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From: swilliam@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil (Williams)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Carriers
Message-ID: <1991Feb4.051758.14591@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 4 Feb 91 05:17:58 GMT
References: <1991Jan27.103057.25293@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: David Taylor Research Center, Bethesda, MD
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From: swilliam@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil (Williams)

> ... I recall overhearing more than one sailor grip that the pilots 
had flown home just before it entered port. Everyone else got home two 
weeks later.

Pilots fly their planes home before their carrier enters the port for
two reasons: (1) it is a lot faster than unloading individual planes from
the carrier for maintenance at land station or squandon switching; and 
(2) it helps lighten up the carrier especially if it is entering the 
port at low tide.

[mod.note:  I would suspect that another consideration is that, in light
of our experience at Pearl Harbor, the aircraft are considered safer ashore
than on board, where they'd be unable to launch while the ship's in harbor.
- Bill ]