USS Wasp ( CV - 7 ) USS " Wasp " ( CV - 7 ) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942 . She was the eighth ship named , and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U . S . for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time . As a reduced - size version of the " Yorktown " - class hull , " Wasp " was more vulnerable than other United States aircraft carriers available at the opening of hostilities . " Wasp " was initially employed in the Atlantic campaign where Axis naval forces were perceived as less capable of inflicting decisive damage . After supporting the occupation of Iceland in 1941 , " Wasp " joined the British Home Fleet in April 1942 and twice ferried British fighter aircraft to Malta . As a consequence of lower - risk assignments , " Wasp " was one of the few United States carriers to survive destruction in the Pacific aircraft carrier battles of 1942 . " Wasp " was then transferred to the Pacific in June 1942 to replace losses at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway . After supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal , " Wasp " was sunk by on 15 September 1942 . Design . " Wasp " was a product of the Washington Naval Treaty . After the construction of carriers and , the U . S . was still permitted to build a carrier . The Navy sought to squeeze a large air group onto a ship with nearly 25 % less displacement than the " Yorktown " - class . In order to save weight and space , " Wasp " was constructed with low - power machinery ( compare " Wasp " s machinery with " Yorktown " s , " Essex " s , and the " Independence " - class ' ) . Additionally , " Wasp " was launched with almost no armor , modest speed and , more significantly , no protection from torpedoes . Absence of side protection of the boilers and internal aviation fuel stores " doomed her to a blazing demise . " These were inherent design flaws that were recognized when constructed but could not be remedied within the allowed tonnage . These flaws , combined with a relative lack of damage control experience in the early days of the war , were to prove fatal . " Wasp " was the first carrier fitted with a deck edge elevator . The elevator consisted of a platform for the front wheels and an outrigger for the tail wheel . The two arms on the sides moved the platform in a half - circle up and down between the flight deck and the hangar deck . Early days . She was laid down on 1 April 1936 at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy , Massachusetts ; launched on 4 April 1939 , sponsored by Carolyn Edison ( wife of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison ) , and commissioned on 25 April 1940 at the Army Quartermaster Base , South Boston , Massachusetts , Captain John W . Reeves , Jr . in command . " Wasp " remained at Boston through May , fitting out , before she got underway on 5 June 1940 for calibration tests on her radio direction finder gear . After further fitting out while anchored in Boston harbor , the new aircraft carrier steamed independently to Hampton Roads , Virginia ; anchoring there on 24 June . Four days later , she sailed for the Caribbean in company with destroyer . " En route " , she conducted the first of many carrier qualification tests . Among the earliest of the qualifiers was Lieutenant , junior grade David McCampbell , who later became the Navy ' s top - scoring " ace " in World War II . " Wasp " arrived at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in time to " dress ship " in honor of Independence Day . A fatal incident marred the carrier ' s shakedown . On 9 July , one of her Vought SB2U - 2 Vindicator dive bomber s crashed from the ship . " Wasp " bent on flank speed to close , as did the plane - guarding destroyer " Morris " . The latter ' s boats recovered items from the plane ' s baggage compartment , but the plane itself had gone down with its crew of two . " Wasp " departed Guantanamo Bay on 11 July and returned to Hampton Roads four days later . There , she embarked planes from the 1st Marine Air Group and took them to sea for qualification trials . Operating off the southern drill grounds , the ship and her planes honed their skills for a week before the Marines and their planes were disembarked at Norfolk , and the carrier moved north to Boston for post - shakedown repairs . While at Boston , she fired a 21 - gun salute and rendered honors to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt , whose yacht , , stopped briefly at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 August . " Wasp " departed the Army Quartermaster Base on the 21st to conduct steering drills and full - power trials . Late the following morning , she got underway for Norfolk , Virginia . For the next few days , while destroyer operated as plane guard , " Wasp " launched and recovered her aircraft : fighters from Fighter Squadron 7 ( VF - 7 ) and scout bombers from Scouting Squadron 72 ( VS - 72 ) . The carrier put into the Norfolk Navy Yard on 28 August for repair work on her turbines – alterations which kept the ship in dockyard hands into the following month . Drydocked from 12 – 18 September , " Wasp " ran her final sea trials in Hampton Roads on 26 September 1940 . With the Fleet . Ready now to join the fleet and assigned to Carrier Division 3 , Patrol Force , " Wasp " shifted to Naval Operating Base , Norfolk ( NOB Norfolk ) from the Norfolk Navy Yard on 11 October . There she loaded 24 Curtiss P - 40 fighter s from the Army Air Corps ' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O - 47 A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2nd Observation Squadron , as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2F Duck flying boat s on the 12th . Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room , " Wasp " flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take - off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft . That experiment , the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier , foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role that she performed so well in World War II . " Wasp " then proceeded on toward Cuba in company with destroyers and . Over the ensuing four days , the carrier ' s planes flew routine training flights , including dive - bombing and machine gun practices . Upon arrival at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , " Wasp " s saluting batteries barked out a 13 - gun salute to Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis , Commander , Atlantic Squadron , embarked in battleship on 19 October . For the remainder of October and into November , " Wasp " trained in the Guantanamo Bay area . Her planes flew carrier qualification and refresher training flights , while her gunners sharpened up their skills in short - range battle practices at targets towed by the new fleet tug . Her work in the Caribbean finished , " Wasp " sailed for Norfolk and arrived shortly after noon on 26 November . She remained at the Norfolk Navy Yard through Christmas of 1940 . Then , after first conducting degaussing experiments with , she steamed independently to Cuba . Arriving at Guantanamo Bay on 27 January 1941 , " Wasp " conducted a regular routine of flight operations into February . With destroyer as her plane guard , " Wasp " operated out of Guantanamo and Culebra , conducting her maneuvers with an impressive array of warships — battleship " Texas " , carrier , heavy cruiser s , , and a host of destroyers . " Wasp " ran gunnery drills and exercises , as well as routine flight training evolutions into March . Underway for Hampton Roads on 4 March , the aircraft carrier conducted a night battle practice into the early morning hours of the 5th . During the passage to Norfolk , heavy weather sprang up on the evening of 7 March . " Wasp " was steaming at standard speed , . Off Cape Hatteras , a lookout spotted a red flare at 22 : 45 , then a second set of flares at 22 : 59 . At 23 : 29 , with the aid of her searchlights , " Wasp " located the stranger in trouble . She was the lumber schooner " George E . Klinck " , bound from Jacksonville , Florida , to Southwest Harbor , Maine . The sea , in the meantime , worsened from a state 5 to a state 7 . " Wasp " lay to , maneuvering alongside at 00 : 07 on 8 March . At that time , four men from the schooner clambered up a swaying Jacob ' s ladder buffeted by gusts of wind . Then , despite the raging tempest , " Wasp " lowered a boat , at 00 : 16 , and brought the remaining four men aboard from the foundering schooner . Later that day , " Wasp " disembarked her rescued mariners and immediately went into drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard . The ship received vital repairs to her turbines . Portholes on the third deck were welded over to provide better watertight integrity , and steel splinter shielding around her and batteries was added . " Wasp " was one of 14 ships to receive the early RCA CXAM - 1 RADAR . After those repairs and alterations were finished , " Wasp " got underway for the Virgin Islands on 22 March , arriving at St . Thomas three days later . She soon shifted to Guantanamo Bay and loaded maritime supplies for transportation to Norfolk . Returning to Norfolk on 30 March , " Wasp " conducted routine flight operations out of Hampton Roads over the ensuing days , into April . In company with , the carrier conducted an abortive search for a downed patrol plane in her vicinity on 8 April . For the remainder of the month , " Wasp " operated off the eastern seaboard between Newport , Rhode Island , and Norfolk conducting extensive flight and patrol operations with her embarked air group . She shifted to Bermuda in mid - May , anchoring at Grassy Bay on the 12th . Eight days later , the ship got underway in company with the heavy cruiser and the destroyers and for exercises at sea before returning to Grassy Bay on 3 June . " Wasp " sailed for Norfolk three days later with the destroyer as her anti - submarine screen . After a