View source for USS Langley (CVL-27)

{{short description|Independence-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy in service 1943-1947}}
{{Other ships|USS Langley}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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|Ship image=USS Langley (CVL-27) underway off Cape Henry on 6 October 1943 (80-G-87113).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Langley'' (October 1943)
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1947}}
|Ship name=*Fargo (CL-85) 9 September 1942
*Crown Point (CV-27) 31 March 1942
*Langley (CV-27) 13 November 1942
|Ship namesake=USS Langley (CV-1)
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|Ship ordered=*9 September 1942 (as CL-85)
*31 March 1942 (as CV-27)
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|Ship builder=[[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]]
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|Ship laid down=11 April 1942
|Ship launched=22 May 1943
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|Ship commissioned=31 August 1943
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|Ship decommissioned=11 February 1947
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|Ship reclassified=*CV-27, 31 March 1942
*CVL-27, 15 July 1943
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|Ship struck=20 March 1963
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|Ship fate=Transferred to French Navy 8 January 1951, Scrapped 1964
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|Ship country=France
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|France|naval}}
|Ship name=''[[French aircraft carrier La Fayette|La Fayette]]''
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|Ship acquired= 8 January 1951
|Ship commissioned= 2 June 1951
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|Ship decommissioned=20 March 1963
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|Ship identification=R96
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|Ship fate= Returned to US, 20 March 1963, Sold for scrapping 1963
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|Ship class={{Sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier}}
|Ship displacement=11,000 tons
|Ship length={{convert|622.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=*{{convert|71.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} (waterline)
*{{convert|109|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} (overall)
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|Ship draft={{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship speed={{convert|31|kn}}
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|Ship complement=1,569 officers and enlisted
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|Ship armament=26 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] guns
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|Ship aircraft=45 aircraft
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'''USS ''Langley'' (CVL-27)''' was an {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} [[light aircraft carrier]] that served the [[United States Navy]] from 1943 to 1947, and [[French Navy]] as {{ship|French aircraft carrier|La Fayette|R96|2}} from 1951 to 1963.

== Career ==
''Langley'' was named for [[Samuel Pierpont Langley]], American scientist and aviation pioneer. She carried on the name and tradition of {{USS|Langley|CV-1}}, the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, which had been sunk on 27 February 1942. The ship was originally ordered as a {{sclass|Cleveland|light cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]] and named ''Fargo'' (CL‑85). She was laid down as USS ''Crown Point'' (CV‑27) by [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Camden, New Jersey]] [[United States]] on 11 April 1942 and renamed ''Langley'' on 13 November 1942.

===1943===
''Langley'' was launched on 22 May 1943 and commissioned on 31 August 1943. After shakedown in the [[Caribbean Sea]], ''Langley'' departed [[Philadelphia]] on 6 December 1943 for [[Pearl Harbor]], where she participated in training operations.

===1944===
On 19 January 1944, she sailed with [[Fast Carrier Task Force|Task Force 58 (TF 58)]] for the attack on the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign|Marshall Islands]]. From 29 January to 6 February, ''Langley''{{'}}s Carrier Air Group 32 (CVG-32) conducted raids on [[Wotje]] and [[Taroa Island]] to support the landings at [[Battle of Kwajalein|Kwajalein]], and from 10 through 28 February at [[Battle of Eniwetok|Eniwetok]]. After a brief respite at [[Espiritu Santo]], [[New Hebrides]], ''Langley''{{'}}s aircraft hit Japanese positions on [[Palau]], [[Yap]], and [[Woleai]], [[Caroline Islands]], from 30 March to 1 April. She next proceeded to [[New Guinea]] to take part in the capture of [[Battle of Hollandia|Hollandia]] on 25 April. A mere 4 days later, the carrier engaged in the 2‑day strike against the Japanese bastion [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]]. During the raid, ''Langley'' and her aircraft accounted for some 35 enemy planes destroyed or damaged, while losing only one aircraft herself.

''Langley'' next departed [[Majuro]] on 7 June 1944 for the [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign]]. On 11 June, TF 58 launched a strike of 208 fighters and eight torpedo bombers against enemy bases and airfields on [[Saipan]] and [[Tinian]]. From 11 June to 8 August, ''Langley'' operated with TF 58 and also took part in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], 19 to 20 June 1944.

[[File:USS Langley (CVL-27) and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) underway off Ulithi on 12 December 1944 (80-G-301354).jpg|thumb|left|''Langley'' leads [[Task Group 38.3]] into [[Ulithi]] anchorage, 12 December 1944.]]

