This is somthing you dont hear much about. Float plane operations and the pilots that maned them. For what I can tell , the pilots are kind of unsung hero's! The forgotten few. It must have been pretty thrilling to operate these float planes off WW-2 Battleships and Cruisers! More or less by the seat of there pants. Plus the slow speed the traveled would have made them easy targets. I wonder why we dont hear more about them? There stories, there performance. Does anyone have any information about these brave men ? It would be very interesting indeed.

Regards,

Garry

Floatplanes were assigned as Dets. from their administrative squadrons. US Navy float plane squadrons were designated, it seems like, VMO or VO, for Navy or Marine fixed-wing observation since their primary duty was to direct fire for the ship's big guns.
The German equivalent were Kustenfleigergeschwaderen. All German aircraft, land-based, float-planes or carrier borne, by law, belonged to the Luftwaffe, which caused no end of trouble for the Kreigsmarine. Whenever they wanted anything, they had to go begging, hat in hand, to the Luftwaffe weapons procurement department, and practically never got what they actually needed or wanted.
RN floatplanes were operated by regular RN squadrons which sent Dets. out to Battleships and Cruisers, as well as by RAF Coastal Command

Thanks for that Bruce, I did not know that. Like I was saying, you just dont see alot about the subject. The Pilots and there planes served the navies well during WW-2, to bad we dont here more about them.



Garry

The one time you really heard about float planes is the one time they really let their navy down. I'm referring to the float plane from the Tone that launched late at the Battle of Midway. Had it launched on time, and more importantly reported the position and composition of the Ameircan forces accurately, things may very well have turned out different on June 4 1942.