Maryland's Corsair

Since today is the 95th anniversary of the launching of the battleship USS Maryland (BB-46), it's appropriate that we celebrate with a photo of her. The small print in the Archive's collection isn't dated, but the ship appears to be at rest at Pearl Harbor. Of interest to us, of course, is the Vought O2U Corsair bobbing contentedly behind the mighty ship.

If you look carefully, you can see two men on Maryland's turret catapult, probably preparing it for the hoist-aboard of the Corsair.The ship in the background is the USS New Mexico.

The Maryland, a dreadnaught of the Colorado class, was at Pearl during the infamous December 7th attack, but was only lightly damaged, and went on to lend her eight 16-inch guns to the effort in the Battles of Midway, Tarawa, Kwajalien, Saipan (where she took a torpedo to her bow), Leyte Gulf (hit by a kamikaze) and Okinawa (hit by yet another kamikaze). And yet she survived, at least until 1947 when she succumbed to the scrapper's torch.

Before posting this photo here, I had supplied it to Navsource.org, who used it on the Maryland's web page. There, researcher Alan Moore provided some valuable information on the plane itself. He wrote:

Two aspects of the aircraft's markings are date-indicative. The first is the fuselage markings, 5 / 8, which signify VO-5's (Observation Squadron 5's) eighth aircraft. The symbol for Observation Squadron would later be changed from "/" to "O," making the marking 5-O-8. 

The second is the solid-color painted tail surfaces. Prior to the adoption of this practice, the rudders where painted with vertical Red-White-Blue stripes. The solid-colored tails were to identify the aircraft of a squadron, each squadron having it's own tail color. Each Battleship Division had its own squadron, with the planes distributed among the ships of the Division. Therefore, the planes on the ships of a Division had the same tail color. So this photo was taken after the adoption of painted tail surfaces but before the change of / to O. I can't find a specific date for either practice, only a vague "around 1930" or (in the case of the O) "in 1930." 

A third factor leading to the date is the existence of the squadron, VO-5B. William Larkins, in his Battleship and Cruiser Aircraft of the United States Navy 1910-1949, writes "VO-5B was only in commission for three years, 1927-1930, so planes with these markings are rare." (page 176) 

In the same work Larkins lists BatDiv5's ships as West Virginia (BB-48) (Flagship), Tennessee (BB-43), Maryland and Colorado (BB-45).

From this photo I can't distinguish an O2U-2 from a -3 (Larkins lists both.) but it's definitely not an O2U-1, which had a different rudder. Appended is his aircraft breakdown for Maryland.

Date Division Squadron Aircraft
7/1926 Five VO-1 2 UO-1
7/1927 Five VO-1B 2 UO-1, 1 OL-3, 1 FU-1
7/1928 Five VO-5B 3 O2U-1, 1 OL-6
7/1929 Five VO-5B 11 O2U-1, 1 O2U-2 [These are the aircraft for the entire Division, not just MD.]
6/1930 Five 6 O2U-1, 1 O2U-3 [ditto: aircraft for entire Division]
7/1931 One VO-1B 4 O2U-1, 1 O3U-2 [ditto; (Larkins lists only two ships, MD and ID)]

Eyes of the Idaho

An O2U-1 is craned onto the Idaho. And,
yes, both these photos are tall and skinny.
This isn't how I've cropped them, it's how
Kodak marketed photography as it moved
from being a specialty to a consumer-based
industry...they figured the most popular
subject to shoot would be your friends and
relatives - and people are tall and skinny,
so the pictures should be, too.

Before the advent of sea-going radar during and after World War II, battleship commanders relied on Naval Aviators and their fragile seaplanes to be their eyes, patrolling over the horizon for the lurking enemy. The USS Idaho serves as an example of the small but vital contribution that non-aircraft carrier based naval aviation made to America's fleet. Through coincidence, the Archive has obtained three different images from three widely separated sources, all three showing elements of the Idaho's air eyes.

A mechanic works on the engine of
one of Idaho's Corsairs, while mounted
on the fantail catapult.

When she was launched in July 1917, the Idaho (BB-42, the fourth ship to bear the name) was referred to as a "superdreadnaught" rather than a battleship, and was, in the words of the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, the "heaviest fighting craft afloat". Between late 1931 and 1934, she was extensively modernized, a process that included the removal of the removal of her original masts. She, like other battleships of her class, were typically assigned three scout aircraft, with two of them stationed on the catapult of the No. 3 turret, and the third one on the fantail catapult.

Up until about 1936 (I can't find a definitive date for the transition, input is invited), the planes used by Observation Squadron 3 (VO-3) were Vought O2U-1 Corsairs; after this, they transitioned into SOC-3 Seagulls. This suggests that the photos here were all taken between October 1934 and sometime in about 1936.

The O2U-1, built from 1930 to 1936, was a pontoon-equipped variant to the wheel-equipped O2U Corsair. It could fly at over 160 knots and had a range of 680 miles, so it was ideal platform for finding enemy ships and directing over-the-horizon fire from the Idaho's twelve 14-inch guns.