brief stay in the Tidewater area , " Wasp " headed back toward Bermuda on 20 June . " Wasp " and her escorts patrolled the stretch of the Atlantic between Bermuda and Hampton Roads until 5 July , as the Atlantic Fleet ' s neutrality patrol zones were extended eastward . Reaching Grassy Bay on that day , she remained in port a week before returning to Norfolk , sailing on 12 July in company with heavy cruiser " Tuscaloosa " and destroyers , , and . Buildup to war . Following her return to Norfolk on 13 July 1941 , " Wasp " and her embarked air group conducted refresher training off the Virginia Capes . Meanwhile , the situation in the Atlantic had taken on a new complexion , with American participation in the Battle of the Atlantic only a matter of time , when the United States took another step toward involvement on the side of the British . To protect American security and to free British forces needed elsewhere , the United States made plans to occupy Iceland . " Wasp " played an important role in the move . Late on the afternoon of 23 July , while the carrier lay alongside Pier 7 , NOB Norfolk , 32 Army Air Forces ( AAF ) pilots reported on board " for temporary duty " . At 06 : 30 the following day , " Wasp " s crew watched an interesting cargo come on board , hoisted on deck by the ship ' s cranes : 30 P - 40Cs and three PT - 17 trainers from the AAF 33rd Pursuit Squadron , 8th Air Group , Air Force Combat Command , home - based at Mitchel Field , New York . Three days later , four newspaper correspondents – including the noted journalist Fletcher Pratt — came on board . The carrier had drawn the assignment of ferrying those vital army planes to Iceland because of a lack of British aircraft to cover the American landings . The American P - 40s would provide the defensive fighter cover necessary to watch over the initial American occupying forces . " Wasp " slipped out to sea on 28 July , with the destroyers and " Walke " as plane guards . The heavy cruiser later joined the formation at sea . Within a few days , " Wasp " s group joined the larger Task Force 16 — consisting of the battleship , the heavy cruisers " Quincy " and " Wichita " , five destroyers , , , , and . Those ships , too , were bound for Iceland with the first occupation troops embarked . On the morning of 6 August , " Wasp " , " Vincennes " , " Walke " , and " O ' Brien " parted company from Task Force 16 ( TF 16 ) . Soon thereafter , the carrier turned into the wind and commenced launching the planes from the 33rd Pursuit Squadron . As the P - 40s and the trio of trainers droned on to Iceland , " Wasp " headed home for Norfolk , her three escorts in company . After another week at sea , the group arrived back at Norfolk on 14 August . Underway again on 22 August , however , " Wasp " put to sea for carrier qualifications and refresher landings off the Virginia capes . Two days later , Rear Admiral H . Kent Hewitt , Commander Cruisers , Atlantic Fleet , shifted his flag from the light cruiser to " Wasp " , while the ships lay anchored in Hampton Roads . Underway on the 25th , in company with the " Savannah " , and the destroyers and " Kearny " , the aircraft carrier conducted flight operations over the ensuing days . Scuttlebutt on board the carrier had her steaming out in search of the German heavy cruiser , which was reportedly roaming the western Atlantic in search of prey . Suspicions were confirmed for many on the 30th when the British battleship was sighted some away , on the same course as the Americans . In any event , if they had been in search of a German raider , they did not make contact with her . " Wasp " and her escorts anchored in the Gulf of Paria , Trinidad on 2 September , where Admiral Hewitt shifted his flag back to the " Savannah " . The carrier remained in port until 6 September , when she again put to sea on patrol " to enforce the neutrality of the United States in the Atlantic . " While at sea , the ship received the news of a German U - boat unsuccessfully attempting to attack the destroyer . The U . S . had been getting more and more involved in the war ; American warships were now convoying British merchantmen halfway across the Atlantic to the " mid - ocean meeting point " ( MOMP ) . " Wasp " s crew looked forward to returning to Bermuda on 18 September , but the new situation in the Atlantic meant a change in plans . Shifted to the colder climes of Newfoundland , the carrier arrived at Placentia Bay on 22 September and fueled from the the following day . The respite in port was a brief one , however , as the ship got underway again , late on the 23rd , for Iceland . In company with the " Wichita " , four destroyers , and the repair ship , " Wasp " arrived at Hvalfjörður , Iceland , on the 28th . Two days earlier , Admiral Harold R . Stark , the Chief of Naval Operations had ordered American warships to do their utmost to destroy whatever German or Italian warships they found . With the accelerated activity entailed in the US Navy ' s