Clear the Deck!: Aircraft Carrier Accidents of World War II (Specialty Press)

Aircraft carrier operations were a dangerous business, especially in wartime. When air operations are confined to a flight deck of 50,000 square feet (escort carrier size), it was one of the most hectic and hazardous places on earth. Accidents were bound to happen. In wartime, the stakes were even higher as heavily loaded and armed combat planes went about their missions in unprecedented numbers. Commonly, there was no alternate airfield, no time to lose, and absolutely no room for error. Clear the Deck! showcases many never-before-published amazing and dramatic World War II-era, U.S. Navy battle damage, accident, and flight operations photographs gathered from the National Archives, National Museum of Naval Aviation, the Seattle s Museum of Flight, and numerous other collections. This book features U.S. Naval aircraft in action from Eugene Ely to the Brewster Buffalo, to the ultimate fighters of World War II Corsairs, Hellcats, Tigercats, and Bearcats many coming to grief on pitching, rolling carrier decks. The action begins in the 1920s, heats up during the carrier battles of 1942-44, and concludes in the waters off the Japanese home islands as damaged fighters and torpedo bombers come back aboard ship often times with disastrous consequences. Flying from an aircraft carrier is an incredibly dangerous business. When World War II came to the Pacific, thousands of U.S. Naval aviators and their high performance combat planes were catapulted into the greatest battle of all time. Their missions were difficult, and they flew against a skilled and, some say, a fanatical enemy. Some didn't make it back, and many of those that did came limping home on a wing and a prayer--engines gushing oil, wing in tatters, tail hook torn away, or landing gear smashed. There were no alternate airfields, no time to lose, and absolutely no room from error. Navy photographers were often on hand to unflinchingly capture the resulting drama, danger, and heartbreak on film--it was their job. Using photographs gathered from the National Archives, Naval Aviation Museum, and other institution, Graff examines the amazing Naval aviation actions that took place during World War II. Clear the Deck! puts readers one of the most hectic and hazardous places on earth--the deck of a wartime aircraft carrier