Color TBF Avenger - early
publicity photo of a Grumman TBF-1 torpedo bomber. Here we see a VT-8 crew preparing to
board the aircraft. The original four-man crew was later reduced to three by eliminating
the horizontal bombardier behind the pilot.
(Source: The Hook magazine, Fall 1996)
A line of Dauntlesses line up for launching - The SBD Dauntless was the mainstay of the US Navy's dive-bombing force for most of the war. It had a range of of 1000 miles and could carry a half-ton bomb.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
SBD over the side - An early SBD is pushed onto an outrigger for storage on board USS Enterprise, April 17, 1942. The outrigger was a trough for an aircraft's tailwheel that allowed it to be parked topside without taking up precious deck space. At this time the Enterprise (CV-6) was escorting the Hornet (CV-8), which was carrying Doolittle's raiders on the approach to Japan.
(Source:"Air War Over The Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
The hangar deck - Below decks on a carrier, engineers can be seen working on an F4F Wildcat that has one wing removed. Other aircraft can be seen in the background suspended from the ceiling, as a space-saving measure.
(Source: "Tragic Victories", by Edward Jablonski)
TBD Devastators of Torpedo Squadron 6 - aboard the Enterprise before take-off on June 4, 1942. In heroic attacks against Japanese carriers that day, thirty-five of forty-one Devastators were destroyed.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
Dauntlesses prepare to launch from the Wasp - On August 7, 1942 the Americans prepared to launch their first offensive in the Pacific, which included this SBD strike from the USS Wasp.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
Yes, Corsairs CAN operate from carriers! - This F4U-1 Corsair of
VF-17 "The Jolly Rogers" participated in the shakedown cruise of the USS Bunker Hill in July of 1943. These were among the first flights to prove that the long-nosed Corsair could land safely on Navy carriers.
(Source: Marine Fighting Squadron One-Twenty-One (VMF-121) by Thomas Doll)
Hellcat on deck - A Grumman F6F Hellcat is cleared for launch from its carrier in late 1943.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
A deckful of SB2Cs - This color
picture was actually taken in the Atlantic during a USS Yorktown (CV-10) cruise
in 1943, but it shows the colors and crowded conditions of an active carrier deck very
well.
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Deck crew goes to work - The flight deck crew of the USS Yorktown secure Douglas Dauntlesses that have just returned from a strike against Japanese-held islands, October 1943.
(Source: "Steichen At War" by Christopher Phillips)
Hellcat revving up for a launch - An F6F Hellcat fighter moves up the deck aboard the (second) carrier Yorktown (CV-10). Note the multiple propeller arcs caused by the yellow-painted propeller tips.
(Source:"Carrier Wars" by Edwin P. Hoyt)
Coming up from the hangar deck - Navy crewmen bring up a Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter by elevator to the flight deck of the USS Monterey, June 1944.
(Source: "Steichen At War" by Christopher Phillips)
A deckload of planes - TBM Avengers, SBD Dauntlesses, and F6F Hellcats on the deck of the USS Lexington during strikes on Saipan.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
Tossed about like a toy - Severe ocean storms were as deadly as enemy attacks. This poor Avenger is a TBM-1C of VT-28 on board the USS Monterey (CVL-26). It was thrown around the hangar deck during a typhoon on December 19, 1944.
(Source:"Air War Over The Pacific" by Robert C. Stern)
Burning Hellcat - Spare fuel tanks could be carried under the bellies of F6F Hellcats to increase their flying range. However, the belly tank sometimes detached upon landing, as in this incident on board the USS Lexington on February 25, 1945. The pilot escaped by climbing across the wing and jumping onto the deck.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
Another Hellcat burns - Similar to the above picture, this incident happened on board the USS Ticonderoga. As the plane touched down, the auxiliary fuel tank broke loose, struck the propeller, and exploded.
(Source:"The Carrier War" by Clark G. Reynolds & Time-Life)
Last Navy scoutplane of WWII - A
Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk is seen taxiing onto its recovery mat in this color photo taken on
March 6, 1945. The Seahawks were designed to be a more modern replacement to the venerable
Vought Kingfisher floatplane, and began arriving in Oct. 1944.
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Color Corsair on deck - Assigned
to MCVG-4, Corsairs of VMF-351 provided fighter cover and flew bombing missions from the
USS Cape Glouchester (CVE-109) during the Okinawa campaign and during attacks on
the Japanese home islands.
(Source: The Hook magazine, Fall 1996)
The latest
thing in flying boats - The Martin Mariner replaced the PBY Catalina in the later
stages of the war. Here a Fleet Air Wing One PBM-3 Mariner is refueled at Saipan in 1945.
Over 1,300 Mariners were built, and their service life lasted 16 years.
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Airborne ammunition - A ruler gives scale to a comparison of three different shell sizes used by American warplanes. From top-to-bottom: .30-caliber, .50-caliber, and 20mm cannon shell.
(Source: "Aces Over the Pacific" manual, by Dynamix)