The image captured here is exceptionalfor more reasons than one.
The aircraft is a Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk, seldom seen in action with such clarity. Look closely at the picture: The floatplane fighter is barely lifting off the catapult yet remains crisply in focus. The photographer, the father of Flight Journal reader David Kovacic, did a superb job of tracking a fast, suddenly moving subject.
The ship was the cruiser USS Macon (CA-132) conducting Atlantic Fleet training exercises in April 1947. The 13,000-ton warship was still new; she had been commissioned two weeks before V-J Day in 1945. Her aviation department typically operated two floatplanes.
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Flight Journal.
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This story is from the December 2018 edition of Flight Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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