F4U Takeoff problem

[horseback]

Originally Posted by IceFire

Makes sense... do you know if there were any operational requirements for takeoff? I mean, I can get a Corsair off the deck of even the tiny CVE's in a Corsair so long as their is sufficient speed. Presumably they had some requirements for turning into the wind?

In terms of the training missions... an Essex class still represents the most typical carrier ops for a Corsair. Especially if you wanted to train with any kind of ordinance under wing.

ANY (intentional and authorized) carrier takeoff or landing was done with the flattop steaming full speed into the wind; the bigger carriers not only boasted a bigger deck (and remember that you actually only used about half the deck to either take off or land), but they were usually one of the fastest ships in any given task force. Today, a nuclear carrier is capable of a higher sustained speed than any other ship in the surface fleet, so the requirement remains in effect.

The jeep carriers were not nearly as fast, so the prevailing wind became more critical for aircraft operating off of them; into the wind, the aircraft's airspeed is that much higher while it is moving that much slower plus the deck's speed relative to the deck. That gives you a higher safety margin when landing on a postage stamp. Fortunately the Pacific usually has a lot of wind blowing about; I spent three years on a Fast Frigate out of Pearl, and I can remember only about three or four days at sea that I could describe as windless. A carrier going 25-30 knots into a 15 knot wind (which is about average, as I recall) subtracts 40+ knots from the speed you need to get into the air and adds that 40+ knots to your margin when you land.

Before the jet operations of the late forties-early fifties, catapult takeoffs were fairly rare (and I don't think that the escort carriers even had catapults). 'Cat' shots are kind of stressful on the old airframe, especially the sorts we had back in the day, so Air Group Commanders were not eager to add any additional risks to their pilots and aircraft. Jarring stuff loose is a lot less critical when you land, but banging and shaking your aircraft around on takeoff was rightly considered just asking for trouble.

cheers

horseback