16) received flight training from the Wright brothers at Dayton, Ohio; and was the first executive officer of the first United States aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1).

After shakedown along the United States West Coast, Kenneth Whiting cleared San Diego, California, on 21 July 1944 and arrived at Saipan on 14 August 1944 for operations in the Mariana Islands.

At Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, Kenneth Whiting used a former Japanese seaplane ramp to augment her maintenance facilities and increase the availability of planes.

At 18:30 on 21 June 1945, five hours after Major General Roy Geiger declared Okinawa secured, a small group of kamikazes penetrated Kerama Retto.

Kenneth Whiting shot down a Nakajima Ki-43 (reporting name "Oscar"]]), but part of the plane hit her, causing minor damage and wounding five men.

During July 1945 her planes flew armed reconnaissance along the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China, locating targets for United States Third Fleet air raids.

Following overhaul at Bremerton, Washington, and coastal operations from San Diego, Kenneth Whiting departed on 2 March 1953 for another deployment to the Western Pacific, supporting seaplane activities in Japan in the final months of the Korean War.

After the Korean War, Kenneth Whiting made annual deployments to the Far East in support of United States Seventh Fleet activities.