Langley’s Great Escape

Abstract

Abstract The year 2022 will mark the centennial of the commissioning of the US Navy’s first aircraft carrier USS Langley. In late 1936, the ship was converted to become a seaplane tender and in 1939 is deployed to Manila. Following news reaching Admiral Hart and the Asiatic Fleet of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the arrival of Japanese bombers over Manila is imminent and the Langley is determined to be vulnerable to air attack. Departing Manila on December 9, Langley’s skipper Capt. Felix Stump served as the officer in tactical command of a convoy that also included the oilers Trinity and Pecos and is able to work his way through the archipelago, meeting up with the cruisers Houston and Boise which pick up the escort duties. Reaching Darwin before the end of the year, Stump turns over command to his executive officer Cdr. Robert McConnell to join the staff of the newly formed America British Dutch Australian combined command (ABDACOM) combined command under Vice Adm. William A. Glassford. Unfortunately, Langley will be lost on February 27, 1942, during a desperate attempt to transport Army P-40 pursuit planes to support Dutch efforts to defend Java.