Naval History Blog

On 1 October 1990 the carrier INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) transited the Strait of Hormuz en route to the Arabian Gulf. The following day she conducted flight operations in the Gulf, becoming the first carrier to do so since CONSTELLATION (CV 64) had operated there in 1974.

INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) left the Gulf on 4 October, following three days of sailing in its confined and shallow waters. A Pentagon spokesman said that the aircraft carrier had successfully completed her mission, which was “to demonstrate to our friends and allies in the region that it is possible to put a carrier in the Gulf and carry out operations.”

On 23 July 1947 the first jet powered aircraft, an FH-1 Phantom, was delivered to the Navy’s first all-jet squadron, VF-17A, ushering in a new era in naval aviation. Training in these early jet squadrons was sometimes ad hoc, partly because the aircraft themselves were experimental. One pilot reported, “VF-17A trained itself. Checkout consisted of reading the handbook and watching a movie on compressibility.” Less than a year later the squadron was fully equipped with 16 FH-1s. On 5 May 1948 VF-17A became the Navy’s first carrier-qualified jet squadron, having completed three days of operations on board Saipan (CVL 48) during which all of the squadron’s pilots plus the commander of Carrier Air Group 17 qualified with a minimum of eight takeoffs and landings each.

The keel laying of the first “supercarrier” Forrestal (CV-59) on 14 July 1952 represented a significant step forward in the evolution of naval aviation. In the post-war period, the Navy wrestled with the role naval aviation would play in the atomic age and James Vincent Forrestal, the man for whom the aircraft carrier was named, stood at the center of many of the controversies of this period. After serving as Secretary of the Navy from May 1944 to September 1947, he became the nation’s first Secretary of Defense. The intense strain that stemmed, in part, from inter-service strife over issues ranging from the strategic use of atomic weapons and the unification of the armed services eventually took their toll on his mental health and President Truman asked for his resignation in March 1949.

After Forrestal’s departure, the new Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson canceled the aircraft carrier United States (CV-58) on April 23, 1949. Had the opposition of Secretary Johnson and the Air Force to construction of larger, flush-deck aircraft carriers been successful, the Navy would have been forced to modernize existing Essex and Midway class carriers instead. However, the October 1949 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee of leaders such as Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Louis Denfeld and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet Admiral Arthur W. Radford, forcefully made the case that the Navy’s power projection responsibilities necessitated larger, more technologically advanced carriers. In March 1951, Congress authorized CVB-59 and Representative Carl Vinson, perhaps the Navy’s most significant ally in Congress, suggested a limit of 60,000 tons. As built, Forrestal displaced 59,900 tons compared to the 27,100 ton Essex-class and the 45,000 ton Midway-class.

Although smaller than the United States, the Forrestal-class relied heavily upon that ship’s proposed design. Among the most significant design changes was the shift from a flush deck to an angled deck and Forrestal became the first aircraft carrier built with that feature. The angled flight deck, originally designed by the Royal Navy, made simultaneous landings and catapult launchings more practical, even allowing for the presence of a significantly larger flight deck. The angled deck also significantly decreased the chance that landing aircraft would collide with planes parked on the flight deck. On May 4, 1953, the Chief of Naval Operations directed that the entire Forrestal-class be built with an angled flight deck.

The Navy eventually built three more Forrestal-class carriers: Saratoga (CV-60), Ranger (CV-61), and Independence (CV-62). Later non-nuclear carriers Kitty Hawk (CV-63), Constellation (CV-64), America (CV-66), and John F. Kennedy (CV-67) also relied heavily on the Forrestal-class design. Forrestal (CV-59) was commissioned 1 October 1955 and served the nation for nearly four decades before being decommissioned on 11 September 1993. That ship’s long career and important service vindicates not only her design, but also those who argued for a significant role for naval aviation during a period of considerable evolution in our thinking with regard to national defense strategy.

From the Marine Corps History Division…

A debate persists as to what constituted the first hostile action for U.S. naval aviation (the earliest distinctions between Navy and Marine aviation were marginal).  Some argue the scouting flights in the Veracruz action in 1914, in which Navy and Marine pilots participated, was the first occasion when naval aviation planes came under fire of an enemy.  Two purported “bullet” holes were noticed on two different planes at different times.  However, at least one of these holes was believed by the pilot to merely be the result of an errant screwdriver. 