conducting convoy escort missions , " Wasp " put to sea on 6 October in company with the " Vincennes " and four destroyers . Those ships patrolled the foggy , cold , North Atlantic until returning to Little Placentia Bay , Newfoundland on the 11th , anchoring during a fierce gale that lashed the bay with high winds and stinging spray . On 17 October , " Wasp " set out for Norfolk , patrolling en route , and arrived at her destination on the 20th . The carrier soon sailed for Bermuda and conducted qualifications and refresher training flights " en route " . Anchoring in Grassy Bay on 1 November , " Wasp " operated on patrols out of Bermuda for the remainder of the month . October had seen the incidents involving American and German warships multiplying on the high seas . The " Kearny " was torpedoed on 17 October , the " Salinas " on the 28th , and in the most tragic incident that autumn , the was torpedoed and sunk with heavy loss of life on 30 October . Meanwhile , in the Pacific , tension between the U . S . and Japan increased almost with each passing day . " Wasp " slipped out to sea from Grassy Bay on 3 December and rendezvoused with the . While the destroyer operated as plane guard , " Wasp " s air group flew day and night refresher training missions . In addition , the two ships conducted gunnery drills before returning to Grassy Bay two days later , where she lay at anchor 7 December 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . War in the Atlantic . Meanwhile , naval authorities felt considerable anxiety that French warships in the Caribbean and West Indies were prepared to make a breakout and attempt to get back to France . Accordingly , " Wasp " , the light cruiser , and the destroyers and " Wilson " , departed Grassy Bay and headed for Martinique . Faulty intelligence gave American authorities in Washington the impression that the Vichy French armed merchant cruiser " Barfleur " had gotten underway for sea . The French were accordingly warned that the auxiliary cruiser would be sunk or captured unless she returned to port and resumed her internment . As it turned out , " Barfleur " had not departed after all , but had remained in harbor . The tense situation at Martinique eventually dissipated , and the crisis abated . With tensions in the West Indies lessened considerably , " Wasp " departed Grassy Bay and headed for Hampton Roads three days before Christmas , in company with the , and escorted by the destroyers and " Sterett " . Two days later , the carrier moored at the Norfolk Navy Yard to commence an overhaul that would last into 1942 . After departing Norfolk on 14 January 1942 , " Wasp " headed north and touched at NS Argentia , Newfoundland , and Casco Bay , Maine . On 16 March , as part of Task Group 22 . 6 ( TG 22 . 6 ) , she headed back toward Norfolk . During the morning watch the next day , visibility lessened considerably ; and , at 06 : 50 , " Wasp " s bow plunged into the " Stack " s starboard side , punching a hole and completely flooding the destroyer ' s number one fireroom . " Stack " was detached and proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard , where her damage was repaired . " Wasp " , meanwhile , made port at Norfolk on the 21st without further incident . Shifting back to Casco Bay three days later , she sailed for the British Isles on 26 March , with TF 39 under the command of Rear Admiral John W . Wilcox , Jr . , on the . That force was to reinforce the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy . While " en route " , Rear Admiral Wilcox was swept overboard from the battleship and drowned . Although hampered by poor visibility conditions , " Wasp " planes took part in the search . Wilcox ' s body was spotted an hour later , face down in the raging seas , but it was not recovered due to the weather and the heavy seas . Rear Admiral Robert C . Giffen , who flew his flag on the " Wichita " , assumed command of TF 39 . The American ships were met by a force based around the light cruiser on 3 April . Those ships escorted them to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands . While there , a Gloster Gladiator flown by Captain Henry Fancourt of the Royal Navy made the first landing of the war by a British plane on an American aircraft carrier when it landed on " Wasp " . While the majority of TF 39 joined the British Home Fleet being renumbered to TF 99 in the processto cover convoys routed to North Russia , " Wasp " departed Scapa Flow on 9 April , bound for the Clyde estuary and Greenock , Scotland . On the following day , the carrier sailed up the Clyde River , past the John Brown Clydebank shipbuilding facilities . There , shipyard workers paused long enough from their labors to accord " Wasp " a tumultuous reception as she passed . " Wasp " s impending mission was an important one – one upon which the fate of the island bastion of Malta hung . That key isle was then being pounded daily by German and Italian planes . The British , faced with the loss of air superiority over the island , requested the use of a carrier to transport planes that could wrest air superiority from the Axis aircraft . " Wasp " drew ferry duty once again to participate in Operation Calendar , one of many Malta Convoys . Having landed her torpedo plane s and dive bombers at Hatson in Orkney , " Wasp " loaded 47 Supermarine Spitfire Mk . V fighters of No . 