A little history about Wasp and related subjects:

 

• Interested in the other U.S. Navy ships named Wasp? There's been 10 Wasps, beginning in 1775 with the Revolutionary War. Take a shot at an Illustrated List of Stingers and see a little history about each ship. Can you imagine a side-paddle riverboat in the U.S. Navy?

 

• On June 1944, Wasp was hit by the Japanese and CV-18 suffered its first loss of a crew member to the war. Shipmate Curtis Grant sent a copy of a 1944 issue of the "Waspirit" describing some of the subsequent events.

 

• On 26 April 1952, Wasp collided with the destroyer- minesweeper Hobson. Over 175 men of the Hobson's crew went to the bottom on that cold and blustery winter night in the North Atlantic. Shipmate Charlie Wolfrum sent in a few newspaper articles to share with you here. Read on ...

• Mike Weeks has compiled a list of Wasp skippers, from 1943 to 1972. Mike's list is now complete, but he's still hoping to clear up a couple of mystery dates. Take a look at Mike's Skipper List.

 

• Shipmates LeRoy Jones and Pete Sneed donated images of things that are fit for our 1940's Museum Page.

 

• Shipmate Gene Dougherty sent in a few articles that may Pique your interest. Visit our 1950's Museum Page.

 

• Shipmate Mike Francis contributed photos of the Wasp Decommissioning Coin he received and he shares it with you at our 1970's Museum Page.

 

• Wasp fought and earned many honors and awards during World War II, including eight Battle Stars. Visit our World War II Awards Page and see a list of the crew's accomplishments.

 

• Charles ("Chuck") Houston is publishing a book about the World War II events and experiences in Wasp's own Air Group 14 and aboard Wasp. The book is flush full of memories, facts, photos, maps, and diagrams taken from crew members and their diaries. Take a look at Chuck's work on "Flying With Iron Angels."

 

• Want to know something about Wasp's Division Designations? You know .. . what exactly was the V-2 Division? Frank Neilson made a list of World War II Divisions.

Fred Miller, a Photographers Mate, sent a note that credit for this photo should go to PHC Robert Fallon, HS-11. Fred served aboard the Wasp at the time this photo was taken. Chris Newton (maker of one of the other Wasp pages) first sent me this photo. He told me that a fellow who served on the leading destroyer in this shot (USS Owens) sent it to him. The destroyer crewman explained that it was the Wasp and her task force (Task Force Bravo) during a 1960's cruise to the Mediterranean. A third Photographer's Mate, Bob Furrow, wrote and said that he remembers Fallon taking this photo in 1961. Whenever and whoever, it sure is a nice recruiting poster, isn't it?

Shipmate Frank Christman later sent a large print of the photo. I rescanned it to make a clearer image for this page (see?). The back of the photo doesn't provide a year or date, but it shows the title is "Task Group Bravo at Sea." Wasp's photo shop provided additional information on the back of the photo - left to right:

• USS Holder (DDE-819)
• USS Rich (DDE-820)
• USS Wasp (CVS-18)
• USS Owens (DDE-827)
• USS Damato (DDE-871)
• USS Wilson (DDE-847)
• Aircraft of CVSG-52

 

A short history of the Ninth U.S.S. Wasp:

The keel of Aircraft Carrier, CV-18, was laid on March 18, 1942 at Quincy, Massachusetts. Although originally intended to be the USS Oriskany, the ship was renamed USS Wasp and launched on 17 August 1943. She was commissioned U.S.S. Wasp on 24 November 1943. Click on this small photo to see an Official Navy Photo of the Wasp's Commissioning (I found this on the US Navy Page). CV-18 was the ninth Navy ship to bear the Wasp name. Soon after commissioning, Wasp was mixing it up with the Japanese, far away in the Pacific, at Wake, Tinian, Guam, Iwo Jima, Mindanoa, Luzon, Palmas, Formosa, Hong Kong, Okinawa, and finally Yokosuka and Tokyo, Japan.

In March 1945, while heading for strikes directly on airfields and naval bases in Japan, Wasp suffered her only serious injury of the war. A bomb pierced the flight and hanger decks and exploded in the compartment below where men were lined up for chow. We lost more than a 100 shipmates that day. The crew if the Mighty Stinger recovered fast and had her aircraft in the air with full striking load within one hour.

On 15 November 1945, work was completed on Wasp to accommodate temporary assignment as a troop transport in Operation "Magic Carpet." She could carry 5,500 enlisted men and 400 officers as passengers. On 17 February 1947, after the carpet ride, Wasp was given a rest. She was decommissioned and attached to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Wasp was later removed from the reserve fleet and ordered to the New York Naval Shipyard for alteration so she could join the awakening "Jet Age." She was refitted to accommodate larger, heavier, and faster aircraft. When the refitting was complete, Wasp was recommissioned on 10 September 1951 and she joined the Atlantic Fleet in November of 1951.

Wasp was designated an attack carrier in October 1952, as CVA-18. Conversion from the old straight flight deck to the more useful angle deck was completed in December 1955. On 1 November 1956, Wasp started her third and final designation as an anti-submarine carrier, CVS-18. On 31 January 1957, Wasp steamed out of her home port of San Diego, California, for the last time. She headed south on the Pacific, rounded Cape Horn, then practiced operations in the South Atlantic and Caribbean before arriving at her new home port, Boston, Massachusetts, on 21 March 1957.

In 1965 and 1966, Wasp regained fame as an agent for peace by recovering five pairs of Gemini astronauts (Gemini IV, VI, VII, IX, and XII). The Mighty Stinger was decommissioned 1 July 1972, and sold for scrap on 23 May 1973.

Think of her when you reach for your razor (sniff).

Pretty short history, huh? Thankfully, Patrick Clancey has provided a much detailed history of Wasp for us. Pat hammered CV-18's history into HTML code from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships for your benefit. Check it out; its easy reading. Thanks Pat!