Princeton (CVA 37) - Naval Cruise Book

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? k'lI ' e ired from elec even planes can't fly without paper every item is vital to pIane's per- special s I is r qu - formance tronics repairmen w0rk e Q Composite Squadron Thirty-five QVC-355, VAN Easy was the innocent sounding name of the night attack team that struck through darkness to batter the enemy lifeline of trucks and trains. This unit of Composite Squadron 35 consisted of six night pilots, twelve combat air-crewmen, twenty- eight maintenance and service men, and five night attack bombers. - The pilots were all veterans of day carrier squadrons and were specially trained for the night attack mission: fly through any wea- ther in .total darkness to find the target, then destroy it with low-level glide bombing and straf- fing attacks. Here is a pilots brief but typical description of the mission. A The pre-dawn launch is at 0200. The ready room is dimmed with red lights, the pilots and crew huddle over plotting boards, scanning maps, jotting notes on the kneepads. The squawk box blurted, 'Man planesl' There is a confused shuffl- ing for equipment, curses, nervous laughter, fumb- ling with straps in the cockpit, vain looking for a horizon in the black gloom. 'Start enginesl' Two lighted wands lure the planes forward. The catapult scream thrusts the plane into the emi- nence darkness. Fly instruments. . .airspeed, alti- tude, gyro horizo-n. . .must ily instruments! A string of trucks snaking between mountains. There is a hard 'pushover' with the altimeter whirling in the dive. Dive and fire again. . .the flares cast a wierd light. Staccato firing of 20 mm cannon, the blinding infenno of napalm. Another VC-35 strike over, now get home. There are two insigni- ficant rows of tiny deck lights, a needle's width apart. Nothing bu-t blackness ahead. 150 feet indicated. Fly instruments. Quickly look for the LSO. . .instruments LSO! Nose over, ease throttle . . .cut! Home again. tured here assured the commies of very little sleep and a hot time in the old town at night Insomnia Inc. pic ,

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X xyx submarines beware! Guppy revs up for catapult launch at long last, photographer catches complete squadron on deck E 9 i i ., 1 I I57

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71 -if md W -mf ,., J. 'G X :ZFX '. ,,,,,, A R XP 'N4 N-N ., sz ' W , N ,,,,,,, X - plane captains take personal pride in their craft not a bomb or belly tank, but a rado me 0v 4 '2w r gk' s w K target for tonight getting ready for take-off is a two man job home again from a night'S P3'll'0l