World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUSS Wasp was the lead and only ship in her class. She was the eighth American ship to bear that name. After radio direction finder calibration, her shakedown cruise took her to the Caribbean Sea, conducting carrier qualification tests for pilots while en route. She spent 4 Jul 1936, United States' Independence Day, in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At end of Jul, she was in Boston Navy Yard for post-shakedown repairs. Her final trials were not completed until 26 Sep 1940. She joined Carrier Division 3's Patrol Force on 11 Oct 1940, operating out of Norfolk, Virginia, United States. While with Carrier Division 3 she provided Army aircraft the opportunity to test taking off from an aircraft carrier. She served in the Caribbean Sea and off the US east coast until the United States began to make patrols deep into the Atlantic Ocean. On 23 Jul 1941, Wasp loaded up 33 Army aircraft and sailed for Iceland five days later. She was escorted by destroyers O'Brien and Walke, and later joined by cruiser Vincennes. She delivered the aircraft to Iceland, and returned to Norfolk for more carrier qualifications and other flight training. On 24 Aug, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt broke her flag on Wasp. She anchored in Trinidad on 2 Sep after a rumored hunt for German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. On 6 Sep, she began her patrol "to enforce the neutrality of the United States in the Atlantic." However, the United States was nowhere near neutral at this period of time. Wasp, along with many other American warships, escorted British merchant ships in convoys.

ww2dbaseWhen the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941, Wasp was at Grassy Bay, Bermuda. After the tension with French forces in the Caribbean Sea lessened, she sailed for Norfolk Navy Yard to commence an overhaul that lasted until 14 Jan 1942. She sailed for Newfoundland and Maine on 16 Mar then returned to Norfolk. On 26 Mar she sailed for Britain to reinforce the Royal Navy. After stops at Scapa Flow and Glasgow, she took on the mission to ferry 47 aircraft to the British island of Malta in the Mediterranean; she was escorted by Force W of the Royal Navy and two American destroyers. The mission was successful as she delivered the British Spitfire aircraft to Malta, though many of the Spitfires were later destroyed by German Luftwaffe on the ground. On 3 May 1942, she delivered another group of Spitfire aircraft to Malta along side of British carrier Eagle that did the same.

ww2dbaseDuring the Malta missions, the Battle of Coral Sea took place and Midway was looming so it was felt American naval aviation in the Pacific needed to be strengthened. It was decided Wasp was to be transferred. After hastened repairs at Norfolk Navy Yard, Captain John Reeves who had been with the ship since commissioning was relieved by Captain Forrest Sherman on 31 May (Reeves was being promoted to flag rank), and Wasp departed for Panama Canal, where she became the flagship of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes. She arrived in San Diego on 19 Jun, loaded up additional aircraft, and headed for the South Pacific. Her aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Tulagi and Guadalcanal to assist in the landing of the two islands by more than 10,000 American Marines.

ww2dbaseOn 15 Sep 1942, Wasp was in a group of warships that escorted transports bound for Guadalcanal. While in the process of spotting and launching combat air patrol fighters, she was struck by two out of a spread of four torpedoes launched from Japanese submarine I-19. Amidst aircraft launching and recovering operations, the abundance of fuel and ammunition quickly turned Wasp into an inferno. The water mains were also heavily damaged during the explosions, which left firefighters aboard no choice but to form bucket brigades. After a conference with his executive officer Commander Fred Dickey, Captain Sherman ordered abandon ship at 1520 after confirming the order with Rear Admiral Noyes. Strangely, however, those who served in the engineering spaces did not realize the seriousness of the fire when they heard the order. Engineering officer Lieutenant Commander Ascherfeld noted after the war that his men had no idea of the uncontrollable fires until they made their way above. After ensuring an orderly abandonment, Sherman left the ship at 1600. By nightfall, Wasp had proven to be unwilling to go down, and destroyer Lansdowne was ordered to fire torpedoes to scuttle the ship. Five torpedoes were fired, but only three exploded. She sank at 2100. Of the 2247 men on her at the time, 193 were killed, and 366 were wounded. All but one of her aircraft made a safe trip to carrier Hornet nearby before Wasp sank. I-19 escaped safely after her strike to report the good news to Tokyo.

Aircraft Carrier Wasp (Wasp-class) Interactive Map

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Wasp (Wasp-class) Operational Timeline

Visitor Submitted Comments

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3.  C. Peter Chen says:
19 Dec 2007 08:14:55 AM

To the previous poster that mentioned the Marianas and Leyte Campaigns, sorry, you got the wrong Wasp! The one you are thinking about is the Essex-class carrier designated CV-18. This page is about CV-7.

4.  Alan Chanter says:
1 Aug 2009 01:53:30 AM

Following Wasp's second delivery of fighters to Malta, Prime Minister Winston Churchill would comment(in typical Churchillian style)"Who says that a Wasp can't sting twice?".

28.  David Stubblebine says:
17 Feb 2016 03:47:36 PM

Anonymous #27:
“when the ship got towed out of the water”? The ship was sunk and remains there still. I don’t
understand the question.

34.  David Stubblebine says:
27 Mar 2017 12:18:42 PM

To Anonymous (above):
Wasp muster rolls list Seaman 1st class Rupert F Durrance, service number 223 65 88, who came aboard 29 Apr 1940 from the Naval Training Station at Newport, RI and was transferred off the ship 31 Jan 1941 to the sub base at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. He then shows up on a few submarines, most notably the USS Blackfin in 1944, by this time becoming a Signalman 3rd class.

37.  David Stubblebine says:
20 May 2017 04:51:26 PM

Kristen Cathell (above):
According to the Wasp Muster Rolls, Yates Thomas, service number 266 21 63, who enlisted 30 Sep 1940 at Richmond VA, was received aboard 6 Dec 1940 from the Naval Training Station at Norfolk VA. As a survivor of the sinking, he was transferred off the Wasp’s rolls on 19 Nov 1942 back to Norfolk VA. He next shows up as plank-owner aboard the light carrier USS San Jacinto on 15 Dec 1943 (but was likely aboard weeks before during the fitting out) and served aboard through war’s end. See http://ww2db.com/faq/#3.

54.  ALAN CHANTER says:
17 Sep 2020 04:44:29 AM

One of the most famous names to have served aboard USS Wasp was the Hollywood actor Lieutenant Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who witnessed the delivery of Spitfires to Malta.