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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Lost to enemy action, 27 February 1942

USS Langley (AV-3)
ex
USS Langley (CV-1) (1922 - 1937)
USS Jupiter (Collier #3) (1913 - 1922)

International Radio Call Signs,
1912 - USS Jupiter NIF Nan - Item - Fox	1924 - USS Langley (CV-1) NNC Nan - Nan - Cast	1931 - USS Langley (AV-3) NEQC Negative - Easy - Quack - Cast

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 27 February 1942)
Second Row - Mexican Service Medal - World War I Victory Medal (with Transport clasp) - American Defense Service Medal (with bronze star in lieu of Fleet clasp)
Third Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (16 KIA 27 February 1942)

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Langley earned one battle star for World War II service

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(Collier) Specifications:
Displacement 19,360 t.
Length 542'
Beam 65'
Draft 27' 8"
Speed 15 kts.
Complement 163
Armament four 4"guns
Propulsion steam, twin screws

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(CV and AV) Specifications:
Displacement 11,500 t.
Length 542'
Beam 65'
Speed 15 kts.
Complement 468
Armament four 5" guns
Aircraft 55 (max)
Propulsion steam, twin screws

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U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 92474

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS Jupiter (Collier #3)
	130k	Namesake Jupiter is the god of the sky and thunder and king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras, until Christianity became the dominant religion of the Empire. In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to establish principles of Roman religion such as offering, or sacrifice. Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as an aerial god. His identifying implement is the thunderbolt and his primary sacred animal is the eagle, which held precedence over other birds in the taking of auspices and became one of the most common symbols of the Roman army. The two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt, frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins. As the sky-god, he was a divine witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which justice and good government depend. Many of his functions were focused on the Capitoline Hill, where the citadel was located. In the Capitoline Triad, he was the central guardian of the state with Juno and Minerva. His sacred tree was the oak. (Wikipedia)		Tommy Trampp
	145k	Jupiter ceremonial keel laying (driving the first rivet) by Naval officers at Navy Yard Mare Island, 18 October 1911. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC3 001-10-11		Darryl Baker
	160k	Navy Yard Mare Island civilian workers finish riveting the keel of Jupiter after the ceremonial keel laying is completed, 18 October 1911. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC3 002-10-11		Darryl Baker
	167k	Jupiter ready for launching, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 14 August 1912 Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 001-8-12		Darryl Baker
	111k	Jupiter ready for launching, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 14 August 1912 US Navy photo # NH 94958 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	208k	Jupiter half way down the launching ways at Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 14 August 1912 Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 002-8-12		Darryl Baker
	125k	Jupiter launching, 14 August 1912, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA. US Navy photo # NH 85940 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	83k	Jupiter immediately after her launching at Mare Island Navy Yard, 14 August 1912. The tug to the right is Unadilla and the boat aft of Unadilla is a commercial Vallejo to Mare Island ferry. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 005-8-12		Darryl Baker
	92k	Broadside view of Jupiter in the Mare Island Channel after launching, 14 August 1912. The tug alongside is Unadilla. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 007-8-12		Darryl Baker
	119k	Jupiter fitting out at Navy Yard Mare Island, 14 August 1912. The armored cruiser USS California is forward of Jupiter Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 008-8-12		Darryl Baker
	141k	One of Jupiter's boilers being lifted aboard for installation while fitting out at Navy Yard Mare Island, circa 1912-13. Navy Yard Mare Island photo		Darryl Baker
	479k	Jupiter fitting out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 3 December 1912. US Navy photo courtesy Jim Milloholland via Alan Cole.		Michael Mohl
	95k	Jupiter fitting out at Mare Island Navy Yard, 1 January 1913 US Navy photo # NH 69825 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command		US Naval History and Heritage Command Courtesy Donald M McPherson, 1969
	71k	Jupiter fitting out at Mare Island Navy Yard, with Marblehead (C-11) alongside, circa 16-17 March 1913. Photo from "U.S. Warships of World War One", with permission of the author Paul H. Silverstone		Robert Hurst
	145k	USS Jupiter in the Mare Island Channel, 7 April 1913 (Commissioning Day). The collier USS Saturn is aft of Jupiter Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 001-4-13		Darryl Baker
	112k	USS Jupiter entering Mare Island Navy Yard on 17 May 1913 Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum File AC 3 May 17 1913 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.		Darryl Baker
	157k	USS Jupiter dry docked in Dry Dock # 2 at Navy Yard Mare Island in May 1913. The tug visible aft and the right of Jupiter is possibly Unadilla. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 002-09-13		Darryl Baker
