| USS Wasp (CV-7) enters Chesapeake Bay, Hampton Roads, Virginia, on May 27, 1942, as part of Task Force 38 with USS Brooklyn (CL-40), USS Wainwright (DD-419), USS Lang (DD-399), USS Edison (DD-439), USS Sterett (DD-407), USS Trippe (DD-403) and USS Ingraham (DD-444). Accompanying Wasp in this photo is USS Edison. Lang, Wainwright, and Sterett screened Wasp through the Pentland Firth and the Minches in the Outer Hebrides from Scapa Flow to Greenock, Scotland on May 17. Wainwright separated and went to Iceland independently for convoy patrol. Task Force 38 left Greenock and the Clyde on May 18, 1942, to Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada, and then to Hampton Roads. This photo was taken after Wasp launched her aircraft at 0632 Hours. Task Force 38 passed Cape Henry at 0758. The Task Force moored at 0945 Hours at Pier 4, Hampton Roads, and was refueled. Wasp had completed 2 ferry missions to Malta that Spring, and was recalled when USS Saratoga (CV-3) was damaged by a torpedo in January and USS Lexington (CV-2) was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 8. Wasp departed June 6, 1942, for the Pacific; that same day, USS Yorktown was sunk in the Battle of Midway. Wasp herself was sunk in action by Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-19 on September 19, 1942. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2000.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.58 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5672 x 4511 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 26, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Hampton Roads |
| State or Province | Virginia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-12240 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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