5 MAR 44
As proof that the administrative Navy was never very far away, on the morning of February 5th "The Commanding Officer held personnel inspection of the ship's company at 0810." ("Ship's Company" refers to all those assigned to a vessel, as opposed to "Air Wing" or "Air Group" personnel who were temporarily assigned to the ship).
Personnel Inspection aboard unknown aircraft carrier, Pacific Theater of Operations, September 1944
After the inspection was completed, maintenance and repair tasks continued with the loading of 2 Hellcats, 1 Avenger "and miscellaneous other damaged equipment aboard a pontoon barge for transfer to the shore base at Majuro Atoll."
Despite the relatively relaxed atmosphere, "at 1318 and unidentified aircraft was reported bearing 310˚, distant 30 miles. SOPA (Senior Officer Present Afloat) ordered 'Condition Red.' Went to General Quarters. ... At 1335 this aircraft was identified as friendly, and SOPA ordered 'Condition Green.'"
6 MAR 44
In addition to personnel and uniform inspections, lagoon life also provided the opportunity for training and drills which those in charge of things wisely did not waste: "Exercised crew at fire quarters, torpedo defense quarters, abandon ship drill, and fire and rescue drill during the forenoon."
The mid-watch would be busy as later in the day preparations were made to "commence provisioning the ship from USS BOREAS commencing at 2400."
The War Diary during the Majuro anchoring is brief and to the point, detailing only the specifics of maintenance, resupply and training. This provides an opportunity to discuss "the barrier," which seems to be the primary reason all those Ensign-mangled aircraft and all that damaged equipment is getting barged and pontooned off the ship.
Before we address how exactly a World War II-era flight deck barrier system actually worked, the proper question is why it was necessary to begin with? The answer is almost exclusively due to the fact that WWII aircraft carriers, like Princeton's sister ship, and the lead ship of her class, USS Independence (seen below), all had straight decks.
USS Independence (CVL-22) in San Francisco Bay, California, on 15 July 1943, the day her hull number was changed from CV-22 to CVL-22. She has nine SBD scout bombers parked amidships and aft, and nine TBM torpedo planes parked amidships and forward.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # 80-G-74433.
Now if I was the Skipper of a carrier concerned primarily with fighting my ship to the best of its ability, my wish would be to be able to simultaneously launch and recover aircraft. Contemplate the photo above and you will realize that with a straight deck configuration, this is not possible.
Aircraft will typically be spotted as far aft as possible prior to launch, presumably with the lightest weight and/or most powerful aircraft (those requiring the shortest deck run) at the front of the queue. Deck runs will then be accomplished one by one until all the aircraft for that particular cycle are airborne. Then...and only then...will the aircraft not launched be moved from stern to bow in order to make room for the already airborne aircraft to recover.
Which leads to the obvious question:
How do I protect the aircraft parked on the bow from the existential threat of the Flying Circus of Ensigns that will enter the landing pattern shortly?
The answer, suboptimal but necessary, was "the barrier."
The barrier consisted of two steel cables connected to a stanchion which, when raised, placed them approximately 3 to 4 feet off the deck.
The barrier was usually, but not always, successful in preventing damage to the aircraft parked on the bow. But it almost always damaged the aircraft that it was designed to stop.
F6F-3 model Hellcat of VF-1 after engaging the barricade on USS Hornet (CV-12) during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Crash of an SB2C-5 ''Helldiver'' of Attack Squadron (VA) 34 on board the USS Kearsarge (CV 33) on November 19, 1948.
In the event that a landing aircraft was unable to catch any of the nine...I say again, NINE...
...arresting wires spaced out on the landing area, there would be three additional barriers that could be raised prior to or during a landing attempt.
In the photo below, a TBF Avenger comes aboard another of the P's sister ships, USS Cowpens (CVL-25), aka "The Mighty Moo," and one can clearly see the "risers" below each of the 9 arresting wires. (risers are simply bowed strips of metal which act to raise the arresting wire slightly above the deck to assist the tailhook's chance of engaging the wire)
At the bottom of the Cowpens photo one can see the first of the three raised barriers.
With the previous discussion in mind, let us recall that in the two weeks of participation in Operation CATCHPOLE, Air Group 23 pilots (3 VF and 2 VT) missed all the wires and engaged the barrier on 5 occasions. While there was damage to the aircraft each time, there were "no injuries to personnel" in any of the incidents.
Seems to me the barrier did exactly what it was designed to do.
Tomorrow, we will take a quick look at how the flight deck and the barrier system evolved.
For now, taps, taps, lights out.
NNNN
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