Her length was 688 ft (209.7 m) at the waterline and 741 ft 3 in (225.9 m) overall at flying deck level. Her crew ballooned from 1,800 when commissioned to 2,100 during wartime.Ģ technical views of USS Wasp (the ) Dimensions:Īs designed, USS Wasp displaced 14,700 long tons (14,900 t) standard, and up to 19,116 long tons (19,423 t) fully loaded. This idea was another way to clear the hangar from the space taken by a lift, therefore allowing more planes to be stacked in place. The two sides hydraulic arms moved the platform in a half-circle up and down. It consisted of a platform for the front wheels and outrigger where its tail wheel went (plus careful handling !). USS Wasp innovated though, being the first USN (and aircraft carrier at large) ever fitted with a deck-edge elevator. Another point to explain USS Wasp loss was the relative lack of damage control experience of her team as well. These were seen as design flaws only after she was built, forced by the tonnage limit, but in the hope she would be unarmoured in wartime. Even the high octane, highly inflammable aviation gasoline tanks were not protected, nor the boiler rooms, or ammunitions stores, even by a stray of armour. But this still granted her a 12,500 nautical miles range, versus 12,000 for the Yorktown, a true tour de force.Īnother obvious sacrifice was the absence of armor and no ASW bulges of in-depth underwater defence, making her vulnerable to torpedoes (which proved her downfall). The smaller hull meant the ship could carry only 1,600 tonnes of oil, versus at least 2,750 on the Yorktown and up to 4,360 tonnes in fact). The latter, with the Lexingtons, defined the proper speed of a carrier battle fleet and was one reason because both Ranger and Wasp stayed in the Atlantic fleet. As a result she could reach on paper 29,5 knots (like Ranger), still lass than the 32.5 knots of the Yorktown. As a result, she was equipped with a compact British machinery, two Parsons geared steam turbines and six Yarrow boilers. To save weight, and space as well, engineers wanted to give her a low-power propulsion machinery, resulting in an output of 75,000 shp (56,000 kW) compared to Yorktown’s 120,000 shp (or the Essex-class at 150,000 shp !). Quite a serious challenge since it called for a reduction of many areas, notably protection, and range. USS Wasp was the results of the hopes for the USN admiralty to squeeze a large air group onto a 25% lighter vessel than the Yorktown-class. But the ideas about cramming as many planes as possible in a hull became a challenge for the engineers, and discussions back and forth between BuShips and the admiralty. There was just enough tonnage left for something in between the 17,250 and 13,800 tonnes range. By then the idea of a 13,800 tonnes carrier, at first thought like the standard, became an afterthought. After the Ranger, considered too small, the admiralty decided to “burn” their 23,000 tonnes slots by a remarkable class resulting of these tests: The Yorktown class, designed in 1933-34. Wargames showed severe attrition would favor larger designs, to accomodate as many aircraft as possible. The Washington treaty CV’s displacement limitsĪfter the tonnage dedicated to the two Lexingtons, this left room for three 23,000 long ton carriers, four 17,250 ton carriers, and five 13,800 ton carriers. USS Wasp entering Hampton Roads, Design development She met her fate during the the invasion of Guadalcanal, torpedoed by a submarine. Since she was alone, like Ranger she served in the Atlantic, before being recalled in June 1942 to the Pacific to compensate for the losses at Coral Sea and Midway. They eventually came out with a mix between the Ranger (CV-4) and the Yorktown, a carrier which was still able to carry 74 aircraft rather than 96 or even 76 as in the Ranger. Coming after the excellent Yorktown class, this gave the engineers an occasion to shine by taking the best features of the CV-5 and 6 by then in construction since 1934, but constrained on a limited tonnage, 14,500 rather than 20,000 tonnes. She was there to “consume” the remaining tonnage of the Washington treaty concerning aircraft carriers. The main reason of this was pure, simple mathematics. USS Wasp (CV-7) was the seventh USN aircraft carrier, sole in her class.
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