pushing aircraft on carrier deck

[aferguson]

i'm sure i have seen wwii footage of planes being manually pushed across the deck of carriers. Corsairs, Hellcats. Can anyone find a picture of this though? I can't find anything.

Any help appreciated.

[Folkwulfe]

Try here.... http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/
He usually puts videos up for free viewing and occassionaly shows aircraft carrier operations.

[Threetoughtrucks]

Aferg:

Are you looking for pics of sailors manhandling planes? or the vehicle aircraft tugs used to move them around?

Since the tugs were attached to the front landing gear, they were never used to push a sweverly damaged A/C over the side.

There have been plenty of pics of both the tugs and manhandling A/C in videos of carrier operations.

TTT

[aferguson]

i'm looking for pics of sailors manhandling planes. I want to see where they pushed on the aircraft etc. I know i've seen it lots of times, i just never paid attention to the details.

[Beeavision]

There are many photos of this taking place especially with modern aircraft. Where they push on the aircraft depends on the direction they want to take it. The heavier the plane the more people push.

[aferguson]

ah that's great, thanks.

[Beeavision]

Here's video on it....

http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip/49308031_036.do

This is a very cool video as well.

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/861 ... -Editorial

[cjg476]

why are there alot more guys pushing the hellcat then the f-18? Would the f-18 weigh more?

[p51]

Perhaps the F/A-18 rolls easier? When I was watching the Air Wing leave from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier earlier this year, one of the Hornets (Legacy C model) I guess didn't get the memo from ground about where to taxi, and he taxied onto the catapult line of a Hornet waiting to launch. There weren't any tugs on the flight deck at that moment, so a bunch of guys ran over and pushed the Hornet back until he was able to turn around in his taxi. It only took a small handful guys, but it took them a little bit to roll the F-18 back.

[cjg476]

yeah it probably does roll easier...I mean there are guys all over the wing of that hellcat...and just a handfull on the hornet...I think the fact is...we are physically stronger than that generation... jk jk

[Beeavision]

Also the hellcat appears to be damaged along the right wing. Not sure about the condition of the wheels. Also take notice they're also using a tractor to pull it as well. lol I certainly do agree with you it sure is taking a lot of effort to move such a small aircraft compared to the f-18. I also wonder what the pitch of that deck was at the time the photo was taken. Probably level by the way the people are standing. But rest assure it still takes many to move a fighter jet that size. As for the f-14 they don't even bother pushing that goliath by hand as I can't seem to find any images yet to support it.

[Beeavision]

Well I just spoke with my grandfather on the topic. He serviced these aircraft during the war and helped move them around on the deck. Go figure. According to him it was a lot harder to manually push/steer planes that had no front wheel but rather one just under the tail section. So they had to have a few up front pushing on the wings while a few more stationed along the back to help steer it into position. Today all they have to do is push while a pilot inside the jet just simply turns the front wheel in the direction they want to go. Also back then the decks on most of the carriers were not as large compared to the ones used today. So they would sometime provide more men to help push these aircraft around the deck as quickly as possible to allow the deck to be clear for further use especially during war time. My grandfather never flew these aircraft but he certainly taxied them around to be sure everything worked right prior to flight. He even operated and worked on the B-17 and B-25 back in his day.

[aferguson]

interesting info, thanks.

as you may have gathered, i am planning to do a piece with a carrier plane being pushed (probably Daisy June). I have some gi joe shipwrecks standing by to use as sailors plus i was going to use a few star wars rebel guards (the one in the green overalls that stand in the little pulpits in ep iv) as they look alot like mechanic's uniforms. Anyway, all systems were go until TTT mentioned pushing damaged planes over the side of carriers. That'd be a pretty cool piece to do too but i only have one plane and one set of guys to push and now i can't decide which way to go...lol.

[Beeavision]

Well, there's always this option....lol

[cjg476]

Love It

[p51]

Speaking of pushing aircraft back...

From the USS Abraham Lincoln Facebook page (taken today)

[granch]

The tractor on your pic is also interesting. Who knows what vehicle base could be used to make such a custom with few work?

[Dauntless]

So what's the pilot still doing in the Corsair? Giving directions? He's not steering a tail dragger. Looks relaxed.

[15tango]

The reason someone is sitting in the cockpit is so they can ride the brakes. Today it is normal operating procedure however back then I'm assuming you could get away with out doing it.

[Beeavision]

How about we go down there and ask him.

[Dauntless]

The reason someone is sitting in the cockpit is so they can ride the brakes. Today it is normal operating procedure however back then I'm assuming you could get away with out doing it.

Welcome 15tango.
The brakes that explains it, thanks.
I noticed the navigator (?) helping push that SBD around for Operation Torch. He's still got his parachute on.

[flayrah]

That would be the radioman, I believe And it looks like he's wearing his dixie (soft) cap, not a flying helmet. Wouldn't it be harder to keep the earphones on without a helmet?

[flayrah]

On second look I don't think that's a parachute. They would have worn seat chutes, not back chutes. Maybe a loosely-hanging life vest, but there doesn't seem to be anything around the shoulders but some very thin straps. It almost looks like he has a rescue or tool bag strapped to his back.

[Beeavision]

If you really like to know just checkout this link below. Look under the description.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F4U-4 ... 9_1952.jpg

[MCalamari]

Well, there's always this option....lol

That made my day!

(Actually all of the photos are great.)