Why is 100 years later the power of aircraft carriers still unmatched?

A Versatile Instrument The ability to simply switch munitions on a strike fighter allows an aircraft carrier to rapidly reorient from airstrikes on undefended targets to warships with their own air defense systems.

What is the name of the first official aircraft carrier?

USS Langley (CV-1) became the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier when commissioned in March 1922.

Has the U.S. Navy ever lost an aircraft carrier?

The U.S. lost just one aircraft carrier after 1942, at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and it would finish the war with 29 aircraft carriers in its navy, compared to just four for the Japanese.

Which aircraft carrier did the U.S. lose?

Still, when the USS Bismarck Sea was sunk by Japanese kamikaze pilots during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, she took 318 crewmen down with her, a devastating loss.

How old is the newest aircraft carrier?

This class of aircraft carriers is named after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford. CVN-78 was procured in 2008 and commissioned into service on 22 July 2017 .

What is the oldest US aircraft carrier in use?

Nimitz is now the oldest American aircraft carrier in active service.

Do aircraft carriers matter anymore?

The truth is the U.S. Navy needs aircraft carriers, and they are still a vital weapons platform . There has been a debate going on for decades about whether the mighty U.S. Navy aircraft carrier would get wiped out in a great power war against Russia or China.

Is there a future for aircraft carriers?

If new defensive and offensive technologies come to fruition, the aircraft carrier could resume its habitual functions as a capital ship, raider, and offshore airfield. If not, the carrier confronts a dour future.

Why are aircraft carriers obsolete?

Carriers have arguably become more vulnerable as anti-carrier weapons, like anti-ship missiles, have become more sophisticated . A number of potential alternatives to carriers exist, from surface ships to submarines.

Why are there so few aircraft carriers?

Lacking the firepower of other warships , carriers by themselves are considered vulnerable to attack by other ships, aircraft, submarines, or missiles.

The Grumman Trader: When You Care Enough To COD The Very Best (2024)

A Handy Aircraft to Have Around

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) Test Unit Number 1 (MCTU-1) borrowed a TF-1 in 1956 and proved that the aircraft could be used to insert personnel behind enemy lines by launching from the Essex-class carrier USS Bennington (CV-20) and parachuting from the Trader, landing ashore at NAF El Centro. Traders were also used as pilot and crew trainers for operations around aircraft carriers under night and adverse weather conditions. Fleet Aircraft Service Squadrons (FASRONs) at Air Stations from Norfolk to Naha and Barbers Point to Sangley Point also operated Traders, as did many of the antisubmarine squadrons then operating the Tracker.

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Earning a Sterling Reuptation

Traders continued to do the COD thing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, flying thousands of sorties supporting the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club aircraft carriers and their air wings primarily from NAS Cubi Point in the Philippines and NAS Da Nang in South Vietnam. The CODs were assigned to Composite Squadron FIVE (VC-5) Checkertails, VR/VRC-30 Providers, VR/VRC-40 Rawhides, and VR/VRC-50 Foo Dogs. Every carrier operating in the WestPac had a couple of Traders assigned- some as detachments from their parent VR/VRC squadrons and some attached to the carrier air wings or the carriers themselves. But whatever the organization, the transportation of parts, packages, personnel, and mail earned the Traders admiration from all involved.

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Not so Fast There Young Greyhound

Even though Grumman introduced the Trader’s eventual replacement, the C-2A Greyhound, in 1966, Traders continued to do their important jobs through the end of the war in Vietnam, the rest of those simpler 1970s, and well into the 1980s. It’s safe to say every aircraft carrier in service between 1956 and 1986 hosted a Trader at some point. But as the 1980s saw profound changes in the carrier air wings and carrier operations brought about by the Nimitz-class carriers, Traders were on their way out. The bridles required to launch them were by then unique to their use, as was their requirement for high-octane aviation gasoline (avgas) as opposed to the JP-5 the younger jets were drinking and the copious amounts of oil their radial engines often leaked on carrier decks.

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One of a Kind Frankenstein

No Trader biography would quite be complete without mention of one unique variant. TF-1 BuNo 136792 was modified by Grumman for use as the aerodynamic test aircraft for the airborne early warning WF-2 Tracer and was, for a time, designated XTF-1W. Though never equipped with the Tracer’s radar and associated electronics, 136792 did wear the “roof” or radome shell and also had the Tracer’s revised twin-tailed empennage. The aircraft retained that empennage even after being assigned back to COD duty once testing was concluded, making it the only twin-tailed Trader. 136792 was restricted to shore-based duties only and was retired in 1983. This unique aircraft was last observed displayed at Quonset Air Museum on the grounds of the former NAS Quonset Point located in North Kingston, Rhode Island. The Tracer, or Willy Fudd, or Stoof with a Roof, or Flying Turtle…well that’s a different story you can read right here.

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Fitting Firsts and Historic Lasts

Many Traders were retired during 1982 and 1983, but not without a significant first. The first all-female Navy aircrew to fly an operational mission and trap aboard an aircraft carrier did so in a VRC-30 C-1A Trader aboard the Forrestal-class carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61) on March 21st 1983. The final Sixth Fleet Trader COD flight was made by VR-24 to the modified Kitty Hawk-class carrier USS John F Kennedy (CVA-67) in the Med during 1986. Before the last Essex-class carrier in service, the training carrier USS Lexington (CVT-16) was retired, the last piston-engine carrier aircraft in Navy service, C-1A Bureau Number (BuNo) 146048, flew its final sortie to the Lady Lex on September 27^th 1988. 146048 is now one of several Traders that have made their way into civilian hands and continue to remind those who lived their times of their times.

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Bonus Video

Below is a short video of a privately owned C-1A Trader doing some showing off in 2016. The video uploaded to YouTube by Ed Whisenant.

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Bill Walton

Bill Walton is a life-long aviation historian, enthusiast, and aircraft recognition expert. As a teenager Bill helped his engineer father build an award-winning T-18 homebuilt airplane in their up-the-road from Oshkosh Wisconsin basem*nt. Bill is a freelance writer, screenwriter, and humorist, an avid sailor, fledgling aviator, engineer, father, uncle, mentor, teacher, coach, and Navy veteran. Bill lives north of Houston TX under the approach path to KDWH runway 17R, which means he gets to look up at a lot of airplanes. A very good thing.