The carrier departed [[Enewetak|Eniwetok]] on 29 August and sortied with TF 38, under the command of Adm. [[William F. Halsey]] for air assaults on [[Peleliu]] and airfields in the [[Philippines]] as the preliminary steps in the [[Battle of Peleliu|invasion of the Palaus]] from 15 to 20 September 1944. During October, she operated off [[Formosa]] and the [[Penghu|Pescadores Islands]]. Later in the month, TF 38 supported the [[Battle of Leyte|landings on Leyte]]. The Japanese efforts to stop the U.S. advance included the counterattack by most available major fleet units ("Operation Sho-Go"). On 24 October, ''Langley''{{'}}s planes took part in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf#Battle of the Sibuyan Sea (24 October 1944)|Battle of the Sibuyan Sea]]. Aircraft of TF 38 attacked the [[Leyte Gulf order of battle#Japanese Forces 2|Japanese Center Force]], as it steamed toward the [[San Bernardino Strait]] and the American beachhead at [[Tacloban]]. The Japanese units temporarily retired. The following day, upon word of Japanese aircraft carriers north of [[Leyte]], TF 38 raced to intercept. In the ensuing [[Battle of Leyte Gulf|Battle off Cape Engaño]], the Japanese lost four carriers, two battleships, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and five destroyers. ''Langley''{{'}}s aircraft assisted in the destruction of the carriers [[Japanese aircraft carrier Zuihō|''Zuihō'']] and [[Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku|''Zuikaku'']], the latter being the only remaining carrier of the six that had participated in the [[Pearl Harbor attack]].

[[File:USS Langley (CVL-27) during Typhoon Cobra, December 1944.jpg|thumb|''Langley'' rolling heavily to starboard during [[Typhoon Cobra]], 18 December 1944. Taken from [[USS Essex (CV-9)|USS ''Essex'']].]]
During November 1944, ''Langley'' supported the Philippine landings and strikes the [[Manila Bay]] area. Aircraft of ''Langley''{{'}}s CVG-44 attacked Japanese reinforcement convoys, and airfields on [[Luzon]] and in the [[Cape Engaño (Luzon)|Cape Engaño]] area. On 1 December, the carrier withdrew to [[Ulithi]] for reprovisioning.

===1945===
During January 1945, ''Langley'' participated in the [[South China Sea raid]] supporting [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf]]. Raids were made against Formosa, [[French Indochina]], and the [[China]] coast from 30 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. ''Langley{{'}}s'' task group was attacked by two dive bombers on 21 January. One {{cvt|50|kg|adj=on}} bomb struck the center of ''Langley{{'}}s'' flight deck forward and penetrated to the gallery deck to explode among the officers' staterooms just aft of the forecastle. The fire was quickly extinguished, and the flight deck repaired to continue flight operations. The second bomber inflicted greater damage on {{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|6}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hickerson |first=Loren |year=1986 |title=The ''Langley'' Legacy |journal=Proceedings |volume=Supplement |issue=April |pages=65–74 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref>

''Langley'' next joined in the sweeps against [[Tokyo]] and [[Nansei Shoto]] in support of the landings on [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] between 10 February and 18 March 1945. She next raided airfields on the Japanese homeland, and arrived off [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] on 23 March. Until 11 May, the ship operated either off [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]] or took part in strikes on [[Kyushu]], [[Japan]], in an effort to destroy kamikaze bases in southern Japan which were launching desperate and deadly suicide attacks.

After touching Ulithi and Pearl Harbor, she steamed to [[San Francisco]], arriving on 3 June for repairs and modernization at the [[Hunters Point Naval Shipyard]]. She departed 1 August and reached Pearl Harbor on 8 August 1945. While there, word arrived that hostilities had ended. She completed two [[Operation Magic Carpet|"Magic Carpet"]] voyages to the Pacific, transporting soldiers back to the United States, and got underway on 1 October for Philadelphia.

===1946===
She departed from that port 15 November for the first of two trips to Europe transporting U.S. Army troops returning home from that theater. She returned to Philadelphia on 6 January 1946 and was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group, on 31 May 1946. ''Langley'' was decommissioned on 11 February 1947.

== Transfer to France ==
{{main|French aircraft carrier La Fayette (R96)}}
''Langley'' was taken out of "mothballs", refurbished and transferred to [[France]] under the [[Mutual Defense Assistance Act|Mutual Defense Assistance Program]] on 8 January 1951.  After more than a decade of [[French Navy]] service as {{ship|French aircraft carrier|La Fayette|R96|2}}, she was returned to the [[United States]] on 20 March 1963 and sold to the Boston Metals Co., [[Baltimore]], Maryland, for scrapping.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Porte-avions La Fayette |url=http://www.netmarine.net/bat/porteavi/lafayett/index.htm |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=www.netmarine.net}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/cvl27.htm The original version of this article based on US Navy public domain text.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411141156/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/cvl27.htm |date=11 April 2008 }}
* {{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/langley-cvl-27-ii.html}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Langley (CVL-27)}}
* {{navsource|02/27}}
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cvl27.htm hazegray.org: USS ''Langley''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102124810/http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cvl27.htm |date=2 November 2019 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513155811/http://www.ninesisters.com/langley.htm USS Langley] at Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project

{{Cleveland class cruiser}}
{{Independence class aircraft carrier}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langley (CVL-27)}}
[[Category:Independence-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States]]
[[Category:Independence-class aircraft carriers of the French Navy]]<!-- balance of French categories at [[French aircraft carrier La Fayette (R96)]] -->