JB> TW>  NO, They carried their Own Seaplane. They had a catapult on the Stern
JB> TW>  of the Ship and a crane to recover the plane from the water.

JB> TW>  And before the day of RADAR it was Very practical.

JB>I'll be... They launched off a dry deck then, or did they lower the seaplane
JB>into the drink? Steam catapults would be easy enough to rig, but I never
JB>imagined there would be enough real-estate.


 Taht was before the say of Steam Catapults. Some were Hydraulic and
 others used an Explosive charge. IF the sea was fairly calm they could
 have set them i nthe water and let them take off under their own power
 but it was far easier just ot use the Catapult.
Rembembering this was in the day of Slower Planes with lower take off
speeds adn Higher wing lift. So the short shot of the Catapult, about
twice the plane length or so, did the job very nicely.
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ This note from El Cajon California USA