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American Aircraft Carriers
America-Art-Prints  Aircraft Carriers |
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Mission Beyond Darkness by Robert Taylor Following the attack against Admiral Ozawas Japanese carrier fleet on June 20, 1944, Admiral Mitscher defies all rules of naval engagement: In total darkness, with the ever-present danger of enemy submarines, he orders every ship in his Task Force 58 to switch on lights to guide over 100 returning carrier-borne aircraft, all desperately low on fuel. Amid the confusion, unable to get a landing slot aboard the USS Lexington, and now out of fuel, a pilot and his gunner scramble from their ditched SB2B Curtiss Helldiver, as a Fletcher class destroyer manoeuvres to make the pick up. |
USS Constellation departs Hobart by Randall Wilson. No text for this item |
Valley Forge Fly-By by Ivan Berryman. Lieutenant Robert C Wattenburger shows off the unique lines of the Vought F.4U Corsair 124723 (NP-8) of VC-3 during a low-level fly-by of USS Valley Forge in May, 1952. |
Fallen Eagle by Stan Stokes. The McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was designed by Ed Heinemann as a successor to the Skyraider attack bomber. The prototype aircraft first flew in 1954. The diminutive Skyhawk was only 42 feet in length, with a carrier friendly wingspan of 27 feet. The Skyhawk was capable of speeds close to 700 MPH, and was produced in several variants through 1979. The Skyhawk was utilized extensively in Vietnam for ground attack and support. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting entitled Fallen Eagle, the A-4 of a young Navy aviator, Everett Alvarez, has just taken off from the USS Constellation at 2:30 PM on August 5, 1964. Alvarez, a native of Salinas California, had attended the University of Santa Clara before joining the Navy. It was a day that Alvarez would not soon forget. About midnight that day the destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy were under attack from North Vietnamese patrol boats in international waters sixty miles off the coast of North Vietnam. Alvarez unit, the VA-144 Roadrunners, had been scrambled to assist the destroyers, but terrible weather conditions prevented any action. Washington decided to retaliate against these attacks by authorizing the first bombardment of North Vietnam on August 5, 1964. On that day twenty-two aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga attacked North Vietnam military targets at 1:15 PM. Only one aircraft was damaged during this first wave, and its pilot successfully made it back to an airfield in South Vietnam. The USS Constellation would provide a second wave involving 10 Skyhawks, 4 Skyraiders, and a single F-4 to provide fighter cover. Alvarez target was the harbor at Hon Gai, where his mission was to destroy any military patrol boats in the harbor. The lumbering Skyraiders were launched early, and Alvarez was the first of the ten Skyhawks off the Constellation. The Skyhawks rendezvoused at 20,000 feet before climbing to 30,000 feet for the seventy-five minute flight to the target area. Alvarez A-4 was equipped with a belly pod of 19 rockets. The Skyhawks streaked in over the harbor at 500 MPH in a shallow dive. Four torpedo boats and a larger coastal patrol ship were in the harbor. Alvarez made two passes over the harbor, and as he was passing over the southern edge of the town he saw a yellow flash to the port side of his windscreen accompanied by a popping sound. Seconds later the A-4 shook violently, and all the warning lights came on. The cockpit began to fill with smoke and the stick froze. With a final radio transmission, Im getting out! Ill see you guys later!, Alvarez pulled his ejection ring. Within seconds he was in the water. Picked-up minutes later by some very nervous fisherman, Everett Alvarez would become the first pilot shot down and captured over North Vietnam. It would be eight-and-one-half years later that Alvarez would be released, having endured hardships which would have broken anyone of less than the highest faith and courage. Everett Alvarez retired from the Navy in 1980, and was later a Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, and Deputy Director of the Veterans Administration. |