	137k	USS Jupiter dry docked in Dry Dock # 2 at Navy Yard Mare Island, 17 May 1913, about a month after commissioning. US National Archives, RG-19-A-1, Photo No. 19-N-32-25-15, courtesy Shipscribe.com.		Mike Green
	289k	USS Jupiter coal handling winches, Mare Island, 30 July 1913. Vallejo History and Naval Museum photo # AC3 19527-5-7-13, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Vallejo History and Naval Museum		Darryl Baker
	222k	USS Jupiter at Mare Island Navy Yard between 18 and 31 July 1913. USS Prometheus is aft of Jupiter: undergoing conversion to a repair ship. When completed in December 1914 Ontario would be renamed USS Prometheus. Note the bow of YW-16 visible forward of Jupiter. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # BK 622 10, Navy Photo 5351, 18-31 July 1913.		Darryl Baker
	76k	Broadside view of USS Jupiter with the tug Active alongside in the Mare Island Channel, 16 October 1913. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 002-10-13		Darryl Baker
	85k	USS Jupiter dry docked at Navy Yard Mare Island in Dry Dock # 2, 18 October 1913. YC-296 and YC-297 are under construction to the left of the dry dock. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 3 002-9-13		Darryl Baker
	125k	View of the coal handling equipment aboard USS Jupiter at Mare Island on 18 October 1913. The collier USS Prometheus is inboard of Jupiter. Navy Yard Mare Island photo		Darryl Baker
	112k	USS Jupiter off Mare Island Navy Yard, 18 December 1913 US Navy photo # NH 52365 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .		US Naval History and Heritage Command
09020364	32k	USS Jupiter crewmembers making fenders on the well deck, circa 1916. US Navy photo from a post card		Tommy Trampp
	183k	USS Jupiter off Mare Island Navy Yard, 1913-1914 with tug USS Iroquois alongside.		David Wright
	110k	USS Jupiter anchored off Mare Island, 13 April 1914 US Navy photo # NH 52366 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	69k	USS Jupiter departing Mare Island on 27 July 1914 with the tug Active on her port side. Note the gunboat USS Yorktown on the right, she was the Receiving Ship at Mare Island in 1914. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC3 002-7-14		Darryl Baker
	75k	USS Jupiter with booms rigged for coaling at Mare Island, circa 1913-1914. Navy Yard Mare Island photo		Darryl Baker
	84k	USS Jupiter fore and aft trolley rigged for coaling, circa 1913-1914. Navy Yard Mare Island photo		Darryl Baker
	97k	USS Jupiter coaling operating platform, circa 1913-1914. Navy Yard Mare Island photo		Darryl Baker
	149k	Post card of USS Jupiter moored pierside, probably at Mare Island Navy Yard, sometime about the time of her completion in 1913.		Robert M. Cieri
	312k	USS Jupiter going down the Mare Island channel on 27 July 1914. Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum File AC 3 1582-7-14 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.		Darryl Baker
	106k	USS Jupiter crew members on deck, examining damage received in collision with an Italian barque. Photo is labeled "Lynnhaven Rhodes, Virginia, Oct. 17, 1916". The original image is printed on post card ("AZO") stock. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 10638		Robert Hurst
	64k	Sailors on the main deck of USS Jupiter as the ship steams through heavy seas, circa the later 1910s. Note the inscription "seasick" near the image's lower middle right edge. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 10702. Donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2009		Robert Hurst
	76k	USS Jupiter circa 1916-17 prior to WWI US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 92199, courtesy Thomas P. Naughton, 1973.		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	311k	Officers and men of USS Jupiter 1917, location unknown. US National Archives Photo # 165-www-236B-0040		Michael Mohl
	218k	USS Jupiter loading drill no. 3 gun, circa 1917-18, location unknown.		David Wright
	62k	USS Jupiter moored at a pier, date and location unknown..		Robert M. Cieri
	75k	USS Jupiter moored in the background beyond USS Buffalo in the harbor at Gibraltar with USS Schley (Destroyer # 103), circa December 1918. Note that Schley is still wearing pattern camouflage, while Buffalo has been repainted into overall grey. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo #: NH 56643		Robert Hurst
	108k	A Liberty Party from USS Jupiter in a boat in a European port, circa 1918-1919. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 10703.
	168k	USS Jupiter underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.		Jim Kurrasch Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
09020370	146k	Post card image of USS Jupiter at anchor, date and location unknown.		David Wright
USS Langley (AV-3)
	68k	Namesake Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906). Born in Roxbury, Mass., he became a distinguished American astronomer, physicist, and pioneer in the development of heavier-than-air craft. In 1865 he was assistant in the Harvard Observatory, and the following year an assistant professor of mathematics at the Naval Academy. In 1887, as director of the Allegheny Observatory, he devised the bolometer and other scientific apparatus. In 1881 he organized a successful expedition to Mount Whitney, Calif. Professor Langley was honored by degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, among other universities. He died in Aiken, S.C. Portrait of Samuel Pierpont Langley Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 15, Folder 8,2002-12174.
	193k	USS Langley (AV-3) at anchor in 1937, near NAS Coco Solo Panama. The aircraft over flying Langley are Consolidated PBY-2s from Patrol Squadron Two (VP-2). US Navy photo.		Arnold Putnam
	129k	USS Langley (AV-3) at anchor following conversion to a seaplane tender in 1937 US Navy photo # NH 63547 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.		US Naval History and Heritage Command
