In a busy moment at work...teehee...was discussing an old war film (possibly post WW2 ?) where the planes on a Flat-top where ranged on either side and were being used as an aid to steering the ship by powering up as directed and using the propwash / prop slipstream to force the nose of the Carrier left and right as directed by the bridge. I raised a few questions that we weren't able to answer... When did this practise start and was it in common use ?. Was there a limitation on the power settings and duration used by the planes to avoid overheating the engines (They were radial powered as far as I can remember). How effective was this practice....did they ever try it with the early jets ?. Can any-one let me know what the film was called ...I have an image of charlton Heston on the bridge but I may be wrong. And I also think that during this scene, one guy was questioning the use of the planes and the damage that be caused to them by being used in this way. Over to you..
I have never heard of this practice and I suspect it was a bit of Hollywood fancy. Can you remember the name of the film? Even with a full compliment of aircraft the effect of the aircraft propwash would have been minimal in context to the sheer mass of the carrier. If one thinks about the amount of power used to lift an aircraft and how little power is actually provided, even at max speed, in relation to the weight of the aircraft, even having a couple of dozen aircraft at full revs would not counter the weight etc of the ship.
The Bridges at Toko-Ri was a Korean War drama from a novel by James Michener. William Holden Fredric March Grace Kelly Mickey Rooney Earl Holliman The carrier was called USS Savo Island which is a fictional name and was actually the USS Oriskany (CV-34) and the fighter squadron used was 192sq "The Golden Dragons". Read the attached link with a powerpoint presentation. www.owlnet.rice.edu/~nava302/shiphandling2.ppt
In fact I have heard of this in reality. There was article in Aeroplane Monthly (I think) a while ago with a photo showing Seafires being used to turn about a light carrier, possibly Theseus, using their propwash in a harbour in the Med. I'll try and dig it out if I can find it. Wouldn't like to try this with jets though, and it was probably always a gimmick in any case.
No, I agree AR, unless the jets were spaced strategically, they'd blow each other off the deck! I did hear a story from a mate who had a tour of a USN carrier in the early 90s (before I managed a few tours of my own) that the testing deck for the various engines carried was at the stern of the ship (no doubt part of the hangar deck). Apparently, one of those out the back on full power added a knot of speed to the carrier. Have never been able to prove it either way but just popped into my head.
Dude thats awesome...a flat-top with reheat ! Seriously tho guys thanks for the info, much appreciated.
Hi one and all ..... I will bring a bit of a Merchant Navy view into this if I may. Loved the shiphandling Power Point .... very American .. Right rudder and Left rudder ... enough to make a seagull cry!! As for the aircraft on deck steering the ship ....I believe there was an occasion where it was demontrated but as with everyones thoughts here I think it was much more show and bravado than for any effective reason ... they may not have had tugs about or whatever which is the only reason I could think of for a Captain of a Naval vessel of Aircraft Carrier magnitude even contemplating such a spectacle. As for its effectiveness .... not a great deal unless it was flat calm. But professionally speaking ... I was Harbour Master. Pilot, Hydrographer etc here at Westport and am a long term "Tanker Man" before that even a slight breeze on the side of a great flat sided vessel creates a tremendous force .... you can calculate it actually, to get a valuable ship or any ship into a position where you had to perform such a doubtfull trick is somewhat irresponsible. Apart from which I think the remark about overheating aircraft engines let alone brakes and hold-downs is a very valid point .... No as many of you have said ... "Holywood" David Barnes