The Last Navy Biplane Fighter by Stan Stokes. The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. was organized in late 1929. The US Navy ordered 27 production Grumman FF-1 biplane fighters in 1932, the beginning of a relationship that has endured for more than seventy years. The FF-1 was a diminutive staggerwing fighter capable of a top speed of 207-MPH. A large number of aircraft were produced for export by Grumman in the early 1930s, but the company wanted to win a contract for a new and improved USN fighter. In May of 1934 the company succeeded with a contract for 54 F2F-1s. In 1934 the company also won a contract for a new and improved F3F-1. The latter was aerodynamically improved design which overcame some of the design inadequacies of the earlier aircraft. The F3F-2 was delivered in 1937. Three units were equipped with the aircraft, VF-6 operating off the USS Enterprise, VMF-2 based in San Diego, California, and VMF-1 based in Quantico, Virginia. Grumman was working on another variant, but they became concerned about the monoplane design proposed by Brewster Aircraft, so they modified their proposal from the XF4F-1 biplane to the XF4F-2 monoplane which would become the Grumman Wildcat fighter. The F3F was a stretched version of the earlier F2F produced by Grumman and also had larger wings and more modern aerodynamic features. Initial production models were fitted with a 650-HP Pratt & Whitney radial and an 8-foot 6-inch Hamilton Standard prop. The F3F-2 was the primary variant. It utilized a 950-HP engine and was armed with one .30 caliber and one 0.50 caliber machine guns. The F3F-2 was capable of a top speed slightly in excess of 240-MPH, had a service ceiling of 30,000 feet, and an effective range of 825-miles. The F3F-2s were delivered to VF-6 aboard the USS Enterprise, VMF-1 at Quantico Virginia and VMF-2 at San Diego, California. The F3F-3 was similar in design to the F3F-2. The two aircraft were almost indistinguishable, yet the 3 was 8-MPH faster due to a tighter fitting engine cowling, some aerodynamic refinements, and the deletion of the the fuselage vents. By the end of 1941 the last of these Grumman biplane fighters had disappeared from front line service. VMF 111 and VMF 211 were the last two units to relinquish their F3Fs in July and October of 1941, respectively. The1941 color movie Dive Bomber, starring Erroll Flynn, Ralph Bellamy, and Fred McMurray, featured the F3F, and many future naval aviators were motivated to sign-up after seeing this picture. As illustrated in Stan Stokes painting, an F3F aircraft piloted by a young Naval officer of Fighting Six, James E. Howard, lifts off from the USS Enterprise during fleet maneuvers before the War. Howard flew with VF-6 from 1937 through 1941. In mid-41 he resigned his commission to join the AVG Flying Tigers in China, and upon his return to the States he accepted a commission with the USAAF as a Captain. He became commander of the 356th Fighter Squadron flying the P-51 Mustang. Howards most memorable day was on January 11, 1944 when he single handedly protected a bomber squadron from enemy fighter attack on their return from their bombing mission. Labeled a one man air force by one of the bomber pilots, Howard would be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic acts of January 11th. Howard was the only fighter ace in the European theater to be so honored. |
Flight for Freedom by Stan Stokes. USN F/A-18 Hornet. |
Dawn Enterprise by Anthony Saunders The first light of dawn silhouettes the massive outline of the Yorktown class carrier USS Enterprise, in mid April 1944 she was partnered by the new Essex Class carrier USS Lexington. |
Fast Cats by Stan Stokes. The F8F Bearcat and the F7F Tigercat were the final family members in Grummans fabulous series of prop driven USN fighter aircraft. The F7F Tigercat evolved from the work of a three-man design team at Grumman, which included Bob Hall, Dick Hutton, and Gordon Israel. The Navy gave an OK to the development of a prototype in mid-1941, however it would not be until April 1944 that the first production Tigercat was delivered. The Navy planned to use the first two hundred F7Fs as night fighters, but due to unsatisfactory carrier suitability trials; the decision was made to scale back the order and equip only shore-based Marine squadrons with this aircraft. Performance tests of the first production F7Fs were impressive. The F7F was almost 80-MPH faster than an F4U Corsair in level flight at sea level. As WW II wound down, the USN changed its plans for the F7F. Newer variants were developed with the most common being the F7F-3N. The 3N was the first F7F to pass carrier qualification on the USS Shangri La in February of 1946. The final variant was the F7F-4N that included a taller rudder, a stronger wing and fuselage, and improved landing gear and tailhook. During the Korean War these aircraft were utilized in the night fighter role. The F8F was the successor to the successful F6F Hellcat fighter which was the US Navys primary fighter during most of WW II. Grummans test pilot, Bob Hall recommended to Grummans President that the successor to the F6F be small and lightweight and faster than anything flying at that time. In competition with both Curtis and Boeing, the Grumman design utilized a 2,100-HP Pratt and Whitney radial engine driving an enormous propeller more than twelve feet in diameter. The prop was so large that the Bearcat needed very tall landing gear. During its early testing the Bearcat was capable of speeds in excess of 