World War II Database

1. Anonymous says:
31 May 2022 09:47:21 AM

Sir, I find this image interesting - presume a 'landing incident' but not sure why the elevator was down if landing operations on the go. It also looks like the prop is still turning (the only blurred part of an otherwise well defined image) - quite a scare all round for all concerned...

2.  David Stubblebine says:
31 May 2022 10:30:50 AM

Anonymous (above):
It does look scary indeed. This is the forward elevator (evidenced by the barrier supports aft of the elevator and the catapult track seen beyond the elevator well) which means this plane had to pass nine arresting wires and crash through not one, not two, but three barriers to get here. With the small ships and the pitching decks, it seems likely the ship dropped out from under the landing airplane and the plane flew over most of those cables before getting caught in the third and last barrier. During landing operations on the small escort carriers, forward elevators were in constant use to clear the deck of aircraft and make room for subsequent landings. Having the elevator in the down position during a landing is not ideal but was not uncommon.