And away it goes

And back to the Langley: the Naval Historical Center says this photo might be from catapult tests in 1925. At that time the carrier was at the Naval Air Station in San Diego, Calif., and the aircraft is a Douglas DT-2.

In the 1920s, "Langley was the platform from which Naval Aviators, guided by Captain Joseph M. Reeves, undertook the development of carrier operating techniques and tactics that were essential to victory in World War II," writes the Naval Historical Center.