The first carrier, the _Langley_, with a complement of six airplanes, became the training ground for the young naval aviators who were to lay the foundation for the world’s greatest seagoing aërial task force. While the _Langley_ was primitive by today’s standards, experiments with it pointed the way for the development of improved types of carrier-based fighting planes. However, the enthusiasm of the young naval aviators was not shared entirely by other Navy men based on surface craft. To them airplanes were just something to be fished out of the sea when an engine failed. It was some time before the aviators were able to convince these others of the exceptional value of planes in spotting gunfire and scouting for an enemy. Regardless of the fact that they were the Navy’s orphans, the young pioneers kept at it. They flew the crude machines available and developed tactics for carrier-based airplanes. They improved the arresting gear and solved many technical problems in ways that enabled aircraft builders to design airplanes especially suitable for use on carriers. At the same time, it was natural that flying boats should appeal to Navy men. The flight of the NC flying boats inspired the development of long-range patrol boats. Naval aviators also went ahead with experiments which were to lead to the creation of flying boats with a range of 2,000 miles and more. While the naval aviators were busy with their early experiments on the _Langley_, the Disarmament Conference of 1922 had changed this country’s plans for the construction of new battleships. However, the United States and Great Britain were permitted, by the terms of the conference agreement, each to have 135,000 tons of airplane carriers. Two of the big cruisers under construction at that time were converted into carriers. These two, our first specifically designed-aircraft carriers, were the _Lexington_ and the _Saratoga_. When commissioned in 1927, the _Lexington_ and the _Saratoga_ were the biggest and best aircraft carriers in the world. Weighing about 35,000 tons and capable of carrying sixty to eighty airplanes, [Illustration: VOUGHT VE-7 FIGHTER] [Illustration: CURTISS F6C-1 FIGHTER] [Illustration: CURTISS T5 FIGHTER] [Illustration: BOEING F4B-4 FIGHTER] [Illustration: CURTISS BF2C-1 FIGHTER-BOMBER] they were the fastest ships of their type afloat. The ships--the “Lex” and the “Sara,” as airmen called them--became the twin mothers of carrier fighter tactics and operational techniques.