Warbird Information Exchange

Per request ... I'll reload this thread.

Part 1


USAAF P-47N Thunderbolt aboard USS Casablanca CVE-55 in July 1945


USAAF P-51D's


USAAF P-51D's


USAAF P-51D's and P-38's


P-47s bound for Eniwetok the Marshall Islands on board USS Manilla Bay 13th June 44


P-40's


P-47's

_________________
“Knowing what’s right, doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

Part 2


Captured Japanese aircraft on the USS Barnes


View of the flight deck aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Reaper which left from Cherbourg, France, July 1945, for the United States. Many Messerschmitt Me 262's can be seen on deck with protective covering on the aircraft. [Also seen are He 219s, Do 335, Fw 190, Ta 152.]


USS Copahee with lineup of Mitsubishi A6M5 model 52 fighters


One-half left front close-up view from slightly below of Messerschmitt Me 262 during transient to the United States on board the Royal Navy aircraft carrier H.M.S. Raper. The aircraft carrier is in port at Cherbourg, France, July 1945.


Captured Japanese aircraft on the USS Core

_________________
“Knowing what’s right, doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

The guys who flew of the escort carriers must have had nerves of steel. There's not a whole lot of real estate to operate a plane from.

Great shots Mark, thanks for posting.

I found the transport shots most interesting, especially the USS Esperance CVE88. My spotter eye detects F-86, F-84, F-80, Army L-19's, Texans and Hellcats. A very interesting load! My guess bringing older planes back from overseas? from Japan/Korea?

I also appreciated the size of the Savage on the essex class. Must have been a nightmare for the yellow shirts spotting them on deck.

Anyone know why the Panther wings only folded partially up? They stop short of vertical, and seems like a waste of space. Perhaps so they could fold while in the hangar deck and not hit the overhead? Seems shortsighted to have them not go past the vertical like most (all?) other aircraft with wings that fold inwards.

Great pictures!
I'm wondering about that picture of the USS Esperance, is that date accurate? I see at least 6 early F-84's, at least 4 F-80's and a couple of F-86's. To me it looks like earlier 50's maybe Korean war time period. Wouldn't the F-84's and F-80's have been out of service by '59?

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

~J~

Thanks Mark, did the 79/80 WestPac on the old Coral Maru CV-43

Seems like carriers are always photographed from above, and they look like floating off-ramps.

This angle of the Big E is superb. Very predatory.

Notice the mess cook taking a breather

I didn't notice that until you pointed it out. That takes a little bit of the menace out of the photo. Lol.

Got something going on in the Hanger Deck, Mass perhaps?
Also note the Degaussing gar along the hull.

Scrapping this Lady was a massive mistake, and now her newer namesake.

Looks like the flag is at half-staff? Maybe a memorial service is going on?

+1 on the scrapping of CV-6 and CVN-65. Dumb. Dumb Dumb.

IIRC, there was a plan to have CV-6 at the Washington Navy Yard. That literally would have changed the entire complexion of the Anacostia waterfront 40 years ahead of time...before Nationals Stadium was put in.

Part 3


USS RANGER Ferries 58th FG P-40 Warhawks Across Atlantic


Servicing Army fighters aboard carrier -- The 50 caliber machine guns of an Arm F-40-F are being loaded on the flight deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Other Army fighters are lined up, being readied for the signal to take off on a joint Army-Navy mission. March 9, 1943.


USS Chenango (CVE 28), P40 aircraft on board, October 1942


45th Fighter Squadron P-51's on board an aircraft carrier in transit from Hawaii to Orete Bay, Guam for eventual deployment to Iwo Jima


Japanese Planes on Hangar Deck USS Card Ship 1945

_________________
“Knowing what’s right, doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

I agree with Mark Allen M, the majority of the population was ready to put the war behind them.
A fund raising effort chaired by Admiral "Bull" Halsey himself feel very short. The park mentioned: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/phot ... 148456.jpg is something to see.
There are also chairs from one of the ready rooms on display at the Washington Navy Yard, The ships bell at the Acadamy: http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/d ... 778dff.jpg
the telegraph: http://navy.memorieshop.com/Enterprise/Telegraph.html and others.
The distictive trippod mast ( http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020650.jpg ) was intended for the top of the Academy Stadium but had already been cut up when the request was made.

Still, I cannot help think about the sight it would have been everytime I cross the Eleventh Street Bridge.

As usual, another much appreciated effort, Mark! I love all of the non-Navy aircraft that these carriers seem to be carrying - especially the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighters in this shot! One of my favorite (non-Grumman) aircraft of all time. I've also always had a particular fascination for twin-boom aircraft such as the P-61, the P-38 Lightning, and the Cessna O-2 as well.

Also love the shots of some of the more rare, less-often seen Navy aircraft on these decks - such as the North American AJ Savage (I'll have to go back and check the horizontal stabs to see if they're -1's or -2's) and the Vought F7U Cutlasses.

In some of the other shots of carriers carrying Army or Air Force aircraft, it'd be interesting to try to identify some of those C-47, C-45, and O-1 aircraft and see if any of them ended up as civilian-owned warbirds. How cool would it be to own one and be able to claim it has carrier "experience"?

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“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"