Why US Tried the Most Dangerous Landing Ever Made on an Aircraft Carrier

Welcome back to the FLUCTUS channel for a feature of the most extreme landing operations at sea, and how modern technology and human innovation have challenged pilots to land and take off from the most demanding runways, like amphibious assault ships, makeshift dirt runways and drastically shortened landing zones in the middle of the sea.
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[@kellywilson8440]

The guy landing the Herc on the ship is retired Admiral James Flatley , I served with his son LT Joe Flatley in 1986/1988 in VFA-131 Wildcats out of NAS Cecil Field fla .

[@springbloom5940]

My dad served on the FID when they did this. They locked down the ship, *highly* classified operation, so he hid in a gun turret and watched.

[@kellywilson8440]

@@springbloom5940 , Roger that good idea !

[@tomdolan9761]

Wasn’t Admiral Flatley’s father the famous WW2 aviator?

[@kellywilson8440]

@@tomdolan9761 , Im not sure about that one but certaintly a long history of Naval aviators in that family .

[@tomdolan9761]

I think he commanded a squadron of F4F Wildcats on the USS Enterprise CV6 early in the war.

[@gazof-the-north1980]

The guy who landed the C-130 on the Forrestal was actually an F-4 Phantom pilot. It was decided that it would be easier to teach a Phantom pilot with lots of carrier trap experience to fly a Herky bird than to teach a Herky Bird pilot with no carrier experience to trap on an aircraft carrier!

[@rustyoilburner]

He was my first Skipper, on USS Saratoga. Captain Flatley is a really good guy.

[@MidlandTexan]

Makes a lot of sense.

[@bob80q]

his father was a World War II ace who flew the F4F Wildcat

[@vic5015]

Seems reasonable. Much more so than the other way around. I can just imagine a C-130 pilot going "You want me to do *what* ? You're insane!"

[@Irwhodunit]

That just makes tons of sense. Four stars for the person who thought of that.

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

The C-130 has been known for short landing and takeoff performance since it's introduction. With the variable pitch propeller blades, it can even go in reverse (on the ground!).

[@texgowing7359]

I was stationed in Hong Kong from June 68 to November 70. During that time I think 69 USS Coral Sea anchored off the Island, so some of us went out by boat to gaze in awe. She had a compliment of 5,000 & there were 2 brothers on board for 2 years who had never bumped into each other. I had never seen anything like it, massive doesn't do it credit. I really was so very impressed & in awe of this amazing feat of engineering, an experience I will never forget.

[@mrgfix]

Ships company was 2500~. Air crew was an additional 1000.

[@texgowing7359]

@@mrgfix which ships company Mark?? Are you talking about the Coral Sea?? Can you be more specific, as I was told by a guy called Moon I met in a disco called *The Happening* in Wanchi downtown Hong Kong. He was one of the crew.

[@mrgfix]

@@texgowing7359 USS Coral Sea CV-43. I was part of OE division (operation electronics) during the 75 cruse. I was part of the S7 (supply) division during the 77 cruse.

[@texgowing7359]

@@mrgfix So this sailor Moon exaggerated slightly to me, would that be correct?? There were other guys there @ the same time but the music was rather loud. I've been bragging about that encounter for over 53 years🙄😅😅 Oh boy. Oh well no harm done, just an old war story😂😂😂. BUT thankyou for correcting me Mark with your first hand knowledge, I simply took it for granted he was telling me the truth, especially after seeing the size of the ship. Is she still in service??

[@mrgfix]

@@texgowing7359 We did not have enough berthing for 5000 people. Small ship compared to the new ones. The Gerald Ford can berth around 6000 crew members which includes air wings. She was scraped in 1990. All fuel oil carriers are gone.

[@dathyr1]

I worked (was a Crew Chief) on the C-130's back in the Viet Nam Years and they are an amazing aircraft. 4 Years spent in the Air Force was at Philippines, Tawain, Viet Nam, South Korea, Japan, Hawaii, and then finally at Edwards Air Base. Was quite an experience and got to see countries I will never get to see again.

[@davidlarondelle2326]

Thanks for your service!

[@marksamuelsen2750]

I was a Corporate Pilot for 35+years and this guy had nerves of steel. Amazing absolutely incredible

[@manmatt445]

C 130 is the best truck ever built. Outstanding.

[@philhand5830]

dump truck with wings...

