Carrier Landing on a pitching deck

Great footage...
Be interested to hear from the ex-Navy brigade, the effect of having wimmin on board.

I was mildly irritated by the lady who declared the whole thing to be "A stellar perfomance" but that might've been just for the camera.
 
It sure is different nowadays. In the WWII days landing on a pitching deck was rough but not a lot was made out of it. Except when a guy got launched when the ship was heading down and he came close to splashing. The planes were slower and the landings were made at 60 knots (90 knots minus the ships speed) with the throttles closed. These oil burner guys are going full bore when they try to land.
 
Notice the nervous joking and laughter in the Ready Room after the guys get on deck. They're still scared sh*tless from coming aboard, but they're talking it out. Then they'll head down to their quarters for a shot of that stuff that's not allowed aboard Navy ships. ;)
I think the term "stellar performance" was a bit over the top (some really embarrassing bolters) but I give the folks max credit for getting back aboard with nobody smackin' the blunt end of the boat. With so much pitch and roll I'm not sure the learning experience justified the risk. During combat flight ops sure, but not during a transit.
BTW, the guy/gal trapping at 8:45 into the second vid really greased it - super job.
 
I watched that show on PBS when it came out. The lady proclaiming a stellar performance was, IIRC, CATCC (Carrier Air Traffic Control Center), and she was talking to her ATC crew after all the planes were aboard...
 
I admit it --
that's one of the reasons I went USAF.
The runway was where you left it,
and it was not moving.
 
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