A family walks down the pathway toward the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier at Patriots Point, surrounded by American flags and calm waters.
A family walks down the pathway toward the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier at Patriots Point, surrounded by American flags and calm waters.
Back to news
Share
news

Video Thursday: First US Navy Carrier, USS Langley CV-1, Eighty-Seven Years Ago!

Date

(Photo Naval History and Heritage Command)

On 17 November 1924, USS Langley (CV-1) reported for duty with the United States Navy's Battle Fleet after two years in experimental status, thus becoming the Navy's  first operational aircraft carrier. Head of the Bureau of Naval Aeronautics was Rear Admiral William Adger Moffett who had pushed for the development of the Navy's new air arm.

(Photo Naval History and Heritage Command)

Below are a few old movies of the Langley in action. In the Centennial Year of Naval Aviation (2010), the United States Navy has now been operating aircraft carriers for eighty-seven years (1924-2011)!

Here is the USS Langley passing through the Panama Canal...

A short history of the USS Langley...