[@clavo3352]

Make a welder/fitter's heart get all excited. And what man isn't a flight hobbyist; to enjoy all the variations of aircraft that use the aircraft carriers? Great stuff.

[@Vitaee13]

Landing a C-130 on an aircraft carries is pretty damn impressive. Massive salute to the pilots who can pull this off.

[@aaaht3810]

Un-arrested landing at that.

[@Fox-One1937]

@@aaaht3810 the pilot was from air force or the navy?

[@aaaht3810]

@@Fox-One1937 Navy pilot. Lt. James Flatley. The C-130 used in the trials is on display at the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola FL., USA.

[@Fox-One1937]

@@aaaht3810 usaf pilotes don't enjoy life....

[@mwales2112]

C-130, the greatest aircraft ever produced... Spent 24 years with the USAF as a crew chief from 1981-2005.

[@9999plato]

They also landed U-2 spy planes on carriers as an experiment to test if recovery was possible. These tests to recover the Hercules were successful but it was decided not to use this as a recovery method.

[@jesshundahl1397]

No it was for resupply of special bombs if ww3 started. The plane was from VMGR 353 on lone to PAX river for the tests so that 352 would not be charged with its lost if it did a deep swim.

[@Donnie9by5]

I saw the U2 land on the USS AMERICA in 1968-69 and it took off also getting airborne well before it passed the island! It almost got flipped over there so light weight!

[@martinwalker9386]

The picture shows the island on the left/port side of the ship. The island is always on the right/starboard side because of the direction of rotation of aircraft engines. Therefore the picture is reversed.

[@whuzyodadi]

I last flew on this aircraft in 2002. It was one of the first Marine KC-130's in Afghanistan. Donated to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola in 2005

[@jamescarlson4550]

Your cover image shows a C-130 lined up on a newer carrier with the superstructure on the port side of the ship. US carriers have the superstructure on the starboard side.

[@saeidkharrat4397]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING WITH A NICE ENGLISH SPOKEN PERSON

[@PurpleObscuration]

China gets the Chinese speaker Russia gets the Russian speaker France gets the French speaker Spain gets the Spanish speaker ...did I leave any out, please feel free to to add any I may have left out...

[@abelewin2855]

I am so happy I live in a great country, the U.S.A. The greatest country that ever existed.

[@grahamwhite1656]

What???

[@wb8ujb]

Video's never do justice to the size of an aircraft carrier. Not until you have been on the flight deck during flight ops, can you truly appreciated them. I have had the honor of serving on board the U.S.S. America for a couple years. The first traps that I witnessed, I was scared to death. Noise, wind, jet blasts and concussion of the aircraft hitting the deck at full throttle can never be expressed in words.

[@mrgfix]

I served onboard the Coral Sea back in the mid 70's. Thank you for your service.

[@TheFlutecart]

I was on Lexington 89-91. But I later visited the America for 2 days from Normandy CG-60 in the Med in 1992. I got choppered back to Normandy off her deck. Hell of a ride with the doors open, it was raining a bit with choppy seas, then landing on our tiny cruiser deck, it was fun, I'd do it again, lol!

[@mrgfix]

@@TheFlutecart I went from one extreme to another. I went from an aircraft carrier to a new destroyer on the East coast. USS John Rodgers.

[@TheFlutecart]

@@mrgfix Yup for me it was the oldest carrier in existence to a brand new Cruiser. I honestly loved the Lex, the Normandy was an uptight command. It almost felt like a demotion had it not been Flagship for America battlegroup. Point of the spear and all that bs.

[@mrgfix]

@@TheFlutecart There was a totally different command structure between the 2 coast.

[@mistytharpe3991]

C-130 , A-10 , F-15 . Proof that you can't improve upon perfection

[@philhand5830]

AND the venerable B - 52!!!! Additionally, the C-130 is still being manufactured in Marietta GA... 64 year manufacturing run....

[@mistytharpe3991]

@@philhand5830 is that still flying?

[@philhand5830]

@@mistytharpe3991 yes, and quite effectively....

[@mpojr]

im 74 now but back during the Vietnam war spent alot of time flying on them,,,,,its a great aircraft.

[@caroleastmond9064]

A Hercules can land on a aircraft carrier. Wow!! That is just amazing!!! Very good video!!🎉🎉🎉

[@michaelfrost4584]

As an ex sailor on HMAS Melbourne our Aircraft carrier from Australia, American pilots refused to land on the Melbourne because it was so small. Just goes to show how good our Australian Navy Pilots were.