603 Squadron RAF at Glasgow on 13 April , then departed on the 14th , this was the start of " Operation Calendar . " . Her screen consisted of Force " W " of the Home Fleet – a group that included the battlecruiser and the anti - aircraft cruiser s and . The and also served in " Wasp " s screen . " Wasp " and her consorts passed through the Straits of Gibraltar under cover of the pre - dawn darkness on 19 April , avoiding the possibility of being discovered by Spanish or Axis agents . At 04 : 00 on 20 April , " Wasp " spotted 11 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters on her deck and quickly launched them to form a combat air patrol ( CAP ) over Force " W " . Meanwhile , the Spitfires were warming up their engines in the hangar deck spaces below . With the Wildcats patrolling overhead , the Spitfires were brought up singly on the after elevator , spotted for launch , and then given the go - ahead to take off . One by one , they roared down the deck and over the forward rounddown , until each Spitfire was aloft and winging toward Malta . When the launch was complete , " Wasp " retired toward Gibraltar , having safely delivered her charges . However , those Spitfires , which flew in to augment the dwindling numbers of Gladiator and Hurricane fighters , were tracked by efficient Axis intelligence and their arrival pinpointed . Most of the Spitfires were destroyed by heavy German air raids which caught many planes on the ground . As a result , it looked as if the acute situation required a second ferry run to Malta . Accordingly , Prime Minister Winston Churchill , fearing that Malta would be " pounded to bits " , asked President Roosevelt to allow " Wasp " to have " another good sting . " Roosevelt responded in the affirmative . " Wasp " loaded another contingent of Spitfire Vs at King George V Dock Glasgow and sailed for the Mediterranean on 3 May . Again , " Wasp " proceeded unmolested . This time , the British carrier accompanied " Wasp " , and she , too , carried a contingent of Spitfires bound for Malta . The Spitfires for Eagle had been loaded at Greenock , James Watt Dock , from lighters . This was the start of Operation Bowery . The two Allied carriers reached their launching points early on Saturday , 9 May , with " Wasp " steaming in column ahead of " Eagle " at a distance of . At 06 : 30 , " Wasp " commenced launching planes – 11 Wildcats of VF - 71 to serve as CAP over the task force . Eagle first flew off her Spitfires in two waves then Wasp flew off the balance . The first Spitfire took off at 06 : 43 , piloted by Sergeant - Pilot Herrington , but lost power soon after takeoff and plunged into the sea , with loss of pilot and aircraft . The other planes flew off safely and formed up to fly to Malta . An auxiliary fuel tank on another aircraft failed to draw ; without the additional fuel the pilot could not make Malta , and his only alternatives were to land on board " Wasp " with no tailhookor to ditch and take his chances in the water . Pilot Officer Jerrold Alpine Smith chose the former . " Wasp " bent on full speed and recovered the plane at 07 : 43 . The Spitfire came to a stop just from the forward edge of the flight deck , making what one " Wasp " sailor observed to be a " one wire " landing . With her vital errand completed , the carrier set sail for the British Isles while a German radio station broadcast the startling news that the American carrier had been sunk ; on 11 May , Prime Minister Churchill sent a message to " Wasp " : " Many thanks to you all for the timely help . Who said a wasp couldn ' t sting twice ? " War in the Pacific . Early in May 1942 , almost simultaneously with " Wasp " s second Malta run — Operation Bowery — the Battle of the Coral Sea had been fought , then the Battle of Midway a month later . These battles reduced the U . S . to three carriers in the Pacific , and it became imperative to transfer " Wasp " . " Wasp " was hurried back to the U . S . for alterations and repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard . During the carrier ' s stay in the Tidewater region , Captain Reeves – who had been promoted to flag rank – was relieved by Captain Forrest P . Sherman on 31 May . Departing Norfolk on 6 June , " Wasp " sailed with TF 37 which was built around the carrier and the new battleship and escorted by the " Quincy " , the and six destroyers . The group transited the Panama Canal on 10 June , at which time " Wasp " and her consorts became TF 18 , the carrier flying the two - star flag of Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes . Arriving at San Diego on 19 June , " Wasp " embarked the remainder of her complement of aircraft , Grumman TBF - 1 Avenger s and Douglas SBD - 3 Dauntless es , the former replacing the old Vindicators . On 1 July , she sailed for the Tonga Islands as part of the convoy for the five transports carrying the 2nd Marine Regiment . Meanwhile , preparations to invade the Solomon Islands were proceeding to disrupt the Japanese offensive to establish a defensive perimeter around the edge of their " Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere " . On 4 July , while " Wasp " was " en route " to the South Pacific , the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal . Allied planners realized Japanese operation of land - based aircraft from that key island would imperil Allied control of the New Hebrides and New Caledonia area . Plans were made to evict the Japanese before their Guadalcanal airfield became operational . Vice Admiral Robert L . Ghormley — with experience as Special Naval Observer in London — was detailed to take command of the operation ; and he established his headquarters at Auckland , New Zealand . Since the Japanese had a foothold on Guadalcanal , time was of the essence ; preparations for an allied invasion proceeded with secrecy and speed . " Wasp " — together with the carriers and — was assigned to the Support Force under Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher . Under the tactical command of Rear Admiral Noyes , embarked on " Wasp " , the carriers were to provide air support for the invasion and initiation of the Guadalcanal campaign . " Wasp " and her airmen practiced day and night operations to hone their skills until Captain Sherman was confident that his airmen could perform their mission . " D - day " had originally been set for 1 August , but the late arrival of some of the transports carrying Marines pushed the date to 7 August . Enroute " Wasp ' s " engines became a problem with a 14 July message ( 14 0510 July ) from CTF 18 to CINCPAC reporting " Wasp " had suffered a casualty to her starboard high pressure turbine that even at lowest speeds was making a loud scraping noise limiting speed to only fifteen knots under her port engine thus making air operations entirely dependent on favorable wind . The ship ' s company was undertaking repairs , including lifting the turbine casing . Repairs to the rotor itself were proposed at " BLEACHER " ( Tongatapu , Tonga Islands ) , where the destroyer tender USS " Whitney ( AD - 4 ) " was stationed , with four days estimated for the work there . " Wasp " arrived 18 July for those repairs and on 21 July ( 21 0802 July ) CTF 18 reported " Wasp " had successfully completed a trial making turns for twenty - seven knots with pre - casualty twenty - five knot operations possible with reduced reliability . Replacement blades available at Pearl Harbor and replacement of all three rows of blading was recommended after the ongoing operations were completed . " Wasp " , screened by the , the , and four destroyers , steamed westward toward Guadalcanal on the evening of 6 August until midnight . Then , she changed course to the eastward to reach her launch position from Tulagi one hour before dawn . " Wasp " s first combat air patrol fighter took off at 05 : 57 . The early flights of Wildcats and Dauntless ' were assigned specific targets : Tulagi , Gavutu , Tanambogo , Halavo , Port Purvis , Haleta , Bungana , and the radio station dubbed " Asses ' Ears . " The Wildcats , led by Lieutenant Shands and his wingman Ensign S . W . Forrer , patrolled the north coast toward Gavatu . The other two headed for the seaplane facilities at Tanambogo . The Grummans , arriving simultaneously at daybreak , surprised the Japanese and strafed patrol planes and fighter - seaplane s in the area . Fifteen Kawanishi H8K " Emily " flying boats and seven Nakajima A6M2 - N " Rufe " floatplane fighters were destroyed by Shands ' fighters during low - level strafing passes . Shands was credited with four " Rufes " and one " Emily " , while his wingman , Forrer , was credited with three " Rufes " and an " Emily " . Lieutenant Wright and Ensign Kenton were credited with three patrol planes apiece and a motorboat tending the " Emilys " ; Ensigns Reeves and Conklin were each credited with two and shared a fifth patrol plane between them . The strafing Wildcats also destroyed an aviation fuel truck and a truck loaded with spare parts . Post - attack assessment estimated that the antiaircraft and shore battery sites pinpointed by intelligence had been destroyed by the Dauntless dive bombers in their first attack . None of " Wasp " s planes was shot down ; but Ensign Reeves , landed his Wildcat aboard " Enterprise " after running low on fuel . At 07 : 04 , " Wasp " launched 12 Avengers loaded with bombs for use against land targets , and led by Lieutenant H . A . Romberg . The Avengers silenced resistance by bombing Japanese troop concentrations east of the knob of land known as Hill 281 , in the Makambo - Sasapi sector , and the