440-MPH. The F8F was ordered into production in mid-1944, and the Navy wanted all the Bearcats it could get before November of 1945, which was the presumed date for an invasion of Japan. One interesting design feature of the initial production Bearcats was a break-away section at each wing tip, which was designed to break-off if overstressed, in order to prevent a catastrophic failure of the complete wing. Also unique was the utilization of a bubble canopy, the first on a Navy aircraft. On February 17, 1945 LCDR Robert Elder flew the F8F in its first carrier suitability trials on the USS Charger. Despite terrible weather conditions, Elder made fifteen successful arrested landings. The F8F passed these trials with flying colors. Too late to see action in WW II, the F8F would also see service in Korea, in both the reconnaissance and night fighting roles. In Stan Stokes painting an F8F accompanies an F7F-4N during the carrier qualification of the F7F-4N on the USS Franklin Roosevelt (CV-42) in 1946. |
Doolittle Tokyo Raiders by Robert Taylor. On the morning of April 18th, 1942, just four months following the devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, sixteen Army Air Force B-25 bombers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle engaged in a daring aerial raid to strike back at the enemy's capital of Tokyo. For his role, Doolittle was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. |
Screaming Eagle by Philip West. Having put an AIM-9 missile up the tailpipe of a MiG-17 over North Vietnam, pilot Jerry Devil Houston with Kevin Moore riding shotgun, swings his F-4B Phantom onto the center-line of the USS Coral Sea following a strike mission gainst the airfield at Bai Thuong on May 6, 1972. The brightly painted stylistic eagle denotes they are flying the CAG bird. |
Working the Night Shift by Stan Stokes. Cdr. Guy P. (Lucky Pierre) Bordelon was the only naval aviator to attain ace status during the war in Korea. Piloting Annie Mo, his F4U-5N night fighter version of the Corsair, Bordelon recorded five aerial victories. In so doing Bordelon became the last Corsair ace, and the last pilot to become an American ace while flying a propeller driven aircraft. Navy and Marine aviators were primarily focused on ground support and ground attack missions during the war, leaving the job of mig killing to the USAF. During three years of combat in Korea, naval aviators flew more than 250,000 combat sorties, delivering more than 326 million pounds of bombs to their targets. Naval aviation is generally credited with destroying 2,600 enemy vessels, 2,000 bridges, 250 tanks, and 74 aircraft destroyed on the ground. These missions were not without a price as more than 500 aircraft were lost to ground fire during the war. The U.S. Navy utilized a wide array of aircraft in Korea, as it transitioned from prop to jet power. In addition to the Corsair other prop aircraft included the Douglas AD-2, AD-3 and AD-4 Skyraiders, the twin-engine Grumman F7F Tigercat, the TBM and TBF Avenger, the Convair PB4Y Privateer, and the PBM Mariner. In the jet aircraft department the Navys primary vehicle was the F9F Panther. F2H Banshees and Douglas F3D Skynights also saw service. Night attacks by North Korean forces on ground positions held by UN forces were referred to as Bed Check Charlies by the US pilots. In July of 1953 one of these Bed Check Charlie missions hit a fuel dump at Inchon, which resulted in the loss of five million gallons of fuel. The attack was made by slow flying Yak 18s which were difficult targets for the much faster jets. The Navy dispatched a pair of night fighting Corsairs from the USS Princeton under the leadership of Guy Bordelon to an airfield just south of Seoul. In a three week period Bordelon flew three night interdiction missions and bagged five Bed Check Charlies. Bordelons Corsair, Annie Mo was left behind when his unit returned to the Princeton. Unfortunately, the aircraft was destroyed, and therefore did not survive the war. As depicted by Stan Stokes, in the artists highly-detailed painting entitled Working the Night Shift, Bordelons Annie Mo returns to the Princeton at daybreak after a late night mission in June of 1953. In the background can be seen a Sikorsky HO3S-1 which provided plane guard duties for returning naval aviators in Korea. |
America's First Flat Top by Stan Stokes. Although the US Navy had been an early leader in supporting naval aviation, during WWI the Navy had emphasized float planes, and with the end of the War, America found itself well behind the British who had several aircraft carriers in service. In April of 1919 the Navy decided to convert a new collier, the USS Jupiter, into a flush deck aircraft carrier, the navy's first. Redesignated as the USS Langley (CV-1), the ship was commissioned in March of 1922. The Langley was the Navy's only carrier until 1928, and would serve in this role until 1936. With the introduction of faster and larger naval aircraft, the Langley's small size and slow speed would result in a decision to change her mission to seaplane tender. The Langley displaced only 13,000 tons, had an open hangar deck, and no island. The ships two stacks were swiveled outwards during air operations, giving pilots a small but unobstructed flight deck. Two catapults were incorporated in the initial design, but were later removed. CV-1 had a turbo electric drive system which allowed the ship a top speed of 14 knots in either direction. This was deemed important so aircraft could be launched in either direction in the event the deck became damaged. The designers initially planned for the Langley to have an air group of only eight aircraft, but this was later increased to as many as forty-two. Most of the Langley's aircraft were stowed on the flight deck, with the practice of stowing aircraft on the hangar deck not becoming common until later. In 1942 CV-1 was utilized to ferry P-40s to Java. She was lost during this mission. The Boeing FB-5 of VB-3 shown in the background in Stan Stokes' wonderful painting was one of the naval variants of Boeings PW-9 series. Boeing built a total of nearly 600 aircraft in this family, making it one of the most widely produced aircraft in the between Wars era. The FB-1 was the first aircraft in this series ordered by the Navy in 1924. The FB-2/3/4 variants included modifications for carrier use and a more powerful 510-HP Packard-IA engine. With the additional power, a taller rudder assembly was deemed necessary to provide adequate flight stability. The Navy ordered twenty-seven FB-5s and began taking deliveries in 1927. The upper wing of the FB-5 variant was moved forward while the lower wing was moved backwards. In addition a slightly more powerful Packard engine was utilized. As the FB-5 takes off from the Langley, a Curtis F6C-2 Hawk passes over the ship. The F6C-2 was a variant of the F6C-1 Hawk which was modified to withstand arrested landings. While only four of these models would be produced, the Navy would go on to purchase sixty of the F6C-3 and F6C-4 variants. |
Scratch One Flat Top by Stan Stokes. The Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo-bomber was the first low-wing, all metal monoplane to see service with the US Navy. Delivered in 1937 about 100 TBDs were in service when the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into WW II. Powered by a 811-HP Pratt and Whitney radial engine, the TBD had a maximum speed of about 200 MPH and a range of about 700 miles. Unfortunately, given the design of the torpedoes used, attacks had to be made at a maximum speed of only about 110 MPH, and at an altitude of no more than 100 feet. This made the Devastator a sitting duck for both enemy fighters or anti-aircraft gunners. The highlight of the TBDs brief battle career in WW II came during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. This battle, the first ever waged solely between the aircraft of opposing carrier attack groups, involved air groups from the USS Yorktown and USS Lexington. Three Japanese carriers, the Shokaku, the Zuikaku, and the Shoho were involved. On May 7 the Lexington launched fifty aircraft and the Yorktown another 43. Two squadrons of TBDs were involved in the attack. This massed force located the Shoho around 11:00 AM. SBD Dauntless dive bombers initiated the attack, and were successful at fending off fighter attacks by Zeros during their near vertical dives. The large force of SBDs put several 1000-pounders into the Shoho. Minutes later the Devastators from the Lexington attacked, gaining advantage from the smoke and confusion created by the dive bombers. Coming in low and slow the Devastators put six or seven torpedoes into the Shoho. In Stan Stokes painting the TBD flown by Lt. R. F. Farrington, T.R. Wiebe, and Walter N. Nelson of VT-2 from the USS Lexington is depicted. Several more hits by the Dauntlesses sealed the fate of the Shoho which slipped under the waves while still making a headway of about 20 knots. Witnessing the Shohos final moments, Lt. Cdr. Bob Dixon reported by radio at 11:36 AM the following message, Scratch One Flat Top! Dixon to carrier. Scratch one Flat Top! This was the first loss of a significant ship by the Imperial Navy. It also foretold of an end of the era of surface war ships slugging it out in a gunnery duel within sight of each other. The era of the carrier battle group had begun, with destruction delivered to a distant enemy by carrier based aircraft. Weeks following the Battle of the Coral Sea, at the Battle of Midway, the United States Navy would destroy almost 50% of Japans carriers in a momentous battle. The Navys TBDs would be virtually wiped-out at Midway, and would be replaced in front-line service by TBF Avengers and SB2C Helldivers for the balance of the War. |
