The USS Langley was the US Navy’s first aircraft ... s deck – the first ship-based airplane takeoff in US military history. A few days later, the first landing was completed, when an ...

Emerging from the shipyards at Portsmouth, Virginia, it became the USS Langley, the Navy’s first true aircraft carrier. This innovative move marked the beginning of a new era in naval power.

the Langley was converted into a seaplane tender, and then follows her career into World War II until she was sunk in the Netherlands Indies by Japanese aircraft in May of 1942. A very good look at ...