Lake Champlain (CVS 39) - Naval Cruise Book

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X- ,,,, n ,,,, , .M .A.iI' Eepartnlent Service to the Squadrons is the by-word of the Air Department per- sonnel, Whose job it is to get our planes on and off the ship as swiftly and safely as possible. Under CDR Hugh M. Garvey, the department is at a strength of nearly 300 men. Most of them can be found scurrying about the flight deck and hangar deck garbed in any of a half-dozen bright colored jerseys. There are a hundred-and-one different jobs they perform. Many of the 1 ne ushers. slingshot artists, men have such occupational titles as p a p gas iockeys and the like. They all form an important part o W a is c Theirs is the responsibility of carrying out the ship's primary function launching and recovering aircraft. f h t ' alled the Airdale Navy.

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O.A. OA Division deals with the unpredictable little devil called WEATHER. Headed by LTIG C. C. Brown, OA has a complement of 10 men who often refer to themselves as Balloon Busters. These aerographers receive information in the raw by radio teletype, decode it, analyze it, and prepare forecasts for the ship's Task Force operations, Fleet Weather Central, Port Lyautey and to the weather bureau in Washington, D.C., for use in long range forecasts. In preparing its data, OA also makes hourly ob- servations of clouds, weather conditions, visibility, pres- sure, temperatures, humidity, Wind direction and sea conditions. Every 12 hours, a gas filled balloon is released to take readings of the upper atmosphere. Attached to the balloon is a small radio transmitter which relays back information. With ship's movements and flight operations de- pendent upon its forecasts, OA is one Weather bureau which can't afford to be Wrong very often. -,NMAXY JH ,.,.. . . 1-I --A xg .gang -use-f,,. C T9 9 it 'S , T .. ,,. t ' , ,.,- . X I ' Q if X g tx 1 , S fl ff fp f ff fr ,fwg f - . -X K vt 4, W- A ' t ' f ?7 w ' : X' s?R of . 'ff f 295 X' t . . , .s Q ,s M- , V ,s .r W , V - 9 sv .Y f ef f f ' . f is ' r 1 , ,Q m g , sr , N- f a A :tlfqhsl f ,Q fswsw Q 3.6 1.6 . S Zi X W 1-V 4 l.,'..ff 14'-N . , I - x' il' 4 .4 .. .,, f M . 'E -Wsk. 'L 5 X 2 ,jf k Q .- if 1' f. ,, .. r K ,Wh 4 ' 'fe -, as ffii - ff -. A ' . f--W9 QM, 5 - W f V 5 Ryu, Wzfggg-' Qs, 4, v-in A L Q A ' fl X I ' Ry... Z ff: S i'i' i M f' ft t t . , 44.1 , T i .Ty T x,X' 7 V L rr A V if ,VZ ,, . , .Af ,,.,,mYw.:u is A M , .X giggr :.,m-gs I - :ff S K:-,wwf H X Q. j'r,,,M,-Y1fN...ebg ,L f, V j'v:fw,::gg1 'ff ,,,.r.:.,,, f X f ' :gif V , H E

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-1 Model A's or S2F's-both are expertly handled by the men of V-l Division. Colorful V-l's primary responsibilities, of course, are with aircraft. They spot and check all topside planes and helos, exercise fire prevention and control during landing operations, and tend to general flight deck maintenance. However, as operators of the ship's cranes and elevators, V-l is also in charge of many other functions-such as loading and unloading of automobiles. They're the ones who keep you on pins and needles when your old horseless carriage is suspended on hooks some 50-feet in the air. 5 'fwvff , -, f, ,, V'--mwzqsaggtv