prison on Tulagi Island . Some 10 , 000 men had been put ashore during the first day ' s operations against Guadalcanal , and met only slight resistance . On Tulagi , however , the Japanese resisted stoutly , retaining about of the island by nightfall . " Wasp " , " Saratoga " , and " Enterprise " — with their screens – retired to the southward at nightfall . " Wasp " fighters led by Lieutenant C . S . Moffett maintained a continuous CAP over the transport area until noon on 8 August . Meanwhile , a scouting flight of 12 Dauntless ' led by Lieutenant Commander E . M . Snowden searched a sector to a radius of from their carrier , extending it to include all of the Santa Isabel Island and the New Georgia groups . The Dauntless pilots made no contact with the Japanese during their two hours in the air ; but at 08 : 15 , Snowden sighted a " Rufe " some from Rekata Bay and shot the plane down with fixed machine guns . Meanwhile , a large group of Japanese planes approached from Bougainville to attack the transports off Lunga Point . Rear Admiral Richmond K . Turner ordered all transports to get underway and to assume cruising disposition . Eldridge was leading a formation of Dauntless ' from VS - 71 against Mbangi Island , off Tulagi . His rear seat gunner , Aviation Chief Radioman L . A . Powers , assumed the formation of Japanese planes were friendly until six Zeroes bounced the first section with 12 unsuccessful firing passes . Meanwhile , the leader of the last section of VS - 71 – Lieutenant , junior grade Robert L . Howard – unsuccessfully attacked twin - engined Mitsubishi G4M " Betty " medium bomber s heading for the American transports , and was engaged by four Zeroes escorting the bombers . Howard shot down one Zero with his fixed guns while his rear gunner , Seaman 2nd Class Lawrence P . Lupo , discouraged Japanese fighters attacking from astern . The Wasp ' s casualties for the entire action on 7 and 8 August were : Total plane losses for the Wasp were 3 Wildcat fighters and 1 Dauntless scout bomber . Against these , her planes destroyed 15 enemy flying boats , 8 floatplane fighters , and 1 Zero . At 18 : 07 on 8 August , Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher recommended to Ghormley , at Nouméa , that the air support force be withdrawn . Fletcher , concerned by the large numbers of Japanese planes that had attacked on the 8th , reported that he had only 78 fighters left ( he had started with 99 ) and that fuel for the carriers was running low . Ghormley approved the recommendation , and " Wasp " joined " Enterprise " and " Saratoga " in retiring from Guadalcanal . By midnight , the landing had attained the immediate objectives . Japanese resistance – except for a few snipers – on Gavutu and Tanombogo had been overcome . Early on 9 August , a Japanese surface force engaged an American one in the Battle of Savo Island and retired with minimal damage after sinking four Allied heavy cruisers off Savo Island , including two that had served with " Wasp " in the Atlantic : the " Vincennes " and the " Quincy " . The early and unexpected withdrawal of the support force , including " Wasp " , when coupled with Allied losses in the Battle of Savo Island , jeopardized the success of the operation in the Solomons . After the initial day ' s action in the Solomons campaign , the carrier spent the next month engaged in patrol and covering operations for convoys and resupply units headed for Guadalcanal . The Japanese began transporting reinforcements to contest the Allied forces . " Wasp " was ordered south by Vice Admiral Fletcher to refuel and did not participate in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August . After fueling on 24 August Wasp hurried to the battle zone . Her total aircraft group was 26 Wildcats , 25 SBD Dauntlesses , and 11 TBF Avengers . ( One SBD was earlier lost on 24 Augustus by ditching in the sea because of engine trouble ) . On the morning of 25 August Wasp launched a search mission . The SBD of pilot Lieut . Chester V . Zalewski shot down two of Aichi E13A 1 " Jake " floatplane s of the " Atago " ( Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō ' s flagship ) . But the SBDs sighted no ships . The Japanese fleet had withdrawn out of range . In the afternoon of 25 Augustus at 13 : 26 Wasp launched a search / attack mission of 24 SBDs and 10 TBFs against the convoy of Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka that seemed to be still within range . Although the SBDs shot down a flying boat they couldn ' t find the enemy ships anymore . During the battle on 24 August " Enterprise " was damaged and had to return to port for repairs . " Saratoga " was torpedoed a week later and departed the South Pacific war zone for repairs as well . That left only two carriers in the southwest Pacific : — which had been in commission for only a year — and " Wasp " . Loss . On Tuesday , 15 September 1942 , the carriers " Wasp " and " Hornet " and the " North Carolina " — with 10 other