[@fppro1679]

Tomcat pilots back in the '80s used to land on Kitty hawk style carriers and when they caught the last cable the nose would extend pass the edge of the front deck so let's pat them on the back, first.

[@timothyking6379]

999⁹⁹⁹

[@kennethcallahan7537]

WOW when I was in South Korea I seen that C-130 in action. And it's amazing then and seeing this it's much MORE AMAZING AND AWESOME

[@hescominsoon]

the ship in the first part isn't a carrier but a LHD. Specifically the USS Bonhomme Richard...before she was lost in a fire at dock.

[@michaeljohnson4258]

The picture is a hybrid of carrier photos none of which is accurate. First the island is on the left instead of the right since the picture shows the fantail at the bottom and bow at the top.

[@johnfrancis0063]

First ship is the USS America (LHA-6) Amphibious assault ship. Second ship is ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111) is the lead ship of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship of the Republic of Korea Navy.

[@ruchirprakash-cp9wz]

My name is viraaj

[@ruchirprakash-cp9wz]

😢

[@TomokosEnterprize]

My hat is off for every one that worked that day on the carrier. Fantastic aircraft doing what they do best !

[@genedavis7238]

I was in the air force from72-76.mostly in sac,,flight line ground support,,helped launch several,sr71,u2,b52s,,watched the U2s land with elcamino chase trucks ,,airmen in the back placing wheels under the wings,,dragand racing at its best,lol

[@phcusnret]

I was on the FID, though not at the time of the Herc landing. That flight crew needed an aircraft that big to carry their balls, just for even attempting a landing like that.

[@jamessparks1189]

When I flew the F8F Bearcat aboard the USS Boxer in 1950 I believe the island structure was on the starboard side. Unless things have changed a bit since then, your website photo might have been printed negative up. Great site otherwise.

[@steveb6103]

The Japanese built 2 before the 2nd World War.

[@stretchmfe4913]

Also, that pic is a J-Model which didn't exist when they did this. So, photoshop without much research.

[@notlikely4468]

Must be an Australian carrier

[@marleyboy7732]

Numerous touch & goes? I wonder how many pairs of underwear were issued during this time. Thats crazy. Lots of respect for these pilots.

[@strack16b]

The reason the C-130 had to land on a Forrestal class carrier is that the island would be too far back for the aircraft to fit on every other (two elevators forward vs one). Flatley was the Captain of the USS Saratoga when I was stationed on it a great guy. I believe he has more carrier landings than anyone else.

[@theonlymadmac4771]

Winkle Brown has more

[@bobmarlowe3390]

I was on the Sara when Capt. Flatley was the CO, too. I was ship's company in AIMD.

[@bobmarlowe3390]

Your name wouldn't happen to be Jeff Strack, would it? 😁

[@strack16b]

@@bobmarlowe3390 no. I was a MAA for a short period when we were in the yard period but worked in the operations div normally.

[@randyevanchyk6067]

I enjoyed my time on board Sara from '79 - '81. Great memories!

[@terrallputnam7979]

If the U2 had a tailhook it probably would have done fine. Ok the G model was set up for this. I had a nephew on the Nimitz. He really enjoyed it!

[@kennethjackson7574]

F-104s flew both with and without wingtip tanks, and had leading edges so sharp they were covered for personnel protection when on the ground. I imagine one might just cut through the trap netting, both failing to stop yet getting damaged enough to not be able to lift off again. Does anyone know if that was ever tried? Just a F-104 fan wondering aloud.

[@renatolobue]

The U2 trying to land on an aircraft carrier looked like a controlled crash landing.

[@brucewelty7684]

I believe that term is the only accepted one for any carrier landing.

[@ernestimken6969]

The most dangerous landings were WW2 wounded pilots bleeding and landing half conscious. You answered the question in the first minute. The rest was unrelated.

[@michaelchristensen5421]

It is not called a catabar or what ever you call it. The part attached to the carrier is the shuttle. The part attached to the plane is a tow link.

[@FreyrDev]

CATOBAR is the name of the whole system not the physical parts, as he said, it stands for Catapult Assisted Take Off Barrier Arrested Recovery

[@michelshodan1916]

As much as I'm in admiration for such an achievement, I really do think it's close to nothing when compared with the WWII Doolittle raid.

