While successfully landing a 4-engine STOL aircraft on a supercarrier was undoubtedly a remarkable feat, I dare say it might not have been the most treacherous carrier landing. Dunning’s landings on HMS Furious in 1917 presented even greater challenges. Moreover, Eric Brown’s daring landing of a twin-engine Mosquito on a small escort carrier was fraught with danger. Nonetheless, if the Hercules landing had gone awry, the potential for catastrophic damage would have been on an entirely different scale.
The individual who successfully landed the C-130 on the Forrestal was actually an F-4 Phantom pilot. The decision was made to train a Phantom pilot, who had extensive experience with carrier landings, to fly the Hercules aircraft, rather than teaching a Hercules pilot with no carrier experience to perform carrier landings.
Videos never truly capture the immense size of an aircraft carrier. It is only when you stand on the flight deck during flight operations that you can truly grasp their grandeur. I had the privilege of serving on board the U.S.S. America for a couple of years. The initial carrier landings I witnessed were truly terrifying. The combination of noise, wind, jet blasts, and the impact of aircraft hitting the deck at full throttle cannot be adequately conveyed in words.
As part of an experimental endeavor, U-2 spy planes were also landed on carriers to assess the possibility of recovery. Although these attempts were successful, it was ultimately decided not to employ this method for recovering Hercules aircraft.
During my assignment in Hong Kong from June 68 to November 70, I distinctly remember the USS Coral Sea anchoring off the island in 1969. Some of us took a boat out to observe this spectacle in awe. With a complement of 5,000 personnel, there were even two brothers on board for two years who never crossed paths. The sheer magnitude of the carrier cannot be fully captured by the word “massive.” I was profoundly impressed and awestruck by this incredible engineering accomplishment—an experience that will forever be etched in my memory.
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