USS Langley (CVL-27)

History of the USS Langley Aircraft Carrier

The USS Langley (CV-27) was originally planned as USS Fargo (CL-85). She was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in New Jersey on April 11, 1942. She was launched on May 22, 1943 and commissioned on August 31, 1943 under the command of Captain W.M. Dillon.

When USS Langley entered World War II combat, she spent January and February 1944 in the Marshall Islands, conducting air raids on Wotje and Taora, and supporting the troop landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok. Her aircraft launched strikes at Japanese positions throughout the central Pacific and western New Guinea, including Palau, Yap, Woleai, Hollandia and Truk. She was part of the assault on the Mariana Islands in June, as well as the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

USS Langley moved on to support operations in the Palaus, the Philippines, Formosa and the Ryukyus. The aircraft carrier took part in the very successful Battle of Leyte Gulf, including the battle of Cape Engaño, before joining the Third Fleet in the South China Sea. She supported the invasion of Iwo Jima and launched air strikes on Okinawa from March to May 1945, knocking out kamikaze bases in southern Japan.

The USS Langley headed back to San Francisco, California via Ulithi and Pearl Harbor for overhaul in June and July. She was on her way back to the combat zone when the war ended in August. The aircraft carrier served Operation Magic Carpet duty, bringing American troops home from the war in both the South Pacific and Europe.

USS Langley was decommissioned on February 11, 1947. Under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, she was transferred to the French Navy in 1951, where she served as the La Fayette until March 20, 1963. She was sold to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland for scrap.

The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .

Sources include:

John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, "Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences," Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)

U.S. Navy, A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers – USS Langley