Whether the incident constituted proof of the first incident of aviation combat or the active imagination of a pilot, it prompted concern of military aircraft fuel tanks.  With the anticipation of U.S. aircraft joining the fight in World War I, this concern was revivified and a “bullet-proof” self-sealing gas tank was first demonstrated to the Army and Navy by the Bureau of Standards on 18 May 1917.  They consisted of double walled galvanized iron containing layers of felt,gum rubber, and an Ivory soap-whiting paste.

This month, the Navy Memorial cut the ribbon on its new exhibit “The Art of Naval Aviation” in support of the nationwide celebration of the Centennial of Naval Aviation.

To commemorate the Centennial, NavyTV features one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) films made by the U.S. Navy: “Hook Down, Wheels Down.” This 57-minute film covers the history and development of the aircraft carrier through interviews with many of the men who were instrumental in these ships’ history.Produced in 1974, “Hook Down, Wheels Down” is one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) films made by the U.S. Navy about the history and development of the U.S. aircraft carrier.

First hand accounts from pilots, gunners and navigators, stunning aerial footage; it’s a history lesson and tribute to the men who flew the planes and the men who caught them.  From WW2 ships and single engine fighter planes to nuclear powered carriers and sleek jets, it’s all here!

On 30 March 1944 a strong Fifth Fleet force, built around 11 carriers of Task Force 58, launched a series of attacks on Japanese shipping, airfields, and installations on and near Palau, Ulithi, Woleai, and Yap in the western Caroline Islands. Designed to eliminate Japanese opposition to the upcoming amphibious landing at Hollandia, New Guinea, the strikes concluded on 1 April, with the planes of Task Force 58 having destroyed 157 enemy aircraft and sunk 42 enemy ships.

During these raids TBF-1C and TBM-1C Avengers from Torpedo Squadrons 2, 8, and 16, embarked on board Bunker Hill (CV 19), Hornet (CV 12), and Lexington (CV 16), sowed extensive minefields in and around the channels and approaches to the Palaus. This was the first large-scale daylight tactical use of mines laid by carrier aircraft.

On 20 February 1991 the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA4) launched four AV-8B Harriers of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 331, flight call sign ‘Magic’ just before dawn.  This flight was the first combat strike by fixed-wing aircraft from the flight deck of an amphibious assault ship, and was directed at Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries and surface to air missile (SAM) sites at Az Zwar on the western end of Faylakah Island.  Bad weather diverted the flight, however, and they instead hit targets near Iraq’s IJmm Qasr Naval Base on the Iraq-Kuwait border.  The strike was successful, despite Iraqi opposition including at least one surface to air missile launched at the four Harriers.

The Nassau carried the 19 Harriers of Marine Attack Squadron 331, nicknamed the ‘Bumblebees’ rather than its normal mix of Harriers and helicopters in order to provide dedicated fixed-wing air support for the Marine forces floating in the Gulf as an amphibious threat during Operation Desert Storm.  This use of the Nassau was not without controversy, as the relatively short range of the Harriers required the Nassau to stand in closer to shore and the danger of mines.  In addition, the Nassau’s munitions storage was limited to approximately three days of strikes.

Despite these issues, the Nassau and Marine Attack Squadron 331 launched 242 combat strikes and expended 300 tons of ordnance against Iraqi targets from 20 and 27 February 1991.  The strikes hit Iraqi defensive positions, anti-aircraft batteries, artillery, and armor throughout Kuwait despite bad weather and thick clouds of smoke from oil wells the Iraqis had lit on fire. On 26 February the Iraqi retreat shifted the squadron’s targets to the fleeing Iraqi columns, especially around Al-Jahrah in Kuwait.

On 27 February, while engaged in strikes against these Iraqi convoys, Captain Reginald C. Underwood was killed when his AV-8B Harrier was struck by a surface to air missile. Captain Underwood’s aircraft was the only one the ‘Bumblebees’ lost to enemy action during this first combat deployment of Harriers aboard a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship.