Aircraft
tie-down - A Dauntless dive bomber is lashed down to the flight deck.
(Source:"Air War Over the Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
Working on an aircraft engine -
An SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber receives some engine work while at sea.
(Source:"Air War Over the Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
Loading a bomb under an SBD Dauntless - An Enterprise Dauntless is loaded with a 500-pound demolition bomb for attacks against Japanese positions during the first day of the American landings on Guadalcanal.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
Keeping it all sorted out -
Positioning and movement of aircraft on board carriers is a precision process planned and
tracked in the aircraft handler's spaces, located at the base of the island at flight deck
level. A USS Randolph (CV-15) crewman keeps aircraft positions up to date by use
of aircraft templates on a metal board depicting the carrier's flight and hanger decks.
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
"On my signal..." - Communicating with a flag, a launching officer directs a dive-bombing pilot to "hold the brakes" until given the signal for takeoff. Because low flying planes could be swamped by high seas, the moment of lift-off was timed to coincide with a rising deck.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Taking care of a landed F4F - Airedales disengage a Wildcat's tailhook from one of the flight deck's arresting wires. To reduce the chance of accidents, the pilot was not allowed to leave his plane until its wheels had been chocked into place.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Hot Poppas - Known as the
"Hot Poppas", these men, wearing heavy asbestos protective suits, risked their
lives to rescue pilots and aircrewman from burning aircraft during emergency situations.
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Preparing bombs - Getting bombs ready for loading aboard the second USS Yorktown (CV-10) in November 1943.
(Source:"Carrier Wars" by Edwin P. Hoyt)
Avgas for a thirsty Hellcat - Members of a gassing crew fuel a combat-bound F6F Hellcat. Aviation fuel was pumped to the flight deck from huge tanks, that, for ballasting purposes, were arranged along the bottom of the carrier's hull.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
"Send this to Tojo for me...." - Sailors lounge on 1000-pound bombs that they have named with whimsical names and messages for the enemy. Despite their casual air, the men carefully observed the ship's policy of "No Smoking" on the flight deck.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Loading ammunition - Squatting
on a Hellcat's wing, an ordananceman loads a box of ammunition for one of the fighter's
six 50-caliber machine guns while his assistant fills the next box with a belt of
cartridges.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Let's hope he doesn't need this - A Dauntless has its two .30-caliber rear guns rearmed with 1000 rounds each.
(Source: U.S. Navy)
LSO in action - The Landing Signal Officer (LSO) was responsible for guiding a landing aircraft down to a safe landing on the carrier deck. He controlled the approach of the aircraft through arm signals with his 'paddles', often exposed precariously at the aft end of the flight deck. Here an LSO on board the USS Essex brings in an SB2C of VB-15, during operations in April-May 1944. With arms extended straight he is signaling a 'Roger Pass', or good approach.
(Source:"Air War Over The Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
LSO at work - The Landing Signal Officer gives directions to the incoming aircraft by signaling that the plane is banking too far off to the right-hand side of the carrier, and should be lined up more to the center. He is standing in front of a square canvas barrier that made him more visible to the aircraft, and helped protect him from the wind in his exposed position at the stern of the ship.
(Source: Franklin Avery)
Bringing in another one - Having signaled the pilot to cut his throttle, the Landing Signal Officer watches carefully as the aircraft lands. Part of the LSO's job was to evaluate each pilot's technique and teach correct landing habits.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
One last LSO picture (this one's in
color) - When he was still a Lieutenant in the early days of the war, David McCampbell
(later to become the top US Navy ace with 34 kills) served as the USS Wasp's
(CV-7) Landing Signal Officer (seen here with paddles in hand).
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Careful with that fish - A torpedo for an Avenger is hauled past an SB2C (foreground) and two Hellcats on board the second USS Hornet (CV-12) in June 1944.
(Source:"Air War Over The Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
Last-minute arming of rockets - While an Avenger pilot starts his engine, an armament expert activates the firing mechanisms on four 5-inch rockets under the plane's starboard wing. To minimize the danger of accidental firing, this task was left until just before takeoff.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
This'll pack a big punch.... - Beneath the open bomb bay of an Avenger, airedales check the steel cables cradling the massive 2000-pound bomb. A top-notch crew could load a plane with a weapon of this size in about three minutes.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Nervous stares - As unidentified aircraft fly overhead, anti-aircraft gun crews search to see if they're friendly or hostile.
(Source: U.S. Navy)
Last line of defense - Anti-aircraft gunners on the new USS Hornet hammer away at enemy planes off the Japanese coast in February, 1945. Their 40-mm guns fired 120 rounds a minute and had an effective range of about two miles.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Rockets for Corsairs - Armourers on board the carrier Bennington (CV-20) assemble 5 inch HVARs (High Velocity Artillery Rockets), on February 26, 1945.
(Source:"Air War Over The Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
The plane captain - Plane
captains ready VF-82 Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats for launch from the USS Bennington
(CV-20) off Okinawa in May 1945. The role of the plane captain was akin to the squire to
the knights of old. 
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)