If you look carefully, in the center of the water, the old 8x10 has been stamped
- once upon a time in gold lettering - with "USS Idaho". 

A detailed photo history of the Idaho can be found here.

Leyte's Korean Cruise

From left to right, the USS Henderson, USS Cimarron and the USS Leyte.

Part 2 in our series of official Navy photos featuring aircraft carriers is this shot of the USS Leyte that was shot during its sole Korean war cruise. Little did I know, when I found this and last week's 8x10s buried in a junk draw in a small Clear Lake, CA antique store, the emotional and heroic story that was behind this image.

The official caption, stamped on the back, reads: "16 Nov. 1950. The USS Leyte (CVA-32) is refueled at sea by the USS Cimarron (AO-22) as the USS Henderson (DD-785) stands fire watch, off the coast of Korea. Official Navy Photo, Released by Dept. of Defense."

Like the Princeton featured in last Tuesday's post, Leyte was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built for the Navy during and after WWII. Originally intended to be named the USS Crown Point, it was renamed in memory of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Leyte was commissioned on April 11, 1946.

Her Korean cruise, as a part of Navy Task Force 77, lasted from October 9, 1950 through January 19, 1951, during which her crew earned two battle stars. On board, she carried F9F Panthers, F4U Corsairs and AD-1 Skyraiders. 

One of the Corsair squadrons on board the Leyte was VFA-32, the "Fighting Swordsmen" (they are still active today, flying F/A-18 Hornets, most recently from the USS Harry S. Truman), and one of the pilots from this squadron was the Navy's first African-American Naval Aviator, Ensign Jesse L. Brown. 

Corsairs and Skyraiders on the Leyte. One of these Corsairs was likely Jesse
L. Brown's.

About three weeks after our photo was taken, Brown, call-sign "Iroquois 13", was part of a six-ship element flying a close air support mission in support of Marines of the US X Corps fighting during the crucial Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and was hit by Communist Chinese ground fire. He was forced to put his Corsair down in a remote, snow-covered area, and while the aircraft broke up, Brown survived the landing. His wingman, Lt.(JG) Thomas J. Hudner, Jr. saw that he was alive but pinned in (some sources say under) the burning wreckage of the Corsair, so Hudner deliberately crash-landed near-by in order to rescue his fellow flyer. A rescue helicopter soon arrived, but the rescue crew, working with Hudner, were unable to free Brown. Approaching darkness forced the helicopter crew to have to return to base with Hudner, and leaving Brown behind. Brown died that night, of a combination of his injuries and exposure to the extreme cold. In order to prevent Brown's body from falling into Chinese hands, Navy pilots bombed the wreck site with napalm two days later, while reciting the Lord's Prayer over the radio.

Jesse L. Brown was the first Navy officer killed in the Korean conflict. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and a Purple Heart. For his efforts in trying to rescue his fellow Naval Aviator, Hudner was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Another photo from this same fly-over of the Leyte was used in an article in the October 1951 edition of the official Navy magazine Naval Aviation News. It can be seen here, scroll down to page 15.

Midway Then and Now

Today's three snapshots, which came from a family photo album that included no other military or aviation photos, show the USS Midway in port, presumably her home port of Norfolk, Virginia. On board one can make out F4U Corsairs lining her forward flight deck.

Midway was commissioned on September 10, 1945, the first of her own class of carriers. She was the first Navy ship that was too large to operate through the Panama Canal.

In 1966, Midway underwent a massive overhaul which gave her, among other modernizations, an angled flight deck needed for high performance jet operations.

Midway holds the distinction of a number of firsts, including the first sea launch of a captured German V-2 rocket in 1947. Aircraft from the Midway are credited with both the first and the last air-to-air kills of the Vietnam War.





Midway returned to Vietnam as the forces from the North overran the South and participated in the rescue and evacuation efforts of Operation Frequent Wind. Her last combat operations came in Operation Desert Storm.

She was decommissioned on April 11, 1982, and in 2004 she moved to her new and permanent home in San Diego as a floating museum. The photos below show here there during the huge celebrations of the Centennial of Naval Aviation, including the gala CoNA kick-off reception that included the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and numerous admirals and captains.

The USS Midway was the "front row seat" for the massive parade of flight during the NAS North Island CoNA air show.

Music, dancing and a welcome address by the Secretary of the Navy started off a night of partying during the gala CONA kick-off reception.

It was black-tie and dress uniform for the assembled DVs, admirals and captains during the dinner on Midway's hangar
deck.

The Third Corsair

The first YA-7A, BuNo 152580 in late 1965. The triangular area
under the refueling probe as well as on the vertical tail are painted flight
test orange.

This is a story about the third Corsair, the Corsair II. Yes, it should have been the Corsair III. Sometimes, though, the powers that be at the DoD just aren't all that true to history. First, there was the Vought O2U Corsair, which we featured back in December. Then there was the Vought F4U Corsair, which we'll see more of next month.

