers, Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers and Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters. After departing Norfolk on January 14, 1942, Wasp headed north and touched at Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, and Casco Bay, Maine. On 16 March, as part of Task Group 22.6, she headed back toward Norfolk. During the morning watch the next day, visibility lessened considerably; and, at 0650 Hours, USS Wasp’s bow plunged into USS Stack (DD-406)’s starboard side, punching a hole and completely flooding the destroyer’s number 1 fireroom. USS Stack was detached and proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where her damage was repaired. Meanwhile, USS Wasp made port at Norfolk on January 21 without further incident. Shifting back to Casco Bay 3 days later, she sailed for the British Isles on March 26, 1942, with Task Force 39 under the command of Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Junior (March 22, 1882 – March 27, 1942), aboard the battleship USS Washington (BB-56). That force was to reinforce the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. While en route, Rear Admiral Wilcox was swept overboard from the battleship on the morning of March 27, 1942, and drowned. Although hampered by poor visibility conditions, 4 Vought SB2U Vindicators from Wasp took part in the search, and 1 of them crashed while attempting to land aboard Wasp, killing its 2-man crew.[6] Wilcox’s body was spotted an hour after he went overboard, face down in the raging seas, but it was not recovered due to the weather and the heavy seas. Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen (June 29, 1886 – December 10, 1962), who flew his flag in the heavy cruiser Wichita, assumed command of Task Force 39. The American ships were met by a force based around the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh on April 3. Those ships escorted them to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. The majority of Task Force 39 joined the British Home Fleet – renumbered to Task Force 99 in the process – to cover convoys routed to North Russia. USS Wasp departed Scapa Flow on April 9, bound for the Clyde estuary and Greenock, Scotland. The following day, the carrier sailed up the Clyde, past the John Brown Clydebank shipbuilding facilities. There, shipyard workers paused long enough from their labors to accord Wasp a tumultuous reception as she passed. Wasp’s impending mission was an important 2 upon which the fate of the island bastion of Malta hung. During the Siege of Malta it was under daily attack by German and Italian aircraft. The British, faced with the loss of air superiority over the island, and their own carriers unable to continue the Club Runs ferrying replacement aircraft to Malta, requested the use of USS Wasp to transport planes that could wrest air superiority from the Axis aircraft. USS Wasp drew ferry duty once again to participate in Operation Calendar, 1 of many Malta Convoys. Early in May 1942, almost simultaneously with Operation Bowery — USS Wasp again flying off Spitfires to Malta a 2nd time — the Battle of the Coral Sea had been fought, then the Battle of Midway a month later. The loss of USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) in those battles reduced the United States Navy to 3 carriers in the Pacific, and it became imperative to transfer USS Wasp to the Pacific. USS Wasp hurried back across the Atlantic to the United States for alterations and repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard. During the carrier’s stay in the Tidewater region, Wasp’s Captain John W. Reeves Jr. (April 25, 1888 – July 16, 1967) – who had been promoted to flag rank – was relieved by Captain Forrest P. Sherman (October 30, 1896 – July 22, 1951) on May 31, 1942. Departing Norfolk on June 6, Wasp sailed with Task Force 37, which was built around Wasp, the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) and escorted by USS Quincy (CA-39), USS San Juan (CL-54) and 6 destroyers. The group transited the Panama Canal on June 10, at which time USS Wasp and her consorts became Task Force 18, the carrier flying the flag of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes (December 15, 1885 – March 24, 1961). Arriving at San Diego on June 19, USS Wasp embarked the remainder of her complement of aircraft, Grumman TBF-1 Avengers and Douglas SBD-3 Dauntlesses, the latter replacing the old SB2U Vindicators. On July 1, she sailed for the Tonga Islands as part of the convoy including 5 transports carrying the 2nd Marine Regiment. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1871.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.74 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5722 x 4535 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 25, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Casco Bay |
| State or Province | Maine |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-K-447 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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