How Did Cruisers Launch Planes In WWII?
Numerous WWII notes mention planes taking off from cruisers and returning
If you read accounts or logs from the war in the Pacific during World War II, you will often come across a phrase that doesn’t seem to make much sense. Sailors, airmen, and marines would report seeing reconnaissance planes launched from cruisers. Low, droning planes circling overhead were often a sign of a nearby cruiser or battleship and not necessarily an aircraft carrier. These reports raise an obvious question. How on Earth were large recon planes launched from cruisers? Cruisers don’t have flight decks. In fact, cruisers have little space at all on their decks.
The truth is that cruisers did indeed launch planes. In fact, cruisers launched quite a few of these planes during World War II. The way they did it was by using an ingenious system of catapults and cranes to launch and retrieve planes at sea.
The Catapults
Cruisers would often only carry one or two seaplanes aboard. The planes would be sheltered at the rear of the ship near a catapult. These catapults would use a system of pullies and…
