Coral Sea (CVA 43) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 31 text:

Bombs are armed on the flight deck in preparation for the strike. Final adjustments are made. Assembling, Fuzing, Arming Ordnance handlers worked round the clock, assembling, fuzing and arming the array of weapons. Once assembled and delivered to the flight deck, bombs were hung on the positioned aircraft, poised for the following day ' s action. Each day and into the night in the Air Intelligence Office, pilots studied maps, photographs and reports of their assigned targets until their mission was nearly committed to memory. On the morning of a strike, the flight deck swarmed with its routine activ- ities. At the break of dawn, plane captains manned their aircraft and were giving their planes a daily pre- flight check. Soon after, the flight deck activity stepped up as the carrier ' s roof displayed the colorful jerseys of its inhabitants.

Page 33 text:

Planes are re-spotted for last minute changes in the launch sequence. 30 Minutes to Launch Green shirts tested and checked the catapults and arresting gear, as fueling personnel, attired in purple jerseys, pumped fuel into the strike and support aircraft. Blue shirts pushed planes on orders from the yellow shirts for last minute changes in the launch se- quence, and the ordnance personnel, in their red jerseys, hung the last weapons on the aircraft. Inside the ship, pilots were being briefed on formation line- ups, navigation to the target, target details, rendezvous infor- mation, weather over the target, search and rescue assistance and the recovery aboard the ship after the mission. About 30 minutes prior to launch, the pilots, laden with their gear, departed their ready rooms and manned their aircraft on the flight deck .