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A Brief History of U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers
Loss of USS Wasp (CV 7)

Sources: United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1970 [NAVAIR 00-80P-1]
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

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Sept. 15, 1942 - The Loss of USS Wasp (CV 7). On Tuesday, 15 Sept. 1942, USS Wasp (CV 7) and USS Hornet (CV 8), along with USS North Carolina (BB 55) and 10 other warships, were escorting transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island. The crew had been at General Quarters from an hour before sunrise to about 1000 when the morning search returned to the ship. The ship's planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions. Afterwards, the ship went to condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters.

There was no contact with the enemy during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 1215.

About 1420, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight fighters and 18 SBD-3s as well as to recover eight F4F-3s and three SBDs that had been airborne since before noon. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, then turned to starboard. The air department was at flight quarters, refueling and respotting the ship's planes for the afternoon mission. Suddenly, at 1444, a look-out called out, "three torpedoes... three points forward of the starboard beam!"

A spread of four torpedoes, fired the Japanese submarine I-19, rapidly approached the carrier. Wasp's helmsman put the ship's rudder over hard to starboard, but it was too late. Two torpedoes smashed into the ship in the vicinity of gasoline tanks and magazines.

In quick succession, fiery blasts ripped through the forward part of the ship. Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about like toys and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped. Planes triced up in the hangar overhead fell and landed upon those on the hangar deck; fires broke out almost simultaneously in the hangar and below decks. Soon, the heat of the intense gasoline fires detonated the ready ammunition at the forward antiaircraft guns on the starboard side; and fragments showered the forward part of the ship. The number two 1.1-inch gun mount was blown overboard.

Water mains in the forward part of the ship were broken by the force of the explosions and thus were useless. There was no water available to fight the conflagration forward; and the fires continued to set off ammunition, bombs, and gasoline. As the ship listed to starboard between 10 and 15 degrees, oil and gasoline, released from the tanks by the torpedo hit, caught fire on the water.

Wasp's skipper, Capt. Forrest P. Sherman, slowed to 10 knots, ordering the rudder put to port to try to get the wind on the starboard bow; he then went astern with right rudder until the wind was on the starboard quarter, in an attempt to keep the fire forward. At that point, some flames made central station untenable, and communication circuits went dead. Soon, a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hangar, and, within 24 minutes of the initial attack, three additional major gasoline vapor explosions occurred.

Capt. Sherman consulted with his executive officer, Cmdr. Fred C. Dickey. The two men saw no course but to abandon ship, as all fire-fighting was proving ineffectual. The survivors would have to be gotten off quickly to prevent unnecessary loss of life.

Reluctantly, after consulting with Rear Adm. Leigh Noyes, Capt. Sherman ordered "abandon ship" at 1520. All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats. Many unwounded men had to abandon the ship from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity.

The departure, as Capt. Sherman observed it, looked "orderly", and there was no panic. The only delays occurred when many men showed reluctance to leave until all the wounded had been taken off. The abandonment took nearly 40 minutes; and at 1600 -- satisfied that no one was left on deck, in the galleries, or in the hangar aft -- Capt. Sherman swung over the lifeline on the fantail and slid into the sea.

USS Laffey (DD 459), USS Lansdowne (DD 486), USS Helena (CL 50), and USS Salt Lake City(CL 25) rescued 1,946 men. There were 193 killed and 366 wounded.

The fires continued to spread through the abandoned ship, traveling aft. Four more violent explosions erupted as night began to fall. USS Lansdowne was directed to sink the burning hulk, and she fired five torpedoes into the dying ship's hull. Three hits, yet Wasp remained afloat. By now, the flames had enveloped the stern. The carrier literally floated in a burning pool of gasoline and oil.

Finally, at 2100, Wasp sank by the bow.

Last Update: 15 June 2009