Spacecraft Recovery
7 June 1965: Gemini 4
16 December 1965: Gemini 6
18 December 1965: Gemini 7
6 June 1966: Gemini 9
15 November 1966: Gemini 12
| General Characteristics: |
Awarded: 1940 |
| Keel laid: March 18, 1942 | |
| Launched: August 17, 1943 | |
| Commissioned: November 24, 1943 | |
| Decommissioned: July 1, 1972 | |
| Builder: Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. | |
| Propulsion system: 8 boilers | |
| Propellers: four | |
| Aircraft elevators: three | |
| Arresting gear cables: four | |
| Catapults: two | |
| Length: 876 feet (267 meters) | |
| Flight Deck Width: 191.9 feet (58.5 meters) | |
| Beam: 101 feet (30.8 meters) | |
| Draft: 30.8 feet (9.4 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 40,600 tons full load | |
| Speed: 33 knots | |
| Planes: 80-100 planes | |
| Crew: approx. 3448 as CVS: 115 officers and 1500 enlisted | |
| Armament: 1945: 12 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns, 68 40mm guns, 29 20mm guns and 6 machine guns 1952: 8 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns and 28 3-inch (7.6 cm) 50 caliber guns 1956: 8 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns and 14 3-inch (7.6 cm) 50 caliber guns 1961: 7 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns 1964: 4 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns |
The USS Wasp (ex CV-18 and CVA-18) was originally to be named Oriskany, but was changed to honor the USS Wasp (CV-7) lost 15 September 1942 in the southwestern Pacific while support forces on Guadalcanal.
More information on the USS Wasp from the United States Navy.
The ship was sold on 21 May 1973 to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp., of New York City, and subsequently scrapped.