I was reading an article on the Iowa Class Battleships and was just wondering about the location, storage, take off and landing of these helicopters.
During the 1980s these battleships made use of the RQ-2 Pioneer, an unmanned aerial vehicle employed in spotting for the guns. Launched from the fantail using a rocket-assist booster that was discarded shortly after takeoff, the Pioneer carried a video camera in a pod under the belly of the aircraft which transmitted live video to the ship so operators could observe enemy actions or fall of shot during naval gunnery. To land the UAV a large net was deployed at the back of the ship; the aircraft was flown into it. Missouri and Wisconsin both used the Pioneer UAVs successfully during Operation Desert Storm, and in one particularly memorable incident,[87] a Pioneer UAV operated by Wisconsin received the surrender of Iraqi troops during combat operations.[87] This particular Pioneer was later donated to the Smithsonian Institution, and is now on public display.[88] During Operation Desert Storm these Pioneers were operated by detachments of VC-6.[89] In addition to the Pioneer UAVs, the recommissioned Iowas could support six types of helicopters: the Sikorsky HO3S-1,[56] UH-1 Iroquois, SH-2 Seasprites, CH-46 Sea Knight, CH-53 Sea Stallion and the LAMPS III SH-60B Seahawk.
The ships carried:
World War 2...3 X Vought OS2U Kingfisher/Curtiss SC Seahawk...launched from two catapults and recovered off the water when landed
Korea...3 Helicopters
Now the ship could handle six types of helicopters but I believe only three were carried at a time.
Where did these helicopters take off and land from on the ship?
I am thinking off the top of the three main 16 inch gun turrets...but not sure.
Does anyone have any pictures of the take off or landings from these battleships or have any information about helicopter operations off these ships?
I just find the whole thing very interesting...
