Museum Educational Director Heidi Schave Discusses some of the US’s Most Well-Known Aircraft Carriers

For over 111 years, the United States military has led the world in weaponry and aircraft carrier innovation. Since Eugene Burton Ely first flew a Curtiss Pusher biplane off the USS Birmingham deck in 1910, only seven years after the Wright Brothers’ first flights, the US has continued to push the advancement of naval aviation. US aircraft carriers played a pivotal role in both the first and second world wars and continue to be a key asset for US military efforts today. Heidi Schave, Museum Educational Director of the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, has spent over eight years educating visitors and students on American aircraft carriers and their importance in US military and aviation history. Today, Heidi Schave will discuss some of America’s most celebrated aircraft carriers and their various military accomplishments.

USS Enterprise CV-6

Otherwise known as “The Big E,” the USS Enterprise (CV-6) is most well known as the most decorated aircraft carrier in World War 2r. Launched in 1936, the USS Enterprise participated in more major attacks against Japan than any other US aircraft carriers and was one of only three carriers to survive the war. The USS Enterprise participated in the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. By the end of 1945, the USS Enterprise CV-6 had downed almost 1000 enemy planes, sunk 71 ships, and damaged many more.

USS Hornet

An Essex-class aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet was built in 1943 in preparation for World War 2. The USS Hornet was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific Ocean and used for offensive attacks on various Japanese installations in Indonesia and the Philippines. Some of the Hornet’s most notable campaigns took place in the Mariana and Palau Islands, as well as the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Additionally, the Hornet participated in the Philippines Campaign in the late stages of the war as well as the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign before being retired to the United States after it suffered damages in a typhoon.

USS Langley CV-1

Known as the United States Navy’s first aircraft carrier and first turbo-electric powered ship, the USS Langley CV-1 was constructed in 1920 from the USS Jupiter Collier No. 3. Named after Samuel Pierpont Langley, a well-known American aviator, the Langley fought throughout the course of the Second World War but was abandoned after a Japanese bomber attack in 1942 caused such severe damages to the engine room.