“AMERICA’S FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER – – USS Langley and the Dawn of U.S. Naval Aviation” byDavid F. Winkler. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD; 2024, 374 pages, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼’, hardcover,$47.50. Visit www.usni.org. eBook edition also available.Here, in this high valued Naval read, author David Winkier not only considers the post-WorldWar I debate for procuring carriers, but also the decision to convert the Jupiter, a coal carryingcollier, and the identification of constructor Clayton Simmers as the father of the Americanaircraft carrier, not necessarily “Billy” Mitchell, and why. David is particularly knowledgeable,and obviously mesmerized, by the evolution of the Langley as an experimental ship tied to theintroduction of the new naval doctrine of the mid to late 1930s. Navy brass saw the Langley asan operational aircraft carrier that would change the way the Navy fought wars at sea. Ofcourse, it is also a record of the vessel’s service in World War II until the ship’s final posting tothe Asiatic Fleet, when she went to her death on February 27, 1942. Although the Langley hadreceived several direct bomb hits which crippled her dead in the water, she remained afloatuntil the order was finally given to the USS Whipple to torpedo her. During the hours thatfollowed, Lieutenant Commander Karpe of the Whipple recovered 233 of the Langley crew.Knowing survivors remained to be rescued, his own ship now loaded with seamen he had spentan afternoon, evening, and night plucking from the ocean, he felt he had to leave the scene dueto a suspected Japanese submarine contact. Winkler writes, “With heavy heart the LieutenantCommander decided that carrying on increasingly risked the lives of his crew, of those they hadjust rescued, and his ship. All aboard, most teary-eyed, could hear the feeble cries of those stillin the cold waters, the final sounds of the abandoned sailors fading astern. Some 263 were losteither during the Langley attack, or her twin, the Pecos, in that same air attack nearby. 137survivors were picked up. Chapter 16, The Aftermath, was difficult to finish. For this reviewer, itwill be as hard to dim as a scene he still carries since a young teen, and most certainly to hisgrave: two American carrier pilots retrieved from the Pacific by Japanese destroyer sailors aftera failed bombing attack. Made somewhat comfortable the rest of the and night, the two atsunup, hands tied behind their backs, were marched up to the deck where they believed theywould have a Japanese-style breakfast. Instead, facing the rising sun, anchor chains were placedaround their necks, then, without a word, connected together, were shoved overboard. Typing
this, I still need to wipe away a tear or two.
