Aircraft carriers

[Mgawa]

Just want to share overal view of my archive collection of some hundred of images of WW2 aircraft carriers, mostly US types.

[Holedigger]

Looks like a nice and varied collection. Care to share some closeups of your favorites? I am personally hooked on the deck-ops that are just full of motion and energy (and danger!). Looking for Hellcats of VF-13 Black Cats on CV-13 Franklin.

The only "real" pics of carriers I have are some of the Nimitz and JFK from a dock visit back in '75. Talk about BIG!!!! Walking the pier between those two beasts was quite an experience. Norfolk.

[Jack Cook]

Talk about BIG!!!! Walking the pier between those two beasts was quite an experience. Norfolk.

Do a 6-7 month West Pac/IO/Persian Gulf cruise and they get real small. In a heavy sea they move around pretty good also

[Mgawa]

My problem is that I dont know what is on images, except if there is caption on the back. I will give this image to friend to make scans. Yes- there is few with Hellcats on board.

Cheers

[Mgawa]

Here you are:

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/foru ... -carriers/

Sorry to switch this link to my site but I have asked from few sites for material and some does not work with remote clickable images so I decide to put all on one place. Hope admin will understand it

[Holedigger]

Some nice vintage pics there. Second one is USS Midway, it appears 4-6 are HMS Glorious.

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Thank You Mgawa! Excellent views on the Crown's Carriers.

[sdennison]

Talk about BIG!!!! Walking the pier between those two beasts was quite an experience. Norfolk.

Do a 6-7 month West Pac/IO/Persian Gulf cruise and they get real small. In a heavy sea they move around pretty good also

How much do they flex longitudinally? Can you see a crown in the flight deck?

[Mgawa]

Check link above- mo' images are available

[Mgawa]

Final images placed:

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/foru ... -carriers/

[Garth]

Some nice vintage pics there. Second one is USS Midway, it appears 4-6 are HMS Glorious.

First and second in sequence (l to R, T to B) are very early shots of Midway, possibly on her sea trials. Note lack of aircraft and flight-deck vehicles (tilly cranes, mules, etc) and her originally "short" island (somewhere around 1-2 years in service she had the front 1/4 of her island cut off and a new extended front end put on. The 5" gun director that is seen on her flightdeck forward of the island was moved to above the bridge).

Third is Ark Royal. Number four is HMS Glorious, numbers 5 and 6 are either Glorious or Courageous. #5 is a great bow-on shot showing the Fisher's Follies* light battlecruiser lines.

Seven is Furious, half-sister to Glorious and Courageous. Eight is either Glorious or Courageous. Nine is probably Furious, #10 definitely is. Can't tell with #11 (just deck machinery), 12 is Courageous, 13-15 are Furious. 16 looks to be an Illustrious-class carrier right after launching, possibly Illustrious herself (given the pre-war light-gray paints scheme on the unfinished hull).

17 is HMS Argus (aka "Covered Wagon", a nickname she shared with USS Langley, for obvious reasons). #18 is the same carrier in #8.

(*"Fisher's Follies" is the name given to Adm. Jackie Fisher's light battlecruisers, which consisted of HMS Glorious and Courageous, an their half-sister Furious. They were designed with shallow drafts for Baltic operations, and limited to two main turrets each. Glorious and Courageous mounted twin 15" rifles, Furious mounted single 18" ones. In operation they were not quite slightly better than useless, demonstrating that Fisher was a guy with too much disposable income - Thanks Your Majesty! - and a serious deficiency of common sense. They were nicknamed Curious, Spurious and Outrageous. All were converted to aircraft carriers, Glorious and Courageous being sunk early in the war.

Under the principle of "never throw anything away", when Glorious and Courageous were converted to aircraft carriers the Admiralty had their turrets (four between the two of them) preserved and stashed away for future use. They were later remounted in HMS Vanguard, the RN's last - and imho most striking - battleship).

[Mgawa]

Thank you Garth