Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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-' ' 1 '- WZ 5I1,m..fLi:wgA.K 'fxulfj ,Emu ' ' QAQ HELLCAT CRASI-IES-LEFT NW ING SXWIPES THREE OF US IN SAFETY NET L fu- f-g:,g..uA QBQ TAIL LEFT BEHIND-PLANE ROLLS ON-CRASI-IES INTO GUN GALLERY . AQ. I qcjy THE N FALLS OVER TI-IE SIDE AND SINKS--TI-IE P ILOT IS LOST

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l COMMANDER B. W. WRIGHT USN mr A W is a living thing to Benny Wright Like the Captain he has been with her since she was commissioned As air officer he took off and landed the first plane on her flight deck I-Ie is now the executive officer of the Lex has a fine concept of human values is soft-spoken gentle- mannered and has the full co-operation of all hands. Second day out he suggests I might l1ke to look over the ship that he would show me around The deck IS being made ready to land planes so I tell him I d like to has e a close up look with my camera at the landing signal officer s hangout When we get there Lts Dave Butler and Bud Deering are on their platform behind the wind break The Exec chuckles ox er my enthusiasm heads back to his job The planes are flying in the landing circle I kneel out in the safety net About fifty feet down below the net swirls of foaming water rush by Directly above I have a worm s eye new of Butler waving his signal paddles to a plane I cannot see until it comes in overhead just before it hits the deck Through the finder the plane is silhouetted against the sky Click I am pleased with this setup the boys have been overlooking I shift position for a less vertical angle hear the call that the mcom in plane is O K point my camera in a Hash the whole finder is filled with the image of a reat dark onrushing mass instinctively I press the button am knocked fiat in the net and the tvso signal officers land on top of me A few feet from us hangs part of the tail of a plane From its 11 if

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fo 54.9 NAVY WQPTZ 1 QDQ CLOSE-LTP SHOT I MAUII AS PIANII I,l'RC1l-ll1lD CDVILR VS crushed emereieuev uns tnula. eusullue gushes put mer the edge of the deck like Z1 small water-full. Butler sz1ysf'Let's get the hell r1t1tcwl'l1e1'e. lYe get l hezldfr11'tl1elJ1'ldgeg fm the way l 111CClCUlNLl1'. XV1'lfYl1ll he Qjmhs lux' hgmd. uslis. l hm' Que Wall. frltl-lllllCI'?N l tell liutler: url4l1ZllVV2lSl1 vrettx' Close w t . . l . Sl1ZlYC.,, He comes huela with: Klum, yfwu lust ezuft have ll eluset flue. 7 l ' 'l ' th X l .'.Q f f the wilut. The fuselage :md wings of the plzme went over the YN e .ue tepresset mem e uss l 1 side, hir the gun gallery. seriuusly xwuutliug three uf the gun erew, then plunged into the 'wglter and sfmli. The pilot never gut out uf the euelapit. .Xuximus eyes from all pzu'ts of the ship sezlreh the water and L1 destruyet vainly e1u'1'ies uh the segu'eh. 5,3543 Nm EW'