Posing proudly before their PBY at NAS North Island in the fall of 1937 are the men of VP-3. Of additional interest are the large numbers of enlisted pilots (note the wings on their chests). VP-3 had already racked up some impressive achievements with their new patrol bombers.

The PBY shattered no existing speed records, but that being said, with its single wing, no landing gear, and a minimum of external braces all contributing to relatively low drag, the early PBY was, by 1937 standards, a speedy enough machine. Its rated top speed was only 170 knots, comparable to most fighter aircraft of the period, primarily biplanes with fixed landing gear.

Hurrying across the hills of Southern California, 18 SBC Helldivers of Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) make a fine display for the cameraman.The men of VS-3 aboard their home base, USS Saratoga. The ship’s main battery of 8″ guns makes a nice backdrop. Note the small saluting/practice gun at the base of the big rifle barrels.

Many have dismissed this armament on America’s early carriers Lexington and Saratoga as a throwback, a sop to the old-school admirals who could not fathom that the day of the big gun ship had been eclipsed by aircraft. Believing that fossilized admirals were wedded to outdated beliefs sounds dramatic. Still, that belief ignores a simple fact: The battle aircraft of that period were pretty well limited to fair weather operations and, thus, were not a reliable substitute for a capital warship’s heavy armament. Therefore, big guns were needed, but not as offensive weapons (the relatively unarmored Lexington and Saratoga were not to fill part of the battle line). What was required were defensive weapons. What type and size of defensive guns? The Lex and Sara were speedy vessels and could easily outrun any battleship of that time, so battleship-sized guns were not required. What they could not outrun was a cruiser. Given that the typical armament for a cruiser was 8″ guns, it made sense to provide the same weaponry to the two carriers.

Less than ten years after the two carriers were commissioned, the advances in aviation technology made the big guns less critical, and they were eventually removed. While those guns were in service, they were not there at the insistence of outmoded and narrow-minded navy brass. When the two carriers were designed, the question must have been asked: what were they to do on a zero-visibility day with aircraft grounded and an enemy cruiser sweeping through the mist? Answer: Provide the two ships with all-weather firepower. It was a perfectly sound idea.

Torpedo 3 (VT-3) prepares to land aboard Saratoga in 1939. Barely visible above the center aircraft, in echelons of three, are six SBC Helldivers (Well, at least in the original photo they are visible). 3-T-11 is BuNo. 281 which was lost in 1942 while landing on the Sara.  Note the “plane guard” destroyer trailing behind the carrier.

Torpedo 2 cruises up the California coast in the late 1930’s. Left to right: 292, 293, and 298. The first, 292, was lost in a mid-air collision with another TBD in 1940. 293 was transferred to VT-8 and was shot down at Midway. 298 saw action when assigned to VT-5 but was forced to land in in a lagoon at Jaluit Atoll in Marshall Islands Feb 1, 1942.

The same aircraft as seen above.

Looks like they managed to get almost every TBD in Torpedo 3 aloft for this photo.

Years back, a gent who had been a 1930s navy pilot informed me that when he first saw the FF, he thought it looked like it had swallowed a Boeing F4B.  It does have that look.

This unfortunate incident occurred in 1938.

Aircraft served with VS-6B on the light cruiser USS Concord in the mid 1930’s.

VP-6 took their sweet time in getting to Hawaii, but the fact they could do it at all was a major achievement in aviation.  Average speed during their 21 hour, 45 minute flight? 115 MPH (so says the handwritten caption on the back).

Despite belonging to different squadrons, these Boeing F4B’s are taken up for a drive by what appears to be the same pilot.  8799 is from VF-5, and 8636 is from VF-6.

Seen here undergoing some heavy maintenance at NAS Anacostia.  Those tubes beneath the aircraft? I will take a guess that they are used for laying down a smoke screen.

Pretty basic instrumentation, but even when this photo was taken in 1931, I am sure there were already those saying, “Wow, look at all them fancy dials!”. 

This instrument panel would make a handsome addition to any Man Cave.