And then there's the story of the enormously successful LTV A-7 Corsair II,which was conceived of by the Navy as a ground-attack aircraft replacement for the A-4 Skyraider. Due to cost concerns, the Navy wanted a plane based on a previous design, rather than what was perceived as a more-expensive clean-sheet approach. Vought, Douglas (with an enlarged A-4), Grumman (a single-seat variant of the A-6) and North American (TF-1E Fury) all submitted proposals.

With the Ling-TEMCO-Vought conglomerate’s F-8 Crusader-based design as the selected winner, the Navy ordered a prototype, six more as flight test aircraft, and 35 production aircraft on March 19, 1964. Ultimately, the first three were also referred to as YA-7A.

The A-7 was similar to the F-8 Crusader in appearance, but ultimately was its own aircraft, shorter and stubbier, plus specifically designed to be subsonic, whereas the Crusader was supersonic. The logic was that by not wasting fuel on the afterburner or fuselage space on area ruling, both required to go Mach speeds, the A-7 could carry more payload farther, even if it was a bit slower - and boy, could it do that: three times the payload of the Crusader! The A-7 could be armed to the teeth with a wide-combination of ground attack munitions on six wing-mounted hard points, plus two additional side-fuselage hard points for Sidewinders. It also sported a pair of 20mm cannon, which were later replaced by a single 6-barrel 20mm Gatling gun.

The first aircraft was BuNo 152580 and is the subject of today's featured photo. It was rolled out on August 13, 1965, and the maiden flight took place on September 27th at the Dallas Naval Air Station with LTV test pilot John Konrad at the controls. Its career did not last long, however. On March 23, 1966, LTV test pilot John Omvig was doing touch-and-goes at NAS China Lake, and on final approach, inadvertently switched off the aircraft's hydraulics system. Without the hydraulically actuated flight control system, the aircraft began to roll inverted. As 152580 rolled through the 90 degree point, Omvig ejected, but at very low altitude - witnesses later said that he was only at telephone pole height when his chute opened, and he was badly hurt upon landing. The aircraft crashed and was destroyed on the base's golf course, about three miles from the end of the runway. (Omvig wasn't so lucky the next time...just over a year later, on May 10, 1967, he was killed in the crash of an XC-142A)

Given that it only flew for six months, and the non-desert environs depicted in our feature photo, it is like that the photo was taken very soon after its first flight, while it was still at Vought's Dallas facility. The "Corsair II" name was selected in November, 1965, and at some point lettering to that affect was added below the "A-7A" on the tail, so the photo was probably taken in October or November.

Despite the loss of the first aircraft, what resulted from the program was a robust aircraft that even the Air Force ended up buying, and a warfighter that served in Vietnam, Grenada, Libya and even Iraq during Desert Storm before the last American one was retired in 1993 (the Greek Air Force continued to use the A-7 in limited roles into the 21st Century).

On the Wings of a Corsair: A CoNA Celebration

Proof strip from
a Corsair flight.

Our photographer's wingman waves in the one snapshot

view not included in  proofstrip on the right.

As 2011, and the Centennial of Naval Aviation (CoNA) both draw to a close, I've decided to honor the grand tradition of Naval Aviation with a look back at an almost forgotten Navy aircraft, and the Naval Aviators who flew them.

Mention the name "Vought Corsair", and the distinctive gull-wing design of the F4U comes to mind to almost anyone who has even a passing knowledge of Naval Aviation - it's an association that has become so iconic, that the original Vought Corsair, the O2U of the 1920s is all but forgotten. In fact, the F4U eclipsed the O2U so completely, that when the name "Corsair" was resurrected for the Vought A-7 in the 1960s, that version was dubbed the "Corsair II", instead of the "III" that it should have been.

Almost 600 of the original Corsairs were built, and they saw extensive service with the Navy as well as a number of friendly nations. Responding to specs issued by the Navy in 1925 (only 14 years after the birth of Naval Aviation!), Vought came up with the first aircraft to be specifically designed around the new Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine; the first aircraft was delivered in 1926. Though originally conceived of as an observation aircraft, the design quickly was recognized for its versatility, and the Corsair could be deployed as a land plane or fitted with amphibious floats. In short order, the Vought Corsair owned several world speed and altitude records, which helped bring public notice - and that of the military forces of a number of other countries, who lined up to buy the planes. For their age, the Corsairs saw a long service life, with one Coast Guard aircraft remaining in service until January 1940.

In real life, the proof strip pictured at the top is a mere

inch wide.

Given the small size of the proof print, the resulting image

would naturally be expected to lack a lot of detail.

Today's set of photos (a proof-strip and a one separate snapshot) give us a remarkably personal look, through the lens of one of the crewmen, at one particular multi-ship flight of Corsairs. Both wingmen and themselves are the subjects of interest in these photos.

The memories of this flight, preserved almost by chance for posterity, ended up in a dusty album for decades, forgotten like the Corsairs themselves. But history, in this case a century's worth of Naval Aviation history, is made of nothing more that countless small moments like this, all strung together, so it seems most fitting to honor the past 100 years, and the men and women who lived it, in this way. To those who served, I am deeply grateful. To those who will write the next 100 years of Navy history, my son included, I salute you, and wish you blue skies and blue seas. AR.