| The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) shortly after commissioning in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Note Grumman F3F biplane fighters and Vought SB2U Vindicator dive bombers on the flight deck. Wasp ran her final sea trials in Hampton Roads on September 26, 1940. Ready now to join the fleet and assigned to Carrier Division (CarDiv) 3, Patrol Force, Wasp shifted to Naval Operating Base Norfolk from the Norfolk Navy Yard on October 11. There, she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the United States Army Air Force 8th Pursuit Group and 9 O-47As from the 2nd Observation Squadron, as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2F “Ducks” on October 12. Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the takeoff runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the 1st time Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the ship’s use in the ferry role she performed so well in World War II. Wasp then proceeded on toward Cuba in company with Plunkett (DD-431) and Niblack (DD-424). The carrier’s planes flew routine training flights, including dive-bombing and machine-gun practice, over the next 4 days. Upon arrival at Guantanamo, Wasp’s saluting batteries barked out a 13-gun salute to Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis (August 26, 1877 – May 27, 1961), Commander, Atlantic Squadron, embarked in Texas (BB-35) on October 19. For the remainder of October and into November, Wasp trained in the Guantanamo Bay area. Her planes flew carrier qualification and refresher training flights, while her gunners sharpened their skills in short-range battle practices against targets towed by the new fleet tug Seminole (AT-65). While operating in the Culebra, Virgin Islands, area, Wasp again teamed with the aviators of the 1st Marine Air Wing, giving the flying leathernecks practice in carrier takeoffs and landings. Her work in the Caribbean finished, Wasp sailed for Norfolk and arrived shortly after 1200 Hours on November 26. She remained at the Norfolk Navy Yard through Christmas 1940. Then, after 1st conducting degaussing experiments with Hannibal (AG-1), she steamed independently to Cuba in January 1941. Less than 2 years after USS Wasp was commissioned, on September 15, 1942, the carrier was torpedoed by Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-19. The spread of 4 torpedoes sank USS Wasp and damaged USS North Carolina (BB-55). USS O’Brien (DD-415) was also hit by the same salvo and broke up due to damage sustained in the attack a month later. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2265.jpg |
| Image Size | 1,014.35 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2920 x 2294 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 27, 1940 |
| Location | Hampton Roads |
| City | Norfolk |
| State or Province | Virginia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-463431 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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