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Interesting Photo of the USS Hornet and an aircraft landing

Discussion in 'Naval Warfare in the Pacific' started by Slipdigit, Apr 10, 2010.

  1. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Here is the background to the photo:

    June 4, 1942: At 14:30 hrs. a Grumman 4F-4 Wildcat (3-F-24) from VF-3 (USS Yorktown CV-5) mistakenly lands on the USS Hornet CV-8 during the Battle of Midway. The aircraft had been damaged by Japanese Zeros and the pilot, Ens. Daniel C. Sheedy, was wounded in the leg. The aircraft landed hard causing the right landing gear to collapse and at the moment of impact the six .50 cal. machine guns opened fire killing five of Hornet's crew and wounding twenty others. (Note puffs of smoke coming from the aircraft's guns.)

    It is believed that Ens. Sheedy failed to cut off the gun switch before landing, however a witness stated that he noticed that the circuits for the switch had been "shot out" in combat and were therefore inoperable, and the man who first opened the cockpit noted that the switches were off. (Note: In Capt. Mitscher's report he states "Since the pilot cut the engine ignition switch after landing, it is probable that he cut the gun switches at the same time, perhaps without being fully aware of his actions.")

    Ens. Sheedy was removed from the plane and personnel from Hornet noted several bullet holes in the cockpit of Sheedy's plane including two in the instrument panel. The aircraft was then pushed over the side. In the administrative report filed June 14, 1942 by Capt. Mitscher the last line states "There was no culpable neglect or culpable inefficiency on the part of anyone connected with this accident
     

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  2. Steve Petersen

    Steve Petersen Member

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    Wow.

    My wife's uncle was an aviation machinist's mate on the Hornet during its history. I wonder what the scuttlebutt was after the incident?
     
  3. Gromit801

    Gromit801 Member

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    Great photo. Did the gear actually collapse? The gear on the F4F could do what is being pictured without collapsing.
     
  4. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    Perhaps due to enemy fire, it (landing gear) was also as shot up as the rest of the fuselage, cockpit, and internal wiring?

    That gear was rugged as all get out, but a few well placed shots from an airborn cannon, like those on the Zeke might make for a bit of a bother.
     
  5. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Another reason I picked the P-47 in another thread!
     
  6. Spaniard

    Spaniard New Member

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    Nice Picture, and a interesting Story. Looks like a rough landing to me.
     
  7. T. A. Gardner

    T. A. Gardner Genuine Chief

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    From my perspective as a "snipe" (eg., engineering type) the likely response then, like today, would have been ....

    GD'd airedales! They so friggin' useless......
     
  8. SymphonicPoet

    SymphonicPoet Member

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    From no other evidence than the photograph, it would certainly appear that the gear are collapsing. The starboard gear seems to be only partially extended, most likely due to the landing.

    And BIAK, I see no reason to believe a completely intact P-47 would survive even a clean carrier landing. It's possible, I suppose, but the type wasn't designed for carrier operations nor did the navy ever use them, so far as I know. Taking off from a carrier is one thing. Getting back down on one is altogether another. The F4F was rather narrow of track, but no more so that Spitfires or Bf-109s. And all told they performed pretty well.
     
  9. machine shop tom

    machine shop tom Member

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    I have some pics in my Dad's tour book from his CVE that shows an FM-2 with collapsed landing gear, similar to that in this photo. It looks as though the gear couldn't take an off-kilter landing very well.

    That poor pilot had to live with the fact that he accidentally killed some U.S servicemen..........


    tom

    tom
     
  10. R Leonard

    R Leonard Member

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    Dan Sheedy in VF-3's bu no 5239, side no 24. Yes, the gear collapsed and the plane was subsequently tossed overboard.

    While the F4F has somewhat of a reputation for ground loops, that phenomena was confined to landings ashore, not with arrested landings. What you are seeing is the starboard gear collapsing in combination with an arrested landing.
     
  11. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Miraculously one hour after this happened another F4F from the Yorktown lands on the Hornet and lets loose with it's .50 cals. Luckily the pilot was on the center line and the rounds flew straight down the flight deck.
    MaritimeQuest - USS Hornet CV-8 Page 13
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    SymphonicPoet; my poor attempt at humor. I was referring to my desire to take off and land on solid ground.
     
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  12. R Leonard

    R Leonard Member

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    Yes, fortunately, no one hurt in this event. A great photo showing the typical VF-3 Midway paint job, You can see Bill Barnes lurching forward as the plane stops and, looking close, you can see the .50 cal. brass falling to the deck below the right wing. Buno is 5167. Yes, I know the photo caption on the web site says Horace Bass was the pilot, but Bass was one of but 4 VF-3 pilots who actually flew in his assigned airplane that day, #22, buno 5050.
     
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  13. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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  14. texson66

    texson66 Ace

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    And....

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Bim7-hZfg&feature=PlayList&p=327E8CADD4643F49&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=30[/youtube]
     
  15. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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  16. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Regretfully OpanaPointer's photo is incorrectly captioned.

    The photo is of the USS Iowa, probably on her builder's trials, or sometime shortly after completion, as the wind baffles on the conning tower are not installed yet.

    I think this is the photo the original author meant.
    http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013821.jpg
     
  17. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Quite right. Full honors for a sharp eye.
     
  18. SymphonicPoet

    SymphonicPoet Member

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    Sorry, BIAK. Failed to realize you were making a joke. My funny bone is probably still sprained from my last game of Tennis. (Which was pretty funny, but lousy tennis.)

    And I hate to be a spoil sport, OpanaPointer, but the amazing last picture from the dieing Frederick Read is an urban legend that's been circulating a while. (I've seen it published many many times.)

    But it's not a photograph at all. It's extracted from a film clip shot by Marion Riley which you can see as part of a short montage on youtube:

    YouTube - Dive Bombers Attack the USS Enterprise

    It's clearly cobbled together from several clips, as the early footage is from early in the war, possibly the Doolittle Raid.

    You'll see two bombs hit Enterprise in the course of the clip. The first strikes near the fantail and penetrates to the starboard after gun gallery, killing almost everyone nearby. The Enterprise group's cv6.org reports that Read was stationed in that gallery and killed by this bomb hit. (The second hit on Enterprise that day.)

    The third bomb hits at about the three minute mark, and someone pans the camera to the burning wreckage of Japanese planes just after the attack. While it's possible that the cameraman stepped over the body of a dead or dieing comrade to operate the camera, it seems a little far fetched. Rather, I would guess that Riley himself got back up once the smoke had cleared and panned the camera to catch what he thought was interesting.

    You can read a little about Read and Riley and the controversy surrounding the picture on cv6.org's site:

    Battle of the Eastern Solomons: August 24, 1942

    Haunting video, just the same, as it's pretty darn clear just what happens in that gun gallery.

    Sorry to be a spoil-sport. I've walked into exactly that same myth. (I first saw the picture published in some book or other in my High School library. Apparently the Navy has even printed the mistaken caption.)

    Sincerely,
    David Ackerman
     
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  19. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Okay, I'm going to go sulk now. :)
     
  20. SymphonicPoet

    SymphonicPoet Member

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    Like I said. I thought the same thing. If you go sulk, I want to come along and the Navy can come with us. :)
     

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