US Naval Aviation Plans & Resources


US Naval Aircraft & Aviation Ships of World War II

Book Review: "Carrier Air War in Original WWII Color" Robert Lawson & Barrett Tillman   Contrary to what some modern schoolchildren might think (if they think about it all, sad to say) World War II was not fought in black and white. Color photography in one form or another existed decades before the war, although it was not till the mid to late 1930s that Kodak's Kodachrome allowed more photographers to shoot in that format. Robert Lawson and Barrett Tillman have done a masterful job in assembling a wide variety of rare color photos depicting all facets of wartime US Naval Aviation, from flying boats to carrier action. The first chapter alone has such gems as an SBU-1 from USS Ranger, an F4F-3 of VMF-121, Curtiss O2C, Kingfishers in landplane configuration, R3D-2 (DC-5) transports, and a natural metal PBM Mariner. Basically, there is something for everyone here. There are also numerous shots of the carriers themselves, including Yorktown (CV-10) transiting the Panama Canal, an overhead shot of Wasp (CV-7), a shot of Franklin's severe damage that I had not seen before, and a shot of Santee (ACV-29) showing her camouflage scheme very well.

Grumman 


A massive 50cc R/C F6F-5 model - extensive photo coverage of this big Hellcat taking shape
PDF plans and a build log for an RC Hellcat
"Grumman Hellcat"  Flight November 18, 1943  p.556
Picture: Retrieving sampler boxes from F6F drone after Bikini A-Bomb test  Naval Aviation News  October 1946  p.16
"Carrier photo Recco"  Naval Aviation News  November 1946  Includes several photos of Hellcats.

"Navy uses obsolete F6F drones"  Aviation Week  September 29, 1952  p.17

"This Hellcat had many lives"  Naval Aviation News September 1962  p.27  Retirement of F6F-5K BuNo 77722, the last Hellcat drone.

Sam Whitney  "Jolly Rogers Hellcat"  Scale Modeler  August 1980. diorama using the Hasegawa 1/32 F6F-3 to depict an aircraft of VF-17 aboard USS Hornet.

Ken Brill  "McCampbell's Cat"  Scale Modeler  April 1982  Building the 1/48 scale Monogram kit as Lt. Commander David McCampbell's aircraft. Includes color profiles of an F6F-3 in GSB aboard USS Princeton, F6F-3 of VMF-222, F6F-3 from VF-15.

Mike Ashey  "Detailing Minsi II"  FineScale Modeler  February 2005. Building the 1/32 scale Hasegawa F6F.


Chance-Vought

Book Review: SB2U Vindicator in action. Vought's Vindicator scout bomber helped bring US naval aviation into the monoplane age, but was obsolete by the time WWII started, and after participating in the Battle of Midway the type was relegated to second-line duties. There are side view plans of the XSB2U-1 prototype in both early and late configurations, the SB2U-1/2, SB2U-3, and the V-156 export machines. Black & white scrap views illustrate the cowling differences between the prototype and production machines, standard and practice bomb dispensers, the XSB2U-3 floatplane conversion, horizontal stabilizer development, and the wing fold mechanism. The are large 3-view drawings of the SB2U-1 and -3, as well as ten color profiles. The latter include a VB-2 machine from Lexington's air group in Barclay camouflage, as well as a camouflaged French V-156-F.


Bob Rice "U.S. Navy Vindicator"  Building the Wings 48 vacuform SB2U as an aircraft of VB-3. Scale Modeler  January 1983.

"Arlo Schroeder's Vindicator"  FineScale Modeler  December 1988  p.22-23  Scratchbuilt SB2U-2 in 1/32 scale

"Well Vindicated" FlyPast May 1999  p.70-71. Photo article on the restoration of SB2U-2 BuNo 1383 (the last remaining Vindicator) at the NMNA.

Corsair Skyboss, seen here at Pittsburgh, is actually a Goodyear-built FG-1D. Flying as NX83JC, she started out life as BuNo 67089.

3-view profile: F4U-5NL   Flight  14 August 1953  p.196

Larry R. Teteak  "Bent Wing Birds"  Building the 1/48 scale Minicraft/Hasegawa F4U-4 as an aircraft of VF-52 aboard USS Essex during the Korean War.  Scale Modeler  June 1982




Early Postwar vintage USN Aircraft

FH-1 Phantom walk around at the National Warplane Museum


Douglas F4D / F-6 Skyray

Douglas' first jet fighter design, the F4D was another result of US postwar acquisition of German aeronautical data, in this case Alexander Lippisch's work on delta wing aircraft. The XF4D-1 prototype flew in January 1951, powered by an Allison J35 as an interim measure. Westinghouse XJ40s were later fitted to the first two aircraft, and thus powered, the second Skyray acheived a world speed record of 752 mph in October 1953. Despite this, the J40 program would be a major failure, the engine proving unreliable and unable to acheive a thrust rating even close to requirements. Fortunately, the F4D airframe had not been closely tailored to the J40, and fitting Pratt & Whitney J57s to production F4D-1s was possible.

