"Greasy Rider" wrote in message
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye6We...related&search

It is always interesting to watch film of WWII carrier operations. The
aircrew all had to have big brass ones. Even if you survived combat, you
still had to survive deck landings and those godawful barriers they put up
to punish people who missed the wires. Beyond that, your dead reckoning
navigation had to be decent in order to find the carrier before you ran out
of fuel. Even worse, if that carrier changed course, it could be 150 NM
from where you expected it.

Even getting off the deck was a tough proposition, with the occasional
engine burp, cold cat shot, or defective bridle.

Has anyone seen a source which gives the odds of a WWII carrier pilot
getting wet on any given mission? I'd bet the odds were 1:50 or worse.

KB