Broadside view

In contrast with the carriers that followed, the Langley had no superstructure -- that is, the flight deck was the uppermost part of the 11,500-ton ship. And the Langley wasn't born as a carrier. Rather, it was converted from the USS Jupiter, which had served as a collier from 1913 to 1920. Here, we see the Langley at anchor in about 1922, with an Aeromarine 39-B coming in for a landing.