[@texgowing7359]

The Doolittle raid was the epitome of American aviation and bravery in every sense, so pleased you put that in here Michel.👍

[@bloqk16]

I was at an airshow where the Collings Foundation had a B25, and at that airport I got a perspective of the takeoff distance the Doolittle Raid pilots had for takeoff; a distance of a bit over the length of a football field, and it is just jaw-dropping amazing how those B25 pilots did it.

[@hajyehya4557]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😂😂🎉😢😢😢😮😮😮😅😅😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@jamesgrooms3203]

I served on 5 different carriers between 1953-55 as a weapons loader.

[@thomaslavin3640]

It was more of a exparemint than normal options for the AC

[@44hawk28]

I have studied military history since I was 12 years old and is the first time I've ever heard that we had aircraft carriers during World War 1.

[@judyleitner3475]

At the time I knew flatly here’s my commanding officer on Saratoga he was a full captain at that point but his legacy of land and the C1 30s I think he didn’t like 48 different times loaded unloaded reloaded that he did it however they wanted it was a supply issue for Vietnam we couldn’t get enough supplies out to the aircraft carriers because we didn’t have enough supply ships over there yet so that was there a thought if we could bring a string of C1 30s and landing on the carrier unload them and then send them off again we might be able to solve that logistical problem but fortunately or unfortunately they decided against it and just made more supply ships

[@bloqk16]

I can see the U2 plane take off easily from an aircraft carrier without an assist, as I've seen them taking off from Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, where their rate of climb was nearly straight up . . . AND LOUD!

[@snipingwes]

When was that?

[@bloqk16]

@@snipingwes In the early 1980s when I worked in the shipping department of a high-tech company.

[@snipingwes]

@Bloqk-16 very cool-- hello from down the street

[@jimecole7291]

I was aboard the USS America CVA-66, 1969-1972, and we had a U-2 touch and go, land, moved to hangar bay, later moved to flight deck, and then take off.

[@naardri]

How did it fit onto an elevator?

[@jimecole7291]

@@naardri on diagonal, one wing hanging over water, can't remember if it had a small wing tip fold up too??? what was cool was watching RHI RADAR scope during preliminary touch and gos ... it would "jump" several hundred feet almost straight up!!!

[@jamesbulliard1662]

i wonder how well it took off after landing

[@DavidRLentz]

The front piece photo is reversed. SMH. How many other errors have we seen? A Lockheed C-130 Hercules USMC Transport the U.S. Navy borrowed for tests aboard the USS Forestall U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier.

[@paulsmith3820]

Like the battleships that were the main ships of the major naval powers prior to WWII, the carriers are impressive. Whether they too will become sitting ducks, as was the case for the battleships unless they operated with air superiority, remains to be seen.

[@wizzard5442]

If sitting ducks is such a problem, China wouldnt be building any aircraft carriers, right?

[@keth8947]

C-130 one of the best aircraft proven over and over again. Surprised they aren't trying to can it like the A-10. We used the C-130 extensively in Afghanistan. We fired so many 105 rounds we used shovels to get all the shells out afterwards.

[@kwaktak]

It would have been nice to see the Forrestal made into a museum with a C-130 on the deck to commemorate this feat, but unfortunately after 20 years rusting in Philly and Providence, RI the Navy denied two separate associations to make it into a museum, one if Philadelphia and the other in Baltimore. PS: Forrestal was actually 1039 feet in length and 252 feet wide and displaced 70,000 tons.

[@stephenchappell7512]

She was the first super-carrier however she remained forever tainted after 67 with the name 'ForrestFire'

[@robertwilliams533]

At 56 seconds the announcer says aircraft carriers were used in World War One. Aircraft Carriers were not even invented at that point. USS Langley (CV-1) became the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier when commissioned in March 1922. She was converted from USS Jupiter (Collier #3), which was the U.S. Navy's first surface ship propelled by electric motors when commissioned in April 1913. Someone should check these videos for accuracy before they are released.

[@johnknight375]

Right you are, sir. Old Navy LCDR here ...

[@franksanta-teresa971]

Landing the U-2 on a land based runway is tricky enough...landing it on a short moving carrier is just too insane!!!

[@kevinroark5024]

Imagine a B52 trying to land on a carrier deck,I know of biggest carrier decks are like 4.5 acres&over 3 football fields long but I dont know if they are that big to land a B.U.F.F.

[@dumdiversaspapalbull1452]

C-130 rolling down the strip. Airborne rangers gonna take a little trip. Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Ya jump right out on the count of four.

