Bridge
— This is the primary control position for every ship
when the ship is underway, and the place where all orders and
commands affecting the ship, her movements, and routine
originate.
- An Officer of the Deck (OOD) is always on the bridge when the ship is
underway. Each OOD stands
a four-hour watch and is the officer
designated by the Commanding Officer (CO) to be in charge of the ship. The
OOD is responsible for the safety and operation of the ship, including navigation,
ship handling, communications, routine tests and inspections, reports, supervision
of the watch team, and carrying out the Plan of the Day.
- Also on the bridge are the helmsman who steers the ship, and the lee helmsman
who operates the engine order control, telling the engineroom how what speed
to make. There are also lookouts, and the Boatswains Mate of the Watch (BMOW)
who supervises the helsman, lee helmsman, and lookouts.
- The Quartermaster of the Watch assists the OOD in navigation, reports
all changes in weather, temperature and barometer readings, and keeps the
ship's log.
Catapults
— The four steam-powered catapults thrust a 48,000-pound
aircraft 300 feet, from zero to 165 miles per hour in two
seconds. On each plane's nose gear is a T-bar which locks
into the catapult's shuttle which pulls the plane down the
catapult. The flight deck crew can launch two aircraft and
land one every 37 seconds in daylight, and one per minute at
night.
Elevators — Each
of the four deck edge elevators can lift two aircraft from the cavernous hangar
deck to the 4½-acre flight deck in seconds.
"Meatball" — This series of lights
aids the pilot in lining up for the landing. In the center are amber and red
lights with Fresnel lenses. Although the lights are always on, the Fresnel
lens only makes one light at a time seem to glow, as the angle at which the
pilot looks at the lights changes. If the lights appear above the green horizontal
bar, the pilot is too high. If it is below, the pilot is too low, and if the
lights are red, the pilot is very low. If the red lights on either side of
the amber vertical bar are flashing, it is a wave off.
"Pri-Fly"
— Primary Flight Control ("Pri-Fly") is the
control tower for the flight operations on the carrier. Here,
the "Air Boss" controls the takeoffs, landings,
those aircraft in the air near the ship, and the movement of
planes on the flight deck, which itself resembles a
well-choreographed ballet.
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