Prior to Flight Training in '53, I had been a black shoe OOD in USS Block
Island (CVE-106) and had become used to flight ops for a couple of years
involving the AF-2S and AF-2W, each of which had to wiggle and crab even to
taxi by the island they were so big - probably the largest carrier aircraft
in use in those days on the narrowest, shortest CVE decks. As a result,
bringing an SNJ aboard the CVL USS Monterrey seemed like having deck to
spare, but how soon we forget...looking at the video brings it all back.