09020367	306k	View from Naval Air Station North Island tower looking toward the city of San Diego, circa late 1930s. USS Ranger (CV-4) is at the air station pier, with a P2Y seaplane on the water just astern. USS Langley (AV-3) is offshore, with a PBY overhead. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 91369 courtesy of BMC R. E. Turpin.		Bob Canchola
09020368	272k	Aerial view of Naval Air Station North Island showing USS Langley (AV-3) moored forward of USS Ranger (CV-4) at the Air Station pier, circa 1930s. San Diego Air and Space Museum Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive NASNI Historical Archive 034		Bob Canchola
09020362	271k	Aerial view of USS Langley (AV-3) underway, 26 February 1937, location unknown. US National Archives Photo # 80-G-187697, a US Navy photo now in the collection of the US National Archives		Rick Davis
	294k	A 1951 reprint of USS Langley (AV-3) underway shortly after her conversion, circa 1937, location unknown. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 9105-5-51		Darryl Baker
	139k	A 1965 reprint of USS Langley (AV-3) underway shortly after her conversion, circa 1937, location unknown. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 68780-6-65		Darryl Baker
	212k	Starboard bow view of USS Langley (AV-3) anchored at French Frigate Shoals in 1937. US Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum, Photo No. 1996.488.010.047		Mike Green
	54k	USS Langley (AV-3) at Pearl Harbor, 29 July 1938. Following a four-month conversion period, the Navy's first carrier Langley was converted to a seaplane tender and reclassified as AV-3, 21 April 1937. She is seen here laden with aircraft and spares for the US Navy reconnaissance squadrons VP-1 and VP-18. US Navy photo # 410067 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	51k	"USS Langley (AV-3) arriving at New York, 29 April 1939 for the opening of the 1939-1940 Worlds Fair.. This appearance at New York was part of Langley's very brief Atlantic duty, running from February to July 1939, interrupting the long stretch of her career in the Pacific from 1924 until sunk in action 27 February 1942 south of Java." Text from Warships International No.3, 1986		Photo submitted by Robert M. Cieri Text submitted by Michael Mohl
	111k	USS Langley (AV-3) underway in New York harbor, circa 29 April 1939. Note the Mary Murray Class Staten Island Ferry in the background..		US Navy photo
	76k	USS Langley (AV-3) underway with the assistance of a tug, date and location unknown.		US Navy photo
	93k	USS Langley (AV-3) leaving Pearl Harbor for the United States with a deck load of P2Y flying boats and a utility seaplane. Note the disassembled P2Y wings on the aft flight deck US Navy photo from "Aircraft Carriers", by Norman Polmar.		Robert Hurst
	83k	Colorized post card image of USS Langley (AV-3) arriving in port, probably at Pearl Harbor, date unknown.		Don Kehn, Jr. via Covered Wagon Association & Henryetta Cokor
09020369	261k	USS Langley (AV-3) at U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point, Philippines, 29 October 1941. Numerous Consolidated PBY Catalina patrol planes are visible at the seaplane ramp (left of Langley). U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.010.049		Robert Hurst
	57k	USS Langley (AV-3) at anchor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from Our Navy magazine, 1 September 1943 issue.		Robert M. Cieri
	72k	USS Langley (AV-3) at anchor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from Our Navy magazine, 1 September 1943 issue.		Chester O. Morris
09020363	193k	USS Langley (AV-3) drydocked in USS Dewey (YFD-1) at Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippines, 26 May 1941. Note the PBY's on the ramp and Destroyer Seaplane Tender USS William, B. Preston (AVD-7) moored bottom right of the photo. US National Archives Photo # 80-G-1041082, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Rick Davis
09020365	152k	USS Langley (AV-3) at Darwin Australia, 11 February 1942, prior to her departure for Fremantle. She has SOC & OS2U floatplanes on her flight deck, remnants of the Asiatic Fleet's Utility Unit. USS Houston (CA-30) Survivors Association/Otto Schwarz Collection		Don Kehn, Jr.
	61k	USS Langley (AV-3) preparing to leave Darwin, Australia, 19 February 1942, outbound to Fremantle, Australia. At Fremantle Langley loaded Army P-40s for delivery at Java. Japanese forces attacked Darwin sometime after Langley had departed that day. While at Darwin, Langley served as station ship for Patrol Wing TEN from 1 January to 11 February 1942. Note several Patrol Wing TEN PBY Catalina's anchored near the tender.		Ron Reeves
	77k	USS Langley (AV-3) being abandoned after receiving crippling damage from Japanese bombs, south of Java, 27 February 1942. USS Edsall (DD-219) is standing by off Langley's port side. Photographed from USS Whipple (DD-217). US Navy photo # NH 92472 courtesy Captain Lawrence E. Divoll, USN Ret, 1981.		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	278k	A torpedo from the USS Whipple (DD-217) explodes against the side of USS Langley (AV-3) on 27 February 1942. Badly damaged by five bomb hits, the ship was scuttled to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. US Navy and Marine Corps Museum, Photo No. 1998.409.075		Mike Green
	169k	Starboard side close-up view of USS Langley (AV-3) with torpedo exploding, fired by USS Whipple (DD-217), after being abandoned, south of Java, 27 February 1942. Photograph from USS Whipple (DD-217). US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 92476		Mike Green and Robert Hurst
09020366-	204k	USS Langley (AV-3) sinking after the Japanese bombers attack, 27 February 1942, as seen from USS Whipple (DD-217)		Robert Hurst

