Aircraft Carrier Flight Deck Operations: Honoring the LSO's of WWII

LSO Using Signal Flag. Photo: Frank Scherschel/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images. January 01, 1942


As I plow my way through Hugh Ambrose's new book titled The Pacific, I am reminded again just how daunting and exhilerating the US Naval aircraft carrier operations in World War II truly were. I have long been an admirer of military aviators, and at one time would have greatly relished the opportunity to test my own mettle in the cockpit of a roaring jet.

But, WWII was a profoundly different war from the ones that preceded it. Our boys were sent to the front lines using technology and equipment that was largely untested in battle. Hell, the instructors were teaching military principles that had only been in place for a very short time. Carrier aviators must have had serious balls of steel. Dropping a several ton screaming piece of metal onto a rolling carrier deck at a fast clip is pure insanity. Can you even imagine your first time? I've asked many a veteran aviator at air shows how they did it at such a young age, and their response is usually along the lines of, "because we had to". Well damn.

Just as foreign a position were the men assigned to flag duty; the Landing Signal Officers (LSO). These seamen had an even larger responsibility to the fleet. Land the aviators. All of them. And wave them in safely. Here's honoring these forgotten heroes of WWII.


A plane handler signals to the pilot of a Grumman F6F Hellcat to "Lock the tailwheel," aboard the USS Tulagi off the coast of southern France. Photo: Wayne Miller © CORBIS. August 1944.


Activities on USS Lexington, CVA-16, during military action. Plane director brings F6F down flight deck after landing. June 1943.


A U.S. Navy fighter takes off from the deck of an aircraft carrier during the invasion of North Africa. © Horace Bristol/CORBIS. Photo: Horace Bristol. Circa 1942.


Lt. John Clark, USN, LSO gives pilot signal to lift one wing as he brings in plane for landing on USS Lexington in South Pacific. December 1943.


A TBD from Torpedo Eight, T-5, taxiing up the flight deck of CV-8. Circa May 15, 1942. Via.

LSO night ops; or he could be auditioning for Cirque du Soleil.


This fine chap could either be directing several tons of fast moving steel onto a shifting carrier deck, or modeling Ralph Lauren's Fall line.


Lt. in new suit made of chemically treated cloth, on flight deck of USS Charger. September 6, 1944.


Signal flags aboard the USS Hancock. December 20, 1944.


LCDR John C. Waldron, Torpedo Eight's Commanding Officer, and Horace F. Dobbs, CRMP on the flight deck of the USS Hornet in the Coral Sea. Via.


Aircraft carrier signal man. The blurry dude in the forefront looks like a fashion time-traveler.

The Battle of Midway (1942): Color Documentary

A color documentary short that portrays the decisive battle of Midway. The naval/air confrontation between the carrier forces of Japan and the U.S. is considered to be the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Directed by John Ford.

Despite the freakish Betty White-sounding narration, this is probably the coolest documentary I have seen in ages. And it is 68 years old. Do yourself a favor. Watch. Listen. Learn.

Jet Set

Been doing some traveling for the job this week. Hopefully these photos convey the same sense of weariness that I feel as a result.

Peace.

"Live Today. Tomorrow Will Cost More."

The title of this post was the once famous slogan from the now defunct Pan American World Airways. Cultural icon of the 20th Century.

Pan Am existed at a time when air travel was new and cool, it was ok to hit on the "stewardessessessess", and it didn't take five hours to get through security. Because, well, there was no security.

When I was younger my family took our semi-annual trips from Houston to London on Pan Am. We flew steerage on the Jumbo Jet and back then it was okay to smoke and get sauced on flights. It looks glamorous in old movies right? Yeah, well, when you're stuck on a nine hour flight and everyone is smoking the entire trip it pretty much just sucks. Especially when you're squinting through the haze on the one screen to watch Corey Haim in Lucas.

Pan Am Clipper - 747 Jumbo Jet.

Anyway, the airline company may be dead but the brand continues to live on through a variety of goods; primarily these kickass bags:

Marc Jacobs approved.

I purchased mine (below) a few years ago and can testify to the fact that it makes a perfect carry-all for flights, weekend trips, whatever. I get stopped all of the time in airports by people asking me where I purchased it from. Plus, it looks dope.

Fliegender Bleistift: "The Flying Pencil"

Dornier 17s on Patrol in Poland. Bundesarchiv, Bild. Spieth. Summer 1940.


Chalk this one up to amazing finds. Literally.

“At 1142 hours, 264 Squadron was ordered to take off and patrol Dover, to intercept enemy bombers.”

The report neatly summarizes the encounter, listing six enemy Dornier 17 bombers and one Me-109 fighter destroyed, to three Defiants lost on the British side. The details state that one Do-17 was “…damaged. Broke formation—smoking from both engines.” It is believed that this is the airplane that made a forced landing in an area of the English Channel called Goodwin Sands at low tide, shortly before 2 p.m. that afternoon. Read the original combat report.

A sonar side-scan image of a Dornier 17 that has been on the bottom of the English Channel for 70 years. Courtesy: RAF Museum.

Read the rest of the article on the EAA Website.

Ice Pilots

"Ice Pilots NWT is a 13-episode real-life docu-series about an unorthodox airline in the Canadian North. Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways flies WWII-era propeller planes – big old aircraft built by "Rosie the Riveter" that have remained virtually unchanged over the years. Rookie pilots defy bone-chilling temperatures to fly cargo and passengers through blizzards, breakdowns and transatlantic journeys. It's an impossible job in a merciless place."

I've always wanted to visit the Great White North.

Buffalo Airways is the only commercial airline in the world that still ferries passengers in the Douglas DC-3; THE plane that revolutionized air travel.

The US version of the History Channel has some great television programming, but man, I'd trade Canada Ice Road Truckers and Deadliest Catch for Ice Pilots any day.

Eject

These photos are incredible. Thankfully the pilot is still alive.

Pilot Capt. Brian Bews ejects as his a CF-18 fighter jet plummets to the ground during a practice flight at the Lethbridge County Airport on Friday, July 23 for the weekend airshow in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. "He is alive and we believe right now that his injuries are non-life-threatening," Canadian Forces Capt. Nicole Meszaros told CBC News.

A Day At The Airport. Continued.

On Saturday I took a trip up to the Bay Bridge airport in Maryland to check out the new family wagon.

A few months ago my dad entered into a lease-buyback program with the folks that operate Chesapeake Sport Pilot. The program has exploded in popularity which has resulted in a lack of airplanes for the students. It had become nearly impossible to schedule flight lessons on a weekend given the backlog.

By owning the airplane it is readily available whenever he wants to fly it, it is stored and maintained in their brand new hangar, and the school pays for the use of the plane. It also means that when I enter back into the workforce full time I can start my lessons at a far cheaper rate.

So this past Saturday was my first visit to see the plane and experience her joys for myself. It is a 2008 Technam P2002 Sierra. It is an Italian plane formerly owned by the President of the company. Oh, and she flies like a dream.

The iPhone photos are terrible.

A Day At The Airport