| Original caption: “Langley Aerial, starboard bow, underway, aircraft on deck.” The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1) underway, starboard bow, with aircraft on deck on June 4, 1927, during a Fleet Review in Hampton Roads, watched by United States President Calvin Coolidge (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) on the Presidential Yacht Mayflower. It’s interesting to note the light patches on the forward flight deck not seen in any other time frame. Perhaps newly laid planking not yet stained. This was the 1st American aircraft carrier. Langley underwent conversion to serve as a test platform for the aircraft carrier ship type. As the United States Navy’s 1st, she was the scene of numerous milestone events. The 534-foot (162-meter) flight deck was constructed over the ship’s original bridge. Concrete was poured into her coal holds for ballast. Large spaces below permitted the stowage of aircraft, and a crane hoisted them into place. Langley stood out from San Diego, California, on January 15, 1927, and steamed to Seattle. Arriving on January 19, she hoisted 27 Boeing FB-5 fighters onboard and departed on January 22, returning to San Diego on January 26. The carrier then headed to sea on February 17, to participate in Fleet Problem 7 as part of Admiral Richard H. Jackson’s (May 10, 1866 – October 2, 1971) “Orange” fleet. The area of operations would be in the waters off both sides of the Panamanian isthmus. The carrier reached the area around Balboa on March 3 during the Preliminary Joint Army-Navy Exercise (March 1-5). That same day, Captain Joseph M. “Bull” Reeves (November 20, 1872 – March 25, 1948) on board Langley, ordered notional strikes by floatplanes and carrier-launched bombers escorted by fighters against a Blue airfield as well as the Miraflores Lock, which rendered the lock inoperable. As a result of a corresponding Blue aerial counterstrike, Langley suffered some damage. After the exercise’s completion, Langley began her transit of the Panama Canal on March 7 and arrived at Colón the next day. Now part of the Blue force, she went to sea on the 9th with the initiation of Fleet Problem 7 (March 9-14). Steaming into the Caribbean, the carrier launched aircraft for fleet defense and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) operations en route and arrived at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on March 13. The exercise concluded the next day. With that, Langley and the fleet departed on March 15, 1927. Crossing the Windward Passage, they mustered for a fleet review at Gonaïves, Haiti. From March 28 to April 22, Langley and the fleet operated in the waters around Cuba and Hispaniola, shuttling between the anchorages at Guantánamo and Gonaïves. Finally, on April 22, the fleet steamed to New York, reaching on April 29. That same day, Langley entered the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, to undergo an overhaul. Clearing the yard on May 15, she shifted to Gravesend Bay, New York, and anchored there. The following day, she steamed to Newport, Rhode Island, arriving May 28, before returning to Hampton Roads on May 29 for the 1st time since her transfer to the Pacific. Underway again on June 4, the carrier steamed past Cape Charles, Virginia, out into the Atlantic. Rounding Florida, she continued into the Gulf of Mexico and stopped briefly at Pensacola on June 9. Soon underway for her return to San Diego, she transited the Panama Canal into the Pacific on June 14. Departing Balboa on June 17, she steamed back into San Diego and docked at North Island on June 27. After remaining in port until August 19, Langley spent the remainder of 1927 on short-term training cruises to points along the southern California coast, returning to her base at San Diego. Her last return was from San Pedro to San Diego on December 16. She spent the Christmas holiday in port and did not get underway again until the following month. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2266.jpg |
| Image Size | 885.69 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2917 x 2263 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 4, 1927 |
| Location | |
| City | Hampton Roads |
| State or Province | Virginia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-460108 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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