Forrestal (CVA 59) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

CDR. HEISHMAN entered the Navy in September 1941 after at- tending Washington State College. He received his wings at Corpus Christi, Texas in June 1942. Dur- ing World War II he served with Torpedo Squadron TWELVE aboard the old SARATOGA and participat- ed in the Solomons, Gilbert and Marshall campaigns. Subsequent assignments included tours with Torpedo Squadron 98, Torpedo Squadron 18, the Staff, ComFair- Quonset, General Line School, Ad- vanced Training Command, USS TARAWA, OPNAV and the Naval War College His assignment prior to the FORRESTAL was that of Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE at Oceana, Virginia. AIR CDR JACK C. HEISHMAN, USN CDR ROBERT S. ADAMS, USN Cdr Adams graduated in June, 1942 from the Naval Academy, and served two years in destroyers in WW II before entering flight training. A Naval Aviator in ' 45, he has been in Fighter Squadrons ever since, and last commanded VF 103, now aboard the Forrestal. Between sea duties, Cdr Adams was once instructor at the Naval Academy, and twice had duty at the Naval Air Test Center, Potuxent Riv- er, Maryland.

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CAPTAIN ALLEN M. SHINN, USN ■ All AA MINN wns nraduated from the Naval Academy in %°?? h serC d aboTd The ?J5S TENNESSEE with Battle Division THREE Fol owing his designation as a Naval Aviator at Pensa ' ' h,f assignments c ' onsisted of duty with Torpedo Squadron THREE ,USS Sa ' rATOGA. ; Cr-ser S-.ng Squad GO), Patrol Squadron FO V TWFI Ve ' Staff duty with Command of Headquarters Squaro TWELVE, Staf du y , Commander Air Fo ce, Mlant cH o V ' f rinSrPrFT ' il ' JLt ' as Fleet Aviation Ofhcer,C of Fleet Airborne Electronics Training ' l ' . °% ' ° mand of Fleet Airborne Electronics Training r ' f, Atla Jg. Command of Corner Air Early Warning Squadron TWO (re-desiqnoted Airborne Early Warning Squadron TWELVE); Aircraft program and budget o ' C r Jor IZi of Naval Operations; Fleet Operations Of er for Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet USSSAl- PAN (CVL-48). Prior to reporting to l ' FESTAL he served as Commandant of Midship- men at the United States Naval Academy. COMMANDING OFFICER EXECUTIVE OFFICER CDR PIERRE N. CHARBONNET, JR., USN Commander Charbonnet, a graduate of the Naval Academy, entered flight training in 1943, and was in command of CVEG-24 aboard the SANTEE in the Pacific at the end of WW II. He served as head of the Carrier Aircraft Section of Flight Test, where he flight tested several aircraft now aboard the FORRESTAL with CVG-10 Following this, he commanded CA o » during a Sixth Fleet deployment with the USS INTREPID. The Exec ' s home is in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Page 10 text:

This man retrieving a bridle on a horn of the ship is typical of men in the Air De- partment who work hard before, during and after every Forrestal launch and recovery. The spacious flight and hangar decks of the Forrestal might well be compared to a vast, 3-dimensional football field. The men in various colored jerseys, giving signals, running, strain- ing and pushing are the players; while Flight Deck Control and Hangar Deck Control — one above the other — ore the coordinated coaches of the teem. Space and Time are the dimen- sions of the gome: Space, because there must be a place and path for every plane; and Time, because the Air Department works against a continuous set of deadlines, geared to the tempo of launch and recovery. Close teamwork is a fact in accomplishing the necessary fluidity of a super carrier ' s air operations. From the outset, the Air Department plays its role in this huge effort, for in Pri- mary Fly Control, or Pri-Fly , orders ore given to initiate the actual launches and recovery of Forrestal ' s many aircraft. Pri-Fly is a real nerve center, linked directly to each aircraft and to various parts of the ship by a team of telephone talkers and intercom systems. For the jets to leave the ship. Air Department men actuate the powerful steam catapults which hurl the plane into the air at speeds above 130 MPH. At recovery time, other men operate the arresting gear, and then move the recovered aircraft to predetermined spots on the flight or hangar decks for servicing. There red-shirted fuel crews come into play and top off the tanks for the next flight. Extremes of wind and weather make life on the deck hazardous and uncomfortable. At the same time, the danger from propellers and jet blast is always present and requires con- stant vigilance. Still the Air Department gets a vital job done. Perhaps more than any oth- ers, they have solid claim to the Navy man ' s habitual creed: Without us, the ship is nothing.