DavidP wrote:
that 2nd photo is a bad choice because of the angle of it obscures the hanger catapult tho something appears to be partially appearing in that area. was that catapult removed before the battle of Eastern Solomons or after? does documentation state when that catapult was removed?
Per the Naval History and Heritage Command webpage:
"Adm. King authorized the removal of the athwartships hangar deck catapults from Enterprise, Hornet (CV-8), Wasp (CV-7), and Yorktown, on 17 February."
and
"Following the battle (Midway), Enterprise completed a short availability at Pearl Harbor, during which workers installed four quadruple 40 millimeter mounts in place of four 1.1-inch batteries, a 1.1-inch anti-aircraft mount at the extreme bow on the forecastle deck and forward fire control radar, and removed the forward auxiliary elevator, the two catapults on the main deck, and the remaining .50 cal. machine guns."
What is interesting regarding the deck catapults is later in the same document it mentions in 4/45 the following incident:
"A fire ignited a Hellcat on the starboard catapult and spread to the deck. Since shock failure of the forward diesel fire pump hampered firefighting -- men opened cross-connection valves and led hoses from the other plugs -- but the burning fighter was catapulted from the ship."