Flight Deck, Part 2: A Pictorial Essay of a Day in the Life of an Airdale

FLIGHT DECK

A Pictorial Essay of a Day in the Life of an Airdale

WITH FIRST-PERSON COMMENTS BY EDWARD ATKINS (PART 2)

Photographs courtesy of The National Archives

Contents

LANDING ACTIVITIES

PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD

PERMISSION GRANTED

VIEW FROM A FOLLOWING PICKET DESTROYER

CLEAR DECK

ALMOST IN THE GROOVE

RIGHT IN THE GROOVE

A PERFECT APPROACH AND LANDING

A LITTLE TOO HIGH

TOUCHDOWN, ALMOST

WELCOME ABOARD

INCOMING TRAFFIC

WAVE-OFF

JUST RIGHT, ALMOST

HURRY UP AND MAKE ROOM

SERIOUS WAVE-OFF

RESULT OF WAVE-OFF

WAVE-OFF MISHAP

ANTIETAM (CV-36) BRINGS ANOTHER ONE ABOARD

LANDING SIGNAL OFFICER

WELL DONE

PERFECT 20-SECOND INTERVALS

ANOTHER GOOD SEQUENCE

GOOD BRAKES, BAD LANDING

HELLCATS NEED HELP WITH THEIR WINGS

ALL TOGETHER

WINGS FOLDED, WHEELS UNCHOCKED

HELLCAT TO THE HANGER DECK

LOOKS LIKE A GOOD LANDING

LANDING/LAUNCHING

HELLDIVER ONBOARD

THE TAILHOOK HELD

TAILHOOK ENGAGED

HELLDIVER RECEIVING ATTENTION

A LITTLE BODY-ENGLISH

CLOSE TO TOUCHDOWN

A HARD LANDING

A NICE LOOKING AIRCRAFT, THIS

PERFECT LANDING

ONE MORE ABOARD

FOLDING WINGS TO JOIN THE FOLD

HELLCAT UNLEASHED

HELLCAT NEEDS SOME HELP

AIRDALES FOLD WINGS

LAST FLIGHT OF THE DAY

A HARD LANDING

HELLDIVER INTO THE BARRIER

THIS CORSAIR HAVING HARDTIME

CRASH IMMINENT

BOUNCE, THEN THE CRASH

EXCESSIVE BOUNCE

TROUBLE AHEAD

WATERBOUND

AN AVENGER CAUSING HAVOC

50-FEET TO THE WATER

SOMETIMES STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN

SOMETIMES STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN, II

MISHAPS

AIRDALES TO WORK

STRUCTURAL MISHAP

COLLISION IN PROGRESS

BARRIER CRASH

TAKING IT ON THE CHIN

SALVAGE OPERATION

BARRIER CONTACT

AND THE RESULT

BARRIER-HOPPING

RESULT OF BARRIER-HOPPING

ANOTHER BARRIER CRASH

IT HAD TO HAPPEN

HAVOC AFTER BARRIER-HOPPING

COMING IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER

STAND CLEAR!

CRASH IN PROGRESS

AIRDALES TURN TO!

SCRATCH ONE HELLDIVER

SERIOUS BUSINESS HERE

HIGH-OCTANE GASOLINE ON THE DECK

GASOLINE IGNITES

AIRDALES BECOME FIREMEN

THIS WON’T BE PRETTY

SERIOUS BUSINESS, THIS

MORE SERIOUS BUSINESS

FORTUNATELY, NO FIRE

ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN

AIRDALES TAKE CONTROL

NO FIRE THIS TIME

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE THERE’S FIRE

AIRDALES WORKING TOGETHER

JOB WELL DONE

THERE’S NO REST FOR THE WEARY

RUPTURED FUEL TANK CAUSES FIRE

QUICK RESPONSE

ALL HANDS, TURN TO!