 "F4D Makes Carrier Evaluation Tests" NATC Skyray evaluations from USS Coral Sea.  Naval Aviation News  February 1954 p.11 *
"Skyray Meets the Marines" NAN January 1957  p.30   Three photos - covers the conversion of VMF-115 to F4Ds.   *
"VMF(AW)-115 and Skyray - Records Made at MCAAS Mojave"  NAN  March 1957  p.25   *
"VF-74 Qualifies in F4D's"  Naval Aviation News May 1957  p.30   *
F4D at Pensacola
VF-141 F4D model for FS2002
F4D preserved at the Flying Leathernecks Museum as a Marine aircraft of VMF(AW)-115



North American FJ Fury

North American's Fury series actually encompasses a quartet of very different aircraft, and only one of them was a true naval version of the Sabre, although all shared a design kinship with the USAF fighter.
First flown in October 1954, the FJ-4 was in most regards a new aircraft, with a redesigned fuselage and a much larger wet wing. VMF-451 took delivery of the first operational FJ-4s in 1956.  The FJ-4B or "Fury Bravo" had a stengthened wing with an additional pair of hardpoints, and was equipped to deliver tactical nuclear weapons via loft bombing delivery. For conventional missions, AGM-12 Bullpup ASMs and their associated director pod could be carried.

Photo: Rocket-boosted FJ-4F with a North American AR-1 rocket fitted above the tailpipe. NAN  April 1958  p.29
Photo: VA-151 FJ-4B "Fury Bravo" being refueled while on cat aboard USS Bennington. NAN  May 1958  p.31

A very nice FJ-1 model for FS9


Vought F6U Pirate
F6U Pirate under restoration
Period color photo of an F6U
F6U model   for X-PLane

Vought F7U Cutlass

F7U Cutlass at Griffith Park
Review of the Hobbycraft 1/48 scale F7U-3


Vought F8U/F-8 Crusader

"F8U stars in FIP Program"  Naval Aviation News March 1957  p.22-23  7 photos  VF-32 and VF(AW)-3 F8U Fleet Introduction program at Patuxent River.  *
"Crusader Squadrons join Fleet"  Naval Aviation News  January 1958  p.1  four pictures.
"F8U-2N in First Flight"  Naval Aviation News May 1960  p.28  two pictur
"Photo Crusaders play Decisive Role"  Naval Aviation News  March 1963  p. 27  Five pictures. VFP-62 awarded DFCs for role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
"Vought F-8 Crusader Paint Schemes and Markings" Scale Modeler November 1982   Includes pictures of  aircraft from VF-211, VMF(AW)-312, VC-7 F-8C, VF-194 Red Lightnings, DF-8 BuNo 143732 of VC-8, VF-51 F-8H, VFP-63 RF-8, F8U-1 of VF-103 Sluggers.





Art Pages

Vietnam-Era Naval Aircraft


EA-3B: A great series of walk-around shots of a preserved "Whale" - includes some good close-in shots of the wing fold mechanism and landing gear
3-view profile: A3D Skywarrior  Flight  25 February 1955  p.236
"Skywarrior proves a Champion"  Naval Aviation News  May 1957  p.9  four pictures. A3D-1 transcontinental speed records.
"VAH-123 Wins Whidbey Bombing Derby"  Naval Aviation News  December 1962  p.31  four pictures.


RA-5C  Walk Around:  Video walk around of a recon-model Vigilante preserved in Colorado.
"VAH-1 makes transition to Vigilante"  Naval Aviation News April 1963  p.11  Four pictures.

A-6 Intruder

Book Review: A-6 Intruder Walk-Around by Lou Drendel. For nearly thirty years, Grumman's A-6 was the "main battery" of the carrier air wings, with the ability to conduct strikes at long ranges and in all weather condition. This 80-page softcover provides all the in-depth photo detail needed to build an A-6E model, with dozens on close in shots of the airframe, avionics bays, tailhook, engines, and cockpit.

