On Feb 23, 4:27�pm, "Mike Weeks" wrote:
On Feb 21, 10:16?am, "W. D. Allen" wrote:

Just finished Jim Armstrong's book, "From POW to Blue Angel", about
Commander Dusty Rhodes, who introduced the Blue Angels to jets. Interesting
book, especially for old naval aviators.

But, here's a question for tail hookers of half a century ago. On page 282
Armstrong writes, "...a Twin Beech landed [on the USS Philippine Sea
returning to CONUS from Korea in early 1951] with a welcome COD load....."
I'm guessing he is referring to an SNB. Does anyone know if SNBs were ever
used for COD deliveries on carriers in the early 1950s? If so, were they
reinforced for tailhook landings? I know a C-130 has been landed on a Kitty
Hawk class carrier, but doubt an SNB could be make sturdy enough to do the
same.

Looking forward to some answers from those who know.

As written the passage brings up even more questions:

CV-47 PS didn't return to the US "in early 1951". *Early in '51 she
operating off Korea, first w/ CVG-11, then in late March swapped -11
for CVG-2, and she doesn't get back to the WC until June 1951.

If the time period should simply be, say, mid-'51 there's still the
question of a straight deck and those air group birds sitting forward,
even behind the barrier. *Even if a good number planes were off-loaded
as Atsugi for use by an incoming CVG, there still would have been the
loading of others to be returned to the states. *Going to put a non-
hook bird down on a deck w/ no exit point?

And where would the event have taken place -- off Hawaii, off Guam?
According the Bob Cressman article in the Fall '88 issue of _The
Hook_, in a history of the P.S., she made a bee-line straight to
Alameda, beating the transit record of Boxer (CV-21) from 1950 by 5
1/2 hours.

I haven't seen the book yet, but looking forward to at least looking a
copy over. *In addition I'm going to check if there's a copy of a PS
1950-51 cruise book in the THA library next week.

Indeed, the THA has a copy of the 1950-51 PS cruise book. Nothing
mentioned about what was described in the book about Dusty Rhodes.
That doesn't mean much by itself, but there is a good aerial photo of
her entering SF Bay on 9 June 1951 and she's got about a 1/2 deck-full
load of birds, and there's no plane with a twin tail among them.

In addition, the book is reviewed (favorably) in the current issue
(Jan-Feb) of NavAir News by Pete Mersky and it's mentioned there are
"only a few errors in terminology" The author is a professor of
English.

MW