Wasp 1942
| No | Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comm | Fate |
| CV7 | Wasp | Bethlehem, Quincy | 1/4/1936 | 4/4/1939 | 25/4/1940 | sunk 15/9/1942 |
|
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 |
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 dive bombers, TBD Devastator torpedo bombers, SOC Seagull reconnaissance planes) |
|
Complement |
2167 |
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 lifts (14.6 x 13.4 m, 7.7 t) and 4 catapults H-II (2 flight deck and 1 doubled athwartships catapult in hangar). Aircraft fuel stowage: 613 500 l.
| 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 |
Ship project history: The decision to built CV7 Wasp was accepted 27/3/1934, simultaneously with conversion of CV1 Langley to an air 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. The order for building has been given out 19/9/1935.
The construction of Wasp had some original features. The asymmetric hull became unique line of the ship: so designers indemnified weight of island superstructure without ballast stowage on a port side. Besides, she differed by unusual arrangement of engine and boiler rooms in en echelone, latter was repeated later on Essex design.
As experiment, in a fore part of portside an additional deck-edge elevator of the T-shaped form was fitted. There were 4 catapults: two on flight deck and two more, arranged transverse, in a hangar.
Because of the limited displacement armour protection was very light.
Ship protection: Only lower (main) deck over machinery was armoured. Steering gear compartment was protected by 87mm belt and 31mm deck.
Modernizations: 1/1942: + CXAM-1 radar
6/1942: - 18 x 1 - 12.7/90; + 1 x 4 - 40/56 Bofors, 32 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon
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 after 6 hours sunk by destroyer Lansdowne.
Wasp 1942
© Ivan Gogin, 2008-10