• • Scene 1 • •

"The USS Oriskany," you hear the pilot shout above the
roar of the rotors overhead. "CVA-34. Named after a battle
of the Revolutionary War fought in New York State. 40,000
tons, she is, with a flight deck big enough to hold two foot-
ball fields — 869 feet long! She carries about 80 planes and
3,000 men. Look, now! The skipper is turning her away from
the wind and slowing down so we can land."

• • Scene 2 • • THE SKIPPER — 
From the flying bridge,
Captain Charles L. Westhofen, the commanding officer,
watches your helicopter land. The decorations below him —
service ribbons and the coveted Navy "E" for battle effi-
ciency — show that his ship has been tested under fire.

From the "island," the superstructure rising from the star-
board side of the flight deck, the Captain controls his ship.
Radio, radar, sonar, and men on watch reach out to sense
the sea around him while telephones, speaking tubes, and a
multitude of gauges, dials, and instrument lights tell him
almost everything that is happening in his "floating city."

• • Scene 3 • • "STEADY AS SHE GOES" -
 Climbing
high into the superstructure, you visit the bridge. The ship
is controlled from this instrument-packed room. You ask how
the ship is steered and are told, "We have 'power steering'.
When the helmsman here spins that little wooden wheel,
giant electric motors below not only move the rudder but
automatically compensate for the 'slap' of the waves. The
dials tell him the ship's speed and course, the velocity and
direction of the wind and a lot of engine room data.

During World War II, Japanese suicide planes crashing
into the bridge often put a whole carrier out of control. The
Oriskany has five other control stations, each one ready to
take over in case the bridge is damaged or knocked out.

••Scene 4«« BELOW WATERLINE -
 Down one lad-
der, then another, you descend. A few decks above was the
waterline, you were told. Now, far below, even though
blowers are blasting fresh air into the room, it is still hot.

At last, you are in the after steering compartment. The
dials and controls are countless! They tell the crew oil and
fuel pressures, flame temperatures from inside the diesel
engines, electrical data, and repeat much of the informa-
tion from the bridge for this is also a control station.

• • Scene 5 • • PARKING PROBLEM-
Back on deck you
watch the little yellow tow trucks handling planes on the
flight deck. With more than 80 planes aboard, the job of
spotting aircraft in correct positions takes many hours of
planning and hard work. During landings, planes are
parked forward on the flight deck.

• • Scene 6 • • "STAND BY TO FIRE"- 
Hearing this, you
find crews manning the antiaircraft guns.