warships — were escorting the transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements . " Wasp " had drawn the job of ready - duty carrier and was operating some southeast of San Cristobal Island . Her gasoline system was in use , as planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions ; and " Wasp " had been at general quarters from an hour before sunrise until the time when the morning search returned to the ship at 10 : 00 . Thereafter , the ship was in condition 2 , with the air department at flight quarters . There was no contact with the Japanese during the day , with the exception of a Japanese four - engined flying boat downed by a " Wasp " Wildcat at 12 : 15 . About 14 : 20 , the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight Wildcats and 18 Dauntlesses and to recover eight Wildcats and three Dauntlesses that had been airborne since before noon . Lt . ( jg ) Roland H . Kenton , USNR , flying a F4F3 of VF - 71 was the last aircraft off the deck of the " Wasp " . The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes , she then turned easily to starboard , the ship heeling slightly as the course change was made . At 14 : 44 a lookout reported " three torpedoes . . . three points forward of the starboard beam " . A spread of six Type 95 torpedo es were fired at " Wasp " at about 14 : 44 from the tubes of the B1 Type . " Wasp " put over her rudder hard to starboard to avoid the salvo , but it was too late . Three torpedoes struck in quick succession about 14 : 45 ; one actually broached , left the water , and struck the ship slightly above the waterline . All hit in the vicinity of the ship ' s gasoline tanks and magazines . Two of the spread of torpedoes passed ahead of " Wasp " and were observed passing astern of before was hit by one at 14 : 51 while maneuvering to avoid the other . The sixth torpedo passed either astern or under " Wasp " , narrowly missed in " Wasp " s screen about 14 : 48 , was seen by in " North Carolina " s screen about 14 : 50 , and struck " North Carolina " about 14 : 52 . There was a rapid succession of explosions in the forward part of the ship . Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped . Planes suspended in the hangar overheads 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 anti - aircraft guns on the starboard side , and fragments showered the forward part of the ship . The number two mount was blown overboard . Water mains in the forward part of the ship had been rendered inoperable : there was no water available to fight the fire forward , and the fires continued to set off ammunition , bombs , and gasoline . As the ship listed between 10 and 15 degrees to starboard , oil and gasoline , released from the tanks by the torpedo hit , caught fire on the water . Captain Sherman slowed to , 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 , flames made the central station unusable , and communication circuits went dead . Soon , a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hangar ; within 24 minutes of the initial attack , there were three additional major gasoline vapor explosions . Ten minutes later Captain Sherman decided to abandon ship , as all fire - fighting was proving ineffectual . The survivors would have to be disembarked quickly to minimise loss of life . After consulting with Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes , Captain Sherman ordered " abandon ship " at 15 : 20 . All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats . Many unwounded men had to abandon from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity . The departure , as Captain 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 16 : 00 — satisfied that no one was left on board — Captain Sherman abandoned the ship . Although the submarine hazard caused the accompanying destroyers to lie well clear or to shift position , they carried out rescue operations until , " Lansdowne " , " Helena " , and had 1 , 946 men embarked . The fires on " Wasp " , drifting , traveled aft and there were four violent explosions at nightfall . " Lansdowne " was ordered to torpedo the carrier and stand by until she was sunk . " Lansdowne " s Mark 15 torpedo es had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo . The first two torpedoes were fired perfectly , but did not explode , leaving " Lansdowne " with only three more . The magnetic influence exploders on these were disabled and the depth set at . All three detonated , but " Wasp " remained afloat for some time , sinking at 21 : 00 . 193 men had died and 366 were wounded during the attack . All but one of her 26 airborne aircraft made a safe trip to carrier " Hornet " nearby before " Wasp " sank , but 45 aircraft went down with the ship . Another Japanese submarine , the duly observed and reported the sinking of the " Wasp " , as other US destroyers kept " I - 19 " busy avoiding 80 depth charges . " I - 19 " escaped safely . Awards . " Wasp " received two battle star s for her World War II service .