Neutrality Patrol
In January 1940, Semmes reported for duty aboard the new aircraft carrier , then fitting out at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, and he became a member of her first crew when she was commissioned on 25 April 1940. Operating in the Atlantic and the Caribbean during 1940 and into through the first half of 1941, "Wasp" conducted sea trials, shakedown, training, and maneuvers, carried out the first experiment with flying United States Army Air Corps aircraft off an aircraft carrier for delivery to a airbase on shore, and took part in the Neutrality Patrol. Semmes received a promotion to lieutenant on 1 July 1941 while aboard "Wasp", and that month "Wasp" supported the U.S. occupation of Iceland before resuming Neutrality Patrol operations.