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USS Jupiter / Langley (AC-3/ CV-1/ AV-3)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Reeves, Joseph Mason (Bull), USN (USNA 1894)	7 April 1913 - April 1914	Collier #3
02	CAPT. Robison, Samuel Shelburne, USN (1890) :RADM	April 1914 - 8 August 1914	Collier #3
03	CDR. Kempff, Clarence Selby, USN (USNA 1897) :RADM	12 May 1917 - 20 July 1917	Collier #3
04	CDR. Menner, Robert Tryon (Duke), USN (USNA 1900)	20 July 1917 - 30September 1917	Collier #3
05	CDR. Kelton, William John, NAS (Naval Auxiliary Service)	30 September 1917 - 17 November 1917	Collier #3
06	LT. Becker, Joseph Francis, USN	17 November 1917 - 19 November 1919	Collier #3
07	LCDR. Bostwick, Harry Martin, USNRF	19 November 1919 - 24 March 1920	Collier #3
	Decommissioned	24 March 1920 - 20 March 1922
16	CDR. Murray, George Dominic, USN	30 May 1937 - 15 June 1939	AV-3
17	CAPT. Davis, Arthur Cayley, USN :ADM	15 June 1939 - 18 June 1940	AV-3
18	CAPT. Wagner, Frank Dechant, USN	18 June 1940 - 16 July 1941	AV-3
19	CDR. McConnell, Robert Perche, USN :RADM	16 July 1941 - 20 September 1941	AV-3
20	CDR. Stump, Felix Budwell, USN :ADM	20 September 1941 - 13 January 1942	AV-3
21	CDR. McConnell, Robert P, USN :RADM	13 January 1942 - 27 February 1942	AV-3

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Jupiter General Plans from the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association
US Navy Patrol Squadrons - USS Langley (AV-3)
Newspaper Account of the Sinking of Aircraft Tender AV-3 Langley Fleet Oiler AO-6 Pecos and Destroyer DD-226 Peary

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 6 October 2023