By Kevin M. Hymel

To naval aviators, any landing they could walk away from was a good landing. The escort aircraft carrier USS Charger trained men in good landings, but bad landings were also part of the education. As a training carrier in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, the Charger’s wooden deck served as the first landing strip for would-be aviators. Not all the landings were pretty: Tailhooks missed arresting wires, landing gear collapsed, propellers chopped the deck, and pilots overshot their landings, splashing their planes into the bay. Mishaps sometimes resulted in dead or injured pilots and deck crews.

Despite the dangerous mishaps, the Charger qualified both American and British aviators who went on to fly escort duty for Atlantic convoys. The aviators fortunate enough to walk away from their Charger landings helped win the war against Germany.

USS Charger, the floating classroom.
USS Charger, the floating classroom.
Using winches and a sling, Navy deck hands upright a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber that crashed on landing. The bent propeller attests to a harsh landing.
Using winches and a sling, Navy deck hands upright a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber that crashed on landing. The bent propeller attests to a harsh landing.
A student aviator gingerly climbs out of his dangling F4F Wildcat. A rope around his waist prevents him from falling into the icy brine of the North Atlantic.
A student aviator gingerly climbs out of his dangling F4F Wildcat. A rope around his waist prevents
him from falling into
the icy brine of the North Atlantic.
A student aviator emerges from the cockpit of his floating TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. The plane would soon succumb to the ocean. While Avengers held a crew of three, on training missions the aviators flew alone.
A student aviator emerges from the cockpit of his floating TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. The plane would soon succumb to the ocean. While Avengers held a crew of three, on training missions the aviators flew alone.

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