Scramble for the Marianas by Nicolas Trudgian. On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries of encouragement. Hell this is like an old time turkey shoot! yelled one pilot - and thus the battle became known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. By the late afternoon two Japanese carriers had been sunk by submarines, and an incredible 373 enemy planes shot down. The U.S. Navy pilots had won an historic victory. Seen hurtling off the deck of the U.S.S. Lexington is the F6F Hellcat of Lt. Alex Vraciu of Fighting Squadron VF-16. With 12 victories already to his credit, Vraciu would add a further 6 to his tally in the space of just 8 minutes on that momentous day. |
USS Langley by Ivan Berryman Americas first true aircraft carrier, the USS Langley (CV-1) is pictured making way at sea as a pair of Douglas DT-2s pass overhead. |
USS Dwight Eisenhower by Ivan Berryman. A pair of F18 Hornets overfly the Nimitz-class carrier USS Dwight Eisenhower (CV-69) with the surface combatant USS Arleigh Burke (DDF-51) off her port bow. |
USS Ronald Reagan by Randall Wilson. CVN78 Steams at full power on her 1st deployment. |
USS Yorktown at the Battle of Midway by Anthony Saunders USS Yorktown seen accompanied by her destroyers including USS Hammann shown under attack by Japanese Torpedo Bombers (Kates) during the battle of Midway. It was in this action that USS Yorktown was lost. |
EA-18G Growler by Ivan Berryman. Developed from the F.18E/F Block II Super Hornet, the EA-18G Growler is the US Navy's latest airborne electronic attack aircraft (AEA), a land or carrier-based weapons platform into which many flexible design features have been incorporated, giving it a full-spectrum AEA capability as well as targeting and self-defense systems equal to those of the standard F.18. Sometimes referred to as a 'Grizzly' to avoid confusion with its predecessor, the EA-6B Prowler, the EA-18G was first introduced into Navy service in 2008 with VAQ-129, one of whose aircraft is depicted here above the carrier USS Ronald Raegan (CVN.76). |
USS Kearsarge by Randall Wilson. USS Kearsarge CV33, USS Princeton and USS Rochester CA124 in Korea 1952 with bearcats over the top. |
Practice Makes Perfect by Stan Stokes. The first successful carrier landing and take off took place on January 18, 1911 in San Francisco Bay. It was performed using a Curtiss biplane, which was flown by Eugene Ely, a demonstration pilot who worked for Curtiss Aircraft. A flying platform was built on the stern of the USS Pennsylvania, and a primitive arresting gear was provided by a series of ropes with sandbags attached to each end. Ely took off from Selfridge Field and made the first trap on the Pennsylvania. Following a pleasant lunch he took off from the deck and returned to Selfridge Field. This event was a watershed in the history of naval aviation. Ely would be followed over the next 9 decades by tens of thousands of naval aviators who would experience both the fear and ecstasy of a carrier landing at sea. By the time America was involved in WW II, carrier-based aviation had matured. Victory in WW II, especially in the Pacific, was influenced more by carrier-based aviation then any other factor. By the end of WW II America had a massive fleet of more than 100 aircraft carriers including the fast Essex Class big carriers and scores of light and escort carriers. During the War many of the pilots who earned their Navy wings did their carrier qualifications on the Great Lakes. Two paddle wheel steamboats were converted by the Navy to serve as training carriers. They were the USS Sable and the USS Wolverine. These ships had small decks which were fairly close to the water. A significant number of aircraft were lost during these practice sessions and as in any military training operation there were casualties. The aircraft shown being waved off in Stan Stokes painting appropriately entitled Practice Makes Perfect is an SNJ. This aircraft was one of the primary trainers of WW II, and was utilized by both the Army Air Corps (AT-6) and the Navy (SNJ), as well as many other countries. Designated the AT-6 by the USAAC this capable aircraft was also known as the Harvard and the Texan. The Australians knew the aircraft as the Whirraway. More than 15,000 of these trainers were produced, and this capable low-wing monoplane remained in service for many years following the War. North American, better known for their production of the P-51 Mustang, evolved the AT-6 from an earlier design known as the BT-9. First production models reached service in 1940. Many pilots received aerial gunnery training in the AT-6. A fair number of these aircraft are still in flying condition and can be seen at many air shows throughout the world. Due a general appearance similar to Japanese fighters and dive bombers of WW II, a few of these aircraft have been modified to look like the latter aircraft. |
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