Today in U.S. Naval History: September 26

Posted by Eric Haun September 26, 2014

USS Ranger (CV-4). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Today in U.S. Naval History: September 26

1781 - French fleet defeats British at Yorktown, Va.

1910 - First recorded reference to provision for aviation in Navy Department organization

1918 - USCGC Tampa lost with 118 men, probably by German submarine

1931 - Keel laying at Newport News, Va. of USS Ranger (CV-4), first ship designed and constructed as an aircraft carrier

1963 - First steam-eject launch of Polaris missile at sea off Cape Canaveral, Fla. (now Cape Kennedy) from USS Observation Island (EAG-154)

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.