FLEET AIR ARM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22653, 19 August 1935, Page 16

FLEET AIR ARM

ON THE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS LAUNCHING AND ALIGHTING RECIPROCITY OF TWO SERVICES. (From Oub Own Correspondent.) (By Air Mail.) H.M.S. COURAGEOUS, July 17. Naval aircraft carriers have been known by various names —Noah’s arks, floating factories, and so on. Their apparent clumsiness has been the cause of a good deal of humorous criticism, fortunately, their vulnerability as targets for an enemy has not been tested, but doubtless the naval authorities have worked out special tactics so that they remain well in the rear of the fighting line. It is only when one has the privilege of living on board one of these ungainly ships and of seeing them at work at sea that one develops a real respect for their usefulness. Both the Furious and the Courageous are converted cruisers. Roughly, this is what has happened to these cruisers:—The top deck has been entirely cleared. On this has been erected a great steel hall 600 feet in length and two stories in height. In the case of the Furious the captain’s bridge is on each side ot the front of the roof, or when the flight deck is not in use another “ bridge ” or box may be raised in the middle of the front edge of the roof. The smoke from the engines goes along the sides of the ship and emerges at the sides of the hangars, making a very unpleasant mess of the quarter-deck. In the case of the Courageous, the funnel is taken up at one side of the flight deck, and in front of this is the captain’s bridge in the form of a tower. ( At each end of the double-storied hall is a lift more or less in the shape ot a “T.” At ordinary working times the two galleries are filled with planes. it is a matter of moments to wheel one on to the stern lift, hoist it to the level of the flight-deck, and wheel it off ready for flight, the lift becoming part of the flight-deck. With the reverse process —the alighting of planes—the machine is wheeled on to the front lift, and in a few seconds lowered to the second, or first, floor of the hangar. it is wheeled off the lift which ascends to act again as part of the floor of the flight deck. Something in the nature of a wire cage slopes outward from the sides of the flight deck, nad a cage-enclosed platform below the level of the deck enables members of the crew to get off the deck at a moment’s notice. The hangar does not cover the complete width of the cruiser, so that there is space along the edge ot the original deck of the slap for small guns. There is space for a gun on the quarter-deck as well. The original deck in the bows is also used for catapulting planes, being sloped gently downward from, the . level of the ground floor of the hangar. Both aircraft carriers were without aircraft during the naval review, the hangars being used to entertain the great number of guests who came on board for the day. After the exercises at sea on the following day, however, both ships took on board several planes for show purposes during navy week. Thus, visitors on board the Courageous had an oppportunity of seeing landing in progress, and afterwards four of the planes took off again, carrying officers to other duties. On the rear end of the flight-deck is a great white circle, and along the deck towards the middle are two other broad white lines. LANDING OF SEVEN PLANES. As H.M.S. Courageous made her waj back towards the Isle of Wight at the end of the line of ships there came out of the distance a flight of seven aeroplanes. Presently they were wheeling in a wide circle round the ship. In a few minutes the ship was turned directly into the wind and slowed down, and over the deck from bow to stern the wind was sweeping at 30 miles an hour. Then, on the tower at the side, there appeared a large red cross manipulated by means of a series of shutters. It was the signal that the parent ship was ready to receive her guests. Down, down came one of the planes, gradually getting m a direct line with the 600 ft deck. Down it came like a bird preparing to alight. Slower and slower it came with a slight upward turning at the last and the wheels touched fairly gently inside the white circle. Beneath the, plane was a bar with an ingeniously contrived hook at the end. , This had been let down and ivas hanging well below the wheels. The plane sped forward, the wheels passing over a wire rope, the hook caught the rope and dragged it forward. By means of some unseen mechanism, the rope is paid out grudgingly, and so thus attached to a resisting rope line the plane is pulled up in a very few yards. Only one of the seven planes missed the first rope. and_ attached itself to a second wire rope. If a plane misses these two ropes it still has a chance of pulling up of its own accord, but if the momentum is too great the pilot may put on speed again before he reaches the end of the run and take off into the air once more. This is the safeguard for the learner, and there are cases recorded where pilots have alighted fiite times and taken off again before making a satisfactory landing. Immediately the plane came to rest, a dozen men leapt out from the sides and seized the wings and other parts of the rdane. It was guided with propeller still revolving to the ffft in the bows. A safety rail appeared at the front of the rnn-way T hen, with the attendants still holding the rdane and the nilot still in the cockpit, the lift disappeared and round the pit left on the deck appeared another protecting rail. A minute later the lift was back in olace, the safety rails disappeared from sight and the red cross appeared again.