Launch 'Em USS Hancock 1956

A lighthearted look at early Naval jet aviation. Featuring VF-121, an F9F-8 Cougar squadron aboard the USS Hancock in 1956. As the story goes, an Admiral saw it and ordered it to be put in the burn bag for not reflecting the character and integrity of the Navy. But a copy was rescued. Steaming home from a WestPac deployment can be a long, monotonous trip for the Air Wing pilots. There's no flying; their planes are chained to the deck. For them it generally means movie marathons in the Ready Room, catching up on paper work and checking their rooms for light leaks. lt ‘s also a time for long dormant hair-brained ideas to hatch and come to life. Such was the case in I956 aboard USS Hancock (CVA-19), heading home to San Diego, with VF-121, an F9-F8 Cougar squadron, bored by the daily routine. In collusion with ship's company, they concocted and produced a spool of a typical pilots‘ briefing session, the mad scramble to man aircraft and the exhilarating, surging rush of a catapult launch. They called the Film. “Launch 'Em", from which this tape was made.