Have had this happen intermittently. Press the “Launch” button from the bridge, and instead of landing on the deck in preparation for takeoff, you fall through the deck.
In the latest example, I had attempted a takeoff from a CV, and during the run down the deck, the cv started turning, or I over corrected, and ended going off the left side, forward deck. Caught the right wing and plunged to the water.
Upon on landing in the bridge, I pressed “Launch” and immediately fell thru the deck.
If you look at the film for the initial takeoff attempt, you see something real strange. As the roll is started down the deck, all of a sudden the CV swaps ends, and the roll is now toward the stern, (backend for non- Navy types). And looking at the land mass in the film, you see that the TG really did swap directions. Didn't stand a chance taking off down wind.
Flight struggles out over open water and then the right wing is snapped off, followed by the plunge to the water.
The following pics are as seen in the film, but the real-time views were normal, none of the reversal stuff.
Engine start: all normal
11 seconds into film: CV swapped ends... notice the whole TG swapped direction
24 seconds in: wing snaps off from hitting now invisible CV.
There are two attached files. One is of the first takeoff attempt, the second file is the second attempt, and plunge through the deck. This one is a short film of 1 second and only shows a view of a land base tower.
This is the first time I’ve gone back to look at a film of one of the “fall thru the deck” episodes, so don’t know if something similar happened before.