FIRE’S A REAL DANGER HERE

THE FIRE’S OUT

A BOUNCER CAUSED THIS

PARKING

PARKING DUTIES

FULL HOUSE

PARKING, FROM ABOVE

PARKING, FROM ABOVE, II

PARKING, FROM ABOVE, III

THE PARKING BEGINS

THE PARKINGS BEGINS, II

PACK ‘EM IN

HELLCAT ON THE PREMISES

ANTIETAM SHAKEDOWN

A TYPICAL SCENE

ATTENTION ON DECK

FINE TUNING

BUSINESS END OF F6F

CUT ENGINE

THE TWO FACES OF A HELLCAT

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

HELLDIVERS, NOSE TO TAIL

CLOSE ENOUGH!

NOT CLOSE ENOUGH

HELLDIVERS, NOSE TO TAIL, II

AVENGERS, PRETTY CLOSE

LAUNCHINH/PARKING

FLYING SHRAPNEL

THE AIRCRAFT THEY CALLED THE BEAST

HELLCATS NEED HELP

STILL HOLDING

WHERE’S THAT PARKING SPOT

FOLD WINGS, TAXI FORWARD

WHERE’S MY PARKING SPOT?

STAND CLEAR!

LOOK SHARP

STAND BY

HOW MUCH CLOSER?!

CAREFUL NOW

EASY DOES IT

That’s Close Enough!

START PRAYING NOW

A NICE PICTURE

ENEMY ACTION

SHELL-BURSTS OVERHEAD

DOWNED ENEMY AIRCRAFT

KAMIKAZE INBOUND!

DECKLOAD OF AIRCRAFT ON FIRE

SAME SHIP, DIFFERENT VIEW

SO AIRDALES ARE FIREMEN TOO

SAME FIRE, DIFFERENT VIEW

AIRDALES WEARING A FIREMAN’S HAT

U. S. S. SANTA FE TO THE RESCUE

GETTING CLOSER

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE THERE’S FIRE

ANOTHER DIRECT HIT

SAME SHIP, CLOSER VIEW

THE LONG VIEW

THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE

TWO KAMIKAZES DELIVER SUCH DESTRUCTION AND DEVASTATION

WHAT HATH BEEN WROUGHT?

SAME SHIP, CLOSER VIEW

NO PLACE TO HIDE

ALL ALONE AND ISOLATED

NEARER MY GOD TO THEE

EPILOGUE

CLOSING THOUGHTS

A GRACE NOTE

FLIGHT DECK, PART 2

A PlCTORIAL ESSAY OF A DAY IN THE LlFE OF AN AlRDALE

Copyright © 2011 Edward Atkins

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Abbott Press rev. date: 12/5/2011

LANDING ACTIVITIES

The landing activity was a little more dicey than the launching activity only because others were directly involved in your well being. (See the Parking Chapter) (But getting to the wheelchocks during launch-time was very often much the most do-or-die visceral, fearfUl situation.)

Prior to landing, the squadrons of aircraft would form a race track pattern overhead the carrier, separated by 20-sec-ond intervals and at about 1,000 feet altitude. Each aircraft in turn would make his approach to the stern of the carrier from about one-quarter mile away. (The carrier would have first turned into the wind and would adjust its speed so as to have 30-knots of wind come over the front of the flight deck.) Once the aircraft was in the groove about 200 yards from the stern of the ship, the LSO (Landing Signal Officer) would take control of the aircraft’s flight path. (the LSO stood on a small platform at the very back part of the flight deck on the port side, offset from the flight deck and flush with it. There was a net outboard of this platform for safety reasons.) The LSO had cloth paddles with which he gave directions to the pilot, correcting for speed, altitude, attitude, and position. If all was well, the LSO had his two arms out, horizontally, on the level. If the aircraft were low, the LSO’s arms would move down. The more urgent he was, the more vigorously he’d move his arms. When all was well, and it was time, the LSO would indicate cut engine by bringing the right paddle sharply across his chest. If all was not well, the LSO would wave his paddles over his head. The pilot was required to apply power and get back into the flight pattern.

