Originally
USS Jupiter
1913-1920

Length
542 feet

Beam
65'

Draft
18' 11"

Speed
15 knots

Tons
11,500

Crew
468

Armament
4 x 5" Guns
55 (max) aircraft

Ship History
Seaplane tender Langley, the ship that had once been the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier (converted to a seaplane tender in 1936)

Wartime History
At the outbreak of World War II, Langley was anchored off Cavite, in the Philippines. She departed 8 December and proceeded to Balikpapan, Borneo, and Darwin, Australia, where she arrived January 1, 1942. Until 11 January Langley assisted the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in running antisubmarine patrols out of Darwin. She was then assigned to American-British-Dutch-Australian forces assembling in Indonesia to challenge the Japanese thrust in that direction.

Convoy Duty & Sinking
She departed Fremantle, Australia, February 22, 1942 in convoy, and left the convoy 5 days later to deliver 32 P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java carrying 32 USAAF P-40s earmarked for the defense of Java. She was bombed by Japanese Naval land attack planes, 75 miles south of Tjilatjap and 16 crewmembers were killed. Irreparably damaged, the Langley was scuttled by destroyer Whipple (DD-217) on February 27, 1942.

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