pigeons were considered an essential element of naval aviation communication when the first united states aircraft carrier was commissioned on 20 march 1922; so the ship included a pigeon house on the stern. the pigeons were trained at the norfolk naval shipyard while "langley" was undergoing conversion. as long as the pigeons were released a few at a time for exercise, they returned to the ship; but when the whole flock was released while "langley" was anchored off tangier island, the pigeons flew south and roosted in the cranes of the norfolk shipyard. the pigeons never went to sea again.