Six WWII Essex class aircraft carriers had a unique ability to launch an airplane sideways, and it was often a nightmare for the pilots.

But when a WWII aircraft carrier’s straight deck flattop was a chaotic mess or undergoing recovery operations, how do you go about rapidly launching emergency scout aircraft to keep an eye on the enemy?

WWII aircraft carrier engineers designed a catapult that ran across the beam of the ship. It was installed in the hangar bay, with big doors on each side. This way, a scout plane or two could be quickly launched when the top deck was fouled.

0:00 Intro
0:50 Why the need for a hangar deck catapult?
1:37 Which carriers had a hangar deck catapult?
2:16 How did the hangar catapult work?
2:50 Problems with this catapult design
3:19 What happened to the catapults?

Footage appearing in this video obtained from....
The US National Archives: https://www.archives.gov
20th Century Studios: https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/

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