[@davethompson8283]

PUT YOUR KNEES IN THE BREEZE....LMAO

[@davethompson8283]

B CO. 1/508TH ABN. INFANTRY 73-77 FT.BRAGG,N.C. 81MM FURY FROM THE SKY...

[@rowdystrongarm463]

Brings back memories of my time on the USS America back in the early 90's. RIP old girl.

[@thomaslavin3640]

For test and trials for emergency preparedness of war options

[@johnfrancis0063]

The first ship is the USS America (LHA-6) Amphibious assault ship. The second ship ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111) is the lead ship of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship of the Republic of Korea Navy

[@shenmisheshou7002]

While it was a good feat, C130 has superb STOL performance. The Forrestal could make a 34 knots (higher I believe but this is the official top speed) and with a 15 knot headwind, the C130 would only have a relative speed of about 60-65 knots. I think recovering the RF-5C and A3 was probably just as dangerous. These AC had much higher speeds and a much shorter deck. Now I think it was nice flying, but the AC was landed on an *empty* 1000 ft flight deck on a carrier headed into the wind.

[@roberts6900]

Did you mean RA-5C Vigilante ? My cousin was a USN RA-5C pilot on the Kitty Hawk, while at the same time I was a USMC KC-130 avionics tech, I worked on that old F model a time or 2.

[@shenmisheshou7002]

@@roberts6900 Yes, my mistake but that is the AC I meant. I was an Avionics Mater Chief for MAG 36 and VMGR-152 was one of my squadrons. I did not get a lot of flight time in the C-130. Pulled a couple of runs form MCAS Futenma to various other places but no stick time in that AC. I was with VMFA 451 on a deployment aboard the Forrestal and saw some RF-5C landings. The F4J is about 58 feet long and a wingspan of about 38 ft, vs something like 78 feet and 53 feet for the RA-5. The RA-5 made the F4J look small. It is a big aircraft and I think maybe one of the hardest to land on a carrier. I would think the excellent STOL characteristics of the C130, with an empty flight deck, would be easier to land than an RA-5 on the angle deck with AC parked on the starboard side. It looks small in an F4J. I would think that in an RA-5, with aircraft on the deck, it would have a high pucker factor.

[@roberts6900]

@@shenmisheshou7002 VMGR-152 was also one of my squadrons.

[@shenmisheshou7002]

@@roberts6900 Marine Corp was a small world. If you did C-130s, you likely passed through Futenma.

[@roberts6900]

@@shenmisheshou7002 I was at Futenma, I extended twice to stay there.

[@sandralutz-rodriguez2864]

so interesting! My BIL welded on a carrier in 2012/2013 can't remember which one it was dang it

[@Chuck59ish]

You notice that all these landings of the C-130s and the U-2s were in 1964, and haven't tried since.

[@patriciosilvarobalino9832]

Did you say U 2s??? When did it happen?? I wasn't aware of that, never heard about it?

[@Chuck59ish]

@@patriciosilvarobalino9832 Like they said iI was 12 years old, how old were you in 1964?

[@bob80q]

the 130 was 1963, the U-2 was also test flown off a carrier in 1969

[@DOI_ARTS]

Because our ancestors have titanium balls

[@saved1]

Maybe they still haven't found what they are looking for.

[@Korea_Aviation_Films]

04:50 U2 !!

[@Ronin4614]

Launch and recovery of a BUFF; now that would be something!!

[@robertwilliams533]

I flew off the Ike CV 69 aboard a C-130 in 1981 from Beirut to Turkey.

[@tomdolan9761]

Certainly a C130 is a large aircraft to land on a carrier but this was a carefully controlled experiment in good weather. Most dangerous trap? Nah. Try one in bad weather at night with the ship rolling and bucking far out at sea running low on fuel.

[@joescheller6680]

Dangerous I think when you go to full reverse on props before touch down. Exactly backwards to normal aircraft landing where you immediately go to full throttle in case you miss the cable

[@stevevedell5642]

OMG! The nuclear reactors do NOT spin the screws on an aircraft carrier. The reactors create superheated steam and the screws are spun by steam turbines that get their steam from the reactors. Just like the generators on the carrier are steam turbines as well.

[@daveeckel1305]

No

[@daveeckel1305]

Chi

[@daveeckel1305]

No

[@hurri7720]

I would guess the produce electricity using the turbines and to turn the propellers they use electric motors.

[@patdwyer5204]

Ya had to tell 'em ?....lol

[@es330td]

Were they able to do this because they reverse pitch the propellers to create backwards thrust?

[@philhand5830]

absolutely helped!!!

[@fooman2108]

1) that promotional pic was all the way wrong carrier Islands are on the STARBOARD side. 2) the ONE time they did it was aboard Forrestal, one of the largest carriers ever built. 3) there was a practical purpose (besides making the USAF mad) was to deliver a complete special weapons load to a carrier in an emergency P.S. dad did 47 USN had TWO carriers, Brother did 27, ALL aboard ships, I did 6, tin can sailor.

[@mikeyj9607]

The sense at 4:07 showh inside a 130 was that some kind of command post was wondering as I flew on EC130Es the ABCCC

[@VAMobMember]

I wonder how it would do on a Ford Class? Also on a different topic could you put an EMALS on something like a WASP CLASS so as to launch STOVL aircraft with beaver payloads?

[@tomdolan9761]

EWALs is too energy intensive for a ship that size

[@VAMobMember]

@@tomdolan9761 for normals ops maybe but I’m talking about FIRST WAVE attack mostly, plus READY ALERT aircraft.

[@matthewboyall5965]

Maybe try a Spartan C-27J ?

[@sachmo0196]

JATO bottle fwd/aft of C-130, regular angle on back, 10deg in front (FAT A type aft or fwd if so needed, weight+stoppage=issue). Weight of struts (stablization only) for U2 not an issue. Fly by wire struts (not for rating, just stablize only).

[@robertkwiatkoski1292]

a customer of mine(85+ yrs old) has a plaque in his office, that if I'm not mistaken says he is the 1st to land a helicopter onto a ship. I'm guessing Korean War?

[@ulrichkalber9039]

c130s can land on a lot of challenging airfields. Lukla? i think it is more space than a carrier.

[@steveyountz9184]

Never been on a carrier or to Lukla, but on YT Lukla looks too small. But if it is possible my 'guess' is that a C-130 can do it.

[@aa2339]

It should be used for forest firefighting as well.

[@bradolsen8629]

When do we get to see you land a 747 on an aircraft carrier that would be awesome

[@nealmoreau9994]

I agree with you but do you think a 747 aircraft can land on an aircraft carrier,?? just asking a question

[@bradolsen8629]

@@nealmoreau9994 Doubtful

[@seanrobert9661]

or air force one.

[@bradolsen8629]

@@seanrobert9661 Yes but wait till Trump back in office then Air Force One will land safely on the aircraft carrier

[@martincussell7939]

Who writes these articles ?? All landings on aircraft carriers are dangerous, they all come with hazards and risks, as do the take offs !! Yep it's a big aircraft to be putting on to aircraft carriers deck, but in the hands of a good pilots and crews it can be done as you see.

[@NoCaping]

This is awesome I like 2 mins away from newport news shipbuilding

[@daniel270845]

AMAZING, BEST OF THE US NAVY

[@anthonymcneill1465]

I have jumped out of an untold number of C-130's and C-141's with my time with the 82nd.

[@jeffreyplum5259]

Hmm " Paratroops and other equipment" means Paratroops are now equipment. Does that mean we can stop paying them? Or are we going to start paying the cargo? Airborne!`

[@Will_CH1]

Landing a 4 engine STOL onto a super carrier was a huge achievement. But I don't think this was the most dangerous carrier landing. Dunning's landings on HMS Furious in 1917 were more challenging. Eric Brown's landing of a twin engined Mosquito onto a tiny escort carrier was also more dangerous. But if the Hurcules landing had gone wrong, there would have been an order of magnitude more carnage.

[@qua7771]

I don't think that landing the C130 was a good idea. Too much can go wrong where conventional means of recovery wouldn't work.

[@Will_CH1]

@@qua7771 Ours is not to question why.

[@qua7771]

@@Will_CH1 I been out for decades, and don't think like that anymore. I heard stories about the C-130 back then, and thought it was a bad Idea. I thought people were making up stories. I worked on P-3 Orion's that has the same engines. I wouldn't want to be on the flight crew, or anywhere that flight deck.

[@Will_CH1]

@@qua7771 I agree with you on every point. There was very little margin for error. This exercise needlessly risked the lives of good men.

[@qua7771]

@@Will_CH1 Thanks. You know how we are trained for safety with redundancies built in. this violates everything. What could go wrong?

[@xray86delta]

When I heard about this, I didn't believe it. Then I saw the footage!

[@The1976spirit]

I wonder why the C-160 Transall never was adapted for carrier support. Kawasaki C-2 and Airbus A-400 are unwanted challenges, I presume.

[@chipps1066]

The 130 will still be in service long after we are all gone.

[@philhand5830]

True that!!! I think the first one was manufactured in 1957. They're still building them today at Marietta, GA.

[@daledickerson8835]

When I saw your picture on the You Tube page, I notice the picture of the aircraft carrier is backwards!

[@johncunningham4820]

The Mighty C-130 Hercules . Still in production because it is Still the best at what it does . Shortfield Combat Zone Transport .

[@sdboy1978]

Might as well ask why Jimmy Doolittle use B-25s to take off from a carrier.

[@pokerfitnessyoutube2837]

Especially because that cover pic is backwards….that would be really dangerous! Get it right.

[@garethonthetube]

Eric Brown. "Hold my beer".

[@Tantrum1701]

Why flip the picture? The island of a modern carrier is on the starboard (right) side, while the angled deck points to portside. It makes a video unbelievable.

[@Plainview200]

Image of the carrier and plane in the lead-in is reversed. Carrier islands are on the right side of the deck.

[@jameskratzer4538]

is CVN-80 supposed to be USS Enterprise, or USS Doris Miller? I know both names are scheduled for build, but there's some confusion as to their place in the rotation.

[@Paiadakine]

Wiki says Enterprise.

[@Eric_Von_Zipper]

That is insane!

[@safetymikeengland]

interesting discussion. Thank you.

[@sgoadmin7294]

Amazing American Navy 👍

[@RedLP5000S]

Excellent documentary. ✌🏻🇺🇸

[@skiph3]

LHD 6 is not an aircraft carrier it is an amphibious landing ship.

[@garygreen7552]

Right on. They do carry aircraft , but they are Amphibious Assault Ships. Many also have a well deck allowing them to launch amphibious landing craft into the water.

[@steven4315]

Looked up Wasp class on wiki. In sea control mode it can carry 20 F-35B fighters and 6 SH-60 Seahawks for ASW. That makes it an aircraft carrier if that is the job that needs to be done. Being able to do more than one thing is a good thing.

[@garygreen7552]

@@steven4315 For many years battleships and cruisers carried float planes that were launched with catapults and recovered using a crane. Many destroyers have drone or manned helicopters on board. Does that make these ships aircraft carriers? No. Wasp's mission is launching and supporting amphibious landings. The main mission is not carrying aircraft. The aircraft on board are tools for the mission. I'll the Navy decide what class its ships are in.

[@steven4315]

@@garygreen7552 It looks like the navy decided that if it needed to it could configure these ships as small aircraft carriers. In the sea control configuration these ships carry, not a couple float planes, but 20 F-35Bs. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. The navy will call them what they want but if we go to war against a near peer (China) I think these ship are more likely to be used as bird farms then amphibious landings. The navy will never call them CVs because they don't want to confuse congress.

[@garygreen7552]

@@steven4315 World War II was won with numerous amphibious landings. D-Day was an amphibious landing that was the start of the final thrust in the war in Europe. It was not the first landing in that part of the war. The war in the Pacific was one amphibious landing after another on islands that had been taken and fortified by Japan. The atomic bombs were dropped on Japan partly because of the projected cost of a final amphibious assault on Japan. Whether that was the right decision is not part of this discussion. Wars are not won in the air. They are won on the ground. That is part of the reason we lost in Viet Nam.

[@khaliqdadjafari424]

ماشاالله ماشاالله ماشاالله ماشاالله

[@standubaj8989]

Only the pilots laundry lady new how scared he was. 😂

[@ramonpunsalang3397]

So why doesn't the Navy regularly use the C-130 as a COD transport given it's long range and large payload?

[@ucle2739]

Hạ cách máy bay vận tải trên tàu sân bay luôn.

[@albertseabra9226]

Would aircraftcarriers be viable in a medium-scale War? Or rather sitting ducks? Kind of a scary World, facing the wide array of new missiles.

[@ruthdoyle9085]

When are they gonna have a tower-less aircraft carrier? The tower responsibilities could be given to a neighboring ship ...

[@juanmarelli7450]

Doolittle's B 25 taken off from hornet was not more impresive?

[@GORT70]

Those first scenes are of an amphibious carrier, not of a full blown American aircraft carrier.