A-6E for Flight Simulator:  An interesting "virtual walk around" of the A-6E by Alphasim for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Build article on the Hasegawa A-6E


F4H / F-4 Phantom II

A part of American carrier aviation for a quarter century, McDonnell's Phantom II was the end result of studies by the company for an outgrowth of the F3H Demon, and went through a number of paper configurations before emerging as the F4H-1 in 1958. Powered by a pair of GE J79s and carrying a second crewman to help handle BVR engagements with the Sparrow long-range missile, the Phantom II was easily the match of any of its land-based counterparts. envisioned as a missile platform to defend carrier groups against Soviet bombers, the Phantom was bloodied in much different roles over Southeast Asia, delivering air to ground ordnance and engaging in close-in air to air combat against North Vietnamese MiGs. Delays and rising costs associated with the F-14 program meant that the Phantom would remain in service well into the 1980s, with the final carrier deployments not taking place until 1986. Even then, reserve units would hang on to their F-4s for a number of years after that, and the last naval Phantoms, QF-4S drones, would not be retired until the early 2000s.

F4H-1 three-view, showing the original small radome configuration.  Flight 3 October 1958  p.547

"Transcontinental Phantoms"  Navy F4H-1s win the Bendix Trophy. Two photos, including one of a Phantom refueling from a Skywarrior tanker. Also includes a minute by minute log of the flight.  Flight October 1961.

"Anatomy of the Phantom"  Flight 4 March 1965, p.330-331  Two-page cutaway plan of a Navy F-4.

F-4B Phantom II   A short but quite high quality series of shots showing a preserved F-4B in VF-21 markings aboard USS Midway.

F-4J Phantom II:  Preserved aircraft of the American Air Museum at Duxford.

F-4N by Hasegawa: Buildup article of an aircraft in VF-111 markings aboard USS Coral Sea. The F-4Ns were former B-models rebuilt under Project Bee Line in the early 1970s, with structural refurbishment, slotted stabilators, and the ALQ-126 ECM system.

QF-4S: Extensive series of walk-around shots of QF-4S drone BuNo 153821



Modern USN Aircraft


Single-seat FA-18E Super Hornet of VFA-143 Pukin Dogs of the USS Eisenhower's air wing. (C. Reed)



F-14 Tomcat

4-view plans: Grumman F-14 Tomcat   Flight International  27 September 1973  p.517

Ken Belisle "Tomcat Territory"  Scale Modeler June 1981  p.8-10+  Diorama using the 1/72 scale Minicraft/Hasegawa kit.

Larry R. Teteak  "Tenacious Tomcats" Building MRC/Tamiya 1/32 scale F-14s as USN and Iranian Air Force aircraft.  Scale Modeler  March 1982.

Gert Kromhout  "Tomcat Renaissance" Air Forces Monthly June 2001. A look at the Tomcat in the later years of its service, as F-14s squadrons took on a strike role. Includes details of Tomcat operations in Operation Allied Force.


F-14 walk around
F-14 walk-around

F/A-18


E-2

"Hawkeye scores double first"  Naval Aviation News May 1962 p.11 five pictures - testing at Pax River - first aircraft to use the nose tow arrangement, first turboprop to be catapulted.
Robert Wall  "Hawkeye 2000 set to expand Fleet's eyes" Aviation Week & Space Technology  October 7, 2002  p.60-63, plus cover photo of an E-2C showing the CEC antenna under the fuselage.

"Hawkeye - A New Dimension in Tactical Warfare"  Air International  January 1977  Includes a cutaway diagram.



Book Review: US Naval Airpower: Supercarrier in action  Photography by Neil Leifer, text by Bill Sweetman.  The late 1980s was the height of the "Top Gun" craze, and I recall there being a number of quickie type picture books on US naval aviation. I would classify this book as being a high-quality photo work that very well illustrates the carrier action of its day, as seen aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Lots of large, dramatic shots of aircraft and flight deck crews in action. Predictably, there are a lot of Tomcat shots (nothing wrong with that!) but we also see E-2Cs, Prowlers, SLUFs, Intruders, Vikings, and even a CH-46 or two. Among the individual aircraft seen are E-2C BuNo 161344 of VAW-114, A-6E BuNo 152930 of VA-52, and Intruder BuNo 151576. And if you're building a model of a Nimitz class carrier, there is some good coverage of the Vinson herself, including overhead shots and several images that show the island in good detail.

"CVA-66 is commissioned" Naval Aviation News  April 1965  p.10-11  USS America commissioning at Norfolk Navy Shipyard.

Picture: "JFK in James River after Launching"  Naval Aviation News  February 1968  p.6

"At war on USS Theodore Roosevelt" Air Forces Monthly  January 2002. Covers CVN-71 operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"USS Harry S Truman"  Air Forces Monthly  April 2003. Covers a visit by CVN-73 to Slovenia. Includes a photo of FA-18C BuNo 164261 in VFA-105 Gunslingers high-visibility colors.



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* The Naval Aviation News archive can be accessed here