As the aircraft dropped down to land, the arresting-gear came into play. There was a set of about 16 cables, spaced about five yards apart, running across the aft part of the flight deck. Each cable had a set of knuckles under it that were ordinarily flush with the deck. But when an aircraft was to land, the knuckles were raised several inches, thus raising the horizontal arresting-cables several inches above the deck. This enabled the landing aircraft’s extended tailhook to catch onto one of the cables (when the aircraft touched down, if all went well). If the aircraft was too high at engine cut-off, it would bounce over the arresting-cables. In this event, there were also raised horizontal sets of wires across the deck forming a barrier to anything trying to pass. There were three of these barriers that were raised for each landing. Aircraft usually went through several barriers before being stopped. However, if the aircraft bounced too high, it would hurdle all the barriers and proceed forward, doing damage to man and machine.. The arresting wires and barriers were raised for a landing, lowered after the landing to let the aircraft move up forward, then raised again for the next landing. These actions were controlled by the green-shirts, and if possible, every 20 seconds.

Paralleling the arresting cables, and built into the flight deck, were cleats every five or six yards. These cleats allow the Airdales to tie an aircraft to the deck during rough weather.

Once an aircraft has landed, it immediately taxis forward to make room for the following aircraft that’s in the landing groove. They usually stay on the flight deck, but when it gets too crowded, or if it needs repair work, it’ll go to either the deckedge elevator or the forward elevator, to be taken down to the hangar deck. This too must be done quickly. If there’s a delay, such as difficulty unhooking the tailhook from the arresting cable, the following plane must be waved off to come around again. If the aircraft is closer than a 20-second interval, it’ll be waved off, in all likelihood. During any of these wave-offs, if the aircraft is unable to generate enough power (speed), it’ll go into the water. The escorting destroyer will then pick up the pilot. Many things have to happen correctly, but most landings were without incident.

PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD

While the launch-process of the previous chapter is more precarious and potentially deadly to the Airdale, the landing-process of this chapter is more precarious and potentially deadly to the pilot. This will be more evident in the chapter on Mishaps.

Here, I would say that the F6F is definitely too high and that he’ll make a bounce landing, probably missing the arresting-gear and going into the barriers. This is so in spite of the fact that the ship is probably moving at close to 20-knots (23-mph). Notice lowered radiomast to the right.

PERMISSION GRANTED

The previous page implied that the landing operation was devoid of danger to the Airdale. Not so. It was merely a comparison to the launch operation. When a pilot has trouble landing his plane, there are serious consequences to the Airdales. Not only is the aircraft itself a possible danger, but also the flying debris caused by the aircraft’s crash can be deadly. On the Antietam, this fortunately was not that big a problem. However, being a training ship (training aircraft squadrons), you never could tell whether that next landing was going to be a problem, sometimes with dire consequences. Again, it was the unknown that was the villain. And again, I wax melodramatic, but frankly, with justification. (Visit the Mishaps chapter.) Included in the landing scenario are the aircraft taxiing forward after landing. These too could do bodily harm not only by running into you, but also by chewing up other aircraft and thus spewing out shrapnel. In any case, it was heads up time whenever aircraft were moving on the flight deck under their own power. In this picture, notice the screen on the left back corner of the flight deck. This is to protect the LSO (Landing Signal Officer) from the wind at his back as he faces the incoming aircraft. His purpose is to give hand-signals (using paddles) to the pilots as they land.

VIEW FROM A FOLLOWING PICKET DESTROYER

This is a good landing, nice and easy. Just back of the aft 5-inch guns is a group of Airdales ready to pick up each aircraft as it taxis forward after landing. Some of the aircraft go down the deckedge elevator to the hangar deck and the others (most of them) go up forward. The ship’s moving fast since there’s little ambient wind: notice the ship’s wake and its bow-wave. You also will notice the LSO’s windscreen at the far left of the flight deck, as described on the previous page. The landing aircraft came from the left, always turning to the left until they get into the groove (a position directly behind the carrier, about 600 feet away, and lined up with the length of the flight deck.

CLEAR DECK

This could well be a different view of the previous page. (I like both of the pictures because they are so similar to paintings). In the lower middle of the picture is the LSO’s (Landing Signal Officer, a pilot) windscreen. This is a good landing, not too high or too low, just before touchdown. The wingspan says it’s a TBF/M. The Airdales to the right and left are there to pick up the TBF/M as it taxis forward to its parking spot (a separate chapter). Notice the triangular barrier-stanchions to the right are upright. The person to the left, by himself, is a yellow-shirt ready to