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Since I have always been interested in logistics; question on carrier onboard delivery.

In all online literature, I had found that the mission and the supporting aircraft really didn't exist before the early 50s at most.

Question is, was there not carrier onboard delivery at all during WW2?
my guess is that they probably used float planes and flying boats extensively when there was something or someone urgently needed on board a carrier
in this scenario, was it possible for a carrier to launch a float plane or lift a seaplane?
or would it be possible to use an unmodified TBF to carry cargo? ... I mean to carry something like a spare engine

There was a recent thread about TBF's carrying crew, even had a pic on it...

<edit>

This one

tm.asp?m=4256286

There was an aircraft that the USN frequently delivered high priority cargo (like parts) by. A Goodyear blimp.

And landing....

And again....

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

There was a recent thread about TBF's carrying crew, even had a pic on it...

<edit>

This one

tm.asp?m=4256286

That TBF variant was built after WW2

Late in the war you had this , but it was used more for rescue and coastal delivery. There was one famous case of plasma being delivered.

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

what an awesome picture!!!

I thought blimps were not capable of heavy cargo lifting... besides I would be a bit scared of being close to one of these... you know... Oh, the humanity!

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

what an awesome picture!!!

I thought blimps were not capable of heavy cargo lifting... besides I would be a bit scared of being close to one of these... you know... Oh, the humanity!

Define heavy. RADAR or Radio parts. Sure. Specialized personnel....sure. Battleship ammo? NOT HARDLY!

And then of course , even in the early 30's they were trying....without much payload.

And if something was valuable enough , you could always send it by Duck.




Please note the carrier hook.

And here's a duck on Hornet CV-12.....but it's a close up

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

warspite1

You should have seen the crew trying to take it below. The standard MO was to release some of the air and then squeeze the partially inflated airship into the hanger space. Great fun but took around 3 days on average per dirigible.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

warspite1

You should have seen the crew trying to take it below. The standard MO was to release some of the air and then squeeze the partially inflated airship into the hanger space. Great fun but took around 3 days on average per dirigible.

Don't confuse a blimp with a dirigible. A blimp was a control car suspended from a gas bag. A dirigible (or as the Germans called it , a Zeppelin) was a ridged , framed airship which contained a series of gas bags. Hindenburg was a dirigible. While Los Angles did once land on a CV (I'm thinking Saratoga) , it would be no more capable of being "struck below" than a destroyer. Not without dismemberment. [:(]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

warspite1

You should have seen the crew trying to take it below. The standard MO was to release some of the air and then squeeze the partially inflated airship into the hanger space. Great fun but took around 3 days on average per dirigible.

Don't confuse a blimp with a dirigible. A blimp was a control car suspended from a gas bag. A dirigible (or as the Germans called it , a Zeppelin) was a ridged , framed airship which contained a series of gas bags. Hindenburg was a dirigible. While Los Angles did once land on a CV (I'm thinking Saratoga) , it would be no more capable of being "struck below" than a destroyer. Not without dismemberment. [:(]

warspite1

I wasn't - it was just a light-hearted comment having seen the size of the blimp/dirigible/airship type thingy compared to the lift and hangar....

Could this ship be a carrier?

if not, would there be cranes in a normal carrier as to lift a PBY?

EDIT: That is not a PBY Catalina, maybe a Coronado, but in any case, a crane to lift a flying boat
EDIT2: actually a Martin PBM Mariner

I'd suggest the photo is of a PBM-5 Mariner about to be brought aboard a seaplane tender, possibly the USS Curtiss during the Korean War as similar photos exist of the ship operating in 1950 with that aircraft type. Late war (WWII) US seaplane tenders were equipped with cranes up to 30 ton lift capacity, which was about twice that of those carried by Yorktown and Essex class carriers.

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

And landing....

what an awesome picture!!!

I thought blimps were not capable of heavy cargo lifting... besides I would be a bit scared of being close to one of these... you know... Oh, the humanity!

Not a problem. U.S. lighter than air vessels use helium, not hydrogen.

Yeah, I know, but really hard to miss the chance of using that famous phrase [;)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEpLncBG_Nw

besides, I cannot see any aircraft on deck, likely all carrier operations would need to stop... for how long?? until that thing is secured and unloaded... which is a big danger on its own

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

There was a recent thread about TBF's carrying crew, even had a pic on it...

<edit>

This one

tm.asp?m=4256286

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury
That TBF variant was built after WW2

It's a TBM built during the war, but modified into a COD in the 1950s. The Navy got extra life out of the Avenger airframes by converting them into ASW specialist aircraft and COD aircraft. It's probably why there are a fair number of Avengers around today. They were used on carriers after most other WW II vintage aircraft had been scrapped, then were used as fire bombers after the Navy surplussed them.

I've never seen much on any kind of COD effort during WW II, though mail was a high priority for morale purposes. I suspect some regular combat equipped Avengers were probably used as mail planes at various times, but it wasn't any kind of formal effort.

Bill