ALL HANDS ON DECK - ARMING AIRCRAFT ON USS WASP

It's the USS Wasp, CV-18, during a busy arming of bombers and fighters, in classic World War II combat. Then a quick breather as a cannibalized Grumman Avenger fuselage is pushed over the side of the ship, its usable parts in storage for other Avengers.
For so many reasons, it was vital to get aircraft armed and launched as quickly as possible, to bring the battle back to the enemy rapidly, and to keep the carrier's deck unencumbered by unready aircraft and ordnance that would provide a lucrative target. The rapid arming of aircraft was a science aided by innovations like small elevators that brought a bomb cart to the top quickly. The men work in a choreographed routine that makes it look easy, but any task in aviation, especially one involving ordnance, is grueling work that requires attention and know-how. You can see one man with arming wires for the bombs; another uses a winch to raise a bomb to its shackle. Torpedoes are dollied by many men pushing the cart to the bomber. TBM Avengers, F6F Hellcats, and an occasional SB2C Helldiver are glimpsed.
We can only speculate how many of these men returned home. How many formed a part of that hard-working postwar generation that gave us good role models. How many are the fathers and grandfathers of those who watch this film today with respect and wonder.

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