USS Wasp (CV-7)
Design
Wasp was the first carrier fitted with a deck-edge elevator for aircraft. The elevator consisted of a platform for the front wheels of the plane 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.
Guadalcanal Campaign
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 were shot down, but Ensign Reeves landed his Wildcat aboard Enterprise after running low on fuel.
